this is me

Twelve for 2012

2012-01-17T09:38:00.000-08:00

One of the things I hate about a new year is that panicked feeling I get that despite everything I did last year, it wasn't good enough and somehow I still failed miserably on where I wanted to be at the end of the year. So, lets just say making new goals at the beginning of each year isn't my favorite thing.

I was surprised that after a 2 1/2 hour FHE fireside (and I came 45 minutes late), my brain was functioning and I was able to pull out anything worthwhile--especially on goals! But our stake president had great suggestions called his 12 in 12, cheesy I know. What I liked about these goals was that not only do they seemed manageable, but they're small enough that if I do them, I know this year can be a success, even if the major goals I've set for myself don't turn out.

1. Pray morning and night
2. Indulge yourself in the arts
3. Regularly attend the temple
4. Do something daring and bold (challenge yourself)
5. Serve with all your heart
6. Fast with a purpose
7. Get outside, a lot (experience God's beauty)
8. Daily scripture moments
9. Surprise someone (deliver on something not expected of you)
10. Eat, sleep, and exercise right
11. Keep a journal
12. Take time to reflect

Best books read this year

2011-12-30T09:25:00.000-08:00

Fiction

The Teacher's Funeral by Richard Peck* I love books that make me laugh and take me back to simpler times. Highly recommend the audio book.

"If your teacher has to die, August isn't a bad time of year for it," begins Richard Peck's latest novel, a book full of his signature wit and sass. Russell Culver is fifteen in 1904, and he's raring to leave his tiny Indiana farm town for the endless sky of the Dakotas. To him, school has been nothing but a chain holding him back from his dreams. Maybe now that his teacher has passed on, they'll shut the school down entirely and leave him free to roam.

As he did in A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder, Richard Peck creates a whole world of folksy, one-of-a-kind characters here--the enviable and the laughable, the adorably meek and the deliciously terrifying. There will be no forgetting Russell, Tansy, and all the rest who populate this hilarious, shrewd, and thoroughly enchanting novel.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.* A fun filled ride through mysteries and unsolvable puzzles. A great audio book.

Young readers who have worked their way through Lemony Snicket may well find their next obsession in The Mysterious Benedict Society, a dandy YA debut by novelist Trenton Lee Stewart. This engaging tale has all the elements tweens find intriguing: gifted kids, a dangerous mission, and a secret society where nothing is as it seems. Stewart throws plenty of challenges -- physical, mental, and moral -- in the path of his young protagonists, and readers will have fun solving the riddles and unraveling the clues in this smart, unconventional mystery. Complex, unpredictable, and deeply respectful of children's innate intelligence, The Mysterious Benedict Society is highly recommended for thoughtful preteens. P.S. We loved it, too!

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart*

The fabulous foursome readers embraced as The Mysterious Benedict Society is back with a new mission, significantly closer to home. After reuniting for a celebratory scavenger hunt, Reynie, Kate, Sticky are forced to go on an unexpected search--a search to find Mr. Benedict. It seems that while he was preparing the kids' adventure, he stepped right into a trap orchestrated by his evil twin Mr. Curtain.

With only one week to find a captured Mr. Benedict, the gifted foursome faces their greatest challenge of all--a challenge that will reinforce the reasons they were brought together in the first place and will require them to fight for the very namesake that united them.

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart*

Join the Mysterious Benedict Society as Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance embark on a daring new adventure that threatens to force them apart from their families, friends, and even each other. When an unexplained blackout engulfs Stonetown, the foursome must unravel clues relating to a nefarious new plot, while their search for answers brings them closer to danger than ever before.

The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong One of the best paranormal series I've read. Fast paced stories with imperfect characters who you find yourself rooting for.

After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home.

At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behaviour. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…

The Awakening by Kelly Armstrong

If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl—someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I'm as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment—not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I'm a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control; I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever.

Now I'm running for my life with three of my supernatural friends—a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch—and we have to find someone who can help us before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.

The Reckoning by Kelly Armstrong

The explosive final part of the Darkest Powers trilogy, Kelley Armstrong's internationally bestselling YA series.

Courting Miss Lancaster by Sarah Eden A charming little tale that made me laugh.

Harry Windower adores blonde, green-eyes Athena Lancaster, but alas, a penniless man like himself has no hope of winning a young noblewoman's hand. To add insult to injury, Athena's brother-in-law and guardian, the Duke of Kielder, has asked Harry to assist Athena in finding a gentleman of her dreams. But the lovesick Harry is cunning as well: as the weeks pass, he introduces Athena to suitors who are horrifically boring, alarmingly attached to their mothers, downright rude, astoundingly self-absorbed, and utterly ridiculous.
Athena can't comprehend why she is having so little success meeting eligible and acceptable gentlemen. Indeed, her circle of admirers couldn't be be less admirable - nothing like the loyal, gentle friend she's found in Harry. But how long can Harry's scheme be hidden before it is discovered? And what will Athena do when she uncovers Harry's deception? Escape into a charming regency world in this delightfully romantic comedy of manners that will entertain you to the very last word

Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter Ally Carter is one of my favorite authors as she writes funny, strong, and lovable woman characters and Uncommon Criminals doesn't disappoint.

Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life life. Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners.

There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long, and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous and that is simply… the emerald is cursed.

Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all she has her best friend—the gorgeous Hale—and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses, realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.

Gregor and the Mark of the Secret by Suzanne Collins Beautifully written tale that like The Hunger Games makes you think.

It's only a few months since Gregor and Boots returned from the Underland, leaving their mother behind to heal from the plague. Though Gregor's family receives frequent updates on her condition, they all know Gregor must return to fulfill his role as the warrior who is key to the Underlanders' survival. Accompanied by his now-talkative little sister Boots, still considered the honorary "princess," Gregor joins forces with another princess--12-year-old Luxa--and Ripred the rat to defend the Underlanders and the vulnerable "Nibblers," or mice, from the rat army.

Gregor and the Code of the Claw by Suzanne Collins

Everyone in the Underland has been taking great pains to keep The Prophecy of Time from Gregor. Gregor knows it must say something awful but he never imagined just how awful: It calls for the warrior's death. Now, with an army of rats approaching, and his mom and sister still in Regalia, Gregor the warrior must gather up his courage to help defend Regalia and get his family home safely. The entire existence of the Underland is in Gregor's hands, and time is running out. There is a code to be cracked, a mysterious new princess, Gregor's burgeoning dark side, and a war to end all wars.

Percy Jackson and The Lightening Thief by Rick Riodran If you love mythology, then this is the series for you.

After getting expelled from yet another school for yet another clash with mythological monsters only he can see, twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is taken to Camp Half-Blood, where he finally learns the truth about his unique abilities: He is a demigod, half human, half immortal. Even more stunning: His father is the Greek god Poseidon, ruler of the sea, making Percy one of the most powerful demigods alive. There's little time to process this news. All too soon, a cryptic prophecy from the Oracle sends Percy on his first quest, a mission to the Underworld to prevent a war among the gods of Olympus.

Percy Jackson and The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riodran

After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson is finding his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson, a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any normal friends. But things don't stay quiet for long.

Dark Mirror by M. J. Putney Time travel and magic, what more could you want?

Lady Victoria Mansfield, youngest daughter of the earl and countess of Fairmount, is destined for a charmed life. Soon she will be presented during the London season, where she can choose a mate worthy of her status.

Yet Tory has a shameful secret—a secret so powerful that, if exposed, itcould strip her of her position and disgrace her family forever. Tory’s blood is tainted . . . by magic. When a shocking accident forces Tory to demonstrate her despised skill, the secret she’s fought so hard to hide is revealed for all to see. She is immediately exiled to Lackland Abbey, a reform school for young men and women in her position. There she will learn to suppress her deplorable talents and maybe, if she’s one of the lucky ones, be able to return to society.

But Tory’s life is about to change forever. All that she’s ever known or considered important will be challenged. What lies ahead is only the beginning of a strange and wonderful journey into a world where destiny and magic come together, where true love and friendship find her, and where courage and strength of character are the only things that determine a young girl’s worth.

Dark Passage by M. J. Putney

The Irregulars return home to 1803 England safely, but their worldview has changed. Not only have their heroic efforts at Dunkirk given them pride and confidence but their dangerous mission has increased their magical powers.

Non-fiction

Realistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington by Peter Henriques

This spare (256-page), erudite "portrait" doesn't attempt to retrace the entire life of Washington; rather, it concentrates on key themes and events that reveal the first president as he really was. As historian Joseph J. Ellis notes, the chapters on slavery and religion are especially beguiling and significant.

Churchill by Paul Johnson*

In Churchill, Johnson applies a wide lens and an unconventional approach to illuminate the various phases of Churchill's career. From his adventures as a young cavalry officer in the service of the Empire to his role as an elder statesman prophesying the advent of the Cold War, Johnson shows how Churchill's immense adaptability combined with his natural pugnacity to make him a formidable leader for the better part of a century. Johnson's narration of Churchill's many triumphs and setbacks, rich with anecdote and quotation, illustrates the man's humor, resilience, courage, and eccentricity as no other biography before.

American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic by Joseph J. Ellis

The last quarter of the eighteenth century remains the most politically creative era in American history, when a dedicated and determined group of men undertook a bold experiment in political ideals. It was a time of triumphs; yet, as Joseph J. Ellis makes clear, it was also a time of tragedies—all of which contributed to the shaping of our burgeoning nation.

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester An absolutely fascination story of the OED.*

The Professor and the Madman, masterfully researched and eloquently written, is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary -- and literary history. The compilation of the OED began in 1857, it was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, discovered that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand. When the committee insisted on honoring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane.

Longitudes and Attitudes by Thomas Friedman An interesting look at 9/11.

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times columnist and bestselling author of From Beirut to Jerusalem and The Lexus and the Olive Tree comes this smart, penetrating, brilliantly informed book that is indispensable for understanding today’s radically new world and America’s complex place in it.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot Highly recommended. Science and non-science lovers will love this.

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.

Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.

Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia—a land of wooden slave quarters, faith healings, and voodoo—to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells.

*Recommend the audio book

ABC of Utah A to Z

2011-12-08T08:22:00.000-08:00

A: Part City Arts Festival

Lindsay and I spent an fun afternoon exploring the Park City Arts festival in August and eating yummy food. There was some amazing stuff, though since most of it was out of my price range I don't know if I'd spend money on admission in the future. Though if I did have some spare change, I kind of want one of these. Aren't they so cute?

