May Mayhem

The month of May was quite eventful.  After a month of whirlwind activities, it's time to get caught up, so enjoy the next few days of blogging :)

At the beginning of May, Brad and I flew into Boston for some much needed relaxation.  Aaron's Graduation from Champlain (in Vermont) was the following weekend and we thought we would make a nice little vacation out of our visit to the east coast.  The weather was amazingly cold...enought to ask Aaron and Savannah to bring my coat on their flight the next day!  Brad and I started our trip by going to the Boston Temple the very next morning.  We were about 7 miles away...not bad......if you don't figure in the traffic.  To get to the 9:00 a.m.session, we left about 8:10 a.m.....thinking we would have plenty of time to take pictures, rent our clothing, relax and enjoy the session.  Nobody told us about the morning traffic in Boston.  7 miles?  45 minutes!!  We were rushing to get in, thinking we would miss the session.  There are sessions only on the hour, so we really needed to get into that 9:00 session.  We drove up about 8:55, and saw a young couple running...yes, running into the temple.  WE walked very briskly and asked them if they could hold the session.  We quickly got ready and walked into the chapel.....and saw....the young couple....and only the young couple.  Yes, there were 4 of us in the session!!  But it was beautiful, just breathtaking.

After our session, we stopped at a famous eating restaurant, where we sampled some yummy chowder and filled our tummies!

We headed down south to Plymouth Rock, and looked at a replica of the Mayflower ship.  Not what I expected.  Very small.  They had some actors/characters portraying how it would have been in the 1600's.  Very informative!  I gained an appreciation for those who sacrificed so much to come to this "promised land!"

This is a typical bed and bunk for a 9 month passage.  They were the lucky ones.  Most were on the floors!

After looking and driving around, we headed south again to our next destination in Yarmouth.  Where is that??  Bottom of Massachusetts.  Right before you head up the tip of the "boot".  We stayed here for two nights and enjoyed the scenery during the day.  We traveled up to Provincetown, the very tip of the state, looked around, ate some more chowder, did a little bit of window-shopping (not much tho!) and headed back to our hotel. 

We thought we could get to the ferry fast enought to go to Nantucket.  We traveled quickly, and got to the dock with 10 minutes to spare.  Enought time?  Nope!  They told us we were in the wrong parking area.  Mind you, the parking lot was nearly empty!  But we were "suppose" to travel back 6 miles, park and take the shuttle.  WHAT??  Needless to say...we missed the ferry.

As we traveled thru the neighborhood, we learned about two things....speed bumps are speed "tables" in this area and....when the neighbors want you to slow down, they put up signs like this:

I wanted to see the beach as the sun sets, so Brad drove around (good thing we had Aaron's GPS system!!) until we found a beach area we could enjoy.

Next morning, we headed up to Burlington, Vermont, which was about a 6 hour drive.  We made a pit stop in the middle of Boston at this place for some authentic Italian pastries.  I got a box to share with Aaron, Savannah, and her parents. 

We met them in Montpelier, the "happening" capital of Vermont.  Actually it is the nation's smallest capital.  We looked around and headed on up to Burlington, where we went to a Graduate Get-Together at the college.  We walked around, looked at the apartment where he and Savannah called home, and had an enjoyable evening together with Savannah's parents.

Saturday marked the first college graduate of our family.  Aaron graduated with honors.  We are so proud of him and this accomplishment.  It was very cold and rainy, but we were prepared and had a great time.  He has worked hard, sacrificed much,  and with the love of his sweetheart has set a standard for his siblings.

(Aaron is on last row, 2nd from right)

Sunday - Mother's Day - we awoke to snow flurries.  That's right...on Mother's Day.  It was the first time that as a native Arizonan, I could say that I had a "white" Mother's Day. 

We went to church with Aaron and Savannah, where we met some of their friends and members of the ward.  We wanted to see Lake Champlain, and for the record.....it was FREEZING!!  Afterwards, we all headed to Sharon, Vermont - which is the birthplace of Joseph Smith.  It was very, very cold.  But beautiful and very memorable.  We saw the monument, and also some of the footings of the homes of the Smith family.  Beautiful area!!  The Memorial itself has such a story.  There was a very special feeling as we looked around and thought of the many sacrifices the Smith Family made in obedience to the Plan of our Heavenly Father and His Son.

(a miniature replica of the home of Joseph Smith)

(the area where the home once stood.  You can see to the right of Aaron, the hearthstone of the home)

Brad and I headed back to Boston that evening.  It was a day of much traveling!  Monday we were tourists and walked the 2.5 mile Freedom Trail.  I'm not sure I would recommend that to anyone.  Take the trolley...much easier on the feet and the drivers are very informative.  (We took the trolley back).  Boston is a beautiful city with so much rich history of our great country.  It was fun to see all the historic landmarks and pay respect to those who died for our freedoms here.

( Bunker Hill Monument)

(This cemetary had many famous people buried there, including 4 of the founding fathers and those who signed the Declaration of Independence)

(Skyline of Boston)

It was a good trip....beautiful country....best part?  Participating with Aaron and Savannah in all the Graduation festivities.  We enjoyed spending time with Guy and Beverly Thompson.  We feel extra blessed to have extended family as nice and wonderful as the Thompsons!