life on the tundra

not a single picture of yesterday. but there isn't really a lot going on. trip prep and planning. eating what needs to be eaten and writing lists and gathering clothes and supplies. busy all day, but not the most fun. after gymnastics I took frankie and addie to buy Delaney's birthday presents. then books, scriptures, prayers and bed. normal, normal.

so I will do two trip days, Wednesday and Thursday. we moved the boy into his apartment on Tuesday, but I did take this pic Wednesday, so there. boys are so very different. he really wanted to take his lame wolf blanket and Maryland flag. looks like a boy room to me.

and midway through unpacking his closet. he didn't want me to help, so I just sat and watched.

little bathroom. he and cade are rooming together this semester. their apartment is 2 stories, 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, with 2 boys to each bedroom.

our college boy!

to lexi's horror, he came prepared for the cold. he's got his carhartt and ski mask and gloves and wool socks. lexi swears no one really dresses like that. I don't see how they couldn't! it's bitter cold!

we dropped the baby boy off with his I-group for an orientation meet-up Wednesday morning. they took a tour and showed them some of the ropes and fed them lunch. after we dropped him off lu and I grabbed some mcdonalds breakfast. all of the roads in Rexburg are covered in snow, it's like they don't plow it, but lexi swears they do. it was crazy! I got pretty used to driving on the frozen tundra though and when my little sentra would get stuck i'd move the wheel back and forth just like Christian taught me. thankfully we had no problems!

one of the roomies brought these giant speakers and of course they have their gaming units set up. this is a terrible picture of the living/dining room, the kitchen is right behind me. this was after Christian had tried to call me for a ride (but i'd missed it) and lexi was sleeping and had missed his other call, so he had to walk home through the tundra. he wasn't super thrilled, but he made it!

after that we loaded up and headed down to Idaho falls to finish out our apartment shopping and hit winco. target is fun for all ages.

we grabbed the last few things we needed, then checked marshalls, and then on to winco for food. it's funny shopping with a kid for their first ever grocery shopping on their own experience. I kept asking, what do you plan to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, what will you make with these ingredients? it will be a learning experience for sure!

when one would look at me the other would look away. it's like taking pictures of the little girls!

meanwhile back in the smc, addie and frankie went to Danica's birthday party. super fun. and because it was a last minute party she didn't mind that we bought her gift a week later when momma got back.

after a loud night sleeping in lexi's room, I decided to grab a hotel and have a slumber party wedneday night. one last night with the baby boy! the kids enjoyed the pool and I enjoyed organizing my traveling stuff. 4 nights, 4 different places to stay made for some disorganization.

cade left after the pool party and we had a nice little slumber party, even though the boys forgot the games. I enjoyed a quiet hotel breakfast and brought the kids waffles, cause i'm nice like that. we woke up to frigid temperatures on the tundra. I don't believe I've ever experienced temperatures like these.

chris scraped the car for me every morning, I raised him to be a gentleman and thankfully it worked. he brought the car around and heated it up before lex and I came out. you guys, there was frost on the inside of the windshield. inside. it was so crazy.

lexi took us to see the apartments she and cade will be moving into after they get married, very cute, and chris made his first Rexburg garage sale buy, this cute little tv. not necessary, but for $30, he was happy. and he's already a big fan of Rexburg garage sale, I can assure you.

Thursday was my last day in Rexburg and the feels were starting to get me. we went to café rio for lunch and then waited for lexi to get out of class so we could head to slc. chris and I visited with some of his roomies while we waited. they are all a little older, returned missionaries (yay!) and very nice. c's fav also wants to be a dentist and as they talked the similarities were pretty funny! he (and I) liked all of them, even the nighttime guitar player right above his room.

we took a few pictures before we headed on our way. love these two crazies.

and of course we had to get cade too. we had a fun few days together. I am so happy the kids are together and at byu. it's where I wanted them to go and I am so proud of them.

and then it was time to say goodbye to my baby boy. I remember an older and wiser mom once telling me that the kindergarten goodbye was nothing compared to the college goodbye. both are hard for sure. I hugged him and cried. it just feels so weird to have him gone, both of them. and not to be too dramatic, but things will never be the same. it's definitely bitter sweet. but like I did with lexi, I just kept telling myself that this is what we want him to do. we definitely don't want him to stay home forever.

thankfully the roads were clear and good. driving through snowy tundra was nerve wracking and I definitely white knuckled my way through the week. we took it slow and were super careful and I am so thankful we were safe. the girls flights were way delayed, so we got to the hotel and unpacked and relaxed, which was nice after a stressful drive and a busy few days. finally their flight arrived around midnight. they were starving so we found an all night taco bell and let the feast begin! and onto the girls trip!