Well, as some of you may know, Beth was chosen as Student of the Year from our grad program at U of I. However, if you ask her, it was just some academic award. But anyhow, here's some pictures from our visit to Champaign on the weekend of December 13th.  Here's Beth giving her thank you speech for her award. The long strand of paper was from the guy who made a joke about needing to keep his speech short, and then jabbered on for well over 15 minutes.  The joke lost its' appeal after about midway through. Beth, however, did a fantastic job. A short and sweet speech, as it should be. In all seriousness, Beth is very grateful and proud for the award. It's quite an achievement.

Here's Agnes getting her Masters hood. She started in Ben's class, but decided to get her MBA at the same time, delaying her graduation until this year. Now, while this is a Kodak moment in itself, one can't help but notice the apparent "Shakespeare v. Back to School" fight about to break out at the same time. Hark!

At the request of Ben and Beth, the at-hand LIR gang went to Papa Dels for Chicago style pizza. They were not disappointed. For those concerned, do not fear, a Perkins run did take place approximately 7 hours later.

After dinner Agnes was in traditional form, when in the middle of a get-together at Amy and Ed's, out comes the random cake from her van. After a slight mishap (opened upside down), a Polish Pear surprise emerged. A nice treat indeed. As you can see, Agnes sure was pleased.

Ben had hoped for some snow during their 21 hour stay in Champaign, and to everyone's utmost surprise, Champaign did not disappoint. About 1/2 inch fell during their visit. Not too much to mess up any travel plans, but enough to notice. An added bonus to a great day.

Another one of Ben's request while in Champaign was to be in a picture very early in the morning with Chris and his morning skirt. Very fortunate that this worked out as well. Can you believe these two have their Masters? Let this be a lesson to all of you.

A picture of the geographical wonders of Central Illinois, and how they are accentuated in a winter scene. Sit in awe people, this view can be seen everywhere, for hundreds of miles.

A picture taken by Ben while landing in Denver from St. Louis. This is the start of the continental divide, although it doesn't really divide the continent in half. According to the Rockies, the continent is definitely biased towards the east. However, the continental divide does divide Beth and Ben from family and friends. But the love that we have for you all easily stretches over it on a daily basis. We hope to be able to visit again before too long. As always, an open invitation to anyone who would like to come out to crazy SF.