Handy Farming

Handy Farming

Have you ever wanted to be a farmer for a day? Well, I have. So this past weekend, Mary and I drove to the King Mountain Ranch and farmed for my Father-in-Law. I felt pretty legit because we woke up to cows mooing outside the window. I found humor in being  woken up by their hungry moos. Mary laughed at me in response. I suppose waking up to mooing cattle was a daily reality for her as a child. We spent Saturday in the tractor raking hay. The Webbs will get three cuttings this year which hopefully will put the Webb ahead for next year. 

When Mike and Carol Webb first moved up to Moore after purchasing these ranches, they were a little upset to find fields full of pebbles when the snow melted. Nonetheless, the nice folks in Moore have helped them learn how to work this new ground. Surprisingly, the hay that he grew is higher in nutrients than most. I think it is because of the rocks, but I was only a farmer for a day, so what do I know. It just seems that with every obstacle comes some good. 

Mary is back in school working her little brain as hard as she can. I am proud of her, but I miss her being mine... instead of the books. She has enough credits to graduate soon. However, she has been thinking about graduate school. Thus she may be studying here in Rexburg for a few more semesters. 

I am loving my job at the hospital still, and have learned a lot about Public Relations, Online Marketing, Web Design, Information Technology, and all of the Social Media channels. I get to work with some of the most generous people in this community. Our Brake For Breakfast Breast Cancer Event was sweet, the Idaho Legislators visit was outstanding, and my online efforts have brought in a lot of quality traffic.

To The End of The World

Mary and I were the tallest couple in Idaho for a few minutes, as we gazed off Borah Peak. Second time is a charm, last time we chickened out at Chicken Out Ridge. The weather was perfect, and we enjoyed the company of Nolan Bybee, who had run it once in 3.5 hours, and Jonathan Bybee. Zack and Ashley Webb also joined our hiking crew. It took us 8 hours, and we loved it! The following week, we hiked Table Rock in the Grande Tetons. It was just over a 15 mile hike, but not as steep as Borah. After I made it to Table Rock, I walked another 200 yards to the edge of the world. The clouds had settled in around me, and I through a rock off the edge of the cliff. I couldn't hear it land, nor see anything below. So I propose that the world is flat. During the hike we ran into some friends, Grayson then Hannah. Hannah was my dance partner over a decade ago on the BYUI folk dancers, and was looking very healthy... must be all that dancing over the years.

Mary and I have also have become a little obsessive compulsive about genealogy. While talking with an older lady a couple days agon that I work with at Madison Memorial Hospital, Shareen Parkinson. She reminded me that she was from Burley. As we talked, we found that we were related through Julina Smith. She figured she is Grandpa Ken's 2nd cousin. However, Julina had 12 kids, which makes a lot of cousins, and Julina is Ken's grandpa, which would make them either cousins or first cousins once removed. I would have never known that we were related at all, unless I had been studying that line the day before. We have found dozens of indexed records with birth certificates, marriage licenses, census results, and drafts to wars that we have tagged our ancestors to. We have also been trying to get electronic versions of any family history books with stories, photos, and etc. So if you have any, upload them today!

Mary and I will have been together for nine months this week. It is an exciting time! She started back to school today. It made me sad. She is more fun when she has less responsibility. -Lucas

School started again today! I have bittersweet feelings. This summer was my first summer break since the summer between 8th and 9th grade. I've really enjoyed the simple things: having the time to cook a nice dinner, make my bed in the mornings ,and doing few arts and crafts here and there, but I've been spending the bulk of my time studying for the GRE. Studying for the GRE is really dry and overwhelming. I finally took it and did not perform as well as I had hoped. Regardless, luck is in my favor. Lucas and I just broke a chicken wish bone and I won. I wished for straight A's this semester!

It is so much fun to have our entire ward living within 3 blocks in the small city of Rexburg! It seems our ward is taking us in like we're here to stay. I think they have a hard time letting their hearts go out to the young couples, because they usually move. I ran into a lady in our ward while returning from the store a couple of blocks from our home. She had mentioned an afterschool program before and she asked if I was still interested. She's the coordinator for the elementary school.

