BYU Bound

I took my Chelsea down to Utah on Thursday.  We had something special planned.

A trip to the happiest place on earth... at least in Utah County:)

Doesn't she look happy?  

We arrived at our hotel late Thursday evening.  We stayed at the La Quinta in Orem... the one I discovered is too close to UVU.  I've stayed at a La Quinta in California before. It was nice enough, and I didn't want to spend any more than $100 for this one night.  I should have known better.  

Here are a couple of complaints.  Enter lobby.  Weird college age dude trying to get attention.  Exit elevator.  3rd floor hallway smelled like beans.  As in refried beans.  Was someone actually cooking beans in their room?  Enter room.  No bean smell but popcorn ceiling.  A big turn-off.  Sit down on bed and glance down at carpet.  A giant toenail clipping staring up at me.  SICK.  Did the maid not vacuum?  After going to bed, about to finally fall asleep, I discovered the severe lack of sound proofing in the building.  Doors slamming.  Toilets flushing.  People laughing.  High heel shoes walking on wood floor.  Someone getting a plunger from hotel staff.  More people laughing.  This carried on as I was in and out of light sleep until 1:00 am.  6 am came.  Someone took a shower and flushed the toilet.  Deep sleep was no longer mine.  

Chelsea wasn't as bothered by all of this as I was.  I decided, as I lay in bed, that we would not be partaking of the free breakfast.  I had had it with this hotel.  The manager is about to get an email from me this evening.  Mostly, it's the toenail that disturbs me the most.  

So here is where we went on Friday morning.  A place where she will "enter to learn" and then "go forth to serve."  A place where she will be one among 34,000 students.

We snapped this picture when nobody was looking.  She didn't want anybody to know she was a visitor.

Chelsea with Brigham

We headed over to the beautiful Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center where we met up with the handsome C.J. for Chelsea's prospective student tour.  We rode in a little golf cart thingy around the campus for about an hour.  He told her about all of the various buildings and took her into a couple of them.  She got to see a very large chemistry class in session.  I think she might have been a bit intimidated but excited at the same time.

She wasn't expecting to receive her acceptance letter in the mail until February 28.  But when we got home on Saturday, she found that she had been sent an email on Friday saying that SHE'S IN!!  She had applied to begin starting summer term, so she'll be leaving us mid-June.  I'm happy, but oh, so sad at the same time.

Other highlights of our mommy/daughter trip:  chocolate chip bagel with honey almond cream cheese, shopping at IKEA and H&M in Salt Lake, watching an edited version of The King's Speech with Grandma and Grandpa Wright, and giggling over Great Grandma Fillmore's swear words.  It was a short trip, but I loved every minute of being with my girl.