Through Christmas and Hawaii

Yeah, ok. So it's been a really really long time since I posted something. I keep thinking- "oh, I'll just post something after such-and-such," or "I'll do it over Christmas break." But I am lazy. That's all there is to it. So here you go- everything since, uh- wow. Since Halloween!

First, here is a shot from Maurice's somewhat impromptu birthday party at our house. Sweet hat, eh?
In November I went to the American Society of Human Genetics Conference in Philadelphia. Here are me and some of my labmates at the poster session. This just begged to be posted somewhere.We spent an afternoon at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This was I think my favorite painting. For Thanksgiving I easily convinced Mom and we together more difficultly convinced Dad to go see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! Here is Snoopy in all his glory. Getting back in NH just in time for the Joseph Smith Memorial Christmas lighting was definitely worth it.Surprisingly I got a new calling! I'm now in YW of all places! This chocolate musical note was given to me by one of the Valiant girls to commemorate my being Primary Chorister for 2 1/2 years!And here we arrive at Christmas. Everyone was home and it was really really fun! Dave and Naomi are expecting their first, Polly, February 18th. Ashlee's putting in mission papers, Crystal got engaged, and Arielle is still up to her schemeing ways, as you can see below.
We decided to go all out and revisit the old days of acting out the Nativity since there were so many of us and we actually had a pregnant woman. I was the angel. We even recruited some Christmas dinner guests into the action.As is tradition, we challenged the Wades and Palmbergs to a Christmas-time sporting event. This year it was volleyball instead of basketball and we invited the Binghams as well. I am pleased to report that we totally schooled all the other families. Or at least that's I choose to remember it. Since this is my blog, that's how it's going to be.We played a lot of games. This years big hit "The Great Dalmuti", also called scum in some circles. A really bad hand would be one of every number. Guess who was dealt that hand. We got to take Kedrick (Crystal's betrothed) on a tour of NYC. Ashlee and I and my friend David (not to be confused with my brother) went down and had a really fun if not terribly productive day. Here is a carousel ride in central park. This was David's first carousel ride ever! Such a thing should definitely be immortalized. This is how ground zero looks now. It's a sobering place, but they are actively rebuilding. As I mentioned before Crystal got engaged over Christmas! Whoo hoo! She's getting married March 14th in Bountiful, UT. We're all pretty excited and really like her fiance Frederick, uh, I mean Kedrick. He proposed at Wickham park on the sledding hill. Cute, eh? Here's the ring. I thought people would be interested to see.Crystal challenged us all to bowling. None of us could take down Dad, though I did come REALLY close. Anyway, we're still good at looking intimidating.Just for fun we made a movie with David's new video camera (I'm talking about the brother here). This is Ashlee dressed up as her character, "Clare deLune". I was Anna Sassin. But I'm choosing not to put that picture up. Alright- phew! Last leg of the blog post. Hawaii.
I got to fly out with Ashlee a few days early and go to Oahu before heading out to Kona on the Big Island. Surprisingly enough we ran into Crystal and Kedrick at the Chicago airport! Random!
This is my only make-you-jealous sunset beach picture, I promise. This one happens to be Waikiki.It was really really fun to go back and visit BYUH and take Ashlee on this walk down memory lane. I even got to see Dr. Day and Dr. Goodwill. Good times.Here we are in the eucalyptys tree outside the biology department. I've spent a lot of time in/underneath this tree. The Laie temple with Ashlee and her roomate Lindsay. The temple's closing down for a year and a half for renovations. I got to see Beth! It had been so long! It was really fun to catch up. Alright, here's Kona. This is the beach at the hotel we stayed at, with its own private lagoon. All this first-class living we do at conferences is totally spoiling me. Maybe I am an elitist after all.I got to go down to the Kona temple which I'd never seen before. It is very beautiful.I took a trip out to Hilo one afternoon. I didn't have much time but did get to see some things from back when I visited in the BYUH days. Here's me on the hike down to the caldera of Kilauea Iki. Some obliging fellow tourists took my picture :)
OK. I'm done. And sleepy. I look forward to many more adventures and keeping you updated as possible.