B: Beaver mountain

One of the highlights of the year--three days at a cabin on Beaver Mountain with the fam. What's not to love about ziplines, fuse-ball tournaments, amazing foods, beautiful scenery, game nights, hikes, canoeing, four wheeling, exploring Beaver, and jumping into cold lakes? Not being able to do it every weekend! :)

A: Cedar Breaks and Chalk Art Festival

On our way back from Beaver, we stopped at Cedar Breaks for a little hiking. I've forgotten how beautiful it is.

Each June, the Gateway hosts a Chalk Art Festival. I remember doing a chalk art project in high and was surprised at how it was much harder than it looks, so I was impressed with some of the skill and detail of some of the artists.

This guys work was incredible. You can check out his finished piece here.

Five years

2011-11-27T23:50:00.000-08:00

"The Lord loves each of us too much to merely let us go on being what we are, for He knows what we have the possibility to become." Elder Neal A. Maxwell

This quote by Elder Maxwell has always brought me such comfort, but as I've reflected on how my life has changed since November 25, 2006, when I went through the temple, I realize how beautifully this quote sums up my thoughts and feelings of what the temple means to me.

I never pictured going through the temple single, and so when the promptings began it involved a lot of prayer and fasting as it wasn't how I pictured doing it and the thought of going through single petrified me.

But, it's been the best thing I've done for myself.

I am so glad that I haven't waited until I've was married before I had the blessings of the temple in my life. Because of the covenants and promises of the temple, I've seen how the Lord has/is shaping my life and that his plan for me is better than anything I have envisioned for myself. When I feel small and inconsequential, I can go to the temple and be reminded that the blessings and promises are not only very real, but also very personal and that God is aware of me.

The covenants I've made have provided strength when I wasn't sure I could deal with the stress, worry and loneliness anymore as they've refocused my view and reminded me that my righteous desires are heard and through faith and obedience they will be fulfilled. Which is good because as I've sat in the temple and saw the blessings I haven't yet received (marriage and children), it's been that promise that's gotten me through.

While marriage in the temple has always been on my life list, it's only after going through the temple that my reverence, understanding, and desire to always have this blessing in my life has increase. Family life without the temple is no family life at all.

I love the feeling of love and acceptance that the temple offers. The sweet temple workers who have been so kind in their praise and gratitude. They don't know how much I've needed their encouragement and love. Being single, I don't always have someone who's excited to see me every single day and I've loved the fact that I can I can walk into the temple and have people who are happy to see me.

I couldn't imagine my life without the blessings of the temple. I am grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who knew I needed the peace, strength, wisdom, and love found in the temple and in the covenants. Like the pioneers who knew they needed to blessings of the temple to make the journey across the plains, I know that without the temple I couldn't make my mortal journey.

Keep Calm and Carry On

2011-11-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

I've loved the phrase KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON since I came across it years ago. I've always admired the spirit of the British during WWII and, for me, the poster perfectly summed up their determination. It's been a reminder to live and love life and to always carry on because life isn't as dark as it may seem. Over the past year KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON has become my unofficial motto as things haven't gone exactly as planned or hoped for. So it's no wonder I have three KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON posters in my bedroom? :)

This pink one was the last acquisition. My roommate gave it to me two months during a particularly crazy and stressful week and it makes me smile every time I see it.

When my bishop called and asked if I could come and have a chat with him on a Saturday morning, I honestly thought it was about some of the stuff I wanted to discuss concerning my current calling. So when the call to be the Relief Society President was issued I was a little taken back. In fact, my first two thoughts were "wow, wasn't expecting that," and "I'm going to be sick."

The past two months have been a roller coaster of emotions. There have been lots of sleepless nights. How do I deal with 130 sisters, half who are under the age of 23? What do I do with the 30 + sisters who are inactive, and another 40 who are semi-active? How do I improve the 30% average of Visiting Teaching? How do I teach the sisters the importance of RS and visiting teaching? How do I deal with the health issues of the sisters (three with hospital stays already)? How do I deal with the mental, emotional, and spiritual questions and concerns of the sisters? How do I get to know them better? What type of example am I being? How can I be more charitable? How can I impart my love for this gospel to them? How can I have enough time to do it all?

But it hasn't all been stress and worry. I've had some amazing moments, especially as I've been able to see glimpse of individual sisters potential and worth. As I've watched an inactive sister come to RS two weeks in a row, or agree to do Visiting Teaching I've been truly humbled because I know that I've been the messenger for the spirit. I've watched sisters willingly serve those who are difficult and do so with a loving heart. I've been grateful for those sisters who've felt that they've got a friend in me who've been willing to open up.

But mostly, I've learned a lot about myself. I've learned it's ok to give up control on certain things (especially if I don't want to have a mental breakdown). I've learned that even though I want to do it all, I just can't, and that it's ok to walk away and say "I'll do that tomorrow." I'm learning to have great patient and love for those who are struggling and are difficult to deal with. I'm learning that help really does come when it's greatly needed. I've learned that sometimes I just need to listen and not to try and fix the problem. I've learned to trust my instincts. I've learned to rely on others (especially my wonderful councilors) and their wisdom. I know at the end of this year, I will look back on all the things I've learned and will be so grateful for the fact that the Lord trusted me enough.

Lastly, I'm really grateful for these wonderful sisters I have beside me. They are capable, strong, spiritual, funny, kind, smart, and make my job so much easier.

Allie (1st councilor), Kaitlin (2nd councilor), and Whitney (secretary)

Sand

2011-10-25T16:12:00.000-07:00

Favorite pic from Boston/Ithaca excursion.

Drew does not like sand.

2,062 miles

2011-08-11T20:38:00.000-07:00

2,062 miles now separate me from this little one.

How I am going to miss him. He's CAPTURED my heart completely.

Dress love

2011-06-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

I've got major dress envy over this vintage number that Cat Deely wore on So You Think You Can Dance the other night. I may just have to attempt this dress this year just to get over my dress envy.

Did I really just say that?

2011-06-22T10:28:00.001-07:00

While I may be a girl, I do try to refrain from saying really girly things. :) It wasn't happening this last week with gems such as:

Can you help me with this? I don't want to ruin my manicure.

Yes, I have feminine products in my glove compartment.

I may have cried after I left the salon.

I can't play because I burned my finger on my straightener.

Eating that is so not worth the calorie intake.

I don't have any aspirin in my purse, but I do have midol.

Friends, the beach, camping=heaven

2011-06-21T16:08:00.000-07:00

The group
(br: Trent, Erika, Alison, Todd, Emily, Heidi, fr: Mike, Me, Dan, Hafid)

I love road trips and all that comes with it---lack of sleep craziness, great conversation, girl talk, not having to check work email. Really the list could go on and on. Add to it camping and the beach and it's the formula for brilliant adventure.

HOLLYWOOD

Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Walk of stars, street performances,
Hollywood sign, Kodak theatre, crazy people

Madam Tussards Wax Museum
uncanny likeness (mostly), grown ups playing dress-up, short movie stars

Miceli's Italian Restaurant
oldest Italian restaurant, fabulous pizza, Italian kitsch decor, "slices the size of a dinner plate"

Aneheim Angels vs. Kansas City Royals
first professional baseball game, nosebleed seats, rally monkey, AA broke seven game losing streak, beautiful weather

Taio Cruz Concert
actually knowing who Tai Cruz was, lack of sleep crazy dancing, cell phone picture

BEACH!!!

feet in the sand, waves crashing, sand castles, football, freezing water,
SUN, book reading, sea shell gathering, gorgeous sunsets, happiness

Camping
fire, marshmellow roasting, ocean cooked corn on the cob, our adopted pet aka the shunk, butchering campfire songs, good food, youtube video discussions, perfect summer activity

Things to do this year.

2011-06-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

The thought of turning 29 actually petrified me, so to make 29 a little more bearable I've decided to have 29 adventures this year. So if you want to join me on any, or all of the adventures, I'd love to have you along.

1. Take a cooking class

2. Become scuba certified

3. Read 100 books

4. Finish scrapbooking study abroad

5. Be a part of a flash mob

6. Cook 29 new recipes (including a soufflé)

7. Dress up for the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

8. Go to my first professional baseball game. First one completed: Anaheim Angels vs. Kansas City Royals, June 11 in Anaheim.

9. Learn how to sail

10. Join the DUP (Daughter of Utah Pioneers)

11. Sew a dress

12. Take a picture a day for 29 days (luckily for me February next year has 29 days)

13. Finish Jesus the Christ

14. Try a new ethnic food restaurant each month.

15. Buy a bike

16. Hike Mount Olympus

17. Lose 10 pounds

18. See The Sound of Music at Sundance

19. Have a Utah A to Z adventure

20. Go paragliding

21. Take a road trip decided by the flip of a coin.

22. Do a session at all Utah Temples

23. Do a murder mystery date

24. Write the first chapter of my novel

25. Do a bike race

26. Plan a huge croquette tournament

27. Volunteer at a local school

28. Take a dance class

29. Plan my 30th birthday celebration. It's already been decided that I'm going to be celebrating my 30th birthday in some remote and exotic location (unless something better comes along). Right now the top choices are Sweden, Guatemala, Prague, and Italy. Anybody's welcome to join me, hint, hint. :)

Ghetto Adventure=Good Times

2011-06-04T17:15:00.000-07:00

I have the COOLEST family! Why? Because my family is always up for adventure--even if it turns out to be a slightly ghetto adventure to Hollywood Connection.

Reason #1 why our ghetto adventure was amazing. We all made "matching" spray painted shirts. Awesome.

Sara, Jane, Laura creating the awesomeness.

Reason #2 why our ghetto adventure was amazing. Ten grown people on the world's smallest roller coaster.

Reason #3 why our ghetto adventure was amazing. Bumper car domination.

Jane, Laura, Sara

Reason #4 why our ghetto adventure was amazing. Ridding the lamest rides over and over again and laughing each time we did.

Drew's first carousel ride.

Reason #5 why our ghetto adventure was amazing. It may have been mini golf, but that doesn't mean we still aren't competitive.