Thus I have been hired by Madison School District to work with the after school program. We do everything from homework, playing sports, providing crafts, and teaching life skills like cooking. It's K-4 and they're separated into groups for their activities and given a daily snack. At 5 pm, they're transported home. It's a pretty sweet program they have going on and I get paid to play with and teach kids! It's a lot of fun and I'm excited that they were willing to work with my schedule.

Our sunday school class consists of 4 really great kids. The boys and the girls interact and they're all friends and they're even comfortable to interact with us. The new youth program is difficult to teach because it forces the teachers and the youth to really understand the principles, which is priceless. I think I'll cry when they release us from this calling...Unless they put me in young women's. I have come to love the youth we teach so much.


 Lucas planted the garden and I've been harvesting it. I picked lots of radishes. Sadly enough, neither of us are big fans of radishes so one full grocery bags full of radishes dried out in our fridge...that's without the stalks on them. We gave the other bag away to someone who liked them more. I'm still confused why Lucas planted so many radishes. He planted the perfect amount of peas. I like peas best when they're fresh. I could do without cooked peas. We're loaded with beans too! Talking around, everyone's beans did awesome this year. I'm a green bean lover, so I'm definitely not complaining about picking and freezing them. They don't last very long in our house anyway. Our corn came up really late, so I think we might get one ear. Yes, only one ear is even developing at this point. Most of our squash died, but we have one plant that is looking healthy and starting to grow a couple squash. I think we would have squash if it didn't frost until December.

Our landlords are awesome. They come periodically to fix this or that and make it a priority to check up on us. I don't know why, but God has blessed us to be surrounded by so many kind and wonderful people.

Lucas loves his job! His job encompasses so much. He's involved in every event with making it go through and I often come to them to help set up and take down. He's also in charge of the website and all the social media. I study in the office at the hospital sometimes and Lucas is always in meetings or working with someone from one of the departments to get some more information for the website. It is no wonder he comes home and keeps thinking about work.

We usually go on a bike ride after work so Lucas can clear his mind, but his bike is now broken. On our last bike ride, Lucas and I were going really fast across the street and his bike seat broke underneath him. I turned around to see where he was and I saw him laying on the sidewalk with his bike at least 20 feet away from him. At first, I thought he had done something to his back. I came closer and saw that he was holding his foot. I asked him what had happened and he had brought his foot down really fast when his seat snapped to catch himself. Then claimed it hurt worse than hitting your funny bone really hard. Despite his pain, I laughed out of relief that it was not his back. A couple in our ward was on a walk through town and had seen the incident. They were really sweet to come over and see if he was ok. Luckily, we were close to home and we were able to elevate and ice Lucas' foot before bed. He still had a little limp the next morning and some swelling, but that was all gone by the following day. - Mary

Small Packages

Research has shown that an opinion of a person based on a first impression is formed in one-tenth of a second. The first impression is made by facial features and expressions. In a tenth of a second, a person can only have time to observe physical attributes. Therefore, physical features determine much of a person’s concept of one’s personality.

The most common response I receive when I tell someone I'm an exercise physiology major is, "No wonder you're so skinny." Because of my major and my interests, I tend to engage myself in activities and hobbies that require physical agility, but I've always been small and petite. Often people will jump to the conclusion that if a person works out regularly, they must think of themselves as fat. That assumption is not consistently true. For some, it may be the case that they perceive their physical bodies in a negative fashion and turn to exercise. Others, such as myself, engage in exercise because it boosts self-esteem, promotes good health, and develops self-discipline. 

Lucas and I have been called to teach the 14/15 year olds in Sunday school. So far, we've really enjoyed preparing lessons, becoming acquainted with, and praying about these wonderful youth we serve. Lucas and I take turns preparing the lesson to facilitate the learning of the youth. 

I was a little bit nervous my first time teaching, but I have taught enough relief society lessons and given enough class presentations to disregard my feelings of nervousness. We had been informed that it was ward conference week, but our bishopric was not sure if they would have a stake leader teach our class or not, so I prepared the lesson. I was writing on the board when two stake brethren came in. I asked them if they had a lesson prepared, but they seemed excited that I had a lesson prepared. They said, "This is great. We'll just go off what you have."

