The Most Craziest Adventure Ever!!!

A really good chat with Julianna....

2011-07-22T00:53:00.000-07:00

My heart is aching at the moment, but I guess aching for a good reason! I just got off the phone with my dear dear Julianna. I miss her so much! She was one of the people on my mission that a dear, kind, loving Heavenly Father knew I needed. He knew that we would eternally impact each others lives. I need to be better at speaking with her on a more regular basis but it was sooo good to hear her voice tonight! I miss her dearly, and I know her life is so difficult but I admire her and am so proud of her!
   She told me tonight that she has started going back to church. (After speaking with Elder Andros at the mission office, I learned that her church attendance is pretty sporadic) but hey, at this point sporadic is a giant leap in the right direction!!! She said it was time for her to go back, that she finds happiness and peace when she goes to church. Hopefully she can come to understand how much her Heavenly Father adores and loves her and that he does have a plan for her life as well!
   I'm not going to lie... speaking with her opened a wound I'm not sure will ever heal completely! I miss the mission, I miss the members, I miss the language, I miss the greeks, I miss the difficulty of the mission, I miss the food, I miss giving 100% of my time to the Lord. I miss being so spiritually in tune and feeling the Lord so near so often. I've said it before and truly believe that when I left Greece, I left a piece of my heart there. I feel like whenever I go back, my heart is somehow whole again!
   Who knew, that after being home for nearly five years, I could still miss it so badly that my heart could physically hurt to be back there!?!? You would have thought I could have moved on and left it all behind, but I guess I can't because I became a whole new person there. I gave my whole heart and soul for those 18 months and I worked my butt off doing the best I could each day, and then I allowed the Savior to step in and make up the difference. And I guess because I gave my whole heart and soul, a part of my heart and a part of my soul will remain with those dear people forever and ever.
   Julianna is striving to find a better life for herself. She is trying to find a way to another country. It sounds like England may be a good possibility for her or possibly even the states... I just hope and pray that something can work in her favor so she might be able to move on and find hope for a better life! I don't know why, but for whatever reason speaking with her tonight really pulled at my heartstrings. I think maybe it was because she finally sounded somewhat hopeful again. It was so good to hear that she is finding peace within the gospel and that the wonderful couples are making such a difference in her life! I'm so grateful to them and their service and their care and concern for someone whom I love so dearly... =)
   It is well beyond the hour of which I should be sleeping, especially because I have to work in just a few short hours but I could not leave this entry for another day or time. It had to be written now! I had to express the way I feel while the emotions are raw. All I know is that I need to find a way to get back there to let those dear people know how much I adore them and really truly won't ever be able to forget them! Hopefully there will be a European Missionary Reunion next summer and I will totally be there...
Here are a few photos to reminisce the good old mission days!!! Because the post is all about Julianna I guess I'll just put some of her and I...   I'll have to post later so I can add more and give tribute to the people that changed my life so much!

So although this last picture is not of Julianna, I had to add it to the post because it shows exactly how I felt five years ago, and how I still continue to feel now! My heart aches to be with those dear people I grew to love in such a short period of time! I have learned how not to cry everyday since getting home (in the beginning that was a very difficult task...) but my heart still aches and every once in a while, I break down and have a good cry!

Where does the time go?!!?

2011-07-18T19:01:00.000-07:00

   I can barely believe how quickly the last few months have gone by!!! It's kinda crazy to think that in just a short couple of weeks I'll officially be back in Logan. To be honest I think it has been a bit hard to get excited about moving back to my good old home town, but I truly believe it is a great choice for my life! I am learning that I'm getting to a point in my life where I need to grow up, at least just a little bit! =) I think that the move to Logan is going to help me do just that. It is going to bring more stability and a more permanent setting than I have had for quite some time! For most of my life I have been quite flighty, moving from one place to the next, and I am finding it is time for me to settle down somewhere for more than a years time!!!
   I don't know as that Logan had to be the place that I chose to settle, but I feel like it is a good choice for the here and now... I'm excited to be around the family more, to be so close to my new niece that is coming in November, to spend some time with Grandma Larsen while I live with her, to hopefully start building a career for myself! I'm sure there will be some challenges along the way, especially working at dad's office... but overall I believe it will be an overall good experience. Who knows exactly what lays ahead in the future but I am working really hard to get out of debt, hopefully invest in a house, and just live life to the fullest with NO REGRETS!!!
   The last few weeks have been great! I've had some fun weekends with friends and just feel blessed to have such a great life... For the fourth of July, I went camping with Sara and Felipe in Yellowstone! It was so much fun and such a great adventure. I'm so glad I was able to spend some time with them. =) I love that they live so close and I am able to see them on a pretty regular basis. I also took a quick trip to Vernal with the Swedes! Sophia text me last minute and asked if I wanted to head out to the rodeo in Vernal and I thought why not!??! We had a great trip and I loved going to a rodeo... It's been a while since I went to one...
    I've spent a few weekends in Logan, one of which I got to spend in the temple with B.J. He got his mission call and is headed to the Salta, Argentina mission the 17th of August... (well, he enters the MTC on the 17th at least). I'm so excited for him! I can't wait to watch him grow over the next two years! I feel like I've been really blessed to spend a decent amount of time with my adorable nephew Conner and niece Umbria as well! I got to go to the zoo with Conner, we've been swimming at their pool a couple of times and I've been able to watch him so Jer and Stacy can have some time just the two of them!!! I even got lucky enough to watch Umbria one evening so Brandi could go to one of Courtney's dinners at Sonora. Hopefully I can watch her again sooner than later!!!

  I love being an AUNT!!! I'm pretty sure I would love being a mom even more, but... for now I'm just grateful for the opportunity I have to be an aunt. I have the coolest niece and nephew ever and can't wait to meet the niece on the way! I'm glad that my siblings call me to watch them and that I live close enough that I can spend a decent amount of time with them!!!
  So... I guess, here is to the future and whatever it holds! I'm excited for the new adventures that lay ahead!!! I'm excited to start a new job, and to make the most of each day! Hopefully the optimism will stick around and I can really learn to love my new life in Logan. I'm most likely in it for the long haul so I may as well learn to love it!!!

Life....

