Boston

On Tuesday, after a day of much needed rest from traveling and walking NYC, we headed to Boston, MA. It rained on us all day, but we did not mind it much because there was little to no wind and it was warm. New York City was a lot colder and had wind gusts that would chill us.

This is a picture just inside of Massachusetts at an information center.

MA has a lot of history and seems to embrace it. That is what I loved about it!
Boston was about 2 hours from Kira's house and we got there right about noon. We parked and then decided that the best thing to do was to walk the "Freedom Trail." This is a wonderfully marked trail that goes by several historic sites in Boston and Charlestown. This trail is marked by red bricks and is almost 3 miles long. We parked about half a block from the Boston Commons where the trail begins.
In this picture the history of Boston is visible by looking at the narrow streets and brick buildings everywhere. I loved this city!One of the first stops on the trail was Capitol Building. This was a beautiful building and like most of the buildings in downtown was red brick. This is a wonderful tribute to General Hooker. We thought it interesting that they named an entrance "General Hooker Entrance." Every building should have one of these as opposed to the "VIP Hooker Entrance"

Another wonderful thing we loved about Boston is that the city was built around the history. For instance there was 3 separate graveyards that were right in the middle of the town and the offices and buildings were built around them. One of the first graveyards we went to has several historical figures. One had Paul Revere and Ben Franklin's parents.

Don't mind the face that I am making I don't know why, but here I am at the headstone of Paul Revere as you can read. Of course Boston has a lot of monuments and respect paid to Paul Revere. Below is Kira at John Hancock's burial site in the same graveyard.
Above is one picture that I love! It is an amazing place to pay respect to American heroes of the past and the American Flag is in the background. Kira and I in the third graveyard on the trail. As you can see it was getting dark, mostly because of the storm because it was not long after 3pm in this picture.

Of course we saw the Cheers Bar, a must in Boston! I am not sure that they knew our names though.


This is the Old State Building where a lot of America's history took place. Just read the green sign in the picture underneath it because it tells the history a lot better than I can.

For lunch that day we dined at the oldest restaurant in America as the sign says. We had some delicious "chowda" and seafood here. The people were so nice and friendly. We really enjoyed lunch and would recommend this place to everyone. It was right on The Freedom Trail.

This is another tribute to Paul Revere in front of the Old North Church where the lanterns were lit to tell that the rebels the British were coming. "One if by land, Two if by sea."
We crossed a bridge into Charlestown and this a view of the Boston Harbor from that bridge. Here is a fire station right in the middle of Charlestown. As you can tell I like the American flag and love to see it displayed. This fire station had a really cool old look to it. That is not real fog in the picture but it's my breath being blown in front of the camera. It sure did make for a cool picture.

The Bunker Hill Monument. This is where a key turning point in the Revolutionary War took place. The win for the rebels here boosted morale and led helped lead them to victory!


Right in front of the steps to the Monument was this map of The Freedom Trail.



At the base of the Monument there is the famous order from William Prescott during the Battle of Bunker Hill. Which reads:

Here we are at the top of 294 steps in the Bunker Hill Monument. It's not that bad of a climb, but when you have been walking all day long and you're weighing an extra 10-15 pounds because you're soaking wet from head to toe, it can be quite the challenge!
The trail actually ended at the USS Constitution, better known as "Old Ironsides", but we found out that during the winter season they don't give tours of the ship Sunday-Tuesday! We were able to get a small glance at it, but no pictures because it was too dark and not close enough.

Although we were all soaking wet we had an amazing time! It wasn't cold at all and we loved the history that Boston and The Freedom Trail had for our viewing pleasure. There was not better way to be thankful, so close to Thanksgiving, than to go around and honor the many people who were instruments in God's hands to make this country what it is today!

We're the Kings of New York!

That's right folks, we went to New York! After leaving the JFK Airport we went to Brooklyn and spent a month there one night! We arrived at the airport 8 minutes ahead of schedule. However, it was still just after 5am. Kira picked us up and we drove around trying to decide what were going to do first.

