....Prom

Okay, I'm surprised I am here again sitting at my computer and typing out another stupid blog. I thought (and hoped) that my blogging days would be over after I got so frustrated with the slow internet here at the mission home that the burden of typing and posting would be gone. But alas, the DSL line at our house just got hooked up and now we have high speed internet.... so Mom is making me post about my latest fiasco, and I guess I'm happy doing THIS blog, considering that with my last date, Mom just got on here and typed out the story of my date awhile back... but I'm too lazy to put links, so if you don't remember, sorry.

Anyway, yeah Prom. Fun stuff. This was the first nicely done activity/dance/thinger that my school has offered while I've been here, and that is thanks to one of the seniors who had been planning this activity since about the beginning of this school year.

It took place at the Grande Palazzo Visconti (which is appropriately called the Grand Visconti Palace in english for you non-italian speakers), a four star hotel that had a very nice, outdoor, italian garden type location. Actually I dunno about that. Take a look for yourselves...

Thats not the hotel in the background... but the garden and fountains we're nice I guess

Anyway, we had very nice dinner (I think it was the first time I've tried calamari), and then a dance until around 1 o'clock.

Haha oh yeah I forgot to mention I went with that same Alex that Mom described awhile back. and now to put a face to the name, here we are.

and lets not forget my friend Colin who went with another one of our friends Olivia... here's one of all of us.

Colin, Olivia, Alex, Myself

Well there you have it. Another blog done. It might be the last one before we come home so... Seeya later!

Wii will, Wii will rock you!

Sorry it took so long to post this Ell. But I've finally found some time to make a post about the newest improvement to our house in Italy.

YESSSS, it is finally here, a Wii hot off the production line from the U.S.

Last Tuesday, I got a call from Dad who was away doing interviews, saying he had some good news and I immediately knew what it was going to be. Mom and I ran (well okay, it was only me that was running) straight over to the office where the package was sitting. I grabbed the package and immediately started home while Mom stayed at the office a bit to talk. This time, though, I danced home. Fast. :) haha

I had to wait awhile for Mom to come home and take these pictures but when she did, I ripped into the package.
The first thing I pulled out was the wireless Wii remote and nunchuck accessory. Sweet!

With speed and precision with scissors I quickly had everthing unwrapped and ready to go.

Here I am modifying the settings and then......

BOOM! A video gaming experience like no other!

I never thought I would be playing baseball in the middle of the living room. And that was just the beginning. After baseball I went on to tennis, boxing, bowling, and golf. I have since then concluded that my best sport is tennis. I just have to make sure that I don't destroy the house with crazy arm swings or bash my hand into the chandalier above my head. If I do though, I'd just be another one of the people who have broken something playing Wii. Haha!

THANK YOU ELL AND PAUL FOR FINDING ME ONE. YOU MADE A LITTLE BOY'S DREAMS COME TRUE! hahahaha! bye.

Eine reise durch Deutschland mit Andy und Tom...

...meaning a trip through Germany with Andy and Tom. After our new years festivities were over Tom planned a little trip to Munich, Germany for him and me. So on January 2nd, 2007 we got on a train for Munich. Unfortunately, right as I got on the train I realized I had forgotten one important thing: my camera! DANGIT! soo.... the pictures you see were taken on my low quality cell phone.

After arriving in Munich, we found a hostel to stay in and then found the nearest tourist facility for maps and information on what to do. Mainly we walked around to different places and "platz" 's, as said in German. We made a funny realization at some point during the trip that when we are in the states and we see street signs or any sign in general, that we dont really notice it and just keep walking. However, in Germany, EVERY sign that we saw we would read out loud to each other without even trying to understand what it meant. It was getting ridiculous towards the end of the trip just yelling things out over and over again, particularly the word "hauptbahnhof" which means "central station". I dunno. I thought it was funny.

Anyway, the next day Tom planned us a trip to the concentration camp in Dachau, right outside Munich. It was very interesting and of course sad and chilling, and it didn't help that it was overcast and rainy. But still fun nonetheless.

The rest of the day we further explored Munich, going to the Allianz Arena. It was really cool because puffy red things in the picture change color every so often. Tom and I saw the whole thing change from white to red. Sorry about the bad picture.

The Allianz Arena, one of the venues of the 2006 Fifa World Cup.

Würstel anyone?

Tom originally had planned for us to go to St. Moritz, but we were unable to due to over expensive prices and we didn't have 7 and 1/2 hours to blow. So we ended up going to Innsbruck in Austria which was also very fun, seeing sites where the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics were held. I didn't get to take any pictures on my phone, but when Tom goes back to the U.S. he'll have his pictures developed and can show you some decent pictures. All in all, a good, fun trip!

Danke Tom! Gut bis das nächste Blog, auf Wiedersehen!

