just enjoying life

Oh happy day!!

2009-06-24T07:26:00.004+02:00

It's been forever, I'm so horrible at blogging.
As for now I have very few but very exciting words to say....

HE'S HOME!!!!!!!Elder Kelsey Erickson and his dad, Todd

It's hard to believe this day has come.
I couldn't be happier about it.

I love my mother!

2009-05-17T18:50:00.003+02:00

I know I am a little late but it's never the wrong time to tell somebody you love and appreciate them right? So MOTHER!!!! I love you very much and am so grateful for all you do for me. Here are a few things that I love about her. My mother is the most knowledgeable person about health I know. She loves to help in any way she can. She loves to be different from everybody else (which our family seems to be naturally.) She is SO understanding and accepting. She loves her garden. She loves to pamper herself (which all mothers deserve.) She is always my greatest support. She reminds me of what's important and what I really want in life right at the right moments. She can be SO stinkin funny. She has an unwavering testimony of the gospel. And SO much more. I love her with all of my heart and couldn't be more blessed with such an amazing mom.
And now a little shout out to all my other "mothers." I have come realize that I don't have just one mother, but many because they love and care about me.

Brittany! She is the most amazing sister who is always willing to help which I take advantage of just so I can spend time with her. I love to find any excuse to just hang out with her. She will ALWAYS listen and give advice. Basically I wish that I could be her. LOVE YOU!Tregan! My little baby sister is one of the most unique, amazing person I know. She loves to be who she is and doesn't care about what other people think. We daily call or text one another just to check up on the other, even if there's no real reason. I am constantly amazed by her beauty and look up her to her so much and love her even more!Diane! How did I ever get so lucky to have such an amazing, strong willed, dedicated woman placed in my life as one of my best friends? She has the biggest heart that is always giving and reaching out to those she loves and cares about. I don't know what I'd do without my weekly check up and update on those who Texas has so greedily taken from me. I hope I never have to find out! Love you!And all of my beautiful girlfriends-Rebbie, Kerali, Vanessa, Anna! Without these girls I would not have survived the last three years (esp. the last two!) They all amaze me with their talents and beauty. I look up to each of them so much for their aspirations they have for life and for the incredible women that they are. I am SO grateful!!

Cheesey post, I know! But much deserved and it's still not enough!

Come See Brie!

2009-05-03T19:24:00.003+02:00

As some of you already know, I am currently doing treatments out of my parents home. I thought that I'd start a little blog for it so all can see what treatments I offer, prices, and updates! So take a minute and check it out! And let all of your friends and family know too! Thanks and Love you all!
comeseebrie.blogspot.com

Kels-O's wedding!

2009-04-30T04:27:00.003+02:00

It was so fun to see all the girls there again (we missed lindsey :( ) Kelsey looked beautiful and the reception was on the perfect day for amazing weather! 3 down and 3 to go! haha

Bride and Groom. Wish I had a better picture of them though!

Missy and her adorable little family!

Texas travels

2009-04-30T03:51:00.003+02:00

Treg and I decided to go to Texas and surprise Diane for Treg's spring break! We had so much fun seeing Diane, Travis, Teresa, Kyle, and baby Boston. It had been SO long and I had missed them too much. We did way too much shopping, went to a Rangers baseball game, the stockyards, and just enjoyed each others company. Oh! and I musn't forget that teresa and I dominated in hand&foot, our favorite card game.

Boston has the funniest, deepest laugh i've ever heard for such a little guy. I couldn't get enough of it! or of him period. He's such a little man now, it's crazy how much he has grown. We had such a good time there and can't wait to see them in less than two months again! Thank you guys for making it such a good time for us! We love you!

Moving up in the World

2009-03-29T19:25:00.002+02:00

So many will be so proud to hear that yes, I finally got a new phone and yes it's an iPhone. I love it and it has changed my life forever...or so they say it will.

Kangaroo Zoo!

2009-03-16T19:04:00.004+01:00

Brittany has been moving this last week and Bebe has had enough of sitting at the house causing trouble so on Saturday Bebe and I decided to go to Kangaroo Zoo to get her our of the house. We had SO much fun! It's a big open room with all sorts of blowup slides and obstacle courses. I have never seen Bebe happier and nicer! (besides Disneyland, but that's a given.) She wanted me to go on every single thing with her so there I was with all the 2-5 year olds having the time of our lives. I can't get enough of Bebe's sayings that she comes up with like, "This is going to be fun!" or "Be! Let's go down togedder, I'm going to really like it!" haha I love it! We were there for over 2 hours and had the best time. I forgot my camera so the pictures are from my ghetto 3 year old phone. Forgive the poor quality!

Just Something

2009-03-10T03:12:00.003+01:00

Something forgotten: BLOGGING
It's been so long since I have blogged, I think I have lost any followers, if there were any since I have been home from Spain anyway. I find my life having little if any real excitement to me which means even less for everybody else. But...with an attempt to satisfy a few complaints here is a glimpse of me!

Something Found: A JOB
I have FINALLY found a job after two months of "patiently" waiting. I searched long and hard to find a job in what I went to school for, aesthetics, but it certainly wasn't happening the way I had hoped for. So as I am trying to figure out what I'm really supposed to be doing in life, I have been given the next best job option, Nordstrom! I am working back in BP and really liking it! The girls have all been very welcoming and making it fun for me to be back. So although it wasn't my plan, I am still happy and lucky to have a job that "a lot of girls would kill for."

Something Discovered: SCHOOL
So in this search to find a job in aesthetics (or the lack there of) I have discovered a desire to go back to school and get a degree! weird I know...but I am actually even a bit excited about it. I love going to school every day for my Spanish class and only wish I had more classes. I know it's different because it's a class I want to take and a subject I want to study but I just have to get through a few more generals (thank you UVU for accepting my high school credits as GE credits) and I'll be able to study something I want to. Who knows what that something will be but i'll let you know as soon as I know.

Something new: SPA!!
I got an Ultrasonic Skin machine!!!!!! I am in love with it and can't wait to show people the miracles it can work. Come one come all!!!! And since I got a machine, I had to get an aesthetics bed! and since I got an aesthetics bed I have to set up a "spa" in my parents home which means I get to be creative and decorate!!! :) I couldn't be happier about any of this!

Something fun:JAZZ GAME!!!
I have been wanting to go to a Jazz game all year and my wish finally came true! And even better were the 3rd row seats I had no idea we had! It was SO much fun! They played the Rockets and it was a close game but the Jazz pulled through and beat them! Yao Ming is THEE tallest/biggest man I have ever seen. I think that just one of his calves are larger than both my legs put together. And I couldn't help but stare at Kyle Korver. He is so cute! And even cuter when he is playing basketball. I thought he was totally out of reach until I heard that he had been dating a girl who went to Lone Peak.....

Something much anticipated: E.K.E.
Elder Kelsey Lane Erickson gets home in 3 months and 13 days!!!!!!!

Mi Chicas!!

2009-02-03T19:36:00.004+01:00

Over the Christmas break my high school girl friends and I got together for our semi-annual reunion. I wish it could happen a little more often then that but I'm always so excited whenever we do get together. This time those of us that had lovers(or families in Missy's case) brought them and we had tons of fun. Luckily for me, there are still three of us that are single so we had each other! We had a scrumptious dinner and dessert and just enjoyed each others company. We reminisced on our many fun days together. I'm sure the boys are secretly happy we don't get together too often because we just laugh forever about things they have no idea about. It's so fun to talk about what everybody is doing in life and catching up. I love these girls and always will!!
Kelsey, Me, Brittney, Lindsey, Sierra, and Missy

Missy and her gorgeous family. Taylor her husband and the twins Mason and Calahan! Cutest little boys ever. I couldn't be happier for her!
Can't get any cuter!

