Career Change: Bon Voyage!!!

I leave on August 14th on a plane to Barcelona, Spain to have a couple days of training and then board the Disney Magic cruise ship as a Youth Activities Manager.
I have resigned from teaching for the time being and will soon live my life for 4 months at a time in very minimal space on a ship in the middle of the ocean like a pirate. I will be off the ship from December 18th-February 18th (approximately) and then back on for another 4 months, and so on...
This has been a long interview process and has been a difficult decision to make, but will be a very unique experience and great opportunity. It's time to get out of Utah again and move forward with my still single life, basically. I need a lot of encouraging words and support and prayers that this will put future wonderful things in my path.
As an attached sentimental person, I will surely feel a bit lonely at first and will continuously miss the familiar faces and fantastic friends and family I have around me on a pretty regular basis. Email me! And come on the cruise if you want! I think I get 50% off pretty much anytime.

How to Sum up Europe?

It's difficult to know how to go about the documentation of this epic trip!
The cast of characters are:

ME-off for the summer from that thrilling teaching job of mine
JESSICA - awesome friend (and current roommate) from working at Cali EFY sessions many summers.
JEN- great pal from the glory days. Glory Days = the 2 last magical years of my BYU career living in the Riviera apartments, where I pretty much met the best lifelong crew of college friends.
MELISSA- Jessica's best friend from back home in Sacramento.

Supporting characters, whom you will see in a few photos:

The GARDNER family of Ledbury, England...particularly Katie, Jessica's friend.
Jessica's AUNT VICKIE, Uncle and Cousin from America who are living in Saint Bee's, England right now for work.

So, we had a bit of a rough start on our journey in that our plans ending up changing due to Katie's schedule and after some serious jet lag and lack of sleep, we were informed that instead of 3 days in Paris we'd only be there for 24 hours. That 24 hours would occur after a ferry ride and 5 hour road trip in a tiny European car stuffed with 5 girls and luggage. We did get to stop in Brugge, Belgium for a couple hours though, and I loved it there! The jet lag and nerves and whatever else caused my stomach to whirlwind into a crazy episode that gave me danger of throwing up at any minute a need to live on the toilet all night in our Disney Paris hotel room. Thank goodness we ended up staying there, even though it was 500 bucks for one night. But bless that toilet! It was far better that we were there instead of at Katie's aunts house, where we did spend two nights. It looked like the Weasley's bungalow and we slept in the garage on couches with 2 German Shepards. My worst nightmare? Almost.

After those first few days, things got progressively better. We had a lovely time (still animal allergy filled for me) staying with Katie's parents in an adorable cottage on a farm near the border of Wales. And then we spent a few days in St. Bee's, England in Cumbria area in Northern England with Jessica's Aunt and Uncle and it was beautiful! We got to travel to Edinburough, Scotland and stay in a huge great flat for 3 nights and that was probably my favorite! We ended our trip in London for 4 days in a functional dorm room like hotel room :-) Here's some pictures!

This is Brugge, Belgium...I absolutely loved this place! We stopped here for a couple hours on our way down to Paris. Adorable, friendly town with waffles to die for of course! (Left to Right: Me, Jessica, Melissa, Katie, Jen)

The famous Eiffel Tower! We really did just run around this city...I'll have to go back someday. I did get to experience Disneyland Paris for a couple hours though and it was neat to see the differences!

Windsor Castle, a couple hours outside of London, was big and beautiful and we had a great fun day!

The first sight we saw when we got off the train in St. Bee's, England! An absolutely breathtaking area! I highly recommend Northern England and the Lake District. The next couple pictures are from that region.

Muncaster Castle

The Irish Sea off the coast of Western England with Jessica's cousin, Nathan

The Lake District... there are now words to describe how amazing this place was

Edinburough, Scotland!

Some Scottish food. To be more exact, Haggis (the insides and organs of lamb...uh, I had now idea what I was eating!) "Haggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours." Barf!!!

LONDON! Big Ben and Parliament- view from our ride on the London Eye!

Jen and I definitely went and watched Wicked in the front row! It was actually really fantastic and hilarious with their accents! It was Jen's first time!

London Tower Bride is not falling down :-) Did you know that it is actually not as old as the Brooklyn Bridge? Trivia for you. Well, that was a very quick summary of the fun and also the anguish. Europe is an expensive place man! And there are no drinking fountains, anywhere! People aren't as overweight there at all, which is interesting. The English are pretty snobby and for the most part don't enjoy the Americans on their turf, but the Scottish are way friendly and sweet and have the coolest accents ever! The French are just kinda mean. It was all an eye-opening experience and I loved it! But I also realized how much I appreciate the conveniences and friendliness of America!

I Love Summer...

It's the best!

Let me tell you why this summer is different. For five straight summers, during my time off from teaching, I worked for the EFY program. I absolutely loved that and looked forward to it as each school year would come to an end. I had priceless experiences working with those youth, made lifelong friends with fellow counselors, gained skills, worked hard, and made extra money all at the same time! Truth be told, I wish I could still be doing it. However, because I am not, my summers are no longer jam packed and scheduled for me. I am getting to feel what it is like to just be a kid again and live virtually stress free for two months. Nothing could be more fantastic! I only wish there were more people I could share it with!
I get up at around 8:00 every morning (sleeping in for 2 extra hours compared to my teaching regiment). I read scriptures, eat a little, change, exercise in some form (sometimes for a large portion of the day if it's like a bike ride or long run or something), and then either find some sort of water to swim in (I don't have a pool so that's tricky when I'm at home), or shower and start on my "T0-Do" list for the day. Night times are usually pretty chill when I'm home here in Utah...nothing too crazy. But I try to travel around and see my best pals that I love so much. And I'm usually in bed by midnight. Perfect.
Aside from those great days, I get to spend a lot of the time being in other places with people I love. Places I've been so far:

L.A., California
England
France
Belgium
Scotland
Orlando, Florida
Boise, Idaho

Places on the docket:
Moab, Utah
San Francisco, California
New York City, New York
Orange County, California (haven't planned that yet, but it's sure to happen in August!)

I also read a lot, but that's not new at all...I just thought I'd document books so far this summer.
Books:
Princess Academy
Jane Austen Ruined My Life
The Higher Power of Lucky
Elaine's Circle
The Graveyard Book

I hope you're having a great summer! And if I haven't seen you yet, remind me to come hang out! I will do it!