England, The End... For Now

Here is the last of mom and I's trip to England. It was really lovely and I hope that she and I can go back again sometime. Sooner rather than later if I have my way :) On our last few days in England we did have some very important places to go...

Stop #1 - London!

As you can see THIS, is the real reason I
wanted to catch a train into King's Cross
Station. :) Mom wasn't too impressed.

When we were booking our trip, I made a big deal about mom and I getting a train into King's Cross Station. She wasn't really super sure why but she was game and put up with me going there. Although I did feel bad when afterwards we had to walk about 3 miles to get to our station to being our red bus tour : / Which was fantastic by the way! It was such a fun time and unless you're one of those people who researches everything there is to know about every place you go, and you are planning on spending more than a few hours there, I would very much recommend doing a tour like this. Our guide was great, he told us all sorts of interesting fun little facts, made jokes, it was great! We also got a chance to ride on the London Eye which was really amazing. Not to mention it was fun just being in London. It was incredibly busy though because they were busy taking stuff down from the Queen's Jubilee and getting ready to set up for the Olympics. It was a beautiful time though and mom and I had a great time together, although it was a very long day and the way back was... interesting :) More on that after our next stop though!

Me in front of the Eagle and Child Pub! I was so excited!
Oxford was such a cute little town and I absolutely
loved the pub. It was honestly the best food I'd had the
whole trip, and I was just honestly on cloud 9 to be there
in the first place. :) Talk about a perfect dinner!

Mom and I decided to go to Oxford for dinner after our day in London. On our way there though, we had a bit of a scare because the first station we changed trains at, our train was late, and the connection was early! So we had to run across the platform. Once we were on that train we heard an announcement over the intercom about the fact that they were going to stop the train before we got to Oxford! And that we would have to find our own way to Oxford because there was something wrong with the signals! We were so freaked out but then thankfully they got it fixed and so we were able to make it :) The whole reason we wanted to go to Oxford was so we could eat at the Eagle and Child Pub where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, along with their other friends in their writers club known as the "Inklings" would meet for dinner and drinks quite often. Since I'm a huge fan of both writers, this was at the top of my list of "Must See Places" for mom and I's trip. It was completely worth it! However, our trip back to York that night was less than great. To sum it up and shrink it down, mom and I had a few tight connections to make with our trains and we had been doing great so far. In fact, although we did have to run across platforms once or twice, we did make it thank goodness. However, when we got off the train for what was supposed to be our tightest connection of the night... Our connecting train was 40 minutes late! Because of that we missed our last connecting train into York and so when we arrived in Manchester at 1AM (the time that we were supposed to arrive in York originally) and the whole station was pretty much closed! It was terrible. There wasn't going to be another train in until 4:30! However, I was very resolved to not have that keep mom and I from our wonderful bed and breakfast. So we found a resolution, and the train company called my mom and myself a taxi cab. And the three of us, oh yeah did I forget to mention the random stranded French businessman that was with us too? Anyway, I digress, the three of us, headed back to York, and with some clever navigating, we got the driver to leave us just across the street from our bed and breakfast.

Our very lovely tea

The next day mom and I headed into the country side for a visit to Chatsworth house, which translates in my world to Pemberly :) It was absolutely GORGEOUS! I could not have imagined a more beautiful park (seriously acres of grounds here), garden maze, walk ways, gardens, flowers, green houses, and the most amazing house in the world! :) And we had tea too! It was so lovely and we had such a great time :) Although, it was a bit of an issue because we were so American that we kept on forgetting to use our strainers for the tea leaves. :) Oh well :) It was still a beautiful time :)

So this is the end of my tales from England :) At least for now anyway :) I am hoping that someday soon I can go back again. I don't know who will go with me or where I will go, but I do know that I have to go back :) What about you though? Where was one of your favorite places to travel? What were some of your favorite things that you did while you were there? Where did you visit and you are counting the days to get back to it? Let me know!

England, Part 3 - Adventures with Sarcasm

The Tower of York - Mom and I did a very short bout of
touring on our first day in York (Sunday, after the
wedding). There was some very interesting history connected
to the place and it was fun to get our first taste of history.

Yes I did have to title this post "adventures with sarcasm", because my mom and I both confessed that one of the most enjoyable parts of our trip was the fact that we were able to be so sarcastic, and neither of us would judge the other. :) Sarcasm plays a big roll in our family life and in our communication. :) So of course this had to be a part of our trip. We had a great time though, whether we were being sarcastic or not. Here are some pictures and memos on a few of our favorite places across the pond :) These will cover our first few days of touring after the wedding. We stayed in the city of York after the wedding at a lovely Bed & Breakfast called Midway House. Ian and Annette were really great people and gave us a lot of tips and hints about where to go and how to get there. Our day in York was spent walking around, enjoying the sites of very cute school children, and taking pictures next to old monuments. Such as this Roman column that was found during some different excavations of the city. We had a lot of fun. It really is a very beautiful city and has great character. If anyone is planning on going to England I would really recommend going there because. Now here are just a few more pictures with some captions to describe our next few days there.

