If it wasn't for that spider, I never would've made it through law school

OR- Hypochondriacs R Us

JAKE- I have started work and Chelsea has started school. So, it begins. I have been thinking lately that it was about time that we got started with what will essentially be our routine for the next year. Of course I say that now, but I am sure I will be complaining about the never ending drag of our lives in about nine months, but what can ya do. A week or so ago Chelsea and I saw a spider living by the front door of the house. He or she was nestled into the phonebook that dangles from the pay phone next to the door. So naturally I destroyed its web and thought nothing of it. Well, it remade its web a short time later and now we don't have the heart to kill it (the resilient little bugger) so instead we have adopted it and named it Dex, like the phonebook. I have started my online course as well. It looks like it will be a lot of writing; not surprising considering it's English 102 Freshmen Writing. Enough jabber, it's time for family fun evening.

So zombies CAN go to church

OR- Good news if you are married to Chelsea Reynolds

I suppose four can be the magic number for now then. I was offered all four jobs that i interviewed for. A 'thank you' email to the perioperative services department received a response confirming they were going to offer me the job there if HR wouldn't have told them i accepted the position in the laboratory. Now, I am not saying that I am anything special. In fact I am quite sure that these departments had several openings and perhaps I was just one of few applicants. Seriously I am not trying to make it sound like I am praiseworthy. I am telling you this so I can give credit where credit is due. Who says that paying your tithing doesn't pay off? These job opportunities were a blessing. Period. I got the exact job that I wanted in the exact place i wanted to work. Sure I put in the hours of interviews, driving there and back, phone calls, emails, etc. But I could not have done it alone. I couldn't do this life thing alone. Not without a Father in Heaven looking out and helping. Yes, actually stretching forth His hand and helping. And this is not something that I alone enjoy, millions could testify of the same thing. Don't mistake coincidence for the very handiwork of the almighty.

      On another note. I don't claim to know much. I mean, many of the great mysteries of the universe i simply do not comprehend. Although, do you think it is possible that my wife is actually getting more and more beautiful as time goes on? How is this conceivable? She's so hot and getting hotter! All I can do know is just sit back and enjoy the show. I'm telling you people she is really starting to shine out here in so many ways, and it is my privilege to be a part of it. What a wife! Hey, if you can't laud your wife via blog, where can you do it?

Shmorienshmation

The above should read: "Orientation", but this is the way all words are sounding in my head right now. Orientation at Vermont Law School is an all-day week-long extravaganza. Eight AM to five PM everyday. Most nights there are things going on as well, so things usually start winding down around twelve or thirteen hours after getting started in the morning. JD students, here for three years and becoming a lawyer at the end of it all, have it somewhat rough. They have no say in their classes or schedule for the entire first year, and are pushed away into sections that are basically built-in study groups. MELP students (me) might actually have it rougher. The goal of the professors for this week is to make sure that every MELP student knows as much about the law as one would learn in the whole first year of law school, so that we will be ready to take the classes that the 3L (third years) and LLM (Post JD Master of Laws) students take, starting the first day of school.

This is not an easy task.

I am by far the youngest in this year's admitted class of only twenty-four, and am finding myself to be ridiculously under-qualified. Most of these people have spent years cavorting around the Amazon, working in the Peace Corps, or having whole other lives, like the retired policeman and mother who was an elementary school teacher for fifteen years. I don't know how I got admitted into this remarkably prestigious program. ASU didn't want me, but the number one program in the country did? Yes, I am still bitter about that. Oh well. Since I am moving there in a year, I can wave this Harvard-Yale-Dartmouth caliber diploma in their face and say "neener neener!"

So this week is very tiring, and incredibly informative. I am learning all about the law and will be able to hold my own with any lawyer in a matter of days. That is, if words will stop sounding like gibberish.

On another note--a few things we have learned about the house (if you didn't know, we occupy a very small area of the house, and are oblivious to what goes on in the rest of it):

• it is well over 10,000 square feet.
• it is four stories tall plus a basement.
• the fourth floor is a full-sized BALLROOM.
• Theodore Roosevelt (the former president) stayed here frequently...our bedroom? used to be his.
• after Lincoln was assassinated, his wife and family "fled to Vermont" and lived here.
• the Law School still owns the majority of the building and cooks all of its meals in the industrial kitchen (sometimes we smell things...)
• there is a pub in the basement.
• there are other tenants. they have a dog.