We drove through the ghetto parts of Queens and Brooklyn. So, what about Brooklyn? Who wants Brooklyn? C'mon, Spot Conlon's territory. Whats'a matta, you scared of Brooklyn? Hey, we ain't scared of Brooklyn! So we drove over the Brooklyn Bridge into lower Manhattan. And that's where we saw our first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. (Above is us driving on the bridge. Below is a picture of the bridge from the ferry going to Liberty Island)


We couldn't find a place to park. Then we thought: Try Central Park, it's guaranteed. We eventually found a garage to park at right by the south end of Central Park. Unfortunately we didn't get to go inside the park.

We were all pretty hungry so we went to a place called Fluffy's and had some breakfast. It was pretty good. After that we rode the subway. Of course we didn't get to miss having a crazy person on the train. It's this brain of mine, it's always makin' mistakes... it's got a mind of its own. He was talking to himself and seemed to be having some kind of argument with his cell phone. The phone didn't even seem to be working! He would slam it on the seat and shove it away and then pick it up again and start talking into it. Sometimes without flipping it open. That was entertaining. Oh, you know how everyone who says that the subway platform smells like pee...well it's true! The first one we were at wasn't that bad, but all the other platforms were terrible! I smell money. You smell foul.



We rode the subway to Ground Zero where the World Trade Center was. There was only a hole where they were beginning to rebuild. We were disappointed because we thought there was going to be a memorial or something. Then we walked over to the financial district and checked out all the amazing skyscrapers and buildings. We walked past the Trinity Church shown in National Treasure. We saw the Bull on Hitch. Then we found Battery Park.
This was the construction site of the memorial being built for the Twin Towers and Ground Zero.

Here is Kira and Robert posing with the Bull in the financial distric of NYC.

At around 10 a.m. we went bought our tickets and were on our way to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. (Just before we got onto the ferry, Robert had to get rid of his pocketknives because they would not let him go if he had them. So he had to stash them somewhere and hope they would be there when we got back.)

This is a picture from Battery Park, Lady Liberty is in the far background.

We walked around Lady Liberty taking pictures and admiring the view of New York from a distance. We were going to into the base of the statue, but we didn't think we had enough time so we gave our tickets to two frenchies who weren't going to be able to go up because they had the wrong kind of tickets. There's our good deed of the week!
This is a veiw of NYC from Liberty Island.

Here are pictures to prove that we were there. After that we put an egg in our shoe and beat it to Ellis Island.

That place was amazing even though we only stayed for about 25 minutes. We saw so much, but want to see more! We learned about how thousands upon thousands of immigrants had passed through there and what not. Extry, extry. Read all about it. Ellis Island in flames.
(This is one of our favorite photos. As we walked into the museum we had an overwhelming feeling of pride for our country and a small glimpse of what so many immigrants must of seen and felt as they came to America with a new hope! Those flags hanging said it all. God bless America!)
After Ellis we went back to Manhattan (Robert got his pocket knives back) and got hotdogs from a vendor, a must do in New York City.


We then took the subway back to Grand Central Station. Then we started walking and looking for the theatre where the Broadway musical The Lion King was playing because it was just after 1pm and we thought we needed to be seated really early; the show started at 3pm. In our search for the theatre we had to go through Times Square. The theatre wasn't even a block away. There was a really good view of the square from inside the theatre. There was about an hour of time wasted as we waited for the show to start.


We finally got in to watch the show. Although it was ridiculously hot and lack of sleep was kicking in, the show was simply spectacular! There was so much culture and talent put into this show. The art and technology was amazing for a stage type show. Words don't really do it justice! Robert fell asleep the most. It definitely wasn't from boredom or a crappy show. It was from too much heat and very little sleep. How'd ya sleep, (Robert)? On me back, Mush.

It was just before 6pm when we finished the show. We went to the biggest Toys R US store we'd ever seen. Don't believe it? Well there's a freakin' ferris wheel in it!



We were now really hungry and wanted to get out of NYC before it got too late and the freaks came out! Look at this! Baby born with two heads!


Just give me half a cup. Somethin' to wake me up. So to Times Square McDonalds to grab a bite to eat.

