Europe: The Reader's Digest Version

For those of you who don't want to read the novel I'm sure to write about our Europe trip with the Utah Ambassadors of Music, this is the post for you. I'm going to keep it nice and sweet and short. Not too many pictures (I have about 1000). Not too much text. Ready? Set? GO!

We arrived at the airport at 4 a.m. Ethan kindly drove us. We left SLC at 7 a.m. and flew to Atlanta,

 We left Atlanta around 7:40 p.m. Pacific time and flew to London. By the time we landed, it was morning London time.

We got stamps in our passport, loaded on a bus, and headed to Windsor!

 We toured the castle, had lunch, and drove to our hotel. After checking in, eating dinner, and having orientation, we took a group of students on a walking tour of London to try to fight jet lag:

 The next day, we had a bus tour of London, saw Westminster Abby and the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.

 Then we went to the tower of London and saw the crown jewels and castle stuff:

 Then, we grabbed dinner, walked over to the theater district, took advantage of some photo ops:

 And took a group of students to see Wicked. It was amazing.

 We helped everyone take taxis back to the hotel and then I went on my very first taxi ride.

The next day (Day 3 in London), we had our concerts. First the Choir in Wesley Chapel:

 And the band in the Embankment Gardens.

 Then we took students to the British Museum

 And then to ride the London Eye.

 We got the students into taxis and then went back to our hotel to pack up and go to bed.

The next morning, we had an early departure. We drove to Dover and crossed the British Channel via ferry to Calais, France:

 We drove the rest of the day, arriving in Paris in time for dinner.

The next day, we went to Montmartre, where we saw Sacre Coeur

and ate real, legit French Crepes.

 Then, we got a bus tour of Paris, where we saw the famous Paris Opera House, the Grand and Petit Palaces, and Moulin Rouge, among other things,

 including the Eiffel Tower:

 Then, we went to the Louvre,

And took a boat tour on the Seine:

 The next morning, we climbed halfway up the Eiffel Tower

 Then took the elevator the rest of the way to the top.

 We saw the Arc d'Triomphe

 And walked the Champs-Elysees:

 Then we went to Notre Dame:

 Bought a lock to put on a love bridge and dropped the key into the Seine.

 The next morning, bright and early, we headed to Switzerland. Again, we arrived in time for dinner, and then had free time in Crans-Montana. The next morning, we rode the tram up into the Alps:

 And then headed to the Chateau Chillon on Lake Geneva.

 After touring the castle, we walked along Lake Geneva to Montreaux, and talked Brian out of jumping into the lake.

We went back to Crans-Montana for dinner and the concert. 

The next morning, we took a train to Zermatt, walked around, 

 Rode another tram up to the ridge across from the famous Matterhorn and ate lunch.

 Next, we headed back to Crans-Montana, where they treated us to a special Fondue dinner and dancing. It was a great party!

 Next morning, we hit the road again, stopping in Liechtenstein for lunch and a bottle of their most expensive and luxurious water.

 This is practically a full-size model of Liechtenstein.

 We arrived in Seefeld, Austria for dinner, orientation, and a little free time.

The next morning, we headed down to Innsbrook, saw the palace, the Triumphal Arch, bought pretty jewelry at Swarovski, and had some apple strudel.

 We went back to Seefeld for lunch and concerts.

The next morning, super early, we headed to Venice.

 Took a gondola ride

 Listened to the Choir perform in St. Mark's Basilica,  tried not to completely melt in the heat, and then headed back to Seefeld.

 The next morning, we left Austria and headed into Germany, stopping at Dachau

 Before arriving in Rothenburg. We ate dinner and then took the Night Watchman's Tour:

 The next day, we shopped, we went to the Criminal Justice Museum, went to the band concert, and finished out the night watching the skits from all the buses.

Early the next morning, we checked out of our hotel, loaded the bus for the last time, and headed to Frankfurt. From Frankfurt, we flew to New York (JFK). Everyone was so happy to be back in the U.S. by this point. We all looked a little worse for wear, but we were almost home. Here we are with a couple of girls in our bus group: 

We arrived in Salt Lake just before midnight on July 21 (meaning it was almost the 22nd!). Ethan picked us up and we made it to bed by 2 a.m. 

In a nutshell, the trip was AWESOME!

Our Crazy July Begins

On July 1st, Utah Ambassadors of Music rehearsals started. That meant staff meetings, sectionals, uniform passing out, and a bunch of odds and ends for this HUGE tour to Europe. Brian spent July 1-3 at American Fork High School helping out, and I bounced back and forth between AFHS, stores, and home. Lots of last minute errands, lots of last minute family time, lots of craziness! And lots of trying to help ease Kirt and Julie's stress. Hopefully we were successful in the latter endeavor. I packed lunches for the kids and brought Duplos in an attempt to entertain the kids while I helped hand out uniforms. The Duplos didn't entertain the way I hoped--the kids just loved all the attention they got from the other staff members, and Michael loved watching Papa conduct.  At one point, Michael disappeared from the room, and I didn't know where he had gone. Brian was in the room with me. Turns out, Michael had been hanging out with Papa in one of the rehearsals, up at the front, trying to conduct too. One of the staff got a picture, but in the craziness of the day, I never got it forwarded to me. Maybe I can add it later it I track it down. It was pretty cute. 

