Who Dey?

We got up this morning and parked uptown to get a bagel from Bagel Deli and walk around the academic section of campus. We stopped in the library and got a sense of this section of the campus. We then walked up High Street and back to our car before taking a quick loop around the fraternities and the football stadium and basketball arena on campus. 

We then drove the short drive to Cincinnati and thanks to a wrong turn, went through the heart of Cincinnati which ended up being great to see. After taking a wrong turn after getting gas, we made it to the airport and easily to the gate…… where I realized I left my wallet in the rental car and ran back to the rental car (which was relatively close and my purse hadn’t moved). 

We had plenty of time as there was no lines and no one in the airport thankfully. 

On the drive, I told D-man that I was sad and he asked if it was because he was leaving (which is true), but I was sad because our trip is over. So glad to have this time. 

A Miami Institution 

Entrance to Miami University 

Cincinnati airport 

Love and Honor

We headed out of rainy Lafayette around 8:45 to our final stop on the trip. We drove around Indianapolis and headed south and then took the highway instead of the interstate (D-man’s choice). 

We arrived in Oxford around 11:30 after the 2.5 hour drive. We went on the campus tour before attending the official “Make it Miami” day. The campus really is beautiful and all the buildings have the same architecture (even the parking garages).

After the presentation, we attended the Farmer’s School of Business presentation and had a really nice conversation with the Economics Professor and the Supply Chain Management Professor and then got a tour of the business school. 

We made our way back across campus and toured the Rec center before heading uptown for dinner at Mac and Joe’s (which is not a place I would have gone in had it not been recommended by the professor). We then attended the hockey game and shockingly, saw the RedHawks beat Omaha! It was a fun game and D-man was happy we went.

I then dropped D-man uptown to meet a former Monarch High student to chat about life at Miami. The bar scene was popping uptown! I picked D-man up around midnight and we are watching the USA vs. Canada hockey game. 

They definitely tout the more individual education you will get here at Miami vs. Indiana or Purdue. The courses here are taught by the professors and the classes are going to be much smaller. And, they still have D1 sports (albeit sports are much less important on this campus vs. Indiana and Purdue). 

Love and Honor is the phrase they use here at Miami University. May D-Man love wherever he goes and honor his heart in his choice. 

Miami 

The quad on the residential side 

Farmer’s School of Business 

 

Pool in the Rec center 

Mac and Joe’s for dinner 

High Street (bars uptown) 

We stopped for a Cooke after dinner as D-man noticed that this chain was in every college town we visited 

Hockey game 

RedHawks win! 

Boiler Up

We left Bloomington around 10:00 after I walked around the town square, grabbed us bagels from a local place and got myself a coffee. We decided to take the road less traveled to get from Bloomington to West Lafayette (we missed a turn and had to back track because we were looking at county seat details online).

We arrived in West Lafayette around noon and headed to the student union and grabbed some food (in their newly renovated food court). It was much colder today and much of our tour was outside as it is a huge campus. We never got a map, so we never did get our bearings, but we learned enough to be dangerous. 

We had an academic tour first, an admissions session and then a campus life tour. There are a LOT of engineering buildings at Purdue and we learned they have locked their tuition for the last 10 years (hence, the lack of scholarships and the discounted price). 

Purdue’s football stadium and basketball arena are much closer to the core of campus and Purdue’s campus seemed more compact (and they had much less open space than Indiana). 

After we wrapped up the tour, we went into a building to try and have D-man take a call for school, but the wifi is not open so we busted it to the hotel. 

After chilling in the hotel a bit, we headed back toward  campus to Chauncey Village for burritos. We drove around campus to take it in some more and got turned around more than once! There really isn’t much of a town in West Lafayette and downtown Lafayette is not super close to campus, but there is a pedestrian bridge connecting the two towns across the river. 

The campus definitely has a different feel than Indiana and D-man really liked it. We chatted at the end of the tour with a young women who’s parents both went to Purdue and she really doesn’t want to go there, but she really liked it. It is certainly a process to take it all in and see where you belong. I am just so glad that D-man has been able to have this experience because being on campus and in town is really the only way to know if it is where you belong. 

Student union 

On the tour and walking down the Engineering Mall 

Bell tower 

Football stadium on our night drive around campus 

  

Future Hoosier?

The first leg of our trip: 

Student Union 

One of two Rec centers (this one in the old field house) 

Student Union interior 

All buildings in limestone

Indiana University (lots of open spaces) 

What a cool looking bookstore! 

The Sample Gates (with Dunn’s Wood in the background) 

City Square 

Kirkwood Ave leading up to campus 

• Arrive at Indianapolis airport around 11:00
• Stay at airport hotel 
• Sleep terribly 
• Get up and on the road around 9:00 
• Drive to Bloomington 
• Listen to welcome presentation 
• Take campus tour
• Find economics department and talk with academic advisor 
• Tour demo dorm and have a nice chat with students showing the dorm
• Attend Luddy Informatics, Computing and Engineering presentation
• Grab lunch at the student union 
• Walk around downtown Bloomington 
• Check into the hotel and relax 
• Walk to town square and up Kirkwood Ave  
• Eat at Lennie’s Brewpub 
• Do homework at hotel 
• Watch Olympics 
• Love spending the day with your son and him being excited about the college experience 

Ships Passing in the Night

Marshall and T-man flew back from their ski trip in Idaho on Tuesday afternoon, and D-man and I crossed paths with them on our way to the Midwest for some college visits. I was so happy to be able to see them for a bit and talk about our trips with each other. 

