It's Been Too Long

So, it's been way too long since I last posted anything. A lot has happened in that time. This post is a quick summary of an eventful few months in Boston. Todd and I are really growing to enjoy our time in Boston. We have met some great friends and had some really fun times.


First, my parents came to visit in October. We took a trip up the coast to Portland, Maine. We stopped along the way to shop at an outlet mall (of course), visit some lighthouses, and explore some cute towns on the ocean. We also went out to Peaks Island, an island off the coast of Portland. It is a cute little island that is really busy during the summer, but was beautifully quiet during the fall.





























Next was Halloween. I am usually not very excited about halloween, but this year the entire Math department at my high school dressed up as the track team from the movie "Juno". Not only did we dress up, but we ran around the school during both lunch periods. We ran through the halls, classrooms, the quad and the cafeteria. The students in the cafeteria cheered for us! It was great. Now we just have to top that for next year (if you have any good ideas let me know!). By the way, the shirts were hand painted by every teacher.
































We have also gone to the Christmas tree lighting of the largest tree in New England (which also happens to be about 2 blocks from out place), go kart racing where we had to wear a full suit and helmet, and we went home for Thanksgiving and got stuck in a winter storm and couldn't get back to Boston until Tuesday. Todd also studied like crazy for the CFA exam and then took it last weekend.

Apples!!

This weekend Todd and I went to an apple orchard with our friends from church. The orchard was up in Ipswich, MA. It was a beautiful area and a gorgeous Fall day (70 and Sunny - not a cloud in the sky). We took a hayride out to the orchard and picked our own apples (this was actually my first time doing this!). Then we got the necessary fresh doughnuts and cider, yummy!























Today I was lucky enough to have the day off. I spent half of the day making my first apple crisp and my mom's famous applesauce. Since I am no longer within driving distance to get her applesauce, I decided I needed to make it myself (it doesn't feel like fall without homemade applesauce). After calling her about 3 times, I think it came out very well - I am very proud of myself.
















Todd also wanted me to post a picture of his homemade guacamole that he made today :)

Waterfire!!

Saturday night Todd and I went to Providence, RI with 3 other couples from the church we have been going to (Park Street Church). The night was quite an adventure....

First, two of the couples had to run for about 10 min. to catch the train we took to Providence.

Once in Providence, someone needed to find a Walgreens - this started a walk through the shady part of Providence that took about an hour. The picture is the parking lot we were trying to cut through - no such luck, barbed wire!



Then we stopped at a shop for gelato. While waiting, another customer began to have some kind of medical emergency (I think a stroke, but I am definitely not an expert). Needless to say he was taken away by an ambulance.

Then, the whole reason we went to Providence - Waterfire! Every Saturday during the summer they fill these "sculptures" that are in the water with mini bonfires - hence the name "Waterfire". There are about 100 of these bonfires lit down the river. They play music, have street vendors, and much more. You can also pay a lot of money and take a gondola ride through the bonfires - it looked like fun, but way out of our price range.



Next we walked along the river and found some salsa dancing, elephant ears and other goodies. On our walk we encountered the most interesting part of the night - a man wearing very little clothing atop a metal stand swinging rope with fire at the end. The swinging fire let off sparks everywhere. It was very cool, but so random. I really wish I had a picture.

All in all, the night was a very fun adventure. We all went to Providence not knowing what to expect and ended up having a really great time experiencing something from the East coast and becoming better friends.

Our New Home

We have moved in and are pretty much unpacked in our new home. We are living right downtown Boston in a high rise next to the Old State House and Faneuil Hall (if you are familiar with Boston). It is not a very big place, but we are enjoying the location. We were able to get rid of our car - which is quite liberating, not having to worry about parking, gas, insurance, etc. Todd walks to work and I take the train. The only issue so far is groceries - the closest one is .4 mi away and that is a Whole Foods, so if we want decently priced food, there is an issue. We actually rode our bikes to the a grocery store and rode back through downtown Boston with bags of groceries on our handle bars (I wish I had a picture of that for you :).

New Baby in the Buys Family

Congrats Travis and Melanie!
We are a new aunt and uncle to a beautiful baby boy named Lucas Alan. Todd's brother Travis and sister-in-law Melanie had their first child yesterday. We are so happy for you guys and wish that we could be there to celebrate with you. We can't wait to see him at Thanksgiving!

I Want to Move!!

Even though Todd and I have moved to Boston and he has started work, we are not moving into our apartment until Saturday. So, for two weeks, this is what we are living in. My relatives were nice enough to let us store our stuff and stay at their house for while they are out of town, but I am sick of living out of a suitcase and maneuvering around all our furniture and boxes. Saturday cannot come fast enough!

Brazil Pictures

For those of you who don't know, our trip to Brazil consisted of 2 days in Rio, 1 day in Manaus (city outside of the Amazon), 3 days in the Amazon, 5 days in Salvador, 2 days in Iguassu Falls (larger than Niagara) and then 2 more days in Rio. It was a much needed vacation and reward after Todd and I finished up our Masters. The highlights of the trip for me were the Christ statue that I have been wanting to see for years, the monkey jungle in the Amazon where about 30 wild monkeys are rehabilitated, the Iguassu falls which were beautiful and powerful, and hang gliding.

This is a photo montage of our trip - hope you enjoy it! (It is a little long, but I couldn't cut the pictures down anymore - we had about 1700, and this is only 300.)

Hang Gliding!!!

Yes, that's right, Todd and I went hang gliding. It was Todd's idea, and I was quite scared standing at the top of a mountain looking at the wooden platform that I would have to run off of into thin air. Luckily I had a great pilot, whom I questioned about his credentials as we were about to run off the cliff - he has been flying for over 26 years and has over 18,000 flights, so needless to say I felt pretty safe. All he kept saying was "Just keep running!" He made it very clear that if I did not freely run off the cliff, there would be problems, he couldn't drag me. So, I RAN.

It was AMAZING!! There is no crazy drop where you lose your stomach (which I hate) and you have the amazing feeling of flying. The views were out of this world. We flew over the famous Tijuca Forest in Rio, the ocean and landed right on the beach.

This is a video of my takeoff and part of the flight that Todd took.

Welcome!

Well, I never thought that I would become a blogger, but when you move to a new city miles away, you want to keep connected - thus the title of the blog ;) I hope that this blog with help you keep connected with me and vice versa.

Todd and I just got back from an amazing 16 day vacation in Brazil! I will be posting a lot of pictures and video slowly, so check back often. We have also just settled in our new city of Boston. Todd started his new job Monday and I am preparing my teaching materials for the start of the school year in September - more to come on both those topics I am sure.

Thanks for reading!