Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Sister Cooper enters MTC

Missionary Training Center
September 15-October 6 2010

Picture in front of the MTC
(They have taken down the Mission Training Signs on the corner
- so this is the best we could do)


Katie giving up her cell phone! Ha! Ha!


Curbside drop off.


Waving good-bye as we drove away!


Sister Cooper
MTC Mailbox #182
WA-KENN 1005
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Spain!

Trying to get to Spain was quite humorous because we split up groups and half of us left the night before, while the other half went the next morning. Well, we sent ALL of our stuff home (or a few people just through everything they brought to Europe with them away) except for one school backpack. That's right... living out of a school backpack for a wk!! in the hot summer of spain!! woooh!! That was an adventure.

If that wasn't enough.... the school backpack had to fit the size requirements of ryanair...which are really strict! So when it came down to the wire and we were standing in line, we were thinking our backpacks may be packed too much!! So out came the clothes and Dave started dressing in line!! I think in total he had 3 pairs of shorts and a pair of pants on, plus a couple shirts and a sweatshirt!! Lauren was wearing his shoes. Ale had a few different scarves and shirts on as well!! it was pretty comical really. I think we became everyone's entertainment... but we made it on so we were happy as a clam! =)

First stop: BARCELONA!

We had to have an authentic meal, so we decided to splurge and pay for a nice one! It didn't seem like it would be too pricey, so we thought we were getting a deal!! When we finally got our check we learned that each glass of sprite had been 7 Euros!! OUCH!! haha That became the joke of the trip. We could easily justify buying anything since we had spent 12 bucks on a glass of sprite!! =)

Some awesome Gaudi architecture!!Just hiking around

what? another arc de triomphe? I thought I was in spain.....

Stop #2: MADRID

We were able to stay at the temple hostel in Madrid, which was WONDERFUL!! It also serves as the MTC there, where Dave had been trained for his mission! The grounds were beautiful and it was such a pleasure to be able to do baptisms there!! We were also each assigned new roommates, and mine were older ladies from portugal. We struggled to communicate but I don't think i have ever met such genuine, selfless people in my life. Those women were wonderful and taught me SO much!!

We also saw some sweet architecture and played around in some gardens in the park. Our new favorite past time: Playing card games in parks and on trains!


















Stop #3: Granada!!
Granada was a BLAST!!! This was Dave's last area that he served in on his mission, so we were able to stay with some very kind members there and particpate in some of their ward activities! They were SOOO welcoming and giving, it really blew me away!!
They even invited us to a birthday party and made us get up and dance with all of them!! You don't get much more engulfed in a culture than that!! plus- almost everyone there was originally from a different country! it was awesome!

We also ran into some individuals in the street who were all dressed up and gave us a little show!! We saw some real spanish dancing! IT was awesome!












Finally, we were able to go to the Alhambra, which was breathtaking!!! I never knew it was so big, or had such intricate details!! It honestly was GORGEOUS and pictures just can't do it justice!!
We honestly met the most amazing people in Granada and I truly will never forget these individuals and everything they taught us!





Finally, we headed to Malaga where we were to fly out of the next morning.... but we got ripped off by the cab driver... and then again by the hotel we were supposed to stay at. So we decided to go hang out at the beach instead until it got dark, and then we went and spent the night in the airport!! haha!! What a trip!!! I honestly had SUCH a blast and can't believe that I was able to spend almost a month in Europe with so many wonderful friends!!!!! I definitely miss seeing these guys every day!!

London

Well, after we concluded our week in Paris, it was time to meet up with the rest of our program in London!! To the train station we go!!

When we got there everything took SIGNIFICANTLY longer than anyone expected (believe it or not we did get there early!) so that adventure ended up in all of us RUSHING through customs and RUNNING to the train!! I was first through customs so the next five or so followed me when the worker told me to run to the first cart of the train! So we many of us ran on, relieved that we had BARELY made it before the train left. We had no idea where the rest of our group was, it was kind of a "fend for yourselves" type episode!!

