The Host

Well I started this book on my flight out to NY and just finished it a few days ago! It's a bugger on length! I had mixed feelings when I finished.... There were definitely parts where I couldn't put it down and I was really into the story, but my overall feeling when I was done was that I had just wasted too many hours of my life. But since I had no job, and a lot of spare time, it wasn't such a big deal. I've also read her Twilight series and will probably read the next installment coming out in two days just for kicks. No I didn't pre-order and I didn't reread the other three just to prepare. I'm sorry to say I'm not a die-hard Stephenie Meyer fanatic like many of my in-laws and well, most of America. She's a good writer, just too wordy. What I mean by that is that I think she could have condensed this book into four hundred pages and accomplished the same story. Same with the Twilight series. Just my opinion! I know it won't be a popular one. So who's read it and what did you think??Also, any recommendations for another book to read? :)

Garden Show

We can always count on Briste to come up with interesting things to do in Buffalo! Last Saturday Briste, Rachel, and I drove into Buffalo to go to a Garden Show. It was spread out over a huge area so we got our map and started trucking!

We started in an area called the "Cottages". Homes that are participating in the neighborhood, put signs in their yards to tell you you can go in their backyard, sideyard, etc. I know nothing about flowers, my grandmother would be dissappointed in me, but I thought this one was really pretty. It was practically as big as my head!

This isn't the best example of the gardens we saw, but we wanted a pic with all of us in it!

After the Cottages, we hopped on the Garden Bus (a bus with it's top taken off so you can see out better) and headed for this Victorian home which was featured in Better Homes and Gardens. This is just half of the front yard.

It had an amzing backyard complete with a fish pond. The fish were huge, and reminded me of the ones at the Superstation Carwash in Mesa.

This is owner of this particular garden. She was quite a character. Her husband was dressed in a vest with a bowler hat. She had tassles, feathers, and lace galor on her outfit. You just have to take pictures with these people! We saw a lot more, and met some interesting ladies that drove us around and gave us a tour of Buffalo, but that's it for my pictures. Thanks Briste for a fun morning out with the girls!

Kayaking

Seriously, is there anything sweeter than a sleeping baby?! I hit the jackpot Wednesday when I got to babysit our friend's baby, Hugh. I like to call him Hughey though :) His dad, Garth, and Travis went with a few other guys kayaking down a river not more than an hour from here. They were gone most of the day so I had fun playing mom until Melissa came to get him after work.

It's about 7 o'clock when Travis mosies on in looking fairly happy. My first question to him..."Did everyone get back safetly?" "Yeah, of course!" he replies. Wonderful! I set his dinner down in front of him and listen as he eats and tells me about his day. What's that I see? Oh nothing, just blood drippind down his head. Hysteria ensues. "What happened! You LIED to me!!! You said everyone got back SAFE!!!" He spent the next 15 min. calming me and explaining that it was really NO big deal. You see he didn't have a skirt for his kayak, so it would fill with water constantly and he would sink, pull it to the side and empty it, then go again. Well one particuar time, he's holding the kayak up when he slips on a rock. He can't catch himself with his hands because they are holding the kayak. Head to the rescue! So he falls straight on his head, creating the before talked about gash. The kayak also created a real nice bruise on his hip. Later I find out he fell a different time on his back and now that's hurting a little too. Grrreat. I count all his fingers and sigh a little relief. Of course we can't have blood dripping on our cream sheets and a bandaid doesn't work on hair, so we rigged this get-up. I'm a nurse at heart.

Side note, I'm talking to Rachel (whose husband also went on the adventure) and she tells me that when Doug got home he said, "You won't believe what happened to Travis today! Oh, but you CAN NOT TELL STEPHANIE!!" What the heck!! I grabbed her arm and begged her to pleassse call me the second Doug says something like that again. It's like the husband alliance against the wife alliance. I'm telling ya.... It doesn't help that Travis already admitted to me that he would have never told me anything if I hadn't seen the proof! I mean, what's a wife for, if not to worry about her husband?? Lesson learned: always assume the WORST, and you'll never be disappointed! :)

Side, side note: After Travis read this he laughed and told me that he was the one to tell the guys to not let me know about it. Apparently he phrased it, "If you guys EVER want me to come kayaking again, you will not let my wife know what happened!" Figures. Sorry Doug! I should have known. I really wasn't upset, this isn't the first time this has happened. :)

A Quarter of a Century!

