Memories and memory making

I drove Julianne and 3 of her friends up to Logan today for a week long "Retreat For Girls" at Utah State University. It was fun to watch their excitement grow the closer we got and then as they checked in and settled into their rooms. I have no doubt it will be a week full of serious memory making for them.

But talking about memories...
Bryan and I spent our first newlywed year at Utah State University and as I drove through the campus, the memories came flooding back. It's been almost 18 years since we arrived in Logan and as to be expected, there is a lot of change. But I was surprised at how much stayed the same. I could pick out buildings I'd had classes in, where I used to park my car (on days when I was running late), the shuttle stop where I'd wait (on days when I was on time), spots where I would meet up with classmates for study and gab sessions. Out of long remembered habit, I found myself driving into the parking lot of Aggie Village, the married student housing. I parked and stared up at the balcony of the apartment that used to be ours and I couldn't help but smile. We made such happy memories there.
Our windows were the 3rd and 4th from the left on the second floor.


Don't you just love the sliding cabinet doors, half size oven and folding chairs?


Oh, oh!! And what about those cinder block walls and super-industrial red carpet?


No air conditioning made for some stiflingly hot summer days. And though we did have heat in the winter, I still remember the day we woke to find our bedroom window frozen over from the INSIDE!

But oh! What fun we had in our very first home together...
*Spending the first couple of weeks sleeping on foam pads on our bedroom floor while we waited for our bed to be delivered.
*Cuddling on the couch while watching reruns of Star Trek: The Next Generation every night at 10:00.
*Doing homework by candlelight.
*Hauling our kitchen table out to eat dinner on the balcony.
*Setting up our first computer.
*Doing our laundry at the Aggie Village laundromat.

It was nice to have the opportunity to reminisce today. Especially since our 18th anniversary is coming up later this week.