Awesome weekends (Part 1)

ts time to play "catch-up" on what's been happening. Last weekend (October 16th-17th) was very eventful. Myself and some of the beautiful ladies from the New Haven area took some time to enjoy the beautiful, yet very windy and chilly fall weather at Lyman's Orchard. We had a blast playing around in the pumpkin patch while trying to decide which pumpkins were choice among the many many many pumpkins. Elise amazed us all as she was able to influence a guy to by a 48 pound pumpkin (amazingly priced at about $20). We took a picture of Elise actually lifting the giant pumpkin. The apple orchard was just as much fun. Even though Mary, her sister Sarah and I had to patiently wait for Elise and Sarah (yes there were two Sarahs with us)  took there sweet time driving from the pumpkin patch to the apple orchard stopping multiple times to take pictures. Can't blame them though. The view on the Lyman property was truly amazing! No matter where you were, a scenic view of a perfect fall day surrounded you.

"Hi" from Lyman Orchards

Elise and her 48 pound pumpkin

For the girls it was another day of shopping...and there was soo much to choose from. 

Sarah was all smiles with her hand selected  pumpkins

On top of an outlook deck that had such a beautiful view of  the gorgeous fall scenery 

Once at the apple orchard I found out the real reason I was invited along. Being the tallest member of the group they had me climb up and grab the really good apples. To my surprise Sarah herself seemed to have a knack for climbing apple trees. It was difficult to snap a good picture of her climbing and picking some of the choicest apples in the orchard...but I tried none the less.

Sarah and Mary showing great teamwork

After all the "shopping" in the orchard we headed back to the cars and drove back to the Lyman Orchard store in which we bought delicious desserts, ciders, and lunch. The food there was great. We sat out on the deck at the picnic tables in which we warmed ourselves with hot cider while enjoyed the beautiful view of the pond.

The wind was strong enough that we felt some of the mist from the pond while enjoying lunch on the porch

Nobody at Lyman Orchard could educate us on what bird this was swimming with the mallards.
The red around the eyes makes this a peculier  bird

Now,  just when I thought I couldn't top such a wonderful Saturday afternoon (let's face it. Not much can top spending time with these young ladies) my Sunday afternoon did just that. It started out as any normal Sunday. I went to Church socialized like I normally do after Sacrament Meeting, and got ready to leave for Canton to spend time with two of my former primary students who were getting baptized. As I left, a Sunday school class was taking place outside near the front lawn next to the parking lot. This class was attened by about 4 or 5 kids that I knew very well. As I was leaving they called me over to say "hello". As I was pulling out of the driveway of the Church, the smiled and waved to me, making my send off a wonderful experience.

Now in canton, I pulled up to the Church shortly before their Sacrament Meeting started. As I walked into the Chapel, I was greeted by the friends and was invited to sit with them. This was a huge relief because I hate sitting by myself. I know Church isn't supposed to be about the social aspect, but when sitting with friends, I tend to get the most out of Sacrament meeting. The best part of it was I sat next to one of my former primary students who was getting baptized later that afternoon. After Church, the two 8 year olds that I used to teach when they were just about 6 years old, got ready for their big day. They were dressed in white and ready for the baptism to begin. During the talks, I took the time to look around the room. I saw most of the kids that I taught just two short years ago. I would later take the time and say "hi" to each one and catch up on whats new in their lives. There was one girl who's parents remembered me but she did not. After stating who I was and how I knew her, she remembered. I went home thinking "How could everyone else recognize me but not this particular student?" I mean even her Mom and Dad remembered me. I was feeling a little down about this. Maybe I wasn't the great primary teacher I thought I was. Then the answer came to me. I taught their for about 9 months (even when I moved back to the Cromwell Ward they asked me to stay as the teacher until a replacement was called. This meant long drives...but with such a wonderful class, it was worth it). This particular student moved into the ward two months before I was released from my primary calling. No wonder why she didn't recognize me right away. I taught her for two months, and I've been gone for about two years (with the exception of a short visit I made to see the primary program during my time away). The other students remembered me because I was their teacher for 9 months and even participated in other Church activities throughout that time with them.  A smile came across my face realizing that I did make a positive impact on each one of my students. I can't remember a time when I felt so good about myself (oh yes I do. The day before hanging out with Mary, her sister Sarah, Elise, and Sarah). 