The Royal Wedding

2011-04-30T09:17:00.001-07:00

Yes, I got up at 2:30 to watch the Royal Wedding and it was purely magical with it's pomp and understated beauty. I waited with baited breath to see what Catherine, would be wearing and LOVED her beautiful dress. The only downside to the day was the I wasn't in London to watch it. :(

But in the whole critiquing of the dress and hats, many missed what I think was the best part of the whole entire wedding ceremony, the sermon by the Bishop of London. If you haven't read or watched it, it's well worth doing so and I think it's one of the best speech ever given on marriage.

"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."

So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day this is. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves.

Many people are fearful for the future of today’s world but the message of the celebrations in this country and far beyond its shores is the right one – this is a joyful day! It is good that people in every continent are able to share in these celebrations because this is, as every wedding day should be, a day of hope.

In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future.

William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

In the Spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to each other.

The spiritual life grows as love finds its centre beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this: the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life.

It is of course very hard to wean ourselves away from self-centredness. People can dream of such a thing but that hope should not be fulfilled without a solemn decision that, whatever the difficulties, we are committed to the way of generous love.

You have both made your decision today – “I will” – and by making this new relationship, you have aligned yourselves with what we believe is the way in which life is spiritually evolving, and which will lead to a creative future for the human race.

We stand looking forward to a century which is full of promise and full of peril. Human beings are confronting the question of how to use wisely the power that has been given to us through the discoveries of the last century. We shall not be converted to the promise of the future by more knowledge, but rather by an increase of loving wisdom and reverence, for life, for the earth and for one another.

Marriage should transform, as husband and wife make one another their work of art. It is possible to transform so long as we do not harbour ambitions to reform our partner. There must be no coercion if the Spirit is to flow; each must give the other space and freedom. Chaucer, the London poet, sums it up in a pithy phrase:

"Whan maistrie [mastery] comth, the God of Love anon,
Beteth his wynges, and farewell, he is gon."

As the reality of God has faded from so many lives in the West, there has been a corresponding inflation of expectations that personal relations alone will supply meaning and happiness in life. This is to load our partner with too great a burden. We are all incomplete: we all need the love which is secure, rather than oppressive. We need mutual forgiveness in order to thrive.

As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads on to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can receive and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace.

I pray that all of us present and the many millions watching this ceremony and sharing in your joy today will do everything in their power to support and uphold you in your new life. I pray that God will bless you in the way of life you have chosen. That way which is expressed in the prayer that you have composed together in preparation for this day:

God our Father, we thank you for our families; for the love that we share and for the joy of our marriage.
In the busyness of each day keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy.
Strengthened by our union help us to serve and comfort those who suffer.
We ask this in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Amen.

March Madness aka Man madnesss

2011-03-21T11:49:00.000-07:00

16 college teams=16 randomly assigned boys=man madness.

What happens when you have this brilliant idea to fill out a sweet sixteen bracket and randomly assign 16 boys a final 16 teams? You've got Man Madness, a Final Four Date (we have to ask out the boy that wins our region), and a new piece of artwork on the wall.

Will the number one seed advance, or will an underdog go all the way? Who knows, but I'll keep you posted. :)

Kristen and I creating the "Man Madness" bracket.

Emily, myself, and Kristen holding the final bracket.

The East region aka my region.

Our new artwork.

London Lover

2011-03-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

I have a not-so-secret desire to be British. And since that's not really possible, being called a "London Lover" by a complete stranger and being featured as their favorite blog of the week by one of the top London Blogs, The Daily Constitutional, may be the next best thing!

Checking my comments today I saw I found this little gem:

"Hi, we stumbled upon your great London pics and we really liked them – looks like you had a great trip!

We've made you our Blog of the Week on our blog.

Best wishes,
Adam
Editor, The Daily Constitutional & The London Walks Blog "

If you have a hankering to read all my posts about London (they do appear frequently) you can read them all here.

Best. Game. Ever!

2011-03-07T10:32:00.000-08:00

I've been to some pretty incredible games in my day, but nothing has compared to Saturday's game and I honestly believe nothing ever will as it wasn't the type of things that will show up on SportsCenter.

Walking into the Marriott Center gave me goose bumps. Wouldn't seeing this do that?

There was an electricity in the air and it felt like the game had taken on a deeper meaning. It was like there was this unspoken hope that we could show the world that we may be mocked and our star may not shine as brightly, but don't count us out. We are in the business of making better men who play basketball, not great basketball players who are terrible men. That despite obstacles we'll find away to achieve.

Then came that deafening scream when the lights went out, the large curtains dropped, and a highlight video began showed that we were proud of who we are and for many it was an emotional moment. As clips from the season flashed on the screen, the biggest cheers were not for Jimmer, but for Brandon Davies who was sitting on the bench with his team. And the fans continued to show their support throughout the game with with chants of "We love Brandon."

If anybody really wants to know what the church is they needed to look no further than the love and forgiveness offered to Brandon. To see him at the end of the game cutting down the net with the rest of his team. I don't know if I've ever been more proud of my school than I was as I watched this unfold.

It's hard to watch a game and not get caught up in the Jimmermania with that boyish smile and the ability to make impossible play after play. After watching him live, I may have been tempted to find an "I heart Jimmer shirt.

Photo credit BYU Daily Universe

I may be slightly jealous that the student section when I was going to BYU wasn't anything like the student section you see now. I hope the new and improved student section continues because I felt it was establishing those traditions and memories that BYU sports is sometimes lacking. Plus, you can't beat watching the student section sea of white break into dance and then having the rest of the stadium stand and give THE STUDENT SECTION a standing ovation.

If you didn't know better, you'd have almost thought we were celebrating a national championship--and I think in some ways we were.

It was our "resurrection" game and it proved that we could do it and the fans there that day knew they were part of history. It really was the BEST. GAME. EVER! because it was more than just a basketball game.

photo by Trent Nelson-The Salt Lake Tribune

Photos used in this post, unless otherwise noted, come from the Jeffrey Alred of Desert News.

And we're off...

2011-02-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

No trip is ever without it's hiccups and the first 24 hours provided exactly that for us.

1. It's good to know that a flight won't take off if there's luggage for a passenger, but no passenger. Though I wish they would have figured that out BEFORE we were in the queue on the tarmac. Getting out of the queue and returning to the gate meant that we were almost 2 hours late getting into London :(.

2. Arriving two hours late wouldn't have been that terrible, but it was just our luck that the needed tube line (Central) to our hotel was closed because of weekend tube repairs in preparation for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Which meant an extra long walk to our hotel dragging our suitcases.

3. Weekend Tube closures meant that Central Line and the Circle and District lines were closed. Who in their right mind closes those lines and the SAME time?

Our matchy carryons

Our original plan was to do Westminster Abbey and then head down to the Tower of London and St. Pauls before ending up in the westend to watch Les Miserables. It didn't go as planned--remember tube closures? In the end we did Westminster, the London Eye, and Les Miserables.

Westminster Abbey: The last time I took a tour of Westminster Abbey (2003), we had a tour guide named Chester, looked exactly like professor Snape, and liked to stroke things with his long fingers. Creepy! We may have been nicked named "Chester the Molester." We had a wonderful tour guide who's name was not Chester.

Parliament Square. For me, Parliament Square is such fascinating place--a hippie commune in the middle of London. During my three previous visits, it was filled with anti-war signage (there's still some left), this time it was mainly death to capitalism signs. I couldn't figure out what they wanted to establish instead of capitalism.

Westminster Bridge: It's the oldest bridge in Central London and was finished in 1862. (Very Random fact)

View from Westminster Bridge looking South.

The view from Westminster Bridge looking north.

London Eye: The London Eye was constructed in 1999 and was originally called the Millennial Eye. It has 36 egg shaped carriages that hold 25 people a piece. It rotates 10 inches per second and takes 30 minutes to complete the entire rotation. It has a height of 443 feet and was the tallest ferris wheel in the world until 2006. By 2008, over 30 million people had ridden it. It also has some of the best views of London.

Towards the Southeast you can see St. Pauls and the Gherkin.

World Cup Fever: With England playing the United States in the first round of the world cup, my loyalties may have been split. Though, my favorite part was as we were eating our dinner a very drunk and excited man, came up to us and started signing one of the English football songs. He kept wanting us to join in and finally I said "We're American." To which he replied "that's too bad" and walked away.

At four in the afternoon, most of this crowd was already drunk.

Les Misearbles: I know that this is strange to say since it takes places in Paris, but Les Mis reminds me of London. I think it's because I grew up watching the 10th anniversary special at Royal Albert Hall and fell even deep in love with the play, the music, the building, and Michael Ball. So it was a must see during my study abroad and is always a wonderful one to see again. The cast did a wonderful job, and even with our jet lag Emily and I managed to stay away for most of it.

I experienced a new London first this trip--being pooped on by a pigeon.

Day 3 London

2011-02-13T23:36:00.000-08:00

For as many times as I've been to London, it's hard to believe that I never went to the Britannia (YSA ward), especially because where else am I going to meet my British husband? :) And we didn't plan on hitting the Britannia ward this time either, but with a silly little thing called jetlag we ended sleeping through the family ward so the Britannia ward was the only option. Can I just say how much I miss seeing well dressed men on a daily basis? I miss the plaids, checks, and strips together, cufflinks and great shoes, but mostly I miss seeing guys wearing purple and pink and them NOT being gay. One of my favorite study abroad past times may have been to purposely choose certain tube lines so I could watch all the men either going or coming home from work.

Because we missed the morning church, we had a little time to kill before church and we spent it at the Victoria and Albert Museum as no trip would be complete without a trip to my favorite museum ever! I've even blogged about my love for the V&A here.

Walking around London you're still able to see damage caused by the German Blitz during the the end of 1940 and the beginning of 1941. In fact one of my favorite pictures of ALL time is St. Paul's covered in smoke, but still standing.

Not only does the V&A house a great collection, it's a stunningly beautiful building.

The rest of the day was spent enjoying some of my favorite places--Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace and the Mall, Regents Park, and we topped of the night with London highlights bus ride.

Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, Hyde Park
The Serpentine, Hyde Park
(created in 1730 for Queen Caroline, wife of George II)

In fact the Serpentine one of the few places I've had a picture taken all four times I've been to London.

