Let the good times roll!

Cory’s done with school! Well, done with his 6^th trimester! He had 13 tests these last 2 weeks, and a lot of the tests doubled up on days, which means he actually took 13 tests in only 8 days (with some extra days thrown in there for studying) PLUS all the stuff he had to do for the Master’s in Nutrition. He’s amazing!! He did so well that he’s on the Dean’s List for this trimester. I’m so proud of him!! He’s got 2 weeks off from school before he goes back to start his 7^th trimester – and I’m soooo ready to enjoy it with him!

So to kick off the enjoying … we went up to see a replica of the Dead Sea Scrolls on Friday. The LDS church has replicas and they were on display at the Hill Cumorah visitor’s center. We went up with our friends Carlos & Erica (and kids Jacob and Elena) and Jonathan & Jaime. The visitor’s center is shaped like a U and they had the displays set up all around. We got to watch an intro video about the Scrolls – the community who kept them and where they were found. I copied this from the internet: “The Dead Sea scrolls consist of roughly 1000 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1979 in eleven caves in and around the Wadi Qumran (near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea) in Israel. The texts are of great religious and historical significance, as they include practically the only known surviving copies of Biblical documents made before 100 AD, and preserve evidence of considerable diversity of belief and practice within late Second Temple Judaism.”

It was all VERY interesting. We wore walkmans (it totally felt like the 80’s again!) and walked around the whole exhibit, while listening to some British sounding lady tell us all about the Scrolls. I went online to look up more information, so if anyone is interested, here is the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qumran

Pictures left to right: A replica of the community Qumran, who were the keepers of the Scrolls; Sarah, Jonathan and Jaime in front of the Isaiah scroll (the Isaiah scroll is over 20 feet long!); Cory, Jonathan and Jaime in front of the Isaiah scroll; and Jonathan, Jaime, Erica, Sarah (holding Elena), Carlos (holding Jacob) and Cory, outside the Visitor's center at the base of the Hill Cumorah.

We also had all the same people over to our house for Sunday night dinner. I made a couple of pizzas and everyone got to pick their own toppings. It was really tasty! Jaime brought this yummy spinach salad with strawberries and it was delicious. The kids were hilarious to watch eat - Jacob ate all the toppings (including the sauce) off his pizza and then munched on the crust. Elana kept dipping her spinach into her glass of water and kept telling me it was her dressing. It was sooo funny! We sat around and talked, threw the frisbee around, and just enjoyed the fact that finals are over!! It was an awesome Sunday evening.

I’m so glad finals are done!! We are going to enjoy our gorgeous weather this week! Next week we are going to head down to D.C. for a few days and we are STOKED!

2008 Getting to Know You

Well, I have nothing to post since it's week 2 of finals for Cory. Danielle sent this to me by email and I thought it would work for a blog posting. So here goes nothing! (and no, I'm not tagging anyone, but feel free to do it, if you want - it's pretty fun)

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:10 – late start!

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds … or anything else that sparkles!

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Seriously I have no idea … Enchanted at the dollar theater and before that … ?? … it’s been a while!!

4. What is your favorite TV show? CSI & Bones

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? If I had my way I would have French toast every morning … but it depends on how much time I have. Usually cereal or an omlette.

6. What is your middle name? Tate! (or Sue – depends on who you ask :)

7. What food do you dislike? Squash and peas

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? The soundtrack to Hairspray

9. What kind of car do you drive? A red Honda Civic

10. Favorite Sandwich? Turkey, spinach, swiss cheese and bacon! Yummy!

11. What characteristic do you despise? Is immorality a characteristic? Cause that's my answer.

12. Favorite item of clothing? Flip flops

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Oh sheesh, anywhere. I am currently really looking forward to Boston & Maine!

14. Favorite brand of clothing? Aah, I don’t care. Whatever fits. Is Kohl’s a brand?

15. Where would you retire to? Southern California!

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Birthdays when I was younger and we used to go downtown SLC and take horse-drawn carriage rides, and have cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate by the Church Office Building.

17. Favorite sport to watch? Ooh it’s a tie between football and basketball.

18. Farthest place you are sending this? Back to Utah, I guess

19. Person you expect to do it? I don't know, surprise me!

21. When is your birthday? December 20

22. Are you a morning person or a night person? Neither … I think I am getting old! :)

23. What is your shoe size? Last pair of shoes I bought were running sneakers and they are a 3 ½! I had to buy them in the kiddie section!

24. Pets? Nope

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? Cory is done with finals!!!!!!!!!!! (not new but definitely exciting!!)

26. What did you want to be when you were little? A lawyer, architect, astronaut, CIA agent … the list is very long.

27. How are you today? Just peachy

28. What is your favorite candy? Sour gummy bears (or worms)

29. What is your favorite flower? Roses and lilacs

30. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? April 29^th – we’re headed down to DC!!!!