2011-04-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

So... once again it has been a while! I guess one of the reasons I don't post very often is because I feel like my life is very much the same day to day. I guess I just don't see much excitement to write about!!! There really isn't a whole lot to write about but I'll try and update you all on my life.

I've been really terrible at taking pictures so I only have a couple from the last year of my life... i guess I will include a couple of them. Ummmm... I don't really even know where to begin. I have been loving my job!!! Sydney is such a sweetheart and I love watching her learn and grow. She is developing such a fun personality and I am sooo lucky to have such a great job! I'm really sad to say that this great job that I've enjoyed for the past year of my life is coming to an end in just a few months.

Jenn is graduating from nursing school the end of July and I won't be needed anymore. I think it is going to be crazy weird to not be able to see little Sydney everyday. So... I guess this is pretty big news.... I am moving back to Logan at the end of July. Who knew I would be heading back to Logan. I didn't really want to when I started trying to decide what to do with my life. I contemplated moving back east to nanny somewhere, I considered teaching English in China... I just wanted to travel the world I guess. None of that was feeling right for me at the moment. I was really stressed about what to do with my life though! At that point Dad informed me that his secretary would be retiring and he asked me if I would like to be his secretary for the health insurance side of things at the office! I did some soul searching and really prayed my guts out and in the end it is what feels right. I don't necessarily know why I am headed back to Logan but I think it should be good.

Over the last couple of months I have been concentrating a little more on myself and what I can do to become better! I have been trying really hard to eat better and to exercise regularly. Although it is kicking my butt I have lost right around 20 pounds and am excited for the end result I'm working toward! I want to lose about 30 more pounds so I know it is going to take some time and a lot of hard work but I'm trying!

Overall life is really great! I am excited for the things to come and am also hoping to take a trip out to Nauvoo this summer. My dear Roommate Adrien is an incredible performer and she is going to be performing in the Nauvoo Pageant. I am hoping to get a small group together and head out there for a few days to see her!!!

Here are a couple of pictures from the last few months of life!

LIFE IS GOOD!!!!

2010-11-09T17:44:00.000-08:00

I have realized that I am a horribe blogger! I guess it is kind of like I am a horrible journal keeper... Both of these things are things that I would really like to get better at! Today I just want to be grateful. I guess this time of year we especially are trying to be grateful as it is so close to Thanksgiving and all.

But today I am truly grateful!

--- I am grateful to have 3 jobs and be able to provide for myself!

--- I am grateful and happy to be single

--- I am grateful for a wonderful family who loves and cares about me.

--- I am grateful for wonderful friends who listen to all my ramblings and really care.

--- I am grateful most of all for the gospel in my life and for the knowledge that Jesus is the Christ and that with his help we can make it through this life!

I have sooo many things to be grateful for and will post much more of my gratitude shortly but I just really wanted to say thanks for all that I have. I know many times I like to complain and think my life is difficult but today I am saying thank you and realizing how great life really is!

Where I'm at in Life!

2010-08-16T23:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't really even know exactly where to begin with this post! I guess that is because I am not exactly sure where I am at in life! I think this is a good thinking picture and I feel like I do a lot of thinking lately. Sometimes I think about how behind I am in life because I am still single, not making babies, and just doing my thing every day. Other times I think about how lucky I have been to be able to travel the world and just life life to the fullest! I also think about how lucky I am to have such an amazing job working for Mark and Jenn taking care of their beautiful daughter Sydney. I feel so lucky to say that I love going to my job everyday!

I many times think about all the other places in the world I would love to go but how I don't necessarily want to go to these places alone and single. I am hopefully planning a Europe trip for this next summer but fear I may have to do it single! I think about teaching English in China and how rewarding and fulfilling that would be! I would love to work in the orphanages of Africa giving love to those beautiful babies who don't know what love is. I would love to explore Egypt, Jerusalem, and so many other amazing and incredible places in this world. I many times find myself thinking I would be fine being single for a while longer while I continue to find myself and figure out this life. I think that there are many pros to the single lifestyle! But I also find myself thinking maybe I am too comfortable being single. Maybe I'm only thinking of me and no one else. Other days I think to myself how amazing it would be to teach English in China side by side with the man of my dreams!

   Other times I find myself thinking and wondering if the man of my dreams even exists!?? That is definitely debateable.... I wonder if we will ever find each other and what events in our lives have to come to pass before we can be together. I find myself thinking about how much I would love to be a mother and take care of my own babies. I think about how lonely it can be being single when you are the only one in your family who is of marriage age that is still single and alone. I think it changes from day to day and I'm not really sure which one wins out most of the time!! Do I want to be single or do I want to be married?! That is also a great question...


   So really this blog is just a rambling on of my thinking! I feel so confused in life and many times wish to be married and having a family. I spend time with my nieces and nephews and wish so much to have a family of my own. I spend time with my sister and miss the special bond we used to share before she found a new best friend... and wish I had such a new best friend to fill the void of where she has gone missing. I spend my days taking care of the sweetest little baby ever and wish to be able to have my own someday! I think in the end I really just wish I knew when that day would come. If it isn't for five years that is fine... I will travel the world until then but at least I won't wonder if that day will really come! This really is not a poor me blog I have just realized in the last few months that I would really love to progress to that next step in life! I would love to find someone and start the next great adventure of our lives wherever that may lead us. I feel though that I may have to find a lot of patience as the Lord tries my faith. I don't so much believe that now is the time for me to have that in my life! It is so difficult to want something so much and to not be able to have it. But in the end I would rather wait for the right time, the right place and the right man and to be happy than to just marry to be married.

Until that time comes I am grateful for amazing friends who help me through the loneliness. I am grateful for family who are always there no matter what. I am grateful for the Savior who understands my heartache and who I should be a better friend to. I am grateful for my amazing wonderful niece and nephew who always seem so excited to see me! I am grateful for singles wards who have so many different activities to try and help us single people meet each other and get to know one another. I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and for a knowledge that my Heavenly Father loves me and that he has a plan for me and my life. I am grateful to know that his plan will bring me much greater happiness than my own plan! I am grateful for all the things I am so blessed to have in so much abundance in my life. I am grateful for the time I was able to spend serving a mission and learning so much about me! I am grateful for the person I am. I am grateful for the hard times we have to go through which tend to make the easy times that much better. I know that I am so blessed and just have to remember to count all those blessings when life starts to feel lonely or I start to feel behind as I see so many of my friends enjoying the blessings of motherhood! I too am so lucky to have had the life experiences I have and hope that those experiences will help me to be the best mom I can be someday!

