emma the bear

Last week I got an unexpected package in the mail from Miss class at Lincoln Elementary in Indianapolis, Indiana. It took me a second before I realized that my niece and nephew go to that school. Excitedly, I opened it up.

Inside was a tiny little stuffed bear named Emma who came with her own travel diary. My niece Emerson is in first grade and as a geography lesson, each studnet has sent out a small stuffed animal--a travelmate--to someone in a different state. It is then that person's reponsibility to write a little about where he or she lives, include some photos from the travelmate's adventure there, and then send her on to someone else in a different state or country. Whoever has the travelmate at the end of May sends it back to the school and the class can see all the places their travelmates have been.

Isn't that cute? I was so touched that Emerson chose to send it to me, but then I realized I'm probably the only person she knows personally that doesn't live in Indiana. I was still super excited about it.

So a few days ago, Jaime and I went to the temple and to BYU where Emma and I had ourselves a little photo shoot at Provo's most famous landmarks. I tried to include the mountains in both pictures, too, since children in Indiana most likely have never seen a mountain in their lives. I really think Emma had a great time during her stay here in Provo, Utah.

I was wearing my BYU attire that day, not to enhance the photo, but because that was the day BYU was supposed to advance to the Elite 8. Instead, they fell apart in overtime. Boo.

I have now sent Emma along to my friend Rachel who lives in Washington, D.C. Safe travels, little bear!