After dinner we had long walk back to the car. Deah me, what is dat unpleasant aroma? I fear da sewer may have backed up durin' da night. The streets were starting to wreak of fecal matter so the sooner we could get to the car, the better.

We got the car and started the difficult scramble of getting out of there It was sweet to see the city with all the lights and signs lit up. We had to take a different route to get out of Manhattan because we didn't want to drive through the way we came after dark. So with our great lack of experience in big cities, let alone NYC we slowly and cautiously navigated our way through the city with a dinky $4 gas station map. It is a good thing we had Lois to navigate.

For you Newsies fans: Count how many quotes from the movie are in this blog and you may just win a prize!

This blog was brought to you by the collective minds and personalities of Robert and Lois Draper

Robert needs Help with a school Projet-This new link should work

Hello everybody! I need some help with a project I have going in one of my classes. The following is a link to a little commercial that myself and the group I am working with came up with. We are trying to get as many hits as we can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYXD7XYvqbc

Go and watch it. Feel free to leave comments. Tell as many friends and family as you can to check it out! Thanks for the help! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!


If that link doesn't work this other one should. It is the same video. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/bitteralliance

The countdown.

Well, I am so excited because I only have 3 more days to work before vacation. I took Thursday off for Robert's birthday and then on Friday we are leaving for our Thanksgiving vacation. We are going to have so much fun! We are spending a few days in Utah with friends and family then flying out of Salt Lake City to JFK airport. My sister, Kira is picking us up there and we are going to spend the day in New York City site seeing. My other sister Amy is coming from Texas the day before Thanksgiving too! We are both so happy to be escaping from what has become the routine of our lives for the last 2 months or so. We will hopefully have lots to post on our blog during/after our trip.

Albertsons is wonderful!

So, today Robert and I went to Albertsons to get some of their amazing deals. Like 5 lbs of flour for $1.25 and cake mixes for $.50 and many other amazing sales. While I was there I remembered that I had not yet checked at there for jars. Sure enough, they had plenty of jars and I bought 3 boxes of them. I am hoping that is will be enough to finish the box and a half of apples that I still have. This was an answer to my prayers because I did not want these apples to go bad. Thank you Albertsons for restocking your shelves in the middle of canning season.

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

So, last night it began to snow and then continued to snow through out the night. I work up this morning and there was a wonderful white blanket across everything. Plus, Robert and I went shopping the other day to get some items for our car and there was Christmas music playing in most of the stores. I am so excited! Robert and I are hoping to go home to my parents house for Christmas and see all the family that is coming home, but we will see. I think I am going to go watch Polar Express now.

Does anyone in Rexburg have empty canning jars that I can buy from them or know where I can get them. I have canned about 15 jars of applesauce and have only used about 1/4 of the apples I have. ALL of the stores including DI are out of jars. Please help! Or, if anyone is going to IF and could pick me up some I will give you cash for doing so. OR, if anyone wants some apples to can I will give them to you. The apples are a little mushy and so not really good to eat plain.

Week of Halloween festivities.

Well, this week was not to exciting, but we at least enjoyed and felt the spirit of Halloween. On Monday evening we had our friends Molly and Kevin over to carve pumpkins and watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. We had fun. Then on Thursday my work had their Halloween celebration and I dressed up as a Disney Land tourist. This was nothing special, but it made it feel like I was part Halloween. Then on Friday we did not do much. I have to work from 9 am till 9 pm. When I got home from work we didn't have enough time to dress up or anything and this was a little depressing. However, we were able to make it over to some friends house for about 30 minutes of a party. Then we came home and had some other friends over, ate pizza and told a few scary stories.

Robert's Lois' Molly's Kevin's in that order.

This is my pumpkin lit up. The picture of Robert's did not turn out well enought to post. His was double sided and looked dang cool! A close up of his is below. The other side of it he did not carve, but just thinned the walls of it and it looked like Scarecrow from Batman Begins.

Hopefully this will be my last Halloween where I will have to work all day and our last Halloween with such limited resources. This is Robert's favorite holiday and we never get to do anything big or special. It was sad to see his disappointment of not dressing up and enjoying the day more. I am pretty sure that he just did homework ALL day! Poor guy, we will make up for it next time.

