Merry Christmas from the Odells!

When Rachel began listening to Christmas music in August, I was unconvinced by her insistence that it would make Christmas come more quickly. However, the months did indeed fly by, and we now find ourselves in the midst of "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!"

Pictured is our first major snowstorm -- certainly a sign of Christmastime -- and our very first Christmas tree! We purchased it at an outdoor market just off the Boston Common and carried it home on the subway (we got some funny stares). We decorated it with some purchases from our favorite store -- Goodwill.

Big News!

Just a few hours ago, Rachel finished the last examination of her college career!!! She has worked so hard these past years, and I am so proud of and happy for her. Harvard held a mid-year graduation celebration on Thursday at which Rachel was asked to speak. She gave a marvelous speech, in which she addressed three paradoxes of her experience at Harvard: the conflict between diversity and homogeneity, ambition and tranquility, and certainty and ambiguity. In each of these paradoxes lies a critical tension -- for example, in the case of certainty and ambiguity lies the tension between personal confidence in one's own beliefs and open-mindedness to different ways of thinking. Rachel posited that though these paradoxes are particularly prevalent in the college experience, we actually encounter them throughout our lives. Indeed, striving for an appropriate balance between them is an integral part of the human existance.

We loved having Rachel's mom, Caryn, and cousin, Karen, here this weekend to share the celebration. We missed Rachel's dad, Keith, who was home with a bad cold :( (get well soon!) Karen treated us to a delicious dinner at Harvest -- in our opinion, the best restaurant in Cambridge (sweet potato gnocchi, anyone? mmm). The entire event and weekend in general were wonderful, and we will post pictures as soon as we can steal them from Caryn's blog :) (I forgot my camera). Rachel will still be participating in the commencement ceremonies in May, where she will graduate Phi Beta Kappa in East Asian Studies. We attended Rachel's Phi Beta Kappa induction ceremony a couple of weeks ago (which I do have a picture of!), which recognizes that Rachel will be graduating at the top of her class -- certainly a great and very well-deserved honor.

Scott's Birthday

Since we were in New Hampshire on my birthday (see below), Rachel planned a mega-surprise for me last week. The only thing she would tell me in advance was that I should probably wear a tie. As we got on the subway, I started to wonder if we were going on a tour of Fenway Park and that I needed to dress up because they were going to honor me with the Greatest Red Sox Fan on Earth award. Then I remembered that I had already recieved that crown after I wore my lucky Red Sox jersey for 9 straight days without washing it during the 2005 playoffs.

Much better even than Fenway Park, we got off the subway at Symphony Hall. Rachel led me into the upper balcony, where we listened to Handel's Messiah, performed by the Handel and Haydn Society. The Society began annual performances of the Messiah in 1854, making it the longest-running Messiah tradition in the United States. Needless to say, it was beautiful (as was my escort):



Later that evening, Rachel continued a fun tradition we've started of eating at the Jazz Lounge at Top of the Hub on our birthdays. The restaurant is located on the 52nd floor of the Prudential Building, providing an amazing view of the city. We were lucky enough this time to be there for the Jazz show--in the midst of a huge snowstorm:

After dinner, we returned to our little apartment, and Rachel surprised me again with homemade birthday cake and a DVD of my favorite TV show -- the Cosby Show. Thank you for such an amazing birthday, honey!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break with Shaun, Dianna and Maisy. Shaun began his residency at Dartmouth this year, meaning we live just a couple of hours apart. It has been so fun to be close this fall! Dianna and Shaun teamed up on an amazing feast -- complete with turkey, homemade stuffing, green bean casserole (my personal favorite), sweet potato casserole (Rachel's favorite) and some amazing pumpkin pie (I think I ate at least an entire pie by myself). On my birthday, Dianna brought out one of my favorite treats -- French Silk Pie -- made from scratch! So. Good.

Maisy showed us around her new stomping grounds, including Butternut Pond, where we had trouble persuading Rachel that the November water was too cold to swim in. One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to Joseph Smith's birthplace in Sharon, Vermont. There was a beautiful live Nativity and the grounds were covered in beautiful Christmas lights.

In short, It was a wonderful, relaxing trip, and such a treat to be with Dianna, Shaun and Maisy.

The GAME

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we traveled to New Haven, Connecticut, for the annual Harvard-Yale Game. We were able to see Rachel's cousin Karen Peterson Mehra and family again. The game itself was boring and rather disappointing -- until the last 7 minutes. Yale made an early touchdown and field goal to bring the score to 10-0 for most of the game. Then, with about 7 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Harvard nailed a touchdown and extra point, and then repeated this feat a few minutes later to bring the final score to 14-10, Harvard! Go Crimson!

New Family Member!

