Myrtle Beach Time

Part of my summer job was going to Myrtle Beach. I know. Poor me. Mr. Mitchell should have been there, though. So, yes - poor me. Enjoy the pictures.

My brother Britton "uncle-ing" his nephew.

My brother Britton being a dad.

Me, my nephew, and my brother, Chris heading out into the waves...Chris is confused about which way the waves are.

My nephew with HLHS. He can't be in direct sunlight, so this is how he spent most of his time.

Chris being a superdad and throwing his child into the wave. Not really. He helped his child avoid a mouthful of saltwater.

It was bike week at Myrtle Beach. Unfortunately, the only time we had the camera when we went out to eat was the only time we couldn't find a cool set-up of bikes.

Cousins. Sometimes they get along, sometimes they don't. They were too cold at this particular moment to decide whether or not to get along.

Britton and Tena entertaining their child as I work my way out for some boogie boarding time. (Oh, by the way, I had the most perfect boogie board run ever. The news should've covered it.)

It was a pretty good time. Our hotel rooms overlooked the beach and it was heavenly falling asleep to the sound of the ocean every night.

Our First Anniversary

"It's all any of us wants: to find a nice person to hang out with 'til we drop dead. Not a lot to ask!" - Lorelei Gilmore

I've always loved that line from Gilmore Girls; however, Mr. Mitchell and I can top that by saying we get to hang out with each other for eternity. As of May 14, 2011 we have been married for a year! WOOHOO!

Our first anniversary did not at all go as planned, but I think that is what will help make it so memorable. Our original plan was to go to Portland to do sealings (in honor of our own sealing and to help others have that same joy and blessing) and then go to Newport to hang out at the coast. Mr. Mitchell ended up purchasing a motorcycle windshield on his west coast trip which depleted our Portland funds. We then settled on sealings in Medford followed by dinner and a movie. Well, the temple was completely booked on our anniversary so we had to break it up into two days. The day before our anniversary (Friday) we drove to Ashland to see Joey and Mr. Mitchell ended up fixing Joey's bike. Then, because the car was handling funny and vibrating like crazy (even though we had just purchased two brand new tires and had all of the tires balanced), we went to Les Schwab and ended up having to get two more new tires. We then made our way over to Medford to do sealings. Even though most people there seemed confused (despite the fact that we had called ahead to schedule so this wouldn't happen)we had a very nice time at the temple. We finished the night off with Dairy Queen and then went back to Lakeview.

In the morning, since it was actually our anniversary, we opened our cards and discovered we had been given enough money we could have gone through with our original plan to go up to Portland and Newport. Haha. Oh, well. We decided to put it to use anyway. We drove to Klamath Falls for our dinner and movie part of our anniversary only to discover that there was not a single movie worth paying full price for. Instead, we went to Walmart and bought $50 worth of movies followed by dinner at a steakhouse. Afterward, we went to Mr. Mitchell's grandparents to show them a video Mr. Mitchell had created of our wedding because they were unable to attend our wedding since it was up in Portland. I think they really appreciated us sharing our first anniversary with them.

So, as I said, definitely not what we had planned (and definitely not a typical anniversary outing), but something that we'll remember...even though we forgot a camera on both days. :)

Thank you for supporting us during our first year of marriage!

Boston, Anyone?

WARNING: This post is huge and may require some patience.
DISCLAIMER: Written after being awake for 21 hours - please disregard all spelling and grammatical errors.

In February I received an e-mail from my mom asking if I would like to accompany her to Boston for her nursing conference. It would be me and my sister doing pretty much anything we wanted for three days while my mom was at her conference and then two days hanging out with her afterward. I immediately forwarded the e-mail to Mr. Mitchell who said I should go. Well, I have just returned from my Boston adventures and must, of course, share.

My wonderful mother-in-law provided a way for me to get all of my pictures in Boston; unfortunately, the camera had a very difficult time focusing so quite a few of the pictures came out slightly blurry. Just remember, there are three types of pictures and these ones are the first type: documenting.

