This past weekend we finally made it into Boston. Boston is significantly cleaner and safer than New York, the buildings are prettier and the people are nicer. It was a fabulous weekend away. The first day we walked along the Charles River, toured the Harvard campus, visited Burdicks Chocolates (the best chocolate treats in town) and toured Fenway. The second day we walked the freedom trail and learned about Boston's role in the American Revolution and ate fantastic Italian in Boston's North End. We saw Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, the Old South Meeting House, toured the USS Constitution, and saw many other significant sites in American history. The final day we had a boat tour of the Charles river and visited Mount Auburn Cemetary, a beautiful garden cemetary with a stone tower you can climb up and see the surrounding area for miles. We have both agreed...if we move back east for an East Coast city it will be to Boston!

DJ walking in Mt Auburn
One of the 2,200 pound cannons on the USS constitution

One of the oldest street in Boston, original buildings still in use! The oyster house is the oldest tavern still in use and in it's original location.

Fenway!

Sun setting on the Charles

On the charles, Boston in the background

Burdicks Chocolates...delicious, deep chocolate brownie bottom with an inch of fudge on top. Mmmm.

Cambridge church...these buildings are all over the place.

Harvard! The famous Harvard Yard in the background

Friday night we had one of the quietest nights in the city we have yet experiences. It was pouring rain. We ventured out with our umbrellas and enjoyed the streets all to ourselves. Here DJ is singin' in the rain on the highline, an old elevated subway line

Before heading out on the streets we stopped at Sandwich Planet and enjoyed award winning food.

Last Monday we celebrated the fourth with hootenany pancakes smothered in strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and bananas: a red, white and blue culinary masterpiece made at the hands of chef DJ. Later in the day we ventured out on the town, only to find streets barricaded and blocked in an attempt at crowd control for the fireworks later in the evening. We ended up coming back home and watching the fireworks show from our widow, viewed above. Macey's sponsors the fire works. They place 5 barges extending one mile down the middle of the Hudson river and fireworks light the sky for close to 30 minutes. We could see three of the five barges from our window.

Photo Book

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July is here and we are half way through our time here already! Michelle's internship has been very busy. It is great to be over a project that so many people have so much interest in. the problem will be making everyone happy in the end. DJ's stat class is going well. He's aced all the tests and quizzes so far. Today was our first day teaching primary in our new calling. It is so much fun being around the kids. We teach the 8 and 9 year olds. They are a smart, well-behaved class. Primary kids are just as hit and miss as adults, but so much funnier when there answers are a little off. Today in sharing time the primary president asked why temples are so important. One of the little girls exclaimed, "we have to have temples! Where else would we have secret marriages!" New York is as fun and busy as ever. It is getting hot and muggy here. We're sad we're missing all the 4th of July BBQs and breakfasts with family so we've made up for it with an all American weekend - burgers and shakes at the Shake Shack, BBQ pork in Harlem, Sunday roast, and fireworks and burgers on the piers tomorrow. Happy 4th of July everyone!

Dino BBQ in Harlem

We took the ferry to Staton Island Friday night after dinner at the Shake Shack. The ferry is free and you get a great view of the statue of liberty and the New York skyline from the boat.

On the Ferry

War Horse received 5 Tony awards, including best play. It was incredible. The horse, the main character, is a huge puppet controlled by three men. The puppeteering was so incredible, the horse truly did seem almost real. We loved the show!

AmEx sponsored a night at Citi Field for all the interns. Too bad the Mets aren't that good...we did more talking than
watching. It is a fun stadium, though.







Two weeks ago John Huntsman declared his presidency at Liberty Park, just across the water from the Statue of liberty. DJ tried to make it to the declaration, but due to construction, only made it to Ellis Island. He saw the event only from a distance, but got these great pictures on his way...Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Our week started at battery park, the southern most tip of Manhattan. It get's its name from the days of the revolutionary war, when it withstood a battery of gun-fire and military attack as the colonies fought off the British. We had a beautiful view of the statue of liberty and Ellis Island.

