I loved our family vacation because there was something special for everyone. It can be hard to find things everyone enjoys because there are so many of us. We left on Ainsley's birthday (still can't believe she is 12-years-old) and drove to my grandparent's house in St. George. We left later than we wanted to, and I'm sure my dad was tired from driving so late, but Owen fell asleep before we even got on the freeway and the other kiddos fell asleep at some point. Since it was Ainsley's birthday, she got to choose her seat in the car and what electronic device she wanted for the ride. When we got there, all the kids piled on air mattresses in the living room. We had chocolate muffins for breakfast the next morning because of Owen. Owen is kind of the golden grandchild. He is the youngest on both sides of the family, he got grandma's red hair, and he's named after grandpa. My grandpa bought Costco chocolate muffins for breakfast one time when they stayed at our house and Owen has made sure there are chocolate muffins for breakfast every time since. Thanks to my dad's excellent packing strategy, we were able to fit everyone's stuff in 2 large suitcases and 2 backpacks. This made the car ride much more enjoyable than having things stuffed in everyone's leg room. My mom thought we had packed to many pillows into the car, but everyone always begs for one on long car rides so I insisted we keep them all.
they called me on a mission
I may or may not have freaked out this morning when I saw mail in the mailbox, but no big white envelope. For ten minutes, I was contemplating what I would do for the next 10 days if I had to wait until after our vacation to find out where I would be spending 18 months. But good news people, that was yesterday's mail, and there was still a good chance that I would be receiving a call today. My mom, Owen, and I headed to Salt Lake to get some things for our vacation. It was a good distraction and we had a neighbor who dutifully watched for the mailman. Somewhere in the middle of shopping, she texted us that the mail had come. We had her go check our mail and, sure enough, it was there. She kept it at her house for safe keeping from 2 certain curious brothers that would be out of school soon.
I should add that I have been feeling incredibly sick since last night. Like the kind of sick that means an organ needs to be removed. I don't have many options left as my tonsils, adenoids, appendix, and gall bladder are all gone. Everyone else cleaned up and got ready for people to come over while I laid in bed and tried not to die. I finally felt like I might live about half an hour before people showed up.
We made our guesses, ate fruit and cake, and then it was finally time.
"Sister Smith, you are hereby called to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Pennsylvania Philadelphia Mission."
I will be speaking English and I report to the Provo MTC on September 4th.
I made plenty of guesses, but Philadelphia never crossed my mind. I was really hoping to go foreign, but the idea of not having to get any shots is really appealing. I told everyone I wanted to somewhere warm. I hear it will be for about half the year. And well, the other half will be bitterly cold.
Things have really fallen into place lately. I've been accepted into the Studio Art Major at BYU and I've had a lot of business opportunities present themselves.
I am so excited to serve the Lord in Philadelphia. The mission boundaries actually spread into 4 states, so I am excited to learn exactly where I'll be. Though I wanted to go out-of-state, I am excited that I will get to start teaching immediately instead of learning a new language first.
My dad would really like me to extend for a month so he can catch a baseball game when he and my mom pick me up. I'll see what I can do, dad.
P.S. I give all my friends posters like this one when they leave on missions. You can order one for your own missionary in my shop.
All good things come to an end
This was our last day in New York. We were super tired I had knee surgery my sophomore year and then I got massive blood clots. Since we've been flying and walking so much, I got to sport these lovely black socks today, but we got to see a lot of fun things. We even tried New York Cheesecake.
We went down to Soho and had a great time. I finally got to go to a Kate Spade store and they even had a Mother's Day celebration complete with fancy refreshments. (P.S. See that yellow shirt? I bought it at Century 21 during the 5 hours we spent there. When I put it on today, I realized it is actually meant to be worn backwards to how I have been. Oh well, I like it better this way.)
We went to Grand Central Station to catch the subway. We stopped in all the stationery shops and saw the funkiest Apple Store before hopping a train.
We went to Central Park, but we were too exhausted to walk very far. Instead I laid down on a bench. That tree was my view while laying on the bench when a bird narrowly missed pooping on me. Trusty camera strap, thanks for taking the hit for me.
The Alice and Wonderland statues...