After the baptisms we had plenty of snacks at the celebration in the cultural hall at the Church. I got to spend time with the kids, take pictures, and reunite with parents and old friends from years gone by. What an amazing and spiritually uplifting weekend! Life is truly awesome when you take a moment to enjoy it. I feel really blessed that through my Church I was able to make such good friends and bond with so many different people. I have built lasting relationships with many of them, and that weekend the fruits of those friendships blossomed.  Remember...STAY AWESOME!!

Andrew and Piper on their special day

The Bayley Family...good friends and wonderful people

A very proud teacher and one of his favorite students. Oh yeah, and the Savior standing over us

Sting Rays + Sharks + Beluga Whales = Epic Awesomeness

I was thinking about a Brad Paisley song today called "Then". In it he says: "...and I thought I loved you then". (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbZ_OR9exss)

OK. I admit it. I have not yet found someone who could make me feel this way, but to some extent, this song reminds me about how amazed I am about the great state of Connecticut. Sounds silly, but let me explain. I love this state and what it offers. There are times when I think that I have experienced all the amazing and wonderful things this state offers. Then I either find something new or have a new experience at a place I've already been to and love this wonderful place even more. For example geocaching. When I was blessed to be invited to go geocaching, we went to a mountain I was familiar with..but geocaching allowed me to experience the same place in a different way. Instead hiking the normal trails, we went onto other trails. Instead of just walking, we were searching. It brought new depth and new appreciation to the same park/mountain that I've loved for years. Today I drove down to Mystic Aquarium, a place I've been many times in my youth. But this trip was different. I was older, and I now had control of what I saw and did during my visit. To make the visit more special, I signed up to participate in a beluga whale program in which the participants would enter the waters with a beluga whale. The whale i met was Naku. She is about 29 years old and loves people.Playful, funny, and very entertaining. Myself, along with 3 other participants took the opportunity to pet Naku and have her perform cool tricks (mostly noises..very cool). She let us touch her teeth and even pat her tongue. Captive whales seem to like this. Kinda like if you pat your dog on the head, well Beluga whales like their tongue to bet patted. As a matter of fact, even after the session, Naku didn't want to leave. She would act as if she was going to leave us, and then would quickly swing her head back around, open her mouth, and wait for the trainer to pat her tongue. The trainer was more than happy to oblige. The whales get a sense of appreciation when you pat their tongue...but another way you can show them you appreciate them is by feeding them. They eat about 40-80 pounds of small fish a day. Thats about 40 in the summer and close to 80 in the winter. This helps when it gets cold out because the more blubber they have the warmer they stay. Of course their skin is about 100 x thicker than ours, so in the summer, bulking up the blubber (fat) is not always a good thing.

Besides learning about and having fun with a beluga (Russian for the word "white") whale;  I had some other "firsts".  Before the beluga whale program I had the chance to meet some dangerous sting rays. They where placed in a shallow "pool" and as they come close to the surface, I was able to pet them (no patting here). This was a neat experience because I don't recall ever touching a sting ray before. Man, their bodies are smooth. After that, I decided to step it up a notch and went to the shark encounter exhibit where they had a similar set up in which as the sharks swam by, you could reach down and pet them. I think they where some sort of bamboo sharks. None the less it was pretty exciting. Of course the other exhibits where great (sea lions, penguins, etc) but the encounters with dangerous ocean life and a very large fish really made the day simply AWESOME! The pictures I received from the aquarium showcasing me with my giant new friend are not able to be posted (unless I can find someone willing to scan them for me) but I will post the pictures I took while exploring Mystic Aquarium. I will leave the comment section opened for this blog so anyone who wants to comment can do so for this post. If the "comment" section is something you would like me to keep open with further blogs, let me know. I hope this post has exemplified how great Connecticut really is and that there is always something fun and exciting to do. Alright, I'm out and remember...STAY AWESOME!!!!

(remember to check out http://www.mysticaquarium.org/ to see what other programs are available to you and your family for a fun afternoon at the aquarium)

I started the afternoon on a dangerous note

So dangerous...yet so docile. Amazing

This was Epic

Two bamboo sharks

Yeah it was...so close I was in the water with it

Since I need to scan the pictures taking of me with Naku in order to post them, I have posted these 3 pictures of the beluga whales I saw swimming around later that afternoon so you can get an idea of what they look like. Amazing creatures and very intelligent I might add