Vermont

Lyndon and Missy live about five minutes away from the Vermont border. While we were visiting, we thought to ourselves, "Vermont should be nice this time of year... all that snow." And sure enough, it didn't disappoint.

First stop was the SugarBush Farm!

The farm makes many different kinds of cheeses and maple syrup. Visitors are welcome to come, take a tour of the farm, and try 14 different kinds of cheese and 4 kinds of syrup. Claire and I definitely enjoyed the delicious cheese (and Claire enjoyed her sucker).

Lyndon and Sydney enjoying the crisp Vermont air.

The farm was quite beautiful, even covered with ice and snow. The farm sits at the top of a hill, so you can look out at the other hills surrounding it.

The setup was very informal. We just walked in, one of the workers stopped what she was doing and walked over to help with the sampling. She cut slices of each block of cheese and poured little teaspoons of maple syrup for us to try as we gathered around the little table. We each had a card to mark down which cheese/syrup was our favorite.

Afterwards, we were led into a small store where we could purchase cheese, syrup, and a variety of other homemade goodies. Jonathan and I ended up buying one of the aged sharp cheddars and a smoked cheese. But our favorite was probably the blue cheese. Delicious. We also bought some dark amber maple syrup, which we love.

We also stopped by another cheese and maple syrup factory/store - Cabot. Although we didn't sample any cheese, we did try a much bigger variety of syrups - lots of fruity syrups, vanilla and cinnamon syrups, and even spiced syrups. It was also connected to an antique mall, which we browsed through.

If you didn't know, Jonathan likes to take silly pictures. Don't worry, we rescued Jonathan before the train came by...

He also makes a very good cow face.

Across the way was an old-fashioned homemade ice cream parlor. The owner collects vintage toys and what not, and filled his shop with them. He even had a display of Christmas in 1950, showing what toys were popular then. Apart from the cool shop, the ice cream was very tasty. Sorry, no pictures. But we do have a video!

To get back to New Hampshire, we had to cross a scenic red bridge over an icy river - very "Vermonty."

And here is the resulting picture:

And in case you wanted to see what it was like crossing the bridge, here's a video!

On our way back from Canada (a post for another day), we decided to stop by the Ben and Jerry's factory in Waterbury, Vermont because... it's Ben & Jerry's. How can you not stop?

We took the factory tour, which Jonathan could have conducted himself because he works around the same kind of equipment and what not. When the tour guide took us into the factory room, she asked us not to take pictures or video because "you never know when a Haagen Daaz spy will be there." Little did she know Jonathan works for Nestle... which owns Haagen Daaz. Haha! But don't worry, we didn't spy. But we did enjoy the taste of the new flavor at the end - peppermint schtick. Yum!

Here is a display of ice cream scoops dating back to the early 20th century!

All of the Ben & Jerry's flavors on display... it was the most delicious display case we have ever seen.

Of course, we couldn't visit Vermont without stopping in Sharon, the birthplace of the prophet Joseph Smith. We arrived just as the sun was setting. I don't have a great picture of it, but it was incredibly beautiful.

Inside the visitor center was a display of the work of my favorite LDS artist - Simon Dewey. I know the picture is small, but his paintings of the nativity were absolutely gorgeous.

I liked the juxtaposition of the statue of the first latter-day prophet, Joseph Smith, and the painting of the current latter-day prophet, Thomas S. Monson. From the angle I took it, they both look like they are looking right at you.

Part of the memorial displayed a recreated fireplace that included the original hearthstone from the Smith family home.

Also on display was a rocking chair that Joseph Smith made.

Outside was a stable with animals. The missionaries told us that the donkey's name was Forest.

But the sheep didn't have names. So Claire named them Tree and Lake/River (she switched back and forth).

This was the original doorstep to the Smith family home.

Although it was freezing cold outside, and I mean freezing as in "okay-hurry-and-run-outside-for-a-quick-picture-and-then-run-back-inside-before-we-die," Jonathan and I couldn't leave without a picture in front of the monument for the beloved prophet.

