Oh man! Blogging on the I phone is tough! He he. K so I want to tell y'all about what we have been doing lately! So since the last time I wrote we have visited Vatican city (complete with the Sistine chapel and michaelangelos ceiling), at peters basillica, Pompeii, Naples, bottichelli's Venus de Milo, lots of beautiful churches and cathedrals, berninni sculptures, the collussem and all o the ancient roman ruins, carrivagio's paintings, raphael's paintings, and of course, michaelangelo's DAVID. All of these things have been my dream to see since the first few weeks of art history class my senior year, and of course I have been dreaming of Florence Italy since I was a little girl. I cannot believe all the wonderful amazing hinges I have seen so far. I feel like an art history trecky, but am definitely not an art expert.

We have had nights to just roam the cities of Rome, Florence, and venice. I seriously could bot have asked for a better situation than what I have going on for me here. It has been so incredible. The Italian life is something to be experienced for sure. The food has for the most part been delicious, and the atmosphere is relaxing. I don't have pictures because I just using the phone to be in contact with home, so I can't download stuff, so sorry!! When I can I will go into detail about things. Just know that I am loving it so much, but missing it back home setimes as well. Ps. Congrats to my good friend mitch! He just got engaged tonight. Till next time! Ciao

EURO WORLD!! ITALY

So, I am currently sitting in my hotel writing this post! It has been such a great trip. So let me start from the very beginning... So I went to the airport early in the morning on what was Wednesday, and it was fun... Sort of. I slept very little on the plane... It was a great introduction to Italian society though because the people on the plane were Italian, and the lady next to me was too! The plane was a little old, and wasn't like the one we took to Hawaii with all the cool personal TV's and stuff... ;-) Anyways, that was cool. Yesterday we went to the pantheon and MAN it was literally breathtaking. I enjoyed it so much, and wished that I could just stay in there forever. We also some some great fountains, Italians, and statues. It was cool. Ended the day with delicious gellato and hit the bed with NO energy left... so tired.

Today we had a pretty full day. We started out going to the Colussem and then we toured around the Roman forum. SO pretty. Oh man, I wish that I had better adjectives to describe the experience. We loved so much to just come out of the train station and look at the colussem. I got this delicious crossant (you like me spelling so far?? ;)) and then walked around for a while. I loved the trees. They were awesome. And of course all of the great old Roman stuff. Really fun. Then we went and saw the Moses by Michalangelo... One of my faves so far. They had free wi-fi there, weird? yes. But also awesome. Then we walked around Italy and enjoyed the italians, the window shopping, and the sculpture/architecture that is everywhere you turn. We ended the day looking at Bernini statues at the palatza Borgesese or Villa Borgese? I don't remember. So great. Loved it. I just am having a blast. Well till next time!

Chao

Lone Peak Lacrosse

So for the last 4 months I have been hanging out with this bunch of fun high schoolers. They are all so awesome and I have felt really lucky to be a part of their lives. They are all so kind and have just made me so happy! Tomorrow is our last day together, and their last game. What gems these girls are! I am so excited for them. Here are some pictures of us. :)

2 days till EUROPE

Oh man, can you believe it? In 2 days I will be on my way to ITALY! I never thought that the day would come, and here it is, and it is making me so excited. At the same time though, I am sad. I am scared to leave this zone of comfort that is my home, and the wonderful friends that I have in each member of my family. I am going to miss them all like crazy. What is harder for me though, is that I feel like these next three days before I leave are my last of the summer, and the last of the next 3 years with my parents, being here in this home, in this City, in this comfort. I have been nastalgic all day! I woke up this morning feeling sadness at having to leave quickly when my mom had made everyone a nice waffle breakfast, and my siblings were around to help mom go through some things... I know it will be one of the last times before they leave that I will be around to help them go through things, or be all together as a family, and in ways it really breaks my heart. Change has never been something that I am good at dealing with.

Another thing I was thinking about tonight was the concept of LOVE. And how do I feel love?? How do you know if you are in love?? and how do you know that someone can be your forever? These have all been questions on my mind for the last few weeks. We watched the movie "Dan in real life" tonight, and it made me really think about LOVE. The main character in that show has a wife who past away 4 years before the scenes you see in the movie. He has three daughters, and they are all at a family cabin for a week or so. He (on a whim) meets this wonderful and beautiful girl, who actually ends up dating his brother. The story just basically is two sides of Love. One of the sides is the enduring kind of love, where the other person is just your best friend in the world. This person would do anything for you, and would always put you above themselves. This is the kind of lasting love that can withstand pain and hardship. The other kind of love is the more 'romantic' kind of love where each moment, word, and experience with that person is like time consists of just you and them, and you never want it to end. This is exciting love, passionate love, and love that keeps you wanting more. Both of these love's together make a sort of 'ideal' love, the kind of thing that I hope someday to find.

Basically, after watching this movie and a few others that always tug at my heartstrings because of their commentaries on love, made me realize, I am getting ready for that kind of thing. I never was before because I always thought, "you know, there is more out there for me than just school and marriage". I always have wanted to see the world, experience things, be active, and just enjoy. I am getting that opportunity this summer, and I hope it will be everything I ever imagined it to be. But when all is said and done after this summer, I want to have the courage and ability to find this kind of unconditional, undeniable love. I have faith that it will be in my cards to be married one day, and I do hope that that part of it all is at least a few years away, but I believe that after the experiences of the summer, I am going to want to seriously consider what I believe love to be, and what kind of person will embody a man that I will love.

So, I have come full circle. Italy, England, and France are going to rule my world and give me some of the most sought after experiences I have ever hoped for. I will learn from these countries, people, and artists lessons that I could not learn anywhere else. And then I will move on to learning so much about the world of missionary work, and so much more about my Savior and Father in Heaven. I am so excited for this opportunity to finally give back to my parents a little bit of the service that they have given me over the past (almost) 21 years.

When I write next I will be in a foreign land! But I promise to post things, and pictures, and keep ya'll updated.

Chao!

(I wrote that on sunday) :)