Visiting the Hammonds in Boise

Robert and I took our friend Camille with us to Boise this last weekend. It was relaxing and fun. I got to meet my new niece Sarah and see my sister and her family and my mom. We didn't do much but sit around and enjoy family company, but it was nice. Robert went out with Richard and their boys shooting and had fun. They first went to DI and found cheap items to shoot at. I think the best part about going was having mom cooking my meals for a weekend! Thanks mom! I had lost about 5 pounds because of my liquid diet from getting my wisdom teeth out and I have already gained 3 of those back. I don't mind, it was well worth it! It was a super short trip but while we were there we celebrated all of our birthdays (Sarah, Cheri, Rachel, Harmon and my own). By the way happy birthday Cheri!

Harmon Donald Aaron Evans the best birthday present!

Well, just like I wanted my sister-in-law Kelsey had her giant on my birthday. Baby is not the right word to explain Harmon and so I took Aaron, my brothers description of Harmon which is giant.
All is well and Kelsey was amazing from what I have heard. She had this giant (10 lbs 12oz and 23 inches) all natural with no pain killers and I think about 30 hours of labor. Congratulations Aaron and Kelsey! Aaron is one of the proudest fathers I know and he is not only proud of the giant, but also very proud of his wonderful wife.

The name Harmon Donald Aaron comes from my grandfather, father and the giants father (my brother) in that order. My parents started this tradition in naming Aaron and I love it too. So, our first boy I would like to name General Edward Robert to keep that tradition. I think it is a great way to honor our ancestors and has a ton of meaning. But I guess we will see when we have our kids.

If anyone cares to look.

Robert and I went on vacation in the summer of 2007 on a late honeymoon. It was amazing! We stated a blog entry in Jan of 2008 and then never finished it or posted it. So, today I wrote the conclusion and what little more detail that I remember and then posted it. So, if you want to she that vacation it is under Jan 2008. It is now posted mostly just for our records and enjoyment, but thought I might let you all know to. Have a great day!

Sarah Lynn Hammond

My new niece Sarah Lynn Hammond arrived on October 13, 2008. Robert and I are going to see her this weekend. This is Grandma (my mom) and Sarah's sister Rachel in the picture with her. Aren't they all so cute!

Fall Photo Session

Hey everyone get a sneak preview of our fall family pictures! Click here to take a glance

www.caraleephotography.blogspot.com

Dang we're cute!

An all around good day

So today was just a really good day for Lois and I. We seemed so busy, but it wasn't stressful.

The day started off great when I got home from work because I didn't have to rush straight to my 8am class. It was cancelled due to Communications Day on campus. On this day a number of successful people in the communications realm come to BYU-I and share there success stories, give tips, and even seek interns and such. So I didn't have to go to class and I was caught up on all my homework for the day.

After getting some much needed extra sleep Lois babysat for a couple so they could go to the temple together. I went to the temple also. Lois had a fun time with the 2-year old boy.

I returned after about an hour and a half and had a great lunch that Lois made while I was gone. We had BBQ'd Elk ribs and Macaroni and Cheese. It was sooo good!

After, lunch I decided to go listen to one of the speakers at Comm. Day. His name is Art Rascon. He is an LDS, Emmy award winning Reporter and Anchor who joined KTRK-TV's 13 Eyewitness News. Anyway, he gave a great talk about his job and how the gospel applied and how he was able to hold true to his faith in perilous times. So it was nice to here inspiring words from a church member in the "real" world.

After that there was a reception and I scored some free food, well dessert and went to my afternoon class, which was only 45 minutes long instead of 90! Lois was able to get some extra money too by going to work while I was at school.

After class we went home, got changed, and took our friend Misty with us to Idaho Falls, where we had scheduled a photo shoot for Lois and I. We had a good hour for, hopefully, some great pictures.

After that we went to dinner at a really good all you can eat Chinese buffet! You can't have a bad day when you go to a good buffet! Not possible!