The Serpentine

2003

2004 (Don't you love the pink sunglasses)

2005

2010

Hyde Parks lawn chairs. You have to pay to use them. And yes, I may have taken a picture in them while the attendant wasn't looking. :)

I love the variety of what you find at Speaker's Corner

Hyde Park
Isn't this a great tree?
Kensington Gardens-Peter Pan Statue

Kensington Palace
Kensington Gardens

Kensington Garden
The Elfin Oak (a 900 year old stump carved with all sorts of "little people")

One of the very first pictures I took in London during my study abroad in 2003 was of this clock tower in Kensington Garden. It's face (with the saying "time flies") reminds us that time really does fly.

The BYU Centre

I'd LOVE to in one of these flats.

Trafalgar Square

Admiralty Arch

Pall Mall decorated for the queens birthday.
We may have seen PRINCE WILLIAM on our way to Buckingham...too bad he's engaged.

London Icons

Telephone Boxes

"Look Right" and "Look Both Ways"
to remind foreigners which way traffic is coming.

"Mind the Gap" probably the only phrase I can pull off with a reasonable British accent.

And my favorite London Icon of all--Parliament and Big Ben (the clock) I could spend my days (and evenings) listening to the melodic sounds of the Thames and the chime of Big Ben.

And if all works out right, this is where I'll be next year--the London Olympics.

Day 4 and 5--Blue Lagoon and Puffin Watching

2011-02-08T14:40:00.000-08:00

Cool things about Iceland.

1. You'll never run out of hot water, granted the hot water taste and smells like sulfur.
2. All the water that comes out of the tap is ice cold natural spring water.
3. There are no BUGS! What would life be like without spiders, flies, and mosquitoes.
4. The crime rate is so low, that you could drop a twenty on the street and people would leave it there for you to come back and pick it up.
5. When parents are shopping, they feel comfortable leaving their children outside of the store. And if the baby cries, strangers will stop and comfort the child.
6. It has it's own type of pony and it's the only type of horse allowed on the island.

We arrived in Iceland on Monday night, and that evening was spent hanging out with the YSA for FHE. The cute missionary couple daughter introduced the YSA to "do you love your neighbor," and we had so much fun playing it that we ended playing it for like hours. I may complain about the singles scene in Utah, but after going to Iceland I'm feeling very blessed because there was only about twenty singles TOTAL in the Reyjkavik area.

The couple missionary, Brother and Sister had their daughter and son-in-law visiting and so we we were able to tag along with them on Tuesday and it was so nice.

In the US we have beef jerky, in Iceland they have fish jerky. So all over you'll see these fish drying racks.

We stopped at this beautiful lake.

Because Iceland has so many natural wonders you'll be driving along and then bam you'll find these great features in the middle of nowhere.

The Continental Divide

Standing on two continents

The Blue Lagoon= Heaven.
Located in the lave field in Grindavik and is fed by the water outpout of he nearby georthermal plant so as the Icelanders loved to say, we were swimming in "nuclear waste." But if gorgeous, warm, full of health benefits, is whats swimming in "nuclear waste" is all about then I'm sold

I would have loved to go whale watching, but had to settle for the next best things--puffins. It was beautiful being on the ocean and seeing the hundreds of puffins, ducks, seagulls and other birds that call Iceland home, but to also be able to look back to the shoreline of Reykjavik.

You can't really tell, but that's a sea lion.

According to locals a trip to Iceland wouldn't be complete without eating an Icelandic hot dog at this famous hot dog stand. Famous people who've had a hot dog here include Bill Clinton and Mick Jagger. The hot dogs were actually VERY good and it's interesting because they put their condiments on the bun first and then on top of that goes the hot dog.

We visited the one of the tallest buildings in Reykjavik that had these beautiful panoramic views.

I think that having three months of sunshine would be heavenly (though the 9 months of almost complete darkness wouldn't). This was the sun"setting" around 2 AM.

Day 6-Golden Circle Tour

2011-02-07T13:07:00.000-08:00

Everything about Iceland is so different from what I'm used to seeing, but it's stunning in it's own way. I'd love to come back (especially so I can see the glaciers and volcanoes that I missed this trip).

Today we did the Golden circle tour which took us to Thingvellir National Park and Parliament ruins, Geysir National Park, Gullfoss, and to a geothermal plant.

Thingvellir National park is important for two reasons. First, it's where the first Icelandic Parliament convened each summer starting 930 A.D.. The last time Parliament meet here was in 1789. Second, it's the only place in the world that doesn't belong to any continent and you can clearly see the rift between the North American continent and the Eurasia continent.

Walking down into Thingvellir. Isn't the black soil amazing?

With the "Law Rock" in the background. The elected lawspeaker would face the "Law Rock" while talking and his words would bounce back to the crowds enabling everyone to hear. It was at the Law rock that rulings were announced, calendar confirmed and legal action brought.

Thingvellir Church

Looking back towards the "Law Rock."

Thingvillir is covered with hundreds of cracks due to the continental drift between the two plates. Some of these crack are large enough to form canyons, while others are filled with the most beautiful clear water.

This one is also know as Peningagjá (lit. "coin fissure"), as it is littered with coins at its bottom because legend goes if you throw a coin in and can follow it all the way down to the bottom what you wished for will come true.

Our next stop was the Gullfoss (of the Golden waterfall). It is Iceland's most famous waterfall and Europe's most powerful. It's known as the Golden waterfall because on sunny days, the mist clouds around the fall are filled with lot of rainbows and it's supossed to be really beautiful. We didn't see any rainbows or color spectacle because it was raining.

Yes, the waterfall drop is like ten feet behind me. No worries.

You can't really tell, but by the time we got to the restaurant for lunch we were a little wet. So the bowl of traditional Lamb stew was so good.

Geysir National Park.
It's thanks to Iceland and the Geysir national park where we get the English word Geyser from. Geyser is from an old Norse word meaning to gush. While very active today, the Geysir in the national park were almost dormant by 1896 until an earthquake caused them to begin erupting again.

The Stokkur geyser erupts every 5-8 minutes to a height of about 9 feet.

Waiting for Strokkur to erupt.

Yes, the only thing keeping you from getting up close and personal from is a rope ten inches off the ground.

One of the things I wanted to see while in Iceland was an active volcano I wanted to see an active volcano, but this was the closest I was able to come. Isn't the water beautiful in the bottom?

The Horsehair waterfall

Geothermal Plant--It was sooo cool to see how they harnessed all of the geothermal activity. It's an amazing process to see how they use this natural resource.

Day 7--Reykjavik and Independence Day

2011-02-06T11:10:00.000-08:00

Day 7-Reykjavik

Today was our last day in Iceland, it also happened to be Iceland's independence day.

While people had visited Icleand as early as 830 AD, it wasn't until 874 AD that a permanent was established when a Norwegian chieftain, Ingólfur Arnarson, settled in what is present day Reykjavik. With the establishment of a legislative and judiciary parliament in 930 AD, Iceland officially became the Icelandic Commonwealth. The Icelandic Commonwealth lasted until 1262 when it was brought under the Norwegian Crown. Iceland was passed to Denmark-Norway in 1320, and remained a dependent of that kingdom until the Napoleonic Wars when Denmark and Norway split, at which time Iceland was passed to Denmark. Independence movements began in the 1870, and in 1918, Iceland signed the Act of Union to last for 25 years, which recognized Iceland as a fully sovereign state in a union with the Denmark. When the 25 year agreement was up, Icelanders voted to terminate the personal union with the King of Denmark. Iceland became a republic on 17 June 1944.

Traditional Icelandic dress

Main independence service
(from what I could gather many high ranking government officials were in attendance)

Reykjavik is a beautiful city on the southwest coast of Iceland. It has a population of around 120,000 and is the world's most Northern capital. I've always been drawn to the clean lines and the vibrant colors of Scandinavian architecture and Reyjavik didn't disapoint-it was beautiful with colorful and charming buildings, tree lined streets, and adorable parks.

At the center of town lies the Tjornin (pond). It's a gathering place for the city and you'll find people walking it's vast shores, visiting on one of the many benches, or you'll see children feeding the many ducks.

Tjorin

Rekyjavik's main street getting all decorated for the independence celebrations.

Day 8--Black Forest

2011-01-09T21:04:00.000-08:00

THE BLACK FOREST

One of my favorite pictures taken on the drive through The Black Forest.

Today, we did "The Black Forest' which is he quintessential Germany with beautiful fields and rolling hills, window boxes filled with red geraniums, cuckoo clocks and of course the black forests--which are beautiful! You can see how the dense forest really gave way to this regions name. Because the Black forest region was cut off from the rest of Germany until the last century, I felt like it was the area that most retained the traditional Germany--where it wouldn't be out of character to see men and women in traditional costumes singing the traditional songs all while bringing their cows in from the fields (I did see men and women in traditional costumes, but no cow hearding or traditional singing).

Our first stop of the day was the Black Forest Open-Air Museum. This outdoor museum gave a wonderful glimpse into what the everyday life was like for those living in this region. The museum had about a dozen + houses and other types of buildings buildings (most were over 300 years) that were brought from all over the black forest region. Each house told which region it was from, what it was used for, and how the local region dictated the architecture. Though, almost all black forest houses had these strange roofs called "semi-hipped" that allowed for protection for both the animals and people when a storm hit. This region also built it's houses right into the hillside as it allowed for grain to be easily brought in and dispersed to the animals that shared the house. We were under the impression that we'd see people dressed in native costumes and giving tours, but were a little disappointed that we didn't see anybody. In fact, the whole museum was pretty sleepy (though we don't know if it was because everybody was watching Germany's first game of the world cup).

Wearing one of the traditional hats. If I was married the balls on it would be black instead of red.

The entrance to the open-air folk museum.

The "Hipped roof"

Standing in front of the farmhouse that started the museum. It was built in 1619 and lived in until 1965.

We're not sure why one of the houses had this creepy funhouse/child's play area.

Our last stop of the day was Trieberg, a fun town which is very proud of it's cuckoo clock heritage. It also houses the world's largest working cuckoo clock--it's the size of a small house. But the city and it's cuckoo clocks didn't disapoint and I was amazed by the details and the scope of them.

I really loved this modern take on the classic cuckoo clock.

The city of Trieberg.

This giant clock was outside on the stores.

Downtown Trieberg.

