Boston

For the two weeks off I have for Christmas we decided to go down to visit my sister in Boston. Also, because we were so close we also decided to go to NYC too. It was a lot of traveling! It was also a lot of fun.

Highlights of the trip in Boston:

Matt visiting Walden's pond and the mini house Thoreau stayed in.

Going to Longfellow's house!

He wrote the lyrics to the Christmas song, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." Aline's chapel was across the street from his house and for sacrament we sang that song, it was a tender moment. :)

Boston Cream Pie

A Boston cream pie is definitely on my list of delicious cakes! It's texture reminds me of tres leites. So delicious!!!

The site of the Boston Massacre

We took a walk a long what is called "The Freedom Trail". You basically follow a red brick line that shows you around to some historic sites in Boston. We saw Paul Revere's house, we saw where the Declaration of Independence was first read publicly, we saw Bunker Hill, & so much more! It was more fun than I thought it would be. It was fun to take a walk through history. 

 

We didn't have a christmas tree or proper wrapping paper to wrap our presents. I went to Staples and I bought some construction paper to make a tree. I did want the tree to be green but I didn't have enough paper so I decided to make it more fun. With the extra wrapping paper I did have I decided to use that to wrap presents. :) Aline said it wasn't really a Christmas tree but a Kwanzaa tree. :)

It was so fun to visit Aline and we're excited that in March she'll come and visit us!

Aline being friendly with this penguin at the New England Aquarium, which was also
another highlight of our trip. :)

Salad In a Jar

I LOVE CARBS! 
Oh, how I crave them! 
I must always have crackers at my side! 


However, I recognize that if I decreased the amount of carbs I ate I could probably loose a few pounds too. (I can easily eat 4-6 pieces of bread in a day.) So I started looking into salads. Matt mentioned how he saw something online about salad in a mason jar. Not only did this probably seem like a cute idea, but a practical one. (Anything in a mason, besides juice and pureed fruit, looks really cute. For example imagine water in a mason jar. *Cuteness* j/k)

So I did some googling and on Sunday night I created my salad in a jar! I've made enough for lunches for the next week. Wahoo!!

You can click here to see the website where I got the idea for these two recipes. 

It's December!

Although there's no snow (that is not a complaint!) I am doing what I can to get in the holiday spirit.
Last night, spur of the moment, Matt & I decided to check out some Christmas lights. You gotta love Smart Phones and the  information it can relay in seconds, no matter where you are. Matt found this place: Christmas Utah.

Address: 5631 Whispering Pine Circle (5631 South 820 East) SLC, UT


This was absolutely magical. You're looking at a still life view of this but what happens when you enter the subdivision you turn on the radio to  99.9FM and you hear the music and the voices of the trees as they talk. The lights turn on in synch with the music playing. It is absolutely fantastic!

Below is a youtube video that was shot several years ago, but it gives you an idea of the magic of this little house:



Magical! If you live in Salt Lake or even remotely close to it (Provo) this is a MUST see. Apparently this is the last year they'll be doing it!

In other news:
Who ever heard of Christmas Geese?

Angels I can understand... but geese?

Classroom Moments

In my class we were discussing what "migration" means and someone asked why birds fly in a V-Shape formation. I asked the class if anyone knew. I dared them to be risk takes and to take a chance on what they thought the reason was. Without the slightest sign of hesitation, one boy struck up his hand stiff and tall with an eager expression on his face. He looked determined to answer the question. Other children held their hand up and then quickly put them back down, with looks of confusion.

I figured the boy, who was raising his hand up eagerly, had probably learned the answer from his parents and was excited to share his intellectual response with the class. I thought I'd be doing him a favor by calling on him. When I called on him he said: "It's because V stands for vacation! They're going down south for vacation."

Vacation.... :)

75 foot rappel in Birch Hollow

There truly is nothing more enjoyable than time off of work. Two weeks ago we had a full week of vacation. Well, let me correct myself, when I say a full week, I mean the students got to get off for a week while we the teachers had to keep going to school for 3 days. The next sentence may cause you to think that I dont really like my job, but I do. Truth be told, I didn't mind going into work for those 3 days, with no students, it was plenty vacation for me! *sigh* In fact I feel like it was just the thing I needed. I got back to work last Monday feeling absolutely FANTASTIC.