CHRISTMAS!... and then taking on the Matterhorn

This year was a great christmas! On Christmas morning we (Andy, Mom, and Dad) went to the airport to pick up Tom. He was our first christmas present. After driving home, we began to distribute and open presents. The final present that we opened was the gift Tom brought with him from all the family!

Here is the order of events:

FIRST:
Mom opening the gift with Dad, both wondering what on earth it could be.

SECOND:

Opening it up to find the scrapbook/photos from everybody. Mom LOVED it! (her love is shown below :) haha)

The next day we took off for a ski resort called Cervinia in the Alps. Me and Tom had a great time skiing while Mom and Dad went on a hike leading up to the Matterhorn. After dodging rolling ice boulders and hiking for an hour, Mom and Dad conquered the mountain by hiking it and Tom and I conquered it by skiing. Tons of fun!

And no trip up in the mountains is complete without Mom begging for pictures to be taken. After continual nagging, Mom finally got us (more like continual nagging on Me), up to a perfect place to take a picture of the family with our ITALIA sweaters on and the Matterhorn in the background.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Thanksgiving, Italian Style

We're finally getting around to putting up some pictures about our Thanksgiving. It's been fun to see everyone else's Thanksgivings in Utah, with the big feasts and family gatherings. Unfortunately (and obviously) we weren't able to be there. So..... while everybody was piggin' out, here is what Mom, Dad, and I did for Thanksgiving.



This year, we went to the Verzasca Dam, located in Bellinzona, Switzerland. It was pretty cool to see it for real, after seeing it so many times in pictures and postcards. I think it is about 250+ meters tall. And I guess thats about 800 ft. tall. Thats a total guess, but who knows. Probably more like 1000 ft. Whatever.

Anyway, it is slightly difficult to see in this picture, but it was the home to the opening scene in James Bond's Goldeneye film, where he bungee jumps off the side of the dam. In fact, after the film was completed a bungee jump place was built right in the center of the dam, and you can kinda see it in this picture.


Here is a close up for you:

It looks awesome from way up there and I really want to come back here next spring or summer and jump it, much to Mom's dismay. After walking across the dam we came up to a small trail which we hiked for awhile... and Mom and Dad found a little hut to stay the night in. I opted for the hotel, and they followed afterward... haha.

Well it looks like Christmas is around the corner, so now we gotta start getting ready for that. Mom and Dad have already started putting up the Christmas tree...

Boynton Family Mission

Boynton Family Mission First Date-A Year Late........or "I Did a Bad Thing"

Well, Andy had his first date a week ago and I doubt he'll ever tell you anything about it, so I will!

Let's back up about ten years. Andy has often heard the story of Steve and his buddies forming a "no dating" pact when they were in high school. Our family has never really discussed the reasons for this bizzare pact but I always figured it had something to do with not wanting to spend a bunch of money on dates and not wanting to figure out how to make conversation with a girl. Anyway, the pact was made and everyone was faithful to it. Until one day Steve said to me, "Mom, I've done a bad thing. I've broken the pact and said yes to someone who asked me to a girl's choice dance." Well, that was a "bad thing"I was happy he did. But we always chuckled that he figured it was a bad thing.

Fast forward ten years. Andy and I were driving to school and Andy said, "Mom, remember when Steve did a bad thing? Well, I've done a bad thing. I asked a girl on a date!" Well, another "bad thing" I was happy about. So I asked a bunch of questions and found out that Andy and this girl were sick of hanging out with all the other kids in the Center on Saturday nights (he says they all just sit around at McDonald's and talk and that it's way boring) and so he just suggested to her that they actually go DO something. So the next week Andy and his friend went on a double date with this girl, Alex, and her sister. They are all students at ASM.

Dad and I responsibly made sure that Andy knew all the rules of dating etiquet and he seemed well versed. The night of the date he met his friend, Teddy at McDonalds where they fortified themselves with a hamburger. Then they walked over to the girl's home near Castello Sforzesco in the center of town. They picked up the girls, took them for 3 games of bowling and then had dinner at a nice restaurant. They walked the girls home and were invited up to watch TV. The Mom was kind enough to drive Andy all the way home so he didn't have to take the Metro. So that's what dating in Milan, Italy is like. At least if you're and ASM student. Maybe Andy has started a new trend. Maybe people will actually DO something from now on. Anyway, we're glad he went on his first date, a year late (since he just turned 17). And that's all I have to say about that. Mom

Mom's Donuts!

Hey everybody! Today Mom made a special treat for family home evening. One that is definatley my personal favorite, and I'm sure it holds a special place in all of your hearts (or at least those of you who have eaten these before!).
I, Andy, have concluded that these donuts are better than Krispy Kremes, Glazies, or whatever other donuts there are in the world. Positively THE BEST! Be jealous. Very jealous... muahahahaha!!! haha okay I'm done. Peace out.