british invasion.

England. My first "i'm-going-to-travel-there-someday" love. While kids were throwing out China and Fiji and Mexico as awesome destinations, my response was consistently "Great Britain, please." I'm not quite sure when the obsession surfaced. Let's just say it's been here awhile. And visiting the UK last summer only made me want to go back more, because two weeks is not NEARLY enough time to see/smell/taste/do everything. Really. I've added to my dream list a study abroad to London. (Don't worry. My next adventure is still my mission to France and I am beyond excited to study the gospel, learn some French, and experience the sites and tastes of France. Maybe it's just Europe in general that I'm obsessed with.)

Anyway. This sudden blurb about England surfaced because some of my friends are traveling/ studying in Europe and I'm a tad bit jealous. And then there's the whole One Direction boy band that's not half bad. Which translates to, "I've been listening to their music. A lot." (Just preparing for the fast approaching 18 months of straight classical music and MoTab). It's funny, they kinda remind me a little of Beatle Mania, what with all the recent hype here in the states.

And this picture...

...looks a little familiar.

A few of my loves of England:

Fish and chips. Harry Potter. The Lake District. St. Paul's Cathedral. Coldplay. Jane Austen. J.R.R. Tolkien. Muse. Green expanses of countryside. Oxford & Cambridge. U2. Big Ben. Red buses. Kate & William. Shakespeare. London Town. Musicals. The Rolling Stones. Hadrian's Wall. Pubs. The Cotswolds. Wimbledon. Stonehenge. Robin Hood. The Beatles. English breakfasts. Trains. The Police. Rainy days. The Cliffs of Dover. The Smiths. 

And in case you want a lovely video of places around London (plus One Direction), take a look at this.

Cheerio!

screaming babies and ryan reynolds.

It all started in the airport. Typical. Where else do you take people from all ages/ cultures/ locations and cram them into a tiny space for x number of hours? I'm convinced something interesting is bound to happen to you in an airport. My experiences range from when my dad and I saw Stevie Wonder in the Las Vegas airport to the one time I was stuck between the extremely chatty gun-man from Colorado and the elusive, British dude who drank one too many shots on my ride to New York.

This last airport trip was no exception. First, I was seated in the emergency exit row, and the pilot came by and asked us if we would be willing to open the exit during the emergency. I nodded "yes", but in my head I was like, "I'm not quite sure I would be that sane and alert as our plane was careening in a nose-dive towards certain destruction to remember, oh yes! I must now lift this thingy-mabob and open this window and help each passenger out onto this wing. Hi, my name's Charlotte. What's yours? Oh, I love your shirt! Right this way to the wing, please." Anyway, if your wondering why to sit in the emergency seat, the bonus is you get more leg room. Hooray! However, if you're me, and like to sleep by resting your head on the tray table, you'll soon discover that the seat in front of you is too far forward to make this possible. Also, there was a draft coming from the exit window and the thin, Delta blanket didn't quite cut it. And I thought it was cold in Utah. I was feeling around for the draft and I put my hand right over the emergency exit lifter-thingy right when a flight attendant walked by and she said, "I wouldn't open that if I were you." Right, since I was planning on opening that anyway. But, hey, if you love ample feet space and don't mind wearing thermal underwear, the emergency exit seat is for you!

Getting back to my story, I spent the last 30 minutes of the flight listening to a screaming baby. And it wasn't on and off crying, it was non-stop, fog-horn loud, ear-piercing screaming. The mom and child were having some constant silent struggle back there. It was sups intense. But I was pretty impressed with all the surrounding seated people, because no one complained or shot them nasty looks. For the first 15 minutes I felt bad for the mom, for the last I vowed never to have a child that acted that bad on a plane (knock-on wood).

When I finally got off the plane (hallelujah), I was exhausted and tired and slightly grumpy. I stumbled out of the jetway, walked past the check-in desk and this guy, did a double take, turned around and looked straight at Ryan Reynolds. What the!? We both looked at each other for a couple seconds. He seemed to be saying, "you don't know me!" I was saying (in my head of course), "what are you doing in Utah?!" However, I was pretty impressed with myself because I didn't freak out or scream or run over for his autograph. I just looked and then walked away. It all happened super fast. I hurriedly told my family and their response was either, "who care's?" or "who's Ryan Reynolds?" But I thought it was pretty awesome. It's not every day you get to see a famous (and attractive) movie star.