It is really quite remarkable, and the history is very rich indeed. We have mixed reports on its paranormal activity, and some nights, I wouldn't be surprised to believe some of the shadier stories (see Jake's post on the midnight disturbance). All in all, we actually really like it here, and in all honesty, it has to be seen to be believed. 

We may have stumbled onto greatness with this one, folks.

For now, more reading and case briefing and trying to sleep at all at night.

AND ONE MORE THING! Jake got three job offers today. THREE. He took one. I will let him post about it later.

Wife of Green Tables

OR- Putting shame in your name


JAKE- The last of the interviews have been finished at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. I have interviewed for four different positions now, and all of them are pretty varied in context. First was EKG Tech (doing ekg's on patients) then, Phlebotomist (drawing patients' blood) third was Surgical Support Tech II (do everything in the operating room that you never think about having to be done) and finally, Sterile Instruments Tech II (clean surgical instruments). Oh sure there a few that i would prefer over the others, but can i really be picky? They all seemingly offer great pay and benefits. Chelsea and I had our first ever family home evening tonight, and yes, it was just about the cutest thing ever. I prepared a media-enriched interactive lesson that really hit the spot. Did you know that the Vermont Law School nickname and logo is the Fighting Swans? Chelsea is a Fighting Swan. Maybe not as bad as the Wichita State University Wheatshockers, the Campbell College Fighting Camels, or the University of California at Irvine Anteaters. All of which strike fear in the hearts of their opponents and the hearts of the people who make sweatshirts and caps with these ridiculous logos on them, hoping someone will buy. This just in, sadly the Russell sweatshirt company has opted to use the following as their nickname and logo- The Russell Sweatshirt Falling Profit Margins.

italiano traditional...o

JAKE- Here is what i made for dinner. A tomato sauce from scratch consisting of tomatoes, garlic, farmers market basil, salt, pepper, olive oil and love. Then i made up some penne pasta, plus we had an italian sausage from the farmers market that may have well been cut from a pig that was actually alive in the morning, im not sure. it was a good meal with a good wife. Speaking of she, might i say that chelsea has been doing really well out here in South Royalton. Those of you that know her may know what i mean. sure, at night she can have some tough anxious moments, but other than that she has been so stinking fun. I swear she is getting funnier and funnier every day. her wit and humor has been so right on the money. Its not that she has changed, but its like there is more of her than before; more flavor to enjoy. Yeah, she is more full of that chelsea flavor that we all love... its like she has gone organic. No preservatives or additives, just pure wife. Hey if im not going to laud her over the pulpit at church at least i can do it in this blog. Did you know that 80/20 ground beef is as cheap as 1.99 a pound out here? that is a special deal. i think maybe we should load up and have burgers every night for goodness sake. oh boy, i muust run up a large hill tomorrow; the last two times i have done it i have felt like i was going to throw up. Run.Run. We had dinner at our landlords house(barn) last night and though i wasnt much part of the conversation, i think i overheard people saying that there are raccoons out here as big as black bears. Is that possible? If thats true than i guess i should be more scared of a rodent attacking me than a carnivorous beast. i thought that sort of thing was only possible in the fire-swamp. alright i will stop this blog... as you wish.

if you were in the South Royalton Ward, you would be hearing this on Sunday:

Here is my talk. Jake didn't want to post his, but is willing to send it to anyone interested.

I am Chelsea Reynolds, formerly Chelsea Hinckley. I am twenty-one years old. I am five feet and four inches tall, and have already nearly exhausted my supply of cute outfits, so be prepared for repeats.

