Michigan Fun

We finally got away this weekend! JD and I were stuck in town all winter with JD's church basketball league, but we managed to escape for a couple of nights this weekend to visit the Batsons in Michigan. It was the usual fun: food, sleep, laser tag, board games, and laughs. The laser tag was especially fun this time, and although I may have kept coming in last, I was still contributing to the team! JD, of course, was a high scorer every time, but it was 12 year old Jake who really beat the pants off of everyone! Quote of the weekend: "Who's my donkey?"

Andrew: Donkeys are common at children's birthday parties!

Jake: I've never had a donkey. I want a donkey!

Andrew: You already have a donkey.

Jake: Who's my donkey?!

A Week Off, Kinda

Well, Spring Break is now over, and I am back to school. As many of my fellow graduate students have commented, we all feel more stressed after the break, realizing how little we accomplished and how much we still have to do in the last month and a half of the semester. While I sat at the computer all day every day working on papers (I wish that were an exaggeration), JD lay on the couch with a sinus infection. It was quite the week.

But there were bright spots. We watched some good movies, I got to spend some time with the girls in my small group, and JD attended a basketball game at Redbird Arena. Yesterday we even got outside because the weather's improving! It's been sunny and getting warmer and warmer, so we took a bike ride and worked in the garden a bit. Of course I'm hoping that the weather will stay nice although the pessamistic neighbor next door keeps telling us that it can snow into May. In the meantime, we'll enjoy every warm day we get!

For those of you who miss Gizmo's backflips, here are a couple to entertain you:

Spring Break

Spring Break is finally here, and although it will be full of homework and papers, I am still happy to have a week away from campus. JD also has an easier week ahead with work calls close to home. I'm hoping to get out into the garden a few more times this week. We started Spring Break off well with some fun activities this weekend, like a lecture on humor in children's literature at the University of Illinois. We carpooled with some school friends, Emily, Melody, and Danielle.

Saturday, Emily had a board game party at her apartment, so it was another night full of English majors and their husbands. This is Melissa, my officemate.

Sunday, we had brunch with a couple from our small group, Steve and Emily. Steve took us out to Evergreen Lake to scout some camping sites, but I think it's still a bit early for camping. Emily and I just tried to survive the wind and rain!

And now, onto a week of work while my students sun themselves in tropical locations. Ah, to be an undergraduate...