And, in case you were wondering why I was in an airport, my parents surprised us with a trip to Orlando, Florida! It was a great way to spend the last days of Christmas Break. We went to Island's of Adventure and saw the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter (HP forever!) and then spent our remaining days in Disney World, visiting EPCOT, Universal Studies, and the Magic Kingdom. On New Year's Eve, we found ourselves with thousands of others in the Magic Kingdom. We were all smashed together in front of the brilliantly-lit castle, watching an awesome fireworks show, and dancing to music. It was the ultimate party. All the rides were open till 3 AM, so we went on Splash and Thunder Mountain while waiting for midnight. When it was all over it took us 3 hours to get out of the park...and then we had to leave for the airport at 4 AM. So basically I slept 1 hour that morning before leaving for a 7 AM departure. We were all pretty wasted, but it was worth it!

Here are some pictures, because you probably just saw all that text, gasped, and scrolled down looking for pictures. I did not disappoint. :)

Excuse me sir, can you tell me where I might find Platform 9 3/4?

Welcome to Hogwarts!

In front of the entrance for the Harry Potter ride.

Entrance to Hogsmeade.

It looked so real! And the butter-beer was brilliant.

Just 2 muggles chilling in Hogsmeade. 

James and his pygmy puff.

Check it out! Extendable ears really do exist. :)

At the entrance of EPCOT.

We love Splash Mountain!

The castle, all lit up, right before midnight. 

On Main Street, USA. Happy New Year 2012!

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel...

...until he comes home and rests his head on his own, familiar pillow.
Lin Yutang

photo source here. 

Woke up today at 5 AM. Oh the perks of jet lag. 

Spent 30 minutes playing fetch with Ginger. 

Got on facebook. Bored. Went off facebook.

Wondered what time it was back in Jerusalem.

Ate chex with ice cold milk. At my kitchen counter. In my pjs, with bare feet.

It's good to be back.

***

The first day home in America was a blast.

I slept in, then proceeded to make waffles and bacon. No more kosher kitchens!

source. 

Then I hung out with my family, listened to Christmas music,

and played our baby grand piano. 

Lunch. Cafe Rio (+ the good ice). 'Nuff said. 

source. 

Don't you love how so much of being home involves food?

Next came shopping at Costco. The place was crazy! 

I sort of just walked around dazed by the aisles of food

and people racing to and fro. 

But the taste testers were great. I might have gone back to the cookie one 3 times. 

At night I went to a movie at a theatre. First time in 4 months. :)

I have never slept through a movie before, 

but apparently my body didn't know that

because I slept through most of the movie. 

Strange. 

I guess I'll have to catch up with Holmes and Watson later. 

Leavin' on a jet plane.

One of my last sunsets in Jerusalem.

Sitting in the Ben Gurion airport. 

Made it through all 5 check points.

Successfully answered questions concerning my chocolate bars.

(I'm still wondering about this too.)

Bags safely checked. 

Am I really going home?

It seems a little surreal, like Jerusalem was just

a dream. 

I will miss it all:

the people,

the places,

the memories.

But I am stoked

to come home!

America has never sounded so good.

See you on the flip side.

Surprise!

And you thought I was done with Galilee. :)

Well, because I haven't taken too many pictures over the past couple of days and because I just got the rest of the Galilee pics from Danielle, I thought I'd put up some last pictures from my time up north. I realize more and more each day how much I love Galilee. It was so beautiful and quiet up there and a day didn't go by that I learned something new and saw something incredible. Enjoy!

Me at the Jordan River. We went there at night. Randie comment,
there were these strange water rats that we saw there. I'm not
quite sure what they were, but I know Peter and James would
have loved to see them swimming around. 

AnnaLeah, Danielle, me, Taylor, and Maddy at a site that has currently
slipped my mind. But it's a beautiful view, right?!

AnnaLeah, me, and Danielle at Megiddo, the future site of Armageddon.
There was a storm brewing which made it even cooler. The views were great.

Me and Danielle pointing to the Syrian border while at Tel Dan. Those little
white houses in the background are in Syria. 

Jared, me, Danielle, and Suzy inside some bunkers left over
from the previous wars between Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. 

Maddy and me at a waterfall near Caesarea Philippi. This part of Galilee
was beautiful because the changing colors on the leaves reminded me of Fall.

You can't really tell, but in the shadow on the sign are the words
"secret tunnel." I couldn't resist.
Beneath the clothes, we find the man...and beneath the man,
we find his...nucleus. 

Suzy, me, and Danielle having a little too much fun at
the ruins of a crusader castle. 