Unfortunately we didn't realize that our seat assignments were not together.. and everyone else's tickets were for the complete OTHER side of the train!!!! So they had to walk all the way through the 15 carts, but the conductor got mad half way through and told them just to sit there!! After Lauren walked the train from start to finish and realized there was no sign of the other half of our group, we realized that HALF OF OUR GROUP HAD BEEN LEFT IN PARIS!!! What a nightmare! It was actually pretty funny, and luckily everything worked out in the end. The others were able to catch the next train a few hours after and meet us in London!

London was AWESOME!! we saw...
Stonehenge.
(and after a 45 min. audio tour I still can't tell you why those boulders are standing there)


Platform 9 3/4 at the King's Cross Station

wicked



the guards (all over multiple times)

Oliver Twist!

We went Punting

The Great Hall where Harry Potter is filmed. (oxford)

The IASB

so many awesome castles!

Les Miserables... SUCH a great play!

TONS of heffalumps all over the city!!

The London Eye

Big Ben of course! =)
We really did so many things, pictures, nor words, can capture them all. This is just a really brief insight to give you a small TASTE of some of our adventures!! I figure nobody really wants to read the stories anyways, so pictures work okay =)

Paris

Hey guess what... as always... i've been slacking on the blog. So I figured I'd give you another quick summary through some pictures.

This spring I was able to participate in an International Accounting program in London!! We studied for 2 wks in Provo, UT and then headed to Europe to see how everything really works!

A group of us flew out to Paris a wk early so we could spend some time there before meeting up with our program in london! That was A BLAST!! I couldn't ask for a better vacation nor for better company! The friends that I made on that trip were AMAZING and it would never have been the same without them!
Eiffel Tower at night= Breathtaking!

Some of us just chillin on the bridge =)


Notre Dame on Sunday for Mass

The catacombs. Quote of the city: Addi "imagine the resurrection
here... this place will be a PARTY!"

Addi and I were walking into the catacombs, yet the sign said run the other way.... we didn't know how we felt about that! haha


Our whole Paris group in front of the Arc De Triomphe
on Day 1!! (JETLAGGED. yes.)

Our final night in Paris... what better way to spend it then a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower watching the sunset and then the Eiffel Tower Light up!!!


We had so many adventures there in Paris! They can't even really be captured in a blog. Museums, Galleries, The Louvre, Monuments, Culture, Food, Cathedrals, and you can't forget our imfamous crepe place that took 3 days to find but was WELL WORTH IT!!!! What a wonderful week!!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

I SURVIVED!!

So I haven't blogged since before the school year started and I can explain that in two words....
JUNIOR CORE
which could probably be better summed up on one word....
DEATH!

Haha Although the past year has been by far the hardest year of my life, I am truly grateful for the experience. I have been pushed to my limits and have grown in more ways than I thought possible. What truly made this year worth it were the friendships that I made through the program. I truly feel lucky to be among such talented individuals were are constantly making me want to become better.

I am so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful people. I have great friends, roommates, and especially a great family!

And although I spent 95% of my time in the Library or in the Tanner building.... I did manage to have some EXTREMELY fun times, so I figured I'd sum up the year in a few pictures. =)

Utah State Fair Rodeo with the Jeru Crew
Dennis (Denise) got ENGAGED!!! and we were able to watch :)

Elise's sports themed bridal shower.... (slash she got married! lol)

Halloween-- we were the COOLEST ninja turtles

kowbunga!!!
Thanksgiving with the family, hiking up in Twainharte =)

Jenn got married in the Oakland Temple! =)

New Years back with the Pleasanton Stake Crew

Playing the Train Game with the family over xmas break

Jazz game for Shawn's birthday celebrationSpur of the moment road trip down to LA? I think yes...
Text from Rachel Friday afternoon: "Come home and pack now. We're going to LA"
Me: Slam the books shut... OKAY!
snowboarding....

And the year wouldn't be complete without the most awesome roommates EVER!!!




Can't believe I'm a senior now... boy does time fly! Maybe this next year I'll be better about blogging.... probably not. But we can hope!