Fabulous Fall 2008

Now that it is below 30 degrees on a regular basis and dark at 5 pm, I feel that we can officially call autumn over, or at least in its denouement (literary shout-out to Naomi, even though that's probably not the right way to use that word). It has been a lovely autumn- in fact, one of the most beautiful ones I can remember. The leaves stayed on the trees for a quite a while (and I'm sure are still on in many of your locations), and were really very stunning. I spent more time than I probably should have enjoying the trees from my hammock. I've actually been thinking- what if I postdoc somewhere where there's nowhere to hang up my hammock! What if I end up in a city! Can I do without it for 2 whole years?????

2 Bostonian Conferences

I attended 2 conferences in the Boston-ish area. The first was a weekend conference regional YSA conference at the church's new campsite, Camp Zion. It's really quite nice, and will help with all of the over-crowding at Camp Joseph. It has lots of cute little cabins at campsites like "Council Bluffs" and "Nauvoo" and a lake complete with a small boathouse. We spent an hour out on the lake trying to manuever a rowboat... not that easy. Though, naturally if I had been the one paddling it would have been a different story. But the boys wouldn't let us so, whatever. Below is a picture of the cabin we stayed in as well as the lake, though apparently not in that order.


The second conference was the semi-annual all Ivy league conference, which I think they should rename "Smart Mormon Kids in Debt" (S.M.O.K.I.D). Unfotunately (and fortunately too, I guess) I spent most of the time in the temple working my shifts. I got to do 2 sessions with Dad which was really great! Usually we only see each other in passing even though we're there at the same time. But the conference was really fun- I only took 2 pictures and they're both just of Elyse making funny faces, so if other people have some they should let me know, because my collection is severly lacking.

The Tunbridge World's Fair!

That's right, the Tunbridge World's Fair- and by World's fair we mean county fair with a fancy name. Though it is 138th year and thus deserves a great deal of respect. It doesn't fail to live up to its name, though! Everything there is huge- the oxen, the pumpkins, the horses, the tractors, the corndogs... need I go on? Also, I bet you all have never seen so many things that were flavored with maple syrup. I highly recommend the maple cotton candy. It's pretty amazing. I should also mention that the parking lot attendants were from the military. I've never seen such efficient and frankly, intimidating people direct us how to park our car. They took their job way seriously. They were also the people who were selling the tickets at the front. It was really kind of strange. That's a lot of security for Tunbridge, VT. I mean, the fair probably increases the town's population by a factor of 10 every night it's open.

These ducks were sooo cute- they were miniature!
Maggie is thinking of a career change. Who needs law school when you can drive this puppy all day?

Mt. Cardigan- take 2!

In an older post you can see us doing this hike with the family after Arielle's graduation. I think it's in "Summer- take 1". Maggie and I would have had a "whitest legs" competition this time too, and I'm sure I would have won, except it was too dang cold at the top to do anything but huddle behind giant rocks and try to take pictures. The wind was seriously intense. The view was spectacular, though! This was actually General Conference weekend. We hiked in the morning, watched conference, went apple picking and then watched more conference. I think it was the single most productive day I've ever had. I don't think I'll ever top it.
This is me being silly.


I went around and tried to take foliage pictures. This is Tex enjoying the view at Mascoma lake. Notice that both of these tires look full- I've had a couple incidents in that arena lately due to the construction on our street that is now FINALLY over! Anyway, isn't she cute?Homecoming

No fall term at Dartmouth would be complete without the Homecoming bonfire. The freshman build a huge (and safely designed) wood scaffolding with the year of their class on top (in this case, 12). The tower is lit, turns blazing hot and all the freshman have to run around it (in this case the goal is 112 times) while everyone else stands around yelling encouraging things like "Run, freshman, run!" "Worst class ever" "You're running the wrong way, turn around!" and my personal favorite "Touch the fire!" They like to make them feel welcome. Those of us who don't yell, watch the fire for a while and then go get some free donuts and cider in the student center. mmmmm.... donuts.....

