good birthday

hanging out in downtown slc + shopping at city creek + indian food + a sweet, unexpected gift + 

jacob gets an acceptance letter to grad school + leaving for AZ tomorrow

so many reasons to be thankful. 

so many reasons to celebrate.

Birthday Theme Song

Does anyone make better celebration music than Sly Stone?

25.

This feels monumental.

Quarter of a century. Mid-twenties. Perhaps the threshold of true adulthood.

I'm pretty speechless about the whole matter.

I guess all I really have to say on my 25th anniversary of life is

"Thank you falletinme be mice elf."

o christmas tree

Behold, our very first Christmas tree. It was found on KSL for a good price, and purchased from a very jolly Hispanic man whose entire house was filled with Christmas decorations. He continually explained to us how much he and his wife love Christmas, and gifted us with two of his own nutcrackers that sat on his shelf—one for me and one for "the baby." He insisted. He even gave Jacob a hug before we left. We decided that he, his name was Gabriel, truly had the spirit of Christmas. Glad we bought our first tree from someone like that.

The decorations are modest. We bought just enough ornaments to adorn one side of the tree. My project—the red pom-pom garland—remains to be finished. The tree itself is obviously a fake, though we have a very nice candle to substitute the lack of aroma. Definitely not the grandest tree you ever saw, but when we lit it up in the room—it was pretty magical.

Jacob put an old Christmas album that we found at D.I. on the record player, and for a good hour we just cuddled on the couch, admiring our tree.

"Odysseus with no Telemachus"

As I have been going through a collection of Elder Holland's talks and speeches, I came across a passage that struck me. While speaking at some odd convention in the 1980s, he quoted these words from a letter that appeared in the New Yorker:

"The spirit of emancipation has... touched deep the nerves of truth [but it also reflects]... the blind side of our age, and the cost of the blindness; [and] a perhaps fatal stupidity intertwined with our enlightenment. The idea of emancipation, after all, has to do with an escape from bonds, not a strengthening of bonds. Emancipation has to do with power, not love... I don't think it's a coincidence...that more and more people are living alone these days... [There is a] general sense of the transformation of our society from one that strengthens the bonds between people to one that is, at best, indifferent to them; a sense of an inevitable fraying of the net connections between people at many critical intersections, of which the marital knot is only one... If one examines these points of disintegration separately one finds they have a common cause—the overriding value placed on the idea of individual emancipation and fulfillment, in the light of which, more and more, the old bonds are seen not as enriching but as confining. We are coming to look upon life as a lone adventure, a great personal odyssey, and there is much in this view that is exhilarating and strengthening, but we seem to be carrying it to such an extreme that if each of us is an Odysseus, he is an Odysseus with no Telemachus to pursue him, with no Ithaca to long for, with no Penelope to return to—an Odysseus on a long journey that has been rendered pointless by becoming limitless."

That last line stings, doesn't it? But yet I wonder if it will continue to ring true as a theme for our generation in some future's hindsight. The more I observe, the more I sense this theme.

Magic Song: BLUE CHRISTMAS

 a favorite of mine...

I know he's the "King of Rock" and all, but has anyone else noticed what a beautiful voice Elvis had?

Some of those songs on his Christmas album seriously make me swoon.

Perhaps my grandma is rubbing off on me.

After taking her to the Hard Rock Cafe some years back, I realized what a huge crush she still has on him.

It was only in that scenario and in Back to the Future that I've ever heard anyone refer to a handsome man as a "dreamboat."

20 weeks

So. I guess you could say I'm halfway through this whole pregnancy thing.

Kinda crazy to think about. On one hand, I'm like Whoo-hoo! HALFWAY THERE!!! On the other hand, I'm like wait a minute. You're saying this is only, like, HALF of the WAY therrre?!? And then I remember, oh yeah. TOTALLY not ready for a baby to arrive. I don't even have BABY SUPPLIES!! And yeah... LABOR. Haven't even wrapped my head around that event. Another four or five months is a good thing. 

Thinking and re-thinking the whole time-table aspect of pregnancy can really mess you up in the head. The days seem to pass by more smoothly when I'm not obsessing over how "far along" I am. Just trying to enjoy the journey. And wow. It's been a journey.

