Museums and Moonlight

It was one crazy-busy-non-stop-full of laughter-fun and don't forget the sweat-day!

It all started at 7:30 in the morning at the Thorndike men's house (please whatever you do do( yes I just said do-do) not call them boyz, where we ate a delicious breakfast. Then we headed out for our first museum of the day....The Museum of Science.

I loved the Museum of Science. I asked a ton of questions (It's not my fault that my parents didn't give me smart math/science genes). I got to examine and hold a sheep's lungs (fill them up with air) and heart...it was really cool. We were able to see baby chicks peck out of their shells and become all fluffy right before our eyes. We got to see a lighting presentation that was very loud and I almost ran out, but I didn't (mostly because some guy was standing behind me :).

Next we headed out different direction for grub. A bunch of us went to Boca Grande and had these amazing burritos...to which I had a difficult time eating mine and ended up making quite a mess (this was followed by much laughter from the peanut gallery).

Off to the next museum...Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. This place was beautiful and the courtyard in the middle of the mansion house/ museum was my favorite part. I think that about this time everyone was exhausted and ready to go find somewhere to sit and rest a bit....so back to the Thorndike Palace.

By this time the night was young and there was still much moonlight to be found so we headed out of town toward the moon and those famous Finnish Saunas! Everyone was very excited to sauna...which is kinda weird if you think about it because you actually just sweat all over the place. However, it was the greatest thing ever. This place was like some secret tucked away girls camp esk lodging sort of thing. The saunas were divided into seperate sides for women and men. Most everyone was in swimsuits, but there were a few who dared to go Finnish style inside the saunas! Once you hit your melting point-then you ran out of the sauna and into the freezing lake outside. As the night progressed I swear the temperature in the lake dropped dramatically. Some people just stopped going into the lake...but we convinced a few for one last dip in the lake with a line of "Red Rover Red Rover send Marie right over" and somehow also got Luke coaxed in. Amy was a trooper as she hates cold water most of all...thanks Ames!

After all were suffiently tired...I more than most...we decided to rest and retire. All in all one superb day and night of joy and fun for all!

I can't await for many more adventures to come!

Why

Why

As I wait for the train I hear a cello fill the air with music
and looking around I can't imagine why anyone wants to drive
As soon as the sun comes out-so do all the people
And Boston Common seems to come alive

When anticipating a first kiss Boston holds a million magical places
but I realized that on my street in the rain was the best of all
And who wants to just stare out at the Beautiful Boston Harbor
When you can jump in and rescue shoes after a fall

Taking a moment to look around at all the musical instruments accrued
the room fills with delicious harmonies and I'm satisfied
Walking down the busy streets of downtown looking for somewhere to eat
I'm amazed at the things there are to do that I've never actually tried

This place gives us reasons to feel we can change-to become who we want to be
and in doing so others get the chance to see us in a new light
so we go to our jobs, our classes our work and we anticipate our next adventure
Knowing the time we spend together brings us new vision and sight

And I can't help but think that I actually live here
A place so full of beauty, history, intelligence, love, and devotion
A place where I've met people I couldn't ever have imagined
Who have empowered me with such great emotion

So to Boston, I love you and I never even new
How much power You'd have over me
But in just a short time that I've been in your midst
You've changed me incredibly

--Kylee Shields 05/23/06--

I think that I've told a gazillion people how much I love Boston...something to the affect of I'm having a love affair with Boston. So i decided to jot down some of the resons why I love it so much!

AMY

I feel like everytime I've had to make some kind of drastic move (moving when I was little from Utah to Oregon or moving from OR my senior year of hs back to UT, my mission to San Diego, and most recently from P-town- Boston) I leave a piece of my heart behind with the people that I grow to love dearly...

I also feel like everytime I've had the make some kind of drastic move in my life the Lord always has these angels (in the form of friends) waiting for me to arrive.

Amy is one of those angels. Ames, I miss you already (is that possible since I just saw you a few hours ago??) I guess it is sort of true that letting go of someone is a stark reality of how much you just want to hold onto them...and it's not like she's leaving forever or anything...SHE WILL BE BACK!

