Waterloo

Yesterday Rich and I went with Meghan and Brandon to Waterloo. For all you history buffs, Waterloo is the place where Napolean met his final defeat in June 1815. The monument is a 28 metric ton Lion on the top of a hill which symbolizes new-found peace in Europe. It was a very quick trip down but it was well worth it. To get to the top of the hill you have to walk up 226 steps which completely worked Rich and I since we have not been exercising over here as much as we would like! We both can feel the burn in our legs today which is sad! Anyway, it was a peaceful day and the view from the top of the monument was beautiful. It was nice to get away from all the noise in the city for a bit and learn something new! Europe has taught me a ton since we left the states!

The Hague Netherlands Temple

I got way behind blogging and I like to keep my posts seperate so if you noticed I am making three new posts on the same day you are right! A few weekends ago Rich and I went on a ward temple trip to the Hagueu Netherlands Temple. It was a two hour bus ride there and back on a cold rainy day. The ride was beautiful though. All the leaves are changing and the homes we passed were probably the cutest things I have ever seen. People around here keep their yards in tip top shape so everything always looks so clean and nice! It was an amazing day and the temple was gorgeous!

Twenty Three!

This month I turned twenty three! Wow I am getting up there! ha. I asked Rich before I started writing this blog how old I was because I honestly got confused for a second and he rolled his eyes at me for not knowing my age now when I am only 23! Anyway, my birthday was a great one this year. I had to work all day Friday (my actual bday) so we celebrated it Sat too, but I will start with Friday. At work, we brought in a cake and celebrated with all our fellow interns/employees as good ole Obelis. It was great and everyone was so sweet wishing me happy bday all day long! That night I requested a pizza place called Momma Romas for dinner. Our friends Meghan and Brandon came with us and we spent two hours after work jumping trams trying to find the dumb place! We finally did though and it was completely worth it! On saturday I went shopping and came home to a wonderful dinner my husband made and some gifts that were much needed! He gave me some beautiful flowers, slippers, socks, money (to shop with), and some Belgian chocolates of course! It was such a great birthday! Thanks to my inlaws and family for helping me get to go shopping! ha. I loved being able to look guilt free! I have to say my hubby is the best on Bdays. He always goes above and beyond to make it special! I am a lucky girl!

Paris

This past weekend Rich and I headed to Paris! We found a really cheap bus to take us! Usually you can catch a train that takes about an hour and a half but since we are cheap it took us almost four! The ride there was an interesting one. Our bus driver had some serious road rage and was cussing every other car out that we passed and slamming on the breaks every two seconds. Needless to say I was a bit car sick and grateful when we arrived at our destination! We "splurged" and stayed in a Best Western which was surprisingly nice! That first day we arrived we got settled into our hotel and took off to Monmartre to see the Sacre-Coeur. This is a beautiful church on top of a hill where you have an amazing view of the city. Around the church there are tons of art, restaurants, music, and people shopping. We had such a great night walking around, seeing the views, and eating the best crepes we have ever had! Once we made it back to our hotel I instantly started feeling pretty sick. Lucky me spent the rest of our first night in Paris hugging the toilet! I got the worst food poisoning I think I have ever had! It was absolutely terrible! Rich had a tour planned for the next morning with New Europe where they take you on a four hour walking tour of the city and learn as much as you can about Paris. He was so excited to go on this tour and I felt pressure to not dissapoint so I mustered up every ounce of energy I had left and we went on our tour! Rich loved it so I was glad we did it! After the tour we went back to the hotel and I crashed early in hopes I would get better after getting some sleep. The next morning I was much better and ready to go! We spent the day visiting the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Cathedrale de Notre-Dame, and going to the top of the Eiffel Tower! We had the best time. Paris is the most beautiful city! It was definately one of our favorites. It really is such a romantic place with couples everywhere! That night we watched the light show on the Eiffel Tower and walked through the parks surrounding it. Paris is a place we will always miss and look forward to visiting again!

Our Trip Through Europe!