I figure that I am now experiencing the most enjoyable part of being pregnant. I feel superb. I love watching my budding belly grow each day. Most of my clothes still fit. I can sleep through the night. Food tastes good again. And I can feel baby girl moving around all the time, which warms my heart to the max.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that Jacob treats me like a queen? Never in my life have I felt so ridiculously needy (especially during that first trimester... YIKES), and never in my life have I felt so loved and cared for. I honestly don't know how I could get through each day without him. If anything, this process has definitely proven his heart of gold.

Okay okay. Don't wanna start braggin. But really—the guy deserves some props.

The Annunciation

I remember being struck by this painting when it was first introduced to me and I got to view it myself at the Tate Britain in London—about four years ago now. Carrying my first baby this Christmas season, I guess I've found myself wondering more and more about who Mary was. This image often comes to mind. The simple beauty and emotion of it still moves me.  

Magic Song: LEONARD

pretty.

OH NO!

I'm all out of prenatal gummy vitamins.

SHOOT.

Sometimes when there's a baby inside you, you kinda turn into a BIG BABY. And yes, gummy vitamins are totally necessary. This product is seriously heaven-sent. When I couldn't keep my Costco-brand prenatals down anymore (1st trimester nausea-thon), these gummies rushed in to save the day. They freakin taste like CANDY. Ain't no way I'm going back to those giant, nasty, omega-3 fish oil (fish-aftertaste), horse pills. 

Ain't no way.

Magic Song: YOU AIN'T ALONE

 Doesn't matter if it was released in the 1950s or 2012—I'm a sucker for these kinds of songs.

blues + soul will never be uncool. 

I'm feeling a little late on this one. This is one of those bands that I kept hearing about, but never took the time to listen to—until now. And wow. Why didn't somebody tell me that I would LOVE this album? Bluesy. Soulful. Fun. Powerful female vocals. I really enjoyed every track. I stamp it again and again with my stamp of approval.*

p.s. So the big reason I finally listened to this album is because I'm trying to listen to as many albums on THIS LIST as I can before the year ends. And whaddayaknow? It was #2. What I want to know is if there are albums that need to be added to this list (mostly ones that have been released since June) or that I should skip (cuz yeah, I'm probably not gonna get through half of these). I value your suggestions... if you have them.

*I seriously wish I had a real "stamp of approval"

Bump Ahead

Behold, the progression of "the bump."

I wanted to wear that black dress to church one more time before I would have to retire it for the rest of my pregnancy. It's pretty slim-fitting, and when Jacob saw me wearing it, he immediately gushed, "HONEY! YOU LOOK PREGNANT!!!" I caught a side-glimpse of myself in the mirror and realized, "wow! I do look pregnant." It finally happened.

At first, I was little reluctant to do the side-profile "bump" pic—but after a few requests and thinking about how I might regret it one day, I decided to whip out the camera and pose. But I'm not promising to be consistent with this. If the third tri-monster pics become too demoralizing, I may gracefully abandon this practice.

p.s. I'm actually 18 weeks today. Kinda feels like a landmark. I'm loving the 2nd trimester "honeymoon phase." I feel great. Pretty normal, actually. Although after a game of tennis on Saturday, I found out that I'm not nearly as agile as I used to be. [ball flies past me] Oh no... there it goes... ummm... shoot... *huff.* And seriously, I think I pulled something when I tried to serve "the heater." Sorry Jacob. Not quite the competitive game you were hoping for.

But really, I'm loving my belly. I was so happy yesterday when a friend (who is also pregnant, but a few months ahead of me) told me my bump was finally showing. I chuckle inside every time I see someone's eyes drift down to my mid-section when we are having a conversation. Hey guys! I'm up HERE!!! I think Baby Robinson is beginning a growth spurt in there. I even think I felt her kick last night. At this point it's hard to know what's her and what's indigestion... but then I felt another one. :D!

GENDER REVEAL!!!

In case you haven't heard, Jacob and I recently had an ultrasound and we found out that Baby Robinson is a...

GIRL!!!

Baby Robinson's profile at 16 1/2 weeks

We couldn't be more thrilled!

Surprisingly, most people we asked predicted a boy, but Jacob totally called it. 

A few weeks ago, he randomly threw his arms around me and announced, 

"I think it's a GIRL!!! And everyone knows that daddy's intuition is right!"

Yeah, I'm pretty sure nobody says that.

