If I Had Three Wishes...

If I had three wishes (and I wasn't allowed to wish for more of course) I think I'd wish for the following:

1. A free ticket to the Celestial Kingdom with my family, all-inclusive. Okay, we're going to assume that is against the rules, too, and at any rate, I wouldn't want to cheat my way in--I'd want to earn it of course. So my real number one is: 

1. A comfortable home on the lake or ocean with enough space for my six or seven children and for guests. And if it can be included in the same wish, a car and a boat that fit all of us. All I want is to be surrounded by family in a place I love. The very idea fills me with happiness!

2. The ability to apparate/disapparate. This would be really convenient so that I could live where I want but pop in on family members at their request. Obviously I'd also be able to side-along apparate so Dalin and Tenley can come with me. We could have breakfast with my family in New Hampshire then apparate to Idaho for dinner with my in-laws. Plus, plane tickets and long car-rides for vacations and visits would be a thing of the past. Darn, why can't this be real?

3. Money sufficient for our needs (and that of others). I know it is selfish of me to wish that we didn't have to work, but I would like nothing more than to spend all day with Dalin and our children. Sorry that going to work gets in the way of that...but the only other reason I would wish for money is because I would love to have the means to secretly help families and people in need. I would want to do it all in secret so people wouldn't specifically only be thankful to us but to God. Also, people wouldn't try to mooch off of us. Still, we would be very generous. Nobody has ever gotten poor from giving too much. 

As nice as some of these things would be, I'm incredibly grateful for what I have now and wouldn't give it up under any circumstances. 

What is something you would wish for? (I want to hear your personal wishes, not world peace and whatnot, though that of course would be wonderful.)

Reflection on Jealousy

Sometimes, it's hard for me not to be jealous of what others have. I guess I'm a human...but seriously, when I hear about other couples going on amazing trips or adventures, I get a little bit frustrated. Don't get me wrong, I love our life together as we are both working hard to save for the future right now, but sometimes it just feels like everyone is having fun except for us. I know that this is not true and that we are doing the most important thing we possibly could be doing by preparing for the beginning of our eternal family, but it is not always easy. 

I just need to remind myself of our many blessings. First off, we are living independently. We don't rely on the support of our parents or the government (not because we don't want to, we just don't) and we are doing completely fine. We can afford our lifestyle because we don't spend money on frivolous things. We save and only splurge on rare occasions. We are saving for our family, our future, and for those many trips and vacations we feel like we're missing out on right now. The fact is, we are extremely blessed. I am thankful that we are both frugal and that we both know how to manage and save money. We are not rich by the world's standards, but we are extremely wealthy in blessings. Everyday I am so grateful that we can afford such a great, clean, reliable car. We had so many problems with our last two vehicles that it's a huge relief to have one that functions without needing constant attention. I am grateful for our apartment because, as much as I want a home, it is helping me appreciate how wonderful home ownership will be. It is also a place where we began our journey as a newly wed couple and where our family will start. And those reasons alone make it special. Sure I would love a dishwasher, our own washer and dryer, and A/C unit (particularly while I'm pregnant this summer...). But someday we will have those things, and it will be that much sweeter because we did without. And survived. 

Thomas S. Monson reminds us: 

"May I assure you that there is no shame in a couple having to scrimp and save. It is generally during these challenging times that you will grow closer together as you learn to sacrifice and to make difficult decisions."

I am so thankful for the life that we have! And so thankful to our parents who taught us excellent principles to live by.

Have you felt the same way I do?
What do you do to save money?
Do you try to live in the moment or plan for the future?

