It's been an exciting year for Rachel. All State Jazz band, graduation, and all that goes with that. She continued working at her library job over the summer where she could work a maximum of 19 hours, so she had a decent amount of down time, and a relaxing summer. She used some of that time to prep for college and get her mission papers ready to submit. We also had a mother/daughter temple prep class that we did once a week. She didn't want to invite a ton of people when she got her endowment, but Grandma Campbell came down from Utah, and Grandma and Grandpa Knight came, too (though we missed a picture with them because she had to be at the temple early, and they had to stay afterwards for their regular temple shift).
We're so grateful that she has grown to be a lovely adult young woman who loves the Lord and is committed to follow Him.
As Rachel started packing for college our house seemed to explode into one big mess. I snapped a picture of the familiar mess of Rachel's junk spot by the front door where she always drops her keys, trash, purse, and whatever else, so when it stays clean for the next 4 months I can have it to look back on. ;)
Rachel submitted her mission papers on August 9th, which I thought meant she'd get her mission call as soon as I left Provo after dropping her off, but surprisingly it was just one week later on the 17th that she texted me from work saying that her mission call had come in! She was nice enough to wait until I got back from my meeting, but didn't wait until Ryan and Annie got back from marching band, so I sent her to pick them up so they could hear the news straight from her.
Grandma and Grandpa Knight came over and after it took forever for it to load she finally read the news: She's going to the New York Syracuse mission, starting the MTC on February 3! She's excited to be able to wear her sweaters, and has since found out that Syracuse is often the snowiest city in the country. It's also apparently pretty humid in the summer. She's looking forward to it and is glad to have the waiting for the call done.
The last Saturday Rachel was here, we planned for one last big family outing, heading to the temple together (Rachel and I doing initiatories while the others did baptisms), then going to dinner at Pei Wei before heading home to watch a movie together. I'm so glad the kids all get along so well and are good friends.
With marching band practice Monday night, we moved FHE to Tuesday and went to Jeremiah's Italian Ice for the last FHE with Rachel until December.
Wednesday night was rough for Annie and Rachel. They are good buddies and will miss each other lots. It was rough for me to see them crying, sad that they're going to be missing each other, too. Annie ended up sleeping in Rachel's room that night. Rachel woke up the next morning to say goodbye when they left for seminary. It was sad, but not quite as hard as the night before. I missed the picture of Rachel and Ryan hugging, but they had a good long hug, too. The sibling good-byes were definitely the hardest. It had me thinking about how things will never be the same again at home. Rachel will return only temporarily from here on out.
Megan was a little blindsided by how hard it was to say goodbye to Rachel. With Rachel tearing up, it was contagious and made Megan cry, too. It was a hard way to start the school day, and hard to stop crying, so I took Megan in to Sister Jensen in the copy room to hang out until she could pull herself together. I'm so grateful she had someone she trusted that could help her out.
I went home from dropping off Megan, loaded up the last of Rachel's stuff, and we headed to the Reimanns. We had gone over the day before to get most of the stuff packed, but both girls had more stuff to add that morning. We somehow managed to fit all the extra stuff. Good thing we had side mirrors, because the rear view mirror was completely blocked!
The drive was nice and easy. It was nice to have Jill to talk to, and the first day we went only to St. George. Rachel drove through Vegas and we were glad to make it through there before rush hour hit.
We left early enough that we realized we could have time to do sealings that night instead of the following morning like we had planned, though we didn't have as much time as we thought because we forgot about the time change.
It was cool seeing the St George temple. It's huge and beautiful. After sealings we grabbed some food at Chick Fil-A, then headed to some in-laws of Jill's to stay over night.
The next morning (Friday) we continued to Provo. After we dropped off Jill and Lydia with Jill's sister, we stopped in to visit Von and Patty, then headed to DI to see what treasures we could find. Rachel couldn't move in until Saturday evening at 6pm, so I went and visited my cousin, Carrie, then we went shopping at Walmart for last minute needs and groceries for Rachel. By that time it was time for her to check in, so we headed to BYU! After getting her key, we started unloading the car, and about halfway through, Jill and Lydia got there, and helped us finish up. They made decent progress unpacking and moving in that evening.
We had an enforced break at 8:30 that night to go to ice cream and meet Cari's boyfriend. We brought Jill and Lydia along, and it was a party. Cari's man is a good one. We're all crossing our fingers for them.
After ice cream, Jill took Lydia to get groceries and I took Rachel back to her dorm, where we hung out for a while unpacking. Rachel and Lydia went with their RA and another girl in their dorm to church the next morning, and when I came back over after church she was pretty well settled with her wall decor all hung up and everything in its place.
We went to Grandma Campbell's for dinner, then the marching band fireside for new students and their parents. After hanging out for a while longer it was time to say goodbye. Rachel's tears made mine start, too. Knowing she's where she's supposed to be and going to have a great time doesn't mean I won't miss her.
Saying goodbye was rough, but it's been fun hearing about what she's up to and getting her updates. Thankfully she checks in regularly via text and even calls most days. It's weird doing dinner with just 5 of us, and weird not seeing the light on downstairs when we go to bed, but we'll adjust.
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