For those of you who don't know Amy, first of all I'm sorry, and secondly neener neener because I really don't want to share her with any one else. Amy is beautiful, but that's the obvious that you see when you meet her, she holds a romantic, bookish, Eliza from "Legacy", pioneerish mystery about her....no, wait she's not like that at all. She is full of life, love excitement and adventure, she's smartie pants-working on her phD-loves the Lord-amazing. She's stalwart, stands in Holy Places, lifts and empowers all around her, and she is dang funny! Amy is a beacon in Boston and wherever she is, for that matter. She is a peculiar person among peculiar people. She has a great listening ear and an even better ability to give advice. And so as not to go on and on, she is my friend (the best part) and I love her so much.

Ames please enjoy AZ, but know that you are missed, loved, and that there is one girls named Kylee, one particular boy (who will remaing anonymous), and a whole lot of others that will be hightly anticipating your homecoming. Come back to us soon my love.... adieu

HAPPY

I am amazed at how infectious one little word can be.

So I started saying "Happy" (there is a hands gesture that goes with this and if you've known me for the last year you know this gesture...shoulders shrugged, palms up, and hands about chin level)when one of roommates (who shall remain anonymous...you know who you are) started to date two divine boys. I adored both of them (still do, in fact) so I decided I wasn't going to root for either one of them. Each time she came home from a date I would gesture to her the "happy" sign with a question look in my eye...waiting for her cute response of covering her mouth with both her hands and giggling- oh how I loved that look (quite the heart picture).

Somehow the "happy" started spilling over into different meanings in my life...It sometimes was a question, sometimes a statement, sometimes an idea, sometimes a greeting, and other times a declaration. One thing I do know is that wherever I was it was contagious!

I started noticing that people around me started to say "hap-py" (there's a special way to say this...sort of like you are 5 years old and you know everyone thinks you're adorable.)

So this blog is to all my "happy" converts! I hope you never stop saying HAPPY!

"What hurts the most"

Some of you know the tragedy of my brother's death and some of you don't but what most of you don't know is the gift of love that my brother left behind. It is different for every person that my brother's life touched. For me having him one day and not having him the next taught me a great lesson in making sure that everyone around me knows how much I love them and appreciate the important roles they play in my life.

Rascall Flatts has a song called, "What Hurts the Most". Some of the lyrics are exactly what I'm talking about:

"It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go, but i'm doing it....I would trade, give away all the words that I saved in my heart that I left unspoken. What hurts the most, is being so close and having so much to say and watching you walk away. Never knowing what could have been. And never knowing that loving you is what I was trying to do."

I think so many times we have these feelings of admiration, of gratitude, or even love that we don't share with others for fear of rejection, or that it won't be recipricated. Grant taught me that it doesn't matter! It's the not telling,the never saying what you really feel that hurts the most in the end!

And so my brother gave me a new vision, a way to look at life differently. I hope that I live in such a way that my friends and family know exactly how much I love them, that I truly appreciate them for the individual blessings and peace that they bring to my life. I hope they never have to ask or wonder how I feel about them.

Lemons and Water

Recently I was asked the question: What is your favorite smell?

Think about for a minute you may have never been asked that question before...I, however knew my answer instantaneously. Lemon Trees! I discoverd the magical smell of lemon trees while serving my mission in San Diego, CA. I'm addicted to the smell!

So having that background information that certain someone who ask me the above question just happen to show up at my house a few days later with a bunch of lemmons plucked from a California Lemon Tree. I was ecstatic to say the least (I still have them and smell them all the time when I'm at home). A great gesture of love!

A few days later I was at an amazing friend of mine's house and this friend gave me a Lemon Propel (note: if you read earlier in my blog I am a HUGE fan of Lemon Propel). Such a simple-yet profound gesture of love!

I am amazed at how much power, love, and kindness are manifest in such simple acts of love. It doesn't take much for you to show someone how much they mean to you.

For a limited time only....the many faces of K. Marie

Happy Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Happy 27th Amy & Seth! So they are twins...but not; born on the same day and the same year!

IKEA

IKEA never knew what hit it when the "6 of us" showed up! We finally found a place that brings out the adult...(this is where I'm fake coughing and stiffling an all out laugh...) in each of us. Where great furniture and good prices meet with excellent organization and cleanliness. I mean how did I ever live without knowing such a place existed. If you haven't done IKEA you really should!