I'm SOOO Behind!!!

2010-07-05T08:17:00.000-07:00

So if you haven't noticed I have been the biggest slacker with my blogging! I don't know if it is because I feel like noone reads my posts, if I'm just being lazy or what really. Or maybe it is just like my scrapbooking! I feel like I am so behind so I have no idea where to start! Let's just say that in all reality I haven't even finished blogging the trip Mandy and I came home from over a year ago! I have done so many things since and guess I am feeling a bit overwhelmed... Anywho, for now here is a small update in my life!
As you can see from my last posts I have been living in Ogden since January. Well that has now all changed and I am trying to settle into the Salt Lake City area! In between Ogden and Salt Lake I made a small pit stop back to Orem where I was living with Louise and Sophia for a couple of weeks! It was sooo much fun to be living with the old roomies even though I didn't see a whole lot of them... :) Anywho... the change came because I got a new job!!! I was not finding myself super happy at the deli and felt like I needed something different. I started searching on the internet and found a nanny position in Salt Lake City. I kept telling myself it was too good to be true and to not get my hopes up! I contacted the family and found out they had not yet hired anyone and landed an interview. I met them and was getting even more excited about the position. I was pretty much freaking out on the insides because I wanted the position soo bad but had no control over whether or not I would get it! In the end I did get the job and have loved every minute of it since! Here are some pictures of sweet little Sydney that I get to spend all my days with.

This is a picture of the sweet family I work for right after Sydney was born! They are so much fun and I totally feel like I am just a part of the family. Mark and Jenn are soo great and I look forward to going to work everyday! I guess so much for using my college degree! I decided happiness is better than a college degree job where I'm not so happy. :)

I have so many more things I need to post but this will have to due for now! I'll try and get caught up in the next little while!

3D movies are the new thing!

2010-04-03T07:57:00.001-07:00

Here we are flaunting our awesome 3D glasses! We went to see Alice in Wonderland and loved it!!! I am loving the new 3D movement. I've lately seen Avatar, Alice in Wonderland and How to Train Your Dragon all in 3D!!! I have loved all three and think it is amazing what technology we are blessed with in our world today...

I thought the starts made for a super cute backdrop! I'm not sure what I was thinking when I struck my pose but we did have lots of fun! And that is most important.

This is Cami and I! She is getting ready to send in her mission papers! I'm sooo excited for her!

And this is my dear Racheal... I love this girl to pieces. She has been a Godsend in my life and I am so thankful to know her and to have her near my side! And yes... we leave on our vacation in just a few days!!! 5 days to be exact...

DATE NIGHT!!!

2010-04-01T23:25:00.001-07:00

Yes I know it is hard to believe but I actually went on a date!!!

In my ward we have had a couple coming to our FHE activities to talk to us about dating. They told us we should be thinking positively about dating and making it fun and exciting! Well, my dear friend Christina talked me into asking a boy out on a date... I can't believe I actually did it.

And let's just say I was a little out of my comfort zone!

We decided to have some fun with it and ask in a creative way. Well, ok I have to back up and tell you what a fool I made of myself. I didn't know who to ask because I didn't really know anyone from here! I ended up deciding to ask my friend Cody who had also just moved to Layton. I did a dumb thing and called him before to make sure he would be ok with going!!! I think I made him feel like he was my last resort because of my fears! He definitely was not my last resort..

Anywho, the asking went something like this... We made some little sayings on different pieces of paper and stuffed them in balloons. The first one they had to pop said, "because I think you're great, I hope you'll be my date!" The next one had the "who" information, another had the "what" information, one had the "when" information. The last one had the way they were supposed to respond! We dropped the balloons off on their doorsteps then sent them a text that said, "come to your front porch now... bring a knife!"

We then sat in the car and watched them pop the balloons! It was sooo much fun and we laughed our guts out!

The actual date night was also loads of fun. We really just wanted to have a good time. First we made spaghetti dinner and made everyone eat with their hands tied together! It was fun but I think I had a really hard time remembering to let Cody use my hand to be able to eat!!! (Sorry Cody!) After dinner we had better than sex cake for dinner! It was also delicious...

To end the night we headed to the comedy improv night at a theater in washington terrace. We had soo much fun there. It reminded me a lot of who's line is it anyway!!! I seriously laughed my guts out!!! Well at least my stomach was killing me by the end of the night! All in all it was a great dating experience and I believe we are planning for future date nights!

Here are some pictures from the evening!!!

As you can see, this is me! They told me to act surprised because I had just won a pageant or something! I believe I got my surprised face mixed up with my scared face!!!

This is Cody and I trying to eat our dinner! I don't know how well you can see it but we were all tied together. Not just to our dates but also to the other person sitting next to us! It definitely made for an adventure!

This is me, Tammy, and Racheal... There is a story that goes with this but you'll have to ask me about it if you really want to know! Kinda an inside joke between the three of us!

The girls hanging out on the VIP couch! I am so grateful for so many amazing people in my life!!! I have seriously been blessed with the bestest friends I could ever ask for!!!

This is Scott and Christina who of course were the VIP's at the improv night! Aren't they adorable... I think so!

This is the whole gang!!! It really was loads of fun and I'm looking forward to future date nights! Now that I've lived here a little longer I am getting to know some

more people! Hopefully it won't be so scary next time. :)

BABIES!!!

2010-03-21T00:32:00.000-07:00

So many things have been going on since I blogged. I just wanted to put up some pictures of the most adorable babies in the whole world!!! I guess I am a bit biased but I love these guys loads. I am currently living with Courtney and Brandi and Umbria. I love being able to see her every day! She is so beautiful and so much fun to watch as she figures out the world around her!!! I can't believe that I never even posted the birth of Conner. I guess it just goes to show how busy life is and how fast time goes by. He was born December 16th, 2009 and is growing so fast!!! It is hard for me to realize how big he is. He's a chunck that is for sure but he is so adorable. I'm happy to only live 30 minutes from him but don't make it down to visit often enough! I would have to say that babies are loads of work and I'm grateful for a little while longer of living up the single life! I'm loving Ogden and all the many wonderful friends I've made. I bought a new camera so there will be future posts all about what I've been doing the past few weeks!

