UK.

I have now conquered the entire United Kingdom.
From Dublin for St. Patrick's Day (such a crazy experience)....

We also went out to the coast and the country. Wicklow was AMAZING.

Utter madness.

To Scotland and the lake district in Northern England.

 Fountains Abbey. Some ruins for ya.

Beautiful hike in the lake district.

Holyrood House...aka Scotland's palace.

So.

No more travels shall be had.

Crazy huh?

15 days and it's hello to the good ol' US of A.

Portuguese.

2 months ago,
Lex and I were called as Young Womens teachers to the South Kensington Branch.
A Portuguese speaking ward.
We knew no Portuguese whatsoever.
We had been residents of London for less than 48 hours,
And we were overwhelmed.

Now,
We can bear our testimonies and sing a song (Firme na Fe, check it out) in Portuguese.
We've given a couple lessons,
And we've met some of the most humble and faithful people this world has to offer.
The Portuguese people loved us from the instant we walked in the door.
They opened their arms and welcomed us into the unfamiliar city of London.
We began to love them like they loved us.

These people are so amazing.
They have so much faith and a light that I've yet to see in anyone else.
I'm so grateful for my experience in the ward,
And for how much they helped my testimony grow.

Last Sunday was our last time in the ward.
I miss those girls so very much.
And I'm so grateful for all I've learned.
So,
On being Portuguese,
It's not bad at all.

3 of our 6 Young Women with the Presidency.

Our 2nd Counselor (Bruna), our President (Karla), and our 1st Counselor (Divina).

..chelle..

Family.

Nothing,
Nothing,
NOTHING in this world,
Can beat your family.
In anything.
I learned that this week when my family came to visit me here in London.
My brothers and Morgan had never been here before.
And it was fun to have my entire family in my new home for a couple days,
Going to the main touristy areas,
Eating some good meals (finally),
Seeing some good shows,
And just being able to talk to them in person again.
It truly was the best thing that I could've asked for.
I loved every second of it.
They've grown up so much.
My siblings are just flyin' right by my eyes.
And they're one of the only things I'm looking forward to going home to.

I've missed her. And she came to Charles Dickens' house with me. Major plus.

The 4 teenagers. Crazy huh?? 

The whole family in one of my favorite spots: Tower Bridge.

He loved the battleship. He's getting SO big.

He's joining me at BYU this year. So excited.

Matilda is one of the best plays I've seen here. 

26 more days....
..chelle..

Double.

Double Major???
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????


We'll see.
..chelle..

Paris.

Spring Break 2012 = PARIS.
So great.
For the first and only time at BYU, I will have a Spring Break.
Even though they didn't really call it that,
And it wasn't really spring time weather,
It was still a Spring Break.
Paris is just as romantic as people make it out to be.
Except it was me and 34 other girls.
Still.
I had such a blast.
Spent a great time at one of the most romantic cities on Earth.
And fell in love with the Eiffel Tower.

Our first view of the Arc. Did we run out in the middle of the street for this picture? You bet.

The Arc de Triomphe.

The top of the Arch with the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

Mothering picture? This little girl is SO cute.

View from the second tier of the Eiffel Tower.

Love these women.

Beautiful.

Notre Dame.

Concergerie? No worries. Just where CD sets some "A Tale of Two Cities."

The Centre de Pompideau. Modern art at its finest.

Pantheon.

Louvre Lovin.

Seine at night.

..chelle..

Prague.

Best.
City.
Ever.
(besides London).

If you ever get the chance to go to Prague,
Or just ever want to go to the prettiest city alive,
GO.
I cannot even begin to tell you how pretty the city is.
How they've kept the majority of the city as old 19th century buildings.
How much they value art- old and new.
How they've kept their streets and sidewalks as cobblestone.
How there are multiple bridges over the Vltava River, including the famous Charles Bridge.
How big the castle is.
How beautiful the views are.
How much fun I had with my Praguemates.
How many memories we made.
How much I wanted to stay forever.
How much I love this city.

This is the view down the Charles River towards the edge of the Old Town. All the buildings look like this.

View of the Old Town from the top of the Astronomical Clock tower.

The view of the Prague Castle at night.

Us. The Charles Bridge (the prettiest bridge in all of Prague). Our backpacks (except Patrick. He was the only one brave enough to leave it in the hostel).

Gorgeous view of the Old City.

Obviously I loved this place.

Town Square.

The stairs were so little. And everything was freezing.

Beautiful skies. And weather. And place.

..chelle..

Neglect.

There has been some major neglect to the blog.
I apologize.
So.
Just to catch you up to speed:

We went on our first overnight trip to Stratford/Oxford.
Birthplace of Shakespeare.
Saw Taming of the Shrew.
Went to the college (Oxford is AMAZING).
Saw some cute men.
Went to Warwick Castle.
And stayed at the cutest B&B ever.

We celebrated our one month anniversary of living in London by attending an Oscar Wilde play.
Too great.
Time is flying by so fast here I can't even stand it.

Travel week came and went! (FYI: Travel Week = Spring Break)
Our destination was beautiful Switzerland.
If you ever need a vacation, I suggest going there.
AMAZING.
We spend a day in Zurich,
Then headed up to Interlaken, (a town at the base of the Alps),
Grindewald, (a town IN the Alps),
And then back to London Town.
I loved every day of it.
We stayed in the sketchiest hostels,
Got 3 hours a sleep a night,
And LOVED it.

Theatre Monday continued with Madness of King George.
So good.
Great play with great people.

Valentine's Day.
Usually my least favorite day alive.
I had A BLAST this Valentine's Day.
We spent it at the Tate Modern Art Gallery in the afternoon.
And then headed off to The Vow for our V-Day date.
That's right.
24 girls taking over the Vue Shepard's Bush theatre.
Channing and I had a great night.

Wales/Bath/Stonehenge was our second night getaway.
Rainy the entire week.
Seeing some hot springs since the 1700's were great.
Climbed some rocks.
And had a great getaway.

I promise I'll be a better blogger...
Next up:
Phantom of the Opera tomorrow.
Midterm week.
And in 5 days, this girl is PRAGUE BOUND.
..chelle..