Robert and Laura

in anticipation of our lunch together

2012-02-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

i made a stop-motion video for my valentine

a little snow to play in

2012-02-03T08:01:00.005-07:00

this winter has been strange. more mild than we remember. it used to be only a matter of 'when', but now i wonder 'if' winter will will come as it has before.

sunshine cupcakes

2012-02-03T07:53:00.002-07:00

hey, mom, these are for you.

Arise and Shine Forth

“It is a time to do what is right regardless of the consequences that might follow. It is a season to reach out with kindness and love to those in distress and to those who are wandering in darkness and pain. It is a time to be considerate and good, decent and courteous toward one another in all of our relationships. In other words, to become more Christlike.” —President Gordon B. Hinckley, “This is the Work of the Master,” Ensign, May 1995, 71.

using the weather to our advantage

2012-02-02T09:53:00.003-07:00

somewhere on the world wide web i saw something that gave me this idea: robert and i filled balloons with water and set them outside in the snow; a day or so later we had ice globes which we set on our steps with tea lights inside them. i think it's beautiful. if it weren't for the coldness, i'd be out making ice sculptures all winter long.

from out the car window

2012-01-31T09:32:00.002-07:00

idaho does have beautiful scenery. you've got to love it for that.

we're expecting!

2012-01-30T13:52:00.005-07:00

...to sneak our own popcorn into the movie theater!
bahaha!
no, really, we did, and it was so sinful. a couple days ago we saw We Bought a Zoo. it was good, i'd recommend it. at the end of the movie, there is a touching scene about when matt damon first meets his wife. it's totally quiet, and i bet you some people were crying, and a little girl a few rows behind us shouts, "she doesn't look very modest" because the actress is wearing a tank top. oh... rexburg.

après ski

2012-01-19T12:30:00.005-07:00

birthday cake

2012-01-19T12:28:00.002-07:00

almond pound cake with swiss meringue chocolate buttercream and chocolate shavings.

ski weekend

2012-01-18T10:44:00.005-07:00

oh, targhee! i love thee.

at one time this weekend we were on the chairlift with an old hippie guy. (probably high.) robert told him he teaches english at byu-i, and the old man said, "oh, so you teach all 'thee' and 'thou' and stuff?" robert said, "yeah, sure."

that was the only time we rode the chairlift with someone else. most of the time the chair lifts were empty. we had all that beautiful snow to ourselves. skiing through fresh, dry powder is like skiing on a wedding cake. or a birthday cake?

i got to ski on my birthday. and i got to ski on martin luther king jr. day, too. wish come true.

to market, to market

2012-01-06T11:44:00.003-07:00

...to buy piroshky pastries, dungeness crab, beecher's mac and cheese, and doughnuts of course!

oregon coast at christmas time

2012-01-04T13:27:00.005-07:00

december

2011-12-17T09:41:00.003-07:00

last day of school

2011-12-14T09:11:00.002-07:00

hooray!

lunar eclipses

2011-12-12T12:22:00.008-07:00

lunar eclipse over the weekend.

lunar eclipse 2008.

the 5-year plan

2011-12-09T10:42:00.006-07:00

do you know where you'll be in 5 years from now? i do. i have it all figured out.

so i don't know where i'll be living or what i'll be doing, but on August 21, 2017, i will be at a total solar eclipse party, and you're invited.

we'll either go to rexburg or to the oregon coast. but idaho really has the best chance of clear skies.

mark your calendars!

tree trimming

2011-12-07T16:15:00.008-07:00

in our house, santa's black

93

2011-12-06T11:41:00.002-07:00

i spent the weekend in 2t for my grandma's birthday. she turned 93 on sunday. i showed up unexpectedly on her doorstep holding poinsettias. she was so surprised i finally had to tell her i was getting cold and i wanted to come inside. the next morning we noticed a friend of hers had written a birthday message on her driveway. we ate out a lot, and she shared all her birthday candies and treats with me. it was a nice weekend.

