Before and After

Benj on the morning of Thursday, 9/30.

And then, a few hours later.

Here we go again! :)

Going to BYU Idaho

The saddest, most exciting thing of September was taking Caitlin up to BYU Idaho. She was so ready and so excited to go! It was a fantastic trip! And sad, too, because another child is off on her own. It doesn't get any easier with the "next one." Believe me.

We flew to Salt Lake with friends Miriam and her daughter Pamela (and flight attendant friend, Veronica!). We were heading to BYUI together! We stayed a couple of days in Utah and visited grandma and aunts and uncles and cousins. We drove down to Provo and spent a day with Erin. I finally got to see where this daughter lives! She has a cute apartment and great roommates! We spent time with friends from Houston. We ate dinner at The Brick Oven and laughed for 2 hours while attending Divine Comedy. It was an awesome fun day!

Erin, Shaun, Old-Spice Guy, Caitlin, Pamela, Megan

We also spent a day with my aunt and picked her brain for remembrances of growing up with my dad and what he was like and what stories she remembers. We loved talking and we all loved the visit and the lunch and the chocolate cake. I borrowed some pictures and got copies made and recorded some of the stories to listen to later and share with my siblings. It was a great day!

We hit the road to Idaho on Sunday afternoon, check in was 8 am on the morning of Labor Day. And then there we were. At the campus. At the dorms. Setting up the room, hooking up the printer, putting on the new bedding, hanging up clothes, finding places for everything, grocery shopping, WalMart shopping, picking up books from the bookstore, ID cards, orientation, adding a class, dropping another, running into friends, and having a great time!

Getting it all set up.

So, day 2 in Idaho, we decided to take a break from the campus and we headed up to Yellowstone. It's only 1 1/2 hours away and well worth the drive. We went with our friends from Houston and also another friend from Houston that we picked up along the way (actually we picked her up from Cait's dorm since she almost lives there).

Caitlin, Pamela, Laura

Yellowstone is such an amazing place! Totally amazing and beautiful, especially in September. I have a special fondness for that place since it is where Chris and I honeymooned exactly 23 years earlier. Yes, we spent our anniversary 3000 miles apart. Life. I really missed him and texted him a photo of Old Faithful. Sigh.

We got to Old Faithful 10 minutes before it blew. Perfect timing!

But, back to Yellowstone. We enjoyed lunch by the Madison River. It was so peaceful--we just took our time and admired nature. We saw lots of elk, a few buffalo, lots of hot pots, bubbling mud, and a suicidal mouse. My passengers were excited about everything they saw and excited that they were in 3 states in one day--Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming! Perfect day trip!

Madison River

Miriam, Pamela, Laura, Caitlin enjoying deli sandwiches, Chips Ahoys, chips, and a pear.

Big Boy right by the side of the road. Caitlin wanted to get out of the car and just touch him so badly!

Some bubbling pots. Some were stinky and some were pretty awesome.

The next day was a Wednesday and classes started on Thursday. I went to Cait's dorm Wednesday morning and we made pancakes for breakfast and cut up some of Aunt Marca's peaches. Yum! Now that's how you get to be friends with your roommates really fast. Fix them a breakfast like that on the first morning and they'll love you forever. We worked on her room for a little bit longer and then we said our goodbyes. It was time for me to go. She was ready to do her thing and I was feeling like I was in the way. Goodbye my Caitlin. Study hard. See you at Christmas.

So, anyway, that is the story of taking Caitlin to Idaho. And now I'm home and there's only 5 places to set for dinner and not as much laundry to do. And nobody here laughs so hard that their eyes leak and they have to run to the bathroom. Miss that girl.