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

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Kosher McDonalds

On Thursday I went with Jay and Jamie to a Kosher McDonalds!

It was located in the Jerusalem Central Bus Station and to get into the building we had to walk through a metal detector and also had to have our bags checked. It was a lot of work for a Big Mac!


Kosher McDonnals has a blue sign. It looked really strange!


Proof I was there! After this photo we were told by security that we can't take photos, so I was unable to get a picture of my food.

 Kosher McDonalds tasted exactly like McDonalds at home. 

Kosher McDonalds for the win! 

That's Nobodies Business But the Turks

In May we went on a 6 day trip to Turkey.
It was wonderful!
Here are some of the highlights:


Assos

Assos is a charming town located on the coast of the Adramyttian Gulf. Aristotle came to Assos after he left the Platonic Academy in Athens and opened his own Academy. Paul also visited Assos during his third missionary journey through Asia minor. It was amazing to be in a town with so much history!



Dance Party


At one of our hotels we had a dance party on the beach. After watching the music video for Levels by Avicii having a dance party on the beach has been a dream of mine, so it was wonderful to have that dream come true on a beach in Turkey.

Blue Mosque

This was one of the last things we did in Turkey, and it was a great way to end the trip. It was so beautiful inside, the photos I took don't do it Justice.



Hagia Sophia


Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, turned Mosque, turned Museum. When is was turned into a Mosque in the 1453 many many of the reilious mosaques and paintings that were in the building were covered in plaster preserving them.





Troy 


I went to Troy and I got my picture taken in the wooden horse! I was very excited to cross this one off of the bucket list.


Boat Ride on the Bosphorus. 

After this I had the Cake song 'Wheels' stuck in my head for the remainder of the day, particularly the part that goes:

In a CD karaoke bar
By the banks of the mighty Bosphorus
Is a Japanese man in a business suit singing "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes"
And the muscular cyborg German dudes dance with sexy French Canadians
While the overweight Americans wear their patriotic jumpsuits





(I did not see a CD karaoke bar on the banks of the mighty Bosphorus)


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Awkwardness in Jerusalem

Here are some awkward photos from Jerusalem:


 Taken at the Tomb of the Prophets. We didn't have flashlights with us so we had to use candles so we could see. 



We got to walk though Hezekiah's Tunnel on Monday for out Field Trip. This was a happy/sad field trip because it was our last field trip with Bother Harper. At some points in the tunnel the water was up to our knees. We got soaked, but we had a good time. At one pointed we decided it would be cool to try to walk in the dark so we turned off our flashlights and attempted  to walk. It was dark and I ran into the wall.


We were attempting to look like a fountain. I think it looks like we're pukeing.



We met the coolest lady at this church she was a Christian from Iraq. She worked as a Math teacher and then one day decided to come to Jerusalem to serve God. She told us all about the church and showed us the Upper Room and also sang for us. It was a lovely afternoon.


We went snorkeling in the Red Sea. Check out my awesome grandma swimsuit 


I set up with lovely table display with Jamie, then we took an awkward photo with it. 


At the Israel museum we saw lots of really cool things and had lots of fun doing it. I also discovered that my pink and white shirt photographs very poorly. 


Nathan and I shared a maple apple waffle at The Waffle  Bar. We decided to take a picture with our waffle before we consumed it. 





Saturday, June 16, 2012

Jessie

This is My Best Friend Jessie:

Grad Banquet-2009


Jessie and I have been friends since junior high and have had some pretty good times together.
She got her mission call this week and is going to be serving in the Vancouver Canada Mission.

I am so excited for her! I know that she is going to be a wonderful missionary, and that she is going to change many lives with her sweet testimony of the Gospel.

Jessie and I have been friends since we've been 14. We both knew of each other from other people but had never spoken to each other, because I thought she was insane and she thought I was a mute. (I was painfully shy until I was about 16) We became friends at a church dance when we both went outside to cool off. We ended up siting on the grass and talking for a few hours and haven't stopped talking since.


Grade 12
At efy. We look so young here!
Another efy photo.

Us at efy again. We were roommates that year and had a blast.

I have so many good memories with Jessie. One summer shortly after I had finished my freshman year of College we went for a swim in Lake Sundance while it was raining. We swam out to the bouys and talked for over an hour about of first year of university. Another favorite memory is the weekend Jessie and I went on a road trip to Edmonton. We had so much fun hanging out with friends and riding the roller coaster at West Edmonton Mall. When I was going though a very unpleasant breakup Jessie invited me to come babysitting with her. After the kids were in bed we ordered a large pepperoni pizza and ate it while we watched Elf. Doing that cheered me up a lot. This last semester Jessie skyped me one Sunday when I was feeling very stressed about finals. It made my week so much better.

I'm going to miss this girl to the moon and back when she leaves, but I know we will be able to pick up our friendship right where we left off when she gets home, because that's what best friends do!

At my 16th birthday party. This picture describes Jessie perfectly.