On a different note, my best friend since 4th grade, Sarah Morgan Ayer--who is currently Hermana Ayer as she is serving a mission in Ecuador (Guayaquil South fyi)--emailed me today telling me her mission president gave her permission to write whomever she wants!!!!!! Woohoo!!!!! I sent her one letter via pouch mail (which goes through the MTC) a few months ago but it took a year to get to her basically, and she sent me a letter in the meantime in which I had pretty much already answered all her questions. So I haven't written her again since in case she thought I'd sent that letter after she wrote me and wrote me again--I didn't want us to be off track the entire time she's gone. But now that's not an issue! I'm so excited!!!!! Especially because my other best friend since middle school, Megan Louise Wernig, is currently on a study abroad in Italy and also pretty much impossible to contact so it's been kind of lonely at times when I need a friend who isn't my sweet husband or my awesome mom. 

One friend teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in Ecuador, one friend learning about amazing historic art and literature in Italy, and one friend in Provo preparing to have a baby. We are living the life ;)

I can't wait until the three of us are reunited!

What I Wish I'd Known When I Was Single

Oh yes, I am seriously writing this post. I have wanted to for a while now and I can assure you it's some pretty good advice. I am going to do my best not to sound high and mighty in any way because I am certainly no dating or marriage expert, but I think I know enough to help some young ladies (and I hope some young men, too!) change their single lifestyle habits.

We're cute. I know...embarrassing.

When I was single, I wish I had known that it really is important to always be myself. I got this pretty quickly (early high school) but only because my mom was always reminding me to be myself. Sometimes I would just say, "Mom, I am being myself!" but now I know truly what that means. Trust me, it took all of a few hours of marriage for me to realize that this is for real and that within a matter of days, we are going to have no boundaries whatsoever. There is nothing you can hide forever. And you shouldn't be trying to do that at all if you are planning on spending an eternity with someone. There is just no point. I hope every girl knows that it is physically impossible to look cute all the time. I'm sorry, but every girl I have ever seen first thing in the morning looks ridiculous. And guys, please make sure you know what a girl looks like without makeup before marrying her. Because chances are, you are going to see her that way (makeup free) a LOT. Every day. And some girls look like a completely different person without their makeup. I would hate for an innocent young man to wake up after his very first night with his sweetheart and not recognize the person next to him. 

Besides being yourself physically, be yourself in general. Usually (and hopefully always) the person you fall in love with brings out the very best in you. That is a terrific, wonderful, magical thing! But trust me, it is not a never-ending supply of goodness from your heart. If you are a naturally impatient person like I am, it will come out at one time or another! It is SO hard not to take the one you love for granted. It is a little like being with your parents and brothers and sisters. After being away from them for a long time, reuniting is always happy and joyful. But after a few days together you start to remember the things they do that annoy you and may have a hard time treating them as nicely as you did when you first showed up. Marriage is the same way. You think you could never ever possibly be mean or annoyed with the one you love, but we're human and it happens. You may also and almost certainly will realize that many impolite and undignified bodily functions are less embarrassing when you're married. It sounds ridiculous and you might think that could never be you, but being with someone all day every day leaves plenty of room for awkward events to occur. In all honesty, it takes a few weeks and sometimes months to get used to one another, but eventually you do. And you come to accept that your spouse does things that, while annoying at times, can be overlooked. Do not be nit-picky. Pointing out the zillion little obnoxious things is not very nice and certainly is not conducive to building a healthy marriage. 

There is a wonderful (and short) story relating to this very thing here. It is regarding what Sister Walters calls "The Grapefruit Syndrome." It is a great little story that helps to remind me that we should not seek to point out the irritating habits that those we love possess.

When I was single, I wish I had dedicated more time to cultivating talents that would help me now. Admittedly, I am referring in particular to domestic talents such as cooking. I have always loved and had an interest in cooking. It is my personal belief that anyone who wants to be the mother of a big family (as I do) had better have some decent cooking skills. Despite my interest, I did not know how to cook. Before I left for college, I had my mom show me how to cook a number of popular dishes and write down recipes and cooking instructions for most of them. I was determined that I would not starve in college. While being on my own helped me a little, it was nothing compared to change of being married. Cooking for two is harder than cooking for one. For whatever reason, it seems almost impossible to get the portions for two people correct. (Especially when you don't know exactly how much your spouse is going to eat. In my case, making more is always the better option.) It literally took about the first six months of marriage to feel like I was a semi-good cook. By month six of playing with recipes and watching the Food Network (I don't really want to say religiously, but...), I finally felt sufficiently confident in my cooking. I had at least a dozen recipes that were easy and consistently successful. 