Germany's highest waterfall--Trieberg wasserfall

Day 9 and 10--Stuttgart

2010-12-30T13:30:00.000-08:00

Hohenzerollen Castle
On Saturday, we visited Hohzerollen Castle which is about 50 km outside of Stuttgart. Honenzerollen Castle is the ancestral seat of the Hohenzerollen family and who eventually became Germany's royal family. The best part of the castle was the views (it's located almost 3000 feet above sea level) of the surrounding mountain ranges and villages. I loved watching the fog roll over the villages as I waited for the sun to break though an make the coutryside sparkle. The castle itself is really beautiful with some great architecture.

Emily and I at the entrance gate.

Outer wall of the castle.

View from the castles

I thought this sign was cool, but I have no idea what it means or why it was there.

This picture made me smile. How can you not love seeing two boys in matching coats each taking a picture of the two boys in the doorway.

Sunday was so nice because we were able to spend the day at Church (in an English branch), eating good food, and taking naps.

Day 11--Leipzig

2010-11-28T21:33:00.000-08:00

View Larger Map

It seemed like a good idea. Me, driving by myself for 484 kilometers from Stuttgart (south west Germany) to Leipzig (north east Germany) to meet up with Taylor because it was a straight shot and I'd have carefully printed directions. What could go wrong? :)

1. I don't read German. Which poses a small problem when you're trying to be navigator and driver all at the same time. It also meant that I got all confused trying to get out of the airport after picking up my car and drove an hour (a good portion of that is stop-and-go traffic) before I realized I was heading south-east. Lovely.

2. I don't speak German. Which meant that when I finally realized I was headed in the wrong direction I realized that it's kind of hard to ask for directions. I know that not everybody speaks English, but I was surprised that it took me awhile to find someone who did and could help me out. It ended up being a very nice taxi driver who not only gave me directions, but also his phone number and told me to call him if I got lost again.

3. And since I don't speak German it also meant that I didn't understand any of the radio stations that I spent seven hours listening as I'd forgotten my ipod adapter.

4. It was being half way to Leipzig calling Taylor to give him an update and get more specific directions about where we were meeting rather than the vague "we'll meet at the Leipzig train station" that I'd been working on, only to find that the number he's given me doesn't work. A few earnest prayers may have been offered as panic set in.

5. It's calling Emily and having her find any other possible contact number in my email that by some small chance would know how to contact Taylor. Then getting a list of names and numbers, praying that 1. someone would answer 2. that when they did they would speak English. Someone finally answered and spoke English--sort of.

6. It was having Google maps not giving the correct exit name and so in looking for an exit that didn't exist I drove past Leipzig.

7. It's finding out after I've stood in line for 20 minutes that you pay for gas AFTER you fill up.

8. It's finally getting into Leipzig and having Taylor trying to give me directions and not being able to navigate and drive at the same time worrying that I've committed some driving error. Before finally deciding that since Taylor knows Leipzig better than I do, and it's been a stress seven hours, that my best option is to pull over and have Taylor find me. HIGHLIGHT is that without knowing it, I stopped on the street where he'd lived as a missionary so Taylor knew EXACTLY where to find me! Answered prayers are the best.

But what I learned from my seven hour ordeal was:

1. I LOVE, LOVE , LOVE driving on the autobaun. I was shown the the joy of a truly wonderful driving experience. Everybody on the autobaun plays this well choreographed game of leap frog which equals no congestion, no tailing, and no aggressive behavior.

2. I love going fast! One day I'll drive the autobaun in a car made for driving, but until then I was kind of excited to drive like the Germans at 220 kilometers (130 mph).

3. If I can get lost and navigate myself, for the most part, in a foreign country I can do it anywhere.

4. In dyer circumstances the Lord really does answer prayers and sends tender mercies when they are most needed.

I came to learn so much about the people and the areas Taylor served in, but it's something else to finally meet someone in person as you feel like you already know them.

I was looking forward to seeing more of Leipzig, but my little adventure didn't really allow for that. :) Leipzig was both a beautiful (great buildings and parks) and a very stark/run down city (evidence of the bombings and years spent under communist rule).

The Elder's apartment in Leipzig.

Frederike Wittmaack (this fun German sister who servedwith Taylor and who teaches German at the Preston MTC), Taylor, me

Taylor and Frederkia with this adorable investigator family.
The little girl made me draw her all of these pictures and kept
wanting to have her picture taken with all of us.

St. Thomas Church
Bach wrote a majority of his works in this church where he served as Cantor. It was closed for rehearsals so we weren't able to go inside.

I love the bicycle parking complete with meters and fees.

Some of the beautiful buildings of Leipzig.

Taylor had this gelato place that he loved so of course
we had to stop and get some and of course getting gelato became a daily ritual.

Day 13-Schwarzenberg

2010-11-15T14:34:00.000-08:00

SCHWARZENBERG

The first area that Taylor's served in on his mission was Schwarzenberg, this wonderful little village close to the German/Czech border.

Found in the 12th century as an important fortress town on the trade route, Schwarzerg flourished because of it's rich mining resources. Todayit's considered the " Pearl of the Erzgebirge" because of its wonderful historical center and small shops that continue to make truly stunning handcrafted Christmas decorations. Tradition goes that the miners from the Erzgebirge region would crave beautiful wooden figures as a way to relax. Even though the mines closed up in the 1500's, mining motifs are still seen on the buildings, in the carvings, and in the local dialect. But I love Erzenbirge because of the beautiful Christmas products it's given us--wooden nativities, nutcrackers, candle arches, and my favorite the Christmas pyramid (which is over 300 years old).

This pyramid shows both the mining influence,

but the building is also very typical of the

buildings found in Eastern Germany.

Most houses display this candle arch that highlights

the regions mining and lacemaking traditions.

I was surprised to see how twenty years after East Germany collapsed how, much left over influence from that time period are still around. Compared to the other cities of Germany, I felt that I stepped back twenty years in Schwarzenberg. Communism themes are still seen on old buildings, in fences and gates, in advertising. But what was most unexpected was the Nazi and communism posters and propaganda that I saw displayed by the youth and I was shocked to see how much Nazi found on The cities in eastern Germany are different from cities in the southIt's a very typical eastern Germany city, and I was surprised not only in the obvious difference in architecture and cultural customs, but also how.

We were lucky enough to stay with the Ebish's, a stalwart German family--though I did wish I knew at least a little German. It was fun to see Taylor interact with some of the people he'd served and to see their love for him.

Downtown

This church sits atop the old medieval fortress and was one of

the most beautiful Medieval Churches I've ever seen.

Saint George is the patron saint of Schwarzenberg and there are numerous references to him throughout the town. Legend goes that George took on the lindword outside the village, and in an attempt to flee George and his horse leaped across the river and landed on the stone the town is built on. Legend holds that prints his horse made are still visible today.

This mural showed the history of the city.

Traditional Lace making. It was fascinating to watch how

fast she was able to braid the bobbins.

Yes, they had an Arnold Schwarzenberg nutcracker. Yes, I made Taylor pose.

The chapel. Don't ask me what were doing.

The apt where Taylor lived.

The last thing we did before we went left Schwarzenberg was to take a tour of one of the old mines. After the mines closed in the 1600's, the hundreds of mine entrances were lost. It's only been in the last 40 or so years that they've been rediscovered. The tour of the mine was fascinating. To see what they did was incredible. To realize that they dug out tunnels by hand, padded their hats with grass to protect them, spent two hours climbing down and two hours climbing out, and worked an eight hour shift for very little money. In the region people still say Gluck Auf, which basically means, Good Luck, and was said by miners to each other as they entered and left the mines.

Me, Taylor, Aiden Ebisch, and his friend (who's name I couldn't understand)

Day 14-Munchen

2010-10-17T22:10:00.000-07:00

MUNCHEN
Our day started bright and early as we figured that early morning was a the perfect time to explore Munche's famous open-air market, Viktaulienmarkt (and we might not have been willing to pay for the pricey B&B breakfast). Open air markets are one of my favorite European features. I love the vitality, the wide range of products (they had the cutest miniature fruits), and the small feeling that you're on a treasure hunt. Of course we had to try every type of pesto--and that may have become part of our breakfast, along with a bag of cherries, and eventually a crossiant.

I loved the mini fruits. Isn't that baby pineapple adorable?

Munchen City Museum
It gave a wonderful overview of the city's 850 year history--it's beginning as a salt town, it's home of the counter-reformation against Luther, to eventually rise as the capital of Bavaria. Though the thing that stood with me the most was that the German's have a strange sense of humor, and a fascination with puppets and the circus.

Yes, they had a creepy fun-house

There were ROOMS of puppets.

St. Peter's Church
While St. Peter's church may contain the most relics outside Rom-- we were there for the view. It was 306 steps up a narrow winding staircase, but the breathtaking view from the top was worth every bit as it provided one of the best views of ALL of Munchen.

At the top with the New Towne Hall and the famous glockenspeil in the background.

Taylor

This little man (on top of the New Town Hall) is Munchen's symbol. Munchen actually means "of the monks." It's been the symbol of Munchen since the 1300's and today is found throughout the city--on manholes, signs, and of course buildings.

Looking down onto the Marienplatz, or the city's main square

The odd tower in the background was built for the 1978 Olympic Games

On the walls of St. Peter's were all these old tombstones (actually I found them all over Germany). Over time graves were removed, but famous headstones were kept and placed on the churches wall.

Marienplatz

Munchen's central town square is just beautiful--especially since most of these buildings had been demolished during WWII and painstakingly rebuilt to their former glory. Besides the beautiful buildings, you come to Marienplatz for the glockenspiel. This large, it has 32 life-size figures, recreates a royal wedding from the 16th century and is complete with dragon and the barrel markers doing their famous post plague jig.

Normally we ate lunch on the run, but today we didn't. It was nice to people watch and observe the city.

We ate lunch right under this guy.

The Residenz
The Residenz is the home of the Wittelsbachs' family who ruled the kingdom of Bavaria for over 700 years. It's an impressive building with room after room of ornate, and over-the-top, baroque rooms, but even the most impressive building starts to look the same after a while.

The Residenz grounds

By far, my favorite three things we did in Munchen were the last three things we did--the bike ride along the Isar River and through the Engligh Gardens, the dinner at the famous Hofbrauhaus, and watching the world cup game with thousands of German fans.

