October at College

Clearly some of the most sensational college experience stories thus far have revolved around weather simply because we Californians don't have weather.  Well we do, but it's normally beautiful or at least mild.  Heather has Instagrammed a couple of morning pictures from her apartment which I have included here.  I can't believe it's snowing in October! She surprises me with a cute photo now and then like the one with her soda. And I send her photos of funny things like this sweatshirt. Allison Boyack had a Stranger Things Season 2 premiere party, and Heather was invited. What a fun thing to do for a ST fan! I decided to make Halloween cards to send to her and the HB church girls which was fun. I don't know if the girls liked them, but it was fun to send them. Heather put together a casual costume that she could wear to school during the day from a Marvel comic movie called Donnie Darko.  She was excited about it. Heather and her two friends have really been in to the show "Riverdale," and they decided to dress up as Josie and The Pussy Cats for Halloween night.  They didn't go to any parties, but they did go to Soda Vine and hang out for a bit in their costumes. Heather isn't much for the social gatherings because she doesn't know anyone, and many of the gatherings are very crowded. She's having some claustrophobic symptoms and is a little panicky. But she is still finding some fun here and there. She bought some decorations for Halloween to put with the ones we bought when we first got to Utah. I love that she loves to dress up and to decorate like her momma does.

Weather Woes

While our daughter freezes in Idaho, we continue to have weather of our own going on in CA. It's normally not THIS hot in October, but boy are we getting it. The temperatures make for beautiful beach vistas like these I snapped from the top of Superior Ave in Newport Beach. I had two doctors appointments this month, and the view was magnificent both days.  Let's turn down the heat already! Someday we're really going to need to put in air conditioning.

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.

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!