Shortly afterward, Lucas walked into the classroom and I placed my hand on his leg and said, "Sweetheart, why don't you select someone to give the prayer." After the prayer ended, one of the brethren had a red face and said, "I'm sorry, we thought you were one of the youth and we were so excited that you had something prepared to share with us since it is encouraged with the new Come Follow Me program."

Lucas and I chuckled about it for days and our families thought it was especially funny. Standing 5 foot and weighing under 100 pounds, I can see how they would make the mistake. On top of that, I have a naturally young face which may have gotten into both my sisters' and my genes. Just last month, my super tough sister did a 5k mud run and her new girlfriends thought she wasn't drinking the free beer because she wasn't old enough. She's pretty proud to say that at 31 with 5 kids, she still looks under 21. I can't wait until people stop asking me if I'm graduated from high school (happened today) and I too can be proud of my young looks. :)

Life is a Dance

The other day while biking through campus, I passed the Eliza Roxy Snow Performing Arts Center. Then called my sister and asked if they had planned that their newest daughter was named Liza Snow, and their other daughter is named Roxy. Like the Handys, the Ramsey's will be excellent performers. They are also beautiful kids. I'll have to say that I have the most beautiful nephews and nieces ever. Ten from the Webbs, and Ten from the Handys. 

Mary and I also went to my Sao Paulo, Brazil East mission reunion in North Ogden, Ut. It was very exciting to see the Caldwell family again, including their little boy who shares my name, Lucas. He is a fun boy, in a good family, and so I am sure he will become a great man. 

Following the reunion, we drove up to Burley. Like normal, it was loud & crazy in the Handy home with Grandma watching almost all of the grandkids. Mary & I needed to escape. Clayton & Jenna joined us for a peaceful hike in the canyon around Lake Vineyard. The same place where a dozen of my friends and I had gotten lost during High School. Since then, I have been back a hundred of times to enjoy this beautiful, remote, desert oasis. 

Unfortunately, the Handy party was short lived because Mary caught the stomach flu the next day. I am so glad she is better. 

Finals Week has come and gone, including the week break between semesters. Phelipe & Lauren came up for a short visit because Lauren graduated with her associates online. The men, Phelipe, Lauren's Dad, and I, ditched the girls to get some gifts to surprise her with. When Lauren called us and asked why we didn't go with them to visit the gardens, I told her that gardens were for girls. Lauren's graduation was fun & a special memory for us. We know she will accomplish many other fantastic things with her life.

Thursday of this week, Clint and Keila (Mary's brother and sister-in-law) officially picked up their roots in Raft River and came to join us in Rexburg. Mary was so excited to have them here that she made a casserole for them and went to go help with the move. 

Later that day, we stopped by the genealogy center. I am so excited because familysearch.org built warehouses of data storage, genealogy storage, the cloud, for anyone to upload unlimited amount of pictures and stories of ancestors. Now anyone, anywhere in the world can login to this network and work on family history and accomplish what others have done in their family for their ancestors. One of the workers said that 1.7 million names are added to this database daily. I hope anyone who reads this takes the time to try out these tools, and at least share a story or two that they have of their heritage in these online annals. 

Following that, we partied at the Madison County Centennial Dance and must have done well, because the local newspaper put this picture of Mary and I in yesterday's edition. I love being here with Mary. It has taken me a while to adjust, but overall, it has been a very positive experience. The hospital that I currently work at is a nonprofit, county run hospital called Madison Memorial Hospital. I work with the director of Public Relations, Doug McBride, who captured the video below, and have found this fellow BYU MPA graduate colleague to be one of the most verbally supportive and positive individuals that I have ever worked with.  

   

Keila has offered Mary and I dinners for a few evenings a week and I am super excited to have real Brazilian food again. Keila is an angel for cooking for us.  Clint & Keila just started their semester in Rexburg. Between them, Hyrum, Kat & Eric, the Reis kids, and the Hepworths, we feel like we have family nearby, and feel like this place is home. In fact, Mary & I are starting our first garden. Wish us luck as we embark on yet another semester filled with new experiences at work and at play. If by chance you'd like to pay us a visit, our love cottage is open to whomever would like to stay.  

