byu-i

I just returned from a mini-vacation to the wonderful state of Idaho; more specifically, Rexburg, and even more specifically, my Alma mater, BYU-Idaho. Mom and I drove up for a few days to attend Education Week, which I'll get to later. First, however, I wanted to discuss briefly some goings-on in my life as well as a few things that have piqued my interest.

Up first: Oma and Opa Hubert are HOME! It's nearly been a week since the entire Hubert clan filled the welcoming area of the SLC airport with posters and signs and excited smiles. The flight did not arrive until nearly 11:30pm and as we all waited for the pair to be spotted walking down the hall, we all wondered, "Perhaps they missed their flight?" But, in due time the teeniest of glimpse of the grandparents was seen and the littlest Huberts went nutzo! We all had the signs, as shown below in some pictures, and when the gp's were halfway down the hall, the sign holders dropped their signs and ran straight for Oma and Opa...in the hall where you're not supposed to enter! It was a great and welcoming sight. Here are a few pictures, prior to, during and after their arrival:

See all the people in this picture...all of them were there for the big arrival.

Some of the younger Hubert's holding signs for their grandparents

The open arms says it all....the kids all ran to see their grandma!

Now, to the next item. I recently heard a fantastic thing. One of my favorite words that I once thought was just made up has been officially added to the dictionary. Now, if I ever say "ginormous" it's legit. I say this word in relation in size, obviously: "That zit on my face is ginormous!" "Wow! That's one ginormous ice cream cone melting all over my hands." "You know, I have a ginormous crush on Rupert Grint." "He has a ginormous headache."

Perhaps it's because I'm an English nerd or whatnot, but I love the addition of this new word into our standard language. It makes me rather happy; right now my smile is...wait, wait, don't tell me...ginormous!

And now to cover Education Week. It is an interesting feeling to return to your Alma mater, a place you shed sweat, blood, and tears. (Ok, so I only shed blood a few times and nothing too serious). I had a sweet experience while walking the "old stomping grounds." I saw the place where I had my first college kiss, I returned to the intersection where I nearly got hit on my bike (one of the times I shed blood), I walked by my favorite Religion class...though for the life of me I have a hard time remembering what exactly I was studying and who was my teacher. I had the thrill of walking into the bookstore where I (mostly my mom) spent entirely too much on books!!! (But now I'm glad because they are my prized possessions). I almost shed a tear when I walked by the building on campus where I spent much of my time, the Smith. This is the building where I learned how to be a teacher and where I learned all about Shakespeare and Steinbeck. What I saw while walked past was amazing, in not such a great way...you see, they'd torn down the little "annex" where my professors offices were, they've torn up the lawn where I spent many hours reading and studying and now it is being reconstructed. I feel happy that they are improving campus...though it was wonderful when I was there...but it isn't the way I remember and it made me sad.

The greatest addition to Rexburg since I left 2 years ago is the nearly complete temple. Currently they are working on landscaping. It sits way on top of the city on a hill, perfectly seen from just about every place in town.

The temple view from the edge of campus. Beautiful!

Education Week classes were great. I got a good spiritual drink, my cup is almost overflowing, and I brought a lot of great ideas home to implement in my life. It was a special trip because it was just my mom and I and I love that time with her. We went to dinner on Friday night with one of her old neighbors, Lawna, who lives in Idaho Falls. We talked. We laughed. We commiserated on Thursday when neither of us got much sleep due to the road not but 20 feet from our head (we camped in her trailer). We just had a really great time.

Last night we happened to go to the Barnes and Noble in Idaho Falls. I had kind of forgotten what popular book was being released today and was happy to see the Harry Potter # 7 release party in full swing in the store. The employees had all dressed as a character from the book; they had all sorts of activities for kids. It was so fun! I wanted to stay for the big release at 12 midnight, but knew my 6:30 wake-up call wouldn't appreciate that. Instead, however, as we left the store, I noticed that tucked away in the corner of the front window were several unopened boxes of copies of the book. They had certainly tried to cover up the boxes and I thought, since I used to work at Barnes and Noble, that the back store room where they normally keep books must have been FULL of similar boxes. It made me shiver a bit.

Now that the books have been released and all, this picture isn't that cool, but last night, before anyone had laid their hands on the book, it was neat. My mom bought me the book this morning in the BYU-I bookstore, but I haven't touched it. I'm still finishing the 6th book (for the 2nd time) as a refresher. Hope to read it this week!