new pictures!

first of all, don't you guys love my hand-written blog? ha! i found a way to beat the system.
sencondly, i got this game called bananagrams for my birthday...it may be the best present ever. well, either that or the life is good backpack meg got me, which i love. anyways, i've played the game at least 8 times since wednesday. i hope you're all brushing up on your scrabble skills, because i'll be challenging everyone when i get home.
thirdly, and what this blog is really all about, I'VE ADDED PICTURES!!!! they're on facebook. it's a lot easier that way. comment on the pics if you have questions.

the end.

click to enlarge...

You are gonna love this...

SO... I LOVE MY LIFE... I mean the daisies would be enough, but something happened yesterday that made me just LOVE my life.

So... there I am at my third job. Making sandwiches and slicing pickles (each order comes with a free pickle), and we always listen to music at work and I like the station that has music from the 70's, 80's, 90's and Today. Well, suddenly out of nowhere the song comes on by Celine Dion (you know the one) : "My Heart Will Go On" from that blokbustering movie... TITANIC. The song is playing and my Nepalese friend Hera, who I work with and I who I adore, exclaims "Oh! I like this song!" Ha. No guy in the this whole country likes that song and if they did, they would never say they did. But Hera does and him and I sang it (OUTLOUD) together - right there - with all those pickles. Amazing.

In other news:

HECK YEAH!
CELTICS are kicking trash! My family is from Boston... I have grown up cheering for two teams... "The Celtics and the RED SOCKS!" Massachusetts loves their sports teams! Seriously.

Well, it's not all perfect... but close :)

Nantucket - what a beautiful word!

This is the only place where DAISIES grow on the side of the road (and I secretly think they are growing just for me).

BUT there are just a few things to this island that are not so perfect...

1.) Nantucket NUDE Beach. Seriously. A beach where you do not have to wear clothes. I am kind of sacred of bumping into it by accident if I get lost. I have never been there, but I might go - then I would not have weird tan lines, ya know?
(No picture required).

2.) The island runs on well water... and the iron content in the water is very high. it's turns the sink and shower green and after a long while - even your hair!!!!!!!!! So would you still love me if I came home looking like a green hair monster?

So the lesson here is that you should be careful when picking daisies because you could get poison ivy...

(and no, I did not draw that)

Update from the Genthner household...

Every one of Sue and Jim's tenants are happily moved in. There are 6 of us: me, Meg, and Leslie--not to be confused with Wesley, who lives below us--Jessie (who lives in the garage apt) with her little sister Heather. I love having Wesley live below us for several reasons.

1) It always makes me think of that song "knock three times on the ceiling if you want me..." which Wesley had never heard before! Of course we had to introduce him to it, so we looked it up on youtube. Have you ever seen that music video? Hehehe...
2) He keeps his cell phone on the windowsill right below us, and every time it vibrates it sounds like one of ours is going off. Which is weird.
3) I've just made Wesley my official nighttime running companion. Which is great, because it's WAY too hot now to be running when the sun's up (even 6:30 am feels like noon!), and it's WAY too dark to run alone (even if it was safe to run with street lamps, which of course it is not). Also, I'm going to do a marathon in September. Top of Utah. You should, too Hana! If you're still around...

Jessie and Heather are wonderful fun. Jessie is the 1st mate on the sailboat when Wesley is not (and vise versa, they split the week). She fixes boats and she's been to all the most exotic parts of the world. Madagascar? Yep. Cambodia? Yep. Other cool places that I won't even name here? Yep. And Heather just got a job at a beauty salon, working with impossible twits who will make for some of the greatest stories we get out of this island, I'm sure.

As for Leslie...she's about to be the next Linguini of Nantucket. Maybe someday she'll tell you about that...

The other day it was Gerard's 50th birthday.