These two little love birds just got engaged! Yay!! Just from the little that I know Lance I can tell that they couldn't be more perfect for each other.

Our beautiful little couple Sierra and Ryan. They're happily married and I love them both!

The only other picture that I took at the dinner. Another girl hitched, three left to go!

This was on our senior trip to Vegas and Disneyland. We had so much fun! Good times ;) haha! Oh my! How we have grown!

Another cute little picture. Just spocking! haha LOVE YOU GIRLS!!!!!!

need to beautify!

2009-01-14T06:41:00.004+01:00

As you can tell, my blog needs some serious help. I messed it all up and The Cutest Blog on the Block site isn't working so now I don't know what to do! Does anybody know what happened to The cuttest Blog on the Block website? Where else can I find cute backgrounds? If anybody has any suggestions please do share!

This really has nothing to do with the blog but it's stinkin cute so I thought I would share. My niece Bebe in her Flamenco dress that I brought back for her from Spain.

Mi Familia de Espanola

2009-01-11T23:47:00.004+01:00

The night before we left we had a big dinner and Maria Asun surprised me with one of my favorite desserts that she makes to celebrate my birthday. She's an amazing cook and treated Brittney and I like Princesses the whole time we were there. I miss them all very much! Here are a few pictures from that last night. (It was a sunday hence the comfy "sunday wear.")

Britt, Rogelio, and I by their lovely little Christmas tree. Rogelio was the bomb! He put up with so much for us. He took us out on weekends with friends, took us to the airport at 4:30 am so we could make our 6am flight to Milan, suffered and either spoke English that made him think really hard or Spanish that he had to speak as slow as he could so Britt and I could understand, Britt and I living in the room next door every weekend, and SO much more! He is seriously the best and he made our experience a hundred times better. Thanks Rogelio!!!! We miss you!
Mi madre y mi padre! They really made us feel a part of the family. They did so much for us out of the kindness of their hearts! They always made sure to have our little Tosta Ricos and green grapes there for us (even when they weren't there for the weekend.) We would sit at dinner for hours laughing and talking, sometimes even dancing! I love them so much and miss them!!! Maria Asun, me, and Rogelio (senior.)
They wanted to take pictures on the stairs! I loved the classic idea! haha We got to spend a few days with Natalia which was so much fun!!! I love that girl and can't wait to play with her when she gets back. Natalia is the reason I know the Molina Barahona family. She lived with us for about a month two different summers and then she moved into a neighbors house when she was 16 to go to school and has stayed ever since. We owe so much to her for talking to her parents and getting everything worked out so we could see them often!
The family without Roge who is taking the picture for us.

It was an on running joke that Rogelio Senior loved food way too much and would eat everything in sight if his wife would allow it. So instead Maria would always give him smaller portions than the rest of us, but this time he got away with the rest of the dessert!

The girls! Maria is the cutest mom! We would ride in the car and she would blast the music and we would dance and sing along to Amy Winehouse - Rehab. They, Maria and Rogelio Senior, LOVE Amy! They have no idea what she's saying and they said they never want to know. haha Probably a good idea.
Maria even bought me a birthday present! She's so stinkin cute! I got this little leopard jacket that I love!

Maria wanted to give Britt something too. She got this cute sparkly little purse to go out at night with.This is my beautiful dessert. It's a lemon dessert that she makes from scratch! All of her desserts are always beautiful and taste amazing!!!
I miss this family like I missed my own while I was in Spain. I can't wait to see them and hope it isn't too long until I do. Thank you and Love you so much!!!!!

I <3 Barcelona

2009-01-08T06:33:00.006+01:00

I fell in love with Barcelona and wish I could have spent more time there. Especially when it was sunny and warm on the beach. It's beautiful and hope to go back someday. If you go to Spain you must spend time in here.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the 3 days spent in Barcelona.
Britt and I fell in love with the magic fountains and spent a good 45 minutes there watching the fountains move to mostly American music. (p.s. Way better than the Bellagio.)

The beautiful lights of the government building. We definitely need to get more creative in the states!

This street is amazing. It's huge and has shopping all down it, even an outdoor petstore in the middle! My poor little bag that I bought in Florence didn't even last the rest of the trip, it fell to pieces!! Best 20 euros spent on that trip. Grrrr!!
This one is for my sister Britt. Edward Scissorhands!!
After finally getting us both in the air at the same time, Britt's hair was in her face (she was so happy...haha) and we realized it wasn't even dark enough yet for a silhouette shot. We're cool.
Oh just a professional sandcastle builder! Seriously amazing!!
The lovely sailboat in the distance photograph.
I LOVED the seaport. And I loved this red sailboat.
The toilet paper was on the wall outside of the bathrooms....??
Britt and I were coming down from seeing a great view of the city in this park and we stumbled across this park. Absolutely fell in love! Gaudi's work is amazing!!
Doesn't it kind of have the same feel as Disneyland? It think Gaudi's buildings should belong there.
The beautiful city of Barcelona!
This is the never-ending building of the cathedral. Gaudi started it but ran out of money so the government took over and the people are paying to have it built but it won't be done for at least another 50 years! it's Massive!!

I really hope to go back someday and enjoy the beautiful city a bit more. We were so sad to leave because that meant the end of our adventures in Europe, but at the same time so ready to be home in Utah with our families!

When in Rome.....Do as the Romans!

2009-01-02T23:08:00.005+01:00

Rome is amazing and everybody should go there! I know easier said than done right? This place has a world within it. The ruins are amazing and they're all over the whole city pretty much. So here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

...Of course the gelato was amazing and we had to get it at least once a day. Hazelnut and dark chocolate is the BEST mix ever!

...We went to see the Catacombs and this is what we found. Decoration made completely out of human bones!!!!! They used 500 years worth of monks bones. It definitely had a creepy feel to it. How creative though huh? ....haha
And this was the sign in the last of the 5 rooms of bone decorating. bah!!!! (3rd line down in the small print.)So this was on my beloved 21st birthday! We met some people in our hostel that were tons of fun. I would have thought they were mormon if I didn't already know that they were baptist. They even know how to play Scum and Nertz! We had free pasta dinner at the hostel together and the hostel receptionist, carl from Poland, that I made friends with even bought a bottle of Strawberry wine to celebrate. He knew I wouldn't drink it so he said I could just smell it insead. How kind! haha
Afterward we went to the Trevi Fountain to hang out and enjoy gelato. They were super kind and sang Happy Birthday to me and everybody else at the fountain decided to join in. I won't lie, it made me feel pretty special and even a little awkward. It was definitely a birthday i'll remember!...The beautiful Colosseum by day. Most amazing thing in Rome!
...I thought this was the most typical picture to take in Europe. A tiny little truck packed beyond capacity with fresh fruit and vegetables, that barely handled driving off. loved it!
...Another favorite thing about Rome is their amazingly clean and FREE water! I know it seems sketchy but a hostel friend told us about it and couldn't pass it up. It must have been alright because look! I'm thankfully still alive and well today! :)
....In the Vatican there is the basilica....
....and the famous Sistine chapel. Forgive me for the crooked picture. Pictures weren't allowed but I couldn't resist so I snuck one in.
...The Trevi Fountain by night again
...The Colosseum by night! First thing we saw when we got into Rome. Doesn't seem real, especially now that I'm home, it was probably all just a dream.

