Christmas 2007

On the 23rd my family and I went to Grandma and Grandpa Newton's for Christmas fun. The family did talent's while Julianne's (she's my cousin) boy, Kyler, waited patiently for the strings to begin. He thought we'd like to hear a little Kazoo!
On the 24th we went to the Ryser side family celebration at Ralph and Sue's. It was wonderful to be with family and hear Grandpa Ryser tell his annual Christmas Story " By Invitation of Jesus".
On the 25th we just chilled with our Christmas gifts (Thanks family for your generousity!) Then, I spent a little time with Mark's family. Thanks for a wonderful Christmas this year!

Christmas with Mark

Soon after Thanksgiving, Mark and I went to the Boston "Nutcracker". They put on a beautiful show. We also went to the Cambridge Stake Messiah Sing-in and a fun little one man show of "It's a Wonderful Life". Mark new I liked that movie so he surprised me with tickets. What a sweetie!

The "funnest" ice cream sandwiches ever!

A bunch of us got together for a Christmas dinner today. We ended up making ice cream sandwiches with peppermint on the outside. The molds were from Williams-Sonoma and we laughed our brains out it was so darn fun!

Thanksgiving

It was wonderful to get together with friends at the silk street house. What wonderful food we had!

Margie and Hed Rad

Margo and Heather came to Boston to visit Shells and I. We took the Freedom Trail by storm, went for sushi and shop till we dropped! Its so nice to see a bite of Utah. Any other takers? We love visitors!

Halloween

Halloween was super fun this year! Mark was an ipod commercial and I was a stepford wife. The Belmont party was a blast!

Go Sox!

The Sox had an amazing season. The World Series was incredible to watch. Too bad we didn't have millions of dollars to spare on tickets! Jodi came out to Boston just for the Parade. Sox and MAC what more could you ask for in one day?

Whale Watching / job

Don't ever go whale watching in a rain storm. Shelly, Mark, Audria, Tara and I set out to see our first whales. Unfortunately (ok, fortunately) Audria and Tara missed the boat. As we left the doc, the waves started to swell a little. By the time we were full on in the ocean, person after person began to vomit until about 60% of people were using the bags. Shelly and I were some of the victims. Mark on the other hand has a stomach of steel! Thanks for taking care of us. We would not have survived the war without you!

I just got a new job!! I'm working for Billerica school district at Hajjar Elementary. I'm a full time speech therapist. I work with 3 life skills classes. The kids are adorable! I love it!

Mt. Auburn Cemetery

Mark and I went to Mt. Auburn cemetery to take some pictures. Boston in the fall is incredible!

Ogunquit

Tara, Andria and I rode along the coast of MA, NH, and Maine. It was an epic ride! Thanks to Audria and Mark as our support. We spent a very enjoyable day in Ogunquit, Maine. What a beautiful city!

White Mountains

What a lovely trip. A bunch of us went to the White Mountain in New Hampshire for Labor Day this year. We had exhilarating hikes and a wonderful time cooking coke chicken and muffins in oranges. No encore of the pinch and shuffle though ;(.

Summer Calling

So, this summer I was called to the Cambridge Stake Young Women's presidency. It was filled with super fun. Youth conference and girl's camp were full of new and interesting experiences.

The worst week of my life (except the Shelly part).

August 14-20 was probably one of THE worst weeks of my life. On the morning of the 14th I rented a truck from Home Depot to move a bed to my new apartment. I was pulled over by a cop and told that the truck did not pass registration, Home Depot was issued a ticket for a rejected inspection and I was given a ticket for driving on an expired license. I didn't realize that one has 30 days from the time you move to Boston to get a new license. I vowed there to go to the DMV and get a new license the next day. However, later that night I picked up my new roommate Shelly Karren from the Logan airport. On the way home we ended up lost in East Boston. I was pulled over for the second time that day for running a red light and using an expired license. This time the cop was not so nice. He swore at me, harassed me and threatened to arrest me. (Later, I went to court and was found "Not responsible" for the second set of tickets (due to the harassment).

That Saturday we missed a Guster concert because we didn't realize how late they were performing and had red sox tickets, only to arrive at the gate that night and find that our tickets were for the day before. No Guster and No Red sox.

On the 20th I went out to my car to get something from the inside and found no car. It had be towed due to street cleaning. 70$ to get it from the tow yard and $50 for a ticket.

Luckily, I had wonderful friends who supported me through all this!

Newton Reunion

All the Newton relatives gathered at Zion's Ponderosa Ranch for a little reunion. It was loads of fun and a little adventurous too. We almost had to evacuate due to the crazy fires in So. Utah. Go Newtons!

Live Earth

Well. who wants to save the environment? Oh, we do!!! Nance came out to visit and we drove down to Jersey in Peggy's car. Mark, Nance, Peggy and I had a hoot at the largest concert in the world. Remember when we walked back to the parking lot and almost got hit on the freeway? What a fun adventure! Thanks for letting us stay at your house Brooke!

Boston Gardens with Jodi

Boston in bloom! The gardens at the common in Boston are magical in the spring and summer. Thanks for coming to visit Jodi!

Acadia, Maine

The trip of a lifetime! A few of us friends went to Acadia, Maine. We hiked, we kayaked and I ate lobster for the first time in my life. The waves, the crickets, the RAIN! Mark ;). IT'S OFFICIAL! I HAVE A WONDERFUL BOYFRIEND. MARK BANGERTER!!!

The big 3-2!

What a great birthday. I turned 32 on April 22 and was in the flying back home to Boston most of the day. When I got home my room was decorated all crazy like, Sasha made me a cake and then later in the week my friend Michelle threw me a birthday! I'm so blessed in Boston and have wonderful friends here.

Sushi

Why not make sushi at home? Isaac, thanks for the invite. Sushi with the sisters was very fun and very yummy.

Sugaring in NH

This month I took a trip to New Hampshire to see the whole maple syrup process. The trees are tapped and sugar water drains out. The water is then boiled and filtered multiple times until it's ready to serve. We ate pancakes, pickles, leather aprons and donuts. We also learned how to ice fish by walking across Lake Winepesake and talking to the natives. Good times.

Luquillo, PR

February in Puerto Rico is a great time to explore the island. No too many people are visiting and the beaches are heavenly. Soak it in, just soak it in.

Old San Juan, PR

Puerto Rico is a fascinating place. Old San Juan looks so European and the colors so refreshing.

Wicked

Try defying gravity! Wicked is one of my all time greatest life experiences. I'm so lucky to have been able to see it for the second time in Rode Island.

We are famous!

Check out the links below.

This one is from the local FOX25 news. It takes a while to load. Miciah and Sasha were fabulous. I just did the running.

http://www.myfoxboston.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=1935554&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.2.1


The next link is to the Boston Globe article.


http://www.boston.com/news/local/gallery/l_street_brownies/

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Southie Pride

What a way to start out the new year! Some fearless sistas and I set out to become TV stars in the only way we knew how. THE SOUTH BOSTON POLAR BEAR SWIM! This year's theme was Southie Pride, so we pinned letters forming the phrase "Southie '07" on towel capes and wore black burgler masks. CBS and Fox ended up interviewing us and the Boston Post took photos and asked questions. Just before the swim the community center hosted a bagpipe bregade. The ambiance was absolutely exhilerating. At 10 am sharp we jumped in the ocean and ran out. I'd say this was the most adventurous New Year's yet. Bring in 2007!!!