Washington DC

After the tour, we drove the 3 hours up to Washington, DC.  We went to the Lincoln Memorial and then checked into our hotel.  Courtney wasn't impressed with the Lincoln Memorial.  It was probably because it was prom night and all kinds of kids were having their pictures taken there.  And they were all littering with their corsage boxes so it was a mess!  I was really disappointed in their behavior and how the monument was being treated. It was also raining so it made it kind of a mess to visit.

We got dinner, checked into our hotel, and then went to bed.  It had been a long day.

SVU tour

Courtney and I decided to go out to Virginia to take a tour. We flew into Richmond and landed late.  We rented a car and drove over to Buena Vista (about 2 hours) to the hotel.  The rental car had horrible windshield wipers and it was raining really hard but we made it safely.

After a good night's rest, we woke up and drove to SVU to take a look around.  We were early for the tour so we drove around the little town.  There really isn't much there! The counselor had told Courtney that Buena Vista was about half the size of Ivins and he was right.

The campus was beautiful. There were 5 students and their parents on the tour.  The advisor took us around, explaining all the buildings and what they have to offer.  They have a 100% acceptance rate right now because they want everyone who wants an education to be able to have it.  I was impressed by their philosophy and Courtney loved the old buildings.

We had some time after the tour and before we met with her counselor, so we wandered around the little town.  We got lunch at Subway, the only other restaurant in town besides the Mexican place, and then went into some of the shops.

When it was time, we went and talked to her admissions counselor to find out more about the school. Courtney is really excited. 

We already got her in the dorms so we were able to drive by and see what they looked like.  Originally, we had her in a 2 person dorm room with a community bathroom.  But some other girls who will be attending SVU contacted Courtney through Instagram to ask if she wanted to be roommates.  So the housing office switched Courtney to a 4-person room with a private bathroom. 

Each student received an iPad, pen, and keyboard.  The whole campus is set up as an Apple campus, meaning their professors can airdrop them any materials they may need.  It is a great concept.  At the end of our visit, Courtney was given a shirt.

Homeless week

Ethan had to be out of the dorms at BYU a few days before he was able to move into his new apartment so he came home to hang out with us for a while.  They call this "homeless week" at the college because they don't have any place to live.  Students can pay extra to move into their new apartments but Ethan took advantage of the time to come home and relax. Ethan got everything in his car.

Snow Canyon Overlook trail

We had never been on this trail before.  It was going to be a longer hike so we took sandwiches and a lot of water.  It wasn't a hard hike, just long. There were boulders to hike around and, as we got close to the end, there was sand.  Courtney had a photography assignment for school that she needed to do so she brought her camera. We stopped quite a bit to take pictures. The view was amazing!

YW walk to the temple

I was left in charge of a YW activity so I decided we should do a walk to the temple.  If you start at Dixie Rock it's only about 1 1/2 miles downhill to get to the temple.  It's actually a pretty straight shot. We parked the car at Dixie Rock and Bryan met us at the temple.  He took Courtney back up to get the van so we could drive all the girls home.  It was a great activity.

Courtney's hiking Hokas

Courtney needed new hiking boots and, after some looking, she decided to get Hoka hiking shoes.  She was pretty excited about them.  She got the brightest ones she could find and she loves them!

Owen's Loop Trail

We went on another hike. We hadn't been on this hike before even though it is close to Dixie Rock.  I had seen people there before but hadn't been on the trail before. The view was really nice and there weren't many people on the trail with us. I enjoy exploring St George.