My lovely little Florence

2008-12-29T00:40:00.003+01:00

So the whole time in Spain I thought Blogspot was pretty lame for taking so long to upload the pictures. I would literally wait an hour! but now that i'm home, wow, it's a miracle! I can actually post pictures and post the blog in a matter of minutes. I love America.

Some of my favorite things in Florence, Italy!
1. Seeing how they "bury" their dead. Cement them into a wall? Didn't really know what to think about this.

2. Okay so kind of creepy/stalkerish but we saw 5 brides in Italy and all of them were Asian. Go figure!3. This place is BEAUTIFUL!!!! Pictures don't do it justice (like they never do, especially without photoshop)
4. The most amazing view of the city. There are at least 10 church steeples with bells at the top that we could see from here. And we were there when it turned 12 o'clock.
5. Of course our lovely statue of David. I tried to be appropriate and at least give the more silhouetted picture
6. The Orno river that runs through the town. Unfortunately it's brown and not blue but there's nothing that photoshop can't fix right?
7. Their tiny little cars!!! They are as long as normal cars are wide. Everything is midget size here. Their busses, cars, houses! I loved it!!
8. The Ponte Vecchio bridge was so cute and fun! It was my favorite bridge I saw and I found the perfect earings to buy for Rebbie in one of the jewelery shops on the bridge until I found out they were 300 Euros! Sorry girl!
9. A real candy apple!!!!

Oh Milan....

2008-12-24T09:02:00.002+01:00

So Brittney and I started off our last adventure before coming home with the wonderful city of Milan, Italy. Sadly to say it was my least favorite city of all that I went to. That owes partly to the fact that I was never dry or warm the entire time I was there. But of course how can one complain when in Italy right? So going through 3 pairs of boots in one day trying to stay dry wasn't the happiest time but Britt and I still ventured out and had a lot of fun.

The Duomo is beautiful at all hours of the day but especially at night during Christmas!

The most memorable and exciting thing for me in Milan was seeing The Last Supper painted by Leonardo da Vinci. This is the building it is in and they keep it under very strict regulations. All sorts of timed doors you have to walk through and only 25 people are allowed in at once. Call me stupid but I never realized that the masterpiece was created on the wall. It was huge and simply beautiful!

Britt and I in front of the castle! (That is umbrella number 4, stupid wind!)

The Duomo by day!My First train ride experience! Part of dream of becoming Harry Potter felt like it was coming true.

There is a bull in the middle of this huge/expensive shopping corridor. They say it's good luck if you spin on your heel on his testacles. So we found the bull and tried our best to spin. The poor bull was all worn down!
I have a video of us spinning but it was taking way too long to upload so i'll try it again another day.

Paris again!

2008-12-07T23:56:00.004+01:00

I am a spoiled little girl and was able to go to France again! This time with my parents and Treg. And again we had SO much fun and I didn't want to leave. It was quite freezing with lots of rain and wind but Paris is still beautiful no matter the weather! We definitely know how to make memories. Getting to our hotel from the airport with 5 over 50lbs bags by metro and train. Me and mom not making it on the train before the doors closed and just hoping that they knew where to get off. Tregan getting shut in the doors of the metro. Flying out of my seat from the conductor slamming on the brakes of the metro. Having a blackout on a metro. Breaking um...3 umbrella's I think it was. All in all, we'll definitely remember this trip!

That tree is real! It was huge and so beautiful in front of Notre Dame.
A view of Paris by night from the Eiffel Tower.
Just posing in front of the Ferris Wheel that's at the end of Champs-Elysees

So cute!!! Love them so much! I am so grateful for such amazing parents. We really had such a fun time and I owe it all to them!
Should she be a model? I sure think so. You could mistake her for a French girl in her cute little beret
Don't judge! We love the movie and of course had to see it in real life. It's much prettier in the movie of course but hey, it was still fun to see. And Treg was actually recruited for the show but she decided she better finish high school instead and then maybe think about it after. (pretend to not see the ugly trucks in the way of the beautiful picture)

Wish we could have seen the Hunchback but Notre Dame is still pretty sweet without him. My dad fell in love with his hat and said it kept him so warm. So then I decided to take it back to Madrid with me and i'm going to take it to Italy with me so don't be surprised if you see it in more pictures! hahaWe went to the Eiffel tower at least once everyday we were there! Treg and I love it so much! Well of course we all did! I don't think I could ever see it too much and not be in love with it!
So of course I probably have 100 pictures or so of this beautiful monument!
My lovely parents in front of the Arc de Triomphe!

I love my Fambam!!

2008-12-07T21:03:00.004+01:00

I looked forward to my parents and lil' sis coming to visit me pretty much ever since I got here and the wait was definitely worth it because we had SO much fun! I seriously loved every minute of it. I felt pretty cool being able to show tourists around (because i'm definitely not one..haha) and to actually know what I was talking about for once! Here are tons of pictures to make you jealous of how much fun we had!

My parents trying to survive the jetlag. I couldn't help but take a picture of them sleeping on the bus.

Thanksgiving night we went to a Flamenco show! It was a lot of fun to see typical Spanish dances. And we had little slices of tortilla espanola, bread, and cheese for our "Thanksgiving Feast."
Can you read it? It's not very easy but it's love with Britt being the heart at the end! hahaHere is Palacio Real (Royal Palace.)

Our cute little fam bam in Toledo!
Treg stuck out like a sore thumb here being tall with blond hair and blue eyes which is very rare. But they love it and everybody stared at her without shame!
My spanish parents and my American parents! I love them both tons! We had so much fun with the Molina's. They don't speak much English and my parents don't speak much Spanish but they communicated tons somehow...go figure! We would sit at dinner and just laugh for hours!
This was SO beautiful! This picture doesn't do it justice!
Just before our night out in the city! We wanted to show Treg what Madrid was really about! ;)
There are a million more pictures but it is uploading SO slow so if I have patience then you'll get to see more!

The Romance Capital!

2008-11-20T17:55:00.006+01:00

There's definitely a reason why Paris is the Romance capital of the world and why it's the romance language....the French definitely know how to do it right! I had the funnest 4 days and really didn't want to go back to Spain this time. haha Okay I love Spain but I think I love France a bit more. We hit all the major sights and had tons of fun hanging out with French boys. My friend Amaury, from France, is the most generous person I have met and his friends were just as awesome, well almost! ;) They took us all around and seriously made our trip the best it could be. I definitely felt like I was in a movie when we were cruising around Paris passing the Arc du Triumphe, Champs-Elysees, Notre Dame, and other amazing things while listening to American rap songs at night with the windows rolled down and everybody singing at the top of their lungs. Oh and then hanging out at the Eiffel Tower eating Nutella chocolate crepes and teaching the boys how to pop, lock, and drop it. haha I'm definitely living a dream!

Chateau de Versaille. Huge. Gorgeous. Loved it.
Amaury! Love this French boy so much! The best tour guide!
Le Louvre. Felt like I was back in the Da Vinci Code
Le Louvre again!
DISNEYLAND PARIS!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm serious when I say the trip couldn't have been better!!
The Eiffel Tower (in case you couldn't tell.) My dream came true!

Arc du Triumphe. Huge. Beautiful.
Notre Dame. Huge. Beautiful. Loved hearing part of the Mass going on inside.
As you can tell I loved it all, thought it was all beautiful, and everything was huge. I can't wait to go back!