Bike Ride
Munchen is a city designed for bikes and it seemed like EVERYBODY biked and I loved it. Everywhere you went, you couldn't get far from the dinging of the bells letting people know to get out of the way. With no set path, we had fun exploring the city. We spent a good portion of our time biking along the Isar River, which surprisingly was wonderfully wooded and quiet. Eventually we ended up in the English Gardens which reminded me of home (aka London) and reminded me how much I miss beautiful gardens.

Hofbrauhaus
While in Germany, I really wanted to go to a beer hall--much like I wanted to go to a pub when I was in England--because I wanted to watch tuba players, eat traditional German food, and see energetic drunk people.
The Hofbrauhaus, is one of the oldest and incidentally, the most famous beer halls and it provided everything I wanted in a beer hall. It was packed with tourists and regulars alike (the regulars actually have designated tables with these cute little signs). It was loud. The oompha music was charming. The food was very Germany. And I loved every minute of it. I loved watching people clank their glasses together at the end of a drinking song. I loved that it brought together different people at different tables and the belief that if you've had dinner (or a drink) with a stranger they became a friend.

The musicians

Our food. It wouldn't be a complete meal without a pretzel and in our case, apple juice.

World Cup Match Germany 1-Ghana 0
Europeans love their football, and Germany is no exception. It was wonderful to join that camaraderie that magically appears. Something I learned was that football means beer (and lots of it), pretzels, and brautworst--and all three were consumed in large quantities. Because we'd been required to give up our water bottles at the entrance, by half-time I was so thirsty--especially considering we had to be at the place almost an hour before it started. So I went looking for some water. Not seeing any listed on the signs, I finally asked the one of the workers if they had bottled water. She was dumbstruck that I wanted water and said,"This is a football game, we only have beer." And it was very apparent that she thought I was slightly strange for not wanting beer. Luckily, Taylor was able to find some apple juice. At one point I thought about taking my picture with my much needed drink, but as it was the same color and in the same containers that the beer come in, I decided against it.

Watching the match with about two-three thousand fans.

Our B&B
We stayed at this charming, old hotel. Complete with creaky floors, hand painted furniture, public bathrooms, and of course the naked people roaming the halls. Got to love Europe!

Day 14--Salzburg

2010-09-12T22:48:00.000-07:00

Day 14--Salzburg

Salzburg was one of the places I HAD to visit because of this

I love everything about this movie--the story, the music, the costumes (is it weird to have this dream that one day I'll take my family to Salzburg and take a family picture in the curtain outfits?) The real Salzburg lived up to every notion of the "movie" Salzburg.

Hellbrunn Palace
I've seen my fair share of grand homes and gardens so to say that Hellbrun is now on my list of favorites is something (well at least the gardens are on my list since we actually didn't tour any of the castle).

The picture below describes Hellbrun perfectly. In 1610, Prince-Archbishop Sittikus built a lavish palace and gardens with trick fountains to entertain his guest. And they are entertaining.

Warning, you will get wet.

Taylor heeding the warning.

I wasn't able to get any pictures of this gargoyle sticking out his tongue.

The trick water grotto.

The "workers" power the massive water musical theater below.

On the grounds looking back towards the castle.

Many people miss the best feature of Hellbrun--the view Salzburg that climbing to the top of the estate provides.

The grounds of Hellbrun with Salzburg in the distance.

Taylor on his way down the mountain.
This picture is sums up how a good portion of the trip was spent--Taylor 10 feet in front of me.

Of course I had to get a picture in front of the famous gazebo from The Sound of Music.

Hellbrun gates

Hellbrun Palace

Mozart's House
We had a difficult time finding his house and were surprised that MANY locals couldn't point on where it was. Mozart was a genius, granted a slightly deranged and crude one.

River Cruise
I loved the river cruise. Because the Salzach River played such an important role in Salzburg's history, it was nice to sit for an hour but still see most of the important sites of Salzburg from the river. But the highlight by far was the "Salzburg Waltz" the captain did at the end.

Hohensalburg fortress in the background.

Hohensalzburg fortres from the river.

Mirabell Gardens
Is this beautiful formal garden with fountains, sculptures and topiaries. It was at the garden where the ending of Do-re-me was filmed in which Marie ends up at the top of the stairs in front of a famous standing horse statue.

Hohensalzburg Fortress and the Monchsberg Walk
The imposing site of the city is the Hohensalzburg Fortress which sits 400 feet above the city.
There are a number of ways to get to the Fortress, but we opted for the wooded walk along the cliffs and the views were spectacular. The fortress has many different layers and buildings and like any good fortress was slightly difficult to navigate. But the best part about the fortress may have been the funicular ride up and down. The view was great and it was fun to watch the city quickly appear and disappear.

The Funicular

What do you do when you see a large cannon ball pyramid? Climb it of course.

Taylor climbing the inner tower.

Taylor took this picture looking down from the inner courtyard.

The local monastery has their own winery.

Getreidegass
Is the main shopping street of Salzburg, with much of the buildings looking the same as they did in Mozarts day. It's famous for it's wrought iron signs and they are charming. I didn't know that McDonalds signs could ever be labeled as charming, but the one on this street was.

Old Town Walk
We ended the day doing a walk of the old town and I have to say that I love these walks.
We saw Mozartplatz (Square devoted to Mozart, Residenzplatz (government buildings), Salzburg Cathedral, Kapitelplatz (square that has a giant cheese board and the old horse baths), and St. Peter's cemetary (it inspired the one in The Sound of Music)

Residenzplatz

Salzburg Cathedral

Kapitelplatz

Mozartplatz

Day 15--Hohenschwangau, Neuschwanstein, and Fussen

2010-08-22T23:02:00.000-07:00

Day 15--Honenschwangau Castle, Neuschwanstain Castle, Tegelberg Luge, and Fussen

Brilliant day!

We left Munchen early since we had about a two hour drive. The ride from Munchen to Fussen was beautiful in the early morning as we passed one quaint little village after another as we watched the sun slowly illuminating the fields and ushering in the new day.

Our B&B in Fussen was charming. It fit all my notions of what the quintessential German B&B should be--a funny little German grandma who didn't speak any English, big wooden balcony that overlooked the countryside and the castles, and window boxes overflowing with red geraniums.

The B&B was in the perfect location, about twenty minutes from the castles and allowed us to walk through beautiful fields, down quiet country roads, and by charming little houses on our way to the castles.

The town of Honenschwangau is the ultimate tourist trap--but you have to do it. Tours are schedule in such a way that the only thing you're really able to do it to eat or shop (yes we did both). And while they have signs telling you how long it will take you to hike to the two castles, we think they purposely exaggerator so that you'll pay for either the bus (which we did took up to Neuschwanstein) or the horse drawn carriage to take you to the castles.

And while I may not have liked the interior of the castles as I'm not a huge fan of medieval architecture (Tay and I split on which castle had the best interior), the views from the castles made up for it. Each castle is set on a high hill and you have to walk through the forrest to reach them. When you finally get to the castles you're rewarded with stunning views that overlook green countryside, red-roofed villages, and clear lakes.

The view of Neuschwanstein is breathtaking from Mary's Bridge (Marienbrucke). Not only do you get a beautiful view of the castle, but the bridge is built over this waterfall that comes crashing down the canyon and from the bridge you can really see why King Ludwig built the castle where he did.

I love how Europe isn't really that concerned over safety. There were numerous times in Europe where I found myself thinking "that would never fly back home." We'd restrict an area instead of saying "beware--danger of death" (yes those signs really can be found in the mountains by Mary's Bridge). The bridge seemed a little unstable (or it might have been the fact that we got to the bridge the same time as a bus of Japaness tourists and they seemed to be EVERYWHERE), and as I watched the wood on the bridge bow I hoped the bridge would hold.

While in Germany I really wanted to ride a luge and the Tegelberg Luge was our last chance. One of the things I wanted to do was to do the Tegelberg Luge. At the map of the entrance to the town, it looked like the luge was about the same distance away from the town as our B&B. It wasn't (and yes, we didn't learned our lesson that the maps in the town were all off). While we were worried that we wouldn't make it to the luge before it closed (we did), the walk would have been worth it even if we hadn't made it to the luge. The path took us through farm land, then wooded areas with streams, before bringing us through pastures filled with cows. After the hustle and bustle of Hohenschwangau, I loved the quiet of the walk and hearing the beautiful cow bells echoing through the countryside. For me one of the best parts about traveling is getting off the beaten path. It's taking that trip through the cow pastures where the true treasures and heart of a country are found. Plus if you don't walk through cow pastures how are you ever going to get video's of Taylor saying "amy, amy" in perfect timing with the cow's chewing? :)

The luge was great. You get in this little metal sled and they pull you to the top of the course (about half way up the mountain). The luge pulls you right up along the many cows that use the ski resort as their summer grazing spot and if I had wanted to, I could have reach out to touch the cow.

Since we really didn't have any additional plans we figured that hiking at one of the lakes nearby wasn't a bad way to pass the rest of the evening. After a slight detour into Austria, we ended up at one of the lakes and found what was one of the highlights of the trip--an outdoor miniature golf course.

When Taylor first suggested going mini golf, we're in Germany why should we spend the evening golfing? But I'm glad we did because mini golfing in Germany is nothing like America. There's no paths through the grass or even a decorate course. Instead you have these slabs of cement that have some strange looking geometric hole (I had to take a picture of some of the more unique ones) and a course that you weren't allowed to even stand on. Taylor and I laughed so hard as we played this ridiculous course because it ended up being a more difficult than anticipated and we each had a hole that was almost near impossible for us to get. Mine was to shoot the ball into a target and Taylor's was getting the ball to stay in the volcano (it kept bouncing out).

As evening fell we took a walk through Fussen and it's a beautiful town. Many of the buildings are beautifully painted with decorative features. We walked through the town square, the cementary that dates back to the 16th century, along the Lech river and the medieval wall and monastery.

One downside to Europe is that the stores close early, which is a problem when all of your allergy medicine is gone and you throat itches. By the time I remembered I was out of allergy medicine everything was closed. Our last hope was a gas station and while they didn't have any we had this nice man tell us that one of the apocathery shops in the city has to be "open" at all times and he'll take us to where we can find out which one is. The apothecary shop isn't really open, instead you ring the bell and wait for the druggist to open the little window on the door. Through the little window you tell him what you need, pass him your money, and he slides back your drugs.