It is said that the "Heart of the City" is
in the York Minster. You can see
the truth in this statement by
the stained glass.

Mom took this picture after I made the
statement of, "Hey mom! Check out this big
chunk of old rock! Take my picture with it,
will you?"

This is a bit of a stretched panoramic view of
the front of the York Minster. It started
being built in 1220!! I couldn't believe that this building
had started being built over 500 years before my
country even began!

Mom and I inside the York Minster. Our
smiles are a little more 'genuine' in this
particular picture because after I set
the timer, I almost broke the door
we're leaning against when I jumped
over a guard rail toget next to her. :) Oops!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the trip simply because it sort of sums
up my traveling philosophy and how well my mom was prepared to handle
it. On our way to the Lavender farm (which was great!) we drove by this
tower and I really wanted to stop and see what it was. So on our way back
to our B&B I convinced mom to stop so we could take a look. Sadly though,
there was a barbed wire fence. But hey! What is the point of being a farm
girl if you can't jump a few fences right? :) So after the coast was clear, and
after I convinced mom that it really wasn't that big of a deal, we got a few
pictures like this :)

Mom and I also had the great bonus of being able to stop
at the James Herriot musem in Thirsk. My family and
I have loved watching the old BBC series and reading the
stories, so for us to get the chance to actually go to the
museum was really special.

This is one of my all time favorite pictures
of the trip. :)

 This is one of my new favorite places in the whole world. Mom and I had the amazing opportunity to go to Scotland and visit one of the castles along the route of the "Reavers". Apparently our ancestors used to stop here too :) Although mom and I prefer to call them 'border patrol'. :) It was really such a beautiful and amazing structure. I couldn't believe how huge and detailed the entire building was. The last two pictures are also from our trip there. It was just so beautiful and inspirational.


It really was an amazing trip and I can't believe that I was lucky enough to get to go. My mom and I had a truly wonderful time together. It was so much fun to get to travel around together, get lost, drive through sheep pastures, eat strange in car picnics, and just be together. :) Next post, the rest of our adventure and a touch of our sarcasm :)

England, Part 2

Ack! I'm sorry that it has been over a month since my last post! But here is a little bit more about mom and I's trip to England :)

A few of the Monavale New Zealand Ladies :)

 The ceremony for the wedding was held in the dining hall at Capernwray Hall. It was really quite simple and elegant. There were lovely flowers that were on the different chairs up the aisle and the stone fireplace was just an amazing backdrop for the whole thing.

Not sure whats up with my face in this picture, but
the fact that Caitlin could probably promise that I would
make a face like this during the ceremony, and STILL
wanted me to be in her wedding just means the world to me. :)

 Caitlin did an excellent job putting the whole thing together. I was very impressed with all of it and the whole thing was very 'Caitlin and Danny'. A lot of the wedding was DIY which was super impressive. On every chair at the ceremony was a little candy favor with their names and a little bit of info on it. All of which Caitlin made herself!! :) It was kinda funny how the bridesmaids dresses worked out cause the ones that Caitlin really wanted were from David's Bridal. Usually that wouldn't be a big deal except these dresses were only available for purchase in store! One small hitch with that program... I was the only American in the wedding! Let alone among the bridesmaids. So I tried on the dress, told Caitlin about it, and then tried to figure out how to translate European sizes, into American sizes, into Bridesmaid Dress sizes. Easier said than done! Thankfully it turned out great and the dresses really are quite lovely.

It was also a huge honor to me that Caitlin asked me to pray for her and Danny during the ceremony. I really think the most beautiful thing about the wedding was that Caitlin and Danny weren't obsessed with it being "their" day. They were more concerned with the fact that the guests knew how big of a role God was in their individual lives, and how they wanted Him to be the most important thing in their future years of marriage. It was a really clear and beautiful message. 

It was also a huge bonus to get to see a lot of my Capernwray friends. :) Which of course included these two lovely ladies, Monica and Mareika. :) They are such sweet girls and it was so good to get to catch up with them. Especially since I hadn't been able to see Mareika since I left New Zealand the first time. Monica I was lucky enough to see at my brother's wedding.

