No Beans in Beantown

We just got home from being in Boston for a week and I didn't have any beans, but I did have a Boston cream donut. There are Dunkin Donut stores on every corner,really, every corner. I have never seen so many in one city. Didn't find out why it is called beantown until the end of the week.

I had the great idea not to rent a car while we were there so we took the "T" (Bostonian for the subway train) everywhere. It was an adventure and very fun. I recommend it to anyone going to Boston. They have a 1 week ticket for $15 that gives you unlimited riding on the "T" and the buses. We walked all over too, walked the Freedom Trail, saw Fenway Park, took the "Duck tour", went to the museum on a rainy day, walked around Beacon Hill, visited Paul Reever's grave & house, and many more historic site from before the Revolutionary War. I loved it. Boston is a great city to visit, you should go there sometime.

Our room is in the building with the clock tower, pointed at the top, on the 14th floor.

Walking through the Beacon Hill neighborhood, it was old and lovely

The harbor view from our room "Make way for ducklings"- the book based on a real incident in Boston. Love these bronze ducks

We went to Fenway Park and took the tour

Steve can always find an old ship to tour, a battleship from WWII

Our tour on the Charles river.

Perks of the President

The nice thing about having presidency meetings at my house is that I can make dessert. Since there is just Steve & me home, if I'm in the mood for a cake or something sweet, there is no sense in making something just for the two of us. But now I can subject my counselors to my sweet tooth whims, so sorry girls. They are always so gracious and accept my baking frenzy with humble thanks. Last night I tried to stay on the low calorie side of dessert, this made from scratch angel food cake, from Cooking Light magazine, was only 270 calories a slice. It was really good and Steve even had two pieces. I think it's a keeper.

Hot from Guatemala We started our trip in Guatemala City at a very nice hotel. It was sure a welcome after the all day flight. It was a 11 day tour with lots of bus rides, boat rides, smaller bus rides, plane rides and really small plane rides. It was a truly great way to see some possible site from the Book of Mormon. To read each day from the Book of Mormon and maybe be in some of the areas was wonderful. We had a great archaeologist, he gave us a study guide and versus to read everyday to open our minds to the possibility of Guatemala being the place for some of the Nephite and Lamenite lands. We were both visually feed as well as spiritually.
We had a police escort all the time we were in Guatemala. Two of them were with us where ever we went, even walking through the ruins. They were even helpful when I was throwing up in the bus and couldn't find the light in the bathroom. Good thing we went first class and had air conditioning and a bathroom on our bus.

We stayed at beautiful Lake Atitlan,

Hiked to the top of the ruins at Tikal

Hiked to the top of higher ruins

Rode through the jungle for two hours on a bumpy dirt road

Saw the beautiful ruins in Caracol, Belize

Listened to a lecture in the rain

Then sweated until out shirts were wet from sweat

Stayed in the jungle in an eco-lodge before going cave tubing

My dad was with us on the trip

Took a boat ride to get to more ruins in Belize

Hike up a very steep ruin, you needed a rope to hang on to

Spent two relaxing days with a beautiful view out our window on the beach

We are now relaxing at home, anticipating our next trip in October, stay tuned

Mermaid or Whale?

OR


Recently, in a large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym.
It said:
THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?
A middle aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.
To Whom It May Concern:
Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans).
They have an active sex life, they get pregnant and have
adorable baby whales.They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Bering Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia.
Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs.
They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.
Mermaids don't exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up
outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity
crisis. Fish or human? They don't have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them......not to mention how could they have sex?
Therefore they don't have kids either. Besides, who wants to get close to a girl who's skin is all scaly and smells like a fish store?
The choice is perfectly clear to me... I want to be a whale.
P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful,
I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my Grandkids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver and a latte with
my friends.
With time, we gain weight because we accumulate so much
information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy.
Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, "Good gosh, look how smart I am"!

Lake Tahoe

We had a wonderful week at Lake Tahoe with the kids and grandkids.The weather was perfect, the nights were wonderful. Steve didn't want to come home, it was 107 when we arrived home. As he always does after a trip he said, "Now remind me why we live here."

It was fun to hike and play with everyone and ejoy the beautiful mountains all around us. Thanks everyone for coming! Kelli & Ryan from Utah, Stephanie from Washington, Nicole for flying back and forth to drive down with Stephanie and the boys, Kathryn for coming up the hill. Looking forward to next year.

Happy Birthday Mom and Dad

This weekend we celebrated my mom & dad's 80th birthday. We had a grand celebration at my sister's house, my parents live next door. All my brothers and sisters were there as were many of the grandkids and great grandkids. There are 7 children, 30 grandchildren and many,I don't want to count them all, great grandkids. It gets harder and harder each year to all get together so this was extra special. We always take a funny picture and convinced my mom to bare her thinning hair (after her next chemo treatment she will probably lose it all). The funny one is always the best picture and that is usually the one you see in our houses. My mom and dad are wonderful parents and we all own them many thanks.