But hey! Papa Robinson was right after all.

(I guess there is such thing as daddy intuition?)

And deep deep in my gut, I think I knew it was a girl too. 

This ultrasound just warms my heart. 

Doesn't it look like she is sucking her thumb?

so so sweet.

awwww... we already love her so much!!

Mixed Feelings: SNOW

Snow is pretty.

Especially the first heavy snow that falls each year. Waning Fall in Provo suddenly turns into "Christmastown." It is white, quiet, and all the little families are sledding in the park. I get to wear my rubber boots, flannel, eat some warm noodle-stew (pho, actually), and sleep with an extra micro-plush blanket. All things Holli loves.

But snow can also cause a giant tree branch to fall on the power lines, ripping the power mast from the house. This causes high-voltage lines to hang in your backyard (DANGEROUS!), which then causes the City to turn off your power and not plug you back in until you fix your power mast and replace the meter. In other words, no power for the weekend. NO LIGHT. NO HEAT. NO INTERNETS! Ouch.

A few good things did come out of this. 

1. A really nice family that Jacob knows from Stockton (and just happened to be in town) let us stay in their lovely home—large basement with big TV all to ourselves. 
2. We justified eating out a few times, because hey! We couldn't cook anything! 
3. After we got sick of eating out, aforementioned  "nice family" feeds us delicious home-cooked meal. Plus, they had a HUGE jar of Swedish Fish. Couldn't say no.
4. A very nice electrician named "Art" worked ALL DAY in the nasty weather to fix our situation before our friends from Rexburg arrived to stay the night with us. He was a champ. 
5. Realized how lame we are when it comes to "emergency preparedness." Seriously, only one baby flashlight?? We will fix this.
6. A deeply remembered appreciation of electricity and THIS SONG.

Magic Song: BRICK HOUSE

Three great moments from the weekend:

1. Winning a FREE tub of Triple Brownie ice cream via raffle drawing at Smith's. Turns out, I'm lucky stuff. 
2. Holding a $600 yorkie pup at a pet store we found in Orem that has real live puppies in the store! I FELL IN LOVE. Wishful thinking so hard right now.
3. Major car-dancing sesh to the above song when it magically played on the radio. I wonder how my dance moves will evolve when I have a beach ball-sized belly—should get pretty sexy.

shake it down shake it down shake it down shake it down now...

Alpine Loop

More Fall photos, if you please?

photo taken by a grasshopper

A scenic Sunday drive—obviously in our "Sunday best."

NOT.

Judging from other girls' blogs (and especially when reflecting on these last two posts), 

it's easy to feel like I should probably dress a little cuter when we go on these "adventures."

But ya know, I kinda like the Sunday afternoon nap-wear aesthetic.
Eat your heart out, fashion bloggers.

Provo's Fall Colors

We had to get out and enjoy these beautiful Fall colors before they disappear forever—well, until next year. Luckily, Jordan and Fan invited us for a little outing in Rock Canyon.

unattractive-leaf-throwing pic proves how much i love fall.

You'll notice that the pictures begin with us as a group, and then end with mostly... well, me (Jacob was keeper of the camera). This was about a month ago, when very few knew our secret about Baby Robinson. We were all planning on hiking up to an old mine in the canyon, but let's just say this hike was a little more long and strenuous than we were expecting (and not the safest trail either)—especially for the secretly-12-weeks-pregnant girl.

I found myself huffing and puffing, trailing behind the others. I kept making the excuse that I was a little "woozy," which I was. Finally, Jordan turned around and asked me point-blank, "Holli, are you pregnant???"

Well, we couldn't LIE to them! They were excited to hear the news. Still, Jacob and I decided that we should probably turn back. Guess it's time to start recognizing my limits. I'm a freakin sacred vessel!

Regardless of my inability to make it to the mine, it was a lovely time playing out in Provo's Fall beauty. And though I wasn't prepared to be discovered so candidly, it felt really good letting a few more friends in on our lil' secret. And now that EVERYONE knows. Well, it's pretty awesome.

"What a President Should Be" (1996)

On the night of this historical election, I have decided to publish an unreleased piece of poetry from my childhood, entitled "What a President Should Be." Enjoy.

