on a lighter note

So, the last post was kind of dramatic, so now I'm just going to post pictures of our trip to DC, which was, fortunately, very undramatic, even with the wedding. That's saying something for Meppen reunions, as some of you already know. We didn't even have any hospital trips, although there was a funny incident involving Charles taking his allergy medicine in the dark and accidentally ingesting a sleeping pill instead of a Claritin. We didn't see him much that day. The doseage for those sleeping pills is normally a quarter of the pill, but Charles took a whole one. Bless his heart.

Cooking in my mom's kitchen is really fun, because she has ingredients that I would never think to buy, but that turn out really good. Maggie and I did some experimenting, and we ended up with a really recipe for a strawberry pie! Unfortunately, I didn't write it down, but it did involve craizins, cooking sherry, and pineapple topping. It was pretty amazing. And Maggie was a very smart little sous chef. I'm going to have to hire her when I open my restaurant!

Other than strawberry pie, we pretty much chowed down on Emile's wedding leftovers. Baked beans, Texas sheet cake, pulled pork and mac and cheese. Did I mention her reception was in a renovated BARN? Because I wouldn't be lying if I did say that. Because it's true.

Charles and I went to the zoo. It was free, because it's the national zoo, and it's owned by the smithsonian institute. Aweseome! They have a panda, and some hippos, and some very large elephants. I love hippos and elephants and flamingoes and I had such a fun date with the love of my life! But I have to say that the otters were by far my favorite of the whole trip. I LOVE LOVE LOVE otters! I want everyone to know that about me, because it's integral to who I am as a person.

Of course, my family does a pretty good job of providing a zoo atmosphere for free, too. Maggie was occupied with capturing caterpillars the whole time I was home, and them feeding them and watching them make cocoons. It was actually really cool. And who knew we had so many caterpillars?

Maggie is no comparison to Lizzy though. That girl's wild! She went out to lunch with my mom and Charles and I, and I think she was having a hard time figuring out where the chopsticks go. So, Charles and I leave for Russia tomorrow. I'll blog asap when we get there, but until then, I love you all. And I can't wait to get back and hear about your summers, too! Please keep blogging, everyone! And mom, have Lizzy start a blog for you, because I really want a family blog.