Halloween

I bet the rest of you didn't hit up 3 Halloween parties this year. But we sure did! Actually, 4 if you count the trunk-or-treat on Wednesday. Which is pretty awesome in our ward because the kids are so cute! The first Halloween party, I will grant you, ended really early and the second one we were only at for about 10 minutes. But they were pretty fun, and it was the most excitement we had seen in a while. What's funny is that the 10 of us LDS Dartmouth kids go so stir crazy we have to get out and go to these Boston activities, but once we get there all we do is hang out together and take pictures of each other! I guess that shows how close we really are. Ahhhh.... I will end my official report of fall with this picture of the classiest clown in the world trying to entertain Wonder Woman. But alas, to no avail. Despite all her powers, Wonder Woman doesn't get my highly sophisticated comedic talent. If only I knew how to juggle. Crystal, where were you when I needed you?

With that we can settle into winter. Upcoming posts will include- "Chantel meets Philadelphia" as I attend the American Society of Human Genetics meeting next week, "Thanksgiving and the Macy's Day Parade" (provided we are actually successful in getting Dad out of bed early enough to go the parade) and "Life in a Swing State!", as I'm sure tomorrow's election day in New Hampshire will be something to remember. Have a lovely day- thanks for reading :)

Summer Fun- Take 2!

Back by popular demand!!! Summer fun presented as a large series of events designed to make my life look fascinating. Albeit, I have noticed that "Summer 1" is significantly more interesting than "Summer 2" quite achieved, but, hey, I needed some R and R.

Don't judge me.

Harvard, cont.
Alright, first I will be elitist. That's pretty much my style, anyway. I spent the entire month of July in Boston attending a class at the Harvard School of Public Health. The class was absolutely amazing, and I know I discussed some of it in "Summer 1". But I didn't have these pictures then. Here is the Kresge courtyard in front of the School of Public Health which is also shared with the Medical School. Notice the string quartet that played for us as we studied. Yeah, it's pretty posh.

This picture is of the Harvard Medical School. Pretty, eh? I mean it's no Dartmouth, but...Bienvenue, eh? Oh, surry.

In order to keep the theme of the summer...ta da! Another trip to Canada. But this time it was the other coast, and with a different sister. And they spoke French. And we mostly did free stuff instead of spending all our meager savings.
Without further ado, presented in all its glory... Montreal! (it was kinda rainy)

Stepping back, while attempting to find the scenic lookout from which the above photo was taken, we found a playground. Which was actually very fun and of course we took advantage of the available of photo ops. (Arielle and Dallin are both very vain.)
Yep. I saved his life. Something they taught me at Harvard. She'll have fun, fun, fun till her Daddy takes the... oh. Nevermind. Again, stepping back in time to that morning... a lovely dock which offered a nice view, shopping, and yes, more photo ops.
You probably think this song is about you....
This was the main event. Dallin was looking forward to this for 3 weeks. Poutine! A delicious, yet premature-heart-disease-inducing Canadian delicacy that involves loads of freshly cut (apparently being fresh cut is very important) french fries, gravy, cheese curds, and at this particular poutine-specializing restaraunt, a variety of toppings. I believe mine was steak and cheese. I was a little hesitant at first, but it was very good, and made me not want to eat anything but vegetables for the rest of the week. So really, it's like health food. Watch for my new upcoming invention- "poutine light." It's gonna be big. This was how we felt after.
A dream fulfilled, and a new career found