On the second day, Brian decided to bring his horn to rehearsals. He pulled it out of storage to see how it played. Michael was pretty excited to see Daddy play the horn. 

 So Brian gave Michael his first horn lesson:

 The third and final day caused me lots of stress. I needed to be two places at once. The Candy Bomber was coming to Orem as part of the Freedom Festival on July 3, and he was coming at the same time as an important parents meeting at the UAM rehearsals. Michael loves the Candy Bomber, and I knew he'd want to see it. When I mentioned my dilemma to my dad, he said, "Well, I guess we better come down and take Michael to see the Candy Bomber."  Taryn and Aaron came down early on Friday and hung out for a while. We decided to head down after lunch to check out Colonial Days and get set to watch the drop. My parents would meet us in Orem. Well, when we arrived, parking was totally nuts because of all the people wanting to see the candy drop. I ended up dropping Taryn and the kids off at the park and then finding a parking spot for my parents. Once they arrived, I gave them hugs and headed back to American Fork, knowing my kids were in great hands.

My parents kept the kiddos safe during the candy drop (which ended up being a little disappointing--too many people and too many parachutes landing where no one could get them), but Michael was excited to be there. My dad took him to all the military stuff at Colonial Days:

 And when I came back a few hours later, I took Michael and Rachel to the Colonial stuff. I ran into Lea right when I got there, so she and Danny came with me. Danny and Michael carded wool:

 and made rope:

 We also saw the cannon being fired and other fun stuff. It was also very hot. When we'd had enough fun at the colonial section, we decided to head out. On our way back to meet with my folks, we saw him: "Hal" Halverson, the Candy Bomber! There were too many people for us to go up and talk to him, but I got this picture of Michael with him in the background. We were all pretty excited about this:

 We were so close!

The next day was my birthday. As I mentioned in the previous post, I spent it doing laundry, cleaning, and packing the kids' suitcase. I went over it and over it, trying to make sure that they would have everything they needed for two-and-a-half weeks. I had a hard time wanting to shut that suitcase.

 The next morning (July 5), it was time to say a temporary goodbye to our world. My parents were so great to come down and help out. The biggest help was that they took our kids up to Chelsea's house on their way home to Idaho.

 It was really starting to hit us just how long 18 days apart would be.

 Here they are, all ready to go, and we cried after they drove away, even though we knew they were in the best hands possible.

The rest of the day was so strange without them. We went to church with just the two of us for the first time in a long time--since I was pregnant with Rachel and we went to D.C. for 10 days. We didn't know what to do with ourselves, but I will confess that we enjoyed it. We went to Lea's house for a last minute BBQ (and more birthday fun, but this time aimed more at Kirt), came home to finish up packing, set alarms for 2:15 a.m. and went to bed, excited to begin our long-anticipated trip to Europe!

Farewell, 20s!

Last fall, when I was planning Brian's 30th party, I got the idea for a roaring twenties party, and I decided that's what I wanted for my birthday party this year. I felt a little silly throwing a party for myself. I still kind of do. But, this was all I wanted--a fun party with my favorite ladies. So, I decided on a date (which is a little tricky when your birthday is a holiday, so I did it one week before my actual birthday), and I designed an announcement, which I'm quite proud of. (I made all the graphics except the cupcake she's holding) Then I emailed it out to my friends. 

 I made a reservation for 10, hoping that that many would be willing and able to come have tea with me. And I would have made it to 10 too, if one hadn't gotten sick and one hadn't gotten stuck in Oregon. But I was so happy to spend the afternoon with these great ladies. My visiting teacher helped me make Flapper headbands for everyone, and Brian picked up party beads for me. This is the Hot Chocolate table (not on purpose; it just ended up that way)--Natalie Brinton, Lea, Chelsea, and Taryn:

 This is the tea table (well, except me. I floated between the two tables and chose an almond hot chocolate that was amazing): Winnie McDaniel, Sam, and Chelsi Linderman:

  

 Our entire fabulous crew:

 Lea modeling channeling her 20s-ness:

 You can't tell that she ran a half marathon earlier that day--she looks fabulous!

Chelsi and I. 

I had such a blast with these ladies. I was especially grateful to the ones that came despite being out of their comfort zone in such a posh hotel. It meant so much to me. 

Lea and I hung out in Salt Lake for a little bit after so we could pick up Kirt and Julie from the airport (remember the story of dropping off their car? That was the night before this happened.) They ended up getting stuck in Oregon for much longer than they had anticipated, and Julie missed our Tea party. Anyway, we decided to go check out the Capitol Building while we killed time. Lea, even though she brought clothes to change into, kindly left her flapper stuff on so I wouldn't be out of place. We got strange looks when we were walking around the Capitol Building. Ha ha!

