going to palmyra

So my old BYU roommate lindsey is from boston and she invited me to go with her YSA group up to palmyra new york to see the hill cumorah pageant and lots of church history sites. It was such a fun time...



this is down town boston. booya.



i took a train from boston out to franklin to make it more convenient for lindsey to pick me up. it was the first time i had ever been on a real railroad.



this is the first time i saw this sign. i thought it was cool to have boston and new york and my favorite number all on one sign.



this is the second time i saw this sign- because apparently it was the exit we were suppose to take- but we drove like 45 minutes past it. haha it was pretty ironic that i had taken a picture of it the first time. I would have said something but i just didn't know!



saturday was really rainy- but we actually got pretty lucky. whenever we wanted to be outside it seemed to clear up. and if we were inside or driving it poured. but it was still a good time.



p.s. niagra falls is crazy.



these are some trees that live in the sacred grove- probably the best part of the trip. it's a lot bigger than i though. it's like a little forest you can just meander around in. it was lovely.



this is a wood working shop just across from the smith family's home. it smelled like our garage because of all the wood shavings. Dad- you would have really liked this part.




this is one of the places in the smith home that Joseph Smith hid the gold plates during all the pursecution when he was trying to translate. it was really cool to be in the same room that Joseph Smith actually translated part of the book of mormon in.



the palmyra temple.




we went to the grandin buidling where the book of mormon was originally published. It was especially cool to learn about oldschool bookbinding skills. again- it was just amazing to actually stand on the original floors that joseph smith and so many other church figures walked on. Being here made the gospel less of a story and more of a reality. which is good- because it is a reality. a very real reality.




i ate this entire calzone. not one of my proudest moments. i felt sick for days.

we also went to see the hill cumorah pageant- there were a lot of mormons having a good time. the weather had cleared up and we were all excited and enjoying the show- but about 1/2 way through it started pouring -lit'rally. so they canceled the rest of the show (as it is performed out of doors) and we went back to our camsite. On the up side- i saw some really amazing lightning. Thanks palmyra.

project circus

This was a cool thing to be a part of. One of the girls in my ward has a friend named Sam. Sam is doing a very long term very extensive installation art piece called the circus project. The idea is to get as many people in as many places as possible to contribute to the construction of the piece. Sam takes this fabric around to various gathering places- anywhere people get together (like mormon enrichment nights) and everyone adds a little bit. She also asked us to share stories/memories from the place where we grew up. There are lots of different parts to the project-We got to help embroider the ceiling of a circus tent- it was slow going and there is a lot more work to be done. but in a few years i hope Sam will have something significant.





(my contribution= that little yellow corner)

the weather

it's been really rainy lately- and sometimes i walk home. i guess my shoes were not made for rain walking. my feet looked like this for 3 days.

everything but a rollercoaster

this was most definitely the BEST fourth of july that i ever did see. i got to seen neil diamond, i played a lot of uno, i went to the beach, ate some corn on the cob, wore my cut offs, saw about 2 million americans, and the fireworks were so close they could have killed us- but instead i only suffered a temporary threshhold shift and the pain that comes with knowing i will probably never see a better fireworks show for the rest of my life. the only thing that could have made this situation better was doing it all while on a rollercoaster...but i'll take it.



stephanie (left) cut offs + sunburn (center) molly (right)



i am being so patient- waiting for neil to come out.


i know you can't see him, but you can feel his presence right?



just taking a nap before the fire works.



proof of friends... or at least proof that i was able to coerse some strangers to be in a picture with me.

things atlantic...

ingredients: corn

what fourth of july would be complete without corn?

we did it america!

introducing: 'Hosmer'
featuring: a kickstand, some rust, and squeaky brakes.

today hosmer and i made the trek to and from school WAY faster than the bus. i was so proud of this little guy- especially on the way home when it was POURING. I got so wet, even a homeless guy commented- and they get wet a lot. I was riding across the street and he yelled at me "YOU ARE ALL WET!" it was cute. anyway. i'm really grateful for hosmer and all he does for me. it's been a battle to get a hold of a decent bike around here-I'm glad the search is over. Mostly i'm glad to not have to spend so much time hanging out on craigslist.