Love, 

The Handy Family

Becoming A Blogger

This is a first time making a blog for both Lucas and I. We started it shortly after we got engaged because we wanted to extend information about the reception to friends and relatives. In the process, we decided we would introduce ourselves via the blog by posting a summary "About Us" for each of us. From there, we added stories about how we met and the proposal story. We expected a few close friends and family to be interested enough to go to the website and see those things. We did not expect a large handful of people to come through the Reception line and make comments like, "I've read your entire blog." "Jamaica sounds amazing. I want to go there now." We even had one lady say that she did not know either of us, but she saw our names in the newspaper and came across our blog and decided to come to wish us luck. We were the most taken aback by this, but very pleased that this sweet lady had learned about us through our blog and went out of her way to come to our reception. I wish I could remember her name and thank her for this act of kindness. More than several people came through the line and said, "keep posting." 

I've heard so many stories about blogs going flop after a short time because kids become overwhelming and making blog posts is soon forgotten. I'm sure we'll have times when we won't care to make any posts, but I hope to make posts on occasion to allow family and loved ones a way to access photos and stories when we are separated by distance. Right now, we have few interesting posts because our lives are boring. I go to school, Lucas goes to work, we eat, we study, then we go to bed. It's pretty dry for making blog posts, but be patient. Soon enough we'll have kids coming out our ears and so much excitement in our lives that if we had the time, we'd have a good handful of exciting stories to tell.

For those of you who have visited our blog before, you've probably noticed a drastic change in the way it appears! 

Before

After

I got sick of looking at our plain blog and decided we needed to make it more attractive, especially if we want anyone to ever return to it. So, I have been working on it's appearance on and off for some time now. It is still going through changes and I'm learning a lot just by doing this. Our blog has also become Lucas' testing tool. He is currently trying to improve Madison Memorial Hospital's online presence and whenever he's trying something new for the social campaign he tests it first on our blog, Lucas' wordpress profile, or our Facebook page. 

It's been a lot of fun to learn a couple new things about HTML and blogging in general. For the most part, I find a website where they already have what I want and I copy the HTML code to paste into my own. :) I thought about making some of my own tutorials, but there are so many websites and blogs that give tutorials, I'd rather not be the broken record. However, if you notice something on my blog that you'd like to incorporate into your blog, let me know and I'll shoot you the HTML code or make a tutorial if it's a little more complicated. I've already discovered a couple widgets I added that took more time to load than what they were worth and they have since been deleted. I would appreciate some feedback. Tell me what you like, don't like, and what can improve.

Happy Blogging!

Joy in the Journey

My sister posted these pictures on Facebook today and a thought struck me. However significant it is to you, I would like to share it. 

Growing up, I always felt a little ripped off. I have 8 brothers and 1 sister, but my sister is 12 years older than me. I liked to imagine what it would be like to grow up with a sister closer to my age. To have late night talks together, share secrets, and paint our nails together. Lindsay Rhoades filled that gap for me when she came to live with us her senior year of high school, my 8th grade year. We were able to do those things together and be that strength for one another. We were even given the opportunity to live together once again during my first semester of college (April 2012-July 2012). I am so proud of her for deciding to serve a mission in Texas for the LDS church. I admire her and look up to her for her ability to stand up for what she believes to be true and her kind, serviceable heart.

Even with that opportunity to have a sister for a short time, I've still always wished I had more opportunity to develop a relationship with my sister. She was my sweet older sister when she lived at home, but left for college when I was 6. Needless to say, our paths have taken us different directions since then. She and her adorable family now live in California. The thought occurred to me as I looked at these pictures...we still have a long time to develop and strengthen that relationship with each other. 

President Thomas S. Monson gave the following quote in his talk, Finding Joy in the Journey:   (Such a good talk!)

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of “what if” and “if only.” 

I should never have worried that I wouldn't have that opportunity because that opportunity is now. We are grown women now and have more in common than we ever have before. We're lucky. We don't have any "what if's" or "if only's". We have so much more time, including the eternities as siblings. I love you, Amber!