I don't know Gerard, but I feel a special connection to him because my DAD just turned 50 (congratulations Dad). Gerard's good wife booked him a private charter on the Endeavor, and then came down early to get things settled before Gerard arrived. She climed in the boat and gave me the paltry task of picking up her husbandthe Gazibo (a very lovely little booz joint down the dock) . As we herded him into the boat (I say herded because that's basically what we did...poor old tipsy man that he was on such a joyous occasion) I congratulated him on his well-lived life and sent them into the sunset. I'm sure they had a marvelous time, because as they clambored off he was much more than tipsy...to the point where I worried if I'd have to do an arm-around-the-shoulders escort up the steps with him. He laughed and tripped and barely caught his old body several times, and I couldn't help but wonder: is it necessary to go through such danger and pain for good celebration?

This blog is for you, Dad. Thank you for celebrating 50 years of being sober this year. If you were on the island, I'd have booked you a private charter too. I love you!

20.

Tonight is my last night at that age!
What will I do to celebrate? What should I do for my very last time as a 20-year-old on this earth?
It's a tough question, honestly. My last day of being 20...who knew it would come so fast? I kind of miss that year of my life...even though it's not technically over yet.

I guess the most fitting thing to do in this kind of moment is take this time to say
T H A N K Y O U
everyone
who has been in my life this past year.
I'm a lucky girl to know so many good people.
Yay for being 20! This is a very special eve. I hope you all celebrate, wherever you are.

My thoughts...

For all of you who want to know what I have been thinking about lately:

1.) I LOVE speaking french, in fact little else gives me that kind of pleasure (except for back rubs). I made a friend on the island who is from Paris and to my surprise I understand everything she says (except for a few words). I want to practice and listen to her all day long, I would never grow tried of it - my soul dances when she speaks. In fact I want to never speak English again...

2.) I have tried almost all the hot chocolate I can find on the island. Most of it is WAY overpriced. The stuff at coffee shop tastes like coffee, and the stuff down by the docks tastes like water. The guys from Nepal make a good cup, but I tend to like best the stuff we make at home (and then I can put as much whipped cream as I want on it).

3.) Shasha - (our adorable Jamaican co-worker) hooked Stephie and I on Banana chips. HOLY COW! These things are amazing. Anyone who knows me, know that I love bananas, but that I can only eat about half one in one sitting - they just seem too big to eat the whole thing. But banana chips, are not as sweet, and they do not taste like chips, and they are wonderful. The perfect thing to eat on an island.

4.) I am making so many new friends. Jessie and Heather - two way cool sisters that live with us as a BLAST to talk to. Wesley and I enjoy lemonade at the beach during our breaks. He also is back massage certified (he took a class or something) - why did we get so lucky?

AND then there are all the wonderful BYU kids I go to church with... we meet in an apartment and bless the sacrament on a coffee table... and there is a giant poodle and two lizards and I LOVE MY LIFE!

5.) It's so hot here and riding my bike is the only time I can find a breeze on this whole island. But I have fallen in love with this place. In fact... these past few weeks I found that a wave of general contentment has been washing over me, like the waves wash upon the warm sand in the middle of a hot day.

6.) A testimony of the gospel is the most precious thing any of us could ever have. I love that I have a testimony of Jesus Christ. I love it, I love it! I love it more than hot coco, banana chips, bike rides, the beach and friends COMBINED!

So...wanna know what we do on the weekends?

Well, yesterday was my third day on the docks.
As i sit cross-legged in my tall fold-out chair gathering business from susceptible tourists, an older man asks me where I'm from.
"Idaho," I gladly answer, to which he responds,
"Wow! How did your parents feel about you coming such a long way from home?" and then adds with a little wink, "Did they know what you were coming out to?"
I smile. "They trust me."
"Ah, but do you trust yourself?" he laughs delightedly.
Behind the man, a fishing charter full of college kids heads out to sea, and one boy yells triumphantly, "This isn't a fishing boat! This is beer boat! Yeah! Woooooo!" waving his can like a trophy above his head.
"I'm not tempted."
I really don't know a time in my life when my words have been more honest.
Memorial Day weekend has a new name here on Nantucket: Figawi. Cool hugh? Don't ask where the name came from. It's inapropriate. I'm finding a lot of stuff about this island is inapropriate. You can read up a little on it, though, at http://www.figawi.com/page/about.
Otherwise, I'll tell you this. There's a lot of beer. And a lot of yachts. And a lot of the most interresting stuff I've seen happen in all my life. Oh, and all the sailboats were pretty.

