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.