In addition to cooking, I was grateful I had a little bit of sewing experience. Husbands can sometimes be home-wreckers. Fortunately, Dalin is not one of those. He also can sew pretty well from his mission. But if I had not figured out how to, essentially, be a wife (and in a way, a mother--I'll return to that), I would have felt much more helpless when it came to running my own home. As a woman, you tend to think when you get married that you will be a great little wife just like Gaston thought Belle would be. Then you actually get married and you discover you are much more than a wife. You are a housekeeper, a cook (very often), a disciplinarian (at times), and even a mother. That sounds weird but seriously, you are just like a mom to your husband. Our bishop explained that a husband coming into a marriage expects his wife to take care of him whether this is conscious or subconscious. Being around a woman who is independent and knows how to take care of herself maybe makes him assume he will suddenly become an immediate part of the bargain. You might not be the homely type at all but frequently find yourself picking up your husband's socks and then helping him find a clean pair when he insists he can't find any (this, I will admit, is a fairly common experience in our home). I used to be terrible at finding things. My mom would always find things the moment she came to look and would wonder if I had even tried looking. Now I can honestly say I know what that is like. Cultivate your talents! It will make your married life ten times easier if you don't have to adjust too much.

When I was single, I wish I had practiced good habits concerning my spirituality. I am not suggesting I never prayed or read the scriptures, and I absolutely attended my church meetings...but when these habits are not a very significant part of your day or even your life, it becomes much harder to practice them when the business of married begins. It is very easy to think, "As soon as we get married, we will pray every morning and night together and read scriptures for this long every single day. And we will attend the temple every week and hold FHE every Monday." If you are not doing those things yourself already, you're living in a dream world. It is definitely easy the first week to begin and feel as though you will have a perfect record, but the day will come when you will forget to do one or the other and fall out of habit. Dalin and I are much better at reading our scriptures than we were at other parts of our relationship. We are also very consistent at saying our couples' prayer together. But it took us a while to get into the habit of holding some form of FHE. It is really hard when there are only two of you. We lied to ourselves a lot saying, "We'll be perfect at this once we have kids." Well we aren't perfect at it now so that most likely will not be the case. We attend the temple about once a month which never feels like enough to me. Married life is so much busier than you can possibly imagine until you're in it. Schedules are crazy and change and make it very hard to practice the spiritual habits that help families progress. We are still far from perfect, but we do consistently remember the saying, "Families that pray together, stay together." And that is something we do not forget.

When I was single, I wish I had not cared so much about what others thought of me. It's funny, I never thought I was that way until I got married. Looking back I was like: What was wrong with me. After I got married, I quickly (very quickly) got to the point where everyone (outside the Savior and Dalin) mattered a little less. Not in the way that they were less important, but in the way that I recognized that I was now in my own family unit and that I, along with Dalin, was responsible for making my own decisions regardless of the way I had grown up. When you get married, you have to know that your spouse came from a different family, a different lifestyle, and sometimes you will see that your parents' way was perhaps not the best way, or perhaps just not the way that would work for your family. You and your spouse are of course now responsible for choosing your way, whether that be a blend of both sets of parents' ways or a completely new way. It can be hard to let go of some of the things you knew from your childhood family life, but it is a skill you must learn to best adapt. Anyway--back to not being so self-conscious--it really does happen. You might suddenly have the courage to go to class in sweats with no makeup (or you might have already been doing that...). Or you might be in the checkout line and not be such a pushover because you are officially a married adult. It really does happen and I suspect that when you have children, you get even more courageous and less conscious of the opinions of others. I know that being pregnant has suddenly made me less of a pushover at work. When some rude or idiotic tenant complains about something we have no control over, I now have no problem telling him or her that he or she is out of line and that they are complaining to the wrong person. Because I am naturally non-confrontational (believe it or not, though I do think my writing suggests otherwise sometimes), I used to apologize and apologize for other people's mistakes and feel really bad that the person on the phone seemed to hate me for something I didn't cause at all. Now I think, Don't you dare mess with me, I will not put up with your rudeness for a second. That is definitely new for me. I don't know if I got my point across for this one in the way I wanted, but basically, don't worry about those people who don't know you and who seem to judge you. Getting married automatically gives you a gigantic boost to the self-confidence, and even though it is still important to be nice to people, you will realize that truly, their words do not matter. And if you forget that occasionally, at least you will have your wonderful spouse to hold you and remind you that there are way more important things. 

