Favorite Place with my Favorite People

Today was one of my favorite days thus far; we went to the London Temple with most of our group and one of our professors. It took some pushing and convincing to work out the trip, but we got it sorted out in the end. After a quick breakfast this morning and a two hour coach ride we found ourselves on the grounds of the House of the Lord. 

Because we only brought one endowed priesthood holder with us we had to do all of our confirmations before we could start the baptisms. This ended up being a blessing in disguise. While we waited for our turn (in sets of three) we stayed in the lounge room. At first we all just sat quietly reading the Ensign or scriptures, but then one of the temple workers suggested (asked) us to sing hymns. Obviously we started with the Christmas ones and then moved to our favorites, such as 'I Stand All Amazed' and 'I Believe in Christ'.We sang almost every single Christmas hymn in the book (in harmonizing parts, of course) and it actually sounded fairly decent.  Maybe because we were in the temple...? Haha. But in all honesty, it was so special to sit inside the temple with my little study abroad family and sing of our Savior, His birth, and life. The spirit was so strong and we all just felt so peaceful.

It was also a unique experience to have my professor do my confirmations and baptisms. Not many university students can say they have gone to the temple with their professor! Let alone the temple in London. All in all, it brought our whole group even closer together--something none of us believed possible at this point. I mean, we have been living practically on top of each other for three and a half months now. We know almost everything about everyone from eating habits to sleeping patterns to love history to weird quirks to life goals and dreams to friend and family drama to... the list goes on. I can tell who is walking into a room based off how they open the door or their breathing sounds, haha.  I also know that if anything brings people together fast it is sharing spiritual experiences. Going to the temple was the perfect way to start our Thanksgiving breaks and best way to begin the end of our four month adventure together. 

I am so grateful for the beautiful place I've had the opportunity to live these last few months, the amazing and hilarious people I have gotten to know, and the incredible experiences we have been able to share together. I am grateful for the temple and opportunity it provides for us to not only feel closer to our Father in Heaven but to allow us a moment where we can take on a role similar to the Saviors by doing things of eternal importance that they cannot do for themselves. It's quite cool once you think about it. 

Such a solid day. Being so far from the temple has definitely increased my appreciation for it and I will definitely be taking advantage of how close I live to one once I return home. 

Tomorrow I am flying to Germany! Ha I say that as if it were a casual thing, but I promise I know going to another country for Thanksgiving break is not casual; it is freaking awesome. I am pumped! less pumped about the papers and finals to do the next week, but hey. I'll take it and enjoy it all while I have it because heaven knows the time is going too fast. 

Happy Thanksgiving :) 

Eat lots of turkey and cranberry sauce for me because who knows what I will be having..

Love Always, Aimee

(this is only half the group; the other had already ran to the bus because it was raining)

Southern England Adventures

I realize I am almost the worst person at blogging. I say almost purely because I am assuming there has to be someone out there worse than me,  I just don't know who they are. So much happens a day that I get a little overwhelmed and tell myself I will do this later... and then it just gets worse.

Here I am with about four posts to catch up on.
*sigh*
One day I will learn I suppose. Until then, just be patient because I promise to get them all out eventually.

Last week we took a trip to the southwest coast of England for three nights! It was wonderful. I mean, the riding several hours a day on a coach with limited leg room wasn't wonderful. Neither were the hostels or food. And to be perfectly honest, being without wifi is almost hard as pathetic as it is to admit that. But none of that even mattered. It is impossible to find anything to complain about here because I find myself completely content with life. Even Friday night I stayed in doing homework and wasn't even upset. Why? I spent the afternoon wandering the streets of London and going to sweet museums for free. FREE. A "bad" day in London doesn't exist.

Back to our trip last week.

Our trip started at Stonehenge. Way, way cool folks. Highly recommended. Sure, at the end of the day it is just a bunch of rocks. But it represents so much more than that. It has mystery and genius of the past that is absolutely fascinating. 

Next we went to Salisbury Cathedral..

I thought it was stunning. I tend to think every cathedral is stunning though. It is very gothic in design and beautifully built. I love old buildings..  It is also home to one of only four Magna Carta's in the world. That was neat to see, but sadly no photography was permitted so you will just have to take my word for it. 

Next we went to Stourhead Gardens. I will admit, when I saw it on the schedule I just thought, "okay cool. I like flowers. It will be nice to get off the coach and walk around for a bit, even if it's just a garden. No complaints here." .. Little did I know all my wildest dreams that I did not even realize I had were about to come true.

It turns out they filmed parts of Pride and Prejudice (the one with Kierra Knightly) there. 

TALK ABOUT FANGIRLING SO HARD. 

That is my all time favorite book and I could watch the movie over and over again and never get sick of it. Seriously, so much love for Pride and Prejudice. 

Now. You know the scene where Elizabeth runs away from church in the rain and Darcy chases after her, confesses his love, and asks her to end his agony and marry him? And she just tells him to get off and it is pouring rain and absolutely perfect? Yes. Yes, I was standing on the pavilion where that scene took place. Yes. Yes, I died and went to heaven and ran up a mountain to get to it and it was wonderful. Everyone should put Stourhead Gardens on their list of places to visit in life because not only was it picturesque and perfectly lovely to walk around, but.. Pride and Prejudice guys. Need I say more? 