This was my very first experience outdoor rock climbing at Rumney. The most amazing thing happened! As we were driving there, seeing moose crossing signs and Dallin listened to me lament having never seen a moose despite being in New Hampshire 4 full years, SUDDENLY (please read with dramatic effect) as we turned a corner there was a moose crossing the street! It's kind of hard to see in the picture because it took me a second to get my camera out, but you can see it to the left off the road as it rambled past us into the woods. It was pretty awesome. I was so thankful to finally be blessed with a moose sighting.
Ok, so here is why I think I am ready for pro rock climbing. I went with Dallin, right? He's done a ton of climbing, right? But he would only take about 5 minutes to climb up. I, on the other hand, was thoughtful, pondering every possible move for at least 7 minutes and therefore resulting in about a 45 minute climb. Now, is that stamina, or is that stamina? I mean, I didn't even have time to reach the top! Watch out climbing world, because here comes Chantel! Psh... and people think this stuff is hard.
We are family, I got all my sisters and me... come on, sing along!

I would like to dedicate this next smattering of pictures to my 2 favorite little sisters who spent the summer with me adding so much joy and so many fun random moments to the everyday.

Some pictures need no caption.

Trying on dresses just for fun... Ashlee fell in love with this. She's inclined to think the song is about her too. Painting pottery at tip-top.

And yet another fun day trip

Ashlee came with me to Mary Kreider's wedding. (Now Mary Laffely). She married a handsome young cardiac surgeon and had a lovely reception in Maine (with very delicious food, I might add).
Chantel meets.... exercise?

OK, so once everyone left me... so sad... I needed to get out and work off everything I'd done to my body over the summer. (If you are unaware how much I ate, go back and count how many times I mention food in the last 2 posts). So I bought a bike! I hit the trail the way I used to nearly every day a couple of years ago and found that yes, I still love it, and yes, I'm out of shape. But here it is! It's silver... ooooo..... pretty.
"The beach"- as we affectionately call it is my 2nd favorite place on my typical ride.
This is my 1st favorite- the view of Mascoma lake from Eagle Scout park. Weren't the clouds awesome?

The changing of the roomates

As Rachael winged her way off to Italy for the fall (see back of head, below) my friend Maggie moved in! It's great having her here for multiple reasons, mostly to keep me from sitting around eating ice cream and watching movies every night by myself. Here is a picture of some FHE-ers over at our house. I had just taught them to play "steal the bacon." That's right Sloans! You know you love that game! Owen has a football under his shirt, in case you're wondering. Maggie's the one in pink.

Pictureless, but fun

Dad came and spent labor day with me because, well, we were both bored and figured- why should everyone else have the fun? Mom took Arielle out to school and everyone I knew had gone out of town pretty much, so I twisted Dad's arm and we had a great day canoeing the White River and attending FHE with some families in the ward around a campfire. I didn't take any canoeing pictures though, because Dad kept insisting that we were going to fall in, purposefully if not accidentally. We didn't tip, but did pull up on shore and go for a ... let's call it "brisk"... swim. Thanks for coming, Dad!

Chantel ponders the future! Aaaah!

Last but not least, I just got back from my 2 day retreat with the lab. We go up to Dartmouth's conference center on squam lake once a year and talk about our projects, go kayaking, play games and eat lots and lots and lots of delicious food. This years theme? Postdocs. That's right! I get to start thinking and planning for life after grad school! Whoa.
Here is the conference center. It's pretty much just gorgeous. At night you can go out and hear the loons calling from all around the lake. Also, we had a jam session. I brought my violin, and Krissy and Ryan brought a flute and guitar respectively and we improved together. It was fun for us, but I can pretty much guarantee it was miserable for everyone else. Oh well, we told them they could bring instruments too....

I went out on the boats early this morning with Casey and Anna. I was in a kayak, they a canoe. It was a bit chilly, but really pretty paddling through the fog with the sunrise. I love how this picture came out. I call it "paddlers in the mist" . Well, I hope you enjoyed my summer, I know I did! Now time to settle in to fall. Pretty much, I'm going to be writing papers the whole time. But hey, at least I get to rake leaves instead of just mowing the lawn. I will be sure to provide a smattering of pictures of me jumping into my leaf piles.