Can you tell that I was an extremely precocious child (obviously with an astute knowledge of poetic meter and form—mostly inspired by Shel Silverstein) and very concerned about the 1996 presidential race between Bill Clinton and Bob Dole? Sadly, I think I was more passionate about politics as a 9-year-old than I am now. Still, I hope for the best. And yes, I did vote.

By the way, my mom still thinks this is the best thing I ever wrote.

I think my penmanship has hardly improved.

Jacob thinks it got worse.

Magic Song: SAY YOU DON'T MIND

Found this song on Sucre's playlist of songs that inspired her album "A Minor Bird." I love the strings and the "cinematic feel." As this track plays, I can't help imagining a character with an unknown story walking down some charming city street as the opening credits roll. What is he doing? I suppose he could be mailing a postcard to an old lover or perhaps buying...ummmm...  candy?

CANDY.

Yep. I guess that's the most creative thing prego-Holli's imagination could come up with. Perhaps a dead giveaway that I've been dreaming of Sour Patch Watermelons for the past week? I think the next post I write should be a list of all the foods/treats I love right now—you know, so people know how to properly congratulate me on the big news. eh?

Oh yeah, and I like this song.

Halloween Baby

Just in time for Halloween...

So that little martian-like creature your seeing in this ultrasound... yup! that's Baby's face!

Something about the head-on shot this early on is both cute and creepy at the same time.

As a mother, I couldn't be more charmed looking into the eyes of my little alien-baby for the first time.

Baby says Happy Halloween!

 Other Halloween things this week...

Squash soup in pumpkin-shaped bread bowls... nom nom nom.

For family night,  Jacob and I carved our pumpkins and watched the 1959 House on Haunted Hill (SPOILER!!! This  *CLICK HERE* is the best part of the whole movie) and the Halloween episode of Freaks and Geeks (one of my favs).

Jacob carved a spectacular Patrick and I carved... can you guess it? 

Let's take a closer look...

A PUG!!!

Let's just say I'm really proud of this one.

Jordyn, wherever you are (I think Puerto Rico?), I thought you would appreciate this.

Tonight we plan to pass out candy to all our cute neighborhood kiddos, 

and then we are going to see Deep Love: A Ghostly Folk Opera!

Pretty stoked about this.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Baby Robinson

Meet our tiny, precious baby...

Today Jacob and I have some pretty special news that we would like to officially share with everyone!

WE ARE EXPECTING!!!

You better believe it! I am about 3 months pregnant 

and sporting a mini baby bump! (kinda... it's getting there)

We are beyond excited to welcome this little one into our family and finally spill our lil' secret—

which has been the most TORTUROUS secret of our lives!

These last few months have been some pretty special times for us.

Jacob and I feel incredibly blessed to begin this new chapter in our lives and our marriage,

and are thankful to family and friends who have already shown so much love and support.

Baby Robinson will make his/her debut in April 2013.

Parenthood here we come!

Husky Convention + Conference

Jacob's parents and younger brothers (Josh and Travis) came to visit us in Provo over conference weekend. Their stay proved to be fun, relaxing family time + the Robinsons were able to attend a few sessions of general conference together in Salt Lake. Our only challenge was keeping the teenage boys entertained between sessions. Our house is not that exciting (no Xbox/only basic cable TV), and I could tell they were getting bored fast. I could only think of one decent solution...

We would take them to the HUSKY CONVENTION!!

HUSKIES EVERYWHERE!!!

Yes, you heard me right. There were rumors of a Siberian Husky Convention taking place in downtown Provo. Naturally, I was intrigued. However, there was virtually no information about this event on the internet—the date and location was all I knew.  We went on blind faith that, indeed, we would find a Husky-related event and see at least a few of these beautiful creatures.  Indeed, we found the promised Husky Convention. I was in Husky heaven.

True husky champions being judged in show.

HUSKY MERCH!!!

This shirt almost had me in tears. DOUBLE MEANING!!!

I'm so fascinated with this husky subculture. Learning so much.

Preppin' for the big show.

Josh and Travis probably thought I was a little too obsessed with the Husky Convention, but I know they were secretly loving it too. Next, we took these boys to the Provo Farmers Market.  We showed them the best waffles in town, and they helped us pick out a pumpkin for Halloween.

After J-Dawg's for lunch and playing pool at the Wilk, it was time to head to SLC for the Priesthood session. 

Josh and Trav were so tuckered out that they napped the whole ride. 

precious.