A little adventure

2008-11-11T22:15:00.008+01:00

Todays post isn´t that exciting but I loved today and took tons of pictures and wanted to post about it. Sorry if it´s not very interesting but enjoy what you may! :)

So Britt and I decided to go to Palacio Real (royal palace) to start off our day. It was amazingly decorated. Spanish design is incredible! It has a gaudy feel to it with tons of detail. They wouldn´t let us take pictures inside (lamo´s) so I don´t have any but every single room inside was picture worthy. All the ceilings were painted by various famous artists with tapestries or velvet or fabric covering the walls and matching tapestries everywhere. It was so intense and so fun to see.

We found a little restaurant to eat lunch and the sweet servers gave Britt and I a shot on the house. Oh I´ve never been in such a situation that I didn´t know what to do. Not in deciding whether or not to drink it, of course not, but we didn´t want to offend them and they were watching us! haha so we waited for him to walk away, hurry and emptied one of our water bottles, and poured the shots of junk into the bottle. haha we were laughing, and then he asked if we wanted another.¨Thank goodness I know how to say, ¨No más por favor!!After lunch we decided to discover Parque de Retiro a little more. Well we thought there was only a little more to see, having been there a couple times previously, but little did we know that we had only seen about 20% of it. It was so fun to walk through the park and get a little feel of fall. We found a few amazing buildings like this glass palace. There was a black swan in the water. Perfectly appropriate for Spain, it just fits right.
We found cute little bridges all over. This one was worthy of another famous Britt and Brie photo shoot. We also found a gorgeous rose garden. I think it would be the perfect place for a wedding reception (just stating a fact is all.) We found the famous statue of the fallen angel. Britt and I thought it was only appropriate for us to have a picture with it. Lame picture I know but this part of the park was called the exercise park. These people are sitting on the benches and there are bike pedals in front of them. Why not get a bit of exercise while chatting eh? haha it was the coolest thing i´ve seen!Does this look like Spain to you? Definitely doesn´t to me. I got a little itch for Costa Rica when I took this picture. It was beautiful!
The saddest thing happened on Saturday. The Molina´s house was broken into and they were robbed. Their alarm went off and the police were there 3 minutes later but the robbers were quick and they got away. They thrashed the parents room and stole all of Maria´s jewelry. I have never seen her sad before and I hope I never have to see it again. I felt horrible, they´re the sweetest people with the biggest hearts. They probably would have given it to the lame robber if he would have just asked because they´re that sweet!

I couldn´t resist to send a couple more pictures of these pants. What do you all think, should I bring this style home to the states?

I would have to confess that my favorite thing about Spain is their green grapes. I am literally addicted! The Molina´s are always sure to have them for me at their house every weekend. I could eat them all day and I would be in heaven. They taste so much different here and they´re SO much better than at home! I will definitely have withdrawals when I get home. Ever seen a bigger, more beautiful bundle of grapes? I certainly haven´t.
At 4:30 a.m.(that´s why I look so cute) on our way home we stopped at the ¨candy shop¨ aka pastry shop and knocked on the door to the back kitchen where the cooks were cooking away for the next days fresh pastrys and we bought a yummy little chocolate delight that came straight out of the oven. I like their style here.

Journey to a land of English!!!!

2008-11-05T16:13:00.006+01:00

As you can tell from the title I was extremely excited to be able to speak English to the person sitting next to me and they would respond IN ENGLISH and I could understand them (for the most part) and I could ask for directions and the response would actually help me and ah!! it was amazing! London was amazing and it wore me to death! We walked all day and night and still didn't get everything done that I hoped for. But we did see TONS and loved it all.

Britt and I began our journey at 4:50 when the taxi picked us up in Spain to take us to the airport. We arrived in England and had to take an hour bus ride to London where we got on the tube and then began our attempt to find the hostel. We, of course, got lost right away and I do know that miracles happen because right as I finished a little prayer in my head I turned around and looked up only to see Rebbie walking towards me!!! It was SO fun to see her and to play with her for a couple of days. I had missed her SO much and what best friends can say they explored London together?!The hostel was lovely and we scored bigtime with the suite room but only had to pay for the cheapest priced room for each night there! Saturday we went to Borrough's Market which is a huge food market with the most awesome food! We ate delicious veggie burgers! These are mushrooms!! Ever seen them so big and so much variety?Then we went to Trafalgar Square, The National Gallery (where we saw famous paintings by Rembrandt, Leonardo de Vinci, Michelangelo, Monet, Van Gogh, and more...just a few, I know), and walked along the Thames Rivier to see all the beautiful bridges! The London bridge wasn't even cool but the Tower bridge was amazing! And at the end of our walk was Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament! Oh and it was pouring rain ALL day and SO cold and we didn't like being wet and cold so then that night we went to the cinema and saw Solace of Quantum, the new Bond movie which I don't even think is out in the states for a while still. Pretty cool huh?Sunday morning we walked thorugh Hyde park, St. James park, Green park and Kensington park that lead us to Buckingham Palace where the Queen lives. It was so beautiful, just wish I could have gone inside! Then Britt and I evetually made it to the singles ward, which was so fun to attend church and be able to understand it. I LOVED it! It made me realize how much I miss participating in the discussions and being able to read. Afterwards we were able to go to "the center," which is where the BYU London Study Abroad is. I got to see where Rebbie studies, eats, and sleeps(all in the same place.) We also got to eat dinner there that night and meet all the girls. It is SO beautiful and made me very jealous of them. It looks like so much fun! Then that night we went on a walk to see lights at night and had a little photo shoot....haha and then walked down Oxford street, which everything was closed so they could all decorate for CHRISTMAS!!!!

Monday we met up with Hillary, Britton, and little baby Nora! She is so big and so stinkin cute! She is pretty much a perfect baby and I was so glad I got to see them. Hillary and Nora took us around all day and were literally the perfect tour guides. We hit everything with perfect timing so we saw the changing of the gaurd and soldiers on horses without having to wait and got front row views. We had lunch with Britton at Wagamama's which was amazing! We went to the British Museum where we saw amazing things you only see in your text books like the Rosetta Stone. I could spend a week there. I loved it so much and only skimmed the surface of that huge place. Next we went to Harrods or as Britton put it best "The Great and Spacious Building." Oh my goodness!!! It was huge and full of everything you can imagine and prices you shouldn't even imagine. It was SO amazing! Now I know where the Celebrities really do shop. It was intense but fun to look through. The fur coats were my favorite and almost affordable at 55,000 pounds thats around $100,000!!!! Then to top the night off perfectly we got to see Mamma Mia!!!!!!!! I loved it!!!!Tuesday was another day full of walking and sight seeing. We started off with the Tower of London, probably one of my favorite sights we saw. It was so fun to see the biggest diamond in the world, The star of Africa, and get a taste of how things were back in the day when it was in full use. After the best part of the trip....SHOPPING!!!!! I went only a little bit crazy. I was quite proud of myself for the bargain deals I got. Topshop and Primark are my two new favorite place to shop. Unfortunately the dollar is almost worthless so it makes things quite expensive but I still managed to find good deals. We shopped for about 4 hours and then met with Britton and family to have dinner and gelato. We sadly said our goodbyes the them and then decided to ride a double decker bus. I have no idea which one it was, it was just the first to come to the bus stop we found so we got on and rode for a bit and then got off and found our way back home.All in all, you can tell that I loved every bit of it. It was so tempting to stay and never come home! I am so grateful for Rebbie, Hillary, Britton, and Nora's time and hospitality! They made our trip amazing and it really couldn't have been better! Hope you enjoy the pics! (once again excuse the wild hair and the billions of layers so I look like i'm puffed up or something! haha)

Holy Toledo!!

