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.

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!

College or Bust Day 2

After a prayer with the Holbrook/Stagg clan, we were back on the road. We did make a stop in Lehi before heading out to visit our dear friend, Elise.  We also explored a fun antique store in Lehi where a cat followed Heather around the store. We had a yummy burger at Smashburger and then headed north. The drive was about 4.5 hours. We checked into our hotel and drove around Rexburg for while before having dinner at the Applebee's next to our hotel and turning in for the night. Heather's apartment is right next to the temple in Rexburg. The area isn't populated for very far before the fields start.  Unfortunately, due to the massive amount of fires that have been burning, the air quality wasn't good. But we still got a good feel for the town.

College or Bust!

 Here we go! It's college or bust day!  I can't believe this day arrived. It seemed so far off in the future, but little by little, the minutes ticked by and we were packed and ready to go. We used every inch of space and prayed we'd remembered everything. There is a Walmart in Rexburg so, we weren't too worried.  We stopped in Vegas for gas and found some yummy tacos and a free drink, stopped once in Fillmore to get gas (Grandma Pete was born and raised there), and we rolled into Lehi in the evening. We stayed with Shelley at her mom's place.  Their family had come up to be there for Hannah's baby's blessing and to do the trip to Idaho together. We were grateful to arrive in safety, to have good friends welcome us, and to be able to share our experience with friends doing the same thing.