They say that catching up is hard to do...

Sorry everyone about missing last week. School has started back up and I've found that they tend to get graduate students right in the swing of things. Now I've been using school work as an excuse to keep from doing lots of things, and lots of things as an excuse for not doing school work. Needless to say, I'm simultaneously as stressed and as relaxed as I've been for some time.

Now that that is out of the way, join me on a journey into the not so distant past...

SMOKE FILLS THE ROOM

So, my folks came out to visit us. I thought that it was so that they could come to see Topher, but it turned out that it was so that my mom could further convert Megan into what I

begrudgingly call a "knit-nut."

This is Topher's "Somebody pay attention to me!" stance.

Despite being a little under the weather, Topher warmed up to folks to the point that he smiled at the camera while they held him -- a feat that neither Megan nor I have yet accomplished.

Don't be surprised if this face gets photoshopped into the next few months' family photos.

We decided to make our way up to Massachusetts to take in Lexington, Concord, and Boston.

The National Historic Site visitors center near Concord is actually quite amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone within a reasonable distance.

Topher really got into the spirit of things.

Apparently Topher is a patriot at heart, since he'd allow the tricorn hat to stay on for 1.5 seconds longer than the pirate hat we bought him.

We really didn't know what we were getting into in Concord. Apparently in addition to being the site of the "Shot heard 'round the world," it was home to a gaggle of famous authors and poets. For example Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott, and Henry David Thoreau are all buried in Concord.

Here we are at Walden Pond. This was the only shot we could get without B.F. Skinner herding his infants around the property in the background.

In addition to taking in the historical sites, we took a moment to visit the grounds of the Boston LDS Temple.

Unfortunately, my dad and Topher had a bit of a falling out in the process.

Fortunately, we have a saying in our family: "Cemeteries cure all ills."

Well, that joke is actually a little deeper than I care to deal with at the moment.

Boston hadn't changed too much since the last time we visited, but this time around we made it to the Bunker Hill monument.

Elevators not included.

Against my better judgement, I agreed to take the 294 stairs to the top.

Here is some good proof that just because I'm smiling, you shouldn't assume I'm okay.

Topher sure showed me up, he didn't even break a sweat going up.

At least he hasn't learned to yell "Mush!" yet.

All and all we had a great time and sure enjoyed having my folks out. And if there is one lasting benefit, it is that Megan no longer needs to resort to sticking head bands on Topher to entertain herself.

At least we'll be able to show this to a fiance someday.

Now in unrelated news (per usual), I secretly think that this is why the Cougars won last night:

We're glad that Topher doesn't startle like he used to because there was a significant amount of shouting, high-fiving, yelling, and cheering going on last night. We're also glad that we don't have any neighbors.

And as a final note to my parents: Topher may be walking, but you're plan has yet to come to fruition:

Kind of reminds you of Bam-Bam from the Flinstones, doesn't it?