We Made it to the Port of Southampton!

Wow!!! We made it to London!!!

And isn't it interesting that one of the first things that I noticed was the cute "women's sign for the restrooms! It looks like a proper lady wearing a fancy dress. :)

We left the airport and boarded our coach and headed out for an hour and a half drive to the port.

It was fun to see the "London Fog" and the countryside on the way there.

The streets were lined with trees and shrubbery of all kinds...

The houses all looked so cozy and quaint!

We finally arrived at the Port of Southampton, where we would be boarding our cruise ship!

It looked massive when we first saw it!!

The Norwegian Dawn

We went through the boarding process...

...and went straight to the buffet since our rooms were not quite ready to go to.

It felt good to fill our tummies with some fruits and salads after flyting all through the night.

We also HAD to try the welcome cake. :)

After eating lunch, we went over to the pool area and spread out on the lounging chairs where we ALL fell asleep for an hour while they were preparing the staterooms.

We even enjoyed our first ice-cream cones! I say "first" because I'm sure there will be many nore of those to come over the next week or so...;)

We ate a fancy dinner...

...and had fancy desserts...

It was fun to see my mom in this element. I think it's a lot for her to take in, but I really think this will be a lasting memory for all of us.

Once our ship set sail, we went out to see the water. It is cool and beautiful out here...

I look forward to all of the memories that we will make together.

We have never done anything like this before, but I love being with my mom, and sister...

...but especially my sweetie!!!

He is my FAVORITE!

Let the adventures begin!

(P.S. We went to a concert on the first night that was a guy who did an amazing job at impersonating Phil Collins...it just wasn't my jam, and I sept through most of it because I was so exhausted! ;)

 

And We're Off!

Today we are beginning our adventure to the British Isles!!!

I have been looking forward to this trip for a while now, and the day has finally come!

We are taking my sweet mom on her first ever trip out of the country and cruise on the Norwegian Dawn. We fly from Salt Lake City, to Minneapolis, and then arrive in London!

We left the house around 7:30 this morning, and we should arrive in London tomorrow morning around 7:00 am. It's a long flight, but such an amazing opportunity to explore the other side of the world!!

One of the first tender mercies of the trip already has been that we got to see my brother Craig at the airport! It was neat for him to get to be there to see my mom off, and even though he can't come with us, his well wishes meant a lot to my mom. I can't wait to see all of the amazing things!

Bring on the fun!

 

Grandma is Here!

My sweet momma arrived at my house yesterday!

She was greeted with smiles and hugs, and a little homemade necklace with a picture of the temple on it, made by Kesslyn ;) And a chocolate of course. ;)

Clint and I are taking my mom on her first ever trip out of the country TOMORROW!

For my mom's 80th birthday I had her get a passport, and think about where in the world she would like to go. She decided on this trip to the British Isles. It is a church history tour with Hank Smith and Casey Griffiths, and we will be arriving in London, and setting sail on the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship for 10 days!

Our stops will be in various places, but Scotland and Denmark are among the ones my mom is most excited about, since that is where our ancestry lies.

I am so excited for the adventure, and pray that everything goes smoothly for my sweet mom to be able to have the adventure of a lifetime.

She will be 82 on her birthday in November, and so we had to get this done! We aren't getting any younger, you know! ;)

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift! That's why it's called the PRESENT.

I truly think this opportunity IS a gift., and I'm so grateful for it!

 

Sweet & Creative

Kesslyn is such a sweet and creative little girl.

I love how her mind gets an idea, and she runs with it!

She took apart a fairy garden that the girls had made years ago, dumped the dirt out, and started from scratch updating and rearranging the fairy garden.

It turned out beautiful and it was so fun to see her put it back together.

She also made brownies this weekend, and homemade confetti for her upcoming 8th birthday party! ;)

Kesslyn, you are a gem!

I love you so much!

Clint and I also celebrated Saturday the 22nd  as "My Day" and rode our bikes on the parkway, went to breakfast at Kneaders, took the kids to see the new Mission Impossible movie, had dinner at Blaze Pizza, went to Carew and Kara's house, and played pickle ball!

Wow it was a great day and a really fun weekend! ;)

 

The WWF

I just found these pictures from Sunday...

Twister with the family was a little like the WWF.(World Wrestling Federation)..We laughed so hard and had a great day together.

Carew and Kara came over, I spoke in church, we had the missionaries over for dinner, and we played games together.

Sundays are my favorite!

 

All In A Days Work

This is the result of adding extensions and doing bridal hair for my friend Emily's niece Ashley...;)

We braved the wee hours of the morning together! 3:00 am was when we started in order to have her all done up and ready to be on the mountain for the sunrise...

Isn't it crazy what us girls will do for our hair?

...and speaking of the mountain! Here is one that I love...the evergreen "Christmas" trees and the wildflowers...

I made a stop in Bountiful after taking Clint to lunch, and visited my sister at her work. 

It was good to see her for a minute. :)

Also I was privileged to have TWO dates with Clint in one day!

Not only did I get to take him to lunch, but then we went on an evening bike ride, and ended up at a park with a shake to share  and a beautiful view of the temple.

I am so grateful for special people and all the time we get to spend together. We are so blessed!

 

37 Days

ELDER TRICKETT COMES HOME IN 37 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, August 25th:

Curitiba Brazil to Sao Paulo Brazil

Sao Paulo Brazil to Atlanta Georgia USA

Atlanta to Salt Lake City Baby!!!!!!

 

Friends & Missionaries

Kesslyn and Kate had such a fun time playing ALL day long yesterday!

I wish I could  have taken a picture of them trying to help each other climb up onto the trampoline!!!

I was dying laughing!!! ;););)

They made the most awesome fort in the hallway upstairs, and didn't want the day to end. :)

I know I have saved this picture before, but I had to save it again, but this time with....

...our awesome cousin Cohen! 

Just look at these two missionaries in Brazil! Loving everyone, and LOVING their missions! ;)

It was just so fun to see their emails come through with so many similar things going on for them, and with both of them being in Brazil, this just HAD to be documented!

Jesus said love EVERYONE, and that's what we are trying to do! 

People, puppies, kitties and all!

 

Special Things ~ Just For Us

On Friday night, DATE NIGHT,  ;) Clint and I went to the temple and then went to grab a bite to eat after. As we were sitting in the booth talking and finishing up our meal, we began hearing loud booming sounds coming from outside...

We had no idea that it was Draper town days and that we were going to be standing right underneath their fireworks show that night!

It was like they were doing the show JUST for us! ;)

I also gave a talk on Sunday about being converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a great opportunity to share my testimony with everyone, but I'm always glad when those things are over.

Then, this morning when I woke up to my alarm at 5:30 am, I was a little surprised to see that I already had a text message from someone. When I opened it up and saw that Gavin had sent me the sweetest message last night before he went to bed, my heart just melted.

Then, shortly after our morning got going, the phone rang as it does every Monday morning, and it was our favorite missionary, Elder Trickett in Brazil!

It is always so fun to see him and to hear how his week is going.

He shared this photo with me to show off his "guns" that he's been working on since they have a gym in the apartment of the AP's.

I told him I didn't know he was going to come home a spiritual AND a physical giant! ;)

I LOVE my family!!!