5/29/2012--Temple Newsam

Today was our last day! We spent the morning at Temple Newsam which is a SUPER old house. It was super cool inside.  There was lots of Chippendale furniture and other stuff that I learned a lot about when I was taking interior design, so that was pretty cool. 

 We go there an hour before the house opened, so we spent awhile in the gardens first.  

There were so many pretty flowers! Also since we went so early there weren't very many people, so that was nice. 

There were so many benches that I couldn't even decide which one to sit on!

We went to Nando's for lunch and then spent the rest of the day packing. Tonight they had a big teaparty for all the young women.  It was fun, but kind of stressful to get ready for since today was our last day. 

5/28/2012--Bolton Abbey

Today we went to Bolton Abbey with Chris Vingoe and David Layton (they are in Heidi's ward). It was so much fun!!! Definitely one of our favorite days.  Heidi couldn't go though because she had to work on her paper. On the way we stopped at a grocery store to get some sandwich stuff for lunch, and we also stopped at a super pretty chapel that was in Chris's mission. The first thing we did when we got to Bolton Abbey was have a sword fight with our baguettes! haha. David was very excited about it. 

Then we ate a picnic by the river.  It was so yummy! My new favorite thing is white chocolate milk. So good! I drank way too much though. 

The abbey was super cool and we just played around on the ruins for who knows how long. 

The four of us had a blast! There were two other girls from Heidi's ward who were also there at the same time, but they weren't with us for very long.  I don't have any pictures with them :(

This is what the abbey originally looked like...

And the chapel part is actually still intact! It was pretty cool. 

There were some really cool stepping stones that went across the river. You can't really tell in this picture but  the water has a reddish tint to it because there's so much iron in the area. It was kind of crazy. 

 Once we crossed the river we went for a little hike. It was so pretty! I definitely didn't feel like I was in England though.  A lot of it reminded me more of the jungle. 

One of the coolest parts of the hike was this money tree!  Someone hammered a TON of British coins into the tree, but most of them were only one or two pence.  It was way cool though!

Here's a close up of what it looked like. Super crazy!  They even bent them over so you can't pull most of them out. 

 At the end of our hike we sat by the river for a while and fed the ducks. We still had almost half of a baguette. The ducks were so cute!  They especially loved Chris and were very good friends with him.  

On the way back to the car we played tag and just did random stuff. It was so so fun. We had a blast!  This picture was staged to commemorate one of our favorite moments.  Michelle, Chris, and I were all walking super close together and talking.  Apparently we were super distracted and someone tripped on this speed bump.  It had a total domino effect! We all tripped over each other and we were laughing so hard. It was definitely a great day. 

5/27/2012--Church & Goodbye Party

Today I forgot my camera (and the battery was dead anyways), so I will have to get pictures from Heidi or Michelle. Basically though, Heidi sang in church and all of our meetings were really good.  Amanda came as well.  She is so great.  We were sad when she had to go back home this afternoon.  After church we had a going away party for Heidi at Kirkstal Abbey.  It was such a nice day, and it felt amazing outside! Everyone just talked and ate food and it was great. That's basically the summary of today. I will try to put pictures on later, but most of them are on facebook anyways so just look at those. 

5/26/2012--Church History Tour

Today we went on a YSA church history tour to Preston and some other places that are significant to the church. It was so cool! We took this awesome coach and traveled almost all day. I will do my best to recount stuff, but I obviously don't have a perfect memory and probably wasn't listening as good as I should have sometimes.  With that disclaimer, there may be some slight errors so don't quote me or anything. 

Our first stop was the Preston, England temple. We were only there for a few minutes but it was still awesome. Today was such a gorgeous day which made our whole trip ten times better!

This is the house where Gordon B. Hinckley was staying on his mission and wanted to go home. His dad wrote him the letter that said something like "forget yourself, and get to work".  Then he went upstairs and decided to dedicate himself to the Lord. Everything good he did in his life he can trace back to that day. 

This is the oldest building (and business) in Preston. 

Preston stands for "priest town" and this is their city symbol.  The lamb represents The Lamb of God and the sword is the Sword of Truth.  This was a perfect place for the missionaries to first come to because it was already so religious.  The people living there were also going through/coming out of some really tough times so they were humble and more receptive to the gospel message. 

See how to the right of those pipes there is a door that's been filled in? This is where the first missionaries lived  for a little while.  We were told two stories here. One was about a preacher who came and knocked on the door and told John Taylor (I think?) that they couldn't baptize the members of his congregation. John Taylor told them "they are of age. Let them choose for themselves."  Also, on the middle floor there was an instance where a huge host of demons appeared and the missionaries had to tell them to leave. 