Our trip through Europe was an unforgettable experience! We had the best time. We left Utah August 12th and arrived in London the next day around noon. We spent two days seeing everything there is to see in London and even saw Wicked which I have been wanting to see so badly! I loved it and thought it was just as great as everyone said it was! After London we dropped off our luggage here in Brussels and spent the day seeing the square and taking in what was to be our new home for the next few months! The first thing we did was try Belgian waffles which were way yummy! Then we jumped on a night train to Milan, Italy. In Milan we spent the day admiring their beautiful duomo, eating true Italian pizza, and Gelato! Then we jumped on a train to Florence. Florence was one of my favorite places. It was just what I pictured in my mind when I imagined Italy. After Florence we headed to Rome! Here we went to the Vatican City, Sistine chapel, and saw the coliseum. Rome was awesome but the weather felt like Myrtle Beach and we thought we were going to pass out running around in the heat all day, but it was definitely worth it. If you have never been to Rome you must! It was incredible. (I will probably say everything was incredible throughout this whole post but everything really was!!) After Rome we went on to Munich, Germany. I think Munich was Rich's favorite. There is so much history in Munich. We saw where "Crystal Night" took place ( Not sure how to spell the German name for it), toured the city and learned all about Munich, and we went to Dachau which was the first official concentration camp ever built and the others were modeled after. Dachau was heartbreaking. I felt sick after visiting it. I can't believe what actually took place there. After Munich, we went to Berlin and caught a train to Poznan, Poland. Poznan was so fun! Rich's brother went on this journey with us and he served a mission for our church in Poland so being there with him and meeting all his friends was a blast! We loved Poznan and I fell in love with a hot chocolate cafe called Cocoa Republica. Best hot chocolate I have ever had! Next was Krakow. Here we walked around the square, shopped at the markets, ate wonderful polish meals, and did a tour of Auschwitz. I was hesitant to see Auschwitz after seeing Dachau. It is hard to see what those poor people went through. No words can describe how you feel standing in these camps. Every tour we went on the tour guides would say how important it is to learn and see for yourself what happened to these innocent people so we can make sure it never happens again. I couldn't agree more. Forget Rome, if you are ever in Europe see one of these camps. You will never be the same! After Krakow we took another night train to Prague. Prague was so pretty! The buildings in Prague are so great and are painted beautiful colors. It is a city I will never forget. Then we went to Amsterdam. Amsterdam was one of the most interesting places to me. We did a tour with a group through Amsterdam and within the first five minutes we were walking through the red light district! I was shocked! Apparently, the red light district is huge and on almost every street around the square. In fact, I learned that they put the red light district by all the huge churches to further "test" people. I thought that was crazy! Anyway, needless to say Amsterdam was quite the experience. I saw more sex shops than I ever thought possible in one day as well as marijuana selling coffee shops! haha. The history there is very intriguing! After Amsterdam we headed home to Brussels. Once we were settled in our place we took off to Brugge which is in Belgium and only an hour away. Brugge was great! It is surrounded by water, has great shopping, and the best chocolate you will ever eat! Since we have been in Brussels we have been trying to learn our way around the city and get a feel for the place. I am already loving it and can't believe we will be here until Christmas! Our trip through Europe was one we will never forget. I did things and saw things I never thought I would do! I slept in awful night trains with some scary people, hostels of all sorts, some hotels, and much more! ha. Rich and I feel like it all was a dream. We feel so lucky we were able to have such a trip and we are happy Stevo was able to join us! We are already planning our next weekend trip so we will keep you all posted!

Something I came across...

My Dad asked me to go through the millions of boxes of things they have been lugging around since I graduated high school so I started sorting through them tonight. I found so many things that took me through memory lane. All my favorite pictures, letters, and cards from loved ones. It was so fun reading what people wrote to me and thinking about memories I have forgotten about. One thing I came across especially caught my eye. I found a poem my sister wrote for me one Christmas about nine years ago. I remember she was getting ready to leave for college at BYU and I was so sad she was leaving me behind. I remember opening it that morning and how special it made me feel. I have always admired my sister for so many reasons. She has such a fun personality and it is never the same at home without her here. One part of her poem says :

Sometimes I want to cover your eyes,

hide your from heartbreak, suffering and lies.

Not long from now, I'll go far away,

your hand I can't hold and show you the way.

I guess reading this poem just made me realize even more how much my sister has meant to me throughout my life. She has always been a best friend and someone I can turn to for comfort or advice. My whole life she always looked after me and she still does. I am lucky to have such an amazing sister. Someone I'll be friends with forever.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today was my mother's birthday so I thought I would share some pics and write a little about the day and about my wonderful mom. We woke up this morning and went to church and mom gave a really great lesson! When we got home Rich and went to work and made mom a birthday dinner. We told mom she wasn't allowed to help but she kept insisting so it ended up being the three of us in the kitchen! Rich made his famous rolls which were incredible too! After dinner and cake (of course!) the guys had to go to a church meeting so mom and I took a nice long nap and then walked on the beach. It was a really nice and relaxing day. And her big surprise was that Matt, Jess, Dad, and Rich and I went in on a gift for Mom which is tickets for her to go see the American Idol concert next week which she is THRILLED about! Anyway, I just wanted to tell my mom how much I appreciate her. She is an amazing woman. I admire so much about her and am blessed to have her in my life! Happy Birthday, Mom!