Hello London!

I made it to London. I even figured out the Tube without too much help. I'm still struggling with jet lag, but we're out and about and trying to figure out our way around. The hardest part is the money. In America coins are worth next to nothing but they have coins worth several pounds here. A pound is equivalent to about $1.60. Also, the food...our posh neighborhood is surrounded by restaurants. I want to try everything...but I also need to watch my spending habits.

The London Centre is beautiful. It was built in the 1860's or 70's, so think Queen Victoria and Brigham Young. It is packed into the city of Westminster, close to Kensington Gardens.

This is the servery where we eat meals together, prepared by our amazing cook, Thais. I'm pretty sure she could run her own restaurant and make a fortune. Today we had Chicken Tikka Masala that was to die for.

The front room. I love sitting in here. Besides, it has one of my favorite paintings. The only problem is that I will have to move back to Provo and live in student housing again. I'm getting a little spoiled...

 The view from the front room.

The carvings on all the stairs. There are seven stories... I am on the sixth. That means 66 stairs every time I forget something, which knowing me, will be a lot.

I think mom will have to tell me what this tree out our back window is, but I thought it was cool.

The back deck...if it is ever dry enough to sit on.

Somebody has a rooftop garden next to us. In case you were wondering, everything in London appears to be made of brick. Brick outside, wood inside.

See? A lot of stairs. We petitioned for a slide.

My bunk. That bed is never going to be made by the way, even though it is just a duvet. If you ever want to confuse me, by the way, just hand me foreign bed linens right after I've gotten off a plane and have had less than three hours of sleep. It took me way longer than was necessary.

The front view from our sixth floor bedroom.

The toilets gave us all a good laugh. We poor jet lagged travelers all thought that at least the plumbing would be the same, but nope!

The neighborhood we live in is really posh. Seriously. I mean, Kate and William are pretty much our neighbors. However, it actually used to be owned by a slumlord who let it to AfroCarribean immigrants. Apparently we came on the day we did because they didn't want us here during Carnival. I'm going to guess that it's like the one in Brazil...not Mormon territory.

 Saint Sophia's Cathedral. We didn't have time to go in, but someday we will, and I will find out who Saint Sophia is.

 Pretty houses. There are lot of pretty houses, so there are a lot of pictures. The fronts are usually painted white, or red brick. Often they paint their doors bright colors. Also, geraniums must be very popular here, because everyone has them in pots or by their windows. They don't have individual gardens. Instead, each neighborhood has a private garden that they have the key to. They are gorgeous, or at least they are from the gate...

Kensington Gardens. Hopefully I will get to enjoy them soon.

 All by itself on a wall by a bakery. I don't know the reason, but it's a very charming little detail.

We ate at Nando's for lunch. We were told that the British don't food as spicy, but when I ordered hot, it was actually hot! I want to try a different restaurant every week just to taste a little of everything. Since Thais is such a good cook though, I'll probably just try little things like desserts. 

Everyone seems to have geraniums and these little topiaries. But look how cute!

One of the private gardens. These pictures were taken through the gate.

A not so passive aggressive post-it I found on a bicycle locked to a street sign. 

Outside the Centre.

 A beautifully English pub that I want to try. Pubs are more like cafes than bars, in case you were worried.

The British flag on top of a mall.

This is Porchester Hall. The words got cut off because I was in a hurry. There is a little public library in here. They gave us all our own library cards that work all over this neighborhood. We felt very special, since you usually have to live in a place to use the library.

Everything is great here, and I am making some really good friends. All London needs is some Utah sun and everyone I love to be here with me!

Farewell to Aspen Grove

Yesterday was my last day at Aspen Grove. It was a lot harder to say goodbye than I thought it would be. I was really starting to make friends, but my immune system had other plans for me. However, I am grateful for the chance I had to work with some amazing people and care for some really sweet kids. It was also a wonderful chance to live in the middle of God's creations.

Maybe I'm weird to be taking pictures of dead birds, but you don't get to see them up close very often, and this fellow was very pretty.