So, while our second weekend out here was surrounded by relentless beer and partying, the first weekend was surrounded by relentless wine and fine dining. It was what is known to the outside world (outside of pure, dry Utah) as Wine Fest. Think Meg and I were bored?
Nope.
I served dinner at a Nantucket Mansion. Everyone who ate paid $450 a head, and everyone expected a flawless dinner and exquisite wine. Served by me. Wanna know what I served? So do I...
Wanna know what I got for my services? An $88 scarf. For keeps.

Life is something good...

I realized a few days ago... that each day here is getting better. That scares me - it scares me because I have come to expect crappy things to happen in my life - WHAT! when did that happen? Holy Cow. Things have gotta change... Life is good.
Life is good, life is good. This island is changing how I look at life, it is changing things with my family, my friends, myself. I am changing how I see the world. Meeting all these new people and starting to fall a little in love with all of them is wonderful. I wish that you all could meet them.

- I love taking breaks form work and going down to the docks and saying hi to all the people I know there.
- I love laughing about toys with Garth and other Four Winds workers.
- I love talking with Jessie and Leslie and Steph at night and laughing so hard I thought my soul could not contain the joy!
- I love shopping for birthday gifts and walking down main street, waving at people I know 9It's a small island) and loving my life.
- I love going into the little french store and speaking with the french guy and his wife who own it.
- I love when the days are warm and the smiles friendly.
- I love waking up early and biking into town for what is most likely 10-12 hour days of work at various jobs.
- I love coming home and playing cards with the kids.
- I love missing a whole bunch of people and thinking of them all the time... hoping they think "life is good" too.

This place is ... sigh ... magical.

Happy LIFE!

I fell today on the cobble stone streets. I fell hard and ripped my skin. I fell right in front of main street and everyone saw. I fell and almost ate that cobblestone street. The people next to me thought I was drunk, ridiculous. But not even falling could bring me down today....

Today.... today is my special day. Today is better than my birthday (although there will be no celebrations), only the quiet and peaceful I have to carry with me. Today is a day filled of unexplained JOY! I find myself smiling at everything. Today is my two year anniversary. If someone would have told me that two years I would be working my tail off on some New England Island, I would have laughed.

Two years ago... I was just happy to be dressed in white and thoroughly soaking wet.

So smile for me... and let others know about the gospel, so they can have their own secret special days.

No, we're not heartbroken.

I realized today that our soundtrack might make it seem that way. Actually, Meg and I are serenaded by Rihanna at least every half hour at our new job as we sit neatly folding hoodies displaying an arched NANTUCKET across the front...I couldn't help but add her to our record of the island.

Life has been so...ideal since we came here. Ok, no...that's not quite true. We've had our fair share of very awkward and strange interactions ever since we stepped off the plane that last day in April. But honestly, our transportation here is rickety bicycles! We know our local grocer by her frist name (Paula, dear Paula...)! We can sit and read books on benches that line cobblestone streets! Plus, when I went for a run this morning, guess where I ended up? That's right: sandy beaches in the middle of a foggy sunrise...it was breathtaking! What do you do at a time like that but pull off your shoes and socks and run into the waves? So I did.

I'd also like to say we have a library card ($15 of our summer wages) which we promptly put to use in renting what has become our traditional summer evening activity: watching motion picture films. You're allowed three at a time, and I picked out our first batch: Finding Neverland, The King and I, and Harvey (with James Stewart). I'd never seen any of them, and they all seemed likeable enough. I mean, who can read "Elwood P. Dowd is a mild-mannered, pleasant man, who just happens to have an invisible friend resembling a 6-foot rabbit" on the back of a DVD case and not thirst for more? Maybe we'll watch that one tonight...

Meg's got another job at a sandwich shop, which she loves...but I'll let her tell you about that. You know how she gets when things excite her. I've just finished delivering fliers to all the cutsie little $300/night bed and breakfasts around here, an escapade I highly enjoyed. The cobblestone streets and grey-shingled buildings and brambly bare rose bushes are very quaint together, and the weather is getting better and better. I think pretty soon I'll be rid of my top layer all together (I've been wearing at least 3), which would be very nice. Of course, I'm knocking on the wooden library table as I type...

