Monday, November 19, 2012

Monday.

Monday is probably my favorite day of the week, work always seems to go better on Mondays. I think it might be that over the weekend I have time to recharge and am able to come in with new fresh perspectives on Monday. I seriously love my job though. I feel so blessed to have found at career so early in my 20's.

Home Evening is also another highlight of the day. Tonight we went to the mall and played 'Where's Waldo.' We had a list of about 10 people that we had to find. Some of the 'Waldo's' costumes were so good. It's a good think that my other group members have better observation skills than me because I probably wouldn't have found anyone.

It have become a tradition with my friends to go buy a pizza after Home Evening. I always feel sick after I eat pizza {I still eat it all the time though} but I love just stilling in a classroom and talking with everyone.

Now I'm home listening to 'Sweet Nothing'. Calvin Harris hasn't been this good since he teamed up with Ellie Goulding. Him and Florence Welch make a great team.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Today I said Goodbye

The roads are snowy and icy. The snow is here to stay.

I drove slowly and to my amazement only hit two red lights on the way to the church. I picked a parking spot at random because in the winter no one pays attention to the lines that are painted on the ash fault. I take a deep breath and try to mentally prepare myself for the next few hours. I've never been good with goodbyes, and I know that is one will be the hardest yet.

I'm so glad that I had the chance to become friends with Ashley, even though it was only for a few short months. She was the type of person who was always as sweet as could be. She was also super involved in everything, but also found the time to be a stellar student. She was a return missionary, a gifted teacher, and a shining example to me of kindness and love.

I will forever remember the experience of singing in the choir at her funeral. We sang the theme song for the cultural celebration and have never sounded better. As a postlude we sang 'How Great Thou Art' I found back tears during the entire piece, and couldn't hold the smile that I usually have when I sing.

Today gave me a new love for the Plan of Salvation. I saw the comfort that it brought to her grieving family and friends. I'm so grateful for the knowledge that we lived before we came to Earth and that will will continue to live after we have departed from this life.

The Garden Tomb. Christ overcame death here.

Then sings my soul,
My Savior God, to thee,
How great thou art!
How great thou art!
'How Great Thou Art'  LDS Hymn Book number 86



Sunday, October 21, 2012

A Temple For Calgary


I can't even put into words how excited I am about the Calgary Temple that is going to be dedicated in a week. It it so wonderful  that the House of the Lord is only about an hour away from my family's house. I've had the chance to tour the Temple 4 times during the open house and was also able to spend 10 hours last Saturday volunteering at the open house. It was seriously the best!

I didn't have time to take great pictures (because people read my blog because of my non-existent wonderful photography skills), but here's what I have:

My favorite Temple!
Tour entrance and a bathroom. Classy.
At the end of the tour we were give a water and a cookie. The water cups were sealed with a piece of foil that has a picture of the Temple of it. It was a really neat detail. 

The other thing that makes me want to burst with excitement is the cultural celebration that is going to be taking place this next Saturday. I discovered a new love for signing when I was in Jerusalem, so I decided to join Institute Choir when I moved back home. I was delighted to find out that the choir I had joined was going to be a part of the cultural celebration, and that I was going to get to be in a choir that will sing for the prophet. 

Friday, October 12, 2012

Edmonton Weekend

Every fall I take a weekend trip to Edmonton to visit my friend Rachel. It was a great weekend, but also a little bittersweet because it is the last Edmonton trip I will make for a few years as Rachel is leaving to serve a mission in Finland in January.

It was such a good trip. On Friday I drove out to Red Deer to spend the night and Jessie's house and then Saturday morning we drove to Edmonton. Since Jessie leave on her mission to Vancouver in a few days it was great to have so much time in the car just to talk about life. In Edmonton we went to West Edmonton Mall and rode the roller coaster that is inside of the mall. I consider myself to be a roller coaster person (is there such a thing?) so it was a real treat to get to go on it. We also went to the Relief Society broadcast, and loved it. We ended off our perfect Saturday at Dairy Queen where we stuffed ourselves full of ice cream.











 1. In front of the pirate ship
2. Me and Rachel in Galaxyland
3. Jessie and Rachel in Galaxyland
4. Tickets to ride the roller coaster
5. The 'Mind Bender' it was seriously so fun
6. The best photo of the weekend
7. A nice man offered to take a photo of all three of us

My only complaint for the weekend was that it went by way too fast. I loved see both Rachel and Jessie and I know that they are both going to be wonderful missionaries. We'll have to have another Edmonton weekend in two years when they are both home.


Saturday, August 4, 2012

Day 100

I have lived in Israel for 100 days 


I've learned more than I could possibly imagine in those 100 days

I've studied the scriptures
Traveled to new places
Walked where Jesus walked
Made friends who feel like family

Thanks for teaching me so much Israel


Bethlehem


A few weeks ago we look a field trip to Bethlehem!


It made me a little homesick being in Bethleham. I wanted my family to be there with me so badly. I have such good memories my Christmas with my family that it seemed strange not to celebrate Christmas in July with them in Bethlehem. {How do you guys feel about going to Israel for our next family vacation?}

Every Christmas Eve my family has a bundled into our warmest clothes and made our way to Heritage Park to watch the Nativity Pagent. I remeber as a child being totally mesmerized by the pagent, especially the angels who proclaim the birth of Jesus to the Shepherds. Even though I feel like I'm too old to be excited about the Nativity Pagent I still look forward to going on Christmas Eve, and spend most of the day waiting for evening to come so we can go. 

