Taking the boys to BYU

August 25, Tuesday

I'm grateful we've been able to be on this trip to bring the boys up to Utah! We all had a prayer with Jonny and then he headed to school. Dad got Bosa donuts for us. We had another prayer for safety at Andrew's request. We wanted to leave at 8 AM but it was 9 AM by the time we pulled out of the driveway. We got gas at Safeway and got on the road. I rode with Andrew and Michael rode with Daniel. I thought we might switch it around a little bit but it just made more sense to keep it how it was. I've had all summer with Daniel and not much time with Andrew so I'm glad we got to ride together. Andrew and I made a stop at a rest area an hour south of Flagstaff. He drove the first part and then I drove from the rest stop to the pizza restaurant called Fratelli's Pizza in Flagstaff to meet his friend Ava. Her boyfriend was there, too. They had already ordered their pizza so we got a big meat pizza and I got a slice of cheese and we enjoyed our food. Andrew got some time to talk to Ava so that was really nice. 

Michael and Daniel left a few minutes before we did. Andrew drove again. They got gas so we ended up passing them. We stopped in Page for gas and I took over the driving. We drove all the way to Panguitch and stopped at our regular Silver Eagle gas station and had Subway. Then Andrew took over the driving the rest of the way.

 

August 26, Wednesday

I'm so grateful that everything worked out exactly how I hoped it would today! We left the hotel a little after 8:30 AM and made it to King Henry about 10 minutes before check-in started at 9 AM. There was one family in front of us. We had done all of the pre-check-in assignments and so it was very smooth. Shortly after 9 AM, the line got very long so I was glad that we got there a little bit early. Everything worked out perfectly. The only issue we had is that the app that's supposed to open the door to the apartment wasn't working right for either Daniel or Andrew so they both got a physical key and they'll have to turn it back in next week. They really don't want to do that and would prefer a physical key but that's how it has to be. They were the first ones in the apartment. 

I started working on the damage form while Michael and the boys brought everything in and they were done in a few minutes. Daniel was on a mission. He wanted to get completely unpacked and settled in immediately. Once he got everything unpacked, he was almost giddy talking about how excited he was to decorate his room with his posters. When he was done, he came out and told us to come look. He did a really good job. 

Andrew still has quite a bit to do. I helped them the best I could. Daniel kept asking if I could help with things and I just did whatever he told me. We got a Walmart order with all of their household goods like laundry detergent and deodorant and toothpaste. They got all that put away and then Daniel finished up in his room. We decided we may as well go grab some lunch and go to Walmart and get the groceries before it got too crowded there. Nathaniel texted and asked if we could take him to the law library so we picked him up, took him to lunch at Panda with us, dropped him off at the law library, and went to Walmart. The boys didn't need much help from us as far as getting groceries. It wasn't as busy as we thought it would be at Walmart so that was nice. Next, we headed over to campus. We were going to go straight to King Henry to put away the food and then Andrew was talking about going to the Smith Fieldhouse to see if he could work out there and Daniel mentioned that all he needs is his ID card and they give him a bracelet and he can use it. I told Andrew we should stop at the Wilk to do that. I told Michael if there was no line they could just wait for us and we would be quick and that's exactly what happened. There was no line at all. We came out and waited for them to come pick us up and Nathaniel walked over to us. Apparently, he had seen me on Find My and thought we were there to pick him up but it worked out fine. He rode over to King Henry with us and helped us bring in the groceries. One of their roommates was there with his family. They were just dropping some things off and going on a vacation and then they would be back next week. The boys got everything put away and then we took Nathaniel over to his house. Daniel stayed at the apartment but Andrew came with us. Charlie was up so we went in and played with him for a little bit. Charlie smiled so big when we came in. He never would come over to me and give me a hug but he went over to Michael a couple of times. We had fun relaxing while he played. 

Then they wanted to get him ready to go to dinner at Olive Garden so we picked up Daniel and met them over there. We had a nice dinner together. 

We asked Nathaniel and Audrey if they wanted to just go home and put him to bed or hang out and they thought they better just put him to bed and we thought that sounded like a good idea. Daniel wanted to play Catan so we went over to their apartment. Surprisingly, Michael won! Usually, Daniel kicks our butts. Before we played the game, we read scriptures and had a prayer together. I encouraged the boys to read Come Follow Me on their own from now on since I didn't know if we would get another chance while we're here. After the game, we said goodbye to the boys and headed out. Andrew headed over to the Smith Fieldhouse. We came back to the hotel and had some time to relax.

 

August 27, Thursday

We've had a wonderful day and got to spend a lot of time with Charlie! Michael and I picked up the boys at King Henry and went over to Nathaniel and Audrey's house to get Charlie. I called Nathaniel on the way and asked if he thought it was a good idea to just put Charlie in the car and have us take him from there so he didn't get upset watching Nathaniel walk away and that's exactly what we did and it worked perfectly. He didn't even make a peep. We parked in the visitors lot and went into the Wilk. The only bummer was that the elevator we needed wasn't working. We went up to the textbook floor and got all the textbooks that Andrew and Daniel needed. 

Then it was harder to go back down because the elevator was broken but Daniel knew a different elevator go to so that was great. We went to the bookstore and bought game day tees for everyone and also some chocolate covered cinnamon gummy bears. Andrew was so excited to get them, too! Then the boys went back to their apartment and Michael and I took Charlie home for his nap. 

