How's Eric doing at college?

How is Eric doing at college? 

Is he surviving? 

Does he like it? 

Is he getting settled in? 

What about his roommates?

How are his classes?

 

 

These are all very good questions.....questions I'm still trying to find the answers to.  Okay, that's not entirely true.  I do know he likes it.  I know he's working really hard in all of his classes.  I think he is settled in, for the most part.  He likes his roommates a lot, and for not having known any of them before moving in, that's wonderful!  And he and the the guy he rooms with get along great....another big plus!  I know he's meeting lots of new people.....some of whom are girls!  Will he share any names, you ask?  NO, he won't.  We have skyped with Eric once since he's been gone.  He has been home one weekend, and I don't talk to him every single day.  I do text him most days.  He has called a couple of times, and both times I have answered the phone, he has asked for someone else (Kyle and Dad).  I'm still trying to get over that one (or both)!  In a nutshell, he seems to really be enjoying himself.....staying up too late, laughing hard, being independent, and loving the "country life."  :)

 

 

Of course, college isn't all flowers and roses either.  Eric wasn't getting fed regularly the first couple weeks of school because the college was doing some construction on the dining hall. Before you jump to conclusions like I did, and complain that, "hey, we paid for you to get 3 meals a day.  You'd better be getting them," in reality they were still serving 3 meals a day, but in a slightly different place and only at certain times throughout the day.  I had to call the school and ask what was going on with the meal/food card.  I saved my son from starving.....and did I get a thank you?  Nope.   :)

 

I sent Eric some bug repellent after the first couple of days of school, because he was getting bit by mosquitos, and he usually swells up pretty bad.  He doesn't have a car, so I thought it would be easiest just to mail him some.  That was roughly 4 weeks ago.  He still hasn't gotten his mail because, "I don't know where to get it and I don't have time to find out."  To that I say, enjoy your bug bites!

 

And here is a text conversation between us that I need to share with all posterity....preface:  Eric had a sore throat a couple of weeks ago.

 

Eric: (6 pm)  My friend gave me this lemon herbal tea stuff for my throat...can I drink that?

Mom:  (6:34 pm)  Yeah, if its just an herbal tea, that's ok.

Eric: (7:55 pm)  I didn't know we weren't supposed to open the tea bag and dump the leaves into the drink..

Mom:  (8:46 pm)  (me, hysterically laughing while texting)  Thanks for the laugh, Eric.  That is hilarious.  Did you drink the leaves?

Eric: (9:22 pm)  No, I just dumped it out...I ended up just using honey and lemon instead.  Mitch bought onion for his sinuses, too.  I don't think that'll help my throat, though.  :/

Mom:  (9:24)  Honey and lemon is probably the best for u.  U can take some tylenol too, but don't take more than 2.  Hope u feel better. (and then more laughing just for the fun of it)....

 

And here's another one:

 

Eric:  Okay, I have no idea where my suit pants are! D:  They're gone!  They must've fallen off the hanger, or something as I was coming back home on Monday.

Mom:  You lost your pants?  Could they be in Jayme's car?

Eric:  Ya, probably.

Mom:  Well, check first and see if they turn up.  I'd hate to have you go buy another pair.

Eric:  Ya, I'll still be looking for it.  And uhh..I don't wanna have to buy new pants..how much would they cost?

Mom:  At Walmart, you might be able to find a pair for $25 until we can get you some nicer ones.  Or could you borrow some from a roommate for a few weeks?  Or maybe I could mail you a pair?

Eric:  I could maybe do that.  I've got a pair, but they're gray, not black, so they don't match.  :/  But if you could send me some, that'd be great.  (like that's gonna happen...I'm still waiting for him to get his bug spray)

Mom:  You have another pair there with you at school?

Eric:  Ya

Mom:  Then why can't you just wear those?  

Eric:  I need a black pair for my vest, though too. :/  If I don't find them anywhere else soon, I'll probably just go buy a pair.

 Mom:  Can't u wear your vest with the gray ones?

Eric: Maybe, it looks weird.

Mom:  Why do u need black pants for your vest?  It would go with gray.  Don't just go buy some yet...wait a little to see if we find them.

Eric:  I'll wait a bit. 

