It's Autumn

I wanted to capture some pictures of the beautiful fall leaves while they are still on the trees up the canyon.

Emily's Wedding

One of my best friends got married this week!! She looked beautiful, and so happy. It was such a gorgeous day, and she had a beautiful reception. I got to be one of her bridesmaids. It was really fun!! Her flowers were just gorgeous. My bridesmaid flowers look so nice in my house.

Abigail

I love my niece Abby so much! She could not be any cuter ;) Her smiles and laughs and hugs made my day!

Abby LOVED this necklace that I brought with me. She loved putting it on and taking it off over and over again.

She is walking now, too. One night while I was playing with her, we were singing and reading books, and walking around the house. Then she started waving and saying hello to the dogs. What a cutie!

Fun with my family over UEA Break

I love October, and I love that I get a break to go do something fun. I couldn't think of anything I'd rather do more than visit my family!! So I made a visit this week to see my sister and her family. Thanks for such a great trip!

We went to the zoo while I was there, which is a beautiful facility! We had fun, even though the weather was HOT!
What a cute sister I have!

UEA Break

It was so much fun to see two of my really good friends from college, Jodi and Criscell! We met at the Temple. I love these girls! And it was fun to go out to lunch afterwards. Abby and Caysja are such adorable little girls!!

Austria and Italy pictures

pic #1: This is me standing in front of our beautiful chalet hotel in Austria. It was nestled in the middle of the Alps.
#2: My Mom and I enjoying real Italian pizza for lunch in Bolzano, Italy. We asked for lemonade, and we were so happy that what they brought us was the closest thing we had to real lemonade on our whole trip!
#3: This was my lunch in Lake Garda, Italy. I could have been happy to stay there for several days. It was a gorgeous, relaxing lake!! This was seafood with spaghetti.
#4: Also Lake Garda.

Pictures of Europe

This is me at the top of our drive through the Swiss Alps. I will always remember how beautiful and amazing that drive was!
The mountains to the left are from our drive around Lake Lucerne, Switzerland.

The other two pics are me, and my Mom and my Aunt on our cruise down the Seine river in Paris.

Favorite highlights of Europe :)

Europe was fantastic!!! I can totally recommend it to anyone to plan now for an incredible adventure over there sometime in the future. Some of the highlights for me were riding a gondola to the very top of the Stanserhorn in the Alps. As you can imagine, the view was spectacular!! Also, visiting the town of Lake Lucerne during the Yodeling Festival, and seeing people from all the 26 cantons or provinces of Switzerland wearing their traditional clothing. Also, visiting Bavarian castles, like the Neushwenstein Castle in Germany, and the Linderhof Castle, home of King Ludwig III, taking a gondola ride through the canals of Venice, seeing Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey in London, not to mention having the most perfect seats for Phantom of the Opera, and Lion King at the Theater District. I can't stop there, there's more favorite highlights, like seeing the Louvre museum and the Eiffell tower in Paris, and visiting Juliet's balcony in Verona, Italy, and trying escargo, gelato, seafood with spaghetti, and smoked eel from the Netherlands. What an incredible trip!!! I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity, and to be able to make these memories with my Mom and my Aunt.

Adorable Abigail

This is my adorable niece Abby. She loves music, being with people, and laughing. I can't believe that she's walking now!! And I get to go see her this week. Yay!!!

It's the gang!!

Here is my family! We had a family reunion this summer to celebrate my Grandma's 90th Birthday!! What a sweet, talented, funny lady!! We had such a great time being all together with everyone. We had kareoke nights, and played golf and ultimate frisbee. It was so fun we're going to do it again soon!!!

Some of My Favorite Things

I love this time of year! I love the leaves changing colors, and the snow capped mountains. I have been listening to a talk by Pres. Eyring about taking time to show your gratitude for your blessings by writing in a journal daily of the ways that the Lord has reached out to touch you. Before writing, Pres. Eyring said to ask yourself if God sent a message just for you that day. I love this idea. I don't think that we always realize how the little things make such a difference. Like when one of my students smiles, and says thank you. That really makes my day. Also, hearing a beautiful song or a quote- these things bring joy to my life. Some other favorite things I love are being at home, and lighting a candle that smells so good, or baking brownies or a cake, and enjoying the smell as it carries through the house, listening to my favorite songs, or being outdoors on a beautiful day.

Yesterday I had the opportunity of spending time with my family, and it was really fun. What a joy to have such a wonderful family!!