Summer Fun- Take 1

You know what I realized? That writing a post only once every several months makes your life look way more exciting than it actually is! So here you go, only 4 months since the last one! This is basically a run down of the summer up until the half-way point.

Crystal and Chantel go Canadian... eh?

Crystal and I spent nearly a week in beautiful Victoria, B.C. We went to an aquarium, on a whale watch (someone forgot to tell the whales), drove to Tofino and went kayaking, went on a suspension bridge, got to hang out with Lindsay's amazing family, saw the most beautiful botanical gardens, explored an old growth forest, tried every Canadian candy bar there is (including all varieties of the Aero bar), and risked our lives to take a picture of a bear. It was absolutely fantastic- and so gorgeous!!! If you want the full smattering of pictures let me know, and I'll send a link. This is obviously a small taste.


Blair's Graduation

Blair graduated, which is very lovely for him, and bittersweet for us, because then he had to move back to Utah. We miss you Blair!!!! Come visit!!!

the Wall....

Ashlee and Arielle moved in with me. Yeah!!! We've been having lots of adventures, one of the most novel being that due to the influence of Dallin we have attempted rock climbing. What's that you say? I thought Chantel had no upper-body strength? Well, you would be right. But apparently if you stick to the easy stuff you can still avoid looking like a complete idiot- and I'll take lazy over stupid any day. You can quote me.
Butterflies and Birthdays

In celebration of Ashlee and Arielle's birthdays, we went down to Massachusetts to a butterfly farm and to Yankee Candle. Many lovely (and comical) photos were taken. It was a really fun day!
To answer your questions about the pictures below, yes, I am thumb-wrestling a knight. We tied. Yes, Mom and Dad do look a little too comfortable in the king-queen role. No, they all told me it was just apple juice in those steins, and I decided it would be silly not to believe them, right? Besides, they ate something hearty first. Napoleon and I are close because we share the same Myers-Briggs personality type. And yes, Ashlee and Arielle are hot stuff.

Arielle meets YouTube

Arielle graduated from high school. Huge shocker. And you can say she didn't do too badly for herself, because she was the valedict something or other. Her speech is on YouTube... it's up to .... let's see.... wow! 78 views! Way to go, Arielle! Dave and Naomi especially enjoyed the after-party... They, however, neglected to eat something hearty. It wasn't pretty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnQIXpB8L8I

Arielle trying to find one of her friends by climbing atop her family. You can judge the ethics of that on your own.

I really don't know what to say about this.Family Adventures

After Arielle's graduation everyone came up to New Hampshire for some hiking, Dave and Naomi included! It was really fun- here's us at the top of Mount Cardigan.
We took a few of these shots. Sometimes Dave was the highest, sometimes Naomi. Dad and Ashlee never leave the ground.We had a "whitest legs" competition. Guess who won. Dave and Naomi being a yicky married couple. Uh, I mean, cute. She was planning on following every rainbow after this, but then she got bored. I LOVE this picture!Bahston and Hahvard

I've been spending this month in Boston taking an epidemiology course at the Harvard School of Public Health. Yeah, intense... It's been amazing, though! Ashlee, Arielle and Dallin came down for the 4th of July. We saw the fireworks and spent the next day exploring the Freedom trail, Harvard campus, and a random beach. There were actually so many great pictures taken that weekend it was really hard to pick which ones to include.
This picture came out the best- taken by Ashlee, of course. We asked them both the question: "If you're traveling in a car at the speed of light and you put your headlights on, do they do anything? " We never got a response. Just say NO! (Ashlee carries that pin around with her everywhere for just such an occasion. Really.)
We all try to fit through the revolving door at once. Can you say , tourists???? This is the MIT COOP by the way. I was trying to get some Sloan school memorobilia, but they didn't really have anything good. Losers. Crystal, where were you when we needed you?????Palmyra

Last but not least, last weekend we went on a trip to Palmyra. Originally it was going to be all 4 of us, but it ended up being Dallin and I and then eventually, about, oh, 20 hours or so after our arrival we finally were given absolute proof that Ashlee and Arielle were still alive. But we had a great time nonetheless!
This is us hanging out with King Noah.
Neither of us ever grew up. Or I think are ever planning on it. Why is it that when it's 95 degrees and humid guys can still look like they just showered? Not fair. It's ok, I beat him in the whitest legs competition too. I'm undefeated. Booyah. A beautiful shot in the sacred grove. They live!!!!!!!!!!
And that is the first half of my summer. Look for further updates.... eventually.