I truly am a mover by heart. Growing up, my family never stayed in one place for too long, and after a while, I start to get the itch to get up, get out, and see something new. Before I was born, my parents and older sister moved around and around the Midwest as my dad gained work experience doing internships after receiving his MBA from BYU. But, in the grand Mormon tradition I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. Weeks after my birth, my family relocated to Minnesota where my dad took a job with Northwest Airlines where he worked until 2006. You can now find him at the top of a tall building in downtown Minneapolis where he works as a VP for US Bank. He took to the banking business when the airline industry began to tank, and has been looking to get out of the banking business since about a month after his hire. My mother is an artist, and is recently gaining some national recognition. Go Mom! If you are truly interested in what kind of art she does, I can tell you separately, as it is difficult to explain over the pulpit. As I previously mentioned, I have an older sister that lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, who is another artist, and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing from Minneapolis College of Art and Design. I also have a younger sister who is studying Opera performance and Painting at Southern Virginia University. As you can tell, I come from a family of artists. This also makes me the classically and intrinsically motivated middle child. I studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Minnesota after a brief stint at Southern Utah University. I am now ready to begin work on my Master’s degree at Vermont Law School, a Master of Environmental Law and Policy, which is what has brought us to this beautiful part of the country.

My husband and I are a truly classic tale of a home ward romance and freakishly cosmic chance. We first met before either of us remembers, when our parents were great friends. However, to keep things interesting, my family moved away to Chicago, then to Seattle, and then to Florida…but the universe was watching out for us, because eventually, it brought me back to Minnesota where, after many adventures of his own, Jake was waiting. After a few years, we dated, then we didn’t date, then we dated, then we weren’t on speaking terms, then I winked at him, then we fell in love and were married almost exactly a year later. Ladies, never underestimate the power of a single wink.

As an English major and a lover of words, I am always interested in new ways to describe things, new ways to play with format and style, especially with Sacrament Meeting talks. I have given talks in rhyme, a sassy top-ten, and it has always been a lofty goal of mine to one day give one in iambic pentameter. Don’t worry; you do not have to be that lucky congregation. But for now, picture this: I have decided to tell you the many things that I believe on an innate level. What I believe not as a member of the church, but as a human being. Then, hopefully, it will become evident to you why I am a member of the church, because the teachings of the church align themselves so nicely with what I believe as a person.

First, I believe in people. I believe that people were put here to help each other, and to be different from each other. I believe that in our differences, we were created from the beginning, so that we could learn to live with one another in a constant celebration of diversity. M. Russell Ballard said, “Just as we claim the right to worship as we choose, we believe [others] have the right to worship—or to not worship—as [they] see fit. All of our interpersonal relationships should be built on a foundation of mutual respect, trust, and appreciation. But that shouldn’t prevent us from sharing deeply held religious feelings with each other. Indeed, we may find that our [religious and] philosophical differences add flavor and perspective to our relationships, especially if those relationships are built on true values, openness, respect, trust, and understanding.” This great country that we live in was erected out of many nations, and it took the input of all those nations together to create what we have today. Some question the church’s respect of different cultures and different religions, particularly considering our vast missionary efforts. Here is what I believe. This is also my favorite scripture: 2 Nephi 29:7 “Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?”

From this, I gather that of course the Lord is a respecter of cultures; He made them. A visiting teaching message instructs us to “value our diversity as we blend our efforts.” How lucky we are to be different. I believe in people.

I believe in education. I believe that one of the primary reasons we were put on this earth is to learn everything we can. I have a rabid desire for education, and I thrive when I am surrounded by papers and books. That is probably the reason I have decided to pursue a graduate level education. I anxiously await the day when I can receive the senior auditing discount at my local community college so that I can continue to take classes and soak up as much information as I can. This love of education is one reason why I enjoy moving around so much. I love to visit a new place to take in all it has to offer: rich and varied histories, delicate ecosystems, a culture unlike any other. When I see someone with a skill I don’t have, I admire them, for they have gained a piece of knowledge that I have yet to experience. One day I hope to learn how to milk a cow, grow a cucumber, or fix a toilet, and if I stay here long enough, I just might get that opportunity.

