Brooklyn's Sports Day

The schools all have a sports day. The kids have to wear their P.E. kit (uniform) and play games, run races, etc. followed by a picnic with the parents... nice that she still wants me to come! Zack thought sports day was for him as well!

Norway in a Nutshell

We went on a 48-hour psycho trip to Norway. We left at 3 a.m. and returned at about 3 a.m. two days later. We flew into Oslo (kind of) spent a few hours there then took a beautiful train west through mountains and tundra-like landscapes to the fjords. We were joined by our good friend Kerry... and a friend of hers from Korea. By the end of the trip... after long train rides and lots of "If" questions (e.g. If you had to spend the rest of your life in prison with one person... who would it be?)... we all felt like best friends.

The girls and a traditionally dressed Norwegian lady at an open-air museum in Oslo.
A wooden stave church.
Zack's new buddy!
The girls outside of a wooden house... from the 1700s.

Z Man on the ferry ride to the Norsk Museum in Oslo.

Josh and girls outside the Flam railway... an hour long train ride that descends to the bottom of the fjords and makes several hairpin turns through tunnels and lots of waterfall views. Makenna was looking for all the "vampirates" in the tunnels :)

All of us and Kerry in front of Kjosfossen Waterfall.

The girls at the park in front of our hotel... this was taken at about 11 p.m. Gotta love the midnight sun!

A glance at Flam's fjord.

Tag you're it!

I've been tagged by my long-time friend Andrea! Here's the skinny:

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
Living in the French House at BYU and planning campus activities and working at BYU Conferences and Workshops.

2. What are five things on your list today?
catch up on email, catch up on laundry, sync my ipod, babysit a baby and a 7-year old from church while ward members are at the temple, buy train tickets for Norway

3. What snacks do you enjoy?
hummus and pita, ice cream (is that a snack?), olives, frozen drinks mmmmmmm

4. What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Take my kids... and any other interested parties... to Africa for humanitarian work!

5. What places have you lived in?
Placerville, California; some small town in Arizona for the summer when I was 6; Jefferson City, Missouri; Birmingham, Alabama; Provo, Utah; Orange County, California; London, England!


Tag you're it: Karen, Jodi, Teresa & Mindy :)

31 things you never wanted to know about me!

We celebrated my 31st birthday today. This is a picture of Zack and me at a petting zoo.

1. I love anything French... especially the language!
2. I always have to find the best deal... for clothes, travel, food, etc... thanks Ebay!
3. I love to travel and learn about other cultures.
4. I like to scrapbook... although I'm quite behind at the moment.
5. I secretly (guess it's not a secret anymore) want to go to cooking school one day.
6. I want to take our kids on a humanitarian trip in Africa someday (likely Uganda or Ethiopia... Josh's mission).
7. I love working with the youth of the Church
8. I am totally digging my new ipod... thanks Josh!
9. Wicked is officially my favourite musical!
10. I am obsessed with charts and organization (although most of it is in my brain and not on paper... hmmmm)
11. I love the clampy paperclips.
12. I would love to run a marathon someday... maybe not love to.
13. My favorite chips are Kettle's balsamic vinegar and salt.
14. I love to plan parties.
15. I like to eat lemons. What??
16. I have a really sensitive nose... can smell everything... that I never wanted to smell!
17. I love hydrangeas.
18. I like to keep in touch with old friends... thank you blogger!
19. I consider myself very independent... too independent sometimes.
20. I like boy toys way better than girl toys.
21. Movie I cried the most during: Pursuit of Happyness (reminded me of my dad... refer to Father's day post).
22. Tuesdays with Morrie is my favorite book.
23. My favorite song: Worth to Stand by Jessie Clark Funk
24. I sucked my thumb til I was 10... and everyone knew it since I did it in school too!
25. My Dad and Grandma are my modern-day heroes!
26. I consider my greatest achievements to be graduating from BYU and my family.
27. I don't really have a favorite color.
28. I would love to play the piano... at least the hymns.
29. Smurfs was my favorite cartoon.
30. I am fascinated with dolphins.
31. It's all about ice cream... Baskin Robbins 31 flavours... mmmmmmm... I loooooooooooooove ice cream!

Happy Father's Day

I love my dad because...

To him, relationships are more important than money.

He is tender and loving.

He would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need.

He raised two girls on his own... and always put us first.

He has always been very supportive of my decisions, etc.

He is lots of fun to be around.

He is naturally super happy.

He has a heart of gold.

He has always had a beard... and refuses to conform.

He is a great cook... and always gives me the first bite off the bbq.

He is a hard worker.

He makes the best out of tough situations.

And loads of other reasons. I love you dad... Happy Father's Day.

The fun NEVER ends!

Is it time for bed yet???
The girls teaching Karen & Dan how to ride a scooter :)

So Josh's sister Karen and her husband, Dan were in town for a few days. We had loads of fun... and some really late nights... reminiscent of our BYU days with them. We stayed up playing Nertz (sp?) until 4a.m. one night. Fun thing about England in the summer... sunrise 4:15 a.m., sunset 10:15 p.m. So while brushing teeth, etc. to go to bed, we could hear the birds chirping outside the window and the sun starting to give light. Fun is way more important than sleep. They were awesome to play with the kids a lot... especially since they were on a break from their own. Thanks for the visit guys!

Annie!

Josh's sister Annie came to visit last week. We had so much fun with her. All 19 of the nieces and nephews worship her... definitely including mine... even Z our socially challenged one :)

View of Parliament and Big Ben from the London Eye.
We took a day trip to Canterbury... this is a castle from around 1200 I think.
A view of Canterbury Cathedral.
We went to Leeds Castle and they had a jousting tourny on. It was VERY British... humor and all.
The castle.

They had a super fun maze to walk through. We split up and had a race. Annie and Makenna took bronze. Well done!Annie and kids waiting for the train.

Josh and Annie went to Pisa and Florence. A view of Firenze from the top of the Duomo.