Let it Snow!

I think Derrick and I officially consider ourselves snow snobs. Snow snob: s/he who does not call in to work, cancel school, and declare it a snow emergency when 6" of snow are expected. :) It seems that Bostonians, though many of them have lived here for many decades, consider it a "snow emergency" when they receive more than an inch or two of snow. On Friday, we were expected to receive about 6". They cancelled every school, or let the children out at noon; they had snow plows lining the streets well before the storm started; they closed Derrick's campus at noon; every channel had the "update on the storm"; and radios encouraged people not to go to work or to work from home. Call me crazy, but if I remember right, the schools never closed in Utah unless we had like 3 feet or something. It's been snowing more today and our church was also cancelled. Crazy!

As for the update, Derrick finished his finals this week and is so relieved. I picked him up from school after his last final and it was very entertaining. He was in such a good mood that he kept commenting on how beautiful everything was, how he loved living in the city, what a nice day it was outside, etc. (not that he isn't usually super upbeat, but it was way more than usual). I think he was feeling pretty great to have his first semester over! Only 7 more to go! Yay! I am also looking forward to having a break from work. I work on Monday and then on Tuesday we are excited to head home to visit our family and friends for a few days. Hopefully the snow will subside so we can fly out of here too!

Love,
Mel and Derrick

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello all. I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday. Derrick and I have very much loved the break from work and school this week. It has been a really nice siesta from real life. We stayed in Boston for the holiday and celebrated it with a few other people that we have met since moving here--the Calls (yes, we are distantly related) and the Bassetts. They are great people and we enjoyed a delicious meal. After dinner we went to the new James Bond movie--Quantum of Solace. We actually saw the movie with some friends about a week ago, but Derrick was somehow able to fenagle another viewing. :)--he is a huge James Bond fan (I don't think we'll be seeing this one 6 times in the theater like the last James Bond movie--sorry Derrick!).

This picture (above) is actually not of Thanksgiving, but a picture in Ipswich that we took when we went to the Chowder fest about a month ago. Chowder fest is a yearly event held in downtown Ipswich on the riverfront. It is a great time. About 15-20 restaurants offer samples of their chowder and you vote on your favorite. Yum! The festival was happening during peak leaf-peeping season as well so it was a beautiful day to see the countryside north of Boston.

This is Derrick's last week of school before finals. It's hard to believe that he is almost finished with his first semester of school already! Yay!

Musings

I am too lazy to put up pictures this week and, let's face it, noone wants to see different views of what Derrick looks like studying in the kitchen, studying in the office, studying in the living room, studying on the bed, playing mario brothers (old school version) on his computer while taking a break from studying, etc. :) He's had a lot of tests lately!

Last night we took a break from it all and went to "Sushi Express" in Boston. It was a lot of fun. We walked home from the restaurant because it was so warm yesterday. I wore a T-shirt yesterday and it's mid-November. I hope it lasts for a while! We also saw the Warren Miller movie and it made us both homesick for Utah mountains and skiing. Derrick has been reading the free ski magazine and looking at pictures ever since. Boston is wonderful, but we definitely miss the mountains.

There has been a lot of hullabaloo out here in our ward because of prop 8. Many members of the congregation were wearing gay rights ribbons to church and have been very vocal about their disagreement with the church's stand on the issue. It's been a tough one for me to think through. I understand that everyone is entitled to equal protection of the laws and that all men are created equally. However, perhaps the framers of the constitution simply did not contemplate a society that wanted to abort its children and promote same-sex relationships. When you start getting into these types of issues, then the constitution does nothing to prevent it. Accordingly, it seems it should be allowed under our currently-existing laws. It is very difficult to legislate morality (what one person defines as morality compared to another is also a discussion for another day). It seems to me that all people should be able to use their ability to choose the way they would like. I think the difficulty really lies in the challenge of separating emotion and religion from human rights/equal rights when the rights that others are trying to promote are repugnant to your own belief system. I'm open to thoughts on this. :)

We love and miss you all and hope things are going well for everybody!