  On July 4, I celebrated my actual birthday. There was so much going on to get ready for Europe, and my parents were in town to help. I made everyone breakfast, and then my mom helped me clean my bathrooms and do laundry. I almost asked Brian to hire me a maid for my birthday, but my mom was even better, because she was my mom, and we worked together. Maybe she wishes Brian would have hired a maid ;)

For my birthday, Brian took this old window that Pete gave me and had a mirror mounted inside. I love it. You'll have to come see it up on my wall. 

(He also got me some jewelry in Austria). 

The only thing I wanted for my birthday was to go out to dinner. So, we went out to a Mexican restaurant in Springville with Kirt, Julie, Lara, Greg, their three kids, Mom, Dad, and the four of us. It was yummy! Then, we went to Kirt and Julies to take patriotic pictures:

And eat ice cream cake. I insisted on having a sparkler be our candle (Kirt's birthday is July 5):

 (Brian didn't know what size he was ordering since he did it on the phone, so we had already busted into this cake the night before ).

I loved watching the kids with both of their grandparents in the same place. They are so blessed!  

 At my birthday party, Lea asked me what my favorite birthday was from my 20s.  I couldn't pick one. Here's the ones I remember:

My 20th birthday, I marched in the 4th of July parade for Mountain River Ranch with my legs swollen due to a bad sunburn. I spent it with friends and my amazing family and a couple of my guy friends from BYU even called to wish me a happy birthday. I felt pretty special heading into my 20s.

On my 21st birthday, I was more concerned about my upcoming mission than anything else. All my presents were items I needed for my year-and-a-half mission. I even got one of my shots the day before my birthday. (The picture below is from a few weeks later)

On my 22nd birthday, my companion and I passed out pass-a-long cards in the Lynn Haven, Florida parade while the elders in my district rode their bikes. After the parade, the elders surprised me with a little party, complete with a homemade card, presents, and a cake. The ward mission leader in Panama City Beach made us a fabulous dinner of BBQ ribs. That was a good birthday, despite not being able to talk to my family. 

 On my 23rd birthday, I took Brian up to Idaho. We'd been dating since the end of February, and he got to meet pretty much all of my mom's siblings at a picnic up the canyon. He proved he was a keeper by saving Chelsea from a spider and putting up with all the extended family looniness. He also gave me an ethernet card as a present. He's come a long way since then!

 For my 24th birthday, Brian threw me my first ever surprise birthday party in our Wymount Cinder-block Palace.  It was so fun to see so many friends. It was a month and a half after I officially graduated from BYU, and I was also pregnant with Michael. 

On my 25th birthday, I was recovering from some kind of stomach bug. I had just been called as a Relief Society 2nd Counselor, so I went to church, but other than that, I hung out on the couch. On the 5th, I was feeling up to cake and a birthday party with Kirt. (Almost 2 months later, I got called to be the Relief Society president in our Wymount ward).

 On my 26th birthday, we had been in our new house for just over a month, and our Wymount friends came out to celebrate with me.

 I also got to see Michael and Kristina on my actual birthday:

 On my 27th birthday, food and I weren't friends because I was barely pregnant with Rachel. A Strawberry Cheesecake like my mom used to make sounded amazing, so Brian made it for me. It was super good and I made sure he put sparklers in again.

 He also got me a prime, large aperture lens for the camera. I had just taken my first photography class at UVU, launching my incredibly exciting photography career hobby.

  On my 28th birthday, we got to have a party with Jenny and Kirt, since Jenny was in town. Notice the sparklers once again. This was a year of healing for me, following the trauma of two miscarriages and a stressful (albeit healthy) pregnancy with Rachel. I was still suffering from exhaustion from my almost-6-month-old, but mostly loving (finally) being a mother of 2.

On my 29th birthday, I was camping with my siblings and their kids. My dad made me cherry cobbler, my traditional birthday cake for so many years growing up, and a fabulous Dutch oven dinner. 

I had already lost 10 pounds so far that year, but right after that, I started pursuing it much more aggressively. At one point, I set a goal to lose 30 more pounds before I reached 30, and I'm happy to say that I met that goal. I'm finally back down to where I was before I had Rachel, and while I still have more I want to lose, I feel pretty good about that. (This isn't an easy subject for me to talk about, but I couldn't NOT mention it here). 

One of my good friends once said that women change the most in their twenties, and her argument was that because of that women should wait until they're in their 30s to get married. I learned in these last 10 years that she was right--women do change a lot in their 20s. However,  I think it is because so many major life changes usually happen in your 20s, and those things are bound to change you. When I entered my twenties, I wasn't a wife, I wasn't a mother, I hadn't finished college and tried to take on the career world, and I hadn't experienced the overwhelming loss of a miscarriage (let alone 2!).  My twenties were some good years: I served a mission, I married the love of my life, graduated from college, had two babies, bought a house, and experienced far too many things to list here, and I  changed a lot as a result, mostly for the better. I'm excited to see what this next decade has to offer!