This was the view from the bridge in the center of camp

 While working in the two year old room my coworker informed me that we had a really large slug today. I assumed she meant the child lying in the doorway moaning "mommydaddymommydaddymommydaddy" and responded, "yes we do…" She had to drag me into the other room to show me this fellow hiding under a crib… I'm just glad we found it before the kids did. 

 My favorite blue flowers were growing just outside my door.

I rescued this guy from a stair. I thought he was pretty cute. Unfortunately not everything we found up there was cute. While playing pretend safari on the kiddie playground I turned around and found some teeth strung along to a bright red heart and trailing intestines. Rat. Apparently something large and furry had been interrupted in the middle of breakfast. I sent the kids in search of a tiger on the other side of the playground. Thankfully, rat guts are not our domain. We chased the kids inside (apparently it was not a friendly tiger). We told them the tiger was still out there while they looked longingly out the window and we waited for custodial. Not exactly your average babysitting job. 

This is Bunny the moth. The picture from my phone isn't very good, but part of the reason it is so fuzzy is the amount of fur on that moth. There are a lot of huge moths taking refuge in the girl's bathroom, some of them cuter than others. This one had antennae so fuzzy that they looked like bunny ears, hence the name.

I saw this pretty spiderweb on a bridge on my way home from work.

For a staff party they took everyone to the Springville Strawberry Days Rodeo. I was a little skeptical, but we had a lot of fun. The part with the cows below was funny. They pin money to the calfs and then let all the little kids in the crowd have a go at them. It was pretty hilarious. We romper leaders could relate to the cows...

Kristina, Me, Siri, and Jenny

Frontier Night performance. For frontier night we wake up the old western village and have a lot of games like tomahawk throwing and stick pulling. They usually have someone volunteer to play the organ in the little church house. However, the organist is very social and wanted a change, so I happily volunteered to take her place.

Working with these sweet kids can be hard some days, but then you get a baby who is just so adorable that they make up for everything else. It is the sweetest feeling when they curl up on top of you and fall asleep as if you were their mommy. One little boy thought I was the best person in the world because I was wearing a hat. He was endlessly entertained by taking my hat off and then hitting me over the head with it in his attempt to replace it. We call these "baby crushes."

Baby Crush #1: look at those eyes.

 This baby crush was my buddy all week. I would get him to sleep by cuddling with him and then go put the next baby to sleep. He always woke up with the most heartbreaking betrayed expression, as if he were saying, "what are you doing with another baby on your lap?!" and I would have to go rescue him.

This little girl was actually kind of hard, but she reminded me so much of myself at that age that I could hardly hold it against her. After all, none of these kids have been to pre-school: asking them to go with strangers for six or seven hours a day is a bit much.

Out walking by the pool. When kids are really distraught we take them out for walks. This little girl would not be distracted. In three hours she never once forgot that we were (pretending on my part) to look for her mom. We put our feet in the pool, dropped pine cones off the bridge, played in the fountain and hand dryers, everything. We spent half an hour looking in all the car windows in the staff parking lot to see if her mom was in any of them although her mom was rock climbing. This sort of makes me feel terrible, but I was running out of ideas.

 You don't get to go outside with the infants much, but it has its perks!

 This big guys was only six months. Yeah. I got my mommy muscles that week. He also sang opera in the crib which was hilarious but terrible at the same time because we were afraid he would wake up the other babies.

Sarah and I doing swing duty.

In the playhouse. These kids are great at playing pretend. We went on a lot of pretend safaris. They would choose an animal, scout around for it, and then we would go pet it. I always had to smile when they all said "hi elephant!" and petted a spot a couple feet in the air. Somebody needs to take these kids to a zoo.

I never got a picture with Christian, although he got a picture with me. He was one of my 2 year old baby crushes. He always ran in and shouted "Hi Ca-me-ow!" He loved to cuddle and caught me by surprise the first time he curled up against me to fall asleep, a tradition that we followed for the rest of the week. He wanted his mom to take a picture of us after the closing show but couldn't find me because I was cleaning up. When I asked to dance with him at the family dance his mom told me that he got really worried that I was lost. What a sweetheart!