Mel and Derrick

Moosehead Lake

For the Columbus Day long weekend, Derrick and I decided to head up to Moosehead Lake in northern Maine (only a short distance from the border of Canada). The leaves were at their peak in that area at that time and--most importantly--we were so close to Canada that they had Tim Horton's doughnut shops (yay! I haven't had a sour cream glaze since my mission!). We stayed at the Evergreen Lodge. The owners, Janice and Hank, were very nice. However, the last day we were there they opened up to us about their life philosophies: they thought all educated people were idiots, that Harvard was the "Kremlin on the Charles", that all lawyers were parasitical jerks, that its a waste to send your children off to school because they turn into liberals, and also a diatribe against black people. Needless to say, we were happy to leave (no pun intended). Despite the slightly interesting bed and breakfast hosts, we loved our stay and really enjoyed seeing all of the wildlife and the beautiful surroundings. :) The picture, above, is a shot of some moose that were in the bog near the bed and breakfast where we stayed (the ratio of moose to people is 3:1 in this area--pretty amazing!)


This is Derrick on our hike on Big Moose mountain. The leaves were so amazing!


Here I am looking at a leaf. :)


Yep--more leaves!


This is a bridge on the river feeding out of the lake. There were a lot of people fly fishing as well.

In the Navy . . .

This is a bit belated, but at the beginning of this month, Derrick (and I) signed our lives away to the Navy for the next 8 years. We are participating in the Navy Scholarship program. Derrick is now an Ensign (officer), so you'll have to salute him the next time you see him. (Ha! :)) They will be paying for Derrick's school and then he will work on a base for 4 years after school. It will be an exciting adventure for us to find out where we are going to be stationed! For now, we'll be livin' it up in Boston. :) Here's a great video about what it's like to be in the navy for your viewing pleasure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InBXu-iY7cw

Applefest Half Marathon

This past week we had my friends Natalie, Anne, and KJ come stay with us. They are doing an "epic" tri-city trip. Boston was the first stop, then New York, then D.C. I'm glad I got to spend some time with them! We did the Applefest Half Marathon up in Hollis, New Hampshire. It was a beautiful course through rolling country and the leaves were changing. I think my favorite part of the race was the apple crisp at the end! Yummy.

Blitzkrieg trip to Utah

It has been a while since we've updated our blog. Last weekend we took a very fun, very fast, and very eventful trip back to Salt Lake City for Jen and Jeremy's wedding. For those who don't know, Jen (my sister) met Jeremy (Derrick's best friend) through Derrick and I last winter. We are proud to take credit for it. :) It was a short trip, but we were very excited that things worked out so that we could come and spend time with friends and family. Derrick is especially excited that his best friend is now his "brother" :)

We enjoyed a visit from Jill and Nate Gibby two weeks ago. It was so fun to have them for a few days and explore some of the sites together. We miss them already!

Things are now very busy for both of us back at home too. Derrick is into the full swing of things with school (typically going to class 8-5 daily and me with work starting at 8:30 a.m. and ending at 9 p.m. during the week--which gets me out of Derrick's hair so he can study--or watch the Colbert report . . . ). I've been fighting off a cold this week (probably from the crazy travels), but am feeling much better. I'm hoping to recover soon for the big race on Saturday. Word on the street is that the winner gets a fruit basket (lame!) and the second and third place runners for each division get a huge apple pie (not lame!)--I'm definitely vying for second or third in this one. :) We're excited that Nat, KJ, and Anne will be coming out to spend some time with us and to run the race as well.

Today Derrick was just called to be..... the SCOUTMASTER. I interviewed him about his feelings and he says "no comment." He's speachless with excitement. He also says "I do like making fires, though." He'll be great and I'm sure the young men will have a blast with him in charge (I don't know if they realize that they just called one of the boys to lead the boys . . . the scouts are in for some fun activities). I was called to be the co-chair of the community service committee. It should be a great opportunity to piggy back with some of the other religious and governmental organizations in the community and do some good things.

Well, that is the latest and greatest. We love and miss you all.

Tropical Storm Hanna

So it's been really rainy the last couple of days because of the tropical storm passing through. It has worked out well because Derrick has had to study a lot for an exam on Monday so we aren't tempted to go out on more adventures.

Things have been great this week except for Derricks encounter with the pavement the other night. He was riding his long board to play basketball with some friends and hit a man hole and fell on his right hip. He has a bruise the size of a large watermelon all down his right hip and leg and his hip is still really swollen (I tease him that he has mother hips now). He was really sore the day after, but he seems to be feeling a lot better now.