It was very sweet that Caitlin was able to get a lot of the personal touches that she wanted for the wedding. I had seen this idea of the red Mini-Cooper with the Union Jack on top on her Pinterest board a few months before the wedding. As we all know, Pinterest boards are great for ideas but seldom are they all that realistic. :) So the fact that she was able to actually have this pin come true was very neat.

  Neither Danny or Caitlin were too jazzed about the idea of having a wedding 'cake'. Solution to this problem? Make cheesecake of course! :) The day before the wedding Danny (who is also a chef, btw) made three different flavors of cheesecake and then decorated them for the wedding. They were very beautiful and at one point I had to help transport them. I almost had a heart attack! They also had a variety of other desserts, including individual Banana Toffee Cups, Chocolate Cake, other cheesecakes, as well as coffee and tea. :) All very yummy.

 All in all it was a very beautiful wedding, and not because they had nice decorations, or good food, or a fun dance, or pretty flowers, or nice dresses. Although all of those things were a bonus. It was a beautiful wedding because two wonderful people, who both love Jesus more than anything else (even each other) have decided to spend the rest of their lives together, devoted to God and one another. THAT is what makes a beautiful wedding to me. :) All the best to two of my favorite people in the world! :)

So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God
has joined together, let no man separate.
Matthew 19:6

England Part 1

Hello there friends. Life has kept its normal crazy pace with an insane amount of traveling and other activities filling my days. :) But here is my first promised (if somewhat delayed) post about mom and I's
 trip to England. :)

Mom and I on the plane from Denver to Philadelphia

 Our trip started off without too many crazy events. Mom and I had fun in the airports watching people and making fun commenting on their life choices/fashion sense. :) We also ended up deciding that we were very glad that neither one of us was having to go on this trip because we were chaperons on a high school senior's summer trip. :)  

After we made it to the Philadelphia airport (which needs to take a lesson from Denver International Airport and get a few trains so there is a little less walking), we of course had to find a restaurant that served Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches so we could 'fully experience' our 4 hour layover in the
City of Brotherly Love. 

After a very long flight, with very rude people (not to mention a few token screaming children) we finally arrived in Manchester! Yay for our team! :) Mom and I were able to find our rental car (and eventually we asked the parking attendant figured out where reverse was) and then we headed out on our way to Lisa's house. Once there, we proceeded to take pictures of how adorable the street/houses were. That fact did make Lisa laugh, because in her terms she lived in the 'ghetto'. :)

Our first day in England was lots of fun and we were able to walk around the 'city center' some and enjoy a few sites even if we were dog tired. Lisa was a wonderful host and she and I were able to become good friends even though we had never met until the moment I knocked on her door and said, "Hello, I think I'm staying at your house tonight". :) She handled the news quite well. ;) Soon to come, a few pictures and notes from Caitlin's wedding.

The Final Countdown....

For everyone who just got that song stuck in their head, you're welcome. :) So the countdown has officially begun, although I think it really began a few weeks ago to be honest ;) In approximately 26 hours I will be driving away from my current place of residence and employment and into the vast unknown. Vast Unknown is a French term used here to mean the north-eastern plains of Colorado. :)

No, really though, tomorrow morning, my family is coming with a truck to load up all of my stuff (which is already nicely packed thank you very much!) and we're going to head back out to the ranch. I'll be staying there for about a week and then *trumpets please* off to England!! I'm so excited about heading 'across the pond' (and yes I will continue to use annoying phrases like that) to go to my best friend's wedding. Especially because I learned this last week that some of my other friends (from when I was in New Zealand the first time as a student four years ago) are also going to be at the wedding and my mom and I will be a bit of a taxi service for them. So exciting!

So yes, this isn't a very long or cutting edge post, mainly just a line or two to let you know that a) I am still alive, b) I am trying to keep updating this blog as often as I can and c) I'm very excited for wherever it is that I am going next! Also, if you're wanting to know a miracle cure for sunburn, (which I was able to personally test this last week *wince*) then try this out....

1. Brew some very, very strong black tea (I'm talking you can't see through this stuff, so strong it looks like coffee)
2. Fill your bath tub with COLD water (you have a sun BURN, you need to use cold things to help make it feel better)
3. Add your crazy strong tea to your cold bath water and hop in! If you don't have a bath tub then use rags/towels/washcloths that you don't mind staining to soak up the tea and place on your sunburn. I'd suggest soaking in this for a while, at least a good 20 minutes (take a good book with you). For some reason there is something in the black tea that helps take the sting and itch and general not-fun-ness out of your sunburn and I'm telling you that it really does work. Cause as mentioned earlier, I did get the *ahem* 'opportunity' to try this out earlier this week. ;) Hopefully all of your summers haven't had as painful a start as mine ;)