Kew Gardens/ A Good Rant

A few weeks ago I went to the world renowned Kew Gardens with a group of ladies from my ward. It was the first week that it was somewhat warm and the flowers had just come out so it was a lovely day. They have a ton of huge greenhouses with all sorts of amazing botanicals. They have and aquarium and even a room full of cactus (I felt right at home in that one). It was nice to go out with people from the ward. Nate and I kind of feel like we are in that wierd in-between stage and no one really knows where to "put" us sometimes. We aren't technically newlyweds but we don't have kids either. We are young but not "young professionals" like most young childless couples here. We find this puts some people off from talking to us and we are not great people persons either. I always like to go out with women in the ward to show them that even though I don't have kids and I am not the same age I may still be worth inviting along. I always have a good time and have made a few good friends (even though they have kids... who would have thought?). We have learned that it is up to us to approach people if we want friends and we have also learned to sometimes just be satisfied with only a few friends. We are both very excited to solve this problem and finally find a ward where we have something in common with the other members but I suppose that will have to wait a few years. Meanwhile we meet many fun and some very strange people along the way. We are enjoying it while we can! Anyway, rant over. Here are some pretty pictures.

London in Spring

Nate has entered his final's hibernation period and I have found more time to myself. I am in the process (the beginning of the process) of learning to play all the hymns in the hymnbook as well as several of the simpler classical pieces on the piano. I have also discovered a fondness for daffodils as they are everywhere here. Most parks seem to grow crocuses and daffodils instead of grass. I have also read every travel book I could find of Greece and Romania. I was very sad to learn that the Parthenon is covered with scaffolding and has been for several years. I was really hoping to get some good pictures. My library does not have a book on Austria so I may have to buy one as I am very excited about Vienna and Salzburg. It is getting warmer here and everyone, even the stuffy English, seem to be in a better mood. It rains incessantly but that just makes the flowers grow more. The other day Nate brought me some flowers from the park down the road. I don't know if you can get in trouble for that here but I thought it was pretty sweet anyway.

Hampstead Heath

Yesterday Nate and I took a little day trip to Hampstead Heath and Kenwood House. This Heath (Park) and English Heritage site is in North London. It is not that far from the center of London but it was so nice to get a break from the city. Nate and I are both country folk at heart and we get a little stir crazy in this big city. Hampstead Heath and Kenwood house are very popular summer desinations for kite flying and picnics. Kenwood houses some really cool Gainsborough's and Reynold's paintings. They also have and amazing Library that Nate and I want to copy someday. You may recognize the scene in some of the pictures if you are a Julia Roberts/Hugh Grant fan. This is where they filmed that scene in Notting Hill where she is doing the period film and he goes to visit her.

I loved this picture so we walked over this muddy field to get to the bridge and discovered that it is not a bridge at all. It is one bog piece of wood with no way to get across. They put it there to make the scene prettier. I thought that sounded like a lot of work and they may as well just finish the bridge. We felt a little jipped and very muddy but it was still really beautiful.

Nate is a good sport to do stuff like this with me. His hair gets longer and longer but he insists he won't cut it until we get home.

We tried to recreate Julia's scene here but I didn't have a big fancy dress or makeup artists or anything. The house is really pretty.

Personal Histories

As I promised months ago I am now posting mine and Nate's personal histories that we wrote for my family newsletter this January. They had to be only two pages so they are a very brief synopsis but may interest you nonetheless. I am putting them in the comments section otherwise this would be the world's longest post and I know how Shawn hates the falling walls of text. Enjoy!

Dover

Last week Nate and I went to Dover. We took a train through the countryside and went to the castle and the pier. It was really cold but it is a beautiful and sleepy little town. We pretty much had the castle to ourselves. Our favorite part by far was the Secret Wartime Tunnels. We went on a tour and saw all the inner workings of the the War Machine. We were a little disappointed that we weren't alowed to go in the "Dumpy" level that was reconstructed to be a backup head quarters for the government during the Cold War but it is not open to the public. I think they still have classified military goingson there but who knows. The castle is old and pretty but quite touristly like the Tower of London. The bay was really pretty and we walked all the way out to get a good look at the White Cliffs of Dover.