When I was single, I wish I had been more daring and brave in my relationships with others. As touched on earlier, once you're married, there are no (and should be no) secrets. You tell your spouse how you feel. You communicate like adults and like best friends. If you're like Dalin and me, you might get kind of weird. I think a lot of married people get more weird. You become more like your spouse and have your own inside jokes and single people look at you and think, You have changed. I have never seen you act that way...Generally speaking, you and your spouse will probably speak to each other very differently when alone than with other people around you. You single people have no idea. Yet. Look at how your parents act when they're weird and then multiply that by a large sum. I think parents probably tend to rein in their weirdness once they have kids. But what I meant by being brave was that I wish I had not held back so much in some relationships. I should have been more open and willing to share my feelings. I guarantee had I done that, there would have been times that I would have been shot down (possibly a lot) but it would have been worth it. The reason I chose not to have a boyfriend before I met Dalin was because, even though I was not particularly looking to get married, I was not looking for a dead-end relationship. I did not want to put myself in a position that could get me in trouble before I was married and frankly, I did not want to waste time with someone that there was no foreseeable future with. I did not like wasting my time or someone else's. I am very grateful for that decision, as it made me very cautious as I looked for qualities in someone that I wanted in a future husband but I do wish I had been more bold and direct. What I really want to say to you single people is stop beating around the bush with each other. Seriously, if you like someone and tell them, and they don't like you back, it's going to hurt for about five minutes (or maybe five weeks) but you will find someone new and there will one day be someone who returns those feelings. And that will be so special that you will forget about that time you got rejected. I think single students waste WAY too much time. You don't have to get engaged after two and a half months (like some of us...) but you should not spend so much time secretly thinking you're in love with someone only to find that the relationship is not going anywhere or they do not feel the same way. Be honest. Be brave. It pays off. I think the biggest step to finding your spouse is taking that step at some point. One day you will be brave and it you will have your own fairytale ending. But I suggest that you skip a few steps and take those steps now. Endure rejection (if it comes at all!) and know that you are fast forwarding a little closer to the moment when you find your eternal companion. 

Laughter is important. If you don't have that, you don't have much. 

This was one long post, but if you made it through, please tell me what you thought. I might add a few things to a follow-up post if you have a really good suggestion.

So suggest away! And if you're single, I want to know if you think what I'm saying makes sense.

Just not my thing

Anyone who knows me well enough, knows that Utah is just not my thing. I do not really enjoy living here or much about this state in general because I was raised in a place that was simply so awesome, it's sad to even compare the two. My family isn't here, and I miss the landscape and greenness of New Hampshire. But, I will say, that today was a nice day here in Utah. Don't get me wrong, it was freezing rain out and deathly slippery, and the nasty smog was trapped around us, but it was nicer than it has been in a while in my humble opinion. I like the rain. I liked that 32 degrees felt kind of warm. I liked that I was able to stay inside most of the day because of my job and that I didn't have to expose my little one to the poor air quality by being outside. It was just a better day. 

