Summer Update!

I've decided to stop apologizing for the lack of posts. I feel guilty, but obviously not even those feelings of guilt have changed the amount I actually get on here. I'm pretty sure you're sick of hearing me say I'm going to try to be better and then not. So I've decided I'll blog when I can or when I feel like it and that will be that! Sorry to disappoint, but aren't blogs about the blogger anyway? I'll just tell myself it means I'm not very self centered (yeah right). Anyway, if you are still curious about what I've been up to this summer, here's a glimpse!

A couple weekends ago I went with a big group of friends to Palmyra New York for the Hill Cummorah Pageant! It was a long and tiring trip but very much worth it. Other than Sharon VT last Sept. it was my first visit to a church history site! My favorite part was the Sacred Grove, even though I got really sick afterward from lack of sleep and food. It was beautiful and peaceful and I can't believe it's still there! The Pageant was also really great. Not at all what I was expecting, it had more dancing and less dialogue, but I really enjoyed it. Even despite being rained on while enjoying it.

Our camping group:Erica, Cameron, John, Laura, Kylee, Lora, me, Ben and Jared!!

This is from the Smith Family Log Cabin. In this room is where the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith during the night. It was great to visit all these sacred sites.

This is the fireplace in the Smith Frame House where the gold plates were hidden for a time from a mob. Later they kept them in the box on the dresser in the room below.


The Sacred Grove was such a peaceful, beautiful place.


The weekend after that was Harry Potter craziness!! I can't believe that book 7 is finally here! I got a huge group of friends together for the book release party that they had in Harvard Sq. There were so many people it was crazy! I finally dressed up, and I wasn't the only one. In fact, every person in our group dressed up! I made Gryffindor Quidditch Team T-Shirts for people the night before and they turned out great. Check 'em out! We ate good food, listened to some interesting "Wizard Rock" and then got in line for the release. Natalie, Mike and I waited for an hour outside the store, then stormed the doors with the rest of the crowd and managed to make it in around 37th into the store, where we waited another hour and half until they started selling the book at midnight! By 12:04 I had two copies in hand (one for a friend who couldn't wait in line... I'm nice like that) and we were greeted by a huge crowed outside the store taking our pictures and cheering! It was amazing. I read until 4 in the morning then got up on Sat. and read all day and finished Sunday night at 7! I can't believe it's all over. Overall I enjoyed the book. I was disappointed by the Epilogue, I wanted more info, but Jo's been pretty good about answering questions now that everything is over. I'm thinking about planning a "Support Potter Party" in honor of the end, just as a last hurrah and for people to come talk about the final book, I'll be sure to keep people informed if it happens!


At dinner with Ben, Nicole, Lora, Jared, Angela, Anna, Riva, Cameron, Natalie and Mike!

Hey look! It's Luna and Ginny! Well, almost. Natalie poses with me as I try my best "Looney" Lovegood look.

Trisha dressed as Professor Sprout (she's a Hufflepuff), her cousin was Ginny and Anglea was Cho Chang! The concert was going on behind us, tons of fun!

And here we have the members of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team: Harry, I mean, Mike, Adam, Cameron, Jared, Ben with Natalie and Lora! Everybody loved the shirts.

On to other fun adventures this summer! This last week was great. On Tuesday I attended "Shakespeare on the Common" the free play they do every year on Boston Common. This year was my favorite, "A Mid Summer Night's Dream". The performance was pretty good overall. Not as good as last year though. Apparently they lost of a lot of funding, so they only did a week and it was a much simpler stage and costuming. The fairy scenes were very... interesting. They danced and sang to techno music and wore really crazy neon spandex feathery costumes. Yeah, interesting. The play within the play at the end was my favorite part, and not just cause that was my part in H.S., it was really clever what they did with it. It had me laughing so hard I couldn't breath!

Here are those psychedelic fairies!

I also saw two movies last week, but I think I'll save it for a movie review post! Ya'll come back soon, ya hear!?

More Updates...

So here are the picture I linked you to, but falied to tell you about from my last post! Forgiveness is a virtue, people!

I'll start off with the 4th of July which was a total blast because 3 of my old roommates from Salt Lake came to visit me! The 4th is amazing in Boston anyway, but it was extra special spending time with my friends and showing them the city I've grown to love over the last year...

