Hitting a Dead Skunk and Other Interesting Tidbits from my Weekend

Hmm... for some reason, my fabulous weekend pictures aren't loading... Boo!
Well, that's ok. Let me just say I had an Excellent Adventure with Big Jake this weekend. I think I should move to Cotton City!
Well, that's a lie. I think I should stay where I am, because I really like it. But I think I should go back to visit Cotton City again because I had such a good time meeting Grandma and Grandpa Hatch. They were so sweet! I'd forgotten how nice it is to have grandparents. G-ma made us some righteous soup, and G-pa showed us the tools he uses for witching wells. I learned a LOT of good stuff from them, and I'm pretty stoked to use the new whole-grain cookbook I received. Plus also, Uncle Roger and Aunt Charlotte were tremendously wonderful hosts. I pretty much want to join the Hatch family now. Think they'd adopt me?
Traveling 700 miles over two days can be a pretty grand time. J showed me a lot of great places, though we accidentally missed Fraggle Rock on our way out of town, and I even liked the venues he assigned made-up stories to (like the skinny-dipping hole-- wrong one). We fought 65 mph wind gusts, and an already-dead skunk got the second treatment from me when I didn't notice it in the road. Now my car smells a bit skunky. Jacob says I do too, but he might just want an excuse to smell me.
On Saturday we finally met Pammy's family in Mesilla over a very nice lunch. Oh, how grand it is to attach a face to that little man Alex, Pam's stinkin' cute nephew. We had dinner with my family on Saturday night, so it was a big weekend of yummy food and little kids.
I must admit, I'm a bit on the tired side. Church responsibilities yesterday weren't too intense, except for the makeover Miranda and I started on Justin W. He's looking mighty handsome, I kid you not. He just needed a bit of tweaking.
Also, last night we had cake at the Mortley's post-fireside. Good times with Clint's fam. Then Jacob and I introduced Steve to Flight of the Conchord's "Business Time." And then we attempted to visit President Brown, but it was already about 10 p.m., and a little late to drop in. But it made me happy. The spontaneity of it all made it feel like summer vacation, and I could get used to that. 78 degrees in Albuquerque tomorrow. I could probably get used to that too.
One final, funny thing: J has this really sweet friend named Chanel, and she's come to church with him a time or two. She's super fun, and it's always refreshing to be around someone who is not Mormon, ya know? Kinda like a breath of fresh air. Anyway, someone said something in our little circle, and Chanel said, "Wait! So missionaries have to be completely celibate?" And we told her yes, and that, in fact, we all are until we're married. And then as a little added explanation, we told her that Jake and I stayed at different houses on our road trip to avoid the appearance of evil. And she said, "So there's no question that you guys didn't do it!" It still makes me laugh. I have a super life!