Just Grandpa and Me

I was way past due for a date with Grandpa Norm, so we decided it was time to spend some time together, just the two of us!
We enjoyed a lovely bike ride together, out to the Bear River Bird Refuge and then went back to the house for some grub! It was so fun to be with Grandpa. He sure is a good great and wonderful man.

Alex Boye

I had the opportunity of going to a Fireside with Alex Boye. It was totally awesome and inspiring, motivational, and more! He shared his conversion story with us, and it was so cool. Not only is he a fantastic singer, but he is a very moving speaker as well! This is him singing with MoTab.

He talked about how powerful our thoughts are, and how if we could just always just think positive and uplifting thoughts, it would basically change our lives and change who we are. Alex also shared a powerful testimony about the Book of Mormon, and that we need to get our priorities straight and read that book every day. He said that when we love the Book of Mormon so much that we just can't wait to wake up in the morning so that we can read it and we just want to share everything we read with others, we will know that we're on the right track. (below is a video I found where he talks about his conversion/history)

The MTC is the place TO BE!

I applied to work at the MTC exactly one week ago. To apply, I had to fill out a little part online, do a language evaluation over the telephone, and then go in and teach two RM's that work there at the MTC. I prepared a little lesson from Preach My Gospel, and spent several hours studying and trying to organize my thoughts and everything. My problem was that I prepared a lesson that could have lasted at least 30 minutes, but I was only allowed 10 to teach.

So when I got in there to teach, I felt like I only got to share a tenth of what I wanted to. And there was a really cool activity I was going to have them do from Preach My Gospel, but I just ran out of time. I felt like it could have gone much better and wished that I had condensed my lesson before and maybe even practiced it on someone once so that I would realize that there was no way that I could fit all of the stuff I prepared into ten minutes! Oh well...at least the language evaluation seemed to go pretty well. It is hard for me to know how good my Tagalog really is, but I feel like it is adequate.

Being a teacher at the MTC has become my dream job. Even though I would make half of what I could make as a nurse, I just want to teach there SO BADLY. I can't think of any other job right now that is available to me that would make me happier. When I go to the MTC, I just feel different. I feel so happy and suddenly I just get this enthusiasm and positive energy in me. Maybe I will get the job, and maybe I wont...but I have been praying real hard that I do because I feel like I could really make a difference for those missionaries. Only time will tell...

So, while I was in Provo, I found out which night the Tagalog speaking missionaries teach volunteers in the TRC. It is Wednesday night. So I went and volunteered the whole night! It was so FUN! I wish I lived in Provo so that I could volunteer to be taught every single week. I was so impressed with their Tagalog skills...I feel like I wasn't that good when I was in the MTC! The common theme was prayer, so I had about 4 different sets of missionaries teach me about prayer and I LOVED IT. I decided the best part was when they were sharing their testimony. Just plain teaching without sincere testimony, is not very effective...but when those missionaries were trying so hard to say what they really felt and knew in their hearts, it was super powerful and I felt the Spirit! This one Elder told me that he was a convert, he was only baptized a year and a half ago. SO COOL!

The other awesome thing that happened while I was waiting to volunteer was my two companions showed up to volunteer as well and I had no idea that they were coming! I was so excited to see them because I haven't seen them since the mission! It was Sister (Diane) Stewart and Sister (Chanelle) Martinez. It was a fun little reunion. Especially because we were in a threesome together. Good memories!

Tony Grove = Heaven on Earth

I must say, Tony Grove is probably one of my favorite places on earth...ESPECIALLY when I'm there with my entire family!! I got home just in time for our Tony Grove trip this year, and boy am I glad!

 We did the White Pine trail and it took us about 4 hours. (8 miles) But it was so worth it. Beautiful scenery + good company = doesn't get much better.

This is our first real camping trip with the whole family together (the updated family that is). It was so fun!

Campfire songs are always one of my favorite parts of camping. And with Kaden leading the songs, it just doesn't get much better.

"...We're going on a bear hunt...to see what we can see...look there's a river..we can't go around it, we can't go through it, we can't go over it......maybe..we have to go around it!"