32. What is your full name? Sarah Tate Bingham

33. What are you listening to now? Nothing … people talking

34. What was the last thing you ate? Leftover homemade pizza for lunch!

35. Do you wish on stars? Totally – when I was younger.

36. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Orange

37. How is the weather right now? Oh my gosh, it’s absolutely gorgeous!!

38. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Cory

39. Favorite soft drink? I love crème soda, wild cherry Pepsi … but I drink more water than anything else

40. Favorite restaurant? Oh where do I start! Wingers, Robintinos, anything Mexican, Friendly’s …

41. Hair color? Brown, same as it’s always been

42. What was your favorite toy as a child? My big wheel

43. Summer or winter? Summer all the way!!

44. Hugs or kisses? Both are wonderful

45 Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate – or a swirl of both flavors

46. Coffee or tea? neither

47. Do you want your friends to email you back? sure

48. When was the last time you cried? This morning – anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech makes me very sad.

49. What is under your bed? Dust, probably

50. What did you do last night? Went for a walk with Cory, made pizza together, watched American Idol and sewed a blanket.

51. What are you afraid of? Losing a loved one

52. Salty or sweet? Both – especially together! (hello Wendy’s fries in your Frosty!)

53. How many keys on your key ring? I had to look – 7

54. How many years at your current job? 1 ½

55. Favorite day of the week? Saturdays

56. How many towns have you lived in? Um, 5 I think (Farmington, Rexburg, Wuhan, Logan, Seneca Falls)

57. Do you make friends easily? Usually

Happy birthday Mormons!

Yesterday was April 6th - the day the LDS church was officially re-organized here in Fayette, New York. Happy birthday to us Mormons! We're now 178 years old :) I had a testimony of Joseph Smith before we moved out here ... but now having walked through the Sacred Grove, sat at the top of the Hill Cumorah, stood in the room where the angel Moroni first visited Joseph Smith and been in the home where Joseph received some of the revelations that became the Doctrine and Covenants ... I can now say that my testimony has increased. I know without a doubt that he was visited by the Father and the Son, and that he restored the full and everlasting gospel to the earth. I know he was our first prophet and having walked where he walked - I can say that I love him.

Pictures from left to right: Sacred Grove, Peter Whitmer farm house, and room inside the frame home where the Smith family lived.

General Conference over the weekend only served to re-enforce those feelings. I said to Cory the other day that I was so grateful to be a Mormon and to have been raised by wonderful parents who instilled in me such good values. Living in an area where Mormons are the minority (ironic, since it all started here) I am so grateful to have the standards and direction that I do. Watching other people struggle through life without much direction (or many standards) makes me ever so grateful that I have all the direction I need. I'm so grateful to be a member of this church and know for myself that it is true!

Home sweet home

A couple of people have asked me to put up some pictures of where we live. People (and this included me before we moved out here) don’t think of “New York” and “rural” in the same sentence. When I thought of corn and soy bean fields, New York was not the state that came to mind. Now my thinking has changed … we do live in the middle of corn fields and it is very rural. We live in the township of Seneca Falls - population 6,861 and in Seneca County – population 34,724. For comparison’s sake, the population of Farmington, Utah is 15,540 and the population of all of Davis County is 276,259. So … compared to what I am accustomed to, Seneca Country is quite small.

The area is known as the “Finger Lakes” region due to the abundance of lakes. We live next to Cayuga Lake, near the north end of the lake. Cayuga Lake is the longest of the finger lakes – just under 40 miles from tip to tip. You can drive down the entire length of the lake and end up in Ithaca – and it’s a gorgeous drive. We also enjoy being close to Seneca Lake, another big lake with gorgeous drives. It never ceases to amaze me how very BLUE the lakes are. Photos don’t really do them justice – they are a beautiful deep blue color that’s just amazing to look at.

Left to right: Seneca Lake, Cayuga Lake at night, and near Ithaca in the fall.

Our house was built sometime in the mid-1800’s and was used in the Underground Railroad. We are surrounded by corn fields – seriously. We have one neighbor and the then no one for a while. We don’t live in a subdivision, as it is out west. Our landlords own about 100 acres, and they rent the land out to Mennonite farmers, who work the land. It sounds so Pioneer times, huh? Many Mennonite and Amish people live around here (Mennonites are a branch of Amish people – they use electricity and drive cars but they still dress with the women in bonnets and dresses, and the men in trousers). It’s not uncommon to see Amish people plowing their fields by hand (no tractors for them!) or to see them in their horse-drawn buggies “driving” down the road. In many ways it feels like a simpler time out here.

Left to right: Downtown Seneca Falls, seen from the canal system that runs through town, Amish farmer working in the fields and Seneca Falls in the spring (see what I mean about rural?)