Education comes in all forms. Schooling is an easy way to gain knowledge. You sit in a desk while a teacher literally tells you everything you need to know for an upcoming exam. You quickly jot down notes and graphs that will help you memorize names and dates that are only needed to pass this class. While that is a worthy goal, it is not the only way that we can pursue education. I try to take in every mode of education, such as watching someone do something they do well, or talking to somebody who has a passion for a subject you know little about, so that I will have a broader understanding of life in all of its aspects. The late prophet Gordon B. Hinckley wrote, “This Church came about as a result of intellectual curiosity. We believe in education, and we spend a substantial part of our budget on the education of our young people. We expect them to think. We expect them to investigate. We expect them to use their minds and dig deeply for knowledge in all fields. If we have a motto, it is this, "The glory of God is intelligence."” The Gospel Library of Topics says, “a good education will prepare us for opportunities as they come” and I hope that by educating myself now, I will be ready for the many opportunities I will have throughout my lifetime. Gordon B. Hinckley also taught that “the Lord wants you to educate your minds and hands” and I intend to do just that. I believe in education.

I believe in art. Coming from a family of artists of all kinds, my appreciation for the arts came at an early age. I remember the first time I cried while bearing my testimony. I had recently accompanied the ward choir as they sang the Wilhousky version of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, and the feeling I got while playing, and even whenever I think about it now, was something that came directly from my heart. Art has the power to inspire us, to change us even, and I believe that we should receive it with open arms and sincere hearts. Singing hymns is the perfect way, and the easiest, to show the Lord that we appreciate Him. Not only are we afforded the opportunity to sing several hymns each Sunday, but we are expected to sing to the best of our ability. You do not have to be perfectly on pitch to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. What better way to show your thanks than to sing to the rafters a song that praises our pure and loving Maker. Music is just one outlet in that great mechanism we call art. Not all of us are painters or quilters or sculptors, but as one of my favorite quotes says, “We can’t all be heroes, because somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by” (Will Rogers). So even though, in a family of artists, I am not the most artistically gifted, I am a great art appreciator, and in some cases, that is the more important role.

My grandmother is a docent at the Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City, and it is amazing to me how many people around the world use art as a way to glorify their creator. The Savior and His Mother are some of the world’s most often used subjects in many forms of art, and as a people that loves their Redeemer, I believe that we should be exposed to these great works of art. In a 1996 New Era, M. Russell Ballard wrote, “I have never painted a picture, composed a sonata, or won an award for acting. But I have been inspired by artists and their art…Inspired art speaks in the language of eternity, teaching things to the heart that the eyes and ears can never understand…No one can gaze on the art of Michelangelo and not see the hand of God. Michelangelo said, “The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.”” Art is a way of showing the world what we know. I believe in art.

I believe in myself. I believe that in each person there is a light of goodness that should be constantly reached for. I believe in edifying myself so that I can help those around me in whatever way I can. I believe that self-love is paramount to all other loves, and without that first and all-important love, other attempts at love will fail. Although love of self is a difficult task at times, as there is always seemingly someone better out there than you, it is one of the most important lessons that we can learn in this lifetime. Matthew 22: 37-39 instructs us, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” The last sentence here strikes me. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”. This great commandment is usually shortened only to “Love thy neighbor”, and by so doing we are eliminating the other half of the commandment: to love ourselves. How can we effectively love our neighbors as ourselves, if we do not first love ourselves?

As part of this self-love, I believe in keeping my body healthy. I believe that our bodies are gifts and in order to respect what I have been given, I need to keep my body as capable and competent as possible. For me, that means exercising and eating good food in good quantity (something I sometimes struggle with). It also means completely avoiding dangerous substances which family history tells me I have a weakness for. I respect the capabilities of my body too much to endanger its future by polluting it with substances proven to do me harm. Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants gives the Saints the Word of Wisdom, which instructs us to keep our bodies healthy and clean, and by so doing blesses us with health, wisdom, knowledge, and the capacity to do the things that of which we have need. I believe in myself.