 

Never a dull moment.  And he never found his pants, by the way, so when he comes home next, I have a new pair for him here.  I did get a thank you for that one!  :)

 

And there have been other random things happen on occasion, to which I say, "Good luck Eric.  This year is going to be soooo good for you!  You are learning so much!"

I am proud of how hard he is working in school.  He is putting a lot of time into his classes and I am grateful for that.  I think Eric is coming home this weekend for a missionary farewell.....it will be interesting to see if I get to see him at all.  It sure is different having one child out of the house...I'm just trying to slow down the "growing up" of my other children.  It's going way too fast! 

 

 

 

Dallin turns 13!

Well, it's official.  We now have 3 teenagers!  Oh man, seriously?  How did that happen? 

 

Dallin turned 13 last Sunday on Sept. 2.  It was a fast Sunday and he was so good about fasting on his birthday.  What an awesome kid!  He fasted the whole day until his requested dinner too....all-you-can-eat roast, potatoes. and gravy, fruit salad, rolls, veggies, and for dessert?  White cake with strawberry-flavored frosting and play-dough ice cream!  Delicious!

 

Dallin loves Moon Pies.  I couldn't find the actual brand of that, so I bought him Marshmallow pies....they are the same thing and he loves them...But really, that is just cruel to give on a fast Sunday, isn't it? 

 

 

 

Dallin loves building things together....anything creative and artsy!  So for his birthday, he got a model airplane, with a set of paints to create and put together.  He will have a blast doing it!

Look at those killer blue eyes?  :)

 



 

That evening we had the grandparents over for cake and ice cream...

 

The brothers.....

 

Grandpa Jones, Dad, and Eric

 



Grandpa and Grandma Johnson, and Jacob

 

 



 

 

You're never too old to blow out candles, are you?  I think not!

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Dallin!

 



We love you!!

 



First day of school 2012

 

The school year has begun!  I was definitely getting ready for a change from daily summer boredom the last couple of weeks.  Of course, now life gets pressured and scheduled.  But I welcome the new change for now. 

 

Jacob is starting the 3rd grade!  And here he is, wearing his brand new blue birthday pants.  Seriously, what else would he be wearing?

 

 

 

 

Do you see this picture?  Do you see who it is?  Let me introduce you to my 4th child, Kyle, who is actually (willingly)  LOOKING at the camera.  I think he just wanted to show his shirt off, and certainly he didn't realize that his face would be part of the picture.....moms are so sneaky!

 

Kyle is starting 5th grade.  (and in case you're wondering...he picked out this shirt).  :)  And there's Ziggy looking so sweet and innocent, but trust me, looks can be deceiving!

 

 

Dallin is starting the 7th grade.  He is now a peon in a new school....junior high!  Do you remember junior high?  Specifically 7th grade?  Or did you try and erase it from your memory?  I understand, really.  But Dallin's going to rock it!

 

 

Even Brandon was willing to get his picture taken. Something must have been in the air that first day of school. Brandon is starting the 10th grade this year and a new school as well. He is currently signed up to be in 3 bands....one early morning (before school), one on his own time, and one as a class, which really all that means is that he will be performing in 3 different bands throughout the year. The kid likes to play his instruments, which is awesome. But leaving at 6 am 3 days a week for early morning rehearsals is not something I'm particularly looking forward to! Just sayin'....



 

 

So, here we go on a new adventure....another year of school. Wish us luck! :)

 



Family Home Evening

Last Monday Jacob had the lesson for FHE.  It was on love.  I helped him choose a story found in the August Friend.  Along with the story was a recipe for President Monson's favorite childhood cake, Ribbon Cake.  It was a recipe from scratch and used food coloring to get the different colors of each layer.  I decided it would be fun to make it for our FHE treat.

 

Here are some pics.....

 

 

 



 

 

I've got to be honest...it really wasn't that good.  Maybe I'm more partial to the box cake, ya know the one with pudding in the mix?  :)  What would I have done in President Monson's time without that?

 



 

Yes, you guessed it.  That is Kyle, NOT wanting his picture taken.  Big surprise!  :)

 



 

After we had our lesson and treat, we played Ticket to Ride as a family.  It was so fun.  We didn't know how to play at first, but quickly got the hang of it.  I highly recommend it, if you haven't played before.  Brandon really wanted  a picture of the end result with all the train routes on the board.  Pretty cool, eh?  :)

 



 

And here is a random picture of Dallin, right before he went on a backpacking trip a couple of weeks ago.  What a handsome, stalwart young man he is turning out to be!  Dallin loves to hike...good job son!

