how to say goodbye for 3 years

i can't believe we made it through

the dreaded goodbye! it feels

so much better to have spent a

memorable + lovely week with

family and now have the goodbye

over with. here's how we say

goodbye for 3 years... :( 

1. give memorable gifts...

i had this map of our family painted by 

this darling etsy shop, patton prints.

i am so in love with it and knew it was the

perfect gift to give them as they leave. 

it can represent that although our family will

be apart, our hearts are together in san francisco, 

salt lake city, & south africa. all good places!

2. spend time in favorite places.

we made sure to spend every second

possible in millcreek canyon, our go-to

trails where we've run together so many times...

including the morning of my wedding, and now the

morning that they left! it's a canyon full of memories

and i love this sight above of my sweet mom ahead

of me leading the way in millcreek. slice of heaven!

3. pause & savor. i hoped and hoped this week together

would go slow, and it did. we soaked up every second and

took time to stop and enjoy and be together. my mom and i 

went out to some favorite places {including citris grill, of course}

and it gave time for me to give her some gifts and have some

good convos before such a big change. i gave my mom this perfect

quote, bloom where you are planted. this is the best

mantra for them to have in their new house in johannesburg,

and something they will be so good at -- blooming and doing

well where they have been planted. SA is lucky to be getting them!

4. focus on the adventure! although we're sad to be

saying goodbye for 3 years, it's a pretty cool thing my

parents are going to do ... and in a pretty amazing place!

we celebrated this by going to the zoo's new "african

savannah" to tell the littles all about papa + yaya's new

adventure in africa! i love their monkey + tiger hats, haha

5. play! instead of being sad and focusing

on the impending goodbye, we played hard all

week and had so much fun as a family. we did the

classic "dunn olympics" organized by my brother,

and the competition took our minds off any goodbyes! 

from ping pong to basketball to volleyball, we had

some good games and fun times this week.

6. give things to remember...my parents

are so cute and did some darling things for

us and the grandkids to remember them by!

one cute thing was a book my mom made full 

of pictures of our family...it explains where they

are going and why, and all the things they can't

wait to do with the grandkids when they are back.

it was cute to see the little ones reading the books

and seeing pictures of themselves! i hope they read

them a lot and remember my parents! my dad also

ordered some "special edition" goldfish, haha.

they are maddie & tagg's favorite and he put their

photo on the front + a picture of them on the back.

it's the little things! i loved these thoughtful gifts.

7. fill up every second up to leaving...
even the morning of the goodbye, we all met
for a hike {grandeur peak in millcreek canyon}
and then made breakfast in the canyon all together.
it helped us enjoy every second up to the goodbye!


8. DESSERT! my mom knows boston cream pie
makes everything better, so she baked one up
the morning before leaving {yes-she is superwoman} and
left a fresh one for us to dive into after she left.
why does dessert make everything better? :)

 

9. squeeze tight-- we hugged as tight as we could
when it came time for the actual goodbye. it's hard to
know we won't physically be with them for a long time, so
this is when the waterworks show started. hello tears tears tears!

10. retail therapy. after saying goodbye, chase took

me shopping and to get one of our favorite comfort foods.

he's a good one. nothing like retail therapy to feel better!

the sweetest friend meg also dropped off a cute care

package with tissues and treats because she's the best.

this all helped, but i already miss them so much!

"family ties run deeper than the ocean, 

higher than the mountains, & across continents...

and nothing can really change that."

here's to a new chapter, visits, facetime,

and a quick 3 years...or should i say 36 months!

xo

see their farewell here, moving here,

and when they first opened their call here.