Lessons I learned as a Nanny

I returned home from France on Thursday, September 14th. It was a bittersweet day. The kids were so cute, they were hugging me and they said how they would miss me and I told them not to tell the next Nanny how much cooler I am than her. (but I should really be telling them not to tell ME how much cooler SHE is than me) It was hard to say goodbye to them, they have been so good to me!

Good bye, bedroom.

Goodbye toilet with "small" flush and "big" flush options.

I feel like my Nanny experience was different than the experience the average nanny might have. Since it was their summer vacation, and the kids were old enough to basically take care of themselves, I felt like my job really wasn't much of  a job. But I did learn a thing or two, and it actually made me even more excited to be a real mommy some day. 

One of my main jobs was simply keeping the kids entertained, because they were home with me all day. So, in order to avoid hours of video games and television every day, I had to get creative with games and activities. It takes more effort than you might think! But we had lots of fun playing card games, building puzzles, doing crafts and sometimes baking a treat! 

It was interesting getting to know them and even taking little opportunities to teach them. I actually got to sit down with them and talk about music. I was a little concerned about some of the music they had showed me and so we looked up the lyrics and read them together. I had to explain to them what some of these songs were talking about and they were surprised because they never really payed attention to the words. (we have probably all been guilty of this at one time or another) I told them that they should look up the lyrics to the songs they listen to and make sure they are talking about good things! 

I felt like such a mom sometimes, when I would try so hard to get them to eat fruits and vegetables. Or when I had to say "That's too many cookies!". Let me tell you, they were not fans of my fruit smoothies. They actually had no concept of what a "smoothie" is. They kept calling it a "shake" and they were asking me why I was putting all these fruits into a shake with no ice-cream. 

I enjoyed reading to them, though we only read about five chapters of "Bridge to Terabithia". I always felt like they were sort of bored, and didn't really like it, until on my very last night Ryan saw the book on the table and said, "Can we PLEASE read a chapter tonight??". I was so surprised that he really wanted me to read. I guess maybe they really like it after all. 

One time, I gathered all the children and showed them my mission book and told them stories. That was fun. They helped me to learn "I need thee every hour" in French, which I played for their entire family on my guitar and sang, in French, before leaving them. It was special. We had a little mini FHE together and I showed the little video of the two boys who put silver dollars in the man's shoes. It was told by President Hinckley. They really liked it. I'm so glad they allowed me to share so much with them about the Church and gospel. 

I offered to cook dinner occasionally, I think I ended up cooking Hawaiian Haystacks, Vegetable Stir Fry, Crepes, (a variety of dinner crepes, all of which consisted of random fillings of the eaters choice) Quiche, and Chicken Enchiladas. I think the mother appreciated having a break from cooking, but my dinners definitely did not compare to hers! I'm seriously glad that I got the opportunity to cook a few times because it really sparked my interest in cooking. I realized that its actually fun, and I would love to continue experimenting with new recipes! You can be so creative with cooking/baking, I love it!

I know, this picture is super blurry, but my camera was being dumb so this is the best I got.

Playing the "candy-bar game" the night before I left

I think, of all the lessons I learned while I was in France- this one is the most important. (I'm going to copy and paste my post from FB)

After traveling around France and Switzerland for two months, I have realized even more how important PEOPLE are. I have seen A LOT of breathtaking sights and done some really cool things, yet it’s the people in my neighborhood and the memb

ers of the wards I have attended that I will miss the most and remember with fondness. It’s the love and kindness that these amazing people have given to me and the things I have learned from them. Places and things can be lovely, but they mean nothing without people!

So it’s not the Castles, the gorgeous countryside, the cute cottages or even the amazing Swiss chocolate that has made these two months so fabulous. It’s the PEOPLE. The people around us have so much more beauty and history than any place we could possibly travel to. I want to always remember to learn to love, and fill my life with PEOPLE and not be so concerned about places or things!

 My awesome new member friends from France! Wonderful people!

Every Place is a Postcard

There are beautiful things and places to see wherever you go in the world, but the amazing thing about Europe is that practically everywhere you look is so charming or beautiful that it could go on a postcard. Here are some examples.

  I took a few pictures of some of the houses in the neighborhoods close by. They are all so cute! When I build a house, it's gonna have colored shutters and balconies with flower pots!

I just wanted to throw on some pictures of the yummy pastries I got towards the end of my stay in France. There is nothing that compares to this kind of stuff in the US! The eclairs are honestly to die for!