Day 1
This was our only day with sketchy weather. According to the locals it was unusually humid plus there was a smattering of rain throughout the day. We did not let that spoil our fun. We decided to start our day off with Plimoth Plantation, but we didn't have an exact address. Jayme and I decided to wing it and plugged in Main Street Plymouth. Gladys (our GPS) kindly directed us in a very incorrect direction that took us through the delightful town of Duxbury. Quaint and expensive. Ultimately she landed us on a dead-end sandbar in the ocean, but it was fun. Here are some pictures of Duxbury where he hung out with some locals and participated in the community crossword.

After getting an address we finally made our way to Plimoth Plantation which is most definitely not located across a rickety bridge on a sandbar. This place was cool. We tried tricking the pilgrims into slipping out of character and never succeeded. We hardly said anything to the Native People because just outside of their village entrance they have a sign posted that lists at least 10 things you cannot say in the village because it is offensive (i.e. say Native People instead of Native American or Indian)and we did not want to accidentally offend anyone.

Then we went to Mayflower II.

Day 2
This day (and the next) my brother joined us from North Carolina. We started with a tour of the birthplaces of John Adams and John Quincy Adams and then their final family estate. What an inspiring family - everybody should read about Abigail.

We then went on a Duck Tour (named for the WWII DUKW vehicles the tours take place in). The tours take you on land and water and make you stick out like a sore thumb to the locals. It was fun, though.

This was followed by the Freedom Trail Part 1. We saw the Old State House, where the Boston Massacre happened; saw the cemetery where those casualties were buried along with Paul Revere; saw the Old City Hall; lastly saw Faneuil Hall and market.

After an exhausting day of much walking we decided to relax with a nice Red Sox game at Fenway Park. I cheered for the Mariners, but had to do so secretly so nobody would dump their beer on me.

Day 3

This day started in Salem - Stupid Salem as we now fondly call it. I will never go there again expecting an educational/historical experience because it has turned into a Halloween tourist trap, no matter the time of the year, based off of the Salem Witch Trials. I learned some things about the trials, but I mostly felt like they were doing a terrible job of trying to give me thrills and spooks; however, there were some fun things to do in Salem. The House of the Seven Gables was one of my favorite tours of the trip (secret passageways - hello!), the candy store was sweet, the pub had excellent food, and if it hadn't been so windy we totally would have gone on a schooner ride.

After Salem we went back to Boston to continue part of the Freedom Trail. We didn't think we would make it to the USS Constitution, but when I told Mr. Mitchell that he sounded soooo bummed that I made sure we fit it in. We attempted Bunker Hill, but they have the monument closed. Afterward, we strolled the North End observing the night life and ate at an amazing Italian restaurant. Jayme really had to pee...but that's a whole other story.

Day 4
*You're almost to the end!!*

We finished up the Freedom Trail by hitting up Paul Revere's house, walking through an adorable, and oldest, part of Boston, and finishing at the Old North Church where they hung the lantern so Paul Revere could take his ride. We actually went to a church service there and, boy, were they happy to have visitors.

We then moved out of Boston to Lexington & Concord. We saw Orchard House (home of Louisa May Alcott), Ralph Waldo Emerson's home, and drove by Wayside (Nathaniel Hawthorne's home - the government doesn't have it open yet)and the replica of Henry David Thoreau's cabin on Walden Pond. Unfortunately, due to the nature of our events the last couple of days we weren't able/allowed to take many pictures. Besides, Jayme and I started getting camera loopy, so I'll save you from those.

We then went to North Bridge which is where the 'shot heard round the world' was fired from. After hanging out with a Torie and a rabble-rouser we had a fabulous dinner at a Tandoori Indian restaurant.

Day 5
*You really, truly are almost done!*

On our last day we broke our Massachusetts bounds and drove into Newport, Rhode Island. BEAUTIFUL! We toured the summer 'cottages' of millionaires and it was amazing. First we went to The Breakers, which was owned by the Vanderbilts, and then to Rosecliffe, which was owned by a family that married into the Vanderbilts. There were several others that we would have loved to done, but they were expensive. We played on the beach for a bit, but it was nearing dusk and getting cold. We then ate a steak and seafood place that was very swanky and very delicious. We finished up with a scenic drive down Ocean Drive and our lives will never be the same.

Whew! Well, thanks for reading my Boston synopsis. That's right, y'all got the short version. It was a beautiful, historical trip.

Thank you, Mom! You made it all possible, and we're very, very grateful!