@stencils - Elmo is on a break since he is tired of waving 
Congrats @socalmom007 !! Sounds like a good fit for both kids!!
@socalmom007 —WOO HOO! You have traveled a long road and deserve to celebrate. CONGRATS!
@srk2017 — I miss Elmo also. Is he gone for good? Would not have known if @stencils had not commented.
@MotherOfDragons --I think you might need to enlarge the school logo a bit, unless you were going for really subtle.
Thank you all for the kind words! I kept reassuring my husband, they are smart kids, it will work out. I am so darn relieved they are both committing to excellent schools! I wish for their sake they could be closer together, but it really is doable. We just ordered a ton of swag for both, they’re owning it and moving forward.
@socalmom007 I’m so thrilled that you got the outcome you were hoping for!
The distance seems manageable and they will have winter break and summer to spend more concentrated time together. Who knows, the time limitations may make them appreciate the time they have together all the more?
Best of luck to both of them!
@socalmom007 that’s great news! It sounds like it was the best choice in terms of caliber of schools, cost, convenience and everything.
We are back from Bruin Day at UCLA. My goodness that was like a campus-wide festival. They literally had booths selling kettle corn and cotton candy, and another booth where you could get your picture taken with the Bruin mascot. It was like Disneyland. I started wondering how long ago the school had to start the planning in order to make everything go off without a hitch. I wonder if Cal Day next weekend will be anything like as ambitious.
Speaking of Cal, there was a telling moment during the Chancellor’s Welcome when he said “I know many of you are still undecided . . . and I’d just like to note that the weather in Berkeley today is 58 degrees and overcast, and they’re expecting rain in a few days . . .” (It was 72 degrees and sunny in L.A. today.) The crowd laughed and applauded. It made it very clear which school UCLA considers to be its main threat in terms of accepted students deciding to go elsewhere! I said to my husband “I wonder if the Cal chancellor will make any cracks about UCLA?” and he said “no, he’ll make cracks about Stanford.”
@moonpie Congratulations on SVA!
@socalmom007 Hooray! All’s well that ends well.
@Mommertons I love the idea of a send off party instead of a graduation party.
Happy for you that they have a decision @socalmom007. Both great schools, and they will work it out. Lots of electronic ways to communicate these days!
@MotherOfDragons Wait dragons in House Lannister colors? I’m confused. That throws off all my Game of Thrones theories…
@CT1417 - Hopefully Elmo will come back after DS’s move-in @ Vandy
@srk2017 --that is a long time to go w/o seeing Elmo’s smiling face! Congrats again!
Love the new avatars @srk2017 and @socalmom007
@MotherOfDragons I like the changes to the first version, pops a lot more now.
@dustypig That’s so funny. I live about 10 mins from Berkeley and love the weather here. It was a beautiful day today. When we visited UCSB it was in the 60s and they kept saying how cold it was and DD and I were like this is perfect! LoL.
@thshadow --interested in your final report from WashU . S is trying to decide about its engineering program, which doesn’t appear to be as strong as some of its other programs (other than BioE), and not as well funded. Hard to find info on the engineering there though. Any insight from your visit?
@socalmom007 =D> Congratulations on the decision. I know it’s been a doubly stressful process with the kids trying to remain close to each other. I’m glad they are happy and moving forward with their respective school choices.
@Hankster1361 If you want some “numbers” on different engineering programs, check out the ASEE profiles.
http://profiles.asee.org/profiles/7262/screen/1?school_name=Washington+University+in+St.+Louis
This is self-reported info, but it’s useful when doing comparisons between engineering programs.
@CT1417 - May be @MotherOfDragons or someone can design me a logo of Elmo as a “commodore”
@srk2017 Yep I’ll make a Vandy-Commodore-hat-and-shirt wearing Elmo avatar for you as soon as I get through my senior defense on Friday
@Ynotgo the crimson is UA’s Pantone color, and the gold is D18’s favorite school Pantone color (logo to be added if she gets admitted next year). If anything, it’s kinda Griffindory…
@socalmom007 I am so very happy for you that the decision has been made!! Not an easy road but a great outcome. Congratuations to both of them <:-P <:-P <:-P
@MotherOfDragons, I sense an opportunity to put your degree to money-making use, designing avatars/family logos/whatever…
(No, I’m serious. I could totally see me wanting something like that at some point.)
@dfbdfb my husband saw what I was doing and said “I hope somebody’s paying you for all that good work”.
Nope. I keep giving all my work away. I need to set up an etsy shop or something. Monetize my procrastinating.