Between Monday and Friday we had a busy week, Michelle navigating through another week of her internship and DJ working on the DUP site and his statistics class. Michelle's internship is going well. The pieces of my project are starting to come together and I am enjoying the relationships I am forming with the people in the company. DJ's DUP site launched Saturday and we're hoping that marks the end of that project. Stats is going well, but he's looking forward to finishing this class and moving on to sports psychology.

Friday night we went to Zarcana, the new Cirque Du Soleil show playing at Radio City Hall. The acrobatics were incredible and the talent displayed by the performers was breathtaking. Radio City Hall has a beautiful theater and a perfect venue for the event.

Saturday we finally made it to the Manhattan temple. It is a beautiful temple but very small. On the session Michelle was the only woman and DJ was one of five men. The peace in the temple is certainly a stark contrast to the noise and chaos in the city! After the session we had dinner at one of the best Mexican restaurants we have ever been to! It is called Rosa Mexicano and it was delicious! They start your meal with guacamole made fresh at your table. We had delicious entrees of enchiladas and tortilla pie, then finished the meal with blackberry tres leches cake. Wow, it was worth every single pound we gained!

Sunday we went for a walk along the river in the morning then went to church where we were called as substitute primary teachers for the summer. Aparantly in Manhattan they celebrate Father's Day with a 10 minute lesson in Elder's quorum followed by cookies, crackers and hummus, and chips and salsa. Definitely the Elder's quorum DJ has experienced in his life! Then home to our Sunday roast and our weekly blog. Happy Father's to Dave and Conroy. Maybe when we get home we can celebrate with you Manhattan style :)

Outside Radio City Hall

Before the show the performers come out and mingle with the guests.

We were literally in the last row of the theater, but still had a great view of the stunning performance. This was our view of the stage. Radio City has one of the best fly-systems in the world, and Zarcana was choreographed to take advantage of this unique feature. This tremendous fly system supported the great aerial performance we enjoyed by many of the artist. Check out their website for a cool video preview of the show:
http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/zarkana/default.aspx

This smiling-pig bowl holds the incredible guacamole that started our dinner. They put in the whole avocado, diced onion, tomato, jalapeno, cilantro and salt and smash it all together like grain in a mortar and pestle.

After dinner we wandered through the Lincoln Center plaza where they had flea market with goods from local artists. Michelle is standing in front of the fountain located inside the plaza

View from Battery Park

In the neighborhood called Chelsea there is an old elevated Subway line they have since moved underground. What was the subway track has now been converted into a plaza extending from 34th street to 16th street. It is called the Skyline and affords a beautiful view of the Hudson River to the west and the city to the east. The performers above were dancing some kind of expressive dance. These moments are what make New York what it is, there is a place for everything and anyone in this city.

Today we had a fun day with Stephen (Michelle's brother) and Kayla (his girlfriend) in the city. We met them for lunch in Hell's kitchen (a New York neighborhood), near the place where they are staying. We had sandwiches at a great little sandwich shop. Though none of us was adventurous enough to try the blood sausage sandwich, we did taste some delicious new European flavors, the work of our attentive chef. We then went to Wicked, the one broadway show we wanted to be sure to see. It was fabulous! Great acting, great music, great stage work...we really had a fun time. Thanks, Whipple sibblings, that was a perfect wedding gift!

After the show we went to dinner at an Indian restaurant, a cuisine Steve and Kayla really enjoy. Michelle had gotten a recommendation from one of her Indian fellow interns so we decided to give it a try while they were in the city with us. DJ was quite hesitant at first but didn't take long to warm up to the delicious Indian flavors. Even Steve and Kayla admitted it was the best Indian food they have had outside of India.

Getting excited to see the show! Outside Gershwin Theater

Wicked!

Inside the theater, Kayle, Steve, and DJ

These pictures are pretty dark, but this is inside the Indian restaurant... Baluchi's Indian cuisine, very good!

Two blog posts ago I posted about how DJ's toughness protected us in the rougher neighborhoods of New York. Today he got a chance to display his real strength for a few of our neighbors. Walking out of our apartment he could see a woman walk out of the elevator and the door begin to close. He runs to catch the elevator and, with a crack just large enough to fit his hand, he shoves his hand in. With a strong, incredible hulk yell, forces the door open. There, standing in the elevator, were three men, presumable our neighbors. Pretty sure they won't mess with us after that! ;)