Mary

I decided I should include some photos of Lucas' and my new little love shack. A couple people have asked to see pictures. I'll have to upload pictures of the exterior later. We live in a little gray-painted brick house that is separated into two apartments, ours being the smaller one. We enter our home from the back. P.S. These photos were taken very soon after moving in...that's why there is a ton of stuff under the table. I didn't want to put that stuff away yet.

To the left, you find our living room

That blanket is now unfolded larger and it is our makeshift couch

To the Right of the Entrance is our bathroom

Our little kitchen sits across from the living room.
We found a microwave that works great at D.I. for $15!
It now sits in that back corner.

We have a little closet in the hall next to our bedroom.

Our bed sits next to the door

From the bed, you can see our desk and closet

The closet

We love our tiny little home!

The Way to My Heart

When a couple first marries, each person has their hopes, wants, and needs. Observing the relationships of friends and family, roles between a husband and wife are different in every situation.The funny thing is I had hoped for many years that I would find a woman a bit more domestic like my mother. Today one of my hopes and wants came true. Mary Handy cooked for me all day so she doesn't have to cook during her school week. I didn't need to worry about anything to eat. All I had to do was the dishes, it was great. She made berry poppyseed muffins, Waffles, honey butter, cajun chicken, and pasta. I am tickled pink. I may need to go to the Gym tomorrow.

I hadn't eaten the Cajun Chicken dinner since the first time she had made it for me over a year and a half ago.  At this time, Mary and I had been on a few dates. The night before we talked over my concern, which was our age difference. She was still 17, and I had a decade on her. I knew that some of her family did not like the situation. Honestly, I did not want to be in this situation. I had decided that things were pretty much over. I had dated storms, and felt no attachment to Mary Elizabeth Webb. I figured she would just let me slip out the door.

During work I received a phone call from this sweet, high pitched girl. "Want to come over and help me make dinner," Mary asked.

Surprised that she called after the talk we had the previous night, I paused for a moment thinking about our situation. Then realized that I had nothing else to do. "Well, I don't have anything planned. Sure, I'll come over."

I came over to find Mary already started on our dinner. This sweet, petite girl knew how to cook, and was more than willing to cook for me. Nobody else was home, and I figured this would be a romantic evening. I continued to question whether or not I should further this relationship. However, she was doing just what I wanted, cooking me a dinner after a days work.

Before I knew it, the door flung open and in came a troop, or so it felt as Mary's family almost doubles the size of mine. Four younger brothers, an older brother, her parents, and even her brother and sister-in-law had showed up to spectate the situation. I felt very uneasy because this was my first time meeting the whole family. Mary's older siblings and mother helped her finish up the last of the dinner. Before I knew it, I was sitting down at the table in what felt like an awkward silence with ten pairs of eyes starring at me.

Mary brought in her Cajun Chicken and Rice dish, and we blessed the food. Everyone was eating in silence, still looking at me. Her dad asked me a few questions. Then he silently ate. I took a big scoop of her Cajun Chicken and acted just as intent on eating as everyone else. When I put a big fork full of rice into my mouth, I could hardly keep it in. It was like the rice had taken a bath in the Great Salt Lake before ending up on my plate. The peculiar thing was that nobody had said anything about it. Instead, they were just eating with a few long gazes at me. So I joined them and did not say a word about it. Finally Mary tried her dish and said what I had been thinking,

"This is nasty! What happened to the recipe? I swear I followed the recipe." Relieved, I didn't feel obligated to finish my plate. It turned out she had double the salt by accident. Her married brother spoke up and said that no one wanted to tell her how terrible the dinner was because they were afraid of hurting her feelings. She was embarrassed, but found something else to feed the family with the help of her mom.

I teased her about that incident many times over the course of our courtship with comments of her salty chicken. She vowed she would never cook for me again and I'm so glad she changed her mind!