I believe in family. I believe that the family is the primary construct of society, and all larger models of people are built around the singular family. I believe that our families are our closest neighbors, and that to fully follow the aforementioned commandment to love our neighbors, we need to love our families. I believe that the bonds we form with our family when we are young are the bonds that will stay with us forever. Having two sisters, I also believe that sharing a bathroom between three teenage girls can be difficult and straining on even the most solid of relationships, but that in time, those unions will continue to strengthen and mature, despite any stolen T-shirt or hairspray. Henry B. Eyring said, “It is the sealing power and our knowledge of it which changes and transforms our family life here and our expectations for the joy of family life in the world to come.” I believe that families continue after this life, and that all the joy we share with our families here on earth will be magnified in the worlds to come. I believe in family.

I believe in God and my Savior. I believe that the Savior created this amazing world, under the close supervision of the Father, with incomprehensible foresight and unimaginable magnitude. I believe that there is a God watching over all, and that His love for us is unending and undeniable. I believe that those who are happiest in this life are those who recognize the hand of God in it. Bruce R. McConkie said, “I think the Latter-day Saints have a great obligation pressing in upon them to rejoice in the Lord, to praise him for his goodness and grace, to ponder his eternal truths in their hearts, and to set their hearts on righteousness. If we are going to work out our salvation, we must rejoice in the Lord.” I believe that God is good to all, and that through the Savior we can all come unto Him when He calls us home. As Howard W. Hunter said, “I am grateful for my affiliation with a people who have a firm conviction that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ.” I believe in God and my Savior. Basically, it comes down to this: why am I a member of this Church? Even if, somehow, by some realm of the imagination the prophets were wrong (although they aren’t), even if, somehow, something went awry somewhere along the way (although it hasn’t), even if it weren’t true, it would still make me a better person, and that alone makes it worth it.

In the words of Alma, “Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel” (Alma 26:16).

i sat down to write a talk and this is what came out.

I am constantly reaching for the goodness in me. Sometimes I have to reach farther than I am capable, and still come up short. I have a bad habit of saying everything that I am thinking, without regard for inappropriate timing or the guarantee of hurt feelings. This habit has gotten me into trouble many times, and for years I have tried to curtail this naturally occurring character trait. However, it was not until a few days ago that I realized that simply holding back is not enough. I need to change the way I think. I need to eliminate the thought process that leads me to these unkind and often misconstrued judgments. I am notorious for loudly proclaiming my dislike for certain trendy items. For years I vowed not to read Harry Potter. Turned out to be a huge fan. That little pouf of hair that is worn by so many girls, I stridently opposed. Turned out I love it and am wearing it in my wedding pictures. Songs are the same way for me. Being a musician at heart, I have a tendency to be somewhat of a music snob. Listening to new songs can be an almost painful procedure. The music is shabby, and the lyrics always leave something to be desired. Immediately and true to form, I make a statement that cannot possibly be true, “this might be the worst song I have ever heard” or, “there might be worse songs out there than this, but…” The difficult thing for me then is getting over myself enough to admit that I like them. Scanning the radio in secret is not the best way to promote trust in a relationship, nor is it the best way to listen to the songs you want.

Still in love after all these year

JAKE- Today we celebrated our 1 year anniversary by going out to eat at Chilis. Sure it seems like a rather modest way to celebrate a year of marriage, especially when you consider that a stifling 3.4 percent of all marriages end in divorce before the first year anniversary, but it was right for us. i guess we did splurge a little, i got a steak after all and it was delicious. So, what's with the new love affair with meat you say? Jake, were not you going to go vegetarian or something there for a minute? OK i will admit i am being a bit hypocritical, but i have learned something about this part of the country: they love their meat and their ice cream. Also, now is the time for me to get serious about achieving my goals, health-wise. First, and quite simply, i need to get ripped. I will spare you all the story of how it is my dream to play division one college football. How i used to run around my back yard as a boy throwing the football to myself and practicing my moves on all the invisible linebackers. How walk-on tryouts at ASU is my one and only chance. The point is if you want to bulk up, put on weight and eat protein, and work out; and do a lot of each. I dont yet know if i will have access to the campus gym here at Vermont Law. Anyway, enough about my silly dreams and wishful thinking, what i really want is to be as healthy and fit as i can be. I was invited to play pickup soccer on tuesdays and thursdays. I think i will, but i suppose i should wait until i have medical insurance before i start banging shins with the rest of the boys. Speaking of insurance, i have a job interview this Wednesday so wish me luck friends. Enough of me on a tangent, back to the anniversary thing. I guess you could say our anniversary started with a bang, literally. At 230 AM Chelsea and i were rudely awoken by the loudest noise i have ever heard seven feet from our bed. BANG! So loud, and scary. Chelsea immediately thought it was a gun going off or someone in our room. in reality it was our roll down drapes rolling up for some reason at breakneck speed and slamming to a stop. Church tomorrow and then a day of rest for our real anniversary, the tenth of August. Hooray for marriage.