i just finished knitting this little tree skirt

2011-12-01T11:18:00.004-07:00

now if i could make the rest of the items on my list...

my favorite photos from a kid's birthday party

2011-12-01T08:57:00.002-07:00

our thanksgiving

2011-11-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

snow white

2011-11-07T08:36:00.001-07:00

at night

2011-11-04T12:39:00.006-06:00

when i was in school i learned that light is everything. value is the most important element to a piece of artwork. all objects, shapes, colors, people, everything we see in this world is just light reflected into our eyes. without light, not only would we not see anything but nothing would exist. (remember plato and socrates?) i like looking around at night because, with the different light, everything has changed since the day.

plus, hot chocolate is even better when you get back inside.

all squirreled away

2011-11-03T10:11:00.002-06:00

let's ditch this party and go out for pizza

2011-11-01T17:09:00.002-06:00

me: cleopatra/denise from the cosby show/gold. he: fantastic mr. fox.

halloweens past

2011-10-31T10:17:00.002-06:00

1. i was audrey hepburn in funny face. 2. robert was a royal tenenbaum. 3. i was a hippie/tree hugger (not pictured) and robert was a tree. 4. cowpeople. 5. i was from the 80s and i'm not sure what robert was. 6. i was a flapper, still unclear what robert was. 7. soccer people.

mesa falls

2011-10-25T11:50:00.003-06:00

office makeover

2011-10-14T10:01:00.007-06:00

BEFORE:

AFTER:

this ain't my first

2011-10-11T09:49:00.002-06:00

we went to a rodeo to see cowboys do stuff like this:
but mostly they were doing this:
which is also pretty entertaining.

hallelujah

2011-10-11T09:35:00.002-06:00

guys, no need to worry about us any more. we found a cheeseburger place. ole's. it's fairly new and it's just in the neighboring town. and it's, you know, not terrible. so between that and the snakebite 35 min.s down the road, we'll be ok.

hiking

2011-10-10T09:06:00.004-06:00

the other day we set out to hike in darby canyon up to the wind caves. the trail was so muddy and slippery, we didn't make it to the caves. but we did see a bunch of horses and an irish wolf hound.

well, Fall, it was nice knowing you

2011-10-06T10:44:00.001-06:00

snowing outside right now.

apples

2011-10-06T10:32:00.005-06:00

apple sauce, apple cider, apple pie, this apple coffee cake recipe was good, caramel apples, apples on our pancakes, apples in our salad, ham and apple sandwich, apples in the morning, apples in the evening, apples at suppertime. you name it.

a picture speaks a thousand words

2011-10-03T11:27:00.007-06:00

a picture is worth a thousand words, but i only got 3 pictures from my trip to salt lake, and they actually don't cover all the details. here are the rest of the details:

driving to salt lake where i met with my mom and sister.

eating in-n-out, double double animal style. so delicious.

shopping at nice stores, big stores, and old stores.

celebrating the marriage of these lovely people,

and reminiscing with them about that funny robe party we had. those pictures are priceless.

midway, utah where the trees are pretty and the pizza is good.

spotting elder oaks and elder nelson and being totally cool about it.

missing robert who stayed home to work.

chocolates, pastries, cake.

parking ticket.

'cause it was raining

2011-09-16T15:08:00.004-06:00

this morning i made apple cider. picked our apples and drank them.

today

2011-09-12T11:22:00.003-06:00

good luck on your first day of school!

south fork near swan valley

2011-09-09T09:47:00.003-06:00

i'm not intending to make my dad jealous, but i think that might happen.

our state fair is a great state fair

2011-09-07T07:31:00.008-06:00

like a lot of good things, the food is the best part.

lesson learned:

2011-09-06T08:05:00.002-06:00

i've grown too old for the crazy rides at the fair.

hello, darlin'