The above pictures are from Conner's blessing day!!! Isn't he adorable?!!? I sure think so. He is starting to be super smiley and actually awake for more than five minutes at a time! I do have to say though he is heavy and makes my arms tired!

I'm not sure who likes daddy time more!?! -- Daddy or Conner! They are a pretty adorable pair and Jeremy is a great dad!

Courtney is also a really great dad!!! It is so fun to watch him with Umbria. I never knew what a worry wart he can be! Umbria good luck with the teenage years!

And all the rest of these are just her being her adorable self! She is sitting up all on her own and laughing and playing more... I love seeing her everyday. She is learning so much about the world around her and just makes me happy every time I see her! She always has a big smile for me every time I walk in the door... :)

Hopefully I'm Blogging Again...

2010-02-28T23:53:00.000-08:00

So I realize that I have been an absolutely horrible blogger. I guess that I just didn't feel like there was anything too exciting in my life to be blogging about! I have now realized though that there are many things I could have been telling the world all about! I didn't even finish the wonderful amazing journey Mandy and I were able to take to Europe. Not to mention my trip back to Europe, the birth of Conner, Mandy's wedding, my moving to Ogden, and all the daily occurrences of madness in my life...

Let's just say that there never tends to be a dull moment in my life! I like to keep things extremely exciting and have been loving my new life in Ogden. I don't have a camera anymore because the one I bought to take to Europe with me is still somewhere in Europe. I believe it got left on an airplane or at an airport somewhere along the way! I'll try and get another one soon so you can have pictures to go with all the stories...

I'll try to catch you all up with my old memories and new ones over the next few days. Honestly most people probably don't even look at my blog but for the few who do I'll try to be better at keeping you posted. By the way my new life motto is: Awkward Moments make Life's Memories. I'll try to keep you updated on all my AWKWARD MOMENTS!!! I think they are usually a daily occurrence!!!

Here's some pictures of Umbria Ann!!!

2009-10-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

An interruption to the trip!!!

2009-09-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

Well, there are still some pictures to come from our crazy adventure but I had to interrupt for a brief moment and announce that Mandy and I are both officially AUNTIES!!! A big huge congrats to Courtney and Brandi Larsen who welcomed Umbria Ann Larsen into the world this morning at 12:50am-ish weighing 7 & 1/2 lbs. She is absolutely gorgeous and I'll try to post some pictures soon!!! We are giving the new mom a few days to be home with the baby and dad before we bombard but we can't wait to finally meet her and love her with all we have in us! Funny fact.... we still don't even know if the grandparents know that they have a beautiful, amazing, perfect granddaughter!!! They are on a cruise and won't be home until Saturday evening! Both the mom and baby are doing amazing but yet are a bit exhausted.... More to come shortly!

Hanging with Jansen!!!

2009-09-26T12:35:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite photos of us in Denmark! I don't know why but I just love it to pieces. This is in downtown Copenhagen.

This is us being very afraid of the Guards. They are guarding the queen's palace/castle and I'm not sure why but we were a bit afraid. Well, actually I do know why we were afraid. Everyone told us that if you get in their way they will shoot you! I don't know about you but that is kinda scary... Well, Christopher thought it was funny and he kept telling us to get closer and closer and closer to the guards. He told us that if they didn't like how close we were they would start yelling at us. Lucky for us we didn't have to hear them yell but we were definitely scared!

Well, this is Christopher... yep he takes horrid pictures. I guess that's what you get though when you try to look bad in your pictures! He was really sweet to take us out and entertain us while we visited... We had served together on the mission and it was good to see him!

This is some actual Danish food. It kinda reminded me of a Greek gyro but different meat. It was really good though and fun to have actual Danish food!

The next few pictures are of us at one of the castles in Denmark! Wow, it was gorgeous. Christopher picked us up and we drove along the coast up to the castle. It was such a beautiful drive and cool to see such an ancient castle. In the picture below you can barely see Sweden across the ocean from us!

The above picture is Mandy and I doing our jumping picture! Christopher was a great photographer... The picture below is his attempt to do a jumping picture... Not such a great jumper but really he has to be bad at something!

Denmark Temple

2009-09-13T17:40:00.001-07:00

While we were in Denmark we were able to attend the temple! We were really lucky that it worked out for us to do baptisms... It really is different than here in Utah, apparently if you want to do baptisms you are supposed to find the priesthood to be able to baptize and witness because they don't have enough workers available. We got really lucky and were able to do baptisms with a family that was visiting from the states. The baptistery was absolutely gorgeous and had some amazing paintings!!! I was also able to do a session with Theresa and wow the inside of the temple was absolutely gorgeous!!! I loved being able to be inside the temple. It was incredible... :)

Denmark -- Copenhagen

2009-09-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

Denmark was loads of fun!!! We had such a great time walking around seeing the sights. I thought this sign on the building was really funny... It says, "Probably the best beer in town" I guess in Denmark there is a law that says you can't advertise with any statement that can't actually be proven... So, instead of saying the best beer in town they advertised with PROBABLY the best beer in town!!!

This is one of my favorite pictures of us in Denmark!!!

Apparently 7-11 is a huge thing in Copenhagen!!! They were seriously on every corner.. I have no idea how they all stay in business :)... We loved being able to go and get slushies, although they weren't quite like the ones in the states! It was kinda expensive though... Denmark was a very expensive town!

I know it is hard to imagine but yes we are eating ice cream here!

This is up on top of the round tower! It was so cool to climb up above the city and be able to look out over everything! Copenhagen was probably the smallest big city we saw but it was still really cool! We were tired when we got to the top though because we had pushed Theresa up to the top in her wheel chair... It got steeper and steeper the higher up we got! It was crazy!

In Danish this means kissing booth! We just thought it was cute and funny! Don't worry we didn't kiss each other, we just made fun kissing faces!

Here we are eating with the sisters! We met up with them for lunch!

This is in the church where there is the Chrysalis! We were told that it is the original but later found out the the actual original is in a museum... None the less it was made by the original artist and was gorgeous!!! Really cool to see it!