On Wednesday, October 28th, Marissa, Dan and Eliza welcomed a new member to the Odell family. Charlotte weighed in at 8 lbs, 3 oz and was 19.5 inches long when born. It has now been a month-and-a-half since then, and from what we've seen in pictures, Charlotte is getting cuter and cuter every day! We can't wait to meet her!

We hope Marissa doesn't mind that we used this picture from her blog -- it was too adorable not to post. Congratulations to the Odells of Wisconsin!

Upcoming Move

As Christmas approaches, our time in Boston is drawing to a close; we will move our belongings to Washington, D.C. before heading home for the holidays. We have so loved our time in Boston and will miss our friends here! However, we are also excited to be back in the D.C. area and look forward to settling down for at least a year-and-a-half. We don't yet know our address in DC, but will keep everyone posted (keep your fingers crossed for a good apartment find!).

Happy Holidays from New England

Happy Holidays to all of our friends and family. We love you all so much and hope to see you soon!

Good Times in Boston

We only have six weeks left in Boston! Like whoa.

I (Rachel) thought I would take a minute to blog about some of our good times here in Boston this fall (no I am not procrastinating working on my thesis...). We've had some fun adventures, but what we've enjoyed most is just spending time together--cooking together, discussing religion and politics, watching episodes of The Office, hosting friends for dinner at our studio apartment, serving in the ward nursery, joining our fellow married Harvard LDSSAers for monthly MASH ("Married, And Students at Harvard") dinners, and cycling around Cambridge and Boston on the bikes we bought off craigslist.

We had good times carving pumpkins for Halloween last week (Scott is a master at this art--he did the intricate Happy Halloween one on the left).

Scott has also been doing some awesome water- coloring; he painted a gorgeous picture of Railay Beach from our honeymoon in Thailand. We've spent time wandering around downtown (including the classic Boston sites: Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, Boston Harbor walk, etc.) and visiting the Institute of Contemporary Art and the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum. We joined fellow LDSSAers at a Harvard Friday night football game (where we beat Ivy League rival Brown University). We had a movie night out to see Where the Wild Things Are, which was a bizarre but totally interesting movie (on that note, here is a fascinating op-ed about the film in the New York Times). We visited Revere Beach on a cool, crisp Columbus Day, packing up our picnic early when we realized it was chillier than we expected.

Here are some more highlights from the past couple months:

Stake Conference with Elder Ballard (in the beautiful Trinity Church)

Last weekend we had a special treat for stake confer- ence. Elder Ballard came and spoke to us! So cool. The Friday night adult session was held in the Episcopalian Trinity Church in downtown Boston, which is absolutely gorgeous and has one of the most amazing organs EVER.

Elder Ballard emphasized the need to develop personal spiritual strength, taking the time out of our busy days to be quiet, still, and alone, to meditate, pray, and commune with God. It was the perfect message for me, and I felt blessed to have the opportunity to receive counsel from a servant of God.

Boston Wedding Reception

Back in late September, we held a wedding reception for our friends here in the Boston area, jointly with our also-newlywed friends Stephanie and Lindsey Parker (Stephanie was my roommate before I married Scott :D). Roger and Ann Porter were absolutely gracious in hosting the reception in their home at Dunster House. It was great to see so many of our friends and mentors again; we especially enjoyed seeing my dear cousin Karen Peterson Mehra, who drove up from Connecticut to meet Scott and give us her love and congrats.

Red Sox Game with Shaun, Dianna, & Maisy

One of the highlights of the past couple of months came when we went to a Red Sox game with Shaun, Dianna and Maisy (Shaun is Scott's brother if you can't tell from the pic :D).

It was my first Red Sox game ever, after over three years in Boston (I know, crazy, right?). But Scott has been a Red Sox fan since day 1, so he was right at home. It was great fun to join the crowd in singing “Sweet Caroline,” to see the Green Monster from the ballpark side, and to watch the Sox defeat the Angels in a resounding but exciting victory.

Perhaps the best part was when I taught Maisy how to really eat an apple (i.e. the apple on the left, as opposed to the one on the right).

:) --------------------------------- :(

U2 Concert

Another big highlight: On a whim, we bought some cheap online tickets to a U2 concert at Gillette Stadium (where the Patriots play).

We were above the nosebleed section, where the echoing was pretty severe, but it was still totally awesome. The lighting and special effects were unbelievable—totally extravagant without being tacky.

They played a ton of old stuff, which we enjoyed singing along with, but they also played some stuff from their new album, which was fun to hear. Some of our favorites were “One,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” and “Beautiful Day”. We were disappointed they didn’t play “Pride,” but you can’t get everything, right?

Candlepin Bowling

The weekend before Halloween, we went candlepin bowling (after some delicious southern BBQ at Redbones in Davis Square), which was AWESOME. For those of you who, like us, had never even heard of this sport before, candlepin bowling is similar to regular tenpin bowling, but it involves a much smaller ball and straight & narrow pins, with three balls per frame instead of two, and the pins aren’t cleared away between each roll.