2011-09-04T18:06:00.006-06:00

the other night we went to a lovely wedding

then we came home and laughed at ourselves in photo booth

then we made popcorn and watched a movie outside on the grass

panoramamama

2011-08-26T08:29:00.001-06:00

from our day at the oregon coast

jam

2011-08-25T07:59:00.003-06:00

strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry jam (and we picked the blackberries ourselves!).

that's what you can make with a lot of berries, a lot of sugar, and a little bit o' love.

oregon coast

2011-08-24T09:08:00.003-06:00

we went to pacific city, oregon with my family.

climbed the sand dune and ran back down, walked out on the rocks as far as the land would take us, flew a kite, played with anemone in a tidal pool, and ate at mo's.

pretty ideal, i'd say.

falls in oregon and washington

2011-08-23T10:49:00.002-06:00

multnomah falls in oregon
snoqualmie falls in washington

we drove this far across the country we thought we might as well keep going

2011-08-22T16:22:00.004-06:00

good traveling sweets: all natural Blue Sky cola, and the new pomegranate Tootsie Pops.

good traveling listenings: This American Life and Radiolab. new favorite episodes: "Act V" and "Words."

we're getting pretty good at the road trip thing.

Oil and Brakes

2011-08-13T22:52:00.001-06:00

Oil, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, brakes, rotors, headlight, foglight and belts.

Thanks, Dad. I freshly regret paying so little attention to car maintenance my first 20 years or so.

egin lake

2011-08-05T10:07:00.003-06:00

read books

tossed frisbee

avoided leeches

cursed at atv-ers

got a little tan

from the shoebox

2011-08-03T13:06:00.002-06:00

i found lots of old photos we took back when we used to use film all the time.

and when we used to stare off into the distance dramatically.

the weekend

2011-07-31T22:26:00.003-06:00

a burger at chez brown. this one has blue cheese, sauteed mushrooms, and grilled red onion.
drive-in theatre. cowboys and aliens (the cowboys won), and larry crowne with an 'e'.
and opening ceremonies for the international dance festival.

heebie-jeebies!

2011-07-28T09:25:00.004-06:00

robert and i have been spending time in the photo lab on campus now that the students are gone. we've been enlarging photos and scanning negatives. like these pictures, for instance, of us in mexico swimming in a cenote, a cave filled with fresh water, near tulum.

then yesterday, robert spots this in the guardian:

the caption reads: A Morelet's crocodile, an endangered species found only in freshwater regions of Northeastern Central America, lurks in a spring near Tulum, Mexico.

deserted

2011-07-27T09:00:00.004-06:00

right now byu-idaho is on summer vacation. our little town shrinks to half when the students are gone. everything is so quiet and slow.

i like it this way.

how to make a homemade hamburger

2011-07-25T08:19:00.006-06:00

First: Decide what to make.

I put a menu together of Robert's favorites from the burger joints in DC. He chose Spike's Sunnyside from Good Stuff Eatery. He also chose skin-on fries and a seasonal fruit shake. (I let Robert chose everything since this is an extension of his birthday celebrations.)

Bacon, eggs, cheese... I had everything except the Good Stuff Sauce. So I just thought I'd ask:

And what do you know, they responded promptly with a recipe! (I blurred the actual recipe so that Good Stuff and I can stay on good terms.)

Dinner last night was good. Especially after we had to give talks in church. Bleh.

pink moon gonna get you all

2011-07-22T13:37:00.003-06:00

the moon was huge as it rose over the tetons. huge, i tell you.

grading scale

2011-07-19T16:00:00.006-06:00

A: the doughnuts are good. on robert's birthday, they're even better.
B: this might possibly be the best burger in town. which is pretty sad. it's from the university's new cafeteria.
C: the new water park in rexburg is fun, that is, if you like that the water slide rips your swimsuit and that a million little kids keep bumping into you.

we decided to draw animals with our sparklers and we ended up with 3 giraffes

2011-07-18T18:03:00.003-06:00

we must be related.

mine's the one with spots. there's also a butterfly and a penguin in there.

dunes

2011-07-16T15:55:00.007-06:00

robert it's your birthday. happy birthday, robert.