Twenty feet to home-grown goodness

The last two days have been quite mixed with ridiculously anxious emotions and extreme serenity. Both Jake and I are having some trouble sleeping here. It could be that we are not used to mountain time, where the horizon is so high up that the sun sets around six and rises about the same time twelve hours later. It could be that the air literally stops moving in the night so you feel slightly like you're suffocating. Or it could be that we are sharing a double bed which is slightly too small for a growing boy over six feet tall.It could be that the mountains are home to some strange species of birds that make calls like singular cackles several seconds apart starting around four AM and going at near equal intervals until the sun sets. Any of these things could be contributing to our lack of sleep, but something's gotta give soon...



Tuesday we went to the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory in Waterbury, just a little drive away from here. A great time was had, and after the tour we went to Burlington to see The Dark Knight, which was equally entertaining, although not as tasty. It is amazing that they make all that ice cream with just two conveyor belts. Here is some motivation for anyone interested in coming to visit us. There is something called the "Vermonster" at the factory, which entails twenty scoops of ice-cream and several freshly made cookies and brownies. It also includes at least one banana, several scoops of various toppings including hot fudge and caramel. It costs around thirty-five dollars and weighs up to nine pounds. It is also served in a giant commemorative plastic bucket that is yours to keep (and possibly use later...). We will buy the brave adventurers a Vermonster. And, if you need help finishing it, I'm sure we would be more than happy to oblige. If that isn't motivation, I don't know what is. A splendid time is guaranteed for all.






We were able to visit the Joseph Smith Memorial today, and it was quite beautiful. We took the tour and it was pretty amazing. It is definitely worth a visit (not just a ploy for people to come see us, but a genuine belief). For those that don't know, the memorial is a 38.5 foot solid granite obelisk (one foot for every year of Joseph Smith's life) and was erected in 1905, 100 years after his birth. As I have mentioned before, it is on beautiful grounds, meticulously landscaped, and is just breathtaking.

The farmers' market is an absolutely jubilant experience. I think that accurately describes our emotions: jubilant. It is roughly twenty feet from our house, which is fantastic, and occurs every Thursday. These Vermont farmers are pretty funny. I was buying cucumbers, cukes, and, not knowing how to select produce, I said, "how do you pick a cucumber?" and she said, "well, I pick mine from a vine." I felt like an idiot. But we got black currant jelly that is just wild, some fresh bread, some cukes, and some sweet corn. Jake made a fantastic saute of cucumbers, corn, chicken, and pasta that we ate tonight, and those home-grown flavors just came alive! Support your local farmers' market!

It was an absolutely beautiful day until it started just pouring. People keep telling us it never rains this much, but we find that hard to believe:


That's all from Vermont for now.


Come visit.

No, i said you have nice 'crests'

I reached the crest of that aforementioned mighty hill that i could not conquer on my last run. Run isnt exactly the right word now that i think of it, it was more like i was crawling, snails pace, oozing my way along. Dont ever let someone tell you that something named rainbow cant be tough. Tell that to the former University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, now just Warriors. Chelsea and I have taken to watching lost during our meals now. I have a bad attitude as we watch and continue to make snide comments. Why? Im not sure. I guess the anti-groupist that i am wants to pretend that im the only one who thinks that show stinks, but it is alright after all, im just a being a Jake. Chelsea made a great dinner tonight, she is one heck of a wife. I need a job

We are sooooooo Vermonters.