Rome, Italy

2009-09-06T22:26:00.000-07:00

As you can most likely see I had a really hard time choosing which pictures to post from our adventures in Rome!!! We had sooo much fun. As I look back through all of our photos I remember all the laughs and fun times we had together. I am so happy that Mandy and I got to spend 2 months in Europe together. I really wish she was coming back with me in November but I'm happy for her that she has found the man of her dreams and will be getting married!

The above and below photo are from an evening we were in Rome. We were supposed to be going out with a group of people and were just waiting around. Mandy was getting really bored and found ways to entertain herself! We have loads of random shots from the evening and these were a couple of my favorites!

Isn't the scenery amazing!!! I mean America has some pretty cool states and all I have to say but it is sooo different in Europe! There is sooo much history and attention to detail all around you! You are amazed every time you turn the corner!!!

The above picture is us outside the Vatican!!! Wow... It sure was a sight to see...

This here is some really famous fountain that at the moment I don't remember the name for it! It was definitely incredible though.... I can't even begin to fathom how they created all of this stuff!?!?! It really blows my mind!

This is us standing outside the Colosseum in Rome... And yes these men stand out there all dressed up trying to get you to pay for pictures with them. Well we didn't want to pay but the guy told us it was free for Mandy... Looks like she got a kiss on the cheek out of the deal! Don't worry right after this picture was taken I got a kiss on the lips from the man taking the photo! It was so disgusting! It made our list of quotes!!! This is what I said after being kissed! ..."“I was kissed by a sick nasty man in a costume at the Colosseum in Rome!!!”

This is us inside the Colosseum! Once again it was incredible!!!

Venice, Italy

2009-09-04T08:51:00.000-07:00

Wow!!! Let's just say that Venice was truly INCREDIBLE!!! We were definitely sad to have to leave such an amazing place.... Also just an FYI - the pictures just don't seem to do justice but we did our best. I tried to pick a few favorites as we have over 300 pictures just in Venice. i figured you most likely don't want to see all 300 nor do I want to upload all 300!

Some highlights of Venice included the fact that you had to walk everywhere! We loved watching the waterroadways! It was crazy seeing how they deliver things and how the men pull the carts like they are horses or something!

Pretty much it was just amazing being in the city and there were so many incredible things to see! It really at times felt like a dream! As you can see I'm sure the masks were a huge deal in Venice and they were everywhere. Mandy heavily debated getting one but was afraid it wouldn't hack the journey back home...

More Members....

2009-08-09T20:19:00.001-07:00

Here are more of my beloved friends from the mission. I truly miss these people soo much. They made such an impact on the person I have become today and I found so much joy in serving them for a year and a half. The top one is of Heidi... then there is Lucy.... and the funny face is of Dolly and I. They are such great members and have a lot of faith. Thanks so much to all of you for your awesome examples and love I feel from each of you.

Down here we have Nancy who is a recent convert to the church... She is actually Greek so it was so amazing to meet her... And last but not least we have Mhona who many times was the sunshine in my life. She is fun and crazy and always makes you smile!!!

Greek Food

2009-08-09T18:07:00.001-07:00

UMMMM.... Let's just say that Greek food is absolutely delicious! We most likely ate way more greek yuros than we should have but they are so delicious and you can't find anything like it in the world. So many places try to but it just isn't the same. The ones in the photo here are the giant size. Let me just say I wanted to be sick when we were finished. It was huge!!!

This is a Greek Salad... I love them so much.... They too are absolutely delicious and so easy to make! Plus they are so healthy for you...

Other Sights in Athens...

2009-08-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

We had tons of fun during our week in Athens!!! These are just some random pictures of us walking through some of the other sights.... Mandy got in trouble for the one where she looks like she is lifting the rocks... Apparently you are only allowed to take "normal pictures" within the ruins. We just laughed and thought since when have we ever taken normal pictures?!?!? Well pretty much never ever!!!

Mar's Hill and the Painted Man!!!

2009-08-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun seeing these painted men... I think we just got really lucky because they are not normally there.... I really wanted to go over to Mar's Hill because that is where we always went as missionaries.. Well we got lucky because it was so crazy seeing them all painted. They were making a calendar and were getting pictures taken

A day at the Parthenon

2009-08-09T16:16:00.001-07:00

Wow, let's just say that the sights in Athens are absolutely amazing and incredible... We had such an awesome day walking around the parthenon and the other sights. I know I should have had all these pictures posted a long time ago as we have now been home for over a month but better late than never I guess! Anywho, we had so much fun seeing all that Athens has to offer. I guess if you ever get the chance to go to Greece you should definitely go.

I'm not really sure what our deal was but we were always trying to pose as the statues. It made for lots of really funny pictures. These are just a couple of them.

Super Cool Grafitti!!

2009-07-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I've really never been a huge fan of graffiti but we actually found some really cool stuff during our time in Athens. The one above isn't really so cool, it's just that we found it so appropriate for Europe!!! No one here seems to have any problems at all with PDA! It seems like everywhere you went someone was making out! We just laughed and thought to ourselves... reminder that I do not want to be like that! It kinda got old after a while but this picture just demonstrated it perfectly!

This photo here is in memory of Harriett. She is one of the girls that we worked with in Kos and everyone called her butterflies! She's a hoot and when we saw this we thought of her.

We just thought these were kinda fun! It's really random, they are just painted on the walls in the dead center of the city. I guess I've just always thought of Athens as a big dirty city and the graffiti for the most part just adds to that dirty feel!

As for these two photos.... I have to say this is art! It's incredible to me what people can do with a can of spray paint!!! Who knew, I still have no clue how they do it and think it would be fascinating to watch them create such a masterpiece!!!

Members from my Mission!!!

2009-07-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

These are just some pictures with me and some of the members from my mission! I can't believe that this October I will have been home for 3 years! Time flies.... for the most part everyone is pretty much the same and doing really well. I guess it's the younger ones that have changed dramatically... I can't believe how big Winnie is!!! Marie and Fatima have also changed a lot. I had such a great time being back in Athens. The people there have such a special place in my heart! I can't explain with words the love I feel for them and just the memories that I have of each of them! They made such a huge difference in my life! I will never forget the time I spent there....

This is Julianna!

These are the sisters that are in Athens... (I also knew them from the MTC)

The Sankoh family!!! Kadija hasn't changed a bit and I'm so excited that she is getting married in August!!! (She's marrying one of the missionaries that served in GREECE!!!)

