The Pink Cell Phone

In the midst of an outrageously busy weekend, we signed a contract for new cell phone service. My husband and I don't impulse-buy gum or magazines like a normal consumer, we commit to two years with a cell phone company. The deal was really kind of a ridiculously good one, considering that we make most of our phone calls from work anyway, rarely call each other, and barely need cell phones as it is. Max broke my cell phone back in December, and I hadn't bothered to replace it until now, which just goes to show how in need of a cell phone I wasn't.

But this one is fancy. It's pink. And it has a camera. I didn't really care about the camera, and I actually would have preferred some color other than pink, but there was only one left in silver, and even as secure in his manhood as he is, it didn't seem fair to make Dan take the pink phone. So it was take the pink phone, which was free, or pay $10 for an even fancier phone than this one. I sort of questioned the need for all the fanciness already, and I wasn't in need of a music player, or a phone that would walk next to me to the Metro in the morning, or whatever this other phone purported to do. So, I went with the pink.

I had no idea how much fun I would be having with this phone by the time we reached the checkout lanes at Evil Sam's Club. I don't really like Sam's Club, because I don't really like WalMart, but they do have great meat for good prices, and enormous boxes of diapers--all things that we need. And, as it turns out, they have free cell phones with sensible plans that they actually paid us to take. And the free cell phones have cameras.

Here's Max with Dan's old cell phone. See?

Max got a haircut last week. I miss his curls.

I also borrowed a good digital camera from work for the weekend. Here's Max's cat.

On Sunday, Dan and I drove over to Arlington to meet my cousin Dan (known in our family as "Other Dan" to differentiate him from my husband) and Other Dan's middle son, Davey, who is 12. When it comes to restaurants, Davey likes bacon cheeseburgers, Subway, and Starbucks. Don't offer him any Thai or Mexican food. They were visiting from Michigan, and evidently arrived at their hotel in Dupont Circle just in time for the D.C. Pride parade. Other Dan was suitably impressed by what he referred to as "Cirque du So Gay." We went to The Tombs in Georgetown for Brunch. Bacon cheeseburgers for everybody!

Remember "The Exorcist?" Father Whatsisface fell down these stairs at the end:

That's Other Dan and Davey walking down the stairs. I tried to convince Davey to lay on the ground at the bottom of the stairs so I could take his picture, but being twelve and never having seen "The Exorcist," he didn't get it.

We also went to the National Zoo. Dan and Davey, both being animal lovers, take the Zoo very seriously. Here they are, planning out our route. Other Dan is on the phone with his girlfriend, Stephanie. She's on vacation in Israel.

The funny thing about the National Zoo--no matter where you are or which way you're walking, it's all uphill. Here's everyone looking tired, except for Max. Giddyup, bitches.

This is the second version of this picture I took. Dan and Other Dan made me take it again, so that they could "Suck it in."

This will probably be featured in the Newland Family Calendar 2008. My mother lives for family moments like this one, with all the boys sucking in their bacon cheeseburgers.

Max fell asleep in the car on the way home after the zoo. He missed his nap.

The bad news is, it was 6 p.m. when he fell asleep, so we had to wake him back up just so that he could eat dinner, take a bath, and then pass out like we'd anesthetized him.

Yesterday, on the way home from work, I took this picture with my new pink cell phone:

Like I should be surprised or something? C'est la vie.