Forty-three Years

Today is my parent's 43rd wedding anniversary. These two people have had the biggest influence in my life. I am so grateful for their love and support. I would not be able to be here in Vienna if it were not for them.  I love you, Mom and Dad. I wish I could be home to celebrate with you two!

First day in England

We finally made it to England! I am glad to be here, but it is weird to think that I wont be back in the U.S. until December. I am incredibly tired, so forgive me if this post doesn't make sense.

When we arrived at the airport, we grabbed our luggage and hopped on a bus to pick up a rental car that my dad reserved. First thing you should know is that my dad LOVES to drive...for hours. He planned that we would drive around Essex county, which is where some english villages that our ancestors came from are, and look at old cemeteries. We got in our rental car awkwardly because the steering wheel is on the wrong side of the car. After we were all seated, my dad proudly took out his GPS that was going to guide us all over Europe. He told me to put in the address of our hotel, however as I was typing in the address the GPS had no idea where England even was. My dad didn't download the right maps for England prior to arriving. Dad started saying, "Sheesh sakes! This dang thing doesn't even work!" I just started laughing uncontrollably, probably because of how tired I was. Dad ran back into the car rental place and got a good old paper map of England from a rental car employee. As he was unfolding it like a blanket over him, my sister, Laura, suggested that maybe we should just use the GPS on his iPhone. We typed in the address and thankfully it worked.

We drove around for a couple hours asking my dad about his mission in England before we made it to Rayleigh, England. We got some fish and chips and continued onto the churches. It was more interesting than I thought it would be. We went to three different villages that our ancestors came from and got to stop and visit with an 83-year-old historian who gave a little history lesson in the front room of her house that used to be a school house. I learned so much that now I feel like I have been on an episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?"

(sorry for the crappy image quality. I forgot to put an SD card in my SLR. All pictures taken and edited on my iPhone.)

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO

I want you to meet my new boyfriend, Apollo the dolphin. I guess I took the saying, "There are plenty more fish in the sea" a little too literally. Too bad dolphins aren't fish....haha. ANYWAY, way back in March we went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and had a blast. It was good to get a break from school to enjoy some sun rays for a couple of days, eat some Mexican food, and speak a little Spanish. Fun fact about me: when I was in 4th or 5th grade my favorite animal was a dolphin. While we were in Mexico I got the chance to swim with those slippery animals. It was such a cool experience! I was stoked for it until I started walking towards the pool they were in. That was when I realized that dolphins are weird, big, energetic, swimming mammals that can jump out of the water and swim fast. I was freaked out for a couple of minutes, but I eventually warmed up to them. Don't worry, I had a whale of a  time (oops, wrong animal again...sorry) and totally recommend it.

You can tell from my expression in these pictures I was a little freaked out...

(Also, the guy to the right of me has the same expression in all 4 pictures. Weird, right?)

ROYAL CITY, WASHINGTON

On June 7, 2013 my nephew, Carter, graduated from high school and my father turned 65. We celebrated by flying to Washington to attend Carter's graduation ceremony where he gave an amazing speech. Way to go Valedictorian. He will be attending BYU this fall semester (when I won't be there of course) before he serves an LDS mission.

We flew to Seattle where we spent a couple of hours and went to the top of the Space Needle then drove to Royal City. It was great to spend time with family. I wish we could visit the Christensen family more often!

HAPSBURG CHALLENGE

37 days until I am in Europe and 48 days until my study abroad program starts.

 I can't believe it!

To prepare for a 21 mile bike ride along the Danube River from Melk to Krems, my study abroad director challenged us to ride 20 miles anywhere we would like. My father and I mapped a route to Utah Lake and back. Not as bad as I thought it would be. If my 65-year old dad can do it, anyone can, right? We did it in 1 hour and 24 minutes. 

I can hardly wait until I am in Vienna.

Thanks mom for making us wear those stylish and flattering helmets.

We probably would have died without them!

LIAM'S BLESSING

NEW YORK CITY

LITTLE LIONS