Our last meal all together.
- The Farewell
The morning we flew out, I obviously had to squeeze in a quick photo shoot. Lol. Isaac, in particular, was heartbroken to say goodbye and wanted to get a million pictures with Grace. After humoring him with plenty of poses, I got in the rest of the shots I wanted and then we hit the road. In a manner of speaking. Hahaha. Grace and I headed to the airport to fly out to Utah, while Scott started the long drive out there with Percy (the name Grace has given to our third car). We were so very grateful that my mom was willing and able to come and stay with the rest of the kids so Scott and I could take Grace out to school!
Cutie Patooties
He's seriously loving this pose. Hahaha.
My little lambs 😍😍😍😍😍
We actually crossed paths with my mom at the airport. She snapped this quick picture of us before heading out and taking our van home with her.
- Getting Set Up
Grace and I obviously arrived in Utah before Scott did, and one of the first things we did once we got on campus was figure out where all her classes were. Neither one of us were very familiar with the campus, so it was kind of fun to check everything out. Grace loves to humor me, so she posed for lots of pictures for me as we walked all around.
This hall of flags prompted some kind of comment from her about the Race Around the World game that she and Jane had been playing all summer. Lol.
This is one of my personal faves. Hahaha.
After a major Target run, we stocked Grace up on everything she needed for her apartment.
Scott arrived the next day and he joined us for another gander at the school, where Grace picked up her student ID, and then helped us to try and figure out the bus situation for Grace to ride to school and back each day. To be honest, I don't think we helped or clarified very much, but thankfully, her cousin Hannah was game to go for a ride along with her once Scott and I had left.
- Vibing with the fam
The beauty of Grace going out to school in Utah is that we have tons of family in the area. Between cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, Grace has a much bigger built-in network than I did when I headed off to college. Hahaha. While Scott and I were still in town, we made sure to get in lots of family fun time before we had to go back home.
Grace's apartment bedroom
Chilling with her cousins
Grace sent me these rainbow pics from when she was out walking the dog with Hannah.
Scott's mom is always so awesome at hosting and feeding a crowd! We enjoyed a lovely family dinner that Sunday with both my side of the family and Scott's. It was a delight.
- On Her Own
All good things must come to an end, however, and before we knew it, it was time for us to say farewell to Grace and head back home to the other kids. {insert single tear emoji} Over the past few months we have certainly felt the absence of Grace in her midst. Without Grace's ever-present boredom lingering around us, there has been a lot less oomph to rally everyone together to do anything "fun." It's kind of strange how just one kid being missing can feel like there are a whole lot more gone. As for Grace, this semester has been a bit of a challenge not knowing any of her roommates beforehand or anyone else really at UVU, but she's persevering and I'm proud of her. It certainly helps that she can hang out with her cousins and their friends on the weekend, but I'm really hoping that she'll make some strides at settling in over the next couple of months.
Grace and Hannah doing a test run of her supposed bus route on her first day of school.
Grace so kindly sent me a "First Day of School" pic for the record books. Hahaha.
Grace with her roommate and her roommate's friend.
And there you have it! Another one of my baby birds has flown the coop. 😭 (And with 3 posts under my belt for the day, I think I'm going to stop while I'm still ahead. Lol.)
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