Matt is really getting into this canyoneering thing. He has gone to Zion a couple of times in the past month. He spends his whole week researching a canyon, getting opinions, studying Google Maps. On Thursday night he prints his maps, laminates them, packs his bags, and then strives to get off work early so he can head down to Zion ASAP. Because of school and other commitments I generally don't go. Since I had a holiday I pretty much figured, "Why not?"

We went down on Thursday and went through Birch Hollow on Friday. Eric and Kiley came down with their cute family and we went with Eric on Saturday and did what is called the "Boltergeist"... or something like that. Here are some pictures!

The next day we went to Eric, who sometimes I wonder was a monkey or a lizard in his past life. 

   

 

...see what I mean?

Boltergeist was pretty fun.



Unfortunately because Matt was taking most of the pictures we have little pictures of him... but just imagine him coming down the lines. :) When I took my time, Matt zoomed right down. 

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

I really do think about posting....
However, life has become unusually busy. Sadly, summer vacation is over. I keep singing to myself those famous lyrics of Nat King Cole:

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer

Just fill your basket full of sandwiches and weenies
Then lock the house up, now you're set
And on the beach you'll see the girls in their bikinis
As cute as ever but they never get 'em wet

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
You'll wish that summer could always be here

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer

Don't hafta tell a girl and fella about a drive-in
Or some romantic movie seen
Right from the moment that those lovers start arrivin'
You'll see more kissin' <wolf whistle> in the cars than on the screen

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
You'll wish that summer could always be here

You'll wish that summer could always be here
You'll wish that summer could always be here

I didn't really have a lot of soda, pretzels, or beer.... but I would say I do miss the warm air, the freedom, and italian ice. Especially that Italian Ice. Where has the time gone?? Winter is coming... it was pretty obvious when I drove home Tuesday afternoon to this view:

Half of it is melted now.... regardless it's coming. 

I remember the days, when I was a freshmen at the University of Utah, and something like this looked ever so serene and beautiful, as I walked to class in the morning. It even made me feel all giddy and tingly inside. 

It's funny what a little experience and time can do to you.

Yellowstone

Right before school started we went on a little trip with Matt's family to Yellowstone. It was the first time I had ever been. It was beautiful!

We saw....

    a bison......

    

  

                heat loving bacteria.....

                                    

and lots and lots of geysers! 

....including "Ol' Faithful".

My personal favorite. I've been waiting for this moment all my life!

I imagined meeting Smoky the Bear around every tree and corner. Luckily we didn't meet any bears. :)

Here are some more fun photos of the trip.

Matt & I threw some rocks for fun and she wanted to do it too.
Here she is trying to throw a rock in. She kept throwing them directly into the ground. She didn't understand the "throwing" part.

                                                

Matt's family is really so much fun! His dad has a job in Pocatello and his sister & brother go to school in Pocatello. The whole family is there! Sometimes I just tell Matt that we should find something to do so we could also live in Pocatello. I swear if we all lived together, each day would be more exciting than the previous one. I love vacations with the Hickenloopers. 

We saw Yellowstone in one day and rented a cabin. After a long, long, long day at the park, with everyone coming back exhausted, his family blew up balloons, through together a fruit pizza, and busted out with presents for Matt, to celebrate his birthday. Matt, I think, is the best person to give presents too.... I've never seen an adult get so excited over gifts. He got a couple of carabiners, an ATC, and a harness. He loved everything! 

It was so fun to play, travel, and hang out with his family. Truthfully one of my favorite parts was Ainsley. Talk about a little girl with no fear,  tons of curiosity, and humor. As we walked along the trail she had no fear to climb up things or to jump off of them. (This gives anyone obvious reason for concern.) We did stop at one place to look at some bears (behind some gates) and she showed us the sign language for dog. I can see the furry thing with four legs could be a dog.... but the friendliness of a dog? I think not. I was pretty good about seeing the bears behind a gate in a managed environment, again, I'm pretty grateful we didn't REALLY see a bear. :)

  

Don't you wish you could just take her home?!