Brothers going to the Priesthood sesh.

While the men attended Priesthood, I met up with Mama Robinson and my friend, Kari. Priesthood session is always the best for some seriously overdue "girl time." We explored the Church History Museum (my fav) and City Creek, and talked talked and talked. After the session, the family regrouped and went for dinner at Ruth's Diner in the canyon—one of my favorite places, and I guess it's sort of become a conference tradition for me and Jacob.

I really enjoyed this day. 

Family + conference + huskies = all things Holli needs.

Our Squash Baby

Back in June, we bought a little baby squash plant at the farmers market. We were told that with tender love and care, it would grow and produce spaghetti squash. We gave that plant SO MUCH LOVE AND ATTENTION, and what did it give us? A JUMBO-SIZED BANANA SQUASH! Obviously the hippie dude at the farmers market sold us the wrong plant, but this was the best surprise of our amateur-gardening-lives! Maybe even a miracle.

We estimate that our baby squash weighed at least 15-20 lbs. Look at us. Proudest parents you ever saw. 

Squashie baby actually had a little brother growing on the vine, 

but sadly he was eaten by (most likely) a deer. Tragic.  

No worries though. This one will provide.

"HULK SMASH!!!"

And of course, 15-20 lbs of banana squash = about 8 large ziploc bags full of squash puree!

Plus, we also grew two large butternuts that are waiting to be roasted and pureed.

Looks like we'll be having lots of creamy squash soup this season.

Nom Nom Nom...

Magic Song: STRANGE LOVE

Another great song from the Frankenweenie soundtrack—this one's by Karen O.

Is it just me though, or does the melody/lyrics/rhythm of the first phrase sound almost exactly like the

melody/lyrics/rhythm of the first phrase in "Love is Strange" by Mickey and Sylvia?

I'm sure it's a coincidence.

After all, love is strange. They both got that one right.

Kimbra + The Stepkids

To put it simply,

ONE OF THE BEST NIGHTS OF MY LIFE.

My I-HAVE-BEEN-WAITING-MONTHS-FOR-THIS-SO-EXCITED face.

I didn't really know much about The Stepkids, but they played a pretty groovy set. These guys had skills, and their psychedelic light show mesmerized us all. My favorite was watching the drummer, who was smiling the entire set. Happiest drummer I have ever seen. 

And then, the main event. 

When her band started playing the intro, I was so psyched I could barely handle it. When Kimbra came running on stage looking like a crazy person, wearing the wildest dress I've ever seen, and rocking out on her tambourine—I WAS IN HEAVEN. 

I loved her purple-hula-skirt-cape... or whatever the crap that thing was. She really looked like a whimsical comic book character, and her dress kept evolving throughout the set.

This lady is just BANANAS. When she performs, she holds nothing back—and her voice is just stupid-incredible.  Here's a video that some random youtuber posted from the show. Not the greatest quality, but you get the idea...

Kimbra-lovers

My friends Lauren and Jordyn also came along for the show. I don't know if they understood what they were in for. When I found them after the set, they looked awestruck—and more importantly, both left with Kimbra merch. Two Kimbra fans were born that night. 

Every moment of that show was just incredible. Still not over it.

Magic Song: WITH MY HANDS

In honor of the Halloween season and the Kimbra concert I attended last week,
here's Kimbra's new track featured on the soundtrack for Tim Burton's Frankenweenie.

Some of the stylistic elements of this song (especially the bridge + outro) remind me so much of Michael Jackson. 

Not in a way that is obvious or derivative, but in a way that brings me happiness.

I love the combination of influences/styles she brings into her music.

Magic Song: DO MY THING

I love it when Janelle comes in on the 2nd verse. 

SHE IS SO COOL.

Mixed Feelings: CITIES

In which music reflects my feelings about my surroundings...

VS.

When I'm walking around in downtown anywhere, 

one of these songs is guaranteed to playing through my mind on repeat.

I kinda prefer feeling like the cool, streetwise, billy-joel-dog.
Either way, I always go home and play synthesizers.

Epic Bus

Dude. If only commuting were actually this exciting.

My standard of living would be upped to the nth degree. 

Maybe I should move to Denmark?

Magic Song: NO ONE'S GONNA LOVE YOU

What?! Cee Lo covered this song?

I dig.

Band of Horses original:

Great song.

