Scarlet at Six Months

This pup is growing and continuing to give us her love and energy. She wants to be as close to us as possible, and sometimes that means in our lap or even on TOP of us! Jenna was doing homework one day when Scarlet found her appealing, and the only way to get close to her (her lap was occupied by the computer) was to climb on top of her. She loves Kelly the mostest because he plays and rough-houses with her. She just climbs right up in his lap. Scarlet is a little different than Sariah in this way. Sariah wanted to be near us, but she was content with putting her body next to a leg or a foot. She didn't climb on the couch ever. She loved her bed and would cozy up there when we were all in the living room. Scarlet wants to be in our laps, will climb right up on the couch and isn't interested in a dog bed at all. The only place she is comfortable is in a lap, right next to us on the couch, or on the couch by herself. She will not go near the dog bed, nor will she curl up on the floor unless she's on a foot.  So crazy, but she loves us.

Jenna's Month

A large part of Jenna's month has been homework and volleyball. She has been inspired by her art class from Freshman year and continues to experiment with sketching. She doesn't see her talent, but I think it's amazing. As for volleyball, we are sticking with the mindset of being grateful she is on Varsity. She isn't getting the playtime she started out with. In fact this month, she had people come to watch her play, and two of the three times they came, she didn't play.  At all.  We're not sure why except that maybe the coach is getting pressure from the other parents or she's trying to give the older girls some court time. We can't ask. We just have to be patient. Jenna feels like it's a reflection on her which we continually reassure her that it's not. Sometimes you just don't know. She is having great practices setting and hitting. The iron of the month was that near the end when we played Los Al, Jenna was a starter for three of the four games in the match.  She went from not playing to starting. We are not sure why, but she is grateful for the court time when she can get it. It's all good experience in the end, and she is keeping a positive attitude. She really likes the girls on her team, and she loves working out with them.  We'll take that.

College Girl Experiences

Heather is still experiencing weather for the first time. It snowed on her on the way home from church the week it turned cold (pic 9/19/17).  Snow in September??? Ludicrous, right? In other news, Heather's immediate roommate is still a bit of a mystery and gone a lot. The girls in the room next to her are also gone a lot. But the sisters, Madeline and Ozma, who share the first bedroom clicked with Heather right away over cosplay and conventions. Their dad is an illustrator and attends many conventions. The girls were going to Salt Lake Comic Con and invited Heather to go with them and stay in their SLC home over the weekend. Heather bought a shuttle pass and Comic Con badge for Saturday 9/23/17. What a blessing to find fun friends so fast! They had a great weekend. Heather already had a cosplay outfit with her, and she ordered a broom to complete the ensemble. My heart is happy that she has found sweet girls in her apartment that make each day more fun.

Melissa Turns 50

Today I celebrated my 50th birthday. Years from now I'll probably read this and think I was so young "back then." Right now, it doesn't even sound like the right age. It sounds too old! Today happened to be Tammy's annual girls' day, and she really wanted me to come. She invited my girlfriends to join her girlfriends so she could do something special for me. She had organized a present, with Shelly's help, and had gathered charms from many of my family and friends to put on a bracelet. Each charm had special meaning. I was overwhelmed at the kindness from my family and friends, and at the meaning behind the charms. No one duplicated, and all were perfectly chosen. Tammy was so amazing to do that for me.  We hung out at her party for a bit and then returned home where Kelly was making me a five star dinner. Instead of going out, and because the weather was perfect, we set up our dining room table on the back patio with our patio lights for ambiance.  Jenna created menus for us with choices on them, and then took our orders. I was blown away by her creativity and how fast she put this together! We had mushroom and chicken tortellini with garlic potatoes and asparagus. There were salads and limeade spritzers and a scrumptious Bundt Cake for dessert (thanks to Beth and Kevin).  It was a perfect night out with my closest girlfriends, and I couldn't have asked for a better group to hang out with. What a wonderful husband and cute daughter I have too! It was truly a special celebration.

First Week In Rexburg

Heather called me on her first day of class to let me know she was eating under the willows. I loved knowing exactly where she was because I had seen it and walked the area. It is such a beautiful place for a break, and she had packed a lunch and was relaxing waiting for her next class.  How lucky is she? Unfortunately, within a few days time, Rexburg weather took a little turn, and Heather was quite chilly.  Jenna had given her a cashmere scarf for a graduation present, and Heather was using it! The wind is chilly and the temperature dropped almost 30 degrees in the day time. I spent some time on-line this week ordering warm sweaters and under layers as well as other things she might need to stay warm. We need to get this kid outfitted for some chilly weather!