It requires totally different technique than regular bowling. From our limited experience and the advice of the alley owners, spinning the ball gets you nowhere in this game. It is also a lot more difficult to knock down pins than in regular bowling; in fact, according to the Wikipedia article on the subject, candlepin bowling’s “highest officially sanctioned undisputed score ever recorded is 245 out of a possible 300 points.” We're looking forward to trying it out again.

Well, that's it for now. Our next adventure? We are headed to New Hampshire to spend Thanksgiving with Shaun and Dianna and Maisy. We also plan on heading down to “the Game” (an annual football game between Harvard and Yale) the weekend before Thanksgiving. My thesis is due on November 30, and I will be taking my last final exam of college on December 12 (!!!). We are moving our stuff down to Washington D.C. on December 18, and then flying home to Utah/Idaho on December 20. We'll be there with family for the holidays until we head back to DC in mid-January and Scott starts back up at Georgetown on January 13. More good times ahead.

China

After leaving Thailand, we headed to China for a month of new adventures. Rachel conducted interviews for her senior thesis on China's behavior in the World Trade Organization and Scott interned for a non-profit organization called 121, which organizes financial assistance for rural schoolchildren in China. We had a great experience spending time together and coming to know China better, and, as always, we had some great adventures along the way.

The Shanghai skyline at night on our riverboat tour. The city is incredible; it truly seems like a museum of modern skyscrapers.

However, we were also quite overwhelmed by the pollution. This was the view from our apartment window on a relatively clear day.

A pagoda in Hangzhou, a beautiful lakeside city just outside of Shanghai

At the Forbidden City in Beijing

With the Terra Cotta Soldiers

At the Olympic Park in Beijing

In short, our month in China was incredible. We met many wonderful people and enjoyed experiencing the beautiful landscapes and vibrant culture of China.

*As an endnote, of course, we had some crazy experiences mixed in with our adventures in China. Here are a couple of the best:

• In attempting to return to Beijing after a weekend in Xian (where we saw the Terra Cotta Soldiers), we were dismayed to discover that the only tickets remaining for the 11-hour train ride were "standing room only." The situation was not improved by Rachel suffering from a nasty cold. However, with the help of a cute 9-year old girl who shared her seat with Rachel and the plastic stool Scott bought from the food-cart guy, we made it through.

• After chasing cabs for half an hour in the pouring rain, we were about to give up on dinner one night and head back to our hotel hungry. Every taxi on the streets was full, and it was impossible to beat the rush of people clamoring for a ride when drivers dropped off their passengers. Soaking wet and chilled to the bone, we finally staked our claim by sprinting to a recently arrived empty cab. Just as we opened the door to get in, however, a British couple ran up, insisiting that we were stealing their cab. While the four of us argued over who had arrived first, a third couple snuck into the taxi behind our backs and sped off to dinner, comfy and dry. (As consolation, some generous Chinese 20-somethings in a nearby store took pity on us and gave us their umbrella.)

Thailand

Time to post some of our stories and pics from Thailand! After our wedding in July, we headed to the Bor Saen Villa and Spa in Phang Nga, Thailand. We had lots of incredible adventures, including canoeing in Phang Nga Bay, riding an elephant and exploring caves. We also had some scary experiences, including Rachel accidentally riding over a cobra on her bike and both of us trying to get used to driving on the left side of the road. In short, it was incredible, and we can't wait to go back!

On James Bond Island in Phang Nga Bay

The view from our resort villa.

At Railay Beach. Shaun and Dianna told us this beach was paradise... they were absolutely right.

At Home in Massachusetts

After our busy summer, it feels so good to be all set up in our cozy new apartment. We found a great studio in Cambridge. We've had fun unpacking our bags and getting our shelves stocked (a blog about that crazy story will be be coming soon). Built in the 1870s, he apartment has a lot of history and character. We are excited to spend the semester here in Cambridge, making friends and having great experiences!

Welcome welcome!

We welcome any comments, words of wisdom, or questions about our wedding, relationship, or future plans!

Feel free to comment on this post with your thoughts.

1 Month from Yesterday, 1 Year ago Tomorrow, 3 Weeks from Tomorrow

The wedding is less than one month away! When Scott and I started counting down eight months ago, we weren't sure this time would ever come. :D

Scott and I also date the beginning of our relationship to Friday, June 27, 2008 - when I went with a group of friends up to visit Scott on a tour of Georgetown, and Scott and I first "clicked." So that's a year ago tomorrow!

Finally, I get to see Scott again in three weeks from tomorrow! He has been studying abroad in Ecuador for the past five weeks, making this the longest we have ever been apart, and we miss each other unbearably. But in just three weeks from tomorrow (Saturday, July 18), we'll be together again -- and the long months of long-distance will once and for all be over.