In other news, last week was wine festival. More about that later. Haha.

So Dad, it seemes there is no need for you to wonder anymore about your daughter's doings throughout the week...this pretty much sums things up! Ideal really is a good word for my life at the moment... With the understanding, of course, that it is only a moment.

Happy Birthday Hanalei Hooooooooooo....

Hanalei: Some Birthday gifts (besides the stuff we are sending to Provo)...
1.) Advice: They say that the thing to do when you turn 21 is to go out drinking. Don't do it. Trust me. It won't taste good and you will start off this year with a bad headache. 2.) I have my favorite song for you:

From the Sound of Music... (rewritten) "My Favorite Things"

"Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens,
Bright copper kettles and Hana in Mittens.
Silver White Winters and Hana in Spring,
These are a few of my favorite things."

3.) My Hello Kitty Bank Card: Now when I buy stuff I think of you. 6.) Watch the "King and I" and pretend I am there with you. You will love it. It makes me cry. It's very Asian, and it's adorable. So do it for your birthday (or any day).

______________________________

This is how I like to think about you.

1.) This is my favorite picture. You. Dress. Board. Phone. All together at last. The way it should be.

2.) I love how you love life and can see the world through the eyes of a child. This picture makes me want to be there with you, be surrounded by the bubbles. Forever.3.) This picture is classic of you sleeping. I don't know how many time we have all turned around to find you sleeping in some place, and in a weird position.
4.) I miss spooning. I am always amazed at how many of us we can fit on a bed.

There are so many reasons to love you. Mostly I love that we are cousins. Mostly I love the sound of your voice when we are so far away. I hope you have a wonderful day... We are glad you were born.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Ciao Bella.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANI!!!!

We LOVE you Danielle and we are sending all of our love from this charming little island... it's windy today so maybe you will hear this birthday song/poem...

Danielle is very much like Belle,
So Soft and Sweet...
Her laugh is wonderful,
and she is very neat.

She will work very hard,
and do a good job.
When you are sick,
she will let you be a slob.

Dani is our beautiful cousin,
and always will be.
She keeps us on time,
and she sets our hearts free.

Her family will be lucky,
to have her in their lives.
She deserves the best husband,
and he won't need any more wives.

If I could steal her birthday wish,
I would bring her to this island,
and then catch a fish.

We would grill the fish for supper,
and make 50 cakes for her to eat.
Then we could take a walk,
Down the cobblestone street.

Life is not same without Danielle.
Those of you who have her... love her well.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Across the distant waters...

You would love the island...
but I wish there was a LDS church.
This is what we did last Sunday to get to one:

1.) Wake up at 5:00am
2.) Leave by 6:00am
3.) Bike into town - barely make the boat by 6:30am
4.) Two hour boat ride to the mainland (and 30 dollars).
5.) Be picked up by the adorable senior missionaries.
6.) Drive a while to the church building.
7.) Three hours of church - sacrament!!!! (I hate not being able to get that. I use the word hate - because that is what it is.)
8.) Then drive for an hour dropping people off.
9.) Make it back to the docks by 2:30pm
10.) Two hour boat ride back to the island.
11.) Bike Home.
12.) Want to go to bed around 6:00pm.

So because of the long and exhausting voyage - Steph and I are on own today for church. I think she is taking it better than I am. Be grateful you have somewhere to go, if you do. Starting in June we will have a two hour block meeting and have the sacrement and everything... so I will be looking forward to that.

In other news:
The Island is turning out to be wonderful! Everything is an adjustment and I would be lying if I said none of it is hard - but there is such beauty and such opportunity for growth here.
Yesterday I met some people from Ireland and had the time of my life talking to them. I love the different kinds of people I am meeting here. All wonderful in their own ways. We will be posting pictures soon I hope.

"I will miss you" is an understatement...