At work, we had a discussion about Utah in comparison to New Hampshire. It sounds like the majority of people involved liked or even kind of liked Utah. This came as no surprise to me. But in my defense, I am brutally honest when it comes to my personal opinions. The conversation started out innocently enough: I was just suggesting that my favorite types of pizza are all New Hampshire types. I had not even realized that that was the case until that moment, but as I listed off Pizza Express, Gilford House of Pizza, and Papa Gino's, I thought, "What the heck--none of those are out here." When someone asked me why I dislike Utah so much, my first thought was the people. Then right away I felt bad about that because I have met some wonderful people from Utah. I certainly know they are not all bad. But the culture of the Church out here is tremendously different from what I had expected and from what I'm used to. I quickly discovered this as an innocent east-coast Mormon girl on my first visit to Utah when I was a Junior in high school. I had been so excited to come to a new place and be surrounded by members and feel like I was a part of a huge LDS community. I thought that I would get to see the best parts of the Church and feel empowered from the experience. Then I came out here and the people were not what I expected. They say the Church is true, the people aren't. That proved to be the case for me during my visit. The competition within the Church out here is something that truly bothers me. Who cares about whose house is bigger or nicer? Who cares about having nicer clothes than your neighbors? Who cares about having expensive things? Why do people judge each other on their Church attendance or calling? That stuff doesn't matter! 

I was raised in a small house in the east. When I was in middle school, I was embarrassed because our house was small. It was only one story. Yet for some reason, people always just wanted to come over to my house. I did not really understand why. Most of my school friends had way bigger houses than me. I wondered why they didn't mind that my house was small. It wasn't until high school that I realized that they probably could feel the Spirit within my home. My mother kept our house extremely clean and full of good books, beautiful paintings (some Church-related, some not), and full of things to do. It was around then too that I realized I loved my home. I loved it and wanted to have one just like it someday. I realized that no one cared about the stuff we owned. When I went to the homes of my friends who similarly had small homes, I didn't judge them. That was not an important part of my upbringing. My more wealthy friends didn't judge us either. It just wasn't a big deal. 

When I think of my home ward, I think of how wonderfully strange the people are out there. And how wonderfully black and white their "status" is. No one pretends to be doing all the right things and goes to Church to put on a facade of being righteous. More than half of my ward members live in humble homes. They manage their money and do not go into debt for a home or for expensive luxury items just for show. No one would be impressed by that. There are so many peculiar people who live such different lives than the people out here. I cannot imagine a person going out to bars and drinking and then going to Church the next day. If someone chooses not to live the standards of the Church, they just don't go. They don't fake it. I was so shocked when I saw how the youth dress out here. This is supposed to be a gathering place for the Saints! We were a little strange in our high schools because we did not wear immodest clothing and so we stood out. Many people in my high school asked me, "Why are you so happy all the time?" and "It is so cool that your family is religious. I wish I had that." They would ask me about what Mormons believe in and I had so many sweet opportunities to share my testimony and give a little insight into what Latter-day Saints are really like. I brought many friends to Church, efy, Girls' Camp, and Mutual activities. I loved those missionary opportunities. It felt so good to bring a little light into the lives of those who were surrounded by moral darkness. I love those non-members. I love how imperfect they are and how much they appreciate kindness and the good they see in others. 

Since I have lived in Utah for more than a year, my insights have changed. Just a little. Yes, Utah has cool mountains and some pretty cool parks. Yes, I love how there are dozens of temples here and knowing that the prophet is nearby. And as I said, I have met many wonderful people from Utah who are just as great as one would expect for a place where there are so many Latter-day Saints all together. I am still disappointed with how many of the members choose to live when my little tiny stake in the east lives in the midst of moral chaos and still manages to follow the standards of the gospel with careful diligence. We have hardly any examples around us except each other. It is something that I truly don't understand about the culture here but I am trying to. And I accept that I do not have to feel like a part of it and that it is okay if I don't want to be. I need to make sure that I do not make assumptions about all of Utah just because my experience here has not been very positive. I will not be here forever but while I am here I need to strive to set an example and not be guilty of the judging of others that bothers me so. I am not even close to perfect. But I am thankful for my upbringing which has given me a very clear perspective of people. I love the people of this world who are just looking for something greater. They live imperfectly but they are real. I miss that about my home. 