2008-10-27T18:52:00.005+01:00

Saturday Britt and I went on an adventure to the little old town of Toledo. It was beautiful!! It´s a town full of tiny cobblestone roads that wind up and down and in all direction. We walked around the whole town to see everything we wanted to see. And I literally mean the WHOLE town. We were so tired by the end of the day but it was well worth it! The town is built on a hill with a river surrounding most of it. The Cathedral sits on the top and in the center of the hill and then everything else lies around it. I think we broke our record for the most pictures taken in one day....somewhere around 350ish! I know ridiculous! but we had fun and we´ll remember more! haha enjoy! Toledo is known for their mazapan. It´s basically pure sugar with a little bit of bread...not my favorite.

This is Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes. I fell in love with it! It was so gorgeous and I took SO many pictures. This is in the beautiful courtyard.

I also fell in love with doors...kind of weird I know. But they are all seriously SO amazing!! This one is huge as you can tell, even though britt is tiny.

This will be one side of my future house. Yes please!!

This was all over! Cool huh?

Museo de Santa Cruz. A lot of El Greco´s paintings were here. Very beautiful!

Toledo is known for their swords. They are so cool! I never thought I would really say that but I honestly loved them and wanted to buy one. Not worth the 500 Euros though so I bought a mini sized one instead.

This is the city! There is the city wall in the background which was so beautiful and of course I loved it (i loved everything)

On top of Puerta del Sol.

Toledo!!!

We LOVE pan! They eat baguette for every meal and inbetween. woohoo for gaining lbs!!

Puerta Nueva de Bisagra. The very outside of the town.

Just our size!

This was just a random little corner that we though was so cute so we took a billion pictures here.

Aladin´s palace? Oh no wait, just the King´s Monasterio

The boys are here!

2008-10-23T18:17:00.003+02:00

Just had to let all of my loved ones at home know that Missy's twin boys are here! I don't know many details but they were born on October 22nd and they're healthy and so stinkin cute. Their names are Mason and Calahan (Cal for short and I hope I spelled it right!) They are so adorable! Here are a few pictures I stole from facebook! Enjoy!

Old peeps.....gotta love em

2008-10-22T17:53:00.004+02:00

So there are A LOT of old people here! haha well okay they are everywhere but they come out in public here! They are on my bus, on the metro, walking in the Sol, everywhere! And boy do I love them. They amaze me with the proof of their strength by standing and holding on to metal bars on a bus with a crazy driver, their complete lack of insecurity, and so many other things! I know this is a weird subject/post but Britt and I were dicussing it today and I thought I had to post. The funniest thing happened to Britt and I the other day.

Britt and I had gone to Temple Square to mosey around and were walking back on our way to the metro. This old man with a cane stops us and starts speaking Spanish to us, of course. We replied with a confused look on our faces, "Nosotros hablamos un poco espanol." He didn't care one little bit! He just kept on talking to us and if we understood. The one thing we did understand was, "muy guapa!"(very beautiful) which he kept repeating over and over! haha He was so cute! The next thing I know he is giving us a piece of candy and kissing us on our cheeks like they always do here. We told him we were going to the metro but he ignored that and linked arms with Brittney, as he is still speaking spanish, and began walking with us. Very slowly mind you. So we were patient with this cute old man and let him talk for a while longer, pretending somewhat to understand. Well time was running low and we needed to get home to teach so we tried to say bye. but no no! He wouldn't let us! haha it was so funny. He kept a hold of my hand and Britt's arm. Finally we took a picture with him and then inched our way to the stairs that thankfully he couldn't go down. Britt and I just were laughing forever. Cute little old man.

One other incident with the sweetest old people ever! We went to the Molina's parents flat for dinner on Sunday. They were the cutest little, literally very little, couple! Neither of them can speak any English but the grandma kept saying, "Muy Bonita" and "muy muy guapa." And her besos (kisses on either side of each cheek) were real kisses!! haha it was the sweetest thing! They made us a delicious meal of a potatoe and fish souplike dish, tortilla espanola, bread, and melon of course. It was delicious. They were so sweet and so short and so happy. Old people here make me happy!

Everybody has dogs here! I wanted to take this one home with me! SO stinkin cute!!!!

We went bowling again! I didn't have the best game but then I figured it out right at the end when I got a TURKEY!!! Too bad it was the 10th frame!

Segovia

2008-10-20T18:38:00.002+02:00

Well I have found the location for my bridals and engagements(whenever that may come along haha ;) .) but wow!!That pretty much sums up my thoughts on Segovia. Britt and I had an awesome time!! We had our usual local tour guides (Rogelio and Diego) with us which is always fun and informational. They got bored of the sights pretty quickly so there are a lot of pictures without Britt and I in them. Anyway, while in Segovia we were able to see the Roman Aqueduct, Catedral de Segovia, and Alcazar. The Roman Aqueduct blows my mind away! It's so crazy that they were able to build that 2,000 years ago! No machines or anything! And they were SO smart! There isn't any cement or mortar holding the blocks of rock together. It's all just held together by the design! And then the angle of the ditch on top that brought the water had to be just right so the water would keep a steady flow. WOW!!!! Catedral de Segovia is one of the biggest in Spain. It was HUGE!!! As you can see from the pictures, it's gorgeous!!! I couldn't get over it! The architecture is amazing. I love it! We were able to tour through the inside and there's definitely a different feel inside. It's pretty depressing, especially because they don't know how much more there is beyond focusing on Christ Crusifixion. Someday they'll know.... In one room there was a man actually playing one of the organs with HUGE pipes and it was so eerie. Britt, you would have loved it. haha But my friend Roge kindly reminded me how much culture there is behind...which is very true. Next we went to Alcazar. It's a beautiful castle on a hill. It was amazing! Britt and I loved this part the most. It's amazing to think that people, well royalty, really lived in there once upon a time. It was so fun to see actual armor and artillary inside. And outside there is a real life moat!!! It was all just fairly tales in my mind until it all just came true in Spain visiting the first castle i've ever been to. Lastly, we ate at this very nice and costly retaurant. Segovia is known for their amazing pork here that's called Conchinilla. They're also known for their "beans" which is much different than their beans at home. ha oh my. So Britt and I were both pretty excited to eat. And like always we had much difficulty reading the menu so like usual the boys just got sick of us asking questions and explaining so they just ordered for us. Well little did we know what was in store for us. My meal was acutally quite tastey but oh gosh! There were huge chunks of sausage and raw pork in it!! I did my best to eat around it and all the little bits of meat surrounding my precious "beans" (it's a soup like meal with very large kidney looking beans that are white.) Britt's and the two boys meals were...well they had full on pigs served onto their plates. The boys were each given a leg and Britt had the body with an ear attached. haha oh britt's face was priceless. She just looked at me and said, "Brie I dont' know if i can do this!" The skin and bones and tendons and organs and everything were all there. Britt was freaked out by it and the boys were beside themselves. They tried to explain that it's the same as if eating it already cut out of the body. and even ate the ear, THE EAR!!!! to try to convince her. It didn't do much good. haha oh we love spain!!
(Excuse my wild/frizzball/does whatever it wants hair. I´ve given up on trying to tame it here)

Poopy pants pictures!!

2008-10-16T17:51:00.000+02:00

Casilda and I played restaurant and made these delicious menu items out of play dough! I loved it! This is what I call "work."
This is a typical Spanish rice dish. I had to take a picture because this one was Crazy!! haha There is a full on shrimp in their with eyes and tentacles and everything. There is a seashell, no idea why or what "seafood" it's supposed to be. There's calamari and I have no idea what that long thing is. Mmmm.....enjoy!
This is just one of the many weird hairstyles here. I know it's pretty stalkerish of me but it was for your benefit. :)

These pictures are really bad of the "poopy pants" because I was by myself and trying to take them. (excuse the ugly faces) haha sorry but I hope that you can kind of see. These are even a low waste pair so you can tell the crotch is SO low! And Diane I really hope this isn't what you wore...please say no!