I guess it's official, I'm 25 today. Not that I'm sad about that, I'm actually excited to be a year older. I'm not sure at what age that gets turned around. I tried to keep it under wraps, however, but apparently didn't do a good enough job. Travis and I went over to Dave and Briste's last night, for a game night with 4 other couples. We were talking and having a good time when the lights suddenly went out and Rachel brought in a birthday cake while everyone sang. I was so surprised (and embarrassed) but it was really nice. I felt loved. Can you believe we only met these people three weeks ago? That's how great this place is. And if you'll notice in the pic, I blew out all my candles, so I guess I have a wish coming my way :) Yea!

Trav and I woke up early (ok not early, but earlier than usual) and drove to officially see Niagra Falls. We bought the whole tourist package and started the day with Maid of the Mist. We got beautiful blue ponchos and headed out on the boat ready to get wet. This is the before picture.

We passed the American Falls first and got a good mist...

then approached the Horseshoe Falls and got drenched! It felt like we were in a downpour. I'll admit that when I first saw the Falls from land I thought "Eh, pretty cool, but it looks just like the pictures". This is how my Grand Canyon experience went. However, once you see the torrential churn of H2O first hand, you immediately gain respect. It is straight crazy. (in the words of LaRee :)

Our next stop was called Journey behind the Falls. You take an elevator and few hundred feet down and follow a tunnel that is underneath the waterfall. There are two lookouts, but all you see is water gushing down. You're literally right behind it. Take a flight of steps down and there is a lookout point that sits right at the rocks underneath the Falls. Another drenching experience!

On to the Butterfly Conservatory! This doesn't seem to fit with the whole "Niagra" theme, but it was included in the package. It's basically a jungle in a dome filled with butterflies. There is nothing separating you from them. We watched a movie before, describing butterflies and I found myself thinking, "Yeah, they are pretty, but they are still insects. It's just like big, colorful, moths flying all around you". I suddenly wasn't so excited.

In we go and immediately one flies at my bare legs! I stifle a scream as Travis tries to calm me while pretending he doesn't know the neurotic girl who is afraid of a butterfly. I was instantly shamed and tried my best to keep my hand over my mouth and not let them sense my fear.

They randomly land on you. Here is calm Travis enduring a butterly encounter.

You can see them flying around above.

I did it! I faced my fear head on! After a good 45 min. I let one sit on my hand. No applause please. =)



This video got out of order, but this is at White Water Walk. It's a quarter of a mile trail that follows the river from the Falls. It has class 6 rapids which I guess are the most dangerous in the world. They looked scary enough. Can you believe people have actually tried swimming in this?!


The day was a success! Thanks to my wonderful husband of course. I was craving good Mexican food for dinner and he drove me all around town looking for a restaurant. We finally found La Tolteca, thanks to Dave, and enjoyed some burritos and enchiladas. I jammed out to Mariah Carey's greatest hits CD all day. I had mentioned I wanted it a few times and Trav always picks up on stuff like that. I hadn't even meant for it to be a hint. And of course we had to get donuts, since that's our birthday tradition. Lucky for us, Tim Hortons has an amazing donut called Canadian Maple. We are both in love!

The Dark Knight

DISCLAIMER: Do not read if you haven't seen the movie yet! :)Ok, so who would seriously look at this poster and think, "Oh yeah that looks like a good movie!" Millions I guess. Me included. I'll admit that months and months ago when the first previews came out I was justifiably mortified. So is it desensitization that I have to thank or the morbid intrigue that comes with watching a movie whose main character has since passed away? Who knows, but I was entertained. We went to see it with our friends, Doug and Rachel, Saturday night. Rachel is a movie guru who had us all order our tickets three days in advance. I think Doug was just mad that it costs $7 just see a matinee and $6 for a measly bag of popcorn. Who can blame him? We all had a good time, but I'm ashamed to say that I'm too vengeful a person. I wanted to see the Joker suffer a slow and painful death. I had to settle for dangling outside a tall building. No one can say he didn't play his character well. He played it scarily well. I just squirmed in my seat whenever he held a knife to someones face. Not a movie for the faint of heart, or I guess I shouldn't say that...I think I fall into that category, just be prepared to close your eyes!

More Pageant!

Our stake had a pot-luck dinner Friday night at the pageant, so we decided to go again and actually watch the pageant! We enjoyed some fried chicken and a random sampling of salads and of course good company!

Anyone recognize this guy?? Jeff and his family flew in for a church history tour this week and came to see the pageant the same night as us. What a guy, he even saved us some killer seats! We had a lot of fun talking and catching up on life. They live in Utah and so we rarely get to hang out.

This is our friend, Briste. Her husband, Dave, was studying for his dental boards, and he couldn't make it, so she came with us! They have helped us out SO MUCH with our move out here. I don't know what we would do without them!