Now the real question is where is Mr. Darcy??

Candid moment through the gardens

That night we stopped at a pier for dinner and to just enjoy walking on the beach.

We definitely enjoyed it. 

three cheers to England 

The next day we ventured to St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall, the very southwest corner of England. It is so cool. It was a castle on essentially its own island with a little community that lives in the tiny town around it. Everyone on the island works for the family that lives in the castle (and has lived there for hundreds of years). During low-tide you can walk the probably half mile out to it, which is what we did. I don't know how to fully describe how cool I thought it was or how brilliant I found it. 

At this point in the post you might be noticing the excessive number of "jumping pictures."

Well.. Yes. You are correct in thinking there are too many and we need to become slightly more creative. But to be honest, the four of us take one at every location. I have only posted a small number of the ones we have for your enjoyment. Ha, there will be so many by the time December rolls around. We will be professional jumpers. I could not really tell you why we do it, but we do. Just roll with it. 

Loving the Castle life

 Following St. Michael's we stopped at Tintagel, old castle ruins and Merlin's cave where King Arthur was apparently conceived? fun fact for you I suppose. It was breathtaking. Possibly my favorite stop. At least of that day. The view was just killer. So were the steps... Haha. So many steps. No complaints though; after hours on a coach it fells good to stretch your legs.

Is this not incredible? You can't tell me it is not stunning.

The next morning we hiked up yet another mountain of sorts to reach a Tor. I don't really know much about it.. Other than we did a 2 hour hike in a half hour and deserve some sort of reward. 

Then again, the view was definitely reward enough. Southern England is beautiful. It holds a special spot in my heart and I would not be opposed to moving there one day, even if just for a little while. 

That afternoon we arrived at our last destination: Bath, England. Home to some Jane Austen novels and the Roman Baths. Also lots of flowers, so naturally I took a picture. I am obsessed with all the flowers in this country. We need more in the states. 

The Roman Baths were so intriguing! I had never realized the amount of area they covered until the tour. It is fascinating to say the least. Highly recommend the audio tour. Romans highly interest me and I love England so mix the two together and I am one happy camper. Especially when a little Jane Austen can be thrown into the mix as well. This trip really was perfect. I have such a good life. All these adventures happened in the span of three days. THREE. And I only showed you a very small part! It does not take a genius to see that this study abroad gig is the bomb and roughly a billion times better than a regular semester. I am the luckiest person I know. 

(Anyways. It was a little after 3 am for me now and we leave on yet another trip in about 5 hours so it would probably be smart for me to get to sleep now. Please forgive any grammar or spelling errors as I am too tired to proofread...)

Love Always, Aimee

#cheerstoyouLondon

Beautiful People, Wonderful Times

**[[special update at the bottom]]**

Two and a half years ago when my brother opened his mission call and read "London South" I was so excited and yes, I'll admit it, jealous and maybe slightly annoyed. London was my dream, what was Jacob doing there? I was supposed to go live there, not him.
I know, I know; silly and totally 16-year-old-me talking there.

Now I am so grateful he went there and so happy we can share England because it is a beautiful place composed of vibrant history, rolling hills, the most exciting city, every language and food type possible, lovely coasts, and then everything imaginable in between. There is no place quite like it.

Another perk of him recently returning from his mission here was his ability to pull a couple strings and find me places to stay after Belgium but before arriving at the BYU Centre here in London. At first I thought "okay cool, I'll just stay with strangers and hope it's not too awkward and get to the Centre as fast as I can and move on to my adventure." Little did I know I was about to meet the most wonderful people and have some truly fantastic times.

After flying into Gatwick I went to stay two nights with the Bishop's family of Jacob's last ward in Littlehampton. They had four little kids who I came to adore! The eldest son was 14, just like Sam, and reminded me of him SO MUCH all I could do was stare sometimes. Looks, comments, mannerisms.. It was weird. But I was happy to feel like I was around my little brother again. The two youngest kids were adorable, and I don't think it was just because of their British accents (though I'll admit that helped). The family treated my like a good friend rather than the total stranger I was; they welcomed me right into their home and life. We even had my first proper fish and chips for dinner one night! It was better than I anticipated, I'll admit, though still not something I could eat too frequently (not about that deep fry life).

We spent a day at a farm wandering around a massive corn maze (we are talking 9 foot tall stalks). Me and the younger girl were a team and--all credit to her--beat everyone else out of the corn maze. Woot woot. The rest of the day was spent riding tractors, playing golf and frisbee, going down the giant inflatable slide over and over... and over.. and over, and ended with a stop by the London Temple and Visitors Centre on the way home! I even bumped into a Sister who said she knew my brother so that was cool (sorry Jake, don't remember her name.. But she was Australian and said she went to Brighton on with you on your last P-day if that helps?). The temple was stunning with the leaves starting to change colors.