We went to church yesterday at our new ward! The South Royalton Ward of the Montpelier Stake. The building is absolutely beautiful. A real old-timey New England church. It is on the grounds of the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial, which is quite remarkable. It is a giant granite obelisk, in the style of the Washington Monument. The grounds are perfectly landscaped, and there is actually the tabernacle choir emanating from the very woods. Seriously. But as we were driving to church, we saw people walking in from the fields and woods from all directions, and we could hear the organ playing on a bell setting, which was just so perfect. It is a small ward, but what it lacks in number, it makes up for in diversity. There are many senior missionary couples that run the Memorial, and a set of young and strapping elders. We were there for testimony meeting, which is always a bit precarious, "open mic" as we sometimes call it, so we were able to see (and hear) some very interesting people. As Gospel Doctrine started, one of the older missionaries got up and said, "Well, the teacher isn't here yet, so we'll just start without him." We thought that was a little strange, but everyone seemed to go with it, so we did too. The woman sitting in front of us turned around and said, "He runs a dairy farm. That's his mother up there. They work very hard." Then it started pouring. All the doors were open of course, no air conditioning in these old buildings, and all of a sudden, coming up the hill, was a man in a khaki colored button up shirt and khaki pants carrying a horse bit and a big set of scriptures. As he made his way up the hill and into the chapel, the man leading the discussion sat down, and the new man walked straight up to the microphone, soaking wet, set his horse bit on the pulpit, and started teaching. It's ridiculously charming.

We have a saying in our family, "only in Florida"...but I think we can add a new one..."only in Vermont".

We also went to the laundromat today for the first time, and were pretty disappointed. It's very hot and very small and very expensive, and the dryer did not do it's job in spite of the incredible amount of quarters we put into it. Although the store right next door has 24 flavors of soft serve, so I stopped and got some Black Raspberry, and that made everything a little better.

That is a picture of us going to our first day of church.

Oh, and don't let Jake's post fool you. I screwed up the dinner. I was making roasted garlic vermicelli tonight and i used a splatter screen to drain the pasta (our kitchen is not as fully equipped as we would like it to be...) and it bent and all the vermicelli fell into the sink.

Jake saved the day and made some angel hair pasta instead. What a husband.

Our House--In the middle of our street--Our House

This is where we live now, in this house:

We are slowly, slowly, slowly gathering ourselves up here in the great Northeast. It is mighty different, let me tell you. We traveled to Hanover, NH today to buy some things we need (which we have found out is many things. Unfortunately we also brought many things...but somehow what we brought is not what we need) and looked at a map to try and find a good route. We looked up where the nearest Walmart was (Of course, being the Midwesterner that I am, I prefer Target hands down. However, as some of you know, there is not a single Target to be found in the state of Vermont. The nearest one is over a hundred miles away, and is just not practical), and it said it was in West Lebanon, NH, which is just a jump away from Hanover, about 25 miles away from South Royalton.

Fifty miles later...

We were on the interstate and exited in Hanover because we didn't see an exit for West Lebanon (Hanover is where Dartmouth College is located). Immediately upon exiting the freeway we knew we had made a mistake. Cars were backed up all up the hill to get into Hanover, and police were trying to direct traffic. The puffy little Corolla in front of us was very confused, and whenever we had a chance to go, she would pull over and talk to whomever was directing traffic. Eventually we just drove around her, which was a risky move, considering how two lanes can suddenly become one at the drop of a hat, as Jake has detailed previously. We don't know why the road was closed (the only road through town) but it was, and the whole town was trying to drive through today. The detour was quite magnificent. We were driving behind houses, through parking lots, and even around the exterior of the high school! I have never scene a detour more true to its definition. Once we got through Hanover, we ended up back on the freeway, then to a rural route, then a state road. After following many signs pointing us in all different directions, we found West Lebanon, and eventually Walmart. After asking for directions at Kmart.

I don't know what it means, but when you ask for directions to Walmart from Kmart, something is going on.

As we are getting unpacked, we are finding that we have brought too many clothes. Far too many clothes. As we were packing it didn't seem like that many, but upon arriving to one small closet and three drawers, anything more than a week's outfits are too many. We will have to be doing laundry at the town laundromat, which will be something new for us.