I did a nine mile run on Friday in preparation for the applefest half marathon coming up in October. I am grateful that my friend, Jen, has moved out here for a few months to work and is training with me--otherwise the long runs would be torture! Running here is a bit different than in SLC--people say that being at sea level is easier, but it's actually more difficult for me to get my breath with the humid air. Luckily I've got one more month to adjust. :)

I am starting a part time job on Monday teaching ESL at a non-profit school. I am excited for the opportunity to work with people from a lot of different cultures. There is actually no one single cultural majority at the school. I had the chance to work with many of the students at registration and I am so impressed. They all want to work hard and contribute to society and are so determined. If anyone has some fun ideas for teaching adults the alphabet other than the ABC song (that was Derrick's suggestion) I am all ears. :)

Poor Derrick

Leslie commented on our last posting, wondering if Derrick was studying at all because it looks like we are just having fun. However, I think maybe all the craziness of the move and starting school got the better of him this week--he broke out in shingles. :( He is now taking some good meds and is feeling much better, though. Nick and Grandma Oman--you now have company. The above picture is Derrick (ever-dramatic) lying in "pain" at his appointment (if you look carefully you can see his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth--he wanted to be sure that I pointed this out)

The Perfect Lobster...Er Storm

Yesterday we decided to go north to Rockport and Gloucester. We ate a delicious lobster meal at a quaint restaurant right on the coast in Rockport. Yummy. We also stopped in Gloucester at the fisherman's memorial. There is a very large plaque that lists the names of several thousand men who have died on fishing voyages since 1623 when the Massachusetts bay colony had its beginnings. The movie, "The Perfect Storm" was filmed about/inspired by this fishing village. We never realized that fishing was such a dangerous profession! It was a really neat memorial.

We also walked down to the waterfront where they had advertised they were having a "festival", but all the shops were closed (it was only 6:30, but I guess the small towns close up shop early). We still enjoyed walking along the rocky coastline and exploring around the large boulders and seaweed covered rocks. The northern towns have so much charm.

Gettin' Towed

When we first moved in some friends from our ward warned us "watch out for the street cleaning dates when you park your car on the street, we totally go towed after we moved here and it cost us like 80 bucks." After the warning, Derrick and I have been super conscientious about trying to watch the days. Despite our efforts we got towed for the SECOND time today!! Our friends are right--it's 80 bucks, plus a 30 dollar ticket. The tricky thing is that one side of the street will say you can't park there on the second Tuesday, the other side of the street will say you can't park there the second friday, and around the corner will say you can't park there the second Thursday. Hopefully we get it straight soon or maybe we need to just sell our car. :)

The Boston Shopping Experience

We began our shopping experience this morning at the haymarket downtown. As you can see...you can buy ANYTHING! It is basically a free-for-all. One seller, an icon of customer service, yelled to the guy in front of us "move it! you standin' theya like a stick in the grass! get movin'!" (I guess he didn't like him staring at his produce--I sure don't like people staring at my produce when I'm trying to sell it either, I tell ya). Actually, the haymarket is an AMAZING place to get yummy food and it is super cheap, you just have to sort of inspect things for mold and bugs (and don't stare too long at the veggies).

I ended the shopping experience today at a grocery store called the "Market Basket"--the only supermarket for miles where you can buy Cheerios and frozen juice. The aisles are super narrow and I had a shopping cart with one of those wheels that keeps veering left so by the time you finish shopping your biceps are burning from trying to keep the cart from running into everyone else. The store reminds you of the United Nations and a sawmill at the same time. You have people speaking every language imaginable (and purchasing every food imaginable--I know, I broke the cardinal sin of peeking into other people's shopping carts...) and instead of wiping up spills on the floor they just pour sawdust over it (this also makes driving the cart that much more exciting because you not only are using all your muscle to keep the cart from veering left, but your back wheels stop turning and slide around every corner). This is the coolest town ever. :)

On a random note--our favorite add right now is for the boston aquarium shark exhibit. It is posted on those adds that they put on top of taxis so people see them as they are driving around. It is a big blue sign that says "SHAAAAAKS".

