Eagles, showers, and Fables

What a whirlwind week! It feels like so much has happened since we've been able to sit down and organize our thoughts. Last weekend we traveled up to Logan to attend a friend's baby blessing. It was great to see them, and we had a good time reuniting with previous ward members and other friends.

The only problem was that Kristen had brought a book with her to read, and finished it just as we got to Logan on Saturday. That left us with a long drive to Ephraim on Sunday without anything for her to do while Josh slept. So, as we were driving out of town, we stopped in a few gas stations to see if they had any crossword puzzles in stock. No luck. Not a single crossword puzzle book in any gas station from Logan to Brigham City. So we decided to stop in at the Wal-Mart and see if they had any there. Whilst perusing their pitiful selection of EASY crosswords that she would have finished before we reached Ogden, I spotted the Fablehaven series of books that I had heard my students give much praise to. I bought the first two books in the series, hoping that they would at least be an interesting read for the ride home. It was a good move. Not only have we finished the first two books in the series, we purchased the third yesterday and are eagerly awaiting the 4th installment which is rumored to come out shortly. The author is Brandon Mull, and he is a native-born Utahn. It's fun to read about him on the author bio page at the back knowing he is LDS and from Utah. I'd recommend these books to anyone. They're fun and exciting, and if you like the Harry Potter series, you'll love these.

We finished reading Esperanza Rising with my class this week and they proceeded to give their PowerPoint presentations on their research assignments. They were fairly good for the most part. One more week until the end of the quarter. Sheesh. That went by fast.

In other happenings, Kristen's little brother, Scott, received his Eagle Scout award last night in Monroe, and her sister Michelle had her baby shower as well, so we traveled down for a quick trip to join in the festivities of each.

Michelle is due at the beginning of April, and they are expecting a little baby boy. The only problem is that she is the cheerleader advisor and she is due right in the middle of competition in Disneyland. Now, if you know anything about Matt and Michelle, you'll know that messing with their plans to go to Disneyland is one of the worst things you can do. So she's really hoping that the baby will come early so that they can all go. If he comes even three days early, that's enough time for her to be on the road.

Scott's Eagle Court of Honor was nice, and was well attended by family and ward members. He barely squeaked by since he turned 18 in December, finishing his paperwork the weekend before. But he got it. That's what counts. When they invited all of the Eagle scouts in the room to sit in the honorary Eagle's nest at the front, all of his brothers and brothers-in-law came up and sat down. That was it. Nobody else in the room had theirs. But we all did. It was pretty cool to be included in that group. I remember when I first started dating Kristen--the first question her brother-in-law asked me was whether or not I was an Eagle Scout. I was glad I could answer yes. So, congratulations, Scott. We're proud of you.

It's Spring Break for the college, but since I teach this week, we are stuck with a nearly empty building. A few kids decided to stay, so hopefully they're not too bored. Kristen gets the week off from work to help the University with the cutbacks and budget issues. We'll see what she does with her spare time! This should be good for her. Another week, another blog.