The night before they all came in I went to the dress rehearsal of the "Boston Pops Extravaganza" which is a 4th of July tradition. It's easier to get into the concert on the 3rd. We had a huge group from the ward there and had a blast.
With Ben, Leah and Toni.


Then on the morning of the 4th Ben and I picked up Becky and Shannon from the airport and we headed right out to have some fun!
Here we are waiting for the T. Ashlee met up with us later at the Old State House, where we heard the reading of the Declaration of Independence from the same place it was first read in 1776!
The Old State House

Then we walked down to Fanueil Hall and then followed the Freedom Trail through the North End for a bit before heading to a BBQ.

Later that night we met up with a big group to watch the fireworks on the Charles River. It was raining most of the night and getting home was crazy, but the show was a-MA-zing!

Shan and Beck keeping dry under an umbrella and looking patriotic!


Man, we did so much in just a few days that everything is blurring together! We went to a baseball game at Fenway which finally converted me into a baseball fan. I even bought a hat! We ate tons of good food and went shopping. One day we took a trip up to Salem, where we saw some of the witch trial sites with Ben.

This is part of the memorial to the people who were killed during the "Salem Witch Trials".


Me and a fearsome pirate outside of the Pirate Museum. If only I'd had my pirate wench costume...

We headed to the beach next. It was a little overcast, so just Ben got in the water, but we had fun walking along the beach and playing in the waves.

Ben, Becky and Shan chilling on the beach.

The water was beautiful in the almost setting sun.

We perched up on the lifeguards chair for a bit.

Here we are in front of John Harvard's statue after taking a tour of the Library where I work. Thanks again for coming girls! I had so much fun. I hope this inspires others to come visit, or for you to come back again soon! I love showing people the sites!

Other stuff I've been up to:

I went to the midnight showing of "Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix" with a few friends. It was well worth being dead tired the next day! July was the month of Potter for me!

This is from a trip to North Bennet Street School to visit the violin shop with my friend David. He's an amazing violinist who's learning how to make them. Such an intricate process! It made me think of Grandpa Hancock and was so cool see everything and remember him. My new goal is to learn to play the violin, especially since Grandma decided to give me Grandpa's violin. I can't even say how grateful and thrilled I am.
David, the violin maestro.

Laura and Michelle contemplating the shop.

Simply beautiful.

So here's a funny story for you. I started listening to this band a little while ago called "The Click Five". After reading an article saying they lived in Watertown (my little town outside of Boston) I said, hey, that's cool. I wonder if they're any good. Turns out I'd heard them before and I was an instant fan. But wait, the story doesn't stop there, at this time I'd also been looking for housing with 4 friends and we'd had no luck. Until my roommate Lora found this place near where we live now that was big and beautiful. And guess who was living there? Yep, "Click Five". I will admit, this sent me into overdrive with my "admiration" for the band. Maybe getting the chance to look into a rock star's closet is what did it. Anyway, I found some fellow enthusiasts and we went to a free lunch time concert they played in Boston a few weeks ago. We tried to meet them afterward, but they got called away to sign some autographs. Plans to make them cookies before they moved out fell through (luckily) so we weren't able to embarrass ourselves too much. I wish I could have asked Ethan to sign my room or something before he moved out...
Being a groupie at the concert.
Ethan the bassist.
So here the stalker tendencies come out. I'm pretty sure the room I'm getting belonged to Ethan here, because of some family pictures on his dresser. How cool is that? I hope they come back to visit some time... I'm such a nerd.

Well, that's the update for now. Sorry for killing your computer with all the pictures! But I believe in the mantra that a picture is worth a thousand words! At least a thousand of mine...

Coming Soon!

OK, sorry that I keep doing these big posts, and that they've been so infrequent lately! My computer has been so slow it just is such a pain to get it done. So while I'm working on it (yeah, it's a multiple day thing) you can check out some of the pictures I'll be including over at my Flickr account! I'll fill in the details in the next day or so on here, but for now, you can get your visual fix. I really will try to be better. Although I'm not going to make any promises that I can't keep!

Pictures here!!