A land where they speak English!!!!!

2008-10-16T17:03:00.000+02:00

As of yesterday Britt and I are officially going to England! We arrive early Saturday, November 1st and leave Wednesday, November 5th. I can't wait! I will be able to ask people for help when I get lost and understand what they're saying. What a relief!!! And I can't wait to see one of my favorite girls in this world, Rebbie. I'll also be able to see my cousins Britton, Hillary, and their baby Nora, which I am very excited for as well. I'll be able to take a picture with a real Red English telephone booth soon.

As for Spain, it is still amazing here! People were convinced that working for free meant that I would live in a cold cement basement and become a slave. Little did they know that I would live in a beautiful little flat and "work" consists of playing with two beautiful girls. I actually have it better than most because the family is very sweet and I only work 3 days a week now. Four day weekends every week aren't something I complain about. (the door on the right is to my room!)

This last weekend was fun! We didn't do anything too exciting but we had a good time. We rode a tram ride called the Teleferico. It rides over Casa de Campo which 30 years ago was the Kings hunting grounds, and is a beautiful view of the Centre Madrid. Britt and I were craving Mexican food so our friends said they knew where to take us. It ended up being an interesting experience. They decided to order for us, without telling us that, so we ate chips with guacemole, a plain cheese quesadilla, and "fajitas" which consisted of peppers and a tortilla. NO rice or beans!!! haha Mexican food huh? They did bring us a little bowl of jalepenos so we decided to have some fun and dared everybody to eat the whole thing! So this is a picture of how proud Britt and I are that we could do it. I actually really like it! And I couldn't help but think of Travis and how much he loves his jalepenos. We also went bowling!!!!! For those who know me well know how much I love that game! I had my trash kicked in mini golfing a few weeks ago so I showed them what my game is all about in bowling. Of course I had to take a picture. (Danny, Rojelio, Diego, Britt, and Brie)

Church on Sunday was awesome also. Not being able to understand a word said for about 3 hours is a bit difficult. But i'm learning quickly and wierd things are starting to happen with me and the Spanish language. I was reading my friends blog and below a picture of her wearing Jesus sandals a friend had commented on how cute the Jesus sandals were. I read the comment out loud and pronounced Jesus as hay-su-s!! What!?!? haha Britt and I also find ourselves replying with si instead of yes and many other Spanish words without even thinking about it. I think it's a good sign.

Only in Spain

2008-10-12T23:43:00.000+02:00

Britt and I have found that there are a lot of things that you would only hear/see/happen in Spain. So we decided that we better start making a list so we can remember them all. We might be the only two that think it´s funny but hey! It´s my blog and I´ll enjoy it. Hope you enjoy it a wee bit too.
1. People making out wherever and whenever they want!
2. People walking around looking like they have a load of poop in their pants
3. Staying up all hours of the night and coming INTO the club at 5 am.
4. Getting bread for dinner(baguette) but you DON¨T eat it until your food comes, and you don´t tell the American girls so they look like fools instead as they furious stuff their faces because they´re hungry, it´s sitting in front of them, and it´s SO good.
5. WEARING TAN TIGHTS!!!!! (sometimes they´re even shiney like malibu barbie)
6. Eating hot chocolate and cookies for breakfast
7. Techno-izing EVERY single song you can imagine, including What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts.
8. Driving like a mad man which includes stopping in the middle of the road, almost hitting the car in front of you every time you stop, and quadrupling the speed limit.
9. Watching policeman drinking with the kids
10. All ages smoking and drinking everywhere and all day
11. Having your dinner ordered for you at a mexican restaurant that doesn´t even have beans or rice in attempt to help the vegetarian.
12. Getting a banana for dessert when you thought you ordered ice cream
13. Having full on squid with the tentacles and all and a sea shell in your rice. (a typical Spanish dish)
14. Being serenaded from the street below during Spanish class
15. Being given a coat from a boy because it´s cold outside and then having it taken back because he´s walking to his car, being offered another coat because the first was taken and having that taken back because he got cold. ja ja ja ja

And here are some funny sayings that we´ve heard as they attempt to speak English.
-¨Freaky people¨ (rolling the r and saying it in one syllable)
-¨Bedy, bedy well¨ (translation: very good)
-¨I love you with all of my potatoe¨ (they think the heart looks like a potatoe? go figure)
- ¨No carne!!!!!!!!!¨ (in the deep accent of a crazy Spaniard)

Well these are just a few of the many things that Britt and I have experienced here. I´m sure it´s a bit more entertaining for us (we´re laughing our heads off, probably because it´s way too late as well, the whole time) but enjoy what you may. and we´ll add to the list of things as they deserve it. Peace out homie!

Pictures to illustrate coming soon

Mi Casa

2008-10-09T18:08:00.001+02:00

So i don't have much time to write today but i wanted to update my blog because i have become addicted i think! So here it is. There are pictures of my piso or "flat" that I live with my spanish family in. It's so cute and SO modern.

This is our "dryer." a lot of people don't have dryer's here which isn't too big a deal. My only issue is that crispy clothes on aren't the funnest!

This is Casilda, one of the girls that I "teach." Teaching consists of getting her homework done and then just playing. Last night she turned music on in her room and I couldn't help but dance a bit. So we choreographed a dance together and these pictures are what came of it. haha I had to teach her the peace sign...welcome to America!! We had so much fun!

SHOPPING!

2008-10-07T18:35:00.001+02:00

Endless shopping + no money = bad news! This beautiful city has way too much shopping for me to resist it. You can pretty much walk down any street in Madrid and find 5 shoe stores and 15 other places that have cute clothes. Really though! And the shoes here are out of control! I walked down one street and I think I counted about 8 shoe stores. On just ONE street! haha it's crazy. They love boots here too. i will probably come home with 5 new pair because they're all so cute and you can find them for very good prices. So I guess that is a good thing but also very very bad. Their style here is pretty similar to what it is at home. Everybody wears skinny's and boots and scarves. One thing that is very different that we don't have in Utah and I hope we never do have are these pants. They start out baggy on top with a very low crotch and then they get skinny and gather at the ankle. I know it's hard to picture but just imagine somebody walking around looking like they number two-ed (yes number two-ed and not pooped, that's for Britt) in their pants and you'll get the best image of what I'm trying to describe. I tried on a pair and about had a heart attack from laughing. Britt took some pictures of me but she has them on her camera so i'll post them soon. But get excited! and look them up on the internet or something.
So yesterday Britt and I were ready for a different activity other than touring and picture taking so we decided to do a little shopping. Of course I was just goig along with Britt and was going to be a good girl and not buy anything....unless of course I found something that I loved and had to have! Sometimes there are just those things...you must understand. We went to all the popular stores here like blanco, Pimkie, Vara, H&M (yes! They have one on every block here), and a bunch of others. A couple hours went by and we were winding down, getting tired of walking around shopping for the day. So we began to walk to a little store to buy a pastry and we saw this cute little store with a super cute window display. So I nudged Britt and we walked inside. It was SO cute!! Of course...30 minutes later I walked out with a bag in hand. I found a super cute top that can be a dress or a shirt with a belt, and a black leather jacket that I fell in love with. Definitely things that I HAD to have. haha There went my "just looking" shopping. Oops! But I'll come home and people will ask where I got it and I'll smile SO big and be able to say, "Spain!" It was definitely worth it!