2011-07-15T08:28:00.004-06:00

love.

red sky at night

2011-07-14T08:49:00.000-06:00

road roller relief printing

2011-07-13T08:58:00.002-06:00

we got to help with some large-scale printing yesterday. an already favorite medium made even cooler by a steam roller.

idaho summer

2011-07-06T12:37:00.005-06:00

we jumped and swam in dierkes lake over the weekend.

The Fall(s)

2011-07-03T11:33:00.002-06:00

Shoshone Falls (which is taller than Niagara Falls) is engorged.

Laura and I, along with a score of other Hellewell relatives, are in Twin Falls, ID, for a family reunion.

Shoshone Falls looks like this:

And I think this might be my favorite Laura and Emily picture to date.

Drive to 2T

2011-06-30T23:12:00.001-06:00

The Snake river's so fat when it steps on a dollar bill, quarters pop out.

The Snake looks like it swallowed a bloated cow (oh snap).

We ate a cheeseburger in Arco, ID, and spooked a horse next to this fixer upper.

We stopped at Craters of the Moon National Park and played with flowers like Laura's skirt.

We made it to Twin Falls after some chicanery and then the Braves beat Seattle three games in a row.

Note: Laura's Grandmother is a huge Brave's fan. Thanks a lot, Mariners.

we're alumni

2011-06-27T10:25:00.004-06:00

we ran in byu-idaho's 50 lap relay on one of the alumni teams. we ran laps 20, 42, 49, and 50. we came in second to last. but it was worth it cause we had cute, tiny runners on our team. plus, we got t-shirts, ice cream, hamburgers, and a hat. they don't give all that stuff to students. nut-uh.

Change of Plans

2011-06-23T01:11:00.000-06:00

We had a cloud cover so we couldn't take a star picture, but with the cloud cover came a bunch of these bright loud things. Unfortunately this is the best one we got. If you ~~don't zoom in too closely~~ shrink the image it doesn't look grainy. Oh well, we'll try again tomorrow.

the desert at night with a thermos full of hot chocolate

2011-06-22T11:01:00.006-06:00

We made a test shot for a long exposure last night. This was taken at a high aperture setting on our camera, with an ISO of 400, a one stop polarizing lens and the shutter was only open for ten minutes or so. I was trying to guess the equivalency for a much longer period of time and see how much light pollution there would be. Next time we're hoping to keep the shutter open for several hours, so we're going to go later in the night so less cars drive by and illuminate the power station. We're going to bracket the exposure one stop on either side of f/18 (ISO 800?) and use a tripod (as opposed to the top of our car). Also, we're going to get through the power station rather than beside it.

Any other hints on how we should do this would be appreciated, because it would be kind of a bummer to spend so much time on a picture and come away with something lame.

-Robert

daddy-o

2011-06-19T22:07:00.000-06:00

aren't we cute!

holgas of our old city

2011-06-17T12:59:00.002-06:00

double exposure with lincoln on a warm night.

walking home through arlington cemetery.

when the elephants come to town. it's a yearly event by barnum and bailey.

capitol in early spring.

local flavor

2011-06-14T17:07:00.002-06:00

homemade ginger soda. emily and I made some for robert's graduation, but it turned out better this time because I remembered to strain it.
we went to the rexburg farmer's market and had some tasty things. I'm eating fries, made fresh from idaho's finest.
and the new doughnut shop in town sells doughnuts very cheap at closing time. we didn't eat all those, we shared.

new york city, you're so pretty

2011-06-14T08:34:00.002-06:00

old pictures of new york

2011-06-13T09:26:00.004-06:00

central park

moma

bryant park

nice

in the garden

2011-06-11T22:54:00.005-06:00

and strawberries.

Film favorites from our recent trip to Mexico

2011-06-08T17:55:00.002-06:00

Idaho is cold! We are busy unpacking here but I am taking a break to show you these photos and to remember warmer times.