I am not sure what the purpose of this post is. It certainly was not intended to bash Utah or the people who live or love it here. But I do think the members should know that they have it pretty good out here, and so many do not even realize it. Practice what you preach. Do not judge others. And most of all, do not compare yourself to those around you. Like I said, it does not matter who has a nicer home or more Church members in their family or fewer family problems or what your economic status is. In the eyes of our Father in Heaven, we are all equal. We are born into different situations, but we can all be the type of people we ought to if we are trying hard enough. We had better start treating each other like we are all children of God, because I know--whether you believe me or not--that all of us are.  

Do you agree with me? Or do you completely disagree?

Do you think the culture of the Church is different in Utah? 

Or maybe just different than you expected?

never say goodbye

My mom flew home to New Hampshire today. Lucky her. 

Last night, she, Dalin, and I stayed in a luxurious room at the Marriott Hotel in Salt Lake City. Mom originally had an early flight out (6am!) but she was luckily able to change it to 1:30pm. Still, we spent the majority of the day at Ikea and then City Creek Mall in SLC. We only looked at temple square from afar because the cold was BONE-chilling and none of us wanted to brave it for a few pictures. 

I wasn't feeling that well, so the shopping was somewhat short-lived but we got some fun things and saw Sister Elaine S. Dalton in one of the stores. We slightly stalked her for a little while (she was in the same store so it wasn't hard) but didn't end up saying anything to her. But it was cool to see her out and about doing her Christmas shopping. 

Back at the hotel, we all relaxed and watched The Voice finale (I had really been rooting for Terry...sigh). Then we took turns showering and I got to talk to my mom for a while as Dalin took his turn. I tried not to be sad knowing she was leaving but it was hard after she took such good care of me for the whole week. I told her not to worry--Dalin would take care of me after she left. Sometimes it is nice to get a break though. 

While here, we got so many awesome projects done around the house.

We completely painted and re-seated our kitchen chairs. 

We also sanded and stained our kitchen table and one of our side tables (thankfully, Mom did most of that). 

Plus, Mom filled our kitchen with food and did lots of laundry and cleaning. It was the best. It felt spectacular to have a spotless apartment...I just need to make it last! 

It really was the best little visit for me--I only wish we had more time together. Thankfully my job gave me some good opportunities to leave work early and take a day off to be with my mother longer. 

I already can NOT wait until she comes back to visit again...hopefully soon...

Thank you so much, Mom, for your absolute thoughtfulness. You do so much for Dalin and me. I love you. You are the best. 

<3

Back to School

Well, today was my first day at BYU. 

I had two English classes, then work, then Spanish, and back to work to help close. 

Tomorrow I have two religion classes (D&C and LDS Marriage & Family), then work, then Spanish. 

I see a pattern in the making. 

Dalin's schedule was just as crazy. He also had several transitions between work and class. 

I have a feeling this is going to be one crazy semester. But it's only three months long. And I have Dalin who I know will help me to get through it. 

In other news, I received my associate's degree from BYU-Idaho in the mail today! It was really exciting. It reassured me that I am more than halfway there. The past two years really did fly by, and I sure hope that the next two will as well. I am so ready for the next part of our married life. 

Big smiles because I have my associate's degree! Thank you, BYU-Idaho! You will always be my favorite! 

