I was on my way to church when...

Two years ago when I was getting ready to take off to Vacation Bible School, I went out to my car to find that my windshield had been smashed, but not broken.

Today, I was going out to my car to go to church, which I'd planned on going to since Monday in order to observe a student we just got that has special needs. I was supposed to be figuring out what would make him sit and listen like the rest of the kids and showing the teachers how to implement supports for him.

However, when I went out to my car, to my surprise, the passenger side window was smashed in and the place was tossed. They'd gone through my glove compartment, my center console, and my center storage area. Luckily, I'm always paranoid, so the only thing of value they made off with was a portable CD player I bought when I was in middle school...but who uses those anymore? Go figure they wanted nothing to do with the play money, air fresheners, hair brushes, gum, or August Rush CD I had in there.

Being a person who is absolutely afraid of bad people, the whole event shook me up. However, when the police finally arrived, they put me at ease as they joked around, hung out with the family, and ran a license plate of a sketchy guy that had been sitting across the street without seeming to have any purpose (yes, paranoid me wrote down his plate, car type, and description just in case).

The officers also catered to my curious sister and gave her practice in the art of fingerprinting everything in my car the jerk may have touched.

The officer went through the lengths of showing her how to use the duster and even gave her her own pair of gloves so she didn't get messy. After dusting many different surfaces, they didn't come up with anything, until I had the bright idea that there might have been fingerprints on a bag of air fresheners that were pulled out of my glove compartment. Voila! My sister lifted a great print off of it! This meant I had to be printed as well, which I'm quite skilled at from having to be printed for everything requiring me to work with children!

My sister watched on with the bag she printed to make sure I gave them nothing but the best prints. Now we just sit and wait to see if the prints match anyone (other than me) in their system. We're praying it does so that justice can be done. But, until then my car sits in the driveway, battery pulled out, and the fake money still sitting out in the open, but that's about it. So, if you're looking to pull any funny stuff while my window is busted out, go ahead. Just remember, my sister was trained by the police ;)

UPDATE (6/18/09): Still no word back yet on the print...I doubt anything will come up. However, my mom was listening to the radio this morning and someone called in saying their car was broken into. I guess the following conversation went into why people break into cars, and GPS mounts in the front are one of the main causes. The person on the radio said that thieves look for that mount and think a GPS system is stashed somewhere in the car, so they'll break in, check all the compartments and under the seats to find it. This probably explains why he didn't even touch my trunk or back seat and why my seat was moved all the way back but the car wasn't hot wired. He was looking for my GPS. Too bad that poor guy didn't know I'm paranoid and NEVER leave such things in the car! Hopefully this will make you readers think twice about what you leave behind in your car...even if it's just hints of things you own.

$180 later and I have a new window too. I was excited because the window guys even vacuumed out my passenger seat and washed the window. This means 1/4 of my car got cleaned and I didn't have to lift a finger! What a deal! :P ...hey, I'm still trying to look on the bright side of it all here.

Day 6 - Ending in Boston

Early in the morning we packed up and left Tilton on the 8:30am bus. It was sad to leave my family behind. We had experienced a lot in NH, but I didn't feel like I was around my family enough for my trip. Perhaps because I usually stay two weeks in NH rather than just 4.5 days. But, life called Paul and I to go back home and back to work or getting work, in my case.

We arrived at South Station, Boston at 10:30 am and wanted to drop off our bags at the airport so we could enjoy a day of touring the other half of Boston we didn't cover the first day. We had packed two backpacks of stuff we may have needed for the flight, and my one large backpacking backpack full of stuff we weren't likely to use. When we arrived at the airport and checked in for our 6 pm flight, we weren't asked if we would like to check bags like we usually are. Come to find out, we couldn't check our bags in until 2 pm! This meant touring Boston looking like this:

Paul got the worse end of the deal. The bag he had on his back weighed 27 pounds (as measured when we were finally able to check in our bags at 4 pm). Since I had never climbed up the Bunker Hill Monument, it was our first stop. For those of you who have climbed the monument, you know how grueling the 294 steps can be, never mind carting a week's worth of clothes and tourist items up! To lighten our load a little we had the lunch we packed before going up.

Paul researched the history of the monument during lunch.

We made it...stuff and all. I was completely amazed I didn't end up passing out.

Paul shows off his load. Amazingly he can still smile after going up and down all those stairs!

Despite exhausted legs, we continued on our tour by walking the Freedom Trail backwards. Both of us had walked the trail individually, so it was nice to walk it together and not have to worry about stopping at every marker along the way. I was able to snap some shots of places I didn't get a chance to last time, and we were both able to travel off the trail a little to see other exciting buildings not specifically marked on the trail. One such place was Mike's Pastry.