That night, I felt like things could not have gotten worse, so I had nothing to worry about. My fear of her family, over a year and a half later, is finally gone and her Cajun Chicken recipe tonight was not salty. I guess it's true,

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

Good Night!
Mr. and Mrs. Handy
p.s I love Mrs. Handy

Cajun Chicken & Rice

4 chicken drumsticks, skin removed 4 chicken thighs, skin removed 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (Creole seasoning is a good substitute, it already has salt in it, so eliminate all added salt) 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided (tip: be careful not to put too much salt) 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 can (about 14 ounces) chicken broth 1 cup uncooked rice 1 medium green bell pepper, coarsely chopped 1 medium red bell pepper, coarsely chopped 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat 13×9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. 2. Pat chicken dry. Sprinkle both sides with Cajun seasoning and salt. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 8 to 10 minutes or until browned on all sides. Transfer to plate; set aside. 3. Add broth to skillet. Bring to a boil, scraping brown bits from bottom of skillet. Add rice, bell peppers, green onions, garlic, thyme and turmeric. Stir well. Pour into prepared baking dish. Place browned chicken on top. Cover tightly with foil. Bake 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through.

There's No Place Like Home!

Mary and I, like Dorothy and Toto, have had friends help us along this journey in a new place. At the start of this path we have received wise counsel from many. Our hearts have been touched by the generous gifts, acts of service, and cheering words. Furthermore, as we look ahead at the yellow brick road, we find courage from those who have gone before . Everyone needs a friend like you to help them along their path. Thank you for helping Dorothy and I! We are grateful for each of your contributions, even if it was just a quick note. We had the best month of our lives, and look forward to many more together. I hope someday to be like you and help others on their journey too.

Love,
Dorothy and Toto
(Mary and Lucas)

Love You Forever

Roxy, my adorable niece, looked at me with a concerned face. She does not speak yet or she would have asked me why I, her grown uncle Lucas was crying. Joshua, her brother is just old enough to understand that this little children's book was making me emotional. Honestly, my mother may have been the last one to read this children's book "Love You Forever". This little act of service with the cradle and the song throughout the course of this man's life is one of the fruits of true love.  

Having been married for one sweet month following a decade long bachelor life, my feelings are turned more to family. Sunday, my father returned from home after an open heart surgery, and I have been working away from my bride for two days, our first time a part since marriage. The story progresses with a mother cradling her son throughout his life and singing the following verse while he was sleeping.

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

my Baby you'll be

As the mother aged and prepared for the next life, her son cradled her and sang rocking her back and forth. It then finished with him sharing this tradition with his baby daughter. As I contemplate the love that I have for the wonderful women in my life. I will miss my mother. She has worked endlessly to supply me with the opportunities any boy could want. I was not an easy child. In fact, my family frequently recounts the time that she chased me around the trampoline with a shovel because I refused to join in pulling weeds. Nonetheless, my mother always loved me.

This tradition I hope to continue. The tradition of a loving family; a loving Mother and Son, a loving Father and Daughter. True love is the greatest feat life has to offer. New discoveries, inventions, and toys do not compare. Nothing surmounts the joy that follows the fruits of true love. I love you Mary Handy, and my mother Kristine Handy. You have been the greatest blessing that I have ever received.

Honeymoon Under The Sun

 KEEP IT AND DON"T BREAK IT is the most common response that I receive from the people here when I tell them we are on our Honey Moon. When we walk down the streets, I have never encountered a people so cool. The dread locks, language, and attire are like I am personally meeting Bob Marley. Where are we?
 I carefully planned this honeymoon to keep it a secret from Mary for her birthday, Christmas, and wedding present from me. She has never travelled outside of the United States. I wanted to give her the opportunity to broaden her horizons with increased understanding of people in the world. Also, to let her taste what being an American is. 

Mary and I are doing wonderful. We are falling more in love each day. The way they talk is how rappers talk, or how my friends and I would try to talk in High School to sound cool. It is broken English called patois (pat-oh-wah). Mary makes this experience the best travel that I have ever experienced. She is always by my side enjoying this new culture, temperature, and food. -Lucas

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Lucas carefully planned a honeymoon vacation to Jamaica shortly after we were engaged. He thought it would be fun to surprise me on Christmas Eve before boarding the plane. Unfortunately, I found out early. To play along, I packed winter clothes for the family cabin in Stanley, ID. I thought it was entertaining to watch him try and find excuses to pack a swim suit, and convince me to sign the passport papers. We both played our cards well. He told very few others about our trip so I wouldn't find out, and I didn't tell anyone so he wouldn't discover that I knew.

We boarded the first plane to Atlanta, GA after midnight on Christmas Eve. From Atlanta, we flew into Montego Bay, Jamaica. In all it was a 9-hour flight.