-Laura

11 states, 1 district, 1 foreign country (I mean, it was only Canada) and 36 sticks of strawberry flavored gum later

2011-06-06T19:49:00.003-06:00

We made it to Idaho and this is where we plan to stay put. For a little while.

To celebrate our arrival into Rexburg we had an old love, burritos from Ramirez, and tried something new, Paradise Donuts. Both very good.

Also, though we haven't moved in any boxes yet, I did plant my garden today. I am still waiting for my arugula seeds to come from Amazon.com.

Leaving DC wasn't easy for me. I like change, but coming back to a place I've been before, and to a place so small, wasn't as exciting. But as I have thought about our circumstances and about this move, I see that the pros significantly outweigh the cons. And that's exciting to me. DC will be waiting for us and someday we will go back. Until then I plan to print a lot. Feel free to ask me what I've been working on. I think I will need the extra motivation.

-Laura

water babies

2011-06-05T20:54:00.001-06:00

Splash

Headbutt

Dive

Ballet dance

Breakdance

-Laura

Road Show

2011-06-05T11:10:00.001-06:00

Big Paul

Big geese

(these spots are KILLING me. We will clean our sensor sometime.)

The Badlands of North Dakota

A river in the Rocky Mountains

Yellowstone

Snow

And now you know about everything between Minnesota and Idaho.

-Laura

Mystery Spot

2011-06-04T08:30:00.001-06:00

I'll let you in on the secret, since who knows when you'll make it up to middle-of-nowhere Michigan to see for yourself.

The mystery spot ignores the laws of nature.

It's a place where it's hard to walk without falling over.

And water runs uphill.

It is a mystery.

-Laura

Harbor Springs

2011-06-03T08:48:00.002-06:00

We spent two nights at Uncle Don and Aunt Vicky's place in Harbor Springs, MI.

We also got to see my cousin Chris Howse and buy some fudge from his fudge shop.

They are doing some construction in town because apparently they haven't been changed since the late 19th century. Hooray for progress.

This cannon is here in case the French try and invade again.

Don and Vicki took us out to dinner at this place, which is not, as I first heard, called "Leg Zen." They had the best Polish food I've ever had.

And they also had a cool door.

That night, perhaps feeling the aftereffects of the saur kraut pierogi, I got a wild hare to jump in Lake Michigan.

So I did.

And then Rasheed (the dog) got so worked up that he surprised us all by jumping jumped in too. Apparently it was 'Sheed's first time in the lake, but he took it like a champ.

I should also mention that Tyedye the cat and Bunny the cat (perpetually unpictured) were great hosts as well.

We saw all Great Lakes

2011-06-02T19:50:00.004-06:00

They looked like this:

A lighthouse on Lake Ontario.

Niagara Falls is so close to Lake Erie, that we're just going to call this our picture of Lake Erie.

Niagara Falls is not as tall as Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls. Laura and I made a bet about this, and now I get a doublescoop ice cream cone from Cold Stone (devotees will remember that I previously won a Dairy Queen cone, but that never happened so we went double or nothing on this one).

This is the lighthouse on the American side of Canada. And that's Lake Huron.

Harbor Springs on Lake Michigan (more on that later).

A wild Laura on Lake Superior.

Bonus: Lake Gogebic

Double Bonus: that there river

Palmyra

2011-06-01T22:14:00.001-06:00

We went to a Memorial Day Parade in Rochester, NY,

on our way to Palmyra. After listening to informative, interesting, and inspiring messages on the tours of the Joseph Smith Home, Granden Printing Press and Hill Cumorah, we nonetheless developed a greater appreciation for brevity.

Granden Printing Press

Safety Precautions

Palmyra Temple

Hill Cumorah

Israel Barlow's spread

Dead Guy

Fiend

Eerie Canal

Hotel Pool

Next up: Niagara Falls and Harbor Springs, MI

The Wedding

2011-05-31T15:27:00.002-06:00

Here are pictures from Jess' wedding:

Jess and Marcus

From L to R, the priest (in orange), Amol's Mom, Amol, Amol's brother, Other People

Amol on a horse.

