It's crunch time!

Well Ly's first semester of grad school is winding down. All in all she has enjoyed it and learned a lot...especially about the Old Testament. She still has 2 papers that are due next Sunday (yikes) that she needs to finish (start as the case may be) and then she'll officially be finished.

Secretly Ly is hoping to finish by Friday so she can have the entire weekend to do fun things before Alan embarks on his 2 weeks of delivering babies at night, but time will only tell.

Any finger crossing/praying you feel inclined to do on her behalf will be most appreciated.

Date Night.

Friday Night, Ly and Alan decided to take a break from all the craziness of the week and go on a date.

It was tons of fun.

First up on the agenda was to go visit a certain family member...it was raining so Ly and Alan stood out in the rain and hung out with their favorite feathered friend 'til Ly's jeans were sopping wet. Ly loved every second of it.

After a quick stop at the house to change into dry clothes, (there is nothing worse than wet jeans) they then went out to dinner. Being adventurous spirits, they tried a new (to them) place which was decent but probably not a place they'd frequent again.

But that was okay because then they went on a late night target run. Being at Target late at night when there are perhaps only a dozen other people in the store is one of Ly's favorite things. You can sing and dance and act crazy and there are hardly any people to witness it. Also you don't have to wait in line to checkout. We suggest you try it sometime.

THEN it was on to their final destination of the evening: a late night movie. And it was excellent. Not only did they both enjoy the movie, but everything was free since last time Ly went to the movies, she unexpectedly got a ton of reward vouchers for free stuff. Needless to say Alan was excited to get to have popcorn AND candy while at the movies. And neither one needed to eat breakfast the next day because they were so full.

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**Obviously the events surrounding Patriots Day hit very close to home for both Ly+Alan. But nobody was more surprised than Ly was when she saw the manhunt occur down the street from her old house. Crazy to think that she spent many mornings running around that Watertown neighborhood. Goes to show you really should get to know your neighbors! Luckily all of our friends and old roommates are fine and we all breathed a giant sigh of relief when the suspect was caught. Boston Strong.**

I love that dirty water...Boston you're my home

The events of this afternoon really struck a chord with Ly and Alan. Boston is where they met, fell in love, got engaged...so needless to say Boston holds a special place in this family's heart.

Just Engaged in Boston. 2006.

Ly especially has fond memories of watching the marathon with friends - soaking up the sunshine (most years, anyway), cheering the runners on, shopping, and reveling in the fact that she had a day off of school.

Marathon Runners in Copley Square 2005.

It is sickening to think of the happy cheers replaced by terrified screams of horror.  And in light of the events that happened today it is crazy to think that things like this happen almost everyday in countries around the world. Hopefully one day that will cease and there will be peace.

But even though people do unspeakable, horrific things, it is important to remember that there is still beauty and good in the world around us.

General Conference: A Weekend of Inspiration

This past weekend was inspirational in many ways. First, it was General Conference, and as always it did not disappoint. The messages were uplifting and Ly especially enjoyed the talks making the 10 commandments relevant to today and the keys to have a successful marriage.

Ly was also inspired by the fact that not one but two women prayed for the first time ever in conference which was nice to see, especially in light of the fact that an increasing number of women have spoken out against feeling unequal/inferior in the church. In fact, it seemed as if the Church really  took the time to speak out about how much women are adored and loved and viewed as equal as men. Along those lines, this video proved to be enlightening.

Also, for the first time in awhile, Ly felt inspired to start a hand sewing project which she worked on while listening to conference. It was nice to have Alan home for all 4 sessions as well, which has not happened in quite sometime due to his hospital schedule. In fact, while he was at Priesthood, Ly went with a friend to get pedicures which was fun...and perhaps the beginning of a new tradition.

Pink.

Confession: Ly always wanted to dye her hair pink, but was way too chicken. This is coming from the gal who freaked if the stylist at the hair salon cut off more than an inch and a half of her hair.

Anyway.

This weekend Ly was finally able to embrace her inner teenager and rock the pink courtesy of this awesome pink hair chalk that was in her Easter basket. This stuff is awesome because it allows Ly to have pink hair and it washes out in the shower.

So, come on, embrace your inner teenager today! What would you do if you could be a teenager again?

HIlton Head

This past weekend, Alan had "Spring Break" (aka a 3 day weekend) so Ly+Alan decided to get in the car and go to one of their favorite places - Hilton Head. It was, as always, a wonderful weekend full of relaxation. Ly spent a glorious amount of time sitting in the sand soaking up the sunshine. She also came home with a lovely sunburn on her face as a souvenir from the time she fell asleep and forgot to reapply sunscreen. Awesome.

The trip wasn't all sunshine and sand though -- it did rain quite a bit. Luckily, Ly+Alan stayed at an awesome resort and so they spent some time watching movies, eating snacks, and relaxing in their glorious hotel room while listening to the sound of the rain hitting the balcony. Of course they did go on some nice long walks on the beach in the rain, which was relaxing. 

There is just something about the beach that makes all your worries wash away, even when it is raining.

Easter 2013

Easter is Alan's favorite holiday.

A holiday where each person gets a basket full of candy? That obviously has Alan's name written all over it. And while Ly+Alan both know that Easter is certainly not at all about baskets and candy, it sure makes for a fun tradition.

Happy Belated Easter!