HONENSCHWANGAU CASTLE AND CITY
1. It was originally built in the 12th century, but destroyed by Napolean.
2. It was rebuilt by King Maxamillian II in the 1830's to match the original castle.
3. The name means "high swanland." The swan is one of the symbols of the royal Wittlesbach family.
4. The Wittlesbach family still owns Honenschwangau castle.

NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE
1. It's the castle that inspired the Disney castle.
2. While it looks medieval, it was built in 1869 to 1886 as is only as old as the Eiffel Tower.
3. It's name means "new swan."
4. Only a third of the castle was completed when King Ludwig died.
5. Many of the rooms are devoted to Wagner and his operas.

Looking down from Mary's Bridge

View from Mary's Bridge

OUR COUNTRY RAMBLES

Wooded paths

Country Roads
Farms

Cow pastures

Cow's in the ski resort

Country churches

Farms

Who knows

Trying to get a picture with Neuschwanstein. You can kind of see it.
And yes I know the picture looks kind of couplely.

TEGELBERG LUGE

I was trying to get the country below me, it didn't work.

MINI GOLF

Do not stand on the course

The view across the lake

FUSSEN

Under the red and white flag you can see the apothecary shop

My allergy medicine

I love this sign because it means something like
Obey the road signs to set a good example for your children.

OUR B&B

I forgot to take a picture of the outside of our B&B,
but it looked almost exactly like this house.

The view from our balcony

All Good things must come to an end--Dachau, Rothenburg, home

2010-08-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 26--Dachau and Rothenburg

DACHAU
Everybody should visit a concentration camp.

I've always thought that most of the concentration camps had been built away from civilization. Because if the camps had been built next to a city, I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that the people of the town would willingly let the atrocities of the camps happen. But that wasn't the case with the Dachau concentration camp, it's built right in the Dachau. All that separated those who were sent to die and those who able to live was a wall.

Dachau was both horrifying and wonderful. It was a sacred space--a memorial to the thousands of men, woman, and children whose lives were snuffed out way to soon and a reminder that life is wonderful. But, Dachau was also a place of darkness. A stark reminder that evil and hatred are real. After two hours I physically couldn't take being at the camp any more, the movies, the personal descriptions of what happened became too heavy.

1.Dachau was the first concentration camp.
2. All German children are required to visit a concentration camp.
3. Just over 32,000 people meet their death here, about the same number of people in the town of Dachau.
4. All those officers that ran the rest of the concentration camp were trained here.
5. It housed special prisoners and did barbaric medical treatment.
6. It was a "work camp" hence the "work will make you free" sign.

Our first view of the camp

The famous "work will make you free" gates

The ovens

The outer wall

This building held "special" prisoners

Bunker 3
Many of those in bunker 3 were experimented upon

The faceless, or at least that's what I think it should be called.

ROTHENBURG
1. Is the best preserved medieval city in Germany.
2. During the middle ages it was one of the largest cities in Germany.
3. It was miraculously saved from bombing by both the allies and axes during WWII.
4. The night watchman tour is an institution and despite the fact I felt like I was one of the mice from the pied piper of hamlin, it was fabulous.
5. It's a great little town to get to get lost in as it has such charm with windy streets and wonderful architecture. Who doesn't love a town where all the roofs are red?
6. The medieval wall still surrounds the city.

The view from the medieval Rodertor tower.
This was the only section of town that was bombed during WWII.

Most of the buildings in Rothenburg were built in the 1400, 1500, and 1600's.

The medieval wall with the city emblem.

Walking the Medieval wall that surrounds the city.

Taylor being a medieval soldier. At least that's what I think he's channeling.

Medieval gate

The main city gate

The old medieval castle garden and vineyard.

The Roman bridge

Outside the medieval city.

The main city square.

I love World Cover Fever

Yummm. Donner's

Taylor on the old city wall.

On the wall.

The nightwatchman.

With the nightwatchman.

Sunday, June 27--Home

That moment when you have to board the plane for the ride home is bitter-sweet. I'm excited to head home and sleep in my own bed, but I hate for the adventure to end.

On the trip home:
My bag was only one pound overweight (can we say miracle).
Learned that a six hour layovers when you're tired is torture (it make you forget things).
I saw what I thought was a little girl being abducted (she had just wandered off).
I realized I should have brought more than three books for my two week trip (as I finished all of the books I brought by the time I hit Iceland).
I realized that even solitaire after a while becomes boring.

2009 was a wonderful year

2010-07-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

I had this great intention of posting this on the first day of the year, but when I started I didn't realize that it would take on a life of it's own. Is it sad that I've been working on this on and off since January? . . . but better late than never. :)

I think one of the blessings about a new year is that it allows us to pause and reflect on the past year and the experiences we've been blessed with, while also giving us the promise of a new year and new opportunities.

2009 Highlights (in no particular order)

1. ELDER ORTON COMES HOMES
July 2nd saw the return of Elder Orton aka Taylor from the Berlin Germany Mission. There is something wonderful about receiving the weekly missionary letters, but I've been so glad to have my family all together again--in fact it was the first time we've all been together since Sara joined the family. I don't ever tire of waiting for the missionaries to arrive home. There is this air of excitement and anticipation to see how they've changed and in what ways they've remained the same. Bryce was excited to be the first one to see Taylor and kept running up and down the stairs looking for him. . . . well he may have also been doing the running up and down the stairs because forty minutes after his plane had arrived there was still no sign of him and we were starting to worry that he hasn't arrive. Taylor and the rest of the missionaries had arrived , they just wanted to make a grand entrance. Taylor came home from his missionary service refined and perfected, but still Taylor. The twinkle in his eye hasn't changed, neither has his amount of energy or his enjoyment of poking you in the side, and of course the football charge in the kitchen.

The first family picture with the whole family.

Sara, Laura, Jane, Spencer, myself, Bryce, Taylor, Dad, Louisa, Mom

Elder Orton

He hadn't changed a bit.

Jane and I waiting for Elder Orton to arrive.

Bryce in action

2. 2009 was the year of graduations. Jane graduated from high school and Laura graduated from BYU. I often want the world to slow down and that we'll all remain young forever, but then there I forward to seeing who they are becoming and imaging what they'll do with their lives.

Jane and her diploma

Mom, Jane, and Dad

The traditional family photo

me, Laura, Jane, Mom, Bryce, Louisa, Dad

The "real" us :)

The family at Laura's graduation, and yes we bleed blue!

(Spencer and Sara bleed blue too, but were wearing pink to announce
they were having a baby girl.)

3. The first annual Orton family date. For years we've joked that once Taylor returned home from his mission, we should go on a group date because all but Bryce are dating age. A few weeks before before Jane left for BYU-I we did just that. Besides the fact that it was kind of fun to be a date with ALL my siblings--we initiated Louisa into the whole dating scene--yep nothing like going on your first date with all of your older brothers and sisters. And while Louisa said it was "weird" being on the date with everybody, secretly I know she had fun and enjoyed the extreme croquette and raosting of marsh mellows. I can't wait until this yearly tradition will included Bryce. Won't that be something else? :)

4. Trips to California, Washington D.C., and Lake Powell. I guess one of the benefits of beings single is being able to have funds to travel with and 2009 was a great time for traveling. I went to Disneyland in April, Washington, D.C. in June, and Lake Powell in July. I feel blessed to have such great friends to travel and make memories with.

Jonny, myself, Megan, Rachel, and Jed in the teacups at Disneyland.

Megan, myself, Emily at Arlington

Lindsay and I at Georgetown Wharf

Hiking Rainbow Bridge
( and yes I did it with a walking cast.)

The group in the slot canyon

4. Liberty Lands with Bryce. How can you not have fun when you spend the day with a nine year old at a amusement park? Liberty Land is this ghetto amusement park, but I loved it. For five hours we rode the same rides over and over. We screamed on the "roller coaster," raced each other in go karts and got completely soaked on the water bumper cars. Bryce was so excited for everything we did and that excitement is wonderful. I think it's one of the reasons why I love Bryce so much, he still has this childlike love for life.

Just because Bryce beats me in Mario Cart,
he thought he would beat me at real go-karts.

The "Roller Coaster"

We were pretty proud of how wet we got.

5. Paying off my car. Paying off my car gave me such a sense of accomplishment. (PS will you PLEASE be good an not cause me any more problems?) Yes, this was written before the dramas of it dying and having to buy a new car, but paying off my car was one of the highlights of the year.

6. Wicked. I had the chance of seeing wicked in NY when it originally opened and didn't. And so when Wicked came to Salt Lake I knew I had to see. You'd think after camping out all night I'd be able to secure tickets--nope, I came up empty handed. :( But in the end I saw it and it was everything I hoped it would be.

Whitney, myself, Emily, Megan at the Capitol Theatre

7. Wonderful friends. I really do have some amazing friends and I'm so grateful they are there to laugh with me, strength me, and give me hope. Without them, life's difficulties would be much harder to deal with.

The Annual Elder Quorum Relief Society Appreciation Dinner
Emily, Erika, Whitney, Myself, Rachel

Halloween
Autumn (Rachel), 20's Flapper (Emily), Alice (Myself), Luna Lovegood (Megan)

Emily and I after the First Presidency Christmas Devotional

Jeremy and Don

True friends.
Love these girls!
Ashley, Tammy, Lindsay, Nichole, Lindsay, and I

The "Original" dinner group family portrait. Within weeks after moving to Salt Lake City, I joined a dinner group. I don't know how I lucked out to get into a dinner group with some amazing people. For almost two years we laughed as we recounted dating adventures, daily craziness, and discussed politics, history, science, and of course the gospel. During our dinner group time we talked about "taking a family portrait" as we were kind of a pseudo family. We never got around to taking one while we were in all together, but we had a reunion dinner and finally took the long awaited family portrait. Thought I want to know who thought that a family totenpole was a good idea?

Back row: Steve, Ryan, me, Charles, Jung, Brie, Jonny
Front row: Rachel, Megan, Whitney, Jen

8. Spencer and Sara announcing they are having a little girl. This really was one of the highlights from the year. Seeing them in pink that day of graduation just thrilled me and I couldn't go into stores without stopping and looking at the baby items because I had already decided I was going to be the favorite aunt. :)

9. Caligraphy class. Ever since I was in fourth grade, I've always wanted to better learn Calligraphy. One of the reasons I was attracted to Graphic Design was because of it's emphasis on type and the printed word. There is such beauty in letters with how expressive they can be. Both mom and I were inspired by Larua's work from the semester before, and it worked out that we were both able to take the class together.