Laura and me. Amol's family was generous enough to let us borrow some more traditionally Indian clothes for the event. They were really comfy.

Jess invited a handful of friends to participate in a flash mob, but most people were unprepared/chicken (I was both), but you'll notice Laura getting her jai-ho on there on the right in front of all those strangers. Laura=awesome.

Congratulations, Jess and Amol. We're really happy for you.

J+A's mendhi party

2011-05-30T20:52:00.001-06:00

Jess and Amol had a mendhi party as part of their wedding weekend. As per tradition, the day before the ceremony the women get all henna tattooed and then there's a BBQ (I'm unsure if this last part is tradition, but it tasted really good).

Laura got all tatted up.

Oh, and they drilled the tent poles right into the asphalt.

Jess is really funny.

The party.

Note: If you get a sandwich and put their super spicy BBQ sauce on it and wander off and then Laura takes a bite of it, she'll fan her mouth all weekend.

Part of our weekend

2011-05-30T07:51:00.001-06:00

Now we are in upstate New York. We are here for a wedding but we've also been able to do some sightseeing. This picture was taken at the Joseph Smith farm in Palmyra. It's beautiful there.

-Laura

Our favorite thing to do

2011-05-27T17:59:00.003-06:00

Shake Shack!

Shake Shack on a different day!

Levain Bakery's giant delicious cookies!

Jenn was right, the best part about new york city is the food.

But you already knew that

-Laura

Fleet Week

2011-05-26T08:41:00.002-06:00

For Fleet Week, the Navy sends a handful of ships up the Hudson and Yesterday morning we watched the parade.

U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

The Long Walk

2011-05-25T18:56:00.001-06:00

We walked almost 10 miles yesterday. Here's what we saw:

The Empire State Building from Bryant Park through Laura's sun glasses.

New York City Library had, among other things, the first draft of Ernest Hemingway's Nobel acceptance speech.

Scribner published, among other people, Ernest Hemingway.

Central Park.

Laura in Central Park.

Laura on a rock.

A cat with wings.

We ate at Otto's last night with Jenn, Chris and Emily and had, among other things, olive oil gelato. It was much better than it even sounds.

The Cosby Show and Friends

2011-05-25T05:57:00.002-06:00

Heathcliff Huxtable and family lived at this house according to the panning introductory shot (often accompanied by friendly jazz music) that welcomed you to The Cosby Show.

Someone was kind enough to graffiti the stoop so passerbys wouldn't have to double-check their iPhones and blackberries, you now, just to make sure.

Right here (kind of) Claire succeeded in teaching Rudy how to ride a bike and Theo kissed his season 4 girlfriend after Vanessa walked by and "oooooooooooooh"ed him.

Also, the apartment from everybody's favorite 90's sitcom, Friends, was just around the corner. Apparently Chelsea is the place to set your sitcoms.

"I'll be there for you (when the rain starts to fall)."

NYC food trucks

2011-05-24T21:35:00.001-06:00

Before arriving at Laura's cousin's apartment, Laura's cousin, Jenn, gave us one very serious commandment and it went something like, "Thou shalt eat at as many food trucks as possible and tell me which ones are the best. Thou shalt especially eat at the Korean taco place, and the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, for I hath heard good things about them."

It just so happens that we walked past a food truck food tasting event in our first morning, and it just so happened to include all those places.

That is a beef, salsa, cheese and kim chi taco.

A steak burger.

A random art show (we're in Greenwich Village).

Indian rolls.

Ice cream cone from The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck. (Though, I think the ice cream was gender and orientation neutral. I mean, it didn't taste gay.)

For dinner we went to S'mac, a mac and cheese restaurant that we went to last time we visited.

