Saturday Snapshot - Family Day at Ohio University

We got to spend some time with our boys at their college this weekend. Don't get me wrong, they weren't hankering for us to come down, but we went anyway.

We didn't go to any of the organized activities. But we drove down Friday evening to have dinner with Spencer. His phone had stopped working so we weren't sure if he was anxious to see us or to get the new phone. 

We dropped him back at his dorm around 9:30 then met my brother and his wife at BW3 -- that's a sports bar chain. Their daughter attends the same university. We had drinks then headed back to the motel. All of the hotels were booked for miles around so my sister-in-law lucked into finding this place. It looked pretty rough on the outside but it was clean on the inside and was probably the bomb back in the 1970s. 

We feared it might be awkward sharing a hotel room with another couple, but it was a lot of fun as we lay in the dark remembering humorous memories about our childhood and as we raised our own kids. I think we need to plan a vacation with them - maybe separate hotel rooms though.

This morning we went to a coffee shop with a balcony. Both the boys were sleeping in, so we face-timed with Grace. 

We finally got some time with both boys at brunch, then we took them to the grocery to stock up. 

Just the right amount of time to reconnect with our sons.

Man, am I short compared to all my guys. 

College Equals Fun

On August 1st, the results were released by The Princeton Review of the top party schools in the country.
On August 2nd, we were walking the campus of the number one party school in the country.
Of course, we were not part of the rush to tour campus because of its number one ranking. We had made the appointment a few weeks before in an effort to visit colleges before Spencer's senior year begins.
We're having a tough time narrowing down colleges because Spencer doesn't know what he wants to major in or whether he wants to go to a big or small college or whether he wants it to be located in a city or in the country.
"I want it to be fun," he told us after the first visit to a college in a small town, which did not stand up to his criteria of fun.
Well, with the new rankings by The Princeton Review, it appears that Ohio University meets the only criteria that Spencer set.
I will have to say that OU has had a party reputation since before I went to college. My best friend from high school went to OU, joined a sorority, graduated on time. She turned out fine.
The campus is charming, set in a town the same size as the student population. This is definitely a college town. The town actually butts into the college. Spencer was impressed with the workout facility. The major of Wildlife and Conservation Biology also caught his eye. He perked up at the idea of playing intramural basketball because they could create their own teams without having a coach or anyone to tell them what to do.
His friend Hayden came along although he had toured the campus before. Hayden, who has a twin brother, has gone on a number of tours and has remained unmoved, according to his mother. Yesterday, Hayden and Spencer seemed convinced that OU, which just happens to be the number one party school, is the right place for them.
We've got another visit set up next Tuesday that takes us to a smaller school that doesn't fall any where in the rankings on the party school list. Let's see if they can up the "fun" quotient.