The next Pavarotti?

This is neat-o!

Courage Reins

Hunter got to go to his first horseback riding session at Courage Reins today. It went really well. I think he enjoyed the experience, although he was very tired afterwards. The people who work there and who helped Hunter ride were great! We get to go every Friday morning for the next few months. I think it will be great for my little guy.

Sunday visit

Hunter and Grandpa Durrant

K-ville

Note: Read the previous post or this one won't make any sense.

In simplest terms, it is the line for students wishing to gain access to the designated tenting games. It is often mistakenly referred to as a ticket line. However, there are no student tickets; students are admitted from the line one and a half hours before each game.

There are usually two tenting games per season, one of which is the game that pits the Duke Blue Devils against the NC Tar Heels. Months before the actual game, students begin to put up and live in tents outside Cameron Indoor Stadium. As many as twelve people can occupy a specific tent number (many "tents" contain more than one physical tent). As regulated by Duke Student Government, there must be a certain number of students in the tent at regular, periodic checks.

From the beginning of tenting in early January (although the first tents usually appear between Christmas and New Year's) until one week before the game, tents generally must have 1 person in the tent during the day and 8 people each night. For the week before the game, only two people must be in the tent each night. The two weekend nights prior to the game are personal check nights, during which each of the twelve tent members must be at the tent for 3 of 5 personal checks spread over the two nights. If a tent misses a tent check twice, it gets moved to the end of the line (assuming availability). If K-ville is at full capacity (100 tents) and a waitlist exists at the time of the second miss, the tent gets removed completely.

Krzyzewskiville is named for Mike Krzyzewski, often called "Coach K", the much loved coach who has helped make Duke's basketball program one of the best in the nation. He has been known to buy pizza for the K-ville residents from time to time and has held open-forum "team meetings" with the Cameron Crazies before big games.

Duke game

We had such a great time on our trip! Bry and I flew in to Durham Wednesday afternoon. After several long hours on the airplanes (especially for the pregnant lady) we cruised to the hotel in our rental car, a red Mustang, and took a nap. That night we had dinner at a TGI Friday's near campus. After dinner, we drove a few blocks, parked and walked to Cameron Indoor Stadium. It was very cold! We were following the crowds, since we didn't really know where we were going, when suddenly we found ourselves in front of the arena. I never would have guessed in a million years that a basketball gym could be found in that building. It is very small inside and only holds 9300 fans. However, I feel like I can guarantee that the opposing team feels as though it holds 3x as many Cameron Crazies as that. The students are a riot! The game ended up being pretty close but my Blue Devils came away with the victory in the end, 71-58.

The next morning, before heading to the airport, we drove around the Duke campus a little and discovered Krzyzewskiville. (That's what the last picture of the tents is of in the next post.) I did some research and found out what it is all about and I have posted more info for those interested. After we took some more pictures of the campus we drove back to the airport. It was a short trip, but one I will never forget.

Cameron Indoor Stadium - It looks like a castle!

New calling and shopping

Today Bryson was released as the Course 15 Sunday School teacher and sustained as the Young Men's secretary in our ward. He is excited for the change and we are proud of his willingness to serve. Unfortunately, he was unwilling to pose for a picture to go with the big news.

In other exciting news, I went shopping for the first time yesterday for our little girl. She got two dresses, a skirt and a pink sweat outfit. We are really looking forward to her birth. The next project is redoing the nursery for a girl baby. I am excited to decorate a "big boy" room too, since Hunter will be moving out of the nursery into the bedroom next door. I was thinking the other day that right now is a great time of life. I'm not always crazy about the sleep deprivation factor, but it is thrilling to be bringing babies into the world and raising a family!

I guess Bry made up for being camera shy earlier by posing for this picture. I can't wait to see him as a daddy to a little girl.

St. George Parade of Homes

The Parade of Homes in St. George is something I look forward to every year. This past weekend we headed down south with my parents to warmer temps and non-smogy air for our annual Parade vacation. Bry and I have tons of fun walking through the houses because the style in St. George is really different from the style everywhere else in Utah. A couple of the homes this year were super contemporary. The entire backside of one home was solid glass looking out to some beautiful views. While I do find the contemporary style entertaining, I am always thinking how impossible it would be to raise children in a home like that. (Grubby little fingers on all of that glass!) My two favorite houses were #26 Chateau Enchante and #11 Le Chateau de L'Amour. The weekend went by way too fast, but we had a really good time.

Bryson, Hunter, me and my mom and dad

The last two pictures are in front of an infinity edge pool or endless pool. I want one in my backyard!