It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Christmas

Christmas may officially begin.

happy finals

btw

..june 14..

Can't get over how happy I am for these two. 

Let the wedding plans begin.

i miss the ones i hardly see and can't get enough of the ones i live with

Loline. Ems. Aberinio. Bethy. Natalie Ratatouille. Stedo.

funny.

If you know anything about me, you know that I love Pinterest.

WAY TOO MUCH.

And IP&T 213 on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:00-12:30 can be REALLY boring sometimes.

So, naturally. Pinterest just somehow happens to pop up on my computer.

Found these gems the other day. 

And. My personal favorite.

untitled

736 days later

This was actually a redo of the first hug because we didn't get a picture the first time.

But the second was just as great as the first, so it's all good.

So so so happy.

After his talk on Sunday. He did so well. :)

Just hanging out at my parent's house. Feels good.

Right before he left for California. 

4 days is a whole lot better than 736. Just saying.

Couldn't be happier to have this boy home.

wait, really?

Is this day actually happening?

hmmm...

Have you ever freaked about the fact that you're not freaking out about something that you should definitely be freaking out about?





I have.

BYU Independent Study: LDS Marriage and Family

Yes, I bought it. 


The $20 extension. 


Which, I propose, is actually a very good deal. I get three whole months to now begin the class I never started but had a whole year to complete in the first place.








Okay, that's a lie. 


I started it. Got six whole assignments done! 


Unfortunately the seventh is to write a paper about the first six. Apparently that didn't sound very appealing last July. Because this July? Still haven't started it.








Okay, that's a lie, too. I opened a word document, made up a title and saved it in the appropriate folder. Yesss.






So, here's the thing. I should've just written that paper last July. Because now this July I don't even remember what the first six assignments were about. Now I have to go reread everything just to write the paper.


The joys of procrastination.








I have 35 days to complete it.






Okay, that's a lie, too. It's not due until October 10. HOWEVER, we all know my motivation to do anything school related is going to plummet in 35 days.






So, I'm giving myself 35 days.










And tonight's not looking very promising.


Make that 34 days.

lunch date

Today we went to The Pizza Factory. Wanna know what we ordered?

Breadsticks and raspberry lemonade.

I highly recommend it.

as of late

i miss my sister.

i really love work. it's lots of fun.

i bought an extension for that one class... not that i had a year to finish it or anything.

my tan is fading. not cool.

my freshman year missionaries are getting home. yesss.

3 miles isn't as hard as it used to be.

46 days, friends. 46 days.

i think it was a thursday... nope it was a tuesday

i spent the morning home alone.
i got some stuff done.
didn't get some other stuff done.
it was relaxing, but semi boring.


then i went to work.


guys, i have the best job.
especially when i work the closing shift.
because there's nothing to do.
which means i just get to talk to fabulous people all night.


seriously though.
mikelle and mckenzi and i just laughed about not so secrets that nobody knows about.


who knew danielle is majoring in geography.


apparently joe from computers isn't very nice.


justin's keep going over hours so has to show up ten minutes late to work everyday so that he won't go over anymore.


and whitney? well, she remembers every detail. the exact date. plus the day of the week. and the kind of flower. and what shift she worked that day.


also, michael's pretty much the nicest person on the planet. 




guys. i have the best job. because i get to spend it with people. and talk to them. and learn about them. and laugh with them. and i couldn't love it more.

happy summer

behind the service desk

it was a deep conversation with an unlikely friend

but it was exactly what i needed

she helped me sort through my thoughts and remind myself what i know is true

she listened and listened

and listened some more

and the first words out of her mouth were just what i needed to hear.

here's to unexpected conversations and spontaneous friendships that turn into something wonderful

Mr. & Mrs. Palmer

Please pardon the fact that my Instagram, Facebook, and now blog are all littered with this beautiful wedding. I just can't enough of it.

Deborah Ferry and Jonathan Palmer were sealed for time and all eternity. 

The whole day was one big beautiful celebration. 

These two fabulous people were made for each other and I could not be happier for them. 

For six long years we have patiently waited and Tuesday, June 12 was the day.

And what a glorious day.