I know school and learning are very important and that our knowledge is the one thing we can take with us in this life, but it can be so hard to remain motivated. My only suggestion to avoid back to school blues would be, think of the end goal. Gain a perspective of why you are doing the things you are doing. I remind myself that I ultimately want to be able to contribute to our family income by editing books from home so that I might also be a stay-at-home mom. Not only that, but I think of my children and how I want to be the ultimate example to them. I want to prove to them that hard work and perseverance pay off. 

Yes, that sounds cliché, and yes it probably is. But Dalin and I have the goal of an eternal family in mind and honestly, nothing is higher on our priority list. 

Relaxing Rain

I want this to be today.

Sometimes

          we sit in our little apartment

                           and pretend

that it's raining

while listening to this: 

or

Who doesn't love the sound of rain? 

But seriously, who doesn't...I've been hit by lightning and I still love the sound of rain and rainstorms. 

I love listening to this while reading, painting, doing homework, resting...what about you?

Oh, the places we'll go!

did i catch your attention? well i hope so. 


i have decided that it is my intention to share with you, our dreams. dalin's and mine. while we certainly have them, we are fairly realistic (not that i want to be >:[ ) and i don't necessarily expect to be making these trips anytime soon...or in this life...but we can hope! 


anyway, the point is this: dalin and i want to see some places in this world. so here they are and here's why.


#10) EGyPt. <click here to see pictures!
obviously the pyramids and sphinx and whatnot are things most people are dying to see. i think it would be a tad scary to actually go into a tomb, primarily because i would worry about it becoming my own tomb. but apart from that, egypt seems like an interesting place. did you know that egypt has the greatest population of arabs in the whole world? well it does. plus it has the nile river which i would like to see some small piece of. just don't drink the water...from the river of course, or anywhere else for that matter.


#9) INdia.  <pictures!
the birthplace of buddhism! according to my high school soccer coach, the people are not necessarily the most polite out there...i will certainly be wary of people spitting on me or worse. but thanks to indiana jones and the jungle book, i want to go to india for the sheer beauty of the jungles and maybe for a detour to the taj mahal.


#8) PaRis. <pics...
strictly for the eiffel tower, the seine river, the louvre, notre dame, and maybe versailles.


#7) BaRceLoNa. <fotos
i would love to take a stroll down la rambla and shop and practice my spanish skills. also, i love spanish history and would like to experience it first-hand. 


#6) CoPenHAgEn. <pix
it just looks beautiful and they say the happiest place to live in the world is denmark and so i am slightly curious about what it is like there. check out the pictures...


#5) Jolly Old EnGlanD. <photography...
home of "the fab four"/"the mop tops"...aka the beatles. i definitely would like to visit london and look for platform 9 3/4 and diagon alley of course. among other things, i want to see big ben and several other lovely things. plus it's fun to practice english accents and vernacular.


#4) Peru. <más fotos
i would like to see machu picchu and follow the inca trail. although this is unrelated, south america makes me think of el dorado which, apart from being a good movie, would be a sweet place to travel to. also it'd feel so adventurous i think. i want to see the amazon river...maybe from a distance, but still. 


#3) StocKHolm SwEdeN. <you guessed it...click here!
my cousins are from sweden and i just wanna see it. 


#2) NicaRagua. <if you wanna see some Nicaragua...
my former roommate at BYU-I is serving a nursing mission there and it looks incredibly fantastic. i want to see that part of the world and speak spanish and help the people there. 


and above all, ahead of everywhere else on our list...


#1) IReLaND & ScOtLanD. <see the beauty....here.
i wonder if an explanation is even necessary, it seems so obvious to me. since i have seen the movie leap year (and also coming from irish and scottish descent), i have wanted to explore my heritage and witness the beauty of the irish landscape and scottish castles more than ever. in particular, i want to see where harry potter was filmed. but that would just be a bonus. ;) anyway, the views are stunning and i want to experience the romanticism of irish spring rains. and maybe feel like i'm a small part of that land like my ascendents. 




as a side note, i do want to see each u.s. state and canada...but those don't count as cool so that is why they are located in this afterthought.