The 139th Temple

Life really is beautiful. Even in Brigham City, Utah.
It is good to be home again. Although France is gorgeous and wonderful, I rather prefer Utah. Maybe I'm a bit prejudiced because my whole family lives here...but Utah is a great place, especially Brigham City.

Speaking of Brigham City, I went to the temple very early this morning with Dad. We were in the very first session. It is still so surreal to me that we have a temple in Brigham...just less than five minutes away from my parents house! I mean...it's not like there was a shortage of temples around here before then, you could get to Logan or Ogden within 30 minutes drive and at least 4 more temples in a 1.5 hour radius--but still! It is so AWESOME to drive down main street and suddenly see this huge, white, and glorious temple right there in front of me. I'm still not  used to it. Residents of Utah are so very fortunate to have temples dotting their state!

The dedication was very special. I love the symbolism of the cornerstone because it give extra emphasis to Jesus Christ and how he is the cornerstone, the foundation of everything we are and hope to be. He is the head of this Church. It is because of Him that we have a plan of happiness, and a way to return back to our Heavenly Home. The temple is essential to our eternal progression!

I was also fortunate enough to be able to attend the Cultural Celebration for the Temple, the night before it was dedicated. I was so impressed with the youth and so many others who wrote original music, volunteered many hours to sew costumes, etc. The costumes were absolutely fantastic and all of the dances and songs were beautifully done. They did a wonderful job of showing us the foundations of Brigham City, who and what made this lovely city what it is today and how it was prepared for the temple to take it's place here. They mentioned a lot of things that I had never heard and did not know about this town!

London

I was able to do a quick trip to London last weekend. Unfortunately, I had to go alone...so it made for a lonely couple of days however I still enjoyed London very much.

I flew with easyjet and it cost about 150$ round-trip. I stayed in a hostel for about 25$ a night (Friday and Saturday nights) and on Sunday I stayed with two sweet YSA that I met at church. There were eight women in my hostel room (four bunk-beds) and only one bathroom, so I made sure that I got up early enough each morning to get my bathroom time! They did offer a complimentary breakfast consisting of cereal, yogurt, and toast. Overall, I wasn't too impressed- but it was a place to sleep and it was fairly cheap.

Poor soldier has to stand there and get his picture taken with all the crazy tourists that come by...

These telephone booths are all over the city and still very much in use. Also, seeing people driving on the left side of the road was so strange!
There was more than one person who called me "darling" and I love how they call trash "rubbish".

 Trafalgar Square

I actually really liked this guys music. He had a good style.This was in the "tube" (or the underground railway). I wish I had taken more video of him.

 Check out these suit combos!

 Changing of the Gaurds

 Buckingham Palace

The Clock Tower

 I went on a really awesome "walking tour" and we got to see many of the famous buildings and monuments around London. Our tour guide was super animated and entertaining, so I really enjoyed it. It was nice to get a little bit of history on everything and also to hear some fun stories and interesting facts. The tour lasted about 3 hours!

 I was so disappointed that I couldn't go through. I think I'm just a bit too late....the school year already started. I'll have just have to come back again next year. ;)

 Of course, their are about a million shows playing in various theaters in the London's center. I finally decided to see "Matilda" because it is fairly new and I had heard great things about it. I was not disappointed. It was a wonderful production. The music was incredible!

 I also saw a show called the 39 steps. It was very well done. In contrast to "Matilda", this show was not a musical, only had 4 people in the cast (who played several different roles through out the show) and was a real comedy. I enjoyed it very much.

 The church!

This is Katelyn and Wendy. They are the two ANGELS that took care of me on Sunday. They were seriously so incredibly sweet. I didn't have to ask for one thing because they were so quick to offer everything and anything I could possibly need. (Food, a towel to shower, directions to get to my bus stop, etc.) I stayed at their apartment in Hamstead on Sunday night and woke early on Monday morning (4:15am) to catch the bus to the airport. I will never forget these girls!

It was fun to be in London, but while I was there I came to the conclusion that, although these famous buildings, monuments, squares and streets are beautiful and impressive....I would much rather prefer to see mountains, gardens, trees, and green rolling hillsides. And the city is a nice place to visit...but I will always be a country girl.