Follow the red line...

Cousin time!

My sister has 4 cousins that all her age. I got to entertain them for the day while she was in school. L-R: Jamie (school teacher), Jessica (working women), and Marcus (student). The other cousin, Sally, is busy playing mommy and pregnant. We had lots of fun watching street performers, walking the Freedom Trail, and just hanging out. I love my cousins!

Post Marathon

Here they are post marathon. If you look behind them you can see the finish line in blue and yellow. Both ladies did awesome. This was Jamie's 2nd marathon and this was Rebecca's 5th marathon. Rebecca finished 80th in the women's division in the marathon and got a PR.

Boston Marathon

This is my cousin Jamie and a friend we hosted, Rebecca. They both came out from Utah to run the Boston Marathon.


They were both a little jittery and nervous!

"The shot that was heard from around the world"

Yes, it's 4:30 in the freakin' morning and we waited forever (but got an excellent step ladder view) of the re-enactment of the "Shot heard from around the world" in Lexington, MA.

The re-enactment lasted all of about 5 minutes, but it was way cool. I think I'll sleep in a little next year and head to Concord for the 9:00 re-enactment.

Today is Patriot's Day and many Bostonians have the day off. It is also the Boston Marathon day!

More Easter Joy!

Easter Extravaganza

So it's been a while since I posted pictures on this thing. This is a bunch of the people that came over for our Easter Extravaganza. It was a hit! there was Peep hiding, egg coloring, egg breaking contest, painting, watching "The Lamb of God" and even Peep-microwave-toothpick-lancing-fighting competitions going on. Fun had by all with a Spritual feast to end the night!

Heart Picture # 3

"Two Roads diverged...I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference."

Moments of Clarity!

It happened again today...I took a walking lunch and walked down Summer St. in downtown Boston and I stopped amid lots of people walking all over the place. I looked up at the tall buildings and the thought came....I live in Boston! I know that this is nothing new to any of you who read this but I still get chills thinking that my life is a (to quote hansome photographer) "Bloody dream!"

Later on in the day my boss took his laptop outside to do work so I decided to follow suit. I sat on a park bench and soaked in the sun. I read a ton of resumes and coverletters for an available position at my job that I'm doing interviews for. It was hot, but the sun felt extremely great on my skin...

I called my dad and chatted with him, I really can't get enough of that great man, I wrote emails to my sisters, and all I have to do is jump on the T to hang out with my sister and her hubby. Man, does it get any better than this?

Yeah, it does. I can't believe how many opportunities I get to talk about God, Christ, the Book of Mormon, the Atonement and how much joy it brings into my life. I even got a phone call from my friend, Malcolm Byrd, out in Harlem today. He was calling about the new LDS chapel in his neighborhood. He was all excited about it. truly amazing!

Is it possible to love a place this much?

Unwritten

Yes!! Another song that I adore...it makes me think of all the incredible people in my life that are writing or rewriting thier lives...Making it happen!

I am unwritten
Can't read my mind
I'm undefined
I'm just beginning
the pen's in my hand
Ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words
That you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

I break tradition
Sometime my tries
Are outside the lines
We've been conditioned
To not make mistakes
But I can't live that way

...The rest is still unwritten....

-Natasha Bedingfield-

My Disconnects

To: Malcolm Byrd

Dear Lord, Please heal my disconnects
Those things that block Thy light
Help me to hook myself to Thee
Please guide my wandering sight

Thy Word is my salvation true
Though life is filled with sorrow
I find my strength upon my knees
With Thee I'll conquer tomorrow

When friends and loved ones fail
I'll remember Calvary
And with Thy death and renewed life
My heart's complete in Thee

I am continuously amazed at truth, where it can be found, and how it seems to resonate upon our souls. I was able to go hear a dear friend of mine, Malcolm J. Byrd preach at his church (Methodist Episcopal) on Sunday. It was a honor to sit and listen to him preach the word of God. His stirring words move my soul and in tribute to him and my Lord I decided to write the above poem.

I long for more discussion on this topic of disconnects and how to "hook" our hearts to God. I am indebted to Him for all the love I feel and am continuously surrounded by. God is great! God is Good!