Riverwalk flowers

There are a lot of things planted along the riverwalk,
but right now the irises are at peak
(with more on the way).
It's gorgeous!

New Home for the Ducks

The last time I visited the BYU duck pond,
there seemed to be a mess of construction further up the hill,
and the other day I found out what they had been doing there.
BYU now has a river walk,
nicely sculpted and landscaped and with little 'waterfalls',
dotted with picnic areas and brightened with flowers.
The pond is still down on 800 N
(though I didn't get a really close look at its current state)
but some of the ducks seem to have moved up
to the new 'river' winding around the hill.
These adolescent ducks appear to enjoy their new home.

Kids in Cougartown

Dave and Emily had a thing up the canyon this evening,
and their babysitter bailed last minute,
so they asked if I could take the kids for a few hours.
Given the time overlap,
Dave dropped the kids off on campus at the end of my last class.
So I took them on a tour.
We went to see the cougar.
I love the cougar.
The cougar was a big part of my childhood.
I remember being Sophie's age and going to see the cougar.
(And Dad's office.
And getting ice cream.)

So of course we had to go for ice cream, too.
Ethan told me I was the best aunt.
He always tells me this when I buy him treats.
Guess what?
(if you will forgive the Ethanism)
I buy him treats a lot.
I love to hear that I am the best aunt.
Yes, this kid has me all figured out.

We got cones, but the cones were sloppy,
so I asked the server to put them in dishes.
I got some pretty hilarious pictures of the kids eating ice cream,
but this is my favorite,
Sophie trying to feed Ethan a bite of her ice cream,
and Ethan taking control of the spoon himself:

And of course we had to show Sophie the "Y" on the mountain.
She thought it was pretty cool.

BYU Campus on a Winter Evening

Mom and Dad and I went to the BYU Museum of Art last week.
When we came out of the museum, the light on the mountains was just perfect.

After some bookstore shopping, we headed over to the JFSB.

Dad even got a little nap in my office before our department party.