Education Week

Brad and I went to our first Education Week at BYU.  It was a great experience, and we hope to be able to go regularly.  To make the week even more special, we got to stay with our good friends, Charles and Elisa Oliver, at their family's vacation home in Midway, UT.  It was a wonderful combination of amazing classes at BYU and reconnecting with Charles and Elisa.  We spent many hours talking, enjoying each other's company, and saying, "You should move back to Bainbridge!" 

I was so impressed by the quality of the teachers at Education Week.  I felt like they all really "got it," really understood life and the gospel.  I don't know if it was the classes we chose, or if a majority of the classes would have been the same.  So many of them focused on the Atonement, even when that wasn't the main topic of the class. I loved being reminded over and over again of the power of the Atonement, the importance of teaching our children (and reminding ourselves) of our infinite worth, of our Savior's love and eternal acceptance of all of us.  It struck me, and Brad also, and we had many discussions with Charles and Elisa about this as well, how important it is for us to let our children know how much we love them and are proud of the good things they do.  I feel like I need to do better at not judging them, not making them feel badly if they made a mistake or wrong choice, to always be openly accepting and let them feel my love no matter what they do, or don't do, for that matter.  As parents, we can be so hard on our kids, who are such amazing, wonderful people with fabulous gifts and talents.  We get upset when they make choices we don't agree with, even when we ourselves probably have made the same mistakes, or even worse ones.  I heard over and over again, "Love them!" and "Teach them to feel God's love for them."  So important, and something I really need to work on.

We did take some time to explore Midway with Charles and Elisa, as well.  One morning we went on a hike in the lower Wasatch Mountains.  A little different scenery than we're used to, but it was beautiful.

This was at the turn around point, not really the top of the mountain, but high enough that we had a nice view of the Heber Valley. (Yes, Mariann, I did balance my camera on a rock to get this shot!)

We stopped to rest in a pretty Aspen grove.  

Elisa and Charles

Some of the pretty aspen trees.

We also got to see the Caine family, a wonderful treat!  We went to their house for dinner one evening and had a great time catching up.  Ethan (far right) has grown up so much and was a total crack up!  He kept posing in our "couples picture." Bill tried his hardest to get him out of the photo, but Ethan wouldn't budge!

I didn't get any pictures at BYU.  I was too busy soaking in the atmosphere and running from one class to the next.  The last time I was there was for EFY when I was 15.  I didn't really remember the campus, so it was all new to me.  By the end of the week, I felt like I could get around pretty well without looking at the map.  I felt like a 20 year old, back in school.  It was a great week!