2008-10-05T16:41:00.000+02:00

Today, Sunday, we went to watch General Conference on Temple Square. That´s what they call the temple and the grounds around it here. It includes the CCM (MTC), the visitor center (i think thats what it is), a big building where everybody can meet (like a stake center), and buildings where the missionaries live. So all the members met there to watch. They show conference all day long! They showed the priesthood session first, and then the two saturday sessions. I don´t know if they even show the sunday sessions here since we are 8 hours ahead. I always wondered what the Priesthood session was like and I finally got to experience it. It was AMAZING!!!! I loved it! That was the only that I was able to watch but I´m glad it was that one because I was able to listen to the whole first presidency speak! The only weird thing was that Britt and I were in a room full of missionaries. haha It was the English speaking room so I´m guessing they were all the newer missionaries that didn´t know Spanish yet.

Afterward we went outside and took a few pictures by the temple. It´s gorgeous! I can´t wait to go inside. But while I was out there I looked over to my right and I saw Elder Skyler Carr! haha I didn´t have the nerve to get his attention and say hello but I did quickly take a picture as he was walking away.

For dinner today at the Molina´s I was able to try three new things! Most of which was pretty good. So it was rice (kind of like rice-a-roni with spices and things) and then there was pieces of calimari and shrimp in it with whole clams on the side!!! ahh!! haha So there were the little tentacle looking things from the squid in it and all. Oh my! It really wasn´t too bad but just looking at it made me sick. But just like a missionary, I didn´t want to offend them so I just ate it right up! haha I wish I had a picture but that also would have been a little weird of me. Then i had this delicious fruit. I don´t know the name but ít looks like a watermelon on the outside, but not as big, and like a honeydew melon on the inside. It´s super sweet and super yummy. Well i´m going back to no pictures and limited internet for the week. So i hope you enjoy all the pictures and posts from today. love and miss you all!

Pictures!!!

2008-10-05T14:39:00.001+02:00

I haven´t posted for a while because of internet complications, that are still causing me much grief, but I´m back! well for today. So I´ll try to update as best I can.

Britt and I started Spanish classes! woohoo! We go for 2 hours a day, Monday through Friday. It´s pretty intense because it is in all Spanish! We´re not allowed to speak any other languages, and I say languages and not just English because there are 3 Germans, a Brit, an Indian, and an Asian in my class. Oh and there is a boy from Philidelphia so I could pretty much say that for him to because of his strong accent. Anyway, it has been a lot of fun so far. Our teacher, Francisco, just laughs at us the whole time. Especially when we can´t pronounce words correctly.

Britt and I also went to Museo Del Prado. It´s a very famous museum here. It was HUGE and full of lots of pictures we coulnd´t read about cause it was all in Spanish of course. But we did get a little handheld guide in English that told us about the most important pictures. We saw paintings by Goya, Valequez, Ruben, and Rembrandt! Do you know who they are? Ýa, I didn´t before I went there, besides Rembrandt. We were there for over 2 hours and only got through about half of it so we just cruised through the rest. haha

On Saturday, Britt, Diego, Rogelio, and I went to Parque de Retiro. It´s a massive park that the King used to own. It has a little lake in the middle of it with lots of beautiful statues and such. So we just walked around, saw lots of street entertainers, and then went and paddled around in a little boat on the little lake. It was a lot of fun. Britt and I did most of the work though! The boys were too lazy. But they´re so nice to always take Britt and I everywhere and show us what Spain is really all about.

I thought PDA on BYU campus was bad until I came to Spain. People here makeout wherever and whenever they want to. I had to take a picture to show it to you. Now we have a joke that everytime we see it we have to take a picture. I wonder how many í´ll have by the end?

Boring Blog

2008-09-30T21:50:00.000+02:00

I definitely have the uggliest/most boring blog ever! I am still trying to figure out how to make it all cute. I really struggle with this blog thing. but I am liking it so far. And if anybody can help me out to make it all cute, please let me know! i´m desperate!

Sunday night we went to the ¨closing ceremony¨ of the fiesta in Villaviciosa. They had fireworks that were SO loud and let off SO much smoke and barely got off the ground. Then they carried this statue thing of the virgin Mary into the catholic church where everybody followed. A few words were said by the preacher and then all the women rushed up to the front and they were given flowers from around Mary. So britt and I decided to go up there and by the time we got up there all that was left were leaves...so we got leaves! haha We were laughing so hard and I´m sure people didn´t think we were funny but I dunno...maybe you had to be there.

Monday we toured more of Madrid. We went through the city hall (which was gorgeous inside), Plaza de la Villa, and the Cathedral across from the Royal Palace. It was amazing!!! The stained glass inside was so beautiful! I decided that I could take a picture of every building in Madrid because they´re all so beautiful! The architecture is unreal and it´s so old, everything is very elaborate. I love it.

So just a quick funny story. Maria Molina went with us to Madrid all day. She doesn´t speak very much English but she spoke to us all day and I think we got the gist of all she was trying to tell us. She´s so sweet!! Anyway, so she took us to one of her favorite restaurants for lunch. It was SO yummy. It´s a three course meal that you get to choose from a list of options for each course. So for dessert there was flan, this yogurt dish, or frutas y helados (fruit and ice cream). Britt said that´s what she wanted but when we told our waiter we couldn´t remember the last word ¨helado.¨ So we said frutas. He nodded his head and he asked which kind, strawberry, banana, whatever. So Britt said Banana. A few minutes later our dessert comes out and the waiter sets my flan down, Maria´s yogurt down, and for Brittney a full banana on a plate! haha we started laughing so hard. Well I was trying not to laugh so hard because I didn´t want to offend anybody. A banana for dessert? and on a plate? haha it was SO funny. So Britt had a banana for dessert. It was awesome! We have since learned ice cream in spanish so we can be sure to get what we are hoping for. pictures coming soon....

Toros y Iglesias

2008-09-29T22:19:00.000+02:00

I would like to apologize in advance and I have repented already....Sunday morning here in Villa as a part of their fiesta they have a bull run. I know it was Sunday but Rogelio said it was the last one this year and it´s very unique to Spain so we had to see it, so we went. Pretty much what they do is bring bulls into an arena, where we watch from the stadium seating, and anybody who would like goes into the arena and runs from the bulls. And then they run down the street with the bulls chasing them. I´m telling you Spaniards are crazy! haha but I love them. It was pretty funny to watch. We didn´t get to see much because we got rained on and the bulls calmed down but it was definitely something I have never seen before. I´ll post a video soon.
Church was awesome! We walked in the doors and there were two missionaries from Utah there! woohoo!!! Go Utah and go English! It was so fun to talk normally to somebody! I loved it. So of course we stick out like a sore thumb in this cute little ward but they were very nice and introduced Britt and I in sacrament. It was SO loud in there for a little while. ha adults and kids were talking. One man walks up to the pulpit where the counselor was giving announcements and lowers the microphone, then sits down. haha The cute old man playing the piano played the same chord with his left hand the entire song!!! For pretty much all three songs. But I loved singing in Spanish! It was so fun! and the congregation was so loud, much louder than my home ward that is 4 times the size. I couldn´t understand a word the speakers were saying but as soon as one women started bearing her testimony the feeling in the room changed and I instantly felt the spirit. It was awesome. The people here are very passionate about things they love and even more so those in the gospel. I loved it! I´m so excited to be here for three months. and hopefully by the end I will be able to understand more of the message shared.

I don´t have pictures because my computer still isn´t working so you may not see any until the weekend. but i´ll keep you updated! love you all!