 

In other news: My ever lovely sister, Abby, and the darling Cecily Palmer.

HUNGARY

I can't believe I've been in Buadpest for 9 whole days. It feels like it's been about 2 seconds. I also can't believe I've only blogged about it once. I sincerely apologize. On the other hand, my lovely friend Katie has blogged every night about our adventures. Read about it here. I'll try to give you the highlights of the last 9 days.

Sunday we did a bit of sight seeing.

The four of us on the chain bridge connecting Buda and Pest.

Here we are in front of the Parliament building. It's gorgeous!

Looking from the Pest side into Buda.

Monday we started our observing and visiting.

We started out touring the St. Matthias Coronation Cathedral. It is stunning. They are doing some major renovations, so we didn't get a lot of pictures, but this gives you a pretty good idea.

Then we made our way over to The Institute for Musicology and Folk Song Research. This is a picture of the street it is on. Monday was a rainy and gloomy day, but the colors of the buildings were fabulous.

Dr. Jaccard has a special surprise planned for us later that day. This is Mrs. Kodaly - wife of the late Zoltan Kodaly (The man who's music education system we are studying here in Hungary). This was an INCREDIBLE opportunity for us. We were given a tour of the house they lived in together before Kodaly died in 1967 and then were able to speak with Mrs. Kodaly for about an hour. She has beautiful English and told us a lot about herself. She was very involved in the music world before she married Kodaly and has had a lot of influence since.

Then we met up with Dr. Jaccard's friend Bela for the evening. We walked around downtown Pest with him and he told us some interesting things about Hungarian History. Here we are at dinner. Bela's wife, Boro, is taking us shopping next Friday before we head home. Yay!

Tuesday we observed classes and lessons at the Bela Bartok Conservatory and then headed to the opera to see Madame Butterfly! It was wonderful.

Here is the stunning Budapest Opera House.

And the four of us. :)

Wednesday we observed a choir rehearsal at The Hungarian Radio Children's Choir School. They are incredible. The children are so talented and the teachers and conductors are amazing. Gabi, the conductor was so inviting and spoke with us for a little while before the rehearsal began. Her choir is performing tonight and we are going. I'm so excited!

 Here we are outside The Radio Choir School.

 That night we got the most amazing soufflé for dessert. It was delicious! 


We spent all of Thursday observing classes, lessons, and rehearsals at the Kodaly Hungarian Choir School and the Mozart Leopold After-School Conservatory. That night we went on a River Tour up and down the Danube. It was breathtaking.

The Parliament Building all lit up.

On our way back we found some creepy doors and decided to knock on them half hoping someone would answer. :)

Friday we went back to Gabi's school and the Kodaly Hungarian Choir School. Seriously, these choirs are phenomenal. I wish you could have been there to hear them.

Here is one of the metro stops that I think looks like my name.

Our last night on the metro - we were so sad. We've have some good times on the metro. The public transportation in Hungary is fabulous. Between the buses, electric buses, trams, and the metro, we could go anywhere we needed.

Saturday we went to Vienna!!!

We passed some beautiful canola fields on the way.

Vienna is so beautiful! It was a gloomy, rainy day, but we still loved it. Karissa lived in Vienna for three months last year, so we had our own personal tour guide. It was awesome. 

This is Schonbrunn, where the Austrian Royalty used to spend their summers. It is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Absolutely stunning.

We couldn't leave Vienna without singing some Sound of Music. Please enjoy this fabulous video. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=APltrp359cw

Today (Sunday) we went to Stake Conference and later tonight we're going to a performance by one of Gabi's choirs. I couldn't be more excited.

Friday night we went to Institute at the mission home and I ran into a friend from high school! I didn't know Elder Preston Wright was serving here. Anyway, it was fun to see him and talk to him for a bit. I got a picture with him today at Stake Conference. Please notice how we're awkwardly standing seven feet apart. :) Gotta love missionaries.

So there's a quick update for you! Tomorrow we travel to Kecskemet and then Tuesday to Debrecen. We'll be back in Budpest on Friday to do some shopping. Then I make my way to Manchester to meet up with my mom and spent five days in England. Can't wait!