Here are some pictures of the place we are living...the outside is glorious. But the inside...well, you can definitely tell that it is a hundred and sixty years old. Our setup is quite unique. We have a room upstairs that includes a bathroom and shower and closet. That is our bedroom. Then we have a room downstairs as well, with an old high back couch with a slipcover that doesn't fit anything made more than a hundred years ago, an obscenely old table, and our little 13" TV (I do have to say that LOST doesn't have quite the same effect on this TV as it does on a big screen with surround sound...). Both of these rooms have locks, and so we will live our life separated. Sometimes we will be downstairs in the living room, and sometimes we will be upstairs in the bedroom. The space between them is shared with two other people, so it will definitely take some getting used to. We also share the kitchen with these two people. One of them is a visiting scholar from China who cooks something very Chinese every day, thus the already small and hot kitchen has a distinct aroma. One more note, food is heinously expensive here. We shopped at the Co-op (only organic and local food) today and although the green beans and meat (raised down the road and packaged yesterday) were the best I've ever had, they were ridiculously expensive.

In summation: new place, new life, no room, no money. But it sure is exciting!

Jake cooking in the tiny hot kitchen

Running the rainbow road

Awesome running and scenery in Vermont! South Royalton i never doubted you, except for that time i doubted you. So, i went for a run this morning, i couldn't help myself, as usual i was up before chelsea and since you cant do anything at our place without making noise (squeaking creaking doors and floors etc) i looked up a map of the town and headed out. i went down railroad st, took two quick rights and was on pluck hill rd. the roads name is accurate, it was a hill. a dirt hill to be exact and steep too. i should have waited three days or so before exercise to let my body adjust to the mountain elevation and begin producing more oxygen carrying red blood cells. Therefore, in theory, after a year of living here if i flew immediately to Arizona and tried out for the ASU football team i would have all the more advantage over those sea level kids, for about three days anyway until my body adjusted. Thats why Dallas Cowboy receiver Terrell Owens sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber every night. Im off track, ok back to the run, i ran back down the hill and continued straight; the road changed names three times now, Rainbow rd to Pleasant to Oxbow rd. whatever it was called though what it was in reality is heart-burstingly steep incline road. I was able to go up a little but i had to turn around after not to far. there was lush green forest all around like going for a run at your cabin or something. Chelsea and I went through Lebanon new hampshire and saw the dartmouth hitchcock medical center. it is up a few hills and set back privately in the woods, but once you get there it is so big; an absolutely sprawling campus, just huge. i hope to get a job at the DHMC, i would really like that opportunity. its off to church at 1000 tomorrow. the chapel is about 5 minutes away from our house, what a blessing to have church here. speaking of blessings, i just found out that i got paid for all my unused vacation days from lifelink; hoorah for unions... in this case.

There are some green hills far away...

JAKE-There are some green hills far away alright, and we are nestled down snugly in their midst. It is hard to believe what is really going on. We are living in an hotel in the middle of downtown South Royalton. Welcome to hot summers and no air conditioning, it is hot in our home without fans on and windows open. Welcome to flies buzzing about; they are your new friends: name them, love them. How can i describe this place. We are living in a little girls vintage dollhouse that has been broken by her little brother but has been fixed up nicely on two floors. The third and fourth floors are battered and rundown and in need of some loving care; think of it as when you are a kid and went exploring in houses being built, its in that condition on floors 3 and 4. We walked around Chelsea's campus today, it took two minutes. Her campus consists of old-timey Victorian houses. Her campus reminds me of the "ye olde village" that you stroll though at your local county fair. Heres a noodle scratcher: imagine you are driving on a winding two lane road when you come to pass under a bridge and the road suddenly becomes a single lane game of death with the cars coming from the opposite direction. Suddenly you are playing chicken with a farm boy in his jacked-up four wheel drive truck. Well, this is indeed what happens on Vermont state road 14 coming into town. How is this even reasonable? Perhaps we are in the nexus of reason: down is up, white is black. Well, hello for now everyone.