So yeah … that’s us. Sometimes I wish we lived somewhere that wasn’t so rural. For example, since we live in the middle of farmland, we are not close enough to any restaurants to have food delivered to us. The closest pizza place is Pizza Hut … but not close enough, because we live out of their delivery boundaries. We’re not close to a Chinese or Mexican place, either. This can be a good thing - we hardly spend any money on eating out – simply because there are no restaurants (fast food or otherwise) anywhere near us. I also wish that we lived closer to stores like Target and Wegmans (an awesome grocery store out here). There is truly nothing by us. BUT … it is quite simply a beautiful place to live in. The lakes are gorgeous and very calming. It’s quite green in the spring and summer, and the fall colors are fantastic. There’s so many hikes, waterfalls and spectacular scenery around for exploration. I like not having to fight with traffic (it takes me less than 10 minutes to get to work – from walking out my front door to being at my desk). I don’t miss the congestion and the inversion/smog of Utah – though occasionally it can be lonely on the country roads out here. All in all, it’s a great place to live. We don’t plan on staying here forever – we’ll be moving on when Cory finishes with school – but for now we are rather content with where we are. It’s beautiful out here!

Left to right: Overlooking Canandaigua Lake, overlooking Keuka Lake in the fall, and the campus of New York Chiropractic College (where Cory goes to school and I work). You can see Cayuga Lake in the background of the picture. The school sits on 286 acres, including a 9-hole golf course and the large pond you can see in the picture.

Now for some pictures of our house. Keep in mind that right now is not the prettiest season - it's still winter so everything is dead and spring has not yet come ... I promise to post some more pictures of the surrounding area as spring comes around.

From left to right: our place (we live on the 2nd floor of the home and someone else rents the bottom level), looking south of our house (we live right on the highway that runs the entire length of Cayuga Lake), looking east (towards the lake and the field that is normally all cornstalks), north of us (you can see our one neighbor), west of us (again normally all cornstalks), and the view from our bathroom window (you can see the lake in the distance).

And last but not least ... we attend church at the Peter Whitmer farm. It's where the Mormon Church was officially re-organized on April 6, 1830. These pictures are taken at the church.

From left to right: cornstalks (corn is everywhere! Really!), the cabin where the re-organization took place (hiding in the trees), and the church building.

A few more random pictures: rainstorm out here (I know it rains in Utah but out here it just pours! It's crazy!) and the campus of Cornell University down in Ithaca. It's a really old and beautiful campus - overlooking Cayuga Lake.

I can't believe that I am saying this ... but we really will miss it when we move! I'm glad we've got a bit longer to enjoy it all!

More snow ...

So this is what we woke up to this morning ... more snow! March 28th and it's still snowing here in upstate New York. The snow was really wet and heavy, which made shoveling fun for Cory. The temperatures have only been in the 30's for weeks now, so I am seriously hoping that spring comes soon! In the meantime, maybe Cory and I can have a snowball fight or something ...

Harry Potter Movie #6!

Some trailers for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince have hit the internet. Check out this one -- it looks awesome!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skTs8ErDbKk
And this one is good -- but it makes me want to cry:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF-38DTHUqo&NR=1

Man, I can't wait for November 21st!!

ABC Tagged

So I've been tagged again, but this one is different. It’s a Nutrition weekend for Cory, which means I have all day Saturday and all day Sunday to myself while he’s in class … and yeah, I am a bit bored (and oh so grateful for March Madness!) So here goes …

A- Attached or Single: Very happily attached!! I can’t imagine going back to being single!
B- Best Friend: Definitely Cory! But I still have some very close girlfriends, even though I don’t get to see them very often (or at all, really -- but I love you girls!)
C- Cake or Pie: Neither –- give me cookie dough or some cinnamon rolls.
D- Day of Choice: Saturday! I love Sundays also, but they signal that Monday is coming, so Saturday wins as my favorite day!
E- Essential Item: Chapstick and lotion … I could not live without these items. Seriously -- I think I am addicted.
F- Favorite Color: Red, yellow and orange
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Either one, as long as they are sour.
H- Hometown: Farmington, UT
I- Indulgences: Lately it’s been candy, which is weird since I normally don’t have a sweet tooth. And plenty of college hoops on TV -- what can I say? I LOVE March Madness!
J- January or July: Is this even a question? July all the way!!!
K- Kids: Not yet … ;)
L- Life is Incomplete Without: Cory, my family, and the Gospel (and Harry Potter!)
M- Marriage Date: August 18, 2004
N- Number of Siblings: 3 brothers, all younger
O- Oranges or Apples: Apples, but by a small margin. I love fruit, especially in season.
P- Phobias or Fears: It’s going to sound strange … but I am terrified of grasshoppers, dragon flies, and popping balloons.
Q- Quote(s): Go big or go home! (the Tate family motto)
R- Reason to Smile: Spring is coming ever closer … and summer isn’t way far away.
S- Season: Spring and summer (bring on the heat!) I like fall, too, but after it follows winter and you all know how I feel about winter!
T- Tag: I tag anyone who feels like answering (Muhlstein, Megan Jones -- this means you -- and anyone else who wants to)
U- Unknown fact about me: I secretly want to work for the CIA.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: This makes me look like a sadist, but I love meat! I would die if I tried to be a vegetarian … all I like is spinach and corn. :)
W- Worst Habit: Impatience (more like my worst personality trait)
X- rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds are good … and much safer than having lots of X-rays done.
Y- Your Favorite Food: Pizza, enchiladas, beef stroganoff, ice cream … I love food!
Z- Zodiac: Sagittarius