The Journey Begins...

I guess the journey actually began months ago when all the fundraising and plans commenced.  But it wasn't until Thursday of this week that I felt like we were really beginning...really doing this thing.  We loaded up the van Thursday night in preparation for our day long drive on Friday.  And when Friday rolled around, we got going indeed. 

No need to set an alarm clock.  We just decided to get going when Samantha woke up.  On Friday, it happened to be 6:00 am.  (It's been 5:30am, so we actually got a later start than expected.)  I fed her breakfast, we woke up Callie, and off we went into the sun...rise.

The drive, actually, couldn't have gone better.  We were officially on the road by 6:37 am.  Traffic was good.  Kids were amazing.  And the driving company in the front seat, perfect.  I'm so glad we got a minivan with a DVD player though.  I owe a lot of the girls' behavior to the numbing power of movies.  A big Thank You to whoever decided to add that one to the ceiling of minivans!  McDonald's was a nice stop and time to stretch our legs.  But for the most part, we just kept going.  If Sammy and Callie were doing well, we wanted to be on the road.  We got in around 9:00 pm.  So, with the time change, we made the 12.5 hour GPS estimated time in 13.5 hours.  What?  Even as I'm typing it, that seems unreal.  But, it's true.  I think that's pretty good with a 5 and 3.5 year old.  Way to go Sammers and CJ! 

Today we spent a lot of time with Bryan.  Callie was so excited to see Uncle Bryan, and I think he was excited to see her too.  We walked around campus...Bryan pushing Sammy in her stroller with Callie by his side.  I tell you, it was a privileged glimpse we got into Bryan's future!  We had fun in the Eyring Science Center, the Widtsoe Building's "aquarium," walking around the Wilk, and just hanging out. 

While Marcus is making himself miserable at the BYU v. Utah game (where we are being crushed), I am anxiously thinking about the coming week.  I have no idea what to expect.  It appears Sammy has a cold, and she also scraped up her knee pretty badly at school which is making her uncomfortable.  I'm hoping she is cooperative and that she will actually enjoy this experience. 

I expect to blog a lot over the next few weeks.  I want to keep a good record of what this therapy is like for Sammy so in the future, I can reflect on it and remember what it was like...and use it as a way to help us decide if we feel like it really is helpful.  Best to write while it's fresh, right?  Also, I want anyone who is interested to be able to follow what is happening, especially if they have invested time and/or money into this therapy. 

Always safe...10 and 2.

Snow White...I mean, Callie...eating a few snacks along the way.

Sammy playing with a blanket.  This was a good distraction for some of the drive.

Instead of looking for elevators and waiting around, Marcus and Bryan took this option...carrying the stroller up the steps.  It was much faster.

ahhh the Wilk.

Callie attached to Bryan.

Yes, sometimes you can actually find Samantha in the "foreign language" section of the bookstore.  It seems appropriate, after all.

Eyring Science Center

Unfortunately, the Tree of Life is starting to look a bit shabby.  It could use a good paint job.

I LOVE this picture of Callie.  What a fun little girl!

Poor Sammy.  She was a good sport but was rather tired.  Last night was just too late for her.  She did sleep in until 7:45, which was a treat for us.  But I think it'll take a couple days for her to get on track.

I love this picture.

We're staying at a friend's house.  Their basement apartment has a pool table and ping pong table.  Callie's pretty excited about ping pong and I have a feeling we'll be playing a lot.  She caught on pretty quickly and actually hit a few balls over the net.

So....the journey begins.  One more day until we walk through the doors of Now I Can.