So much to say!

2008-09-29T21:59:00.000+02:00

So...I blog alot! Sorry there is so much to read. I also pretty much just use this as my journal so it´s more for me than for you. So you don´t have to read it all.
I can´t believe I almost forgot to tell you about my electricity incident...it was quite tramatic for me. So as you all probably know, the electricity is different here. All the outlets are different so I had to buy adapters so I would be able to plug things into the wall. I knew that some things would also need a converter to change the voltage or however it works. So the other morning I went to use my blow dryer for the first time. I plugged it into my adapter and then went to plug the adapter into the wall. As soon as the adapter barely touched the outlet I heard a bang! I looked down at my blowdryer´s plug and it was all black and it pretty much looks completely fried! haha oops! but it gets better. So then my computer turns off which is weird because I had it plugged into the wall. and then i realized that none of the outlets in my room worked! So I go into the kitchen and none of those work either!!! And that meant that the fridge was off!!!! I started to kind of freak out because I didn´t know how to get a hold of my Spanish mom Carmen and I had no idea if I did any permanent damage. Well, to my relief, I come to find out that a breaker has just switched and we just had to flip it back. But for a while there I was so scared and afraid that Carmen wouldn´t ever want to see me again. haha I´m so glad I´m just retarded and everything is okay.

Spaniards know how to party!

2008-09-28T11:15:00.001+02:00

Wow! I don´t know how Spaniards get anything done! haha They love to party and they never hesitate to. So my first weekend here Britt and I went out with a bunch of Roge´s friends and on a date! haha what?!?! This week in Villaviciosa (where the Molina´s live) is their Fiesta. Each city or town has their own Fiesta just as a part of their culture. And pretty much that means drinking for all hours of the night unti the next morning and then sleeping all day. haha seriously! Friday night we went to their little carnival and a boy won Britt and I stuffed animals throwing three darts/balls in a row. sweet huh? ha and then we just went and ¨hung out.¨ There were cars everywhere and they open their trunks and blast spanish music or our American rap on their sweet stereo systems. It´s so funny. So Britt and I had fun talking very slowly and listening very intently so we could communicate with everybody that talked to us. We went home super late and crashed. The next day around 1 I went to go buy a flat iron and people were still there partying!!!
Saturday night Britt and I went on a little date without even knowing it. Rogelio just told us to be ready at 6 because we were going out again. So around 6 we come down and Roge and his friend Diego were there ready to go. So we get in the car and we go to this Centre Commercial ( i think that´s what it´s called.) It was SO sweet! it´s this huge center that has all sorts of activites to do and places to eat and then a huge mall attached to it. Oh and the coolest part is that they have an indoor ski hill! There´s a full on hill with snow, boxes, rails, a lift and everything and it´s all indoors!! i was amazed! Anyway, we just followed the boys around and they led us to the minigolfing place. This is when we found out that we were on a ¨date¨ because they paid for pretty much everything the rest of the night. After minigolf like around 10 we went to eat at an italian restaurant that was very yummy. Diego has a huge crush and Brittney and she´s just having fun with it. So it´s been a blast and i´m learning that staying up late here is what you do. I guess that´s why they have siesta...it´s a necessity! haha love and miss you all!

This is sweet!

2008-09-27T16:50:00.000+02:00

I love this place! So my second day in Spain I didn´t do much beacuse I couldn´t leave the apartment until I had keys so I didn´t get locked out. Everything here has gates with keys or codes! But I did go for a walk and I found a sweet golf course and thought of my dad, and I found a billion bus stations. That night I was on the phone and Carmen, my spanish mom, said that she was making dinner. So they start bringing everything to the table and so I got off the phone. Everybody had a plate of food so I figured I should go to the kitchen to get my food. I go in there and there isn´t anything left...weird! ha So I go back in the room and sit on the couch. Carmen asked me if I was going to eat dinner (at 11pm mind you) and I told her there wasn´t anything left. She said, ¨oh! you make your own food but you eat with us!.¨ what!?! haha it was so funny. So I make all my own food here wich means quesadillas, fruit, and soup pretty much. haha

My third day in Spain is where my adventure really begins. Britt and I decide to meet in Madrid so we could go travel around. We were wanting to meet in Opera (old Madrid). So supposedly there is a bus that goes from my place to Sol which is very near Opera. So I told Carmen that I knew where the bus stop was because I found it on my walk the other day. So I get on bus 133 all pumped to go out and start discovering. Well, first of all, I only had a 5 Euro and the bus driver didn´t have any change to give me( bus ride = 1 Euro) so he just let me ride for free. Sweet! Then I find out that I have no way of knowing which stop I am to get off on. There aren´t any signs or anything!! ha So we drive a ways and I don´t want to go too far so I decide to get off on some stop that I was hoping was Sol. NOPE! haha I have no clue where I am and I´m too scared to ask for directions because we won´t be able to understand eachother. So I just start walking. I found a couple hospitals, walked over a freeway, and up a huge hill, while talking to Brittney (who is also lost) and laughing my head off. Then somehow, I don´t even know how-a huge blessing, I see a Metro sign!!! halelujah! So I buy a pass and get on, only to find that I´m on the wrong metro but I quickly figured it out and just had to ride like 3 different metros to get there. But I made it and was SO happy to see Britt walk out of the metro about 5 minutes after me. So here are some pictures. We went to Palacio Real (the Royal Palace), Cathedral Almudena, and Plaza Mayor. It´s beautiful here and now I really feel like I´m in Spain.

¿Say what?

2008-09-25T14:44:00.000+02:00

I can´t believe i´m actually here!! This is crazy! And I can´t believe I´m awake right now. The past two days were probably two of the longest in my life. Starting my journey off on two hours of sleep probably wasn´t the best thing. My first flight took off at 7 am to Houston. I had a 3 hour layover and then flew to Newark, NJ. At 8.30 NJ time we flew off to Madrid, Spain. The minute I walked on the plane I started to feel a hint of Spain. Everybody around me, including the flight attendants, were speaking spanish. Luckily a girl sat by me that spoke English as well. It was about an 8 hour flight. Of course my movie screen in front of me was broken so I watched a movie on my ipod and tried to sleep. I was fed dinner, and then breakfast...weird! ha It was 10 am when we landed in Spain. Luckily everything finished out as well as it started with me getting all of luggage and finding my friend Roger who was picking me up. The day that followed was long with a lot of figuring odds and ends out. For those who don´t know, Brittney Maxwell a best friend from high school, is here with me too! We both got cell phones so we could contact each other easily wherever we are. I was at the Molina´s house all day. They are the sweetest people! They fed us a huge lunch and a smaller dinner (that´s how they do it here) and were sad to say bye to me so soon when I left late last night to come meet my Spanish family. They are also wonderful people. It´s a mom, Carmen, and two daughters Christina - 13, Casilda -9.

They...well guess me to...we live in an apartment just North of Madrid. It´s VERY modern and cute. I have a tiny little room that has a shower and a sink in it. And my bed is a couch that has a pull out bed. haha awesome huh? It doesn´t quite lay flat so I sleep slanted but I love it. haha I slept like a baby last night. probably because I had 4 hours of sleep in about 36 hours or something like that. So I woke up this morning at 9.30 and unpacked my bags into my tiny little closet. Carmen couldn´t believe how much I brought...oops! haha But I know that I am going to love it here. I can´t wait to get into everything and explore. Sorry so long, lots to say! I love you and miss you all!

Oh and I can´t post pictures yet because I am still trying to get the internet on my computer. but they´re coming soon!