This is a view from the top of the castle. The whole place was quiet and really pretty.
Here is Nate on the hill overlooking the bay. It was kind of foggy, but hey, that's Britian for you.
Here's me on the bridge leading up to Dover castle. It goes over this huge ravine that leads out to the Channel.
I love this picture with the sun coming through the clouds. It really was a cool sight.
This is a view from the Prince Charles Pier. These are the White Cliffs and you can see the balcony of the secret Wartime Tunnels.

House sitting

This week Nate and I are house sitting for a family in our ward. They went to Paris and EuroDisney for the week. I love coming to their house because it feels like I'm in a beautiful home in Draper, UT (that's where they are from so that makes sense). Nate and I are so used to teeny tiny apartments that this house is a little daunting. There are four stories so when I'm here alone it's a little too big. The Larsens are the nicest people. I am so glad we have friends in this big city!

Kaitlynn's Visit

After Christmas and our trip my friend Kaitlynn came to visit. Kaitlynn and I have been friends since high school but I had not seen her since the year I graduated so it was good to catch up. We did all the tourist stuff but we also went and saw the town of Windsor and Windsor Castle. The Queen was there that day so we couldn't see the state apartments but the rest was really cool. When Kaitlynn was here we went and saw Mary Poppins. It was amazing. I don't think that Nate and I would have seen it if Kaitlynn hadn't wanted to but I am so glad we went. We were on the front row right behind the conductor so we could see the actors really well. It was one of the best shows I have seen, especially the "Step in Time" number. Kaitlynn and I were in Guys and Dolls in high school and she has been in a million shows since and is majoring in musical theater at ASU. She will be moving to New York soon so keep an eye out for her.

Rome

I am so glad that we took so many pictures of Rome. By the time we got there we were so tired that I wouldn't really remeber the trip unless I had the pitures to look back on. Since we were there on a holiday we didn't get to see the Vatican Museums but we did see pretty much everything else. We saw and heard the Pope giving his speech for the Holiday (Twelth Day of Christmas, or John the Baptist Day) and we saw lots of Angels and Deamons sites as well.

Here's me in front of Trevi fountain. I am sad about the shadows in the picture but it was still amazing to see.
Here is a cool picture of the Cardinal of Rome. He came to Trevi while we were there and said a blessing then he threw a wooden cross into the fountain and went around with a huge vat of Holy Water and hit people over the head with fig leaves dipped in the water. We didn't get close enough to get hit but we did get splashed so I figure that's a good sign for us.
We used the movie Roman Holiday to decide where to go and that led us to the Bocca di Veritas. This stone is supposed to bite your hand off if you have told a lie. Nate and I both survived with our fingers intact so we must be pretty upstanding people. Or maybe it's becuase we got splashed with Holy Water.
This is in front of the Spanish Steps. This is the same spot that Audrey Hepburn stops and eats gelato in the movie. I just wish we had remembered to get some before we came here.
This is a picture of the hole in the cieling at the Pantheon. I thought it was cool to see the sky through. As you can see it was a really nice day.

Florence

On the next leg of our trip we headed off to Italy. We started in Florence and I have to say that this was my favorite part of the trip. The city is beautiful and the people are so nice and the food is fabulous. We wished we never had to leave. I could have spent another week and a ton of money in the shops but we had to move on to Rome!

This is a view of the Ponte Vecchio from the balcony of the Uffizi gallery.

This is a shot of me and Nate on top of the Duomo. I was trying to get the sunset in the background but that's what you get when you hand your camera to another tourist.

This is another view from the Duomo. The city is so pretty from up there.

Nice

We went to Nice, France and saw the beach. It was pretty. We sat on the beach all day even though it was cold because it was relaxing and we had spent the night before on a train. Then we went to Italy.

Barcelona

Right after, or I should say right in the middle of, all the Christmas craziness Nate and I left it all behind and took a trip to southern Europe. We started with Barcelona and spent New years eve there. We loved how warm it was and the ocean was beautiful. We loved all the Gaudi sights and spent New years eve on Las Ramblas. This was one of the only nights we had a hotel room on the trip (we mostly slept on trains and in train stations) so we loved it and probably turned in shortly before midnight so we rang in the new year at breakfast.

Nate and a giant lobster on the boardwalk.

Me in front Sagrada Familia, the giant strange church that they have been building for like 120 years.

Me in front of the Gaudi apartments.

Nate on Las Ramblas. Happy New Year!