Random fact - the plane they got off was the plane D-man and I got on. Ha! 

Schweitzer

Marshall and T-man had a great trip to ski at Schweitzer with Claudia. The snow was good, the weather agreed and the travel relatively uneventful. 

They took off on Saturday morning and Claudia was kind enough to pick them up. They got in early enough that they were able to get in a few hours of skiing, including night skiing (a first for T-man). 

They also skied Saturday and Sunday, watched Olympics, introduced Claudia to Wordle and enjoyed the hot tub. I’m so glad they were able to go on this adventure together and a bonus that Schweitzer is on our ski pass this year! 

A Laundry Room

I’ve wanted a laundry room for some time. At our old house, we moved the laundry from the main level to the basement. We don’t really have that option here unfortunately. It sure would be nice to have a laundry room with all the laundry we will be doing over the next several weeks. 

But, we will make due. I’m now thinking that I will need to set up a laundry table somewhere in the house to try and get a bit more organized. For now, I’m just happy to be home to be able to do the laundry. 

Laundry to be done 

Sheets to be done 

Drying rack 

Our “laundry” room 

Home

D-man and I have enjoyed our last two days at home. We were able to pack up the townhome on Saturday night so we could stay at home.  

We ate Runza that we picked up in our way back from Fort Collins. D-man pointed out that the last time we had Runza was the last time he had stayed at the house. So, probably appropriate that we ate it on our return home. 

We did about 15 loads of laundry, got some other chores done and watched Olympics all day. It was a really relaxing day and we it was really, really good to be home (more than I thought). We also didn’t have to cook and we had some really good meals. It is one less thing to worry about. 

D-man had class at Front Range today so he had to get up, but was able to lounge around and watch Olympics while I worked. I was able to take a lunch break with him which was a nice treat. 

I also took a walk around the block at the end of the day. It’s a bit surreal to be in our home and seeing “normal” in all direction and just around the corner is utter destruction. It is certainly a reminder of the long road back for so many. 

The picture D-man sent me on our drive home Saturday night 

The cual-de-sac around the corner 

More of the cul-de-sac

A Day with Cam the Ram

D-man and I spent a chilly, but sunny day in Fort Collins for the “Choose CSU” day for admitted students. CSU did a really nice job with the day and we learned a lot and got a feel for the campus, student life and had a nice day together. 

We left around 8:00 and the day started at 9:30. We attended some general sessions, a session on the college of Liberal Arts and talked with an Economic Professor to learners about that department. 

We participated in RAM card bingo, toured a  couple of dorms and dining halls, took a pick with “Cam the Ram,” went to the activities fair (learned more about the Honors Program, Computer Science, and Business Programs) and had lunch at the student center.

We then took in a session about studying abroad and wrapped up our day with a campus tour. 

First one done! 

View out of the ballroom - looked like a picture! 

Cam the Ram! 

Completely our Ramcard bingo in the library 

With his bingo prize (loved that he requested I be in the pictures with him) 

View from campus 

Really plants on the wall - very cool 

18 and Life

We were able to celebrate another adult in the household on the last day of January. I snuck out for doughnuts for the birthday boy’s breakfast and he went out to lunch with his friends. We enjoyed a nice dinner at Melting Pot with cheese, and chocolate fondue in addition to the main course. 

We dropped off some birthday cake at Hadley’s and were pulled over by the cops on the way home. The cop asked if we knew why we had been pulled over and we didn’t. Apparently, we were mistaken for a car that almost got the officer on the side of the road. When the the other cop came up, he said, “Damn, where did he go?” We had a good laugh when we got home because this is our life right now. 

We wrapped up the evening with a couple of present and celebrating our oldest. He stated he had a good few days of birthday celebrations which is so great to hear. 

While we were sitting on the couch at the end of the evening, D-man said, this is my last birthday at home.”  To which I popped off, we aren’t even at home! And then he joked about being back home when he was 22 ha! I love that we can laugh about the situation and that we can celebrate our boy (now officially a man). 

Doughnuts 

Fondue time! 

Only one I got of the fam - HBD to our Sport loving, fact researching, curious, college searching, looks forward to conversation with Dad son. 

Home

Long day today, but super grateful to be back home and conquering the next part of the journey.  Day by day. Nadja dropped off meal delivering courtesy of the Schreiber Family and we enjoyed a glass of wine and some take out Italian. Truly fortunate. 

Still Christmas here. 

Full fridge 

The Little Things

We can’t see the sunrise from our house on St. Andrews Lane, but we can see it rise from Pheasant Run. And, I took it in. 

The boys had a snow day yesterday and we splurged and ordered DoorDash for lunch (and I sat down to eat with them too - beat part of my day). 

And today T-man and I had breakfast together and talked about conservative tendencies. 

These are the things that matter.