To top off the day, we went to a haunted house that is apparently ranked 25th in the nation. It is called Dr. Slaughter's House of Horror or something. It was $8 but well worth it. I never got scared to death, but our friend Misty was the best part of the show. There was four of us in our group. Misty's husband lead the group because it was his first time in in any type of spook alley or what have you. Misty was next because she could not handle being in front or the back. Lois was behind her and I was on the end. (Perfect place for the black guy to get picked off, right.)
Anyway, it was really fun and it took us about 30 minutes to go through and that was being rushed. This house of horror had many familiar faces to come out and scare. There was Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhies, Michael Myers, the Predator, Children of the Corn, and many other horror movie villains. That was the best part of this house because there were so many themes from different movies. This place rocked! Well, I am going to stop blabbering because I hate long blogs and this one seems long enough. Till next time. Have a Happy Halloween!

Fall/Halloween pictures of the This and That.

We took some Halloween pictures of This and That.

Execution

So, as some of you may know my cell phone screen went mostly white in late July when we were up in Montana. Everything would work fine on my cell phone, except I could not see the screen. So, if you called and I heard it ring I could answer it and everything was fine, however if I did not answer it I had no way of telling who called unless you left a voice mail, and even then I had to guess when I had a voice mail. So, about once a day, if I remembered, I would call my voice mail just to see if I had missed a call.

I went in to see if they would fix my phone or get me a new one and of course they told me that it was not under warranty that I would have to buy a new phone. Well, I only had about 2 months until I could get a new one for free. So, wanting to stick it to Verizon I kept my phone without a screen for 2 months and then got a new one. So, I got my new phone sometime in mid September. I lost my phone book on there because the screen was out and of course there was no way to transfer it. (So, if I haven't called you in a long time this could be one reason why.) I tell you this story to get to the point of this entry...

About a week or two ago our microwave just out right broke! When it was plugged none of the buttons would work. Robert and I soon found out the convenience of a microwave and how wonderful they are. Now anytime that we need a quick meal or want to reheat something it is into the pot or pan and it takes quite a bit longer and what I hate even more is there are MORE dishes to wash and not ones that you can just put in the dishwasher. We have to wash them by hand. How annoying it was that this broke. I promise the point of this entry is coming....

Robert being as smart as he is had a great idea as to what to do with my phone. I was just going to trash it when I got my new one but he suggested that its life should end another way. The same thought came to him when the microwave went out. (Honestly here is the point of the today's entry)

LET'S TAKE THEM OUT AND SHOOT THEM!!
Great idea! So, on Wednesday we went out by Beaver Dick Park and shot them.

Here is the aftermath.

These are pictures of the inside the of demonished microwave.

Robert seemed to think that was a good date! I enjoyed it too!

Exciting

Well, Robert and I are looking into getting some nice fall pictures done. Hopefully next week and then it will take a little while to get the pictures I am sure. We have never really had "family" pictures and I have always wanted them done in fall outside.
Not so exciting. I am going to be getting my wisdom teeth out on the 18th.
Really that is all the news that I have to share. No new babies yet in the family, although Kelsey wants her little guy to come out today. I am still praying for that. Cheri (my sister) will be having her 5th (a girl) on the 13th. Can't wait to post pictures of these amazing spirits coming into the world.
Tell I have more to say enjoy the wonderful fall weather and colors!

October

Well October is here and we are loving it.  Robert is working hard at school and I am hardly working.  Okay I work but it does not seem like I do much.  This month there are some great things happening.  I will be getting a new niece and nephew.  Then I will get to go and see my new niece on my birthday.  While I am there I get to see my mom and sister with her family.  Also, Robert's favorite holiday is Halloween and so hopefully we will be doing some fun activities for that. 

The weather has turned to fall weather and the trees are beginning to change colors.  I love the fall!  I am wanting to get some fall family photos of Robert and I, but I am not sure if that will all work out.  

Another exciting thing in October is general conference.  Conference was great this weekend. This is something that we look forward to twice a year.  We got to hear the words of modern day prophets and apostles.  My testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was strengthened.  It was amazing to hear all of the different themes and messages given through talks.  I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and I know that Jesus Christ loves me.  I know that God speaks to us today through his chosen prophets.  I am so grateful for conference and the knowledge that I have gained. 

