Unlike anything else I've ever seen...

I love nature. Well, let me clarify. I love my version of nature. I love hiking, sitting and watching the sun rise/set, campfires, looking at the stars on a warm summer evening, and the changing of leaves. That about covers it. I DO NOT like camping, or anything that resembles sleeping/cooking outdoors, bugs and outdoor critters, and I really detest RACCOONS (only because I have had a few run-ins with them at a summer camp I attended as a teenager. I have horror stories to share... but that's for another day. (DOWN WITH "ROCKY" the RACCOON!)

Back to nature. New England has many wonderful things to offer, but Fall in New England is one of the things I think everyone must experience at one time in their life. It is incredible. Words, or my words to describe it, cannot do it justice. One must live it. Breathe in the crisp air. Watch the leaves change color... so bright and majestic! See the shades of color change as the sun rises and sets on them... and then watch them fall and hear them crunch under your feet.

The fall season is ending quickly here in Boston, but I couldn't let winter come without paying tribute to a beautiful Fall. You can't walk down a street in Boston that's lined with trees in the Fall and not notice the beauty of the colorful leaves! I LOVE IT!

Wish I knew how to make these pictures bigger though!!






Incredible. Every morning when I arrive at work I am greeted by a sea of trees on one side of our parking lot and the sun is just hitting them at the right time. It's incredible!!

Then, on a recent weekend my friend Amber came into town. We met on the Boston Common in the afternoon and just walked and talked... these are two things we saw. (For those of you who don't know, the Boston Common is a big park in the middle of Boston)

A soldier reading a book!!

A frog. Right by "The Frog Pond" where people can ice skate in the winter!

One of the trees in the Common.
Yes, those kids are jumping in the leaves... and I was so tempted to join them!!!

Now, we'll move on to some pictures of the Charles River.
Beautiful... but you would NEVER want to swim in it! It's so polluted!

This is a picture of a rowing team and Harvard behind it. The river is famous for many crew teams to practice and the "Head of The Charles" occurs every Fall.

Boston really is a beautiful city.

Salem

Salem, MA at this time of year in CRAZY. No, crazy doesn't even describe what happens there. But, it's a town that celebrates Halloween like no other town in the country. Every night for two weeks is like a huge festival with carnival rides, food stands, and every shop, restaurant and building is decorated to be haunted, scary, or silly.

Well, last weekend a friend of mine invited me to go with him to check it out. We took an unconventional way of getting there, but it was so cool! We got on a Ferry in Boston and it went right to Salem. It was dark out and chilly as the boat sped up, but we sat on the top deck for most of the ride and this was one of the amazing pictures we took of Boston as we left. It was AWESOME!


We enjoyed our walk around Salem and I wish we had more time to enjoy it all (but that was my fault!!) but I did get one picture of me as a witch!


Halloween isn't my most favorite holiday... except for all the candy intake :) But, it was fun to finally see Salem in it's element (and it's a lot different than all the other times of the year when you go during the day and it's a cute, old New England town. For two weeks in October... it comes ALIVE!!

My Favorite Sunday of the Year

I LIVE for Sundays. I love that it is a day of rest. I don't even have to think about it. I just know that my activities that day will rejuvenate me and get me ready to face another week of mayhem.

But, one Sunday in the year I LOVE even more. The Sunday where you get to sleep in (technically, but not really). The Sunday where you're given that blessed extra hour. You didn't have to do anything to earn it. You just live it. It's one of the best gifts and blessings given to us :)

I won't easily forget the pure happiness I felt this morning as I lay awake, but still in bed, knowing that I had been given an hour. Could I have used it in a more productive way than just laying in bed - Sure, I could have, but man, it felt so good and I justified every single minute I laid there :) The sun was shining through. I was under my warm covers. It was pure heaven. Thank you Heavenly Father for simple, but truly cherished blessings like Daylight Savings Time. (We just won't think about what happens next April... maybe it just won't happen... there's always hope :)