Ben was sick this week.  He woke up with a little cough Sunday morning and came into our room early Monday morning unable to breathe!  Which inevitably led to the wrapping-up-in-blankets and sitting-in-the-cold-on-the-porch trick.  Kevin got the humidifier set up and we made Ben a tent.  He could breathe fine with it, but he did need to sleep in it for the next three nights.  He ran a fever for 2 1/2 days, too.  Needless to say, he missed school.  In fact, he didn't go at all last week!  He even missed his Valentine party!  He is finally feeling better and (after much coaxing) he even came to church today.

Bethany had her school Valentine party on Wednesday.  They went on a field trip in the morning to see the play Peter Pan!  So it was all-day fun!  She is a good little student and does homework with me every night.  On Tuesday night, her school celebrated Chinese New Year and she and her dad went together!

Calianne and Cheyenne made elaborate Valentine boxes for their Valentine party.  They were so excited about it.  Then Calianne got sick Wednesday afternoon and missed school Thursday and Friday and missed the school party!  So sad!  Before she got sick, though, Cali and Chey played in basketball games on Monday and Wednesday and their dad coached!

Mariah had no game on Tuesday this week but played in games on Friday.  She played great.  Kevin and I went to watch her 7:00 game as part of our Friday night date (as we've been doing a lot lately)!  It was fun!  Next week is her last game!  She loves it so much and doesn't want it to end.

Megan worked Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday!  She also got to participate in a big FCCLA shindig at BYU during school hours on Thursday.  She had to recycle or repurpose items into a new item.  She took old jeans and old curtains (some of you may recognize these!) and made a skirt.  It turned out super cute and she even got a ribbon!

 

Sarah worked Monday, Friday, and Saturday.  She and the other Sterling Scholars from SHS got driven out to Westlake on Tuesday for their interviews.  Sarah had a great time.  Even though she didn't progress to the next round, she's had a great experience and it's been a fun ride!  We had a fun time helping her practice, too!  She also started her internship for this semester which is helping in a junior high math class.  She misses her kindergarteners!  But she gets to see Mariah every now and then and even graded one of her tests.  That's pretty cool.

I attended Life the Universe and Everything (LTUE) Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in Provo.  It's a writing conference for Science Fiction and Fantasy writers.  We happen to have a pretty awesome sampling of authors in these genres in Utah.  Among the more prestigious of the panelists to whom I listened this week were:  Brandon Sanderson, Kevin Anderson, Shannon Hale, and Dan Wells.  It was so cool to get to know the people behind some of my favorite books!  They were all super-personable and fun.  But seriously, the amount of work that goes into being an author is mind-blowing and disheartening.  After three full days of classes I wonder, "Why was it I wanted to be an author in the first place?"  Which makes me laugh.  I don't think conferences are supposed to have that kind of effect on you!  Anyway, I did have a great time.

Shannon Hale doing the keynote.