A day in the life of the Draper cats.

For those of you wondering what This and That do all day here it is.
This and That usually get up with Robert at about 4:30 a.m. and eat and whatever else they do (I am still asleep at that time). Then, after Robert has left for work they run (literally run) around the house making lots of noise. They play for probably about an hour or more and then come back to bed with me and somehow crowd me in our queen size bed. When we all get up at about 10:00 a.m. or so and they usually go outside for a few hours. Then they come inside in early afternoon and take a long nap! They are cats you know. They go back outside in the evening until dusk. Then for the evening they lay around on our laps and That usually meows a lot to get back outside, but we won't let her. Then off to bed when we go.
Oh, to be a cat! (It actually sounds a lot like my days.)

Everyday life with the Drapers.

Well, Robert is back in school and I am working every weekday. If you are curious as to what we do on a daily basis think no more.
Robert goes to work every week day morning at about 5:15 a.m. Then depending on the day either comes back to bed and sleeps a little more or goes straight to class. Then he does homework throughout the day and spends time with me and plays with This and That. I am lazy and get up every morning between 9 and 10. Then I eat and lay around the house until I have to go to work at 3:00 p.m. (Sometimes of course I have errands to run and things to do during the day, but we are talking typical days here.) I get off at 8:00 p.m. and then Robert and I watch Scrubs on TV while I make dinner and we eat. Then we do whatever we need to do to finish the day, Robert finishes up homework if needed and I do house work or play on the computer. Then off to bed usually between 10 and 11. So, yep, you are right you have just wasted a few minutes of your life, but hey at least you can put your mind at ease now.
Our lives are not so mysterious now.

Old Faithful 09.01.08

For Labor day this year Robert and I decided that we better go and see Yellowstone Park. We have lived here about 5 years and never taken the time to go. More specifically we went to see Old Faithful. I could not handle living so close (1 1/2 hours) from it and never seeing it. We have a wonderful friend, Camille, whom I work with that we drug along. It was great fun! We left at about 10 o'clock in the morning and went and picked up a picnic lunch at the store and headed to the park. It was a very chilly day and when we were leaving the park we saw rain, hail and snow.

We saw several hot springs and a few geysers.

The colors on these are amazing.

Old Faithful being faithful and amazing.

Don't we look great! Camille Bennett and Lois



We had a pretty good video, but I can't get it loaded right. Old Faithful shot for about 5 minutes which is one of the longest times that it does. The park ranger said that on average it is anywhere between 3 to 5 minutes. So, we got a pretty good show!


The wildlife we saw. Not much just a few bison and some cow elk and their calves.

We had a discussion with Camille about how amazing God is to be able to create so much diversity and beauty on this planet! We loved it! Robert and I felt an immediate ease when looking at all the trees and green. We knew we weren't in southeast Idaho anymore.

Camille loving the smell of rotten eggs. (Okay the smell was not so bad)
Yep, that is Old Faithful behind us. We had to wait about 30 minutes so, we just hung around.


A very enjoyable day and we are glad that we went. Maybe now when April comes and Robert graduates we will be able to get out of Rexburg.

Olympics 8.8.08

Robert and I have been waiting all summer for this day. 8.8.08
Today the Olympics start and that will most likely occupy most of our time for the next month.

The rest of our trip.

The rest of the trip was great!
We just hung out for the weekend and went to church on Sunday.
Then Monday Robert and I ventured across the creek. The creek at my parents house was so low that at it's deepest spot that we crossed it didn't even come up past my knees. When we got the other side we went into the thick forest and came out on the other side. It was not far, but the trees were dense. On the other side of these trees there was rocky ravines that we could tell the creek use to be there. Later that day we went to Howard Lake. It was wonderful on such a hot day! We have a chicken dinner up there. My dad, Kira and I all swam across the lake like we normally do.
Tuesday was a long trip home. We enjoyed a causal lunch with family and I was so happy to see my niece, Alyxana. She is beautiful! Thanks every!


Back to work we went. Robert has picked up more work for a while. We both miss the time that we had to spend together while on vacation.