we need pills to sleep at night

A few nights ago I decided to take a melatonin to help me sleep. (Well, the bottle said melatonin, but it felt more like what I imagine a roofie would be like.) As a result, I had some crazy dreams including one where my little sister could see dead people a la "The Sixth Sense". Who was the ghost hanging out around us? Susan B. Anthony, naturally.  

travel log, part 2

Chapter 3: Maryland
I followed up my trip to Utah with a trip to Maryland. I saw every member of my family in 3 weeks time - in 3 different states! I went for the oldest niece's birthday, which happened to be on Easter. (Thus allowing me to get out of class by saying I was "with my family for Good Friday", which was technically true). 

We had a pretty low key visit. Lots of spending time at home, walking to the park, and the such. Since it was Easter, we dyed eggs. Children do not understand anything about dying eggs, but they turned out pretty well in the end: 

the next morning Caitlin tried to eat her egg with the shell still on it

The girls were super fun to visit, but here's a secret: Children are exhausting. So. Much. Energy. This picture is from when I suggested they wrestle on a bed. They remind me of fighting lions: 

"Little girls are made of sugar & spice, and everything nice" - A Liar

  
On Easter I showed the girls the Easter video the Church made. I was worried it might be too violent for 4 year olds, but Brooke Jr. said, "Did Jesus get killed?! I want to watch Jesus get killed again!" Their mother claims they were "just trying to understand it." 

Brooke Jr. & me. Taken by a 7 year old. obviously. 

Chapter 4: Georgia
The day after I got home from Maryland, The Jew came over. He brought me a cupcake and tulips. Super sweet, right? He, however, lacks a basic understanding of how to care for plants - like that they need water to live. He had purchased the tulips 24 hours earlier and just left them in the backseat of his car. I accidentally deleted the picture I took of them, but they basically looked like this: 

 it's the thought that counts

The ends were so dry I had to cut off a full 3 inches of stem. Hilarious. (The cupcake was delicious).

travel log, part 1

march was a busy travel month. here are some highlights:

Chapter 1: Tennessee
i kicked off spring break by taking The Jew up to k-town for the weekend. we had a mostly relaxing weekend with the 'rents & made it to Pal's twice (so an overall success). 

Mom and The Jew were really into pictures that weekend

Chapter 2: Utah
the day after returning from TN i headed out to Utah for a wedding. i flew on a companion pass with RationalThought. do y'all know about companion passes? you get half off tickets and if you fly with someone fancy like RT you also get to fly SkyPriority (free bags, fancier seats, but most of all the Delta people are way nicer to you). the most exciting part of our flight to SLC was when i fainted in the aisle as i walked to the back of the plane. i don't really know why it happened (exhaustion/dehydration?), but i assume it looked like this:

i am always this classy

while in SLC i went to several art exhibits. my favorite one was to a gallery showing collages by my favorite artist, Popular Blogging Friend. i even scored a guided tour to each piece by the artist herself. i needed to kill some time at BYU so i wandered around the BYU MOA for a while as well. they were having an exhibit deconstructing mythical heros and monsters in popular culture. my favorite piece commented on how violence is glorified and hyper-sexualized (why do all women crime fighters wear stilettos?) by juxtaposing those things to the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. i don't even like comic books, etc. and i loved this exhibit. 

you can't fight crime without knee high boots either

PBF also drove me around SLC so i could take pictures of Utah. we went to the capital building to get a good view and happened upon a gay rights protest. one of my friends who moved to Utah a year ago (for a boy. typical.) was there. serendipity! 

i think it was a Aretha Franklin rally too

my days in SLC wrapped up with the long awaited introduction of my roommate to her new best friend, Llizi the hedgehog. they are in love forever.

how could you not love that ball of adorableness?! 

then, a bunch of friends from Georgia and i went down to St.George for our friends' wedding. it was lovely. the groom's father keeps bees so he gave everyone honey from his hive as wedding favors. i loved how personal and simple their wedding was. speaking of weddings, if i ever decide to get married i will be having a lunch reception. they are just so perfect. 

 i kinda want to have a beehive someday

the trip to utah culminated with more regional fast food. that's right, spring break began with Pal's and ended with In-N-Out. so it was pretty much the best spring break imaginable. 

oh, hello, mission memories!

on the next episode of "travel log": Maryland, Easter, & good intentions