in 3 years time.

When it comes to people, have g r e a t  e x p e c t a t i o n s. 
It will be good for your soul, and it may touch theirs. 

I read this little phrase from a book several years back and wrote it down because it struck me as being important. This week I noticed it pinned up on the bulletin board in my room, amidst random little notes, running bibs, dove chocolate wrappers, paintings from around the world, and too many pictures to count. A collage of memories of my life. That quote reminded me that I have exciting hopes and dreams for my life, and I try to see and cheer for the hopes and dreams of others. It makes life more beautiful.

In 3 years time a lot can happen. Like never writing on this blog. :) I've decided to start writing again...that is, if I have access to my blog in China. P.S. I'm student teaching this summer in China! I downloaded an app to help me learn some Mandarin, and so far they've taught me this: wo shì nü rén. Translation: I am a woman. Not quite sure how much that will help me while in China. Also, I'm really glad I got to learn French on my mission. Huge blessing right there.

Anyway, here's to a summer full of new adventures!

Stuff your eyes with wonder, 

live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. 

See the world. 

It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.

– Ray Bradbury

this is see you soon.

I never planned to create a blog. It just sort of happened. I was heading to Jerusalem for 4 months and, after looking at other people's "travel blogs," I thought it would be something fun to try. Knowing my love of writing, pictures, and wit, I should have figured that the whole blog-thingy would continue once I came home.

While I'm sure some people have stumbled across my adventures in this little corner of the web, I mostly look at this blog as a chronicle of my life for me and my future. Not to sound selfish or anything. I just hope someday my kids will enjoy looking back at it and laughing.

Tomorrow I start the next adventure of my life. I am serving a mission for 18 months in France for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I plan to serve with all my heart, mind, and soul.

To continue chronicling my adventures, my family will be updating my blog with my weekly emails (and hopefully pictures!). I'm excited to have these 18 months documented here and when I return, we'll see if the blog bug is still itching me or if blogging even exists. :) Until then...

I leave you with one of my favorite songs. Don't Panic, by Coldplay. haha.

Au Revoir.

over the weekend.

This past week was one of those times where so much is going on that you just plow straight through and only stop and look back when everything's over. Now that I can breathe again, if only for a week :), I've enjoyed reminiscing about the good things that happened these past few days. 

One night we went to Mazza, a Middle Eastern restaurant, and ate some hummus and falafel. We told them right when we ordered that some of us had been to Jerusalem and knew what really good falafel tasted like. I think we were just trying to scare them in to making some really good food. And it wasn't half bad. (Though nothing will be as good as the falafel at the bottom of Damascus Gate.) Eating the pita and hummus brought back a lot of memories. 

Oh, did I mention that Danielle came to visit? She just got back from a study abroad in Mexico and Belize, *cough* world traveler, and stayed for the weekend. She kept me sane while I prepared for my talk and everything. Also, it was her birthday. The big 21. So we celebrated. 

My favorite part of the birthday celebration was taking Danielle on a hike up Bell's Canyon. Here she is enjoying the view and drinking some sparkling cider. 

As soon as we sat down on the bench overlooking the lake, two geese made a bee-line straight towards us. It was slightly freaky. Apparently people feed them all the time. But I couldn't justify giving them any pop-rocks chocolate, happy hippos, or peach rings. They were pretty upset. Here they are leaving us in disgust. 

 On the way down, Danielle's awesome camera was able to snap this beauty of a picture.

I think this might be the only picture someone has taken of me driving in a car. A lot of the week invovled rockin' out to music. Because soon all of that will be over. I think music might be the thing I'll miss most. Besides my family of course. :)

For my farewell, I got this crazy idea to make Eiffel Tower cookies. Let's just say I won't be doing it again. But it was fun to make them with Danielle and see her inner pastry chef. 

My farewell was really a lot of fun. I was somewhat dreading giving a talk in front of my whole ward, but as soon as I stood up I felt really calm and might have enjoyed giving it. Just a little. It was fun afterwards to see friends and family at my house. My mom worked wonders with the decorations and food. And all of it just made me more excited to leave on mission. I can't wait to learn French and preach the gospel to people of France. Can it only be 7 days away!?!?

bell's canyon.

Today, Peter got out of school early so we decided to hike up Bell's Canyon. We only made it to the first reservoir (steep hike + no water + heat + bad shoes) but it was still so beautiful. I'm glad I brought my new camera along for the adventure. I had fun taking pictures (as you can probably tell). I followed Peter around the lake as he fished, soaking in the sun and loving the scenery. Whoever hates on Utah has clearly not been to the mountains, or looked out their window for that matter.  

