Rachel's Birthday/Thanksgiving Day

For only the third time in her life, Rachel's birthday and Thanksgiving fell on the same day this year.  We celebrated them both in a very different way...Rachel kept saying, "This doesn't feel like my birthday OR Thanksgiving!"  But it was lots of fun.  On Wednesday night when Kent got home from basketball practice we drove down to Cedar City.  We stayed in her cute new apartment, about a mile off campus.  All her roommates were gone for the holiday, so it felt like our own private hotel suite! We spent a fun evening with her, just chatting, eating birthday cake, and watching movies.  Loved it!

The next morning we got up early so Rachel could take us on a tour of her favorite places on SUU campus.  

The beautiful bell tower that chimes every hour.

Cedar City is such a pretty town!  Love the red cliffs on the southeast side of campus.

 

Here is the football stadium.  Rachel and her friends loved cheering on the team this season.

Here are a few other scenic spots at SUU. We also walked past the old Juniper Hall dorm building, all locked up with "no trespassing" signs everywhere.  Rachel entertained us with stories about her life as a college girl.  Because it was a holiday, we had the whole campus pretty much to ourselves! 

 

After the tour, we loaded up and headed to St. George and the Golden Corral and a Thanksgiving Day feast! 

And then we were off to San Diego!

Primary Program

Yesterday was an exciting day! The Sacrament Meeting Primary Program!  My presidency and I had been thinking/worrying/praying about it for months, I was so relieved and thrilled that it finally arrived.  It was outstanding in every way.  I know Primary is an inspired program, and I am grateful to be a part of it.  How I love my sweet primary children!  They each had a part on the program, and did so well.  They belted out those songs, especially the final song, "We'll Bring the World His Truth", it took my breath away.  Here is a copy of our program, I never want to forget it, or the feeling I had after it was over.  Now I can hardly wait to do it all again next year!

BYU Football

For nearly ten years we have had season BYU football tickets and loved going to the games.  But the last few years they have felt more like a burden.  With Braden and Kent both involved in cross country, along with Braden's soccer and multiple other various activities and commitments, it seemed we were missing more games than we were able to attend.  So this year we made the decision to give up our tickets.  Although we have missed them, it has been a relief for us to have one less demand on our time.  We were excited last week when Kevin called and offered us four tickets...and our schedule was free!  Braden had a hot date and bailed out on us, so Stefanie invited her best friend Sarah.  We had a blast!  I'm sure in a couple of years after Braden has graduated from high school we will resume our BYU football habit, but for now this works for us.  Final score...42-7.  Go Cougs!

(Poor quality cell phone picture because I forgot to bring my camera!)

My New Favorite Restaurant

Last night Kent and I went out to dinner to The Melting Pot with our friends, the Rushforths.  Kent and Garth coach together, for the past five years we've gone out to dinner with them to celebrate the end of the cross country season.  Oh, my, it was delicious! Fondue dining, such a unique experience!  Can't wait to go again!  

Homeless

My poor homeless daughter!  Rachel called on Sunday night, all worried and upset.  A mandatory meeting had been called for all the students in her dorm where they were told that they had to find a new place to live , because of a failed heating system in Juniper Hall.  Nearly 250 students have to be out by next weekend, what a mess!  The University is doing all they can to help, including a tuition discount for next semester, but Rachel and all her friends are completely stressed out.  The story has been all over the news, here is a link to the news clip, and below is a newspaper article featuring this picture of Rachel and her roommate moving their stuff out of Juniper Hall.  

Students displaced after heating system fails at SUU dormitory

FOX 13 News

CEDAR CITY, Utah— 

Hundreds of students from Southern Utah University were forced from their dorm rooms after the heating system failed at Juniper Hall.  All 227 students who live in the dorm building are now desperately seeking a new place to live.  SUU student Kimberly DeMille is packing her things as the deadline to leave comes at the end of the week.  "We're really up in the air. We don't know what we're doing. It's very stressful," said DeMillle.  Students were told the dorm's heating system cannot be fixed because it is encased in concrete, which is common for a building that old.  "This is a great building; it's lasted a long time," said SUU Housing Director Chris Ralphs.  Fortunately Cedar City's weather has been relatively mild so far. But students say homelessness is not something they expected to go with their mid-term exams. SUU is helping students find housing, but some like freshman Miles Anderson have opted to strike out on their own.  "They kept saying we'll learn from this, we'll grow from this. It's kind of hard to think of it that way at this point."  SUU says it is using a number of options to help students find housing. They are even looking at renting a hotel to give some students some peace of mind, especially during mid-terms.  The dorm was built in the 1960s and it will have to be torn down. With funding issues, SUU officials are not sure if they can afford to rebuild.