While he slept, I was able to get some tasks done on my phone and so did Michael. Nathaniel and Audrey left early for the ultrasound appointment because they were going to go to the store first so that worked out great because I had told Nathaniel it would be best if they were gone when Charlie woke up and it worked perfectly. I think it was about 1:30 PM when he woke up from his nap. We took him to the bathroom and then I fed him a ton of Greek yogurt and Michael gave him some Cheerios. It was so cute because he kept wanting to go back into his highchair and we didn't really know why. I even tried making him oatmeal and he refused that but he would drink his milk when we gave it to him and he ate some more Cheerios but we couldn't find his crackers. 

Michael spent a lot of time playing blocks with him and so did I. He's more willing to go to Michael even when Nathaniel and Audrey are around than to me but he always gives me the biggest, sweetest smiles. 

Andrew went to explore the Smith Fieldhouse and figure out how he can use it to work out. He wanted to run but the track team was there using the track so he went to the fitness center at King Henry and he said that was OK. He ended up coming over to Nathaniel and Audrey's. Daniel was happy at his apartment by himself. They met another roommate, Mason, but he's not moving in until next week. So Andrew came over and we hung out for a few minutes and then we headed over to Sam's Club to meet Daniel there to get his TV. We decided to go to Chuck A Rama for dinner. So we headed to Sam's Club to get the TV and then went to dinner and Nathaniel and Audrey arrived right when we did. We enjoyed our dinner together and then they took Charlie home. We got all our stuff organized in the cars and Andrew and Daniel took the TV back to their apartment and then they went to the movies with Nathaniel. They all watched The Fast and the Furious. Michael and I came back to the hotel and we've just been chilling and it's been fantastic.

 

August 28, Friday

We've had a wonderful day with the kids! Michael and I drove over to Andrew and Daniel's apartment and parked Andrew's car and we all got in Daniel's car and he dropped us off at the Marriott Center. There's a convenient place at the top of the stairs when you go past the Harmon building and that's where he dropped us off and picked us up. We said goodbye to Andrew and he went off to join his orientation group and Michael and I went into the Marriott Center to go around the parent fair. 

We collected a bunch of flyers that we thought would be helpful for the boys. We stood in line to get a mini cougar tail but they only had chocolate ones left. Then we went in and watched the Cougar rally. It was pretty cool because Andrew got a really good seat. He was in the front row all the way to the corner by the stairs. 

I never did get to see him on the big screen, though. It was pretty much the same show as last year but it was still fun. They were done at 10:40 AM and the convocation didn't start until 11 AM. Nathaniel had texted us saying that Charlie had slept in until 9:20 AM and we might be able to go to an earlier lunch because he might not want a nap at 11 AM like normal. So we decided to leave and Daniel came to pick us up and then as soon as we got to the car, Nathaniel said Charlie actually did go down for a nap so we ended up going to Daniel's apartment with him to hang out until they were ready. We met another one of their roommates named Owen and his mom. They were getting him moved in and then he wasn't going to fully move in until next week. We chatted with them for a bit and Michael and I got some tasks done on our phones. Then as we were about to leave to meet Nathaniel, Audrey, and Charlie at Molly's, we met another roommate named Noah who is going to be in the bedroom next to Andrew. He was there with his friend and chatted with Daniel for a few minutes and then we went to Molly's. There was a pretty long line but it wasn't too slow and we all enjoyed our nice lunch. I got the brisket, mashed potatoes, and potato and corn chowder and two cookies. I shared half of my cookies with Michael and Daniel. Everything was delicious and I was so full!

After that, we picked up Andrew on campus and headed over to Nathaniel and Audrey's house. About an hour before they needed to leave for the movie, I realized there was a couple more things I wanted to do at Andrew's apartment so Daniel drove us over there and dropped us off. I helped Andrew with a couple things and the King Henry lady named Suze had to bring a mail key to their apartment because they never got one. When she brought it, I knew for sure they didn't receive one because we were the first ones in the apartment and we never saw it anywhere and there's no hook anywhere or anything. Usually, they have a hook on the wall behind the door but it wasn't there. The mail key has a huge keychain thing on it that's teal and says apartment 104 and it's very clear what it is. Nathaniel, Audrey, and Daniel all went to the movies. 

Michael was there to watch Charlie when they left and then Andrew and I came over so I could help with Charlie. 

Andrew hung out with us for a bit and then we had to say our goodbyes to him. He was going to meet some friends to go to the We Are the Y activity tonight at the stadium. He gave each of us a long hug goodbye. I've started the habit of not letting go before the kids do and he hugged me for a long time. We played with Charlie and fed him some Greek yogurt and had fun with him while they were at the movies. Once the kids got home from the movie, we chatted for a bit and had a prayer together and then Daniel drove us to the hotel. We saw Nathaniel's landlady on the driveway with a broom. As we went around the corner, I realized she was going to sweep all the pine needles by herself. She was even wearing church clothes and later told me she had just been to the temple. So, I told Daniel to stop and we got out to help her. I think we spent a good 20 minutes with her sweeping up her driveway and she was very grateful. Then Daniel took us to the hotel. We went to Ruby River Steakhouse and had a nice quiet meal together and then got ready for bed.

Dad and Jonny had fun at Osaka tonight!

August 29, Saturday

It has felt like a very long day and I'm grateful to be home. We left the hotel right at 6:30 AM and Michael ordered the Uber and we got to the airport and to our gate in plenty of time for our 8 AM flight. Dad picked us right up at the airport and took us home. We came home and I did some organizing and we got the mail and things like that. Everything was nice and clean when we got home so I really appreciated that. I took a good nap. Later, we all played Phase 10. We ordered Asian City for dinner. We enjoyed our food and Michael and Dad sat on the couch and watched some football. Dad went to bed early and we had a prayer with him. Jonny had gone to the gym but got to say goodbye to Papa tonight. It's been a great day.