To: Dad , From: Boston

I discovered the best motivator to make me update my blog more. Homework. So here I am! Make no comment about my prioritizing, just enjoy the post.

So here's the scene. My parents are up north for a Storytelling Festival (mom, you're so cute), and they so graciously decide to visit their BYU student on the way. And they brought a watermelon, which was very nice. And also very beside the point. So here they are entering my Provo apartment (fact: my mom used to live here. Weird...), and I'm meeting them with two early birthday presents for my dad. The big one is the upside down stacked up tupperware thing. Don't judge the wrapping, it had to be that way.

My dad distractedly lifted up the top container and looked a little anti-climactically confused. He was wondering why I was giving him one of my roommates for his birthday. But when he looked a little closer he realized....

It was his very own Bostonian daughter! Ali has had this trip planned for about a month now, and everyone in our family miraculously kept it a secret from my dad. I'm not gonna lie, I had my doubts. My mom is just endearingly honest, you know?

So this is her finally, FINALLY, complaining about having to keep that secret from my dad for so long. It was not easy. It was really hard. I told her every time she couldn't handle it anymore to just call me and tell me, and I would act like I didn't know and give her a satisfying surprised reaction. I'm very proud of her :)

The other present was a piano duet book I picked up in a little music store in London. My grandma Miner and my dad used to play these duets all the time. I love to get the very old and very battered book out and play them with my dad. I was so excited when I found some more duets by the same composer a few months ago.

The next morning I woke up early to meet my little visitor. Lydia spent some time with me while Logan and Jenny went to the Draper temple. She was a wonderful little alarm clock for all my roommates, bless her heart.

You have to take lots of pictures of babies because they can't complain about it yet.

They finally meet! Aunt Ali was pretty excited to see her little niece. Jenny is so good about posting lots of pictures, but her kids are just so much more fun in person :)

It has to be frustrating to be way cute even when you're crying. Who's gonna take you seriously? So that was the exciting weekend. It was so fun to have my family in Provo!

Happy late birthday, Dad! Sorry about the secrets :) K not really.