This is little Winnie!!! She used to be so much smaller.... I loved seeing her though!

And this is the Kallay family.. Winnie and all her brothers! And Bro. Kallay :)

Our First Night in Athens!

2009-07-08T22:26:00.000-07:00

We arrived back in Athens on May 30th.... after a very long ferry ride and very little sleep! We spent the morning sleeping at julianna's and then as you can see, the most important part of the evening back in Athens was the ice cream!!! Ok so not really, I would have to say it was being able to spend time with my dear Julianna. It's been so long since i have seen her and all the other members in Greece! I was in absolute heaven.... I hadn't been so happy in a long time. I don't know what it is about the big dirty city of Athens that brings so much joy into my life!!! I guess maybe it's about the people who live there and the fact that I truly came to know my saviour while I was there. I can't describe the amounts of joy I feel when I am there. I just feel so at ease and full of joy!

As you can see, we are big huge fans of Ice Cream!!! Julianna was a really good sport! She was freezing though and really tired by the end of the night! I have to say I miss her so much and wish there was something more I could do to help her out. She's so amazing and I hope she knows that! I loved seeing her and being able to spend a bit of time with her....

This is the server at the restaurant we ate at! It was just fun and games and he was really nice so I asked for a picture!

This is the three of us just waiting to get our dinner. We had delicious greek yuros! I love them so much. And it's so sad but nowhere in the world can make them quite the same as the ones in Greece!!! If you ever make it over that way one of the things you must try are Greek yuros.... Don't worry they are super cheap!

Saying Goodbye to Kos!

2009-07-05T08:55:00.001-07:00

So I guess it is finally time to come out with the TRUTH!!! Yes, that is right, we've kinda been faking the fact that we've been on an island in Greece for the past two months! Thanks mom and dad for helping us cover :) I guess I should explain.... We were on the island for about three weeks. We were only working 4 hour days instead of 8 hour days and the island was dead. There were not a lot of tourists and we were kinda going crazy. We are so used to the go till you drop lifestyle it was hard to have 20 hours of the day to do whatever we wanted to do... Things just started getting really crazy and we started weighing the pros and cons of staying vs coming home. In the end the pros of coming home outweighed the pros of staying so we decided to take off! Of course though we were already in Europe so we decided we would travel around while it was warm and sunny and then because we had to buy new tickets to get home the trip is to be continued in November so we can use the second half of both our tickets. We spent five weeks between Athens, Venice, Rome, Copenhagen and Paris!!! And yes there are so many pictures to come it is crazy.... You'll probably be sick of seeing pictures of us! (The picture above is us on the ferry just pulling away from the island!) So for now the craziest adventure ever has been interrupted but we've had the time of our lives traveling the past five weeks and can't wait to be going back in November for another three weeks! We hope to see you all soon!

More Fun in Kos Town....

2009-07-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, as you can see ice cream has become a major part of our lives here on the island! We eat if very regularly :) Our boss even lets us have it at the resort for free because we don't drink and all the other girls get free drinks. I'm glad we haven't started a daily habit of ice cream just yet.

I just think all these little ice cream men are hysterical so I had to get a picture taken with one. There was a woman watching and she was laughing really hard at me! I guess it takes a special kinda person to entertain the world!

Here Mandy is up on the bridge in Kos Town and we just thought it was a beautiful picture!

As for these two pictures.... Well, they are just scary. We found these crazy glasses and thought they were so funny:) They make your eyes look really creepy...

Ahhh... the joys of Greek men! We were walking in town and I just said hello to all the men at the table and the next thing I new they had invited us to sit down and eat with them. They bought us drinks and we had a great time chit-chatting. They were soo funny. One of them even proposed. They asked me why I haven't found myself a Greek man to marry and I told them becuase I wanted someone who was loyal.. They definitely agreed that I shouldn't be with a Greek then! It was just fun and very "greek" to be sitting there eating and drinking with good company.

This here is the train driver that the bus driver was trying to set me up with... Let's just say it got a little awkward for a few moments but then we decided against the train ride and continued on our way.

This here is also very Greek! There are so many dogs just laying around... I don't know for sure where they come from or why they are there but they are all stray dogs and I think really it's just too hot for them to do anything else besides lay there.

This is the two of us inside the ruins of Kos Town. We have definitely gotten better at taking pictures of ourselves... Thank heavens for timers on digital cameras!

People from Work!!!

2009-06-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

So this is the gang!!! The girls are sooo much fun!! We have loved meeting all of them and getting to know so many people from all around the world!

This is Felicia (Ellie -- no one can say Felicia!) She's from North Carolina!

This is Harriett (Butterflies) from South Africa! She lives in the land of the fairies!

This is Eddie (Edyta) from Poland/Ireland :)

And here are the beauties from Hong Kong, Ceylon and Rhoda!

This is Stamatia who works in the Restaurant!!! I love speaking Greek with her! She helps my Greek everyday!

A walk through town!

2009-06-22T16:37:00.001-07:00

So these are just some crazy photos from one of the days that we walked through town!!! Yes it's crazy to think that the two of us can take so many pictures on a short walk through town but don't worry there are even more than the ones we posted here! The one above is just some random tree I climbed into!

This is a really cool tractor we found!!! I thought it made for some great pictures....

This is just some randomness... I thought it turned out kinda cool though!

The views here are so beautiful! We are surrounded with beauty although sometimes we do miss the mountains!

Who knows what this is... It kinda looks like I'm climbing out of the wall but really it's the sidewalk.

This is a picture of some baby snails on the piece of wood I'm holding... It's crazy!

We are still not so sure what this is! We had fun taking pictures with it though.

I believe there is a Greek church behind us!

This is just us hanging out! I think maybe I was on the phone!?! Not really sure...

Tingaki!

2009-06-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

Mandy and I love good old Tingaki.... it is a pretty small town but we've been finding lots of things to take pictures of and be really random!! I thought it would be fun to make a slideshow for something different! Here are some of the pictures we have taken! Have a look and just know that although we are having fun we miss you all and are excited to see you in a few months!!!

A night out on the town!

2009-06-17T11:25:00.001-07:00

Don't worry everyone! It's just apple juice! The man brought shots for everyone and when we told him that we don't drink he brought us shot glasses with apple juice:)

The whole gang!!!