 



 

 

And that's all folks.  Have a super day!  :)

Eric goes to Snow College

 

Well, it finally happened!  Eric got packed up and dropped off at Snow College on Sat., August 18th.  It was a long, emotional, but happy, day.  We wanted to get going by 10:30, but Eric and his friends had other plans.

 

(and just a side note, Eric didn't start packing until Friday--the day before--and I hate to admit it, but he really DID have plenty of time)....Ugh!  Girls need so much longer....

 

 

At 8:30 in the morning, 3 of Eric's friends showed up to see him off.  Kevin Ponce, Kaycee Greef and Jayde Ford. 

 



They pretty much got Eric out of bed!  "Hi gguuuyyyyss..."

 



 

Eric had to talk to each person individually before we could go.  So on our front lawn, each friend waited for their turn to hear wonderful parting words of wisdom from Eric.  Kevin was first.

 



 

Kaycee and Jayde waiting their turn....Oh, and Jayde got a cheesecake from Eric...aahhh, sweet.

 



 

Kaycee was next, but for some reason, I didn't snap a picture.  I think it's because I was saying, "Hey Eric, we've got to go.  Say your goodbye's and let's get out of here."  It was approaching 11:30 after all.  Except I'm sure I said it much more nicely and friendly....pretty sure.... :)

 

 

Jayde was last.  It was very heart-felt....well, it looked heart-felt.  I really wish I could have heard what they were saying!  :) 

 



 

Serious conversations going on....

 



 

 

At 11:30, we put our foot down and told Eric we needed to go.  His friends watched us drive off.  It was very sweet.

 



When we arrived in Ephraim, and finally found Eric's apartment, this is what we found on the door.  All of his roommates names were on the flower....how clever! 

 

 

But before we could unpack all of Eric's stuff in his room, we had to get some other things done first. We got Eric's student ID card, helped him set up a PO box, and purchased his books at the bookstore, which by the way, was a whopping $400 (and some of those books were rented). Crazy! And a few days later, he realized he had to return one of the books, and get another one, which added another $50! (I guess I'll stop complaining about the jr high/sr high school fees...I'd much rather pay those).

 

After we returned from all the errands, we went back to Eric's apartment and helped him unpack and get settled.  Here are a few pics of what his apartment looks like...

 

When you open the door, the kitchen is first.

 

On the left of the kitchen are 2 bedrooms and a bathroom....on the right, 3 bedrooms and a bathroom.  There are 8 people in all, 2 of which have their own bedrooms.

 

And here is Eric's room (well, his side of the room, anyway).  As you can see, we were still unpacking....

 

And here it is, all put together.  It was so quiet there, I almost wanted to stay myself....

 



 

And then it was finally time to say goodbye....well, not goodbye, but see ya later!  Eric walked with us out to the car and was planning to meet a friend on campus.  As we drove off, he walked away all by himself....and sorry for the dramatics, but he looked so little and all alone in this big world as he went in one direction, and we drove off in another.  But as I watched him, he also looked determined and ready for this new adventure, with his head held high and his stride confident and secure.  A few seconds later, as we drove away, I glanced back and Eric was gone.  He had already walked out of our sight and it was a little sad. I didn't cry when we left.  I did feel a little sick to my stomach.  

 

 



 

And now on to the next stage of life....our oldest has left home and will be on his own.   People have told us that it will never be the same, now that we have one child out of the house, and that we are entering a new phase of raising our kids.  The first several days, I was the one who was "homesick" for Eric.  I felt unsettled and uneasy.  As we've knelt for family prayer and had FHE, and at the end of each day, said good night to each child, there has definitely been a void.  When we've locked the doors at night, and realized there are only 4 children here, there has been a strange feeling, like we're not complete anymore.  Eric has been missed and we have all felt it.

 

 But, I do feel a little better now.  And even though I miss Eric, I am so grateful that he has the opportunity to be able to be where he is.  I know that's where he should be and I'm thankful for that quiet assurance. 

 

Good luck Eric!  We love you!  

(we'll see you in a couple of weeks, right?)  :)