10. Dad's 50th birthday. I figured that he only get one birthday where he doesn't have to celebrate it with me and this was it. :) I think I was more excited for him to turn 50 then he was. Maybe it was becasue if I focused on his birthday, I could almost pretend that I wasn't having a birthday too. We celebrated his birthday the night before with the extended family with a Hawaiian themed over-the-hill party. As part of the decorations we had these tiki-torch faces that Louisa wrote the funniest captions to to remind Dad the 50 is "REALLY OLD."

The birthday boy

Louisa's funny tiki torch sayings.

Our actual birthday was spent at the family celebration for the new Family History Library employees. It's a beautiful building and it was great to get the behind the scene tour.

In front of the Church History Library
Me, Bryce, Dad, Laura, Mom, and Louisa

The birthday gal and guy

I celebrated with friends a few days later at Mimi's.

There's no better way to celebrate a birthday then being surround by cute guys!
Aaron, Dave, Jonny, Kaleo

Michelle and Janae

Jonny, Amy, Aaron, and Rachel

Emily, Megan, muyself, Michelle, Janae, Kaleo

Birthday dinner-Kaleo and Whitney

10. BYU Football games with the family. A couple of years ago, some of the cousins and siblings got tickets football tickets together and it was great to be able to do it again. During my first year of college (2000 season) I started a tradition of taking a picture at every home game, and I'm still going strong after nine seasons. I really want to be that lady in her 70's who's gone to every home game for 50 years.

Laura, Taylor and I on the field after the BYU/Utah Game.

BYU/U game
Travis, Taylor, Laura, myself, and Lyndon

Sara and I

Season Opener Spencer, Travis, Sara, Taylor

Jane, Laura and I

Laura, Travis, Myself, and Lyndon

Bryce, Dad, and I

10. Serving with some amazing girls in the RS Presidency. These girls have made me want to be better through their amazing examples of service, kindess, and spirituality.

Delivering our Christmas Plants in the Snow.
Me (second counselor), Amee (president), Ashley and Erika (VT counselors), Heidi (first counselor), Emily (secretary)

10. Memories made with the family. Picture scavenger hunt, holidays, backyard bonfires, sunday dinners, canoeing, movie nights, and counteless others.

Picture Scavenger hunt
Mom, Bryce, Dad, and Sara. And Bryce will proudly tell you that his team won.

Annual Easter basket scavenger hunt
Me, Laura, Sara

Fourth of July Parade
Mom, Jane, me, Taylor, Louisa, Bryce and Laura

Jane, Louisa, me

Louisa, Mom, Taylor, Laura, Dad

Backyard campfire
Dad and Sara

Bryce, myself, Louisa, Jane, Mom, Taylor

Taylor and his mad firestarting skills.

Hiking Cascade Springs days after my surgery

Me and Louisa

Me, Dad, Bryce (it's the only shot of showing my mad crutch skills)

Bryce and Louisa

Dad speaking at Education Week

11. Christmas. Last year we were missing three members of our family--Spencer, Sara, and Taylor so it was wonderful to have them all home this year.

Christmas Eve dinner.
Bryce, Grandma, Sara, Spencer, Dad, Jane, Myself, Taylor, Laura, Lousia, Mom

Laura opening her "mint" candy box.
That's what you get when you tell everybody how much your love "mint."

Christmas morning
Jane, Spencer and Sara

Louis and Bryce

Taylor getting his hillarious "date box" from Louisa Christmas Eve.

Laughing Christmas Eve.

Louisa and Bryce waltzing

Sara showing off her mad talents at the Sainsbury Christmas Party.

Our family number. Unfortunatly Bryce's guitar was soooo out of tune.
Mom, Laura, dad (hiding), Bryce, Taylor, Jane (hiding), me, Spencer, Sara

My family usually puts up with all of my picture taking without too much grumbling. Though on our trip to see the lights at Temple square there was some grumbling. (Maybe it was because I had to get a picture with EVERY family member.)

Jane and I

Spencer and I

Dad and I

Mom and I

Sara and I

Laura and I

Yes, my family hooks arms and marches down the street and I LOVE IT!
Jane, me, Laura, Spencer, Bryce, Sara, Dad, Mom, Taylor

Bryce and I

Louisa and I

The family
Taylor, Jane, Bryce, Sara, Laura, Dad, me, Louisa, Mom, Spencer

The Girls
Louisa, Jane, me, Sara, Laura

Bryce, Taylor and I

Picking out the Christmas Tree
Mom, me, Laura, Dad, Jane, Spencer, Sara, Bryce, Taylor, Louisa

What a great year 2009 was.

2009 lowlights

2010-07-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

Like every year there are always some downsides and 2009 was no exception

1. May 22 brought the newest addition to our family, Sara Loraine Orton, unfortunately that day also saw the death of our newest family member. Six minutes was all the time she got here on earth, but it's wonderful to know that six minutes is not all the time we will get with her--we will be with her forever.

For days we had been worried about Sara and the baby because of the complications Sara was having. For days, every time the phone rang I would get this sick pit in my stomach and pray that it wouldn't bring bad news--eventually it did. Baby Sara was beautiful and perfect in every way. They had a funeral service in Georgia, and then a month later she was buried in Provo. The graveside service on that hot July afternoon was beautiful with all the pink. I'll never forget that image of Spencer and Sara carrying that too small casket between them--it was tender and heartbreaking and one image that I never hope will be repeated.

The family at the grave
Spencer, Sara, Laura, Bryce, Louisa, Taylor, Jane, Dad, Mom, Me

2. Two days before Christmas saw the passing of Grandpa Jensen. He has been a wonderful addition to the family and I feel so blessed to know him. Around him it was impossible to have a bad day as he was always full of praise and happiness. I will miss him breaking into song, his belief in us, he love of life (and of the U), his proud Danish heritage, and so many other things. I felt privilege to say goodbye to him just hours before he passed and that was one of the sweetest moments of my life, to feel the tender spirit there and to have that one last time to thank him will be something I will always treasure. His funeral took place on a beautiful snowy day. Elder Nelson (who was in the same medical class as my grandpa) presided and spoke at his funeral and offered wonderful words of comfort before leaving the family with an apostolic blessing. I've been in meetings where an apostle has offered one to a group, or a ward, but to have one specifically given to the family was something I don't believe I will ever get again.

A perfect snapshot of grandpa--medicine, Denmark, and tigers.
The only thing the table is missing is his school spirit and his air force service.

Jane and I at the graveside. Jane sang at the funeral and did such a beautiful job.
Elder Nelson told her "that he was so proud that he burst a button."

You know how much we loved Grandpa when our very blue family wears red
Me, Jane, Taylor, Sara, Louisa

Bryce and Ethan saying goodbye

3. Walking cast and surgery. This was a difficult year when it came to just normal day activities--the gym, hiking, tennis, walking, etc. But as bad as all of those were, the post surgery recovery has been worse. The surgery went well, but I've been surprised at how long the recovery has been. For months I keep asking--will the swelling EVER go down? It eventually did though not during 2009. :) When the walking cast finally came off in the beginning of 2010 I was sooo grateful. From start to finish I had been in that walking cast for almost FIVE months. I'm still waiting for the day when my ankle will be 100%.

The picture doesn't do justice to how swollen my ankle
was when they finally removed the stitches. It was HUGE.

Showing the injuring the Alice received after falling down the rabbit hole.

Miracles

2010-07-13T15:49:00.000-07:00

We talk about miracles all the time, and yesterday I saw a true miracle-- the birth of Drew Spencer Orton.

For a pregnancy that we feared wouldn't make it to 22 weeks, seeing a healthy baby born at 37 really is nothing short of miraculous. And when I held him in my arms yesterday I felt that miracle.

I thought about the sacrifice of his mother, who's spent 17 very long weeks on bed rest in hopes that he would be born healthy and a brother who will work so hard to ensure that his unborn son had the best medical care. I saw their strong faith believing that everything would be ok. I was reminder of the power of prayer and fasting and that those things can bring about miracles. But mostly I was reminded that miracles, large and small, really do exist.

Maybe I should do laundry?

2010-07-12T09:57:00.000-07:00

So I may have been back from Europe for two weeks and finally got around and unpacking my suitcase and doing laundry. The embarrassing thing, after three weeks of not doing laundry I probably could have gone another week (or maybe two) before things got really bad.

Europe is Wonderful!

2010-06-20T10:31:00.000-07:00

I've just hit the half way point of the trip. :(

When we made it to Germany, I couldn't believe that in one week I'd been to THREE very different countries. Each one with it's own unique sites and sounds. I've watched the sun stay up all night (well at least until 2, Iceland). I've seen castles (Germany and England) and giant cuckoo clocks (Germany). As well as picturesque rolling hills (Germany), gyesris and hotpots (Iceland), and beautifully landscaped parks (Germany). I may be still pinching myself to see if it's a dream--though looking at my bank account reminds me that it isn't.

In the weeks to come, I'm planning on giving much more of a travelogues when I'm finally able to download pictures (though the pictures and video won't do any of it justice) that I'm sure you'll all be sick of Europe by the time I finish as I've already taken close to 500 pictures.

Is it bad that I'm already be planning my next trip? Because I am. There are so many things I wasn't able to see this time, that I think I need another couple of trips to see everything that's been crossed off of the list.

A fish out of water

2010-05-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

For work I've spent the last two days at the Casual Blogger Conference. And the best part, is that I've learned some amazing tips and tools and I didn't have to pay the $185--thank you work.

Want to know what a blogger conference is like? It's like:

1. A singles ward activity
Why? Because everywhere I look all I see are ladies. Oh, there are guys here. You just have to look very hard to find them. Unfortunately, it's the same in a singles ward.

2. A YW activity
Have you been in a room with a bunch of young women? They all talk super fast, loud, and with a little too much excitement. Yah it's like that here.

3. A newly married student ward
Most of the bloggers here are between 20 and 35 and married with young kids. The other 20% are older married bloggers. If you're single you fall in that other .1% (with the other six guys). See why I kind of feel like a fish out of water? :)

Plus what's not to love about a conference were because EVERY blogger has a business card, giving me a whole new list of blogs to stalk.