We had desert at a milk bar which is almost exactly what it sounds like plus cookies. I had an ice cream cone flavored like the leftover milk from a cereal bowl. Laura had a cookie made from scraps of other desserts, and they were both surprisingly good.

Before leaving dc

2011-05-24T07:34:00.001-06:00

We rooted for the Nats at Camden yards in Baltimore.

We went to NPR for a tiny desk concert with the Blind Boys of Alabama.

It was quality time.

- Laura

Last days in DC

2011-05-23T06:52:00.001-06:00

We biked from the National Mall to Dupont Circle so we could eat at DC's newest cheeseburger landmark, the Shake Shack. I got a free custard for graduating, and the burgers were amazing.

We went back the next day so I could get a rhubarb custard. It was everything I hoped for.

We took one last tour of the art gallery as well.

And Laura was dressed like a door.

I quit my job

2011-05-21T07:32:00.001-06:00

And it was something to celebrate.

On my last day, in the morning before the store opened, some of my favorite songs came on the radio (don't judge me now):

Put a ring on it- Beyonce
ABC- Jackson 5
It aint me, babe- Fleet Foxes cover
I left my wallet in el segundo- A tribe called quest
Ring of fire- Johnny Cash

-Laura

Graduation 2

2011-05-16T09:59:00.001-06:00

Our big graduation took place on the National Mall in between the Washington Monument and the Capital. Mayor Bloomberg of New York was our commencement speaker.

The day started off cloudy and cold, and everyone was worried we were going to get a rainstorm.

This was my view for graduation.

Only 4 out of 7 of our graduating class walked here (the one unpictured technically graduated with the philosophy department). Sorry, closed-eye Elizabeth, it's the only one I got of us.

Andrew and Frances (they're going to be married in September), Emily, Laura, Robert and Amol and Jess (they're getting hitched in less than 2 weeks).

It wasn't until I looked at this picture that I realized how badly I need a shave and a haircut (and a jawline under my chin).

We marched up and down the National Mall to get pictures in front of the capital and the Lincoln Memorial.

I think this is the best picture of Laura and me, but we're out of focus. Lame.

These two fellows were from somewhere far away, and they wanted a picture with me because they had never seen anyone dressed like this before.

This statue behind the Lincoln Memorial honors writing and the arts.

Graduation Pictures 1

2011-05-16T09:31:00.001-06:00

On Saturday night I had my small graduation ceremony (the one with just my college, and not the whole university).

Everyone from the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences got buff and blue hoods (for a while GWU was just the Columbian College so we're the only college within the university who gets the school colors on our hoods), and the English department got white collars. I'm pretty sure our color combination was the classiest.

Laura took her picture of me receiving my diploma at the same exact millisecond the official photographer took his picture, with flash.

Where's Waldo?

This is George Washington's 2011 baker's half dozen of graduating English grad students (all master's students, no Ph.D.s).

Emily and Laura were strong and loyal enough to sit through the ceremony's grueling inertia.

Afterwards we celebrated correctly with a trip to Ray's Hell Burger. When I walked in two little kids said very loudly, "Hey look, a pirate!". The lady in the background in this picture seems to be thinking the same thing.

Xcaret

2011-05-11T21:33:00.002-06:00

This happened one of the last days of our trip, but between interviews, graduation, and airport delays we never got to posting it. Here goes:

Dolphin:

Barracuda:

Robert and birds:

Laura and underground river:

Robert in underground river:

Laura and church:

Cross in other awesome church:

Dancing Maya:

This morning

2011-05-11T20:09:00.001-06:00

we took one last swim

-laura

Xcaret

2011-05-10T22:04:00.001-06:00

was a blast.

more to come.

Sand Capitol

2011-05-09T08:32:00.002-06:00

It's the US Capitol, can you tell?

We used to live near it.

Now we don't.

Now we're hobos.

But as much as I am going to miss it (and already do), the thing I'm thinking about most is, 'what should we build next?'

