Fantastic Four!

On Saturday, Miss Eliza turned the big #4!!! Greg and I were lucky enough to get to join the birthday bonanza in St. Louis. I still remember the day Eliza was born--she was so tiny and so sweet, and she had cute spikey hair. She's not so tiny anymore, but she keeps getting sweeter! We met up with the Agates at the Build a Bear Workshop at the St. Louis Science Center. Eliza was SO EXCITED to build her pink teddy bear! She got to fill the bear with stuffing, choose a heart to go inside it, and even give it a bath after it was born.

Leo wasn't sure what he thought of all the commotion . . . but then he decided it was pretty fun.

After Eliza's teddy bear was "born," she got to accessorize, which she loved. As you can see, accessorizing is serious business. When all was said and done, her pink bear was all decked out in ballerina gear, complete with pink flip flops. She even decided to name her bear Tiffy! :-) Greg bought an Albert Pujols St. Louis Cardinals teddy bear for me, and Eliza was quite worried that we hadn't gotten any underwear for our bear (her teddy got Hello Kitty underwear!). She said, "So, do you have some diapers for him at home so he won't go potty in his new pants?" She is so funny!

Even Leo got to make a bear! His was an astronaut bear named Hubble. Here are the cute/happy kiddos with the bears. After the birthday bear extravaganza, it was time for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Eliza was SO EXCITED about her cheesecake birthday cake--it was hard to focus on lunch. When dessert time finally arrived, she got her very own piece of carrot cake cheesecake, complete with a candle and chocolate writing around the plate that said "Happy 4th Birthday!" It was like a dream-come-true. After eating her cake she said, "I loved enjoying that whipped cream on top!" It was fun to see her so completely happy and excited about everything. I am lucky to have such fun nieces and nephews, and I am happy that we live so close to the Agates. Being able to meet up with them every now and then helps me not feel so far away from everyone.

While we were eating lunch, it started to SNOW (I thought it was supposed to be spring?), and it kept snowing and snowing. The snow piled up quickly, so we and the Agates both got on the road so we could make it home before it got too deep. The funny thing was, once we got out of St. Louis the weather kind of cleared up, and by the time we reached Springfield, the sun was shining! Greg and I had to stop at Wal Mart for something, and when we got out of the car we noticed a couple staring at our car. They said, "Where did you guys come from?" Greg and I were both confused at first--we thought that was a funny question to ask someone you didn't know. But then we both got a look at the front of our car and it made sense. The entire front of our car was PLASTERED with snow and ice. You couldn't see the license plate, lights, or anything! The couple was glad to hear that the snow and ice were well south of us. So it was a good ending to a great day. We had so much fun celebrating Eliza's birthday!!!

They're Coming . . .

When Greg and I went to the St. Louis Science Center on Saturday for Eliza's big birthday bonanza, we saw a real storm chaser truck parked in front of the Science Center! I love watching the storm chasers chase tornadoes on the Weather Channel--I guess because I'm so scared of tornadoes. So I had to have my picture with the satellite truck. I guess this means that tornado season is coming!

Heartbreaker

Well, it sure was a great season for the BYU basketball team, but it had a sad ending tonight against Florida. It has been so exciting to watch Jimmer Fredette win over the whole country with his crazy 3-pointers and scoring frenzies. Greg thought my head was going to explode tonight while we were watching the game--it was SO close and even went to overtime, just like it did when they played Florida last year in the tournament! At one point Jimmer's chin hit the floor and he started to bleed, so they put a bandage on it. Then after the next time out, there was another bandage, and then another, and another. It was awesome how they just kept piling on the bandages, and Jimmer just kept on playing. The whole team did really well tonight, but Florida was just too much for them. Our hopes were high when overtime began, but as the game slipped away, I was pretty heartbroken. But, it was fun while it lasted. And I had just gotten Greg to agree to drive to Houston for the championship game if BYU made it there! :-( I would say "there's always next year," but I don't think BYU will ever have another Jimmer.

At least we had a fun basketball party last weekend when BYU beet Gonzaga while Greg's grandma was here for a visit. His parents brought her over from Iowa for a weekend getaway. We had fun doing such things as visiting the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum . . . and watching basketball :-) Well I'm going to go mope around for a while, but my sadness will be short-lived, as we are headed to St. Louis on Saturday for Eliza's birthday extravaganza which will be SO FUN!!!

Jimmer Fredette / BYU rocking the nation.

Honor

I am crazy with March Madness fever! Tomorrow evening our house will be a hotbed of St. Patrick's Day and BYU celebrations as the BYU basketball team plays their first round NCAA tournament game against Wofford (which can be seen live on CBS at 7:00 Eastern time). It's no secret to all of my friends around the country that I am a BYU fan :-) And since the BYU basketball team is really good this year, especially with all of the hype surrounding Jimmer Fredette, everybody has heard a lot about the BYU basketball team lately. Unfortunately the latest national news about the team involved the suspension of one of their players for an honor code violation. This news has prompted many of my friends to grill me about what exactly the "honor code" is, why it is such a big deal, and why in the heck anyone would go to a school where you "can't have any fun," as they say :-) I have actually enjoyed these questions because it gives me a chance to talk about why BYU is such an unusual and great place. I tell my friends that the honor code isn't sprung on any student as a way to get them kicked off a team or out of school--it's something that each students knows about up front. In fact, when you apply to go to BYU, you sign a paper saying that you agree to abide by the honor code--which basically says that you will abide by the teachings and standards of the LDS Church.

The honor code comes from something that Karl G. Maeser, the first principal of the Brigham Young Academy, once said: "I have been asked what I mean by 'word of honor.' I will tell you. Place me behind prison walls--walls of stone ever so high, ever so thick, reaching ever so far into the ground--there is a possibility that in some way or another I may escape; but stand me on the floor and draw a chalk line around me and have me give my word of honor never to cross it. Can I get out of the circle? No. Never! I'd die first."

Of course not every BYU student takes all of this honor stuff super seriously--you often find a sidewalk chalk circle drawn around the Karl G. Maeser statue on campus; the work of a student who thinks they are funny--but all-in-all the honor code makes BYU a place where you can completely focus on your education and personal growth--where you're not hampered by all of the extra things that are usually part of a typical American college experience.

I really like that, in response to questions about if it was a hard decision to suspend the player for an honor code violation right when BYU was on track to have its best basketball season ever, BYU responded that it was not a hard decision--the player broke the rules that he agreed to abide by. It's as simple as that. So, even though they could have used their sidelined player's sweet rebounding skills in the upcoming tournament, I think the important thing is that BYU stood by its standards--even though it would have been easy to overlook a little honor code violation, especially when the stakes are so high. I think BYU still has a really good chance to do well in the tournament (they still have Jimmer Fredette!!), but even if they fall short, at least they stood tall and stuck to the principles that make them different than all of the other teams they'll be playing against. Props to BYU. Go Cougars!