After College Drop Off

I made the long trip home on Sunday. Some tears of love flowed as I said good-bye last night, but I was surprised at the joy and peace I felt as I drove away.  The word "joy" to me is happiness with a spiritual depth, and the peace I felt was definitely from a Divine source.  These were wonderful feelings to have as I left my cute girl.  We got her all set up, and she's in good hands...good friends already there, the opportunity to meet new friends, a beautiful campus and people who really care about making this a great experience for our young people.  She couldn't have landed in a better place. We bought a plaque in the bookstore with a quote from Joshua 1:9 on it. I love this, and it will be a great scripture for her to reflect on continually as she does new and hard things.  Before I went to bed, I looked at the "Find My iPhone" app on my phone. Our family iPhone map looks different now. But again, knowing she is in a good place warms my heart instead of making me too sad.  Exciting adventures await.

Orientation Day and Good-byes

After spending the night with the Holbrooks at their auntie's house (which saved us hotel money and was very appreciated), we headed over to orientation day.  We checked Heather in, got her I-card and textbooks, and then had lunch in the Crossroads before breaking off.  The students met in their assigned groups, and the parents went to pay tuition as well as attend a special introduction meeting. Later on, we met back with our students to hear a brief presentation by President and Sister Eyring. After all of the official stuff was done, Heather wanted to walk the campus and see where her classes were. We walked the entire campus from class to class and then explored the grounds. There is a lovely woodsy area near the Hinckley Building where horticultural/architectural students have designed vignette's over the years to create a beautiful, peaceful horticultural area. We took a TON of pictures, but I just posted a few high lights here.  We eventually had to head to Idaho Falls to do some winter shoe purchasing when we heard that it often starts snowing in winter.  We had dinner at Cafe Rio (yes, it is really good although the lines are long), and then purchased hiking boots and snow boots for Heather.

As tomorrow is student only orientation, it was time for me to say good-bye.  We drove back to Rexburg and took Heather's purchases up to her room. She walked me back down to the car, and the tears started for both of us. I love this girl so much and will miss her so much. But she is in such good hands, in a safe and beautiful place.  I sat in the car for a few minutes mapping out my drive to Lehi when I got a text that she needed some more love. We spent some more time reassuring and hugging, and then we called home for a prayer with Dad. That helped a lot. She was stronger then, and I had to get on the road. I arrived in Lehi after a hairy four hours on the road where I think I started to fall a sleep with my eyes open, and I was so grateful to Shelly's mom for having a couch for me to sleep on.  I was so grateful to make it there in one piece and to have had so many days with Heather as we got her all set. She is going to do an amazing job at school.

Jenna - VB Game

Jenna had a second volleyball game while we were gone. It looks like her coach will use her as a hitter instead of a setter.  There is a senior setter who automatically gets to play (even if Jenna is a better setter), and a girl Jenna's age who set on varsity last year and is the primary setter. Jenna had a lot of experience hitting this past club year which is coming in handy. She especially loves the left side and can swing away with confidence. It's a bummer that she can't set, but it is great to see how she helps her team as a hitter.

College or Bust Day 3 - Move In Day!

Move in day! Got Heather checked in to The Ivy and picked up her key and shuttle pass. Then it was on to moving everything up to the apartment. I had to take some pictures of the decor, especially the, "You Are My Sunshine Quote." Too busy to be emotional, but I felt it coming. We got everything up the four flights of stairs pretty quickly especially after finding Jessie Johnson right away. She totally helped and made it go faster. Plus Julie Carr's tip about bringing a folding wagon was the bomb. Less heavy lifting for sure. It took several hours to get unpacked and make sure everything had a well organized home, but we did it. Being the second person in the apartment left Heather options for kitchen space, refrigerator space, laundry room shelf space, bathroom cupboard space, etc. We did make a run to Walmart for a side table and lamp (there was one in the picture on the website, but it wasn't a standard feature). We had lunch at Panda Express near Walmart too. Just as we finished all the unpacking and got pictures taken of her room and the apartment, we ran into friends from Huntington Beach and decided to go to dinner with them at The Hickory, a phenomenal BBQ place.  Penny and Lizzie came to see Heather's room, and then Heather and I drove out to Shelly's sister, Lara's, house just outside town to spend the night. Setting up Heather's spaces was a long and tiring process, but really fun at the same time. It's so exciting to help your child set up the new place they're going to live. It's hard to be sad when her apartment will be so nice all around. Tomorrow is orientation!