Still alive

I have been fairly absent lately due to the fact that life has been MAYHEM!!!! March was just crazy beginning to end. The events in order that will be reported in this post are Cheesefest 2008, Snowboarding (take 2), Laura's wedding, Moving, My 26th Birthday, and Chantel is Finally Pubmed searchable! There's been a lot going on, but those are the highlights I'm going to focus in on. So, here it goes!

CHEESEFEST 2008

For those of you who are in the know, Cheesefest is a tradition that Crystal and I became a part of at BYU-Hawaii. I've taken it upon myself to bring it to New Hampshire. As a result of this ambition, we've made it a yearly tradition for the Concord YSA (this is year 2), and since Laura was YSA president, I was put in charge of it. I happen to like being in charge of events (in case any of you didn't notice) and so I had a blast. Events at Cheesefest include, but are not limited to: cheese tasting (of course), a cheesy movie, a cheesy game, and of course the crowning of a cheese prince and princess. The cheese prince and princess are voted in based on a speech they make in which they describe what their favorite cheese is and why, a moment in their life that has touched them with cheese, and how cheese can create world peace. Below you'll see Lindsay (this year's cheese princess) await the decision of the judges and Peter (the prince) being crowned by Blair (last year's prince).


SNOWBOARDING (Take 2)

I am so headed toward Olympic snowboarding. That is, as soon as I can figure out how to get off the lift without falling over. Which I'm sure will be soon??? Maybe? The bunny hill at Ascutney actually features large animal wood cutouts down the slope,as well as a castle that you can go through, provided you have enough speed. I didn't. So here's a picture of my friend Casey pushing me through the little woods on the other side of the castle. Yep, totally headed towards the Olympics. It is really pretty fun, so long as I don't freak out, and I only hurt for about 2 days afterwards instead of an entire week this time. Granted, since our much long awaited spring has finally arrived here in the upper valley, I won't be on a snowboard for at least another 7 months or so. Though spring is very very very very welcome!!!!! Below are some daffodils outside the house :)


LAURA'S WEDDING

She got married! The sealing was beautiful. It was great to meet all the Spjut clan and have Laura's parents stay with me. There were many exciting things that happened, including a beautiful sealing, some sunny (though chilly) picture taking, a beautiful reception (if I may say so myself :) and Laura being apparently anti- car decorating as she took everything off before leaving the parking lot. hehe. The next day was also a lovely (though a bit hectic) Easter Sunday which I enjoyed with the Watts at church and the Lytle's and Spjuts at dinner. I never ever ever could have pullled it off without so many people helping. Not that they'll probably read this, but thanks!!! Below are pictures of the wedding, the gorgeous cake, and me dancing with my Dad- he's got pretty good moves!


I MOVED!!!

Two days after the wedding! Today, April 16th I just finally unpacked my food storage. So I think it's pretty official now. The place is really nice and I've had fun kind of personalizing it. The most exciting things are that I now have a garage (which has already come in handy) and ta da!!! A washer and dryer!!! No more laundromat. Also, they have an immense collection of DVDs that they left behind. So long productivity.... My new roomate is Rachel Ladd. Her mom helped out a ton at Laura's wedding with the food. She's a local girl that finished her degree from BYU in Arabic studies and has already traveled North Africa and the Middle East and will be doing much more of it in the future. Yeah, she's pretty amazing. Also, she got in to grad school at Dartmouth for the fall! That means I'm not the only YSA grad student here anymore! I've been waiting 4 years!!!!! I accompanied her family to a celebratory Rachel's b-day (it's birthday season, it was also Blair's b-day recently)/ grad school acceptance dinner at Margaritas.




