Day 2 - Portland England

On Friday morning we were up bright and early to disembark the ship for our first shore excursion in Portland, England!

There were so many amazing views to see right from the minute we stepped onto the dock.

Even the ride on the bus was exciting because of all of the neat things that we got to see in town on our way to our destination...

...old churches and cemeteries...

...a soldier riding on his horse carved into the hillside...

...thatched roofs!

I had never heard of thatched roofs before, I learned that they were roofs made out of natural elements, and then marked with different sculpted animal shapes.

The different animals on different roofs was almost like a trademark of the person who built the roof.

We saw roofs with cats chasing mice, a whale, a rabbit...

...we even saw this iconic telephone booth out in the middle of a neighborhood...

...and more cool, old cemeteries...

We stopped at the Lulworth Dorset Visitors Center

We were the first people to stop there for the day which was nice because there weren't many people there.

It was also too bad they hadn't opened their gift shop yet!

We saw more thatched roofs there. 

This one had a duck on it!

The houses were so interesting to look at, and so different from what we are used to seeing in the states.

The streets were fun to wander down...

We also made our way to the Corfe Castle!

This had a beautiful little hike to the castle, about a half mile or so.

I was SO proud of my momma! She trekked it like a champ!

It was so interesting to hear all of the history of the castle, and to imagine what it would have been like to live there so long ago... 

The town was quaint and bustling with visitors...

I loved watching my mom look out over the hillside and talking about all of the things that we wondered about.

Who were these people and why did they live here?

Would I have liked to be the queen?

It was just so neat, and kind of surreal! We are in England!

After seeing the castle we headed back down to go into the town.

We saw an old trebuchet that was used to defend/attack the castle... 

We heard stories being told in thick British accents...

...there were baskets of handmade blankets that you could borrow for a picnic on the lawn...

The town was full of churches and shops...

...bakeries and gift shops. We even got to go inside an old train station that felt a lot like Harry Potter!

Here is the inside of the station...

...and here is the back platform where people would catch the train.

The buildings and flowers were all such beautiful and vibrant colors!

We walked back through the town and back to our bus...

...and admired everything we saw on our way!

Even this cute door with the letter opening right on the door.

As we passed this cozy little cottage, I felt like I was looking at a beautiful postcard!

And then when I saw the castle in the distance behind it, I HAD to get a picture in front of it!

I almost had to pinch myself...we are in England!!!

We continued on into the city where we were let off for a lunch break and some shopping.

Again, there were so many neat things to see everywhere we went!

Beaches and buildings of every color...

Boats and giant seagulls...

Beautiful architecture...

Sailboats in the harbor...

And the bridge being put up to let the boats sail through, and then let back down again...

We would always get caught in the traffic because we are used to walking on the opposite side of the road...;)

We found an amazing little restaurant that served authentic fish and chips!

We stood in line with so many other people waiting for a yummy taste. We saw so many interesting things while we waited, like this train taxi...

And although most everyone wanted fish and chips, my mom wanted ice cream!

She's the cutest little 81 year old I ever did see! ;)

They were right!

The fish and chips were delicious!

Totally worth the wait!

After we got back on the bus we drove to a lookout where we could see the town of Portland.

Statues  of the Olympics that came there...

...the miles and miles of beaches...

What a beautiful day to see a beautiful part of the world with some of the people that I love.

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!