The lobster tail I bought took me two days to get through. Paul's canoli was absolutely delicious. I can't wait to go back to Boston and try something else there!

We made it to the end (or beginning depending on how you look at it) of the Freedom Trail with enough time to relax on the Boston Common for an hour before we had to rush to the airport to leave. It was a nice time for the two of us to talk and reflect on the whole trip. Usually we keep so busy, we don't have time to talk about the trip before leaving, so it was extremely nice to share this time together.

When we arrived at the airport, Paul still hadn't eaten New England Clam Chowder and was looking forward to getting some at Legal Seafoods in Terminal C. So, after finally dropping off that darn bag, we made a mad dash out to terminal C and back only to have it dawn on us that chowder is a liquid and he'd have to eat it before we were allowed to go through security. We had a quick, 45 minute dinner together, ran through security, only to find our plane was already boarding. Luckily we still had time to get on, get settled, and fly back to Seattle for a day of relaxing before I had to go back home to San Diego.

I'm sad that vacation had to end so quickly, and it's always heartbreaking to say goodbye to Paul without knowing when our next adventures will bring us together again. However, life must go on and there's work to be done before we're brought back together for more happy and fun visits.

Day 5 - Shaker Village

Monday morning was a day to sleep in. The only thing we wanted to accomplish was a tour of Shaker Village. Although neither Paul nor I were able to sleep in much past 7:00 am because of the sun shining through our windows, we lazed around for a few hours watching the news and eating breakfast. Ok, it was more than a few hours. It was more like 3-4 hours. This was the morning that Air France flight went down off the coast of Brazil, so at least there was something exciting news channels were reporting on.

Since we got such a late start to the day, we decided to pick up a few last minute touristy and tax-free items at Wal-Mart and Walgreens before heading out to my Aunt's house for lunch. At noon we were treated to an AMAZING lunch. The meal started off with Salad and rolls and was followed by chicken fettuccine alfredo then topped off with some pineapple upside down cake. We visited for a while before heading out to Shaker Village.

Shaker Village was once a fully-operating town of Shakers (not to be confused with the Amish or the Quakers). This religious sect worshiped God through dancing and lived a life of celibacy so they could be fully devoted to Him. Being celibate meant not producing any children who would grow up in their community. Therefore, the Shakers at Canterbury died off in 1992 when the last NH Shaker sister passed away. Maine, as we were told, is the last state to still have Shakers still living out the Shaker way of life. As a matter of fact, they've had a recent convert: a 19 year old girl became a Shaker 2 years ago and is still practicing today at the age of 21. Go figure.

Me in front of the Shaker school. Amazingly, the 2nd floor was built before the 1st floor. The school used to be 1 story, but when they needed to expand it, they lofted the second floor and inserted the first floor below so they wouldn't have to build another roof!

Paul poses in front of the dwelling house where men and women are housed separately in a manner similar to a dorm. Their only interactions are in pre-planned social times where they're assigned people to talk to about current events.

We have too much fun being together at any time. We definitely don't fit the shaker lifestyle.

When we arrived back home from our short excursion, we broke out the home videos and photo albums. Typically when Paul and I get together, it's too busy to just sit around and look at old pictures of our childhoods. However, now was as good of a time as any, and Paul loved seeing me and my family members years ago when life was much simpler.

Can you believe it? That was the entire day! We headed to bed early that night so we could prepare to leave the next morning - our last day on the East Coast.

Day 4 - A True Adventure Through the White Mountains

Day 4 started off early. At 7 am we were up and getting ready to leave...I was determined to be out the door by 8 or 8:30. After packing up drinks, sandwiches, and enough snacks to get us through the day, we checked the weather and rain was forecast for the afternoon. Good thing we were heading out early and planning on being back before then!

Our first stop was North Woodstock, NH to have pancakes at Peg's where they serve breakfast all day. It just so happens that Peg's is located next to Fadden's general store where you can buy international award winning NH maple syrup. Try it at Peg's, buy it next door!

Outside of Peg's. Notice the ground is wet where this is no overhang? So much for showers holding off! The yellow building in the back is Fadden's general store.

Standing outside of the store with my maple syrup...but I jump ahead in my story with this one!

Before I bought my maple syrup, Paul, my dad, and I took a walk around the store. Although it's a typical general store with groceries and other supplies, an entire wing of the store is dedicated to showing off the many syrup awards the Faddens have won as well as the maple syrup making process. For many generations the Faddens have been producing great tasting maple syrup. When it was time to pick out the syrup we'd be taking home, we came face to face with Mr. Fadden himself! We asked questions about the differences in the different types of maple syrup, how maple syrup candy is made, and even found out that the local brewery uses Fadden syrup in their brewing process!