A tribute to my dog

My mom called a few days ago to tell me that my dog, McGruff, who my family has had since I was five years old had to be put to sleep because of several health problems. We all knew it was coming but we also all felt like Scruff was part of our family. It made me particularly sad that I was here and not able to say goodbye. He was the best dog and will be sorely missed.

Stonehenge and Bath

When my family was here we went to Stonehenge, something my mom had always wanted to do but always had to skip when she was here before. I was skeptical at first but I am so glad we went. It was freezing cold and super windy but the site is really amazing. No one is really sure where it came from or who put it there or why. The stones are so big and the countryside is so beautiful. We had to bundle up pretty tight but we had a good time and I got a ton of great pictures.


On the same bus tour we went to the town of Bath. This was more of a side note for all of us since we were really going for Stonehenge but it was pretty cool too. The town is so pretty and it isn't hard to imagine the stories that Jane Austen told happening here (as most of her stories are set in and around the town of Bath and she lived here as she wrote them). All the buildings are made out of sunstone and the town is very tipically British and quaint. Of course the most popular thing to see is the Roman Baths that were dicovered here and are still functioning although you probably would not want to go for a swim as the water is pretty disgusting.

In this picture you can see the steam coming off the water. The baths and the museum and some of the surrounding buildings are still heated by the hot springs. There are tons of Health Spas in Bath that were inspired by the baths.

Wicked!!!!!!!!!

Over Christmas break we went and saw Wicked here in London. We were lucky enough to go to one of the last performances including Idina Menzel. It is now my secret life ambition (not so secret anymore) to be a Broadway star, or at least to see Idina in anything else becuase she is amazing. The whole thing is amazing. At the end of Defying Gravity, me and my mom and my sisters were all crying and then again at the end of No Good Deed. Nancy is always talking about the 10 defining moments people have in their life and I feel like every time I go see a professional show I want to redefine myself and be a musical star. It's not terribly realistic but it is fun to dream and even more fun to see such good shows! I love Wicked!

Its a little creepy how alike we girls look, especially me and my mom. It is a good thing she is so pretty!

This is one of London's biggest theatres and it was still packed that night. The show had been sold out for weeks.

Everybody loves Wicked!

The London Eye

Nate and I took both our families on the London Eye, the huge Ferris Wheel that you see in all the pictures of London. Wayne and Nancy stayed on the ground but the rest of us were brave, some more than others, and went on the ride. It was one of the first clear days we had had in a while so we had good timing. The views are amazing up there and it is wierd to see that everything is so close together.

In this picture you can see everyone but me and Nate, plus a few other people.

Here we are. Nate is so brave! I don't mind heights and rides but Nate is not a big fan.

Cute Girls!

Up next: Wicked pictures!

Post-Christmas Fun

For a few days around Christmas everything in London closes so we pretty much vegged out for days. That was wonderful, especially considering the crazy days that followed. We saw everything there was to see in London with my family and then Nate did it all again with his. We have become excellent tour guides. My sisters were less interested in the history than in the shows and the shopping but I guess there is something for everyone here. Nate's family did everything Beatles but also took in some of the classics. Unfortunatally, I wouldn't let Nate take the camera when he went with his family so most of the pictures we have are with mine.

This is us after the first day when we did Picadilly Circus, Trafalger Square, St Martins in the fields, Westminster Abbey, the Thames River, and a million other things in one day.

More Pictures to come!

Christmas

I know the next few posts are a little late but I think I'm just going to post them as if they were on time so pretend with me. Christmas has come and gone and I have to say it was one of my favorites. We saw all the sights of London and celebrated with both our families and had a wonderful week. I took about 597 pictures on my camera alone but I promise not to post them all. Here is a little snapshot.

Christmas Eve Dinner

Matching Presents

Matching Pajamas

Shelby in a sea of presents

Foggy London Town

Now we know what people were talking about when they say that London is a foggy town. We have been stuck in face-freezing fog for about three days now and it doesn't seem to be lifting. As some of you may know this has been causing major problems for Heathrow Airport and since we have family flying in tomorrow and next week I think it is time for a big group prayer for no more fog. It does make it feel very Christmassy here though. We have our tree and our tiny pile of presents that make our tree look huge. Merry Christmas to everyone! We miss all our family and HOPE and PRAY to see some of you soon.

This is the view out of our kitchen window. The fog is starting to clear this morning.

Here is our little Christmas Tree.

This is me, freezing on the tube after a day of Christmas shopping down town. It really made me miss the mall where you can get it all done in one stop!