Weekend with Ali

Ali came to visit about a week ago.  We were so excited.  When Ali and I get together after being away for too long, we talk... and talk... and talk.  No one else can understand how there is so much to say, but there always is.  On Friday night, we may have actually stayed up until after five in the morning.  We should have taken more pictures this weekend, but we got distracted and forgot.  Sorry about that.

After sleeping in on Saturday, we dressed up to go to a banquet put on by my organization.  My parents have never come up for family weekend at my school, but Ali usually does.  We completely forgot to take pictures in our dresses, so this dorky in-the-car selfie is the closest we got.

After the banquet, we returned home.  We were talking about some serious subjects, but bizarre music coming from next door kept distracting us.  In a college town, it is typical to have loud parties blaring from all over, but our next door neighbors aren't college students.  They're a married couple in their forties with two young kids.  Music that sounded like it had been taken straight out of a Bollywood movie kept echoing through our house.  Ali finally ran outside to peek through the slats of the wooden fence separating our two houses.  Within seconds, she was dragging me by the hand to look as well.  A live Indian band, as well as four or five belly dancers were performing in front of a fairly large crowd of people.  I'm still not sure why this gathering actually happened.  It was one of the more entertaining moments of this weekend.

I took Ali to her first-ever Ring Dunk.  At Texas A&M, there is a tradition that when you get your Aggie ring, you drop it into a giant pitcher and drink until you get to the bottom and catch the ring between your teeth.  Yes, this is a drinking game and is traditionally played with a large 60-oz pitcher of beer.  However, tea, lemonade, and various colors of Kool-aid are all popular options for the Christian community at my university.  

On Sunday, Ali and I went to church together and then to Cracker Barrel with my roommate and our mutual friend, Rebecca.  While we were waiting, Ali and I played an intense game of checkers.  I won, by far.  Ali was a bit distraught.

When we got home, we spent a sleepy afternoon watching YouTube videos and an episode of Community.  At one point, Ali saw a strange circular object on our mantle.  "What's that?" she asked.

"Oh, it's a portal," was my distracted reply. 

"Really?  What kind of a portal?" Ali asked.

I said, "It goes to Narnia."

Clearly, Ali wasn't convinced.  

But she stuck her hand through just to make sure.

Two years ago: You make me very angry.