Immediately coming out of the airport, everyone asked us where we were going and if we needed a bus or a taxi. After getting some directions to our hotel, we walked a couple of miles. We packed light like backpackers with only carry-on bags. Seeing our luggage, every single car on the road stopped and asked if we needed a taxi. It seems each Jamaican man with a car is a self-designated taxi driver so he can pay off his expensive car insurance, and cover the price of gas.

After such a long plane ride, we were starving and exhausted. We immediately bought some food from the restaurant at the hotel. The food cost nearly 4 times as much as the food at the local restaurants, but it was excellent goat, chicken, and rice & peas. (peas are red kidney beans)

Since then, Jamaica has been a cultural experience that we've enjoyed observing and learning. One of the funniest things is that we've had countless people come up to us and say, "Hey, do you remember me? I work at the hotel." Since they never say the hotel name, we know that this is their pick up line to every tourist. From there, they pretend to be friendly and give you a tour around the city. When they're done, they expect payment for their services. Stating that tourism is the biggest industry in Jamaica just behind rum and they need to earn a living. It only took once with this pair of guides that charged us $20. Since then, we have managed to dodge these friendly, self-designated tour guides.

The most interesting thing we did was take a local bus and taxi to Negril where there is a famous 7-mile beach. When we asked one of the commercial tourist taxis how much they would charge for the journey, they said it would cost 40 American dollars. Lucas wanted to go the local way in Route Taxis that ended up costing 800 Jamaican dollars, or 9 American dollars, for a 2-hour journey. It would have cost us 4 times as much to travel with the rest of the tourists! It was really interesting when we got to the bus station where every bus driver was shouting where their bus was destined to go. The best bus marketer wore a suit with long dread locks and Jamaican colored beads in his braids. He snatched us up for his van before anyone else could. We were looking for a bus to Lucea (Lucy). When this bus driver found out we were going to his destination, he did everything he could to get you onto his bus. There were 10 passenger seat belts on the van, but they managed to squish in about 15. I was dying because it was very hot and there was this big lady sitting on top of my hip. From Lucea, we took a taxi to Negril. Our taxi driver also tried to keep his car full the entire journey, but did not have quite as much success as the bus. One of our drivers deservingly received a $7,000 Jamaican dollar, about $80 american, speeding ticket. Which made us chuckle.

The beach in Negril was lovely! It was sunny and had a ton of activities for the tourists, such as parasailing. We easily entertained ourselves by burying each other in the sand. We soon made friends with two little kids; a little girl named Lexi and her friend. They had a blast burying us and then getting buried in return.

Another thing we have found entertaining has been their accents. The Jamaican people speak Patois (pat-oh-wah), which is a broken English, the common language of the colonizers, the African slaves came from various tribes and dialects. The majority of the time, we cannot understand them! We thought we would be better after a week, but it still sounds foreign to us. Fortunately, they learn proper English in school. Many of the younger people are comfortable talking to us so we can understand. I never thought children would make more sense than their parents.

One of our favorite things in Montego Bay, or Mo Bay, are the sunsets. We found a park created for the tourists, but the locals love it. It overlooks the ocean and is the perfect place to enjoy the sunset. We call it "Lover's Park" because it's where all the couples go for their date at sunset. If it wasn't for color, we fit right in. (In the photo, notice the three couples snuggling on the lawn behind us.)

This is my first time leaving the U.S.A. I was not sure what to expect, but I was definitely excited. As a newly wed, I've enjoyed every second of being with my husband Lucas in the tropic weather. We've enjoyed exploring the streets of Jamaica together and trying to decipher the speech of the locals. I enjoy my time here more because I always have Lucas with me. His confidence and humor has helped us get through the crowded streets and find entertainment in everything. If there is one thing we'll take back with us to the States from the Jamaican people, it is to "take it easy". Often Americans don't take it easy enough because our lives are crowded with responsibilities. We also hope to take their motto home with us: Peace, Love, Unity, Respect! -Mary

P.S. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone. This year we're actually someplace warm instead of just wishing we were in Hawaii...like last year ;)

Lucas Handy

Who's Cuter?