What a GREAT DAY! We went to my Aunt Mary's house out in the most beautiful country side of Massachusetts. The view from my Aunt's House is AMAZING! I am more in love with this house than any other. We sat on the couch and looked at old pictures of my grandparents and their family. Then they took us out to dinner. I love spending time with my Grandfather and Grammy. I loved seeing young pictures of them and of my dad and aunts.

(Below) This is me trying to take pictures of myself and the view... it did not work.

All these pictures are awkward. They are not a serious bunch. :)

(Below) This is Jean's foot - he is my Uncle Rob's best friend. He is a blast! His little girl, Adrianne is Shannon and Erin's best friend. Jean and Rob could be brothers - they go to the gym together. I love that. They are funny guys. Jean and his wife and girl and dog walked over to our house to say goodbye to Steph and I since we are leaving for the Island tomorrow. He tripped and fell and rolled his ankle. He is a big guy. Expletive, Expletive, Expletive - it apparently really hurt. His ankle was swollen to the size a of a tennis ball. He was a little (a lotta) drunk and a little more affectionate than usual. It was one of the funniest things I seen in a long time. Then, my dearest Uncle Rob then took us to Wal-mart and bought us a ton of stuff for the trip that we needed. My family has been tooooo good to me.

Until we meet again... Much Love.

The Sabbath Day in the City...

This past Sunday we met up with my friends (LDS newleywed couple) who just moved to Boston. We went to church with them in Cambridge (next to Harvard University). After church (that was held in an old boiler building) we walked around Harvard since the campus was near by. It was HUGE - everything was immense and intimidating and old. I felt small (and shorter than usual). It is rich with history and tradition. I felt prestigious just being on the campus.

"Lucky Toe" Unsanitary.

(Above) This is the library - no words. Looks like a museum.
(Below) Some other building where classes are held. I think this is the the visitors center. (Below) We also stopped by the Boston Temple. This was beautiful. Because of the controversy around the city of Belmont, the church could not build a bigger steeple, so Moroni looks huge onto top of this tiny steeple. ha. Some people say that Harvard is "the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.” But I do not think so… you can not get any “higher learning “ than the teachings of the Temple. Truth has been around for eternity… sorry Harvard – you lose. Sunday taught me that there is so much that I do not know. I am almost sure that BYU is harder than Harvard... we have to stay sober through the whole experience, they do not. Until we meet again... Much Love.

One Week Down... Family Time.

I just want to say that this week has been more therapeutic than any other week of my life. I truly have been learning so much…. so much about myself, my family, my Massachusetts.
We have been taking pictures, but not enough – this will not be enough.

Let me tell you about my cousins:
I am the oldest of all my cousins. All.
Family Run Down:
Dad: Grew up in outside of Boston.

Three Sisters: (aunts – Sue (2 Kids), Kathy (4 kids) and Mary (5 cats))

______________

We spent A LOT of time watching my cousins play their various school/sport games. It was fun!
(Below) This was Shannon (10) playing softball – in this game each batter walked when sh pitched. :(
In the next game… she saved the game in the bottom of the last inning with one out to win. She’s awesome. :)

(Below) This is my favorite witty little spitfire cousin Erin (9). You never know what is going to come out of her mouth. I have more fun talking to her than I do with most of my friends back in college. She makes me laugh...a lot. This is at her soccer game it was FRIGID and East Coast rain storms sink into your bones, but it was worth it – they won!

(Below) This is them at the worst spring concert I have ever seen... my aunt and uncle and I could not stop laughing. Somewhere during an awful rendition of “When the Saint Go Marching In” (played by the trombone section) – I thought: “Life does not get any better than this”… and my smile was pure and real.

(Below) My Aunt Kathy recently moved into what Steph calls “The Doll House”. It is BRIGHT LILAC PURPLE. (The picture does not do it justice.) I mean honest to goodness, it’s the most amazing house I have ever seen, complete with a tennis court and pool.

(Below) This is the dog, Sammi and Dana (8). Both of them love attention and love getting their picture taken. Both of them are most likely the cutest pair I have ever seen. I can't get enough.