Ok, check it out! Ben found this awesome chameleon at Sepphoris
and we might have spent more time playing with it then looking
at the rocks. :) It looked just like the chameleon from Tangled so
we called him Pascal, and he even changed colors depending
on where we put him. It would have made the perfect pet!

Sunset on the Sea of Galilee. This picture is taken right from the
cabins where we stayed. We had a sunset like this seriously every
night. I am amazed by how incredible the sunsets are over here.
They're one of the things I will miss about Jerusalem.

Speaking of which, we are down to 2 weeks. That's right, 2 weeks! Ahhh! Where has the time gone? The other day at our announcement meeting they told us about the JCLDS syndrome. (Jerusalem Center Last Days Syndrome). I definitely have it. It's a bitter-sweet feeling. You're excited to go home and experience family and Christmas and snow and all the little wonderful things about America. But it slowly dawns on you all the incredible experiences you've had in Jerusalem. And the amazing friendships you've created. And the falafel and date bread and sunsets and memories that you will be leaving behind.

It's a funny thing about coming home. 

Looks the same, 

smells the same, 

feels the same.

You'll realize what's changed 

is you. 

source

I feel happy of myself.

Mission: pack your life, for the next 4 months, into 1 50-lb. suitcase and 1 small carry-on. This includes random things like piano music + flute + shoes + a blanket + school supplies + books + and other stuff you can't go 4 months without.

Status: not complete, so far.

So naturally I avoided packing and did other fun stuff. Like dominating James in Scrabble. Or helping cook dinner for family and friends. Or enjoying some summer sunshine. Or watching this video on youtube.

It never ceases to make me smile. And now that I "bah-lieve in myself," I think I'm up for packing, round 2.

A Jolly Holiday from Holladay.

Woke up in London yesterday...

"When a man tires of London, he tires of life." 

~Samuel Johnson

Just got back from a 2-week whirlwind tour of England, Scotland, and Wales with my family. It was brilliant! We started out in Bath, a beautiful city on the river Avon. 

Me and my mom. Behind us is Bath Abbey.

The Roman Baths were way cooler then I thought.  You walk in on ground level, but the baths are actually a couple stories below you. The water is green, and has lead in it, so I'm sure that swimming in it and drinking it was such a good idea. We tried the actual water up in the pump room, and it tasted nasty, kinda like warm blood!

While in Bath, we visited Stourhead Gardens and Stonehenge. 

Stourhead Gardens were beautiful! Not to mention they filmed some of Pride and Prejudice here. Remember the rain scene?

Stonehenge. It was unreal to stand there after seeing so many pictures of the place my whole life. 

 Next, we moved on to the Cotswolds. I didn't take a lot of pictures, but the little towns were all so quaint with thatched roofs and covered in flowers.

James and I in Chipping Campden. 

Our next stop was Statford-upon-Avon. We saw Shakespeare's birthplace as well as Anne Hathaway's cottage, and Peter and James of course fed the swans on the river Avon.

Our hotel- was standing when Shakespeare lived there. 

Did I mention that we rented a car? It was pretty crazy driving on the wrong side of the road AND the wrong side of the car. Luckily, my dad is amazing and he figured it out. We saw this sign on the back of a truck. 

 We continued our trip by heading up to Wales. We stopped first at Conwy, a beautiful city on the shores of a lake.

Conwy castle.

The smallest house in Great Britain. The last person to live there, in the 1900s, was over 6 feet tall!

Wales was beautiful and green. 

Stopping at a McDonalds. I was bummed, until I saw that they had cadburry mcflurrys on the menu. Yuumm!

Quick stop in Liverpool. "Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes...." 

Our next big stop was at the village of Luss, on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. This was where my Cahoon ancestors came from.

Our one rainy day was is Edinburgh, Scotland. But that didn't stop us from enjoying the city.

Hidden mickey at the Edinburgh castle!

The Royal Mile. 

Hadrian's Wall. 

 The second to last stop was at York. The city had a medieval feel and was really fun to walk through.

York Minster. 

The Shambles--originally where all the butchers worked, but now the streets are lined with shops. 

Finally, we made it to London! We only had three days there, but we crammed in a ton: Westminster, Tower of London, Trafalgar Square, too many museums to count (my favorite was the National Gallery), big red bus tour, cruise on the Thames, St. Pauls, St. Martins in the Field, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and so much more!

View from right outside our hotel!

Feeding the birds at St. Paul's. 

What a brilliant holiday!