Mr. Fadden allowed us to take a picture of him and all of his maple syrup products...there's the syrup in the back, the candy in the front, the beer in the tall bottles, and maple syrup seasoning at the bottom right.

We were advised on settling for the light maple syrup as it's often the grade that wins Mr. Fadden the most awards.

Our next stop was the Flume Gorge in the Franconia Notch state park.

Paul hanging out with my dad at his first NH covered bridge before beginning a hike through the woods.

The flume is absolutely amazing. The wooden walkway follows the river the entire length. It becomes even more amazing when you consider how much work it would take to haul all the wood into this narrow water way and then construct it so that its safe enough for thousands of people to walk on every year.

We stopped to pose by the beautiful waterfall just in time for it to start raining.

Paul was my hero for the day when he held up a large boulder so we could safely continue on our journey!

After exploring the beauty of the Flume, we headed up the 93 (or I-93 if you're from anywhere but California) to see New Hampshire from above on the Cannon Aerial Tramway.

The tram serves as a ski lift during the winter months. Despite its small size, it typically carries up 70 people and all their gear at one time!

A view from about half way up. From here you're supposed to be able to see 4-5 different states. Oh, and Canada's off in the distance there somewhere.

We wait for the pouring rain to stop so we can hike out near the rim. Can you tell it's just a bit cold all the way at the top of Cannon Mountain on a rainy day?

Paul ventures out closer to the edge than I'd care for him to be. I guess boys will be boys.

We reached the top of the path and came to the observatory which we just had to climb up. We could hear the wind howling through the bars. Paul took the following video to show just how windy it was up there! Notice how I can lean into the wind without falling over :D



After a long day of hiking in the cold, wind, and rain, we still had family to visit. We took a trip to my Auntie Diane's to visit with her family. After catching up on what they've been up to in the past two years, Paul and I headed back to my dad's house with empty stomachs.

Well, what better to fill them with than ice cream for dinner!! We headed out to Jordan's ice cream to generously scooped hot fudge sundaes. Although I'm a big fan of anything peanut butter and chocolate, I found my homemade raspberry truffle ice cream to be better than the other scoop of peanut butter cup I had.

Bellies full and ready to fall asleep from sugar overload, we all headed home only to socialize with even more people over a game of cribbage. I had been wanting to learn how to play for the longest time, and after playing now, I can't say that I'm dying to play it again any time soon. However, having Paul, my dad, his roommate Cheryl, her daughter Christine, and son-in-law Kevin all around one table was good, fun company to end a long day with.

Day 5 is a lot more relaxing!

Day 3 - Meeting the family

So, for many years Paul has always felt sad about the fact that I rarely get together with my family. However, traveling out the East Coast, he was able to finally see extended family I don't have frequent contact with.

For the most part, my mom's family has a hard time getting along and would prefer to be visited individually, but my dad's family has no problem getting together for a BBQ every time I come out. This time we actually had all the aunts, uncles, and cousins (minus two who I never actually was able to see) together at one time. But before I get to that part of the day, I should talk about the morning.

The weather was mostly like this...very pretty, but not necessarily good for the day's plans

For the most part the rain held off, so Paul and I got ready and went out on a walk around Tilton. My dad lives about a half-mile away from downtown, so it's easy to walk around to the most "popular" places in Tilton. After stopping by a few of my cousins' houses to no avail, we climbed the hill to the Tilton arch, where you can see most of Tilton-Northfield. For the longest time I always thought the arch is where Mr. Tilton was buried, but a few years ago I found out that wasn't so. However, it still looks like a place where someone important is buried. Just see for yourself:

See? It has a date on it like someone died.

4-5 years ago Paul and I vowed to save our kisses for whoever we would marry. The first time we kissed our spouse would be on the altar when we're pronounced husband and wife (whether it was with eachother or someone else). Therefore, we settle for eskimo kisses :)

The tomb-looking thing is behind my head, but here you can see the rest of the arch. It's this structural feature that gives it its name.

We headed down the hill to the Tilton cemetary (where Paul likes to stop at churches, I have a fascination with cemetaries...morbid, I know). I then proceeded to guess at how to get back to my dad's house. Now, people tell me all the time that it's impossible to get lost in Tilton, however, I have done it!! No joke! This time, though, I had paid attention when my dad drove home the night before and we ended up taking the long way home, but we made it in time!

