A Year and Two Months

AJ and I have now lived in Boston for a year and two months. I agree with the insight I once heard that it takes about a year of living somewhere before it starts to feel like home. Although Utah will always feel like home to me, I am really happy in Boston. We love it here.

After a year I:

-can find my way around without using the GPS (at least most of the time).

-have established which grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, shopping centers, and buses are "mine."

-have memorized all the little bakeries and markets in our neighborhood

-have fallen in love with Fall in New England.

-have visited several surrounding states including Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York

-have experienced what it’s like to live in the "mission field" and have fallen in love with it.

-have experienced my 1^st earthquake and made it out alive :) (We had a kitchen chair slide about 3 inches and our window shook a little... I was hoping for 

a little more excitement to be honest)

-have completely fallen in love with my adorable Sunbeams I teach every week

-have officially registered to vote in Massachusetts

-have realized how complaining about the insultingly high price of rent here 

doesn't make it any cheaper.

-have walked the streets of downtown Boston on my lunch break probably over 100 times

-have gotten our car registered in Massachusetts

-have eaten at our FAVORITE pizza place down the street way too many times

-have met so many awesome friends

-have developed a renewed appreciation for U.S. history

-have learned how to get pretty much anywhere using public transportation all by myself (this is a feat I NEVER thought possible)!

-have learned so many valuable lessons and so much about myself

Boston... you have done good things for me. 

Girls Trip

My mom and two older sisters made a visit to Beantown this past weekend and I loved every minute of it.

We had so much fun together... I didn't want them to leave.

The good news is that I think they are sold on buying a home in Rockport, MA. ;)

In only 3.5 days we: 

-walked the Freedom Trail 

-did a tour of the USS Constitution

-took a ferry ride

-walked around Faneuil Hall

-saw the Holocaust Memorial

-did a duck boat tour

-ate seafood at Legal Harborside

-took a taxi ride

-walked all around Harvard University and Harvard Square

-ate lunch at Mr. Bartley's Burgers 

-went to the New England Aquarium

-walked all around the North End 

-ate delicious Italian food in "Little Italy"

-bought and ate several cannolis from Mike's Pastry

-ran (literally sprinted) in the pouring rain to catch our bus

-went to Boston University and bought some BU gear

-watched the rowing competitions in the Charles River

-did some shopping on Newbury Street

-toured the Boston Public Library

-purchased yummy chocolate from the Lindt store

-drove to Rockport, MA and enjoyed the beautiful, amazing little beach town

-drove to Salem and tried to find parking for over an hour

-dropped my mom and sister, Jenn off in Salem so they could take pictures of the witch statue and the Salem Witch Museum (we gave up on being able to actually walk around)

-drove to the Boston temple

-drove around Belmont, MA trying to find Mitt Romney's house (no luck unfortunately...)

On the first day they were here, we walked a total of 18,000 steps.... 18,000 people!! I was feeling it in my legs the next day.

 Can't wait for their next trip to Boston! (Hint hint....)

I'm BACK

I'm back! 

Okay I never really left... I just took a 5-month sabbatical from blogging.

So much has happened in the last few months.... I got a new JOB!

I now work at a small law firm downtown that does trust and estate planning.  

I am a legal assistant and the attorney I work for is one of the nicest, most genuine people I've ever met! 

Another update... AJ officially has a clerkship for next summer here in Boston!

He will be working at a firm in downtown Boston and he is SO excited. 

They are a mid-sized firm and they have a really good reputation for being family-friendly and not demanding crazy lawyer hours like a lot of other firms. 

We feel very blessed!

I'm not going to lie... I'm really excited about riding the bus downtown together for work every day next summer.

A couple weeks ago we took a day trip to Vermont with some friends for Columbus Day weekend. 

I literally fell in love. 

Even though I love Boston... I wouldn't turn down a summer cottage in Vermont (a girl can dream)!

There was honestly not a single moment on our drive that wasn't picturesque. 

The fall colors were vibrant and beautiful!

After some antique shopping and the purchase of TRUE Vermont maple syrup, we stopped at a pumpkin patch along the road. The pumpkins were 45 cents per pound and we picked the biggest one we could find weighing in at a whopping 25 lbs!!

Next, we headed over to Happy Valley Orchard for some apple picking. 

Most of the trees were all picked over except at the very top... it's a good thing AJ is tall and can jump pretty high.  

Thanks to him we scored some great apples! 

Only $5 for an entire "peck" of apples. 

As we were driving, we saw a trail titled the "Robert Frost Trail" so of course we had to stop. 

Our hike (more like a laid back stroll) was really fun except for the swampy areas that left my tennis shoes a muddy, wet mess. 

Also, AJ learned something new about me that day... I am deathly afraid of bears! 

The guy at the pumpkin patch told us he had seen a lot of bears in the forest lately... so of course I was a nervous wreck during our hike. 

We ended our perfect day in Sharon, Vermont, the birthplace of Joseph Smith. 

This was the highlight of the day for me. 

It was such a beautiful and sacred place. 

I almost can't describe the quiet, serene feeling that was there... it was so peaceful. 

There was even a little forest off to the side that had hidden speakers in the trees playing hymns. 

I felt so good while we were there.... I never wanted to leave. 

We will definitely be coming back here again! 

We loved every minute of our 12-hour trip to Vermont!