Hello Monday and Hello The Start Of College Tours for Diana! (March 4, 2024)

 

Hi Friends and Happy Monday!  I am here with Sarah and we are chatting about our weekends- we hope you will link up with us below and tell us what you were up to as well!

 

I am going back to Wednesday as we were off for a few days on college visits for Diana.  Yes she is only a Sophomore and Yes we are starting early but she is so unsure about what she wants to concentrate on and what area of the country she wants to be in so we thought it would help to start early, do our research and enjoy the process! 

 

Right now she is thinking of either majoring in Business and minoring in theater or dance OR majoring in theater/acting- she is keeping her options open

Wednesday

We kicked off our mini vacation by pretending we were going somewhere tropical- ha!

 

Thursday

We snuck in a little work then packed us all up and headed into Boston.  We stayed at the Boston Marriott Copley Place.  Highly recommend it!  We got there and they had a room ready for us- yeah!  We unloaded our bags and headed out to a pizza lunch at The Salty Pig- so good!

Then we headed over to Emerson College for our 2pm Tour

Emerson sits in the Theater District of Boston

Someone was our designated note taker ;)  This kid kills me

Emerson is not for Diana- definitely not a cultural fit- we were all pretty disappointed.  We know she is not crazy about Boston right now and the cold but we are coaching her on keeping an open mind- she just was not feeling it there and we understood.  The theater and communications programs are very impressive as were the dining options, dorms and technology available.  Boston is an amazing city but Diana didn't like the lack of campus, the lack of school spirit and how unhappy the students we observed seemed- very interesting.  At this point, she doesn't even think she should apply here.  (Hope you don't mind the details.   I am documenting so we can look back and review these notes)

 

That night, we enjoyed an amazing dinner at one of our favorite restaurants Blu at the top of the Equinox Hotel in the heart of the theater district- great food- stellar service- impeccable views- highly recommend!

 

 

 

Friday

We were up bright and early...check out the sun rising on these beautiful Boston buildings- this is my favorite city in the world...obviously :)

 

 

 I was ready for a FULL DAY...in fact Rob had to remind me yet again that I was not the one going to college...ha...don't I look giddy? ;)

We headed downstairs for a quick breakfast, checked out and were on the road to Connecticut!

It only took us an hour and a half to get to Storrs CT and what a pretty little college town!

Someone snoozed on the way down :)

When we got to the downtown area, we parked in the garage nearby and hit up the Dog's Lane Cafe for a quick pick-me-up

Yes that is a Harvard hat that someone scammed us into buying

 

Once we were caffeinated, we headed over to Square Peg Pizza for a nice lunch-great pizza and salad.  Someone also scammed us for dessert.  There definitely are benefits of being the baby and being dragged everywhere :)

 

 

 Then it was time for our first of two tours.  The first tour was specifically for the Fine Arts School.  They offer several different programs in this specific school including a Theater Arts Major as well as an Acting Major.

 

 Our tour guides were wonderful and Diana really related to them given their acting and dance backgrounds.  We got such detailed explanations of all of the theater opportunities.  (We actually scored a private tour).  We saw some great little theaters and costume shops as well as a set being built for an upcoming production.  The one thing that was lacking from this program was a major focus on musical theater.  They just don't have it.  It is one of the Top 10 Schools in the U.S for acting but not for musical theater.

Then it was time for our General Campus tour so we hustled.  We had to move our car and walk quickly to the Visitor Center to meet the rest of our group and tour guides.  We enjoyed a 30 minute info session and then a 2 hour tour.  There was SO MUCH to see!  We were just trying to take it all in.  We were all wow'd by this beautiful campus, endless opportunities and school spirit for sure!

As you can see, she already got a hat.  She begged us for one.  She LOVED UConn.  If she went here, she would want  to try out for the dance team and most likely major in business, also knowing she could get involved in plays/shows without having to major or minor in acting.  We were truly all wow'd by this school.  It made me want to go back to college (even more) and Eva wants to look into their hockey program :)

When we wrapped up, we hit the road and it surprisingly only took us two hours to get home- even on a Friday night!  We were all so wiped out from walking close to five miles this day that we crashed very hard!

Saturday

We were up bright and early.  Rob, Zach and his Dad headed up North to Tilton for Eva's first playoff game of the weekend.  I got a little work done and then headed up separately.

 

Ally took Diana to work for us- she got a chance to work with the owner of VB and got some solid training!

 

Though Eva's team lost, it was such a close and exciting game and Eva's fan club was in full force- my heart was FULL!

Rob, His Dad and Eva hung out for the day with many on the team- they went to a nearby hotel that some folks were staying at and had lunch and let the kids play.

I headed back home with Zach and we got such a nice chance to catch up and laugh- it warmed my heart!

Once we got back, he took Remi out for me so I could freshen up.

 

Beth Ann and Matt came to pick me up so us ladies could hit a little wine festival at the nearby Tuscan Village.

We had a great night trying different wine but mostly catching up and laughing and enjoying our QT.  She is one of my soul sisters :)

After the wine festival, we grabbed a bite inside Tuscan Kitchen and continued chatting.

 

We had an awesome night!
 

 

Diana got to spend some time with her older siblings and Baby Sylvie so she was loving life :)

and Eva and her team lost in the playoffs- it was very emotional.  This marked the end of an incredible season!  The exciting news is that she was handed a contract to move up to the next division next year and is excited about the players/friends that will be on her team!

Sunday

We were up bright and early...it is just inevitable...our bodies are programmed...sigh....I finalized our tax paperwork and Rob got Diana to work.  I did the meal planning and ordered the groceries and Rob and I got them all put away before we had to leave for mass.  We enjoyed mass and then Rob and Pidge headed to softball.  She got some great practice time in with a fabulous pitching coach!

 

I cooked a few meals for the week, cleaned the kitchen, fed Remi and took him out and did some returns.

Later on, Ally and Alex visited Diana at work and brought her home.  We enjoyed dinner and then I blogged for a bit and got some more work done.

We capped off the weekend with a nice walk outside with Remi- the weather was great!  I feel it...Spring is coming!  What were YOU up to?

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