Walking back to the resort after a great evening of just relaxing!

This was our girls night out on the town!!! Everyone just needed to get out and away from the hotel for a bit to relax and let go!!! Of course the others had a couple of drinks! I bet you can't guess what Mandy and I had!?!? Really hard I know.....we ate delicious chocolate ice cream!!! It was so nice to just be out and relaxing. The girls here at work are so much fun! I'm glad I've been able to get to know so many people from around the world. PS -- there are more pictures of this on facebook....I couldn't figure out how to save them to upload them!!! Ok, so i figured out how but for some reason they are much bigger than the others! I'm still trying to get this whole blogging thing figured out!

Randomness on the Island!

2009-06-16T05:26:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the restaurant where I work! It's nice and fun... Not extremely busy still but we're hopeful for July!! These pictures are definitely a lot of randomness from what we have been doing!!! One is of us at the beach....we love going to the beach! We go on pretty much a daily basis!! Crazy!
A couple of the other pictures are some of the guests who have been staying at the hotel! They are so much fun and we are loving being able to meet so many people from all around the world!

This is crazy Mrs. Panayotis!!! She is crazy and terribly frightening! She yells and screams all the time! everyone is afraid of her but Mandy being the good soul that she is made her a flower necklace!!!

The town of Kos....

2009-06-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

Well, pretty much Mandy and I have been having the time of our lives....we can barely believe that we are really living on the other side of the world. These are some pictures from our trip into Kos town. This one is actually from our walk along the sea shore! Don't worry, it only took us three hours.... we even thought we were going to miss dinner. hehehe!

Here is a great picture with us and some typical Greek men! They make me laugh so hard. We stopped to ask them how to walk along the beach because we weren't sure and they all started arguing about who was supposed to be talking to us and which way we should be going. The wonderful ways of the Greeks!

These pictures are of a random hat Mandy found on a bench! Yes where she is pointing at it....that is exactly how she found it! Well, of course I decided to put it on my head cause I thought it would be a funny picture. She was sure I was going to get lice from the hat but I just laughed and did it anyway. There's always something funny with the two of us!

Oh yes, these are awesome photos as well!!! I was being choked by the tree! Don't ask me where the idea came from because I have no idea.... And Mandy, i'm not sure what was going on but I think she was trying to seduce the tree! She's been a little lonely here on the island! Trees don't really work quite as well as boys though! There a little less comfy to cuddle with:)

This was just a cool picture of the bridge in the town... I thought standing on the ball would look cool. It definitely proved to be harder than I thought it would! As you can see I couldn't stay on top of it! I am trying to keep my balance but it just wasn't working for me!

These are just some pretty pictures down by the sea! The one where Mandy has her fingers up is pretty funny! She was standing there like that and I asked her what she was doing!? She very seriously replied, "I'm holding turkey!" And I said....."oh really?" As you can see she is holding the sea! Although you can see Turkey, she is definitely not holding it!

I don't know who thinks it's cool to put graffiti all over the ancient ruins but it made for some awesome photos! Mandy really looks gangster! Me on the other hand, who knows what I'm doing but nonetheless having a good time doing it!

When we took this photo I had no idea there were ants crawling all over the rock! When I saw them it kinda scared me but I managed to hang on long enough to take another photo too!

These two photos are in loving memory of our dear parents!!! Memories of dads favorite pose while in Greece! I'm doing the one that dad always did and Mandy is doing mom's favorite one!

Ahhhh.... Greek Yuros (Gyros).... Need I say more!!!
They are soooo delicious! A life staple here on the island:)

We are loving the Island!!!

2009-05-14T03:31:00.000-07:00

Well, we've only been here about a week but are having the time of our lives!!! Many times we go to bed exhausted because we've been working so hard to learn German and Greek. . . .I guess I have the benefit with Greek! :) As of now it's not really busy on the island yet so we've only been working 4 hours each day! Ahhhh..... what a difference from the American lifestyle we have been so used to! We go to the beach almost every day and are working on our tans!

It's a lot of fun because we are meeting people from all around the world each day! Just within the girls we work with we've met someone from Brazil, Poland, South Africa, England, and yes there is another American! They are all very sweet and we are happy to have made new friends! I'm sure eventually there will be pictures with all of them! Also we are meeting tons of people from Germany as that is where most of the guests are coming from!

At night many times we sit with them as they try to help us learn the German language! It's not really easy but we're hoping with time we will be able to speak more! We know how to say very basic phrases such as Ihnen schunen tag nag!!! (English Pronunciation... I - nen shoe - nen to - chk nock from the back of your throat!!!) It means have a good day! And yes our English is very quickly running away from us! We sound really funny when we talk!

All is good! We have a very quaint but cute bedroom where we live together! The family that we work for is really nice and take good care of us! We have quickly made many friends and hope to continue doing good! It's funny because most people have never heard of the mormon church before so we have a lot of explaining to do about the way we live our lives but it's good to be reminded of what we believe and why we believe it! We will forever be grateful to have the principle of the gospel in our lives!!!

Love you all and we'll try to post again soon!

WICKED!!!

2009-05-04T01:11:00.000-07:00

"You've been Galindified" -- -- Toss, Toss
"My name is Galinda. The "a" is silent"

Anyway, Saturday night we saw Wicked at the Opium theater! Well really the Orpheum Theater but I called it the Opium and it stuck! Merry Christmas Mom! We had tons of fun and really could just watch it over and over again cause we love it so much.

Dad thinks we are crazy and therefore refused to see the show with us, he hung out at the Wharf all evening! Thanks for being such a great chauffeur dad! Thanks for the shirts too Mom! We love them and will wear them often!

Crazy Hats

2009-05-04T00:52:00.000-07:00

While we were in San Francisco we found a really cool store with lots of crazy hats! Dad got sick of us trying on hats but we found it very amusing! Here's some of the best ones we found.

San Francisco

2009-05-04T00:05:00.000-07:00

We spent Saturday morning exploring the city of San Francisco. We started at pier 39 on the fisherman's warf, here we saw the golden gate bridge, Alcatraz and lots of seals. After eating some fresh chowder we moved on, we headed up to get our second serving of the famous chocolate in Ghiradelli's square. Then we hiked our way to the top of hide street where we believe they filmed the opening credits in Monk. (Dad's favorite) Next came china town, at first we couldn't find it, but once we got in we didn't know if we were gonna get out!!! squished into the heart of San Fran China town is a bustling little city all on its own.