And I love hearing it with that signature voice of Cee Lo's.

No one has quite the funky-raspy-soul that he does.

Family Videos

So if you couldn't tell from the last post, I'm kinda in the process of doing a digitization project of my family's home videos. Maybe these will only be amusing/hilarious to members of my fam, but I thought I'd share a few more gems that I've come across.

This one is just priceless. I just LOVE watching my cool older siblings acting like complete dorks.

And here we have another music video shot by Jheri in San Felipe, Mexcio. The serious tone of this piece makes me die laughing. I particularly love the part when Jheri climbs on top of my grandma's van and wistfully stares off into the distance in her cyndi lauper-inspired jumper. Other appearances in this clip include Tricia, Lolita (our lil' amiga), TJ, Grandpa Ferrin, baby Mason, Grandma Ferrin, Me (very briefly), and Great-grandpa Butler.

Okay. As cheesy as this is—and it is REALLY cheesy— it does bring back so many memories of San Felipe and those magic summers of my childhood. San Felipe is one of those places that I know I'll probably never visit again in my lifetime, and if I did, it wouldn't be the same. Great-grandpa's cliff-side trailer-shack-thing (I don't even know what to call it) overlooking the beach no longer stands. All I've got is the memories and these exceptional family films.

Sweet Child O Mine (1992)

Some of my friends have expressed a desire to know what I was like as a kid. Well, this is the absolute best I can give you. It's 1992. Holli, age 4, obediently does everything her teenage sister tells her in order to create this fantastic music video with clunky analog camcorder + Walkman cassette player. Kinda long, but I think the end is rewarding. By all means, enjoy.

Commentary:

0:02 - Mosquito bites, man.

0:36 - You have to understand (as I am doing those painful cartwheels) that this is San Felipe, Mexico in July. It is probably, like, over 100 degrees. That sand is burning hot. There is a reason that I look like I'm about to die from heat exhaustion.

1:54 - A face that could break your heart, right?

2:04 - You can hear Jheri telling me to "walk." I'm not very good at following directions, obviously. And so she proceeds to kick me in the butt, launching me into my "cute walk" that she taught me.

2:36 - One-handed air guitar. Ain't no thang.

3:52 - I tell Jheri that she has the camera upside down. Of course, I didn't realize this was part of her artistic vision.

4:50 - I don't know. I must think it's still the "where do we go?" part. I couldn't really hear the music through any of this.

5:25 - Just call me Axel from now on.

6:07 - "was that GOOD?!"

Magic Song: SEPTEMBER

Shout out to Marin!

I just had to before the month ended. 

In my dreams, this song is playing at my back-to-school disco party. 

Boy, I miss school sometimes.
Something about Fall always makes me.

But I just go
Ba dee ya dee ya dee ya...

Anniversary Road Trip: ZIONS NAT'L PARK

The final stop on our grand road trip was Zions National Park. Our original plan was to hike the narrows; however, because of flash flood warnings, we decided to decline. I didn't want our trip to turn into an episode of I Shouldn't Be Alive—even though it's probably one of my favorite shows on TV. Instead, we opted for a short, breezy hike to the Emerald Pools. After two weeks of tons of driving and sight-seeing, this turned out to be a good choice for us. Nothin too crazy. Just a nice stroll in the land of the red rocks.

the hike to the pools was a refreshing mist trail

As usual, Jacob had to get soaked.

I think my favorite part of the hike was when we found a quiet, 

shady spot near a pool and took a nap on a giant boulder. 

Sometimes I just gotta nap. 

red rock views.

Found this little guy near the trail. He was pretty good at camouflaging.

I couldn't leave without visiting the stables! This horse loved me.

Found a little orchard-market on our way out of the park and bought this delectable cup of mango gelato. Just what the doctor ordered.

We could've spent more time exploring Zions, but we had to admit it to ourselves—we were ready to go home. After two weeks of adventure, I was aching for Provo. I never thought I'd say it, but it really feels like home now. As we drove back into town, it was amazing to see the red-orange patches appearing on the mountains and the pee wee football players practicing in the park. Fall came while we were gone! Glad we made that last stretch of summer count, but I'm ready for a new season. I wonder what year two of marriage has in store for us. Good things, I reckon.

Whew! Well, I'm finally done with these road trip posts.
Are you relieved? I am.