Bethlehem was not the Nativity Pagent that I have watched every Christmas. It is a town filled with tour buses, and gift shops, and old cars. It was also incredibly charming. When we were standing in Manger Square waiting  for our tour guide to come and take us into the Church of the Nativity our teacher told us about what the Square was like on Christmas Eve. He said that it was so filled with people it was nearly impossible to move. I love the idea of Christians from all around the world gathered in Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of Christ.

The Stars & Bucks Cafe

In church of the nativity was so crowded. Being in large crowds makes me feel super anxious, and being in Israel where the sun in very hot it takes the B.O factor of people to an entirely new level so in between some slow deep breaths I took lots of pictures to distract myself.

Me and Amy at the 12 ponied gold star that marks the place where Jesus was born and other scenes from the Church of the Nativity.

My fame also continued in Bethlehem.


Fun Fact: Everything here is covered in sesame seeds

Awkward Photos: Round Two


I've taken nearly 2,000 pictures in the last 3 and a half months so it is to be expected that some turned out funny. 

Pre-enacting Armageddon
 I thought it would be really cool if we took a Ray Ban photo, but it was really windy and I was wearing a shirt that is too big so I look fat and not cool. 
Me being a Political Science nerd at the Knesset.
Enough Said
Everyone else at the restaurant had ordered fish and took pictures kissing their fish. So naturally I had to take a picture kissing my pizza.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Where Have I Been?

Besides hiding out in the Byzantine hermit's cell at Masada I've been:
-Recovering from our 10 day trip to Galilee. It was a spiritual feast and an absolute blast. 
-Studying for finals. The finish line is so close!
-Dealing with a serious case of JC LDS (Jerusalem Center Last Days Syndrome) It's a real condition . 

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Tomb of the Prophets

Looking for a quick adventure we walked over to the Tomb of the Prophets today. We opted to use candles as our light source and then look photos in the eerie candlelight.





I have just under a month left in Jerusalem. I can't believe it's almost over, I feel like I just got here yesterday!

Monday, July 9, 2012

Jordan Highlights

A few weeks ago we went to Jordan for a few days. Although it was dreadfully hot I still had a great time!


 A beautiful sunset on our first day 


The worst shower ever. Not only was the entire bathroom drenched when I was done, it lost water pressure right when I was shampooing my hair and turned off. Thankfully it came back on and I was able to rise the shampoo out of my hair.



Visiting the coolest place on Earth-Petra and riding a camel while there.


The city of Amman. It was almost like being back in North America


 In Amman the hotel folded my towel into a swan. I have to tell you guys about how crazy our hotel room was. We had the penthouse and it was huge! It had 3 bedroom, 3.5 bathrooms, living room, dinging room, and kitchen. All of this was wonderful except the air conditioning only worked in one room and the rest of the suit was uncomfortably hot. We called the front desk multiple times asking them to send someone to repair the air conditioner. We all felt relieved when someone knocked at our door and we rushed to answer it, but we were disappointed to find that it was only a hotel staff asking if we needed more towels. A few minutes later there was another knock at the door, this time was different another hotel staff bringing us more towels that we didn't need. At this point I decided that it was time for me to call the front desk. I called and kindly explained that our air conditioner was broken and the we had only been sent towels. I thought everything was going great until I relized that I had been hung up-on. 


The Jordan River. It was boiling hot there, but it was an awesome experience to stand on the shore of the river where Christ was baptized.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Canada Day

July 1st was Canada Day, and since I am never in Canada on Canada Day I have become good at forcing non-Canadians to celebrate with me. My mom sent me an awesome package filled with Canada Day decorations and I enlisted the help of some tall friends to help me make the JC look awesome.


The student notice board. Note that sign that says "C's get degrees"
Outside of the Oasis
Karen and Alvin helped me set everything up
We decorated the Oasis
Some Canadian pride above the utensils 
This was the only "Canadian pose' we could think of. Also, I have not gotten shorter Karen and Alvin are just really tall.
Amy showed off her juggling skills
So festive 
Karen rocked the socks and sandals
 Canada tattoos
Canada sunburn




Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Hezekiah's Tunnel

This afternoon we didn't have any classes so we decided to walk though Hezekiah's Tunnel without flashlights. It was very very dark. Here are some pictures from our adventure:

Us at the start of the walk. The water was so cold!

Going around corners was really scary because it made you feel like you were walking the wrong direction.

Some people hid and grabbed at our feet. Talk about terrifying!

If you haven't walked though a cave in the dark I highly recommend it. The pictures don't do it justice.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

I Had a Brithday

I turned 21!

I had the best birthday ever. I got to spend it at one of the most amazing places on Earth-Petra.


The day was filled with lots of laughs, long hikes, cool tombs, and raspberry cheesecake ice cream.

My 20th year of life brought me amazing new friends, a summer job that I loved, lots of new music, the best semester ever in Rexburg, some major life learning moments, and a semester abroad in Jerusalem.

I am hoping that my 21st year will include becoming two semesters closer to finishing my bachelors degree, a half marathon, new fabulous shoes, an improvement of my cooking skills, an increased knowledge of the Spanish language, and a stronger testimony of Christ. 



Friday, June 29, 2012