This pic is for Marcie :) I already forgot his name but the second he saw me talking to Mark, he got all excited and asked if I was Mark's cousin. He happily introduced himself and wasted no time telling my that he was friends with my sister Marcie. I thought I knew all your missionary friends Marc!! :)

Ok, so this is what the stage looked like as it was beginning. There were hundreds in the cast and it was amazing to say the least. The pageant consisted of stories from the Book of Mormon, starting with Lehi and ending with Moroni. The final scene is about Joseph Smith getting the plates from the Hill.

I'm going to feel like a traitor for saying this, but this pageant rocks all. As far as special effects go, it wastes the Easter Pageant. I hope I won't be punished for saying that but illustrated in this pic is one of the many times that huge fountains go off! Then, part of the stage will suddenly have water flowing off of it like a waterfall. The set was incredible! Whenever there was a war or destruction, massive flames would shoot out from different parts of the stage. There is a really cool scene when Nephi and his family are on the boat and the storm comes. They actually construct a pretty big boat with sails and a mast. The mast sprays water out of it and then lights up like lightening. I could go on and on. I thought the most touching part was when the resurrected Christ comes to the Americas, because it felt so real and I could imagine it to be that way for the Second Coming. Such a wonderful experience!

Clifton Hill

Last Tuesday we were feeling a little bored, so we consulted the internet and settled on going to a wax museum. I had been to one in California and thought it was pretty interesting. So off we go to Canada (my first time) and after crossing a few scary bridges, paying the inevitable tolls, and passing Border Patrol, we had arrived! I saw a strange mist in the distance, but paid it no mind. We suddenly entered a place that reminded me of a lower budget Las Vegas. After paying $10 for parking :( we realized we were in Clifon Hill. Apparently this is the Canadian tourist trap for those visiting Niagra Falls (hence the mist). Well, we were planning on doing Niagra Falls for my birthday next week, so we settled for handing our money over to the Canucks!

A little glimse of what this crazy place looks like! There are more haunted houses, museums, and restaurants crammed into this one mile strip, than I think most zoning laws allow!

First, we toured the Wax Museum. It wasn't Tussaud's  but it was entertaining, nonetheless. All of you boys born in the 80's can imagine Travis's delight we came upon the Ninja Turtle display! I myself was excited to take a picture with Harry Potter! :)

Next up was a giant Ferris Wheel type contraption. I mean, GIANT. Even though you are completely enclosed in the little cubicle, I had a mini heart attack. It's completely glass, all around and I felt so vulnerable. Like I was going to fall off any second. It went sooo high and, well.... I'm going to have to leave it at that because my heart is racing remembering it! You can see both of the Niagara Falls from it (I felt dumb because I didn't realize there were two) so we tried to snap a self pic with it in the background.

Next up- Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum! Full of oddities and pictures to make you cringe. Also, there was a huge picture made of lint from a dryer, a film about a man who could unlock a key in his stomach, and so many varieties of animals with multiple eyes, heads, arms, and legs that I couldn't keep track! The chair Travis is in belonged to a real giant.

We also went on one of those rides where you watch a movie and the platform you're on moves all over the place, so it feels real. I think Travis's favorite ride was called Ghost Blasters. It was much like the Frog and Toad ride at Disneyland, except you get blaster guns and shoot at objects all the way through for points. He wasted me! We ended with Galaxy Golf. Everything glowed, including Travis's freckles! By the way, I beat him by two strokes! :) All in all, pretty fun day for two easily amused people, but probably nothing to get too excited about!

Hill Cumorah Pageant

Check it out.... it's Mark! Or, Elder Lindblom I should say. I made that mistake too many times while talking to him. Now how many people move across the country and happen to move into the same area that their cousin is serving in? None people I guess. (Sandlot quote anyone??) I guess my family will probably appreciate that the most. We went to the pageant last Friday as volunteers and Mark was there with his companion, Elder Miller. He saw me first, which was good, because I hardly recognized him!! I was looking for his usual longer, blonde hair I guess.

I snapped a pic of him talking to some girls and a couple that were in the pageant. I don't think they were members and they were describing parts of the pageant to them.

So even though we volunteered to be greeters, we were assigned the task of security. We got the very rigorous, high danger zone that included guarding an opening to the parking lot that was blocked by a steel gate and a line of cones. Hmmmm. Well I guess it's not where you're called to serve, but how. We guarded it with our lives.

Near the middle of the pageant, they opened the gate, gave us stylish orange vests, and uber cool, light-saberish flashlights. We were now in charge of directing cars out of the parking lot after the pageant ended! Woohoo! They have enough seats for 9,000 people and it was a packed night. Needless to say, we were standing out there until nearly midnight, waving people down the road. Can you believe I got a cat call! Thats right, they loved the vest! What can I say. :)

The 4th of July

Ok, so I know I'm way late on posting 4th pics, but better late than never!! We were so grateful to be included in all the fun student stuff! It made missing the fam so much easier!