(Below) This is Laney (16). She is amazing. She is good at Rugby and all the other sports I can think of of. She is good at taking care of other people. She is good at eating rice pilaf. She loves Law and Order. She was absolutely the most beautiful little blonde girls you ever did see. She is a tom-boy now, but I got to see her prom dress options for next week's prom. I can not describe how much it broke my heart to leave her. I can not tell you how much it broke my heart to think of all the lost time. As soon as she gets out of school she is meeting me at the coast. We have memories together as little children, when life was a little easier. Sometimes it's so easy to fall in love with someone.
(Below) This is my little stud of a cousin Greg (15) at his (very violent) Lacrosse game. He thinks he is pretty cool with his long bangs. He used to be just a little guy... he will always be little Gregy to me.
(Below) This is us girls on the bed... Amanda is my sister's age and they are sooo much alike. Both 18 and think they know everything about life. Both beautiful and both going to college in the fall. Prayer, lots of prayer.

Until we meet again... Much Love.

So, it turns out I'm going to miss Idaho Falls a little this summer...

Highlights to remember of my last weekend here for at least four months:

• Day on the town with Dan ("Hey Dani, wanna go shopping?" "With what money?" "I don't know." "Ok!")
• Stake Conference with Pres. Hart ("Will the missionaries please arise.")
• Cookout with fried onions (Becca, once again, mysteriously missing. I'll miss that.)
• Running to Tautphaus (Where were you Kel?)
• Derek finally having a social life again (That was weird.)
• Reading Twilight (what's more exciting than romance with a vampire?)
• Cuddling with Vanessa at night (this wouldn't have been necessary if the heater were ever turned on around here...)
• Driving home from work with Dad. (What idiots those 1J-ers are...)
• Mom calling me stupid (Hahahahahahahahaaaaaaa! My own mother!)
• Jacob getting ordained as a teacher ("Why does the Lord love His Idaho missionaries, Jacob?")

I love you all! I will miss you! Wish me luck!

Our First Breath of New England Air…

Hope has a way of turning its face to you, just when you least expect it. I have to say that Heavenly Father knows how to give the best kind of gifts. When our first plane took off, we flew up above the clouds and the sun was just about to rise above Salt Lake Valley and I looked out the window to say goodbye… our plane flew up above the clouds and the most wonderful thing happened... The sun was waiting for us up there and streamed across the clouds in a graceful and beautiful scene that could only be described as breathtaking. Everyone around us was smiling. After seeing something like that, how could anyone not believe in God and how could they not believe that He is the most wonderful being in existence? I knew then that this was a good decision and that He would be with us.

___________________

Steph and I finally landed in Boston after 12 hours of travel. We were hopelessly tired from the trip and antsy with anticipation. I did not know what to expect from my family when I saw them. Driving through Boston and the suburbs brought back so many childhood memories. Massachusetts was a sweet haven of refuge when I was younger. It is the only place I remember my family being together and being happy. We got to my Aunt and Uncle’s driveway and my aunt was there. She gave me a big, beautiful hug and held me for a long time. She was very happy to see me, I was surprised because of the way my parents talk about me. My aunt and uncle are the most wonderful people. They love their two children so much – my two little cousins (I am the oldest on this side of the family of all the cousins.) Shannon and Erin are in Elementary school and are the spunkiest kids I have ever met. I love them, I love the hugs I am getting. I can not tell you the happiness that it is to feel at home somewhere and to feel loved by family. You have no idea, and after so many days of heartache – this is what is going to help me. I fell in love all over again with the East Coast, and with the magic that is here for me to rediscover.

_____________________

They are treating us like queens so far, and the best is yet to come… I have yet to see my other two aunts and my grandparents. I want to stay forever and get to know my family again. It has been so many years since I have felt like this. So many days I have had no where to belong. I belong here, this place, is the closest place I have to call home. Please don’t ever let me forget that I need to have more faith and trust that Heavenly Father always leads us to the places we need to be, He eventually gives us what we desire most and during the times of famine, remember… please remember that the lush valleys of blessing and love are waiting.

____________________

I feel so much like I do not deserve all of this. I do not deserve the wonderful friends I left for the summer and I do not deserve the New England beauty around me. I wish you could be here, I wish you could see what I see. This is a little bit of heaven.

Until we meet again...much love.