Ah, springtime in the mountains. Everything is so green and new and I love the sound of water rushing over the rocks. The only sad thing about this little adventure was realizing that once I leave on my mission, I won't see Peter for over 3 years. He's leaving on his mission next summer. This is lame. I'm gonna miss singing to the radio in the car with him and laughing about some silly little thing together. 

Hopefully we'll be able to squeeze in a few more fun times before I leave. I asked Peter what we should do before that and he said "hike and bake something." Cool. I think we can figure something out. 

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!

that's a first.

All I've had to eat today is a ripped off chunk of baguette. It's currently 3 PM. And I'm not really that hungry. That, people, is a first.

I'm not quite sure what's wrong with me...but I hear the French eat in small but rich quantities, so maybe it's just preparation for later.

Also, I've been taking a couple of French lessons from an awesome French tutor. Just so I'm not totally clueless in the MTC. It's good and bad thing. Helpful to get all the crazy sounds and pronunciations down, but mostly I just think "I've got to learn this language well enough to carry on a conversation with someone?" hahahahahahahahahahaha. It's gonna be great.

I know he's learning Spanish, but Michael's reaction at 10 seconds will be mine for the first nine-ish months. Guaranteed.

Another random thought:

Summer is simple. That's one of the reasons why I love it. I just put on the first thing I see in my closet and sometimes don't wear makeup. Judge me as you will. But I find it really satisfying when I can rub my eyes and not have to worry about smudging anything. Also, I haven't straightened my hair in over a month. And I really like it. I've finally become friends with my curly hair. That's another first. I have a feeling there's gonna be a lot of those in the next little while. And I'm excited for them.

our last night of epic awesomeness.

photo courtesy of Bekstrand.

I have the best friends. 

Seriously. 

And I'm gonna miss them.

One night last semester while we waiting for orchestra,

Bekstrand and I realized that in a couple of months 

we wouldn't be seeing each other for quite some time,

what with her leaving for Europe on May 8th 

and me leaving for my mission on May 30th. 

I also realized that she wouldn't be able to come to my farewell. Boo. 

But Bekstrand decided we would have to have one last party together before we left. 

She even put it in her phone calendar. 

That's how legit we are. 

Friday, May 4th was that party.

And it was epic.

Bekstrand and Heather 

(Penrose Penthouse Forever! Or until they tear it down)

picked me up in Bekstrand's insanely huge car. haha.

And we sat mexi style in the front seat.

Just like High School.

Then, the night panned out into the 5 phases. 

Yes. That's right. Phases.

Can you sense the awesomeness? 

Phase 1:

Dinner at Zupas.

I got the bacon tomato avocado panini. Actually, I always do. 

But that's because it's sooooo good. 

[Phase 1.5: Drive for a while and possibly get lost and have to rely on Gina (the GPS) to give us directions which she doesn't seem capable of doing. Oh, and laugh a lot.)

Phase 2:

Take a little hike up a trail to a beautiful waterfall and take fun pictures. 

And revel in the beauty and solitude 

until about 20 kids suddenly swarm the mountain. 

Phase 3:

Go to the grocery store. 

And then get forced to sit in the car while Bekstrand and Heather

take FOREVER getting whatever they're getting.

(Which turned out to be ice cream and toppings. So it was worth it.)

My favorite part was watching people walk up to the exit of the store

and stand in front of the doors for a couple seconds

before realizing the doors weren't going to open.

Hilarious. 

Phase 4:

Watch Two Weeks Notice (I love Sandra Bullock) and eat a lot of junk food.

Half way through the movie, 

Heather and Bekstrand asked me if I wanted to eat any chips. 

I look over to see about 2/3rds of the bag already gone.

Wow. 

Phase 5:

Sleep on Bekstrand's tramp. 

Which was fun while we were talking and discussing what the clouds looked like.

Then it turned into a nightmare.

Freezing cold+wind+a blinding bright moon+not enough blankets=no sleep.

Luckily, Bekstrand was experiencing the same thing. 

At around 2, the following exchange occurred:

Bekstrand: Charlotte?

Me: Yes?

Bekstrand: Are you cold?

Me: Freezing.

Bekstrand: Do you want to go inside?

Me: Yes!

Bekstrand: What about Heather?

Me: Just leave her.

[short pause.]

Heather: Whaaaaattttt?!?!?

So all three of us stumbled inside. 

The warmth and the couch were pure bliss. 

The next morning Bekstrand's mom made us waffles.

All in all, it was a great night, one that I will always remember. 

The worst part was saying goodbye. 

I'll just think of it as a "see you soon."