Burton-on-Trent Missionary Hunt

My friend, Kylie, and I took a 4-hour train to a little town called Burton-on-Trent to find her cousin who is serving a mission there. We found him--he was shocked, of course--and just got to talk for a little less than an hour. Then we hopped back on the train and were back in London 4 hours later. It was an adventure!

Country Walk with Brother Chittock

We went on a 9 mile "ramble" through the English countryside--it was sooo pretty! I loved it!

Jack the Ripper Tour

We thought it was going to be Knott's Scary Farm style, but it was mostly informative. It was interesting to see all the places where the murders took place and we had a great tour guide.

Hampstead Heath

Yes, we went swimming in that nasty brownish water. It was great!

Fat art

There is tendency for students to gain weight here . . . unless you go running a lot! We poked fun at this fact of London living as part of an art project, as seen in the above pictures. If you want to check out another one of our conceptual art projects, you can go to jarart100.blogspot.com.

Samuel Johnson's Home

We went as a class to the home of Samuel Johnson last week. Who the heck is he? Well, he wrote the first dictionary. (Only a bunch of English nerds would find that interesting!) The best part was dressing up in clothes befitting of the era in which he lived. He also was a huge fan of his cat, Hodge, immortalized in the statue directly across from his home.

Wandsworth Common Ward

This is Sharon, the Young Women's President. She is such an awesome lady; I really admire how much she cares for the girls and how hard she works.


Walking from the church to the tube stop. It's a two-hour round trip every Sunday.


It was my last Sunday in my ward this week because I'm traveling with a friend this Sunday to find her cousin missionary (long story). I was really excited to teach the Young Women's lesson on "Understanding a Missionary's Responsibilities," but no young women showed up! I was really bummed that I didn't get to teach but even more sad about not getting to say goodbye to Carolina (the one devoted attendee). It has been a great experience serving in this ward, strengthening my testimony, and getting to meet some really awesome members.

Stonehenge

Stonehenge was cool to see in person, but really, looking at abunch of rocks didn't hold our attention for too long after a full weekend of travelling. We tooks some random pictures and started playing "missionary tag" while waiting for the bus--such a blast!

Stourhead

I love love LOVED the massive grounds of Stourhead. It was a nature-lover's paradise.

Bath

Paris!

I LOVED Paris! It was the highlight of the whole trip for me thus far. It just felt magical to see the Mona Lisa and Eiffel Tower in person after having seen those images my whole life. Notre Dame, the Louvre, the D'Orsay and getting lost along the little back streets were all amazing. They do not mess around when it comes to pastries either; I was in heaven. I didn't feel guilty eating a crepe with nutella, a chocolate cream puff, and a baguette with chocolate chips all in one day--it's Paris after all (24 hour fitness here I come!). It was just a great day and I felt so happy/blessed the entire time. I am so lucky to be having this experience and I'm not particularly looking forward to it ending. I'm sure I'll look back at this time of my life with many fond and fun memories.

Ireland!

The actual city of Dublin isn't that great, but once you get into the countryside it's incredible. These pictures don't do it justice or even come close. We took a bus tour that went through the Wicklow mountains, valleys, and lakes. I'm touching the ancient sanctuary stone in one picture. I can't get over how gorgeous the natural scenery of Europe is; we are so blesssed to live in this world!

Crepes with the Girls

The food here is really good. Item #1 on the to-do list when I return to the States: join a gym!

Football Match

My two friends and I went on a little adventure trying to get into a huge soccer game (vs. USA) last week. It was a very random night, as the pictures portray. We weren't able to get into the game, but had fun nonetheless. We navigated our way through parts of London that we'd never seen before and took a bus ride through streets that looked like a cross between Tiajuana and Stratford-upon-Avon.