We loved learning more about the Smith family and walking on the same ground that they once did. The land in Sharon was the first that the church purchased for the purpose of preserving church history. The missionaries told us the story of the man who originally wanted to purchase the land and construct a memorial, and how he accomplished it. It was not an easy task, but I am glad he followed through with it so that the history was preserved and so that we could visit and feel the unique spirit there. Jonathan and I are very grateful for Joseph Smith and for his faithfulness and obedience to the Lord's commands in restoring His gospel to the earth. We felt blessed to be able to visit his birthplace and learn more about his life and his love for our Savior.

Boston: Round 1

Over Christmas break, Jonathan and I got to go back east to spend time with Lyndon, Missy, Claire and Sydney. We flew into Boston and after getting lost on the subway a couple of times and walking through the freezing cold, we eventually made it to our hotel. That night we ordered tons of Chinese food and just hung out inside. But the next day, we took ourselves on a tour of the city.

Here is Boston as viewed from our hotel window...



Jonathan standing next to Claire and holding Sydney, who normally does not like to cuddle. Apparently Uncle Jonathan is an exception.

For Christmas, Jonathan and I bought ourselves a Flip camcorder. We love it and took it all over the place. Here is a short video from our hotel room.

Claire loves to pose for the camera, and she should! She is adorable.

Our first stop was Chinatown. While Lyndon and Jonathan checked out of the hotel and took our luggage back to the car, Missy and I strapped Claire and Sydney onto our backs and went to explore. It was so strange to hear Missy speak Cantonese with the shopkeepers! And it was great when they would be talking about us, and Missy could understand and reply. It definitely caught a few of them off guard! After a while, we met back up with Lyndon and Jonathan. I should have taken pictures of the food we bought - a dragon heart, lychees, and some delicious pastries. I also bought a beautiful green scarf - you might see it in some later pictures or video.

After Chinatown, we did what every tourist must do when in Boston: The Freedom Trail.

Our first stop was the Boston Commons park. For some reason I have no pictures of the park itself. But I do have a video of the squirrels who were stalking us.

Part of the trail leads you through a very old graveyard where many great Americans are buried.

Along the way, we passed the biggest Borders I have ever seen. Mom, this picture is for you!

Faneuil Hall, or the "Cradle of Liberty," which has been a marketplace and meeting hall since 1742.



For lunch, we made a stop in Little Italy. We were standing outside looking at the menu when a nice old Italian man invited us in, telling us that they "love children!"

The food was delicious, the atmosphere was inviting, and the company was fantastic. :)

We also took a tour of Paul Revere's house, which is the house he left from when he made his Midnight Ride.

Before we left Paul Revere's house, Claire made us all sit down and watch her perform "Families Can Be Together Forever."

A statute of Paul Revere with the Old North church in the background. The Old North church is where the lanterns were hung as a signal from Paul Revere to notify the people of Boston that the British were coming. "One if by land, two if by sea..."

We passed through another graveyard. I love the way the vines have crawled across these two graves.

At one point, we ran into "Santa Claus" and his "elves." No idea where they were going... they just came out of a random building and started walking down the street. But they were nice enough to stop for a picture.

Our tour ended at the pier looking over Boston Harbor, where we took a video and some more photos.

I love this picture. It's a keeper.

And I love Jonathan. He's a keeper, too!

After we finished the Freedom Trail, we rode the Subway back to the cars and drove the two hours to Hanover/West Lebanon, New Hampshire where Lyndon and Missy live, and where Lyndon attends medical school. I'll have more posts about our adventures soon!

By the way, what do you all think of the new blog layout? And how do you like the header that Jonathan designed?

New Years GIVEAWAY...

Well I made a goal last year to read all the way through all of the standard works. I started really well but it was just too difficult to go from this book to that book to losing my place to laziness. So this year I went through and planned out how many chapters I need to read every day. I then put together a spreadsheet with links to the scriptures.

So if you have made a scripture resolution like me let me know if you want this program e-mailed to you. Hopefully we can both meet our objectives this year.

*Note to self: Work out