The Romper team!

"We came, we Rompered, we conquered!"

Sarah, Hayley,  Faith, Siri, Kiley, me, Caitlyn. Not pictured: Jenny

Aspen Grove- Leaving the Comfort Zone

I have been working at Aspen Grove for about a month now. The first week was really rough as I adjusted, but I am really enjoying it up here. There are about 80 employee's, all young university students. We have a strange combination of work, housing, and church. They feed and house us for free, but we get a candy bar if we pass cleaning inspection today. We are part of a branch that has about 400 visitors every week. Your co-workers are your roommates, your friends, and your church leaders as well. My job is with the Rompers, kids between 0 and 2 years old. I really love working with them. That doesn't mean it is always easy, but they are cute and they don't mind that I prefer to be calm. You have to have a lot of energy to work with the other age groups. It is also very beautiful up here in the mountains. I love walking out my cabin door in the morning and seeing the sun pour over the mountain.

My roommate, Kylie, snapped a photo of me leading the music in Relief Society.

She also managed to get one while we were doing scripture study…I am apparently oblivious to her shutterbug tendencies.

My dear roommate Mandy got married to our friend Derek in the Salt Lake Temple in May. I was honored to be one of her bridesmaids. I am going to miss her, but we had lots of wonderful adventures together and now she has many new ones ahead of her.

This is what we call "the Ohana." We are missing one, but we have had a great year and I count myself very lucky in my friends. 

Last Book Binge?

This will be my last break for a while, but I haven't had a lot of luck in the literature department. Here are a few that I did come across:

Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo: This was a great adventure story, with the appropriate romantic plot mover. A dark rift full of monsters is threatening to tear a country apart physically when it is already on the brink of a political disaster. Can the little orphan soldier, Alina Starkov, survive to heal the land that suddenly needs her? You'll have to find out. Goodreads- Shadow and Bone

 Sweet Venom, by Tera Lynn Childs: This is a great adventure story with plenty of girl-power while emphasizing the importance of family. Three descendants of the Gorgon Medusa are charged with saving the modern world from being overrun by monsters. You'll find yourself loving characters you never imagined loving in the beginning. Goodreads- Sweet Venom

My Brilliant Career, by Miles Franklin: This book was temporarily out of print, probably because her neighbors were offended by the not so subtle recreation of her own life. This book tells the story of Sybylla, a girl growing up in colonial Australia, who fights against the drying up of her dreams on a struggling farm in the outback. Like Scarlett O'Hara, you do not always love Sybylla, but you always respect her, and too often understand her. This is a great read if you are a Jane Eyre fan (though I regret to inform you of an absence of madwomen locked in attics).
Goodreads-My Brilliant Career

Of Poseidon, by Anna Banks: This book had me laughing from the very first line. The main character's inner dialogue matches my own accident prone thoughts. The story has a great mystery to solve and a cute romance that thankfully doesn't rely on the high school scene. A wonderful read for a gloomy afternoon. You can give the sequels a try, but they lost me by the third one, a disappointment after those promising first lines. Goodreads- Of Poseidon






Shifting, by Bethany Wiggins: Honestly, I haven't read this book in three years, but I saw it on Goodreads and remember adoring it. We went to the beach for my graduation gift, and all I could think about was finishing the book. Just think native american skinwalkers. Is that a Navajo tradition? I'm going to go find the book and find out again, you should too! Goodreads- Shifting






 
The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson: How can you dislike anything by Brandon Sanderson? I don't believe it is possible. He is the master of fantasy that everyone says he is. This book is huge, and it's only the first of a series, but it is worth the read. Just wait until a vacation. I tried to read it during the school year and either the story or my homework suffered for it. Once again, Sanderson creates a world where everything is brand new but feels as if it could have been in place forever, with characters between rock and hard places that you root for from the beginning. Just don't get thrown off by the hundreds of small stories that don't quite fit together in the beginning. They will eventually…I hope. Goodreads- The Way of Kings

"A house that has a library in it has a soul"- Plato  

Happy Mothers Day!