In the morning we went to Bron and Megan's house for a breakfast. They had waffles, omelettes, scones, fruit, bacon, and sausage (my personal fav :). So tasty!

After eating, Travis was introduced to a game favorite: Kan Jam. Ok, so as I'm writing this, Trav is insisting I write how amazing he is at it. Scratch that, a child prodigy. Is my husband overly confident or what? Apparently you throw a frisbee and your partner on the other side tries to hit it in the can. There is also a slot in the front where if you can make the frisbee in it, you win the game. We're told it's nearly impossible, and be happy if you ever make one. Trav, made three in one day. Yippee! I'm so proud of my man's amazing skills. When's he's a dentist, that will toooootally come in handy! =)

Later that night we went to a bbq at the Carden's house. We got to meet a few more students and the guys got in some more games of....you guessed it, Kan Jam. Also, they played a game where you throw two golf balls attached to a rope at some PVC pipe and try to wrap it around ???? We had a good time and want to thank Creed and Tiffany for having us over. Tiffany was nine months prego and had her baby the next morning! What a trooper! Congrats!

After the bbq we went to a park and watched about 6 different fireworks shows. Very fun, except that the grass was soaking and our sorry blanket absorbed it faster than it takes Trav to get a sunburn in August! In other words, very fast! Sorry to Braun and Megan who were sharing it with us!

Palmyra

Well the day after I got to Buffalo, we decided to go to Palmyra, since Travis’s dad was still with us. It’s only about an hour drive to get to the Hill Cumora, the Joseph Smith Farm, and the Sacred Grove. It was the first time I had seen any of it and it was a great experience.

This is the visitor’s center for the Hill Cumora. We went on a short tour, but didn’t watch any of the videos. The inside is similar to the AZ temple visitor's center, in the that there were lots of different displays to look at. I wanted to read every plaque and see everyting, but the guys weren’t that patient with me. I needed my mom, she likes to read everything too!

This is the ACTUAL first edition copy of the Book of Mormon! I thought that was pretty cool.

The pageant was just a couple weeks away so this is the Hill with all the construction going on. There is a pretty steep path you can take and walk all the way up to see the monument at the top and the view.

This is the monument! They have the three witness's testimony and the eight witness's testimony inscribed around it, along with Joseph Smith’s testimony!

The Joseph Smith Farm

This statue is in the visitor's center of the Joseph Smith Farm. You start in there with the missionaries and they give you a little background info. before seeing the rest.

This was the Smith's log cabin. None of it was left standing, but this was built on the exact footprint of the real thing. I guess they figured it out through a lot of research, satellite photos, etc. They also rebuilt it using only tools that would have been available at that time. It seemed very authentic.

They lived in the log cabin while the frame home was being built and the farm was getting started. This is the kitchen area. You can see the stairs that lead to the upstairs where the boys slept. That is where the angel Moroni visited Joseph three times. Something that the missionaries pointed out, that I had never heard before, was that all his brothers were in the room sleeping when Moroni came. And he said the room was lit like noonday. Pretty crazy!

This is the Smith's frame home. It's bigger and a bit nicer. Parts of this home are real and authentic. The missionaries said that anything that looked really old, was probably apart of the real home.

Again, this is the kitchen area of the frame home. The flowers and herbs hanging from the ceiling represent how Lucy used them for healing and medicines. I guess she was known for that. The sister missionary on the side is Sister Day. We asked her if she knew our cousin Mark who is serving in the area. She and her companion knew him and said he was actually their zone leader and they would see him tomorrow!

Sacred Grove and Palmyra Temple

We were very lucky, because it was a beautiful day to be in the Sacred Grove. Amazing weather, and we didn't run into any other people while walking around. There are a few different paths you can take and benches everywhere so you could sit and ponder. We wanted to take a pic, but Travis's dad was elsewhere so we settled for a self portrait.

Well, Travis to the rescue! He remembered the camera had a timer so he balanced it on a bench and then we got a pic with more trees! Aren't they beautiful? So green and tall. It was just like I had imagined it to be. Of course, know one knows the exact spot that it happened so it's fun to speculate!

Next we visited the Palmyra temple. This is probably the one we will come to every month to do a session. The Toronto Canada one is about the same distance away, but traffic is much worse.

We were surprised that there were only two cars in the parking lot. We later learned that you have to call ahead and schedule an appointment if you want to do a session. They only offer a few each day!

This is what the temple looks like from the road next to the Joseph Smith Farm, all nestled in the trees!