Martha's Vineyard August 2, 2008

On Friday after Derrick's professional ceremony we decided to take a road trip down to the Cape. We found the last room available at a hotel close to the port (in Falmouth) and stayed overnight. Saturday we took the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. When we got off the ferry we saw a place to rent bikes for the day. There was a fun bike path from Oak Bluffs, where the ferry landed, to Edgartown. Edgartown is an old whaling village (the port is also famous as "Amity" in the movie Jaws). We rode part way to Edgartown and realized that it was way too hot for what we were wearing. We found a thrift store and bought ourselves clothes to wear for the day (Derrick is modeling the swimsuit he purchased above, which--for those who have seen his usual choice, was much longer than any suit you will ever see him wear again any time soon :)) We also rode our bikes up to a lighthouse overlooking the ocean and spent some time at the beach. The day turned out to be so nice---the weather was beautiful until we were waiting in line for the ferry and it started to rain. It was a fun last "hoorah" before Derrick starts school (tomorrow).

Derrick's Professional Ceremony August 1, 2008

Derrick started Orientation for school on Monday. He seems to be liking it a lot so far and has already met a bunch of people who seem really nice. There is a group of guys who play basetball all the time after school so he is feeling at home already.

On Friday, the school of dental medicine hosted a professional ceremony where all of Derrick's class was pinned and they all recited an oath promising to use the skills they learn not for their own benefit or selfish interests, but to benefit humanity. Each person in the class came up and received a pin at the ceremony. The video of Derrick receiving his pin is attached.

After the ceremony the school put on a barbecue on the grounds for all of the family members. It was fun to get to know some of the other students and families better. Derrick's school class is a wonderful mix of cultures and backgrounds and they all seem like quality people. I am sure Derrick will be spending a lot of time with all of them. :)

One If By Land, Two If By Sea!

We finally arrived in Boston on July 22, 2008. We enjoyed the 2300 mile trip across the country, but were also happy to be "home"! It was quite the adventure getting moved in. It was nice weather every day of the week until moving day and it was raining torrents and there was a tornado warning. Fortunately (and thanks to a lot of prayers) the rain stopped just prior to the moving van's arrival and it did not rain again until after we had finished unloading.

We were nervous because we had a piano in the back of the moving trailer. We hired some movers to help us since we had limited time, but it was two small guys and we weren't sure how we were going to get the piano into our house. To our surprise, the two guys just picked up the piano and walked up the stairs. Boo-ya!!!!!

Since that time we have been upacking boxes and getting organized. We are FINALLY almost settled. Yay!

We are really enjoying living in Cambridge. Above is a picture of our house and the Charles River, which is just two blocks west of our house. There is a pathway that goes for miles along the river reserve and it is the perfect place for running and biking. We have already put it to good use. :) Both Harvard and Central square are just short walks from our home so we have had fun exploring the fun shops and things to see nearby in the evenings. We are excited for our friends and family to come visit :) (hint, hint)

Palmyra, New York July 20, 2008

After we left Kirtland, Derrick kept looking at the map and noticing that Palmyra, New York was right en route to Boston. We decided to take the detour and it was well worth it. What an amazing place!

Apparently we arrived in Palmyra just after the Hill Cumorah pageant ended. The missionaries at the sites said that it had been really crowded and busy until the day we arrived. They had several people assigned just to "crowd control" and were over-staffed so we got lots of special attention. We were able to have the Sacred Grove to ourselves and spent a lot of time walking around. It is such a peaceful place.

President Hinckley also initiated a renovation of the Smith home that was located on the land so that it has now been restored to its original condition and is 85% of how it appeared when Joseph obtained the plates and hid them in the fireplace mantle (among other places).

The church has also now recreated the log cabin that the Smith's lived in when Joseph had the first vision and it sits on the original foundation.

We also walked up to the Hill Cumorah and saw the area where Joseph's record indicates that he obtained the plates from the angel Moroni. There is a nice monument at the top of the hill. The props were still up from the Cumorah pageant and there were large random statutes of sphinxes and panthers on the way up the trail.

Kirtland Ohio July 18-20, 2008

We stopped in Ohio to see Mom and Dad on our trek across the country. We had a great time. We went to the Jacob Moreley Farm, the Johnson Farm, the Kirtland Temple, the temple Quarry, the historic sites in downtown Kirtland (sawmill, visitor's center, Newel K. Whitney store and home). It was amazing to see the places where so many revelations took place and also to learn about the people about whom many of the revelations were given. It has given both of us a completely new perspective on the Doctrine and Covenants.

We also enjoyed our trip to Amish Country and a yummy homecooked meal at Yoder's. :)