Monterey Bay and Carmel

2009-05-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

Well, it's officially happened! The MOST AWESOMEST ADVENTURE EVER has begun..... We left Utah last Thursday and flew to San Francisco with Mom and Dad. We had a great day Friday exploring Monterey Bay and Carmel. It was an absolutely beautiful drive and there were lots of activities! We were able to go to the Aquarium in Monterey which was really cool.

You'll have to check out the pictures we have from there. Sometimes you wonder if what you are seeing is really an animal! It was crazy. They had it all..... Of course after the aquarium we had to stop for ice cream! Seriously, who can live without ice cream. We went to the Ghiradelli chocolate shop and dang the ice cream was absolutely divine!

After ice cream we made a mad dash to the car because it was raining outside. From there we drove like crazy people because we were trying to find the 17-mile drive where we had no clue really where it was. We eventually guided dad there and it was cool.

We would have stopped more and walked around but there was lots of wind and rain. Later we ended in Carmel where there were lots of adorable cottage looking houses and mom was fascinated with the cute little tea pots.

Family, isn't it about time!?!?

2009-04-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

Well, we had a really great family ski trip! We actually had everyone there! Happy to report that there were no major injuries, although a few minor crashes meant some sore muscles for a few days after the trip! Although Brandi and Courtney had to work up on the hill we were able to see them a few times throughout the day!!! Courtney even snuck in a few runs with us! Brandi couldn't because she's expecting a baby and also has a bad knee.... Mandy, even came although she hasn't skied for a couple of years! She did great and only had one major blowout! She was the camera happy photographer so we have her to thank for such awesome memories! We were really happy to be able to spend some quality time with the family before heading of the the greek isles! Jeremy showed off for everyone and did a few backflips, there was tons of really great snow, and we pretty much all skied together all day!!! Dad had a bad back and had to slow down a bit from normal. What else, oh yes, it was sooo hot!!! It was definitely spring slush skiing but we still had a blast. It had snowed so there was powder it was just a little heavy. By the end of the day we had all shed a few layers because we were too hot. I even skied with no gloves cause I couldn't bear the heat... Overall we had a really great time and are sad to not have a few more family activities before we leave! The countdown is officially at 2 weeks! It's coming quickly and we hope we are prepared! :)

It's getting so close!!!

2009-04-02T08:47:00.001-07:00

We can barely believe it ourselves but it really is going to happen! We are burned out with all the amounts of school work we have but keep plugging through because we know in the end it will all pay off!!! The countdown is officially less than one month. It kinda feels like I have way too much to do and absolutely not enough time to do it but it's good to be busy! We have both had success in selling our cars which puts us one step closer to being all ready to go. . . .In just a few weeks we'll be finishing finals and heading out!!!

The Proposed Itinerary!!!

2009-03-07T17:27:00.001-08:00

If all goes as planned this is what the itinerary looks for once we leave the island life and travel Europe!!! As you can imagine we are very excited!!! In later posts I'll try to find pictures and give a little detail of each place we will be visiting. For now you can continue to be jealous and wish you were traveling with us!

The Proposed Itinerary

Nov 1-4 Athens, Greece

Nov 5- Napoli, Italy

Nov 6-7 Rome, Italy

Nov 7-8 Florence, Italy

Nov 8-9 Venice, Italy

Nov 10 Bern, Switzerland

Nov 11 Interlaken, Switzerland

Nov 11-12 Zurich, Switzerland

Nov 13-15 Austria

Nov 16-17 Munich, Germany

Nov 17 Wurzberg, Germany

Nov 18 Frankfurt, Germany

Nov 19-20 Berlin, Germany

Nov 20-23 Copenhagen, Denmark

Nov 24 Amsterdam, Netherlands

Nov 25 Brussels, Belgium

Nov 26-28 Paris

Nov 29 London

Nov 30-Dec 2 Scotland

Dec 3-6 London, Wales, Stonehedge, England

Dec 7 fly back to San Francisco

Dec 8 arrive back in Utah

The Island of Kos!

2009-03-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

So after taking mom to see Wicked we fly out of San Francisco on the 4th of May. We have quite the flight itinerary and eventually we will land in the beautiful island of Kos. We already have jobs lined up at an amazing resort. We will be working at the Horizon Beach Resort and can't wait to get there. So many days of sun, beach, and just lots of fun!!! We will be working at the same resort and hopefully living together. This will be our residence for the first 6 months of our awesomest adventure. We are definitely excited. Mandy will be working in the child center with the kids and is working on learning German at the moment. Apparently a lot of the children are german and therefore she has to learn the basics so she can talk to them. As of Sunday i think she knew about 20 words!!! Keep it up Mand! I will be working as a waitress at the resort and am excited for the experience! I guess this is why I went to school for four years!!! It should be great experience and very helpful on a resume upon returning home! Just thought we'd show you a few pictures of the resort we'll be working at.

WICKED!!!!

2009-03-03T07:52:00.000-08:00

So we are very excited to be taking mom to go and see Wicked. Before we ever decided to embark on the great adventure of Europe we bought Wicked tickets as a Christmas present for mom. We made plans for the weekend right after finals!! Mandy and I have been to see Wicked before and are super stoked for mom to see it!! Because we are flying out from San Francisco to begin our great adventure Dad is coming along for the ride because we don't want mom traveling home alone!!! Nonetheless we are super excited to have a weekend with mom and dad before we leave to Europe. Mandy and I fly to San Francisco on April 30th and then we will meet mom and dad there! We're still not sure if they are flying or driving! It should be a great weekend!

We're going to Europe!!!

2009-03-02T21:04:00.000-08:00

So you may all be asking yourselves what is this most awesomest adventure ever! Well, we are going to Europe. We also have a quick trip to San Francisco planned for right before we leave. We are taking mom to see Wicked! Anywho, we will be living on the Greek Island of Kos where we will work at a resort for six months. Come the end of October we will begin our galavanting through the country of Europe. Don't worry our future posts before we leave will include our plans for the Wicked Trip and then also pictures of the resort where we will work and a travel itinerary for the month of galavanting!