The BBQ lasted for about 4 hours, and I got the chance to see everyone and catch up on their lives and tell them about what I'm currently working on. They're impressed that I'm currently working on a masters, as none of my other cousins have even persued the path of a college education. The talk of the BBQ was my cousin's new twin babies. They were tiny and so adorable.

I was one of the lucky few that was able to hold Lily, the smallest one.

Nick is the boy twin. He's still small, but in comparison to his twin sister he's definitely a porker!

While the women spent their time holding babies and talking about how cute they were, the men played horseshoes on the pits my dad put together that morning.


It took Paul a few throws to get his form down, and he and his partner did very well (if I remember correctly). My poor Uncle David played despite the fact that he'd been sick and in and out of the hospital for the past three weeks. His throws were terrible. Most of them took huge chunks out of the grass or flew at unsuspecting spectators :0! Eventually the twins left and I took a try at the game.

I was made fun of for my "ballerina form" as I lifted up my back leg and balanced on one foot as throwing, but hey, I landed a solid ringer with that form!

The BBQ was Paul's favorite day. By the end of it we were both so exhausted from talking to so many people in the course of a day. Hey, that takes a lot of work for two people who spend a lot of time just sitting and listening to what's going on around them!

After a midnight bought with doorbells and cell phones (which is a funny story you can ask me about if you care to know), day 3 ended and day 4 came all too soon.

Day 2 in NH

Originally I had planned to go up to the White Mountains on this day. My dad was off and we had the whole day to occupy our time. However, rain was in the forecast, so adjustments had to be made. I was given such a hard time for going off my schedule...and trust me, it was a very detailed schedule that I regret I ever made because I was teased so much about it.

So, rain meant staying inside and the only thing I had planned for inside was going to FunSpot at Weirs Beach. It's a tradition now to go. When I was younger and would visit, my dad would always take me to FunSpot to do some candlepin bowling and play videogames for tickets. Paul and I racked up enough tickets to get two FunSpot mugs and some chinese finger traps. Definitely not worth the money, but it's the tradition and the fun of getting the tickets that counts.

Candlepin bowling was fun too. It's something you can only do in New England. If I'm wrong and can find it somewhere else, let me know so I can stand corrected. For those unfamiliar with Candlepin, you bowl with small balls, three per frame, two frames at a time. The balls are small wooden balls that fit within the palm of your hand. When you knock down pins, they stay down until the end of the frame, meaning you can use them to knock down other pins that are standing.

Paul prepares to bowl with the small candlepin ball.

He sends the ball down the lane...but with little luck sometimes ;) But I still love him!

My dad can still smile even though I beat him in the first round of bowling. Like me, he's very competitive and doesn't take to losing very well.

That evening we played dominoes. I was exhausted and didn't say much, but absolutely kicked butt. I think out of the six rounds we played, there were only two where I wasn't the first to go out. I'm glad I found another game I can beat Paul at. Trust me, there aren't many!

Day 3 will come later when my computer battery isn't about to die!

Newest Adventure - Day 1

I've been realizing lately that I enjoy reading about other people and everything they put on their blogs or post to MySpace and Facebook, but I rarely return the favor and let everyone know what I'm up to. Reconnecting with my family on the east coast just made me think of it even more. Who knows if any of them will read this or if anyone I know will even read any of this. However, it's a way for me to let many people all at once know of my life - the ups, downs, good times, bad times, and just-so times.

My newest adventure took Paul (the love of my life) and I all the way to the east coast. Everyday we were out doing something, exploring somewhere new...even if it meant hiking in the wind and rain to see it!

Day 1 we toured Boston. Our flight came in at 6:30am, and after a long red-eye flight with very little sleep, we crashed until 8 am in an open space in the terminal. At 8 we headed out to walk around Boston, seeing cemetaries, churches, and the first public library in America.

Did I mention we carried all of our baggage around with us? My pack weighed about 20 pounds and would last me a week out and about.

Paul loves church architecture, so we had to stop in for a peek as well as capture a shot of the outside facade.

Since we're both bookworms we've made it a tradition to stop into a library in the cities we visit. How could we pass up an opportunity to peruse books in the US's very first library? It was amazing!

After walking around for a few hours we caught a bus to Concord, NH where my dad's roommate picked us up and took us grocery shopping. After getting food for the week, we bolted over to a hearty beef stew dinner at my Uncle Jerry's house. We were able to share a little bit of California with them when we made a Pizookie. Despite the fact that my uncle didn't want a pizookie because the ice cream would melt, he ended up liking it and half-heartedly admitted it in the end.

After a day of non-stop activity, it was definitely time for bed so we could be well-rested for what the next day would bring us.

Stay tuned for day 2!