here we go again.

I'm taking my baby on another airplane.
You know what that means? It means that mentally making packing lists and various other travel check lists has been the dominating brain activity.
I can't help it, we aren't leaving until May but the tickets were bought a few weeks ago and already I have made 4 million lists just concerning the diaper bag. I know what toys to bring on the plane but once a week I step out of the shower and realize I've forgotten to wash my hair.
This time we won't be traveling alone (phew), my parents and sister will be there. I don't know if I could handle this extremely mobile baby+bags+general traveling anxiety all by myself.
We are going to see my little sister graduate...from college...she's one of those weird people who spent 4 years at the same school, with the same major, and is acting all grown-up now. Blah Blah Blah.
She's going to be an Auburn University alumni, (just like her parents, and most of her aunts and uncles, but not her big sister) so we are going to be in Alabama, where we have much family, so we are sticking around for about a week afterward.
I'm super excited to swim with Josephine in the lake at my aunt and uncle's place. So excited that I've gone to three different store already looking for a swim suit for Josephine.
-I've also gone suit shopping for myself, I don't want to talk about it.
Don't be surprised if there are 10 more posts just like this one between now and the second week of May...it really is all I can think about.

the biggest dorm room i have ever seen

Friday, us ladies (grandma, Martha, Josephine and I) went to the zoo! hooray for caged animals!

The big draw exhibit they have right now is an albino alligator, The Ghost of the Bayou. This picture was taken right after Martha dangled Josephine's toes over the alligator pit, just for fun. Ok, that didn't happen, the gator is behind glass, but you should have seen how that baby-eater was eye balling us.

It was a nice day that wore the baby out.

Saturday and Sunday I spent my free time fighting with or avoiding Martha because she was a little anxious about going off to college and leaving her boyfriend behind. Apparently she deals with anxiety by tearing heads off...but it's ok, moving out for the first time is pretty scary.

Monday afternoon we loaded up the cars, (Martha is the only one of us that got a car to take to school), we picked up the boyfriend and drove up to the place Martha will call home for at least this next semester, and hopefully the next four years.

Her new digs are pretty sweet as far as dorm rooms go. She has a double room, but no room-mate! So, she has an extra desk and wardrobe and space and privacy! Look at the view! And the super safe window that only opens about 4 inches and has bars covering those 4 inches just in case.

Hey! Are you one of those people that claims to never get car sick? Really? I challenge you to sit in the back seat of our Pathfinder while my mom drives. It was a nice straight and smooth highway that felt like an off road adventure.

I need to go off on a tangent for a moment, stay with me. Back when I was newly pregnant and realized that I needed to move out here to Utah I wasn't sure how I'd get here with all my stuff. For a while I thought I would have to fly out here and that meant I'd mail the things I couldn't pack and toss everything I could live without. I started to slowly clean out my apartment and one night in a fit of pregnant hormones I threw away my sewing machine. Soon after, I decided to drive out here instead and that meant I could pack a lot of stuff in the car...the sewing machine would've fit fine...but it was too late.

Well, I'm currently making something fabulous, but it's taking a really long time to sew by hand, one nap at a time. The car ride gave me almost two solid hours of sewing time while Josephine was sleeping in her car seat and my mother was driving like she was cross-eyed. I didn't throw up but I did sew my thumb to my thigh. I am not finished yet, but I'm a hell of a lot closer, and the blood came right out...

Anyway, I guess if I wasn't here my parents would officially be rid of all their kids...I like to think I'm keeping my mother from having a empty nest meltdown.