Woo-Hoo!

Ok, so we didn't leave quite on time...but we were only off by about 15 minutes, and then stopped at McDonald's for our new 'driving to PSU' tradition: sweet tea! We managed to get to Matt's by 8:35 a.m. though, which was great. Alyssa called her roommate around 9 to warn her that we would be getting there soon, so she had time to rise and shine. According to Alyssa, she was already up and was going to grab some breakfast and then take a walk to give us some time to get everything in the room (Per Alyssa, 'old roommate wouldn't have done that...').

It was much less hectic today than a month and a half ago. We found a parking space right in front of the main entrance...three times, as a matter of fact! I should say that the moving in was less hectic...but that was all! The traffic was horrendous...Walmart was packed-we think lots of kids wait til they get up there to stock up on stuff. I think the bulk of the kids come in tomorrow...I can't even imagine what it'll be like then! And the parking, once the unpacking was done, was atrocious. Kurt found on-street parking, not that far away from Alyssa's room, but you can only park there for 90 minutes...it's a quarter for every 15 minutes.

Alyssa's roommate, Kaylynn, showed up about 45 minutes after we got everything upstairs. She is very personable, flexible, talkative....completely opposite from the last one! The room was set up very oddly; she was all for rearranging to make it better (Per Alyssa, 'old roommate wouldn't have done that...'). She talked to us the whole time (Per Alyssa, 'old roommate wouldn't have done that...'). She helped rearrange the furniture (Per Alyssa....you know...LOL!). We used her vacuum cleaner and Windex....she used our paper towels and duct tape (Ditto....).

You could tell Alyssa is glad to be back. I called her on our way home tonite, she was with a group of girls on their way to a volleyball game, then off to see Night at the Museum on the giant screen on the HUB lawn. Her facebook message says: Alyssa is at Penn State in her awesome room with her sooooo much better roomie!

Enjoy the pics (glad you all can see them clearly....cuz I can't...boo! Jamie, I'll be bugging you about that as soon as you get home!)

This is originally where Alyssa's bed was when we got there. Note how it is alongside the bookshelves. The RA told us that if she and Kaylynn chose to, the bookshelves could be removed, but they would NEVER be put back up. They are, in fact, destroyed. I think they were both nervous about making that decision! Plus, I think, they hated losing shelving space. They came up with a much better plan, I think...see below!

They moved Kaylynn's desk out of the one corner and put Alyssa's bed where the desk was, then moved Kaylynn's desk alongside the shelves. While we were at lunch, Kaylynn moved the micro-fridge from in front of the window (you can kind of see it behind where Alyssa is standing in the previous pic) to in between the book shelves and Kaylynn's bed (see this pic).

Alyssa's bed in the new spot (Note they both have same light from Target) I don't know who the character is in her bed, though...LOL

Kaylynn and Alyssa

Kaylynn's side of the room. She let Alyssa have the bed by the window; she remembered Alyssa telling her about her old roommate and the window issues (Per Alyssa...you know the drill...). Although, Kaylynn had requested a wall, so they both kind of got what they were looking for...

So hopefully, all will go well this year; I know Alyssa is looking forward to it. I did fine leaving her today; the last six weeks helped to break me in! The only thing that does bother me is that she has to be alone on her 18th birthday on Tuesday. She'll be fine, it'll be me who's a wreck...LOL!!!!