I was asked to speak in my home ward for mother's day this year. I always had a secret desire to be able to speak on mother's or father's day so that I could have my chance to sing my parents' praises. However, I realized that I would rather give the talk that I wished my mom had gotten when she was the one struggling with kids along the pew or just having a rough day. So I am sharing this talk for all women out there, married or not, who feel insufficient for the life at hand:

          My mom once told me that she found mother’s day talks depressing because they made her feel overwhelmed thinking about everything she should be. It seems like some moms work, drive their kids to all their activities, help with the PTA, do their visiting teaching, clean the house, prepare dinner, and have perfectly obedient children. Today I want to remind you that that super-mom does not really exist, and that that those things are not what make a woman a mother, nor would they make her happy. Some women find mother’s day depressing because they are not married or do not have children. You may be surprised to hear, this is not what makes a mother. Motherhood is a divine part of being a woman that is magnified when you love and nurture others.

Sister Sheri Dew reminds us that Eve was called “the mother of all living” before she ever gave birth. She teaches that “motherhood is more than bearing children, though it certainly is that. It is the essence of who we are as women. Motherhood defines our very identity, our divine stature and nature, and the unique traits, talents, and tendencies our Father gave us.” With that in mind, celebrating mother’s day is like celebrating a birthday. You don’t have to do anything to earn it—it is just who you are.

As women, you magnify your calling as a mother when you nurture others and share your love with them. In his book Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne says “some people care too much. I think it’s called love.” As mothers, you have an infinite capacity to love. With four kids, my mom was often overwhelmed and couldn’t give me as much of her time. I complained and whined about not getting enough time with her that we set up “talking time.” This was a few minutes every day after she got the other three kids in bed that she or my dad would come talk to me when nobody else was allowed to interrupt, habit we have kept up for the last 11 years. She must have been exhausted at the end of the day. But she did it anyway. Today I have no idea how clean our kitchen was, but my mother is my best friend. I can feel her love for me and I see it in the way she treats others. You do this too. You show this love when you visit a friend who is struggling, when you teach primary, when you support a sibling, when you just let someone cry on your shoulder. This ability to love and care for others, even when they aren’t related to you, or you wish they weren’t, is what others see to celebrate today. They celebrate your love. Your compassion. You. And it has nothing to do with circumstances. That is something that is an inherent part of you as daughters of God.

Every woman is a mother in a different way. Elder M. Russell Ballard taught that “there is no one perfect way to be a good mother.” Mary is revered throughout the world as the mother of our Savior. Was she any less of a mother if her house wasn’t perfectly clean, the dinner burned, or she was too tired to acknowledge her children fighting at the end of the day? I don’t believe so. Don’t stress so much about being the perfect mother. According to Elder D. Todd Christofferson, “You don’t have to be perfect . . . .Your intuition is to do good and be good.” Note that he didn’t say how to be good. It is different for each of you.

 I often think of my life as a rowboat. It is packed with all the things that I worry about and the things that I have forgotten to worry about spilling over the sides. On these days, when somebody needs my help, I feel as if they are the drowning person about to capsize my little boat. However, I have discovered that when I put Christ in the center of my boat, everything balances out. The things that don’t matter get lost, and the things that do find their place. It isn’t until I do this that I have the strength to help others. So in your desire to do good, to help others, remember to take care of yourself. Allow Christ to help you by putting him first, and he won’t allow you to be swamped.

Today, I hope you remember to enjoy being a mother, and not to stress. You do your best to take care of yourself and your family, and then you leave the rest up to God.  He made you: he knows you have limits. He also loves you and wants you to be happy. You do not have to do anything to earn his love, it is already there.

Sheri Dew- Are We Not All Mothers?

M. Russell Ballard- Daughters of God

D. Todd Christofferson- The Moral Force of Women