the best and worst april fools' day pranks.

i’m actually not going to qualify which were the best and worst. i’m just going to tell about one that made me happy and one that made me mad.

the good one: my parents and youngest brother surprised me by showing up in seattle! (they live in georgia, so it was kind of a big deal)
my mom and dalton came on thursday and surprised me, and josh was in on it, and had known about it for over a month. i was so happy and overwhelmed to see them. my godmother, gail, came up on friday, so the five of us got to spend a beautiful sunny afternoon together at kerry park.

we did other fun things too, like take josh shopping at bellevue square and eat at the cheesecake factory, and cook dinner together. then, when i had thought there would be no more surprises, my dad showed up too. so nice. he works so much that he rarely gets to go anywhere fun with the family, so it was such a treat to get to see him too. they went down to the old stomping grounds in the couve, but they’ll be back on thursday to hang out for a couple days before josh and i head to yakima for easter. family is beautiful.

the bad one: the federal excise tax on cigarettes jumped from $0.69 per pack to $1.01 per pack, according to an article in usa today. the taxes on other tobacco products, like cigars and chew, also went up. the money from the taxes are going toward children’s healthcare, which is good, but the whole thing is such an infringement on freedom of choice. the government is forcing people to quit, and it’s going to hit the middle and lower classes the hardest. just sayin’.
i’m glad i stopped smoking when i did, or i’d be in a bad way.