-laura

Happy Mothers' Day, Moms

2011-05-08T07:48:00.001-06:00

Two-tank dive in Cozumel

2011-05-07T19:16:00.002-06:00

Dove the Santa Rosa Wall off of Cozumel today: a coral reef on top off a 900 foot cliff.

I saw an eel, some barracuda, a lobster, some groupers and some other stuff.

After telling Laura that I saw a Lobster, a disagreement ensued about whether or not Sebastian from the Little Mermaid was a crab or a lobster. The resulting bet earned me a Dairy Queen cone.

Laura: "You wouldn't really eat one without me would you?"
Robert: "I would, right in front of you."
Laura: "I would close my eyes."
Robert: "I would dig the cone into your eyes and lick the ice cream off your eye lids."
Laura: "That would be really messed up."

The new beetle

2011-05-06T18:27:00.001-06:00

This little guy chased us around the beach for a few minutes before he started harassing someone else.

We kind of liked it when we thought it was a baby turtle. Not so much when we realized it was a probably-Lauriverous beetle.

Cheese-and-pizza! Cheese-and-pizza!

2011-05-05T12:56:00.001-06:00

Welcome to Chitzen Itza.

This is the largest structure, the pyramid called El Castillo. One reason why seeing Chitzen Itza in person is so amazing is that I could hear the acoustics of the place. The Mayans must have been fascinated with their ability to manipulate sound. You can't climb to the top anymore, but apparently if a person stood at the top of the pyramid and spoke at a normal level, a lot people on the ground would be able to hear. When we were there tour groups kept clapping their hands near it to hear the strange echo that came back to them. It sounded like a cartoon gun spewing bullets.

These are the ball courts. Where they would play that game where they try to get a ball through a ring on the side walls. There are acoustic tricks here too. For instance, there is a structure at either end, (like the one just above my head in that last picture) where if a person whispers standing in one, he could be heard from the other one. Seems to me like it would be easier if you just sat with your friends to begin with, but whatever. Apparently the guy who won the game would get his head cut off as a sacrifice. They figured a winner would be a better offering.

The figures in the reliefs that seemed to be everywhere are the flying fiery serpent, the panther, and skulls. Here an eagle has ripped out a man's heart.

This is the nunnery. Actually there are several buildings here that were probably living quarters for rich people, a church, a temple, and who knows what else. It smelled in there. And in the picture above, there are a couple of guys up on the roof. Not too long ago visitors were able to climb up and through most everything here. Now it's all roped off, but the ropes are mainly just a little string on sticks and there is no security anywhere.

This is a cenote. The Mayans used it for ceremonial purposes. It seems they would throw all their treasures and sacrificial offerings down there. Some guy who was a professor at Harvard bought the ruins at Chitzen Itza in the early 1900s and, not only did he find a bunch of the bones of sacrificed humans, but he also found a fortune in gold and jade. Most of the treasure is now in a museum at Harvard and Mexico isn't too happy about that.

I don't remember what this building is.

These pictures are of the temple of the warriors and the market. What is different about these ruins from many popular ruins in other continents is that so little is known about them. Most of this information is the result of educated guessing. No one can read the inscriptions. I think it must be frustrating to an archeologist to see so many beautiful structures and know so little about them.

I wonder what it looked like when all the stone was painted in bright colors. A little paint is left on this relief of a panther.

I thought the astronomy was interesting. One of the ruins is an observatory (rats, guess I didn't get any digital pictures of that) that looks a whole lot like a modern observatory with it's dome roof. Slits cut in the dome let the sun shine in on specific points on very specific days, like the solstices and equinoxes. Is main pyramid has something cool about it too. A snake is carved all the way up the side. On the spring and fall equinox as the sun sets and shadows rise, it looks like the snake is slithering. What a shame if you were there on a cloudy equinox.

This says it was posted by Robert, but it was me, Laura.

Laura's a Little Cat

2011-05-03T20:18:00.001-06:00