After that I left to Poole for the next few nights. I was surprised by how sad I was to say goodbye to the family I had only known for two nights; but they were so kind to take in a stranger and just overall lovely people. In Poole I stayed with a couple that rented out a flat below theirs to the missionaries (aka right where my brother used to live). The wife was from New Zealand and the husband was from China. They were so funny and spontaneous and good times were had all around. The first night after realizing I had never had it they insisted we get Thai food. And man oh man I am glad they did. Highly recommended to all. The weather was so nice the day I arrived we actually spent it at the beach! Something I never expected to do in England but hey, no complaints.

I'm sorry but CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT THE SIZE OF THAT SEA SHELL??!

I'm a fan of the beach life, no doubt. 

The next day we spent a good chunk of time exploring the ruins of Corfe Castle, which was amazing. I LOVE CASTLES. I love their history and stories and the fact they are still around a thousand years later (though this castle was mostly destroyed.. but still, you know what I mean).

I guess they wanted to get rid of me. Clearly I was thrilled.

100 foot drop to rocks on the other side.. I live on the edge, what can I say? (pun most definitely intended)

seriously such a beautiful day.

Then they locked me in to leave me behind. This time I was a little happier with my punishment. 

Friday came and it was time for me to head to the Centre.. BUT FIRST. We stopped at Windsor Castle, the Queen's weekend residence. Sadly she was not there but hey, it was still a grand time in a grand castle in a grand country. All the rooms were just huge. We are talking your jaw is on the ground because you can't believe the amount of detailing and expensive things and paintings and giant furniture to fit the vaulted ceilings and solid silver tables and armor and... it is incredible.
And yet the whole time I was having flashbacks to a few weeks prior when I walked through the Ogden Temple and just thought "they have no idea that we have buildings more beautiful and magnificent than this on so many levels." How lucky am I to know about temples?

been the Royal families residence for almost 1000 years.

Union Jack flying means the Queen is not there :/

After Windsor the wife was kind enough (and brave enough) to drive me right to the Centre's door so no tube or train ride for me! Such a blessing seeing as I have three heavy bags. Phew. I was once again surprised at how sad I was to say goodbye to my new friends. It's funny how fast you can learn to love people; especially those met through the church.

And so yes, I AM HERE IN THE LONDON CENTRE. And what a beautiful place to call home it is. It was remodeled this summer and so everything is new inside but kept with the classic european style you would expect. I am in love with it and the neighborhood and city and.. It is going to be a good 3.5 months, I can already tell.

Home is where your heart is, right?

#cheerstoyoulondon

Love Always, Aimee

*update*:: Sunday we were assigned "randomly" to different wards throughout the London area. I had been seriously hoping and praying to at least be in the South (Jacob's) Mission but didn't know if we were even being sent to those wards because they are quite far from us. When I looked at the paper my heart stopped for a second when I read my name under the ward Clapham Commons; it was the ward Jacob spent his first Christmas in almost two years ago! It was also the only ward study abroad students were being sent to that he served in. I don't believe in coincidences, I believe in a loving Heavenly Father who hears our prayers and offers us tender mercies. I cannot wait to see (and be) a small part of his mission experience.

#sharegoodness

2+2+2+2

With only two days called the weekend, two days of classes, two days of studying, and then two days of testing left in this semester I have realized something that you would think would be obvious.
Time never slows and it definitely never stops.

I swear I was just having Christmas break and telling my friends on missions about the new classes I was taking. And then it was midterms and I was like "Holy cow! I can't believe we're halfway done!!" and now finals are at the door and I am having a panic attack.

How is it possible that it's basically been a year since I graduated? I remember it so clearly. Every detail. How is it possible that I haven't seen my very best friend in a month and she leaves on her mission in about twenty days? How is it possible that I turn NINETEEN in 10 days?? Saayy what? I still don't think I am old enough to be considered an adult.
Time at college is on hyperdrive, I swear. Every day is full of things that have to get done; classes, papers, studying, quizzes, tests, gym, cooking, cleaning, partying, sleeping, church activities and callings. I feel like I have changed so much in the last year that maybe my friends won't even recognize me anymore. But at the same time it feels like it's been no time at all since I've seen them when in reality it's been nine months for some.

I think the craziest thing is considering that I have missed a whole school year for my little brother and sister. Grade school years are an eternity long, I swear. They have probably changed and grown so much and I have hardly been there to see it. And next year I will be even more absent. Heck, for the first four months I will be living across the ocean and when I come back I will be busy applying to nursing school.

I suppose the real reason I am having a panic attack is because I really am growing up and moving out. Sure, I've lived away from home for nine months. But it's about to get even more distinct. It's going to get more real. I will be home for the month of July this summer and half of August. That's it. I am determined to enjoy every day of it because it just might be the last time I ever live there again.
And let's be real, we all know there is no place like home.

It other news, shout out to my favorite girls Sariah and Morgan for getting their mission calls!! Argentina and California; both Spanish speaking. They will be amazing and I just adore them. That's all.

Also the Happiest of Birthdays to my favorite brothers!! 14 and 21 never looked so good.

Love Always, Aimee

P.S. 53 days until Elder Erickson's return! Woot woot. 147 days until my trip to London. Here we go.