L: One last view of Central Park.
We left the park, picked up our luggage from the hotel, and jumped on the subway to the airport. There was one transfer to make, but we got so caught up planning the exciting changes coming soon to kensie kate that we missed it. Other than that one tiny mistake, we navigated the subway system like pros the whole time we were there. Or at least my phone did. We made it to the airport and found out our plane got delayed by a couple of hours so I took a nap.
It was crazy to leave the day after I moved out of my apartment, especially since we are leaving another trip (this time with the whole family) in 6 days. Much to do before then, but boy am I tired.
another day in the big city
While walking around the city, I noticed tons of people with bags from a place called Century 21. We passed the store and decided to stop in. The first floor was all designer shirts and ties that were seriously discounted. We saw the Tommy Hilfiger ties and knew we would be there for a while. My dad is seriously picky when it comes to ties and we don't dare buy him one without his permission. Instead, we send him pictures of ties like this and he tells us which ones to buy.
This is what I tried on. What can I say? I know what I like. This place was the size of IKEA. We ended up staying for over 5 hours!
L: Today was my grandma's birthday so we ate a Hershey pie from Burger King in her honor. R: We found some amazing Thai food for lunch.
Pictures just don't capture how tall some of these buildings really are.
We were able to make it to the 9/11 memorial today. As incredible as the monuments are, my favorite part was the display at the place where you get tickets. I was only in 2nd grade when it happened. I remember the day and the days that followed well, but I didn't understand the magnitude of what took place.
We took a ferry over to Stanton Island so we could get a good view of Lady Liberty. The island the statue is on is still closed because of Hurricane Sandy. I didn't realize how much the hurricane is still affecting the city.
from porto to london to nyc
Today was another "3 countries in one day" kind of day. We packed last night and headed to the airport this morning. We flew from Porto to London.
A puzzle in the London airport.
When we got to our terminal to fly out of London, the attendant asked if we would be willing to sit in the exit rows. My mom emphatically replied, "Yes. Absolutely. Of course." We knew exit rows usually had 6 more inches of leg room and we could not believe we got so lucky on an international flight. We got to our seats and there was not 6 additional inches of leg room. There was 6 feet! I thought that because there was no one in front of us, we wouldn't have our own TVs. Turns out they just popped up from the seat. I slept for most of the flight. It was beautiful.
L: We flew into Gatwick and had to fly out of Heathrow. We took a taxi since the bus wouldn't get us there in time. Our driver was very nice. Even if he did drive on the wrong side of the road. // R: Hotels in NYC are expensive. We decided to try out this little place, called Pod 51, after finding it online. It was tiny, but very clean. I would stay there again. It was really close to the subway and in a safe neighborhood.
This is the lobby of the hotel. I was a fan.
last day in portugal
The other teachers have left, but we decided to plan another day of sightseeing before heading back to the land where water is free.
"Here Portugal was born"
People probably thought I was weird for taking pictures of their laundry, but it looked so pretty.
Our lovely host, Patricia. She has been such a gem and did such a wonderful job planning the event.
I've heard of the place in France where couple put locks to symbolize their love. The tradition has spread to this fence in Portugal.
I had hot chocolate again at lunch. This time, it was thick like brownie batter.
My mom says Patricia is like the sister she never had. Too bad they live on opposite sides of the world. Thank goodness for Skype.
We ran into some missionaries. It was neat because my papers have been submitted and I should have a call in less than 2 weeks.
This is Patricia's youngest, Leonor. That look of delight came when she learned there was a pastry for her.
This is the view from Patricia's country house. It was beautiful. It reminded me of the show "Brothers and Sisters."
This is Patricia's parent's home with her brother's country home attached. All of the 4 kids have a home on the same compound, next to their parents.
This is the playhouse Patricia's father built for the grandchildren.
The interior of the country homes looked like an upscale IKEA. How fabulous is that chair?
This is a bug we found in one of the country houses. Patricia wanted to kill it, but we saved it in a jar instead. My grandpa knows more about bugs than anyone else in the state of Utah. We knew this bug would mean more to him than any souvenir we could buy. I am hoping it dies before we have to get on an airplane.