MY 26th BIRTHDAY!!!

Though actually, I should say our 26th birthday. Crystal and I did spend the day doing the exact same thing! We both had Indian food (pure coincidence) and watched the new Office episode and had cake. My celebration was at my labmates house (since I don't have cable). So Casey hosted and Anna brought a big beautiful cheesecake from a place called Lou's. It was very delicious. It was my and our other labmate Krissy's b-days within 2 days of each other, so we shared cake-cutting duties. The next night it was time to party with the YSA as we enjoyed brownie sundaes and watched Finding Nemo. Very good times. I even finally got to meet Jafar, who I've heard so much about! I received some excellent birthday gifts including movie tickets from Dave and Naomi, a backpacking pup tent from Arielle, a hilarious package from Crystal themed "things I've learned in the Beehive State" and from Mom and Dad- a hammock!!! (note title of blog). It's up! See below! Apparently Ashlee is bringing something from Hawaii...I'm excited!!! It really was kind of a marathon birthday, with another cheesecake at Insititute last night. For my birthday what I most think I'm getting is diabetes.... On Saturday I went to a b-day party for Krissy and she had leftover cake in lab this week.


CHANTEL IS FINALLY PUBMED SEARCHABLE

Well, I should say "almost" pubmed searchable. I wrote an article on the systems genetics of alcoholism that is apparently just about to come out because they sent me a copy of the journal in the mail. It's not online yet, but keep your eye out, you google scholars!

And with that I think I will close this post. I hope you have all enjoyed hearing about my many exploits. Our next big story will be in a few weeks...Crystal and Chantel go Canadian, eh?

Philadelphia and Family

I got to spend last weekend touring Philadelphia with my family. We stayed with Uncle Dave and Aunt Mina and the very obliging Taylor and Lydia who let us stay in their rooms. I got Taylors room, it was the coolest. Arielle is convinced that Lydia's room is the coolest. We'll have to arm wrestle it out. Here is Taylor.
We saw all kinds of cool things on our trip, including....

the Liberty Bell,

the Rocky steps (Uncle Dave beat us all up them) ' This Quaker "Stake Center", where we also learned all about Quakers. Did you know you can pretty much be agnosticand still be Quaker? I didn't. This cool random elevator that went from the subway up onto the street. We felt like superheros.

The first house of the Senate and House of Republicans. We're supposed to look like we're deliberating here. I think we look like we're cussing Mom out.

Where Ben Franklin was buried (Arielle tried to throw a penny on his gravestone and it rolled and rolled and rolled... they must have argued in the pre-existence. Ah- an Arielle! We think she was just as scared of us as we were of her.

Laura Spjut!

The big news of the week is of course that Laura got engaged! Here you will see the dashing young Jakob Spjut of Rancho Cucamunga (sp?) California. Who proposed to her on Friday with the following words "Well, before I lose my nerve...(some other mushy stuff)...will you marry me?" And her reply "Sure." It's very cute and exciting and soon! They are getting married at the end of March in the Boston temple. I get to plan it! Yeah! Here is her 5 million karat ring. :)

In other news, I recently went to our annual "Genetics Winter Party." Every year at Dartmouth's winter carnival they have a giant snow sculpture on the green (which i couldn't get a good picture of, sorry,but I'm sure you can find on dartmouth.edu). The theme was "20,000 leagues under the snow" and the sculpture was a submarine being dragged down by an octopus. They have other snow and ice sculptures around campus, especially by Occum pond, which is where everyone goes to ice skate or play hockey. It's also the location of our winter party. Here are some pictures of my labmates messing around on the ice and a couple of sculptures. I thought the ice castle was really pretty. It was made for little kids to be able to play in and around, and we spent a long time playing "monster attacks the castle" with my boss's kids. It was very fun. There was also a snow slide that went from the castle out onto the ice for kids to go down.