2011 March- North

The highlight of the month of March was spring break.  We got one week off near the end of March.  Becky and I chose to stay close to home this time.  We looked on the internet for a hotel with an indoor pool in Roanoke, VA.  Roanoke is about 2 hours from here and it is the nearest ‘big city.’  Roanoke has an actual mall, a big movie theater, and lots of stores.  We left here in the afternoon and got to Roanoke at around dinner time.  We checked in to the hotel and then went to a nearby Ristorante Mexicano.  The music playing over the sound system was like a cross between Mexican opera and mariachi music.  At first I thought I would be annoyed, but it grew on me quickly.  After dinner we went and swam in the hotel pool.  It was Sophie’s first time to go swimming.  She didn’t love it, but she didn’t hate it either.  She just seemed content.  She did enjoy kicking her feet and lapping up the water with her tongue.  It was fun to play with her in the pool.  Becky and I both took time to swim some laps.  The next morning Becky had some stores that she wanted to go visit, so we went shopping.  We ended up at the mall and spent most of the morning walking around the mall.  My favorite store was Barnes and Noble.  It’s probably good that we don’t have a bookstore nearby, I might be tempted to spend too much time there.  We were back home in time for dinner.  It was a great little trip and I will treasure the memories for a long time.  Family time is wonderful! 
                A week ago we had stake conference.  Our stake center is over an hour away, but I didn’t have homework over the weekend, and we both wanted to go to all the meetings.  It was a good experience.  Our leaders are inspiring men.  Our stake president conveys a lot of power when he speaks.  I’m happy to be led by men who are called of God.  I’m happy to be a member of the Church. 
                School has started up again, the routine is settling back on our shoulders.  Most of my time now is focused on preparing for boards.  We took a practice board test a few weeks ago and I did pretty well; it was comforting.
                We hope that you are all doing well.
                Stewart, Becky, and Sophie.