This garden was so pretty! There are a couple of trees in there that have plaques and were planted by the church...one was in memory of the missionaries and I forget the other one.  On the sign for the whole garden though, the city put a paragraph at the bottom that talked about how Preston is a very significant place for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints and how thousands of people migrated to the west to join them. 

This is the River Ribble. The first baptisms in Britain were performed here.  The most likely spot was right below that bridge back to the left of us. 

This is Stoneyhurst Catholic College. J.R. Tolkien wrote some of the Lord of the Rings here.  Cool huh? The guy that wrote Sherlock Homes went here too and his first book involved the Mormons and made them seem really scary.  Later he and his daughter came to Utah to visit and realized the Mormons were really nice people.  He gave a personal apology to the Church but never gave a public one. 

Lastly we went to Downham. It was the most adorable little town in the countryside! This tree is where Elder Holland went to get inspiration about the location of the Preston temple. It's surrounded by gorgeous sheep fields, trees, and a little bubbling stream. 

This bathroom won the award for "best loo of the year".  We had to have a guy go in and make sure there was no one in there first (it's the men's bathroom, obviously, cuz there are urinals), but it was so cool! It's a refurbished barn and they just left the sheep stalls and stuff how they were. 

We all went to a little restaurant before heading home.  The institute payed for all of us. It was really nice. Funny story...almost everyone ordered a dessert and we girls decided to order the gigantic ice cream sundae. However, for some reason they didn't bring ours out until at least 15 minutes after everyone else's. We were pretty much the only ones left in the restaurant, and of course we couldn't just leave because we'd already paid for it. I felt so bad!  When it finally came we all just dug in and downed it in an instant. Everyone (who was still there) was seriously shocked at how fast we ate it. They probably think we are the biggest pigs, but we really were just trying to be fast so they wouldn't have to wait longer. It was so funny to see their reactions though!  Maybe we should be embarrassed...?

5/25/2012--Queensbury Cemetery

Today Michelle and I searched the Queensbury cemetery while Heidi worked on her paper in Bradford. It was a super cool one, but really difficult.  The church yard was super overgrown which made things very slow going. Every step we took we had to watch our step for potholes and spider webs. I was sure I was going to fall into a booby trap! haha. Also, the gravestones were covered with lichens or something so they were almost unreadable. We had to handwrite most of them, and I am positive that I had tons of help from above.  When I'd first look at the tombstone it would be practically unreadable but as I went carefully along I was able to tell exactly what it said.  It was really cool.  While we were walking along the newer ones (outside the churchyard) and taking pictures of the gravestones, an older man asked what we were doing. He talked to us for seriously like twenty minutes and asked what names we were looking for.  He even told us a lot about them and where they came from, etc.  It was really helpful! He said he did most of his family history work online, so I gave him some of the church family history websites (and a pass-a-long card) in return.  He kind of just chuckled about the pass along card, but hopefully the websites will be of use to him if nothing else. 

When we got back on the train to go home, Heidi kept pulling out snacks for us. haha. Apparently there was some sort of party on campus and they got a bunch of free food. 

Heidi's friend Amanda (from Scotland) is staying with us for the next two nights. She is so sweet and fits right in with us! We ate dinner outside in the grass like this and it was so nice. We have been so blessed with nice sunny days this week!

Tonight was the YSA talent show, and Heidi sang "On My Own."  She did such a good job and her outfit was quite fabulous. haha. It seriously was one of the most phenomenal talent shows I've ever been to! They created a boy band and they performed Backstreet Boys at the end. It was so funny!  I got to be in charge of making a list of all the acts before it started and putting them in order. It was so fun! I loved being involved and I met a ton of people. I feel like I already know almost all of the singles in Heidi's ward which is kind of crazy.  I think I know her ward better than my own! That's pretty sad...

After the talent show we went to one of the boys' apartments for a little bit and played games.  This game is called Looping Louis and it is so hilarious! It involves trying to not let the airplane steal your chickens. I know, super random! Chris Vingoe was super nice and gave us a ride home in his car.  It was super squished in the back which made things even better! Perfect for having a dance party. 

5/24/12--Wakefield

Today we went exploring in Wakefield and looked at some deeds.  We weren't quite sure where the deeds office was so we asked a guy in the city hall. He was so nice and helpful and even called them for us.  It turns out that we actually needed to make an appointment, so we had two hours to just spend exploring the city. 

The Wakefield cathedral has the tallest spire in Yorkshire. The inside is currently under construction, but it was pretty sweet to peek into and look at. It's not very often that you get to see a construction crew inside of a gothic cathedral!

For about an hour we just ate lunch out in a courtyard and enjoyed the sunshine. It was so nice!  That drink is dandelion flavored (and something else). haha. It was really good though. 

I went to throw the rubbish away and a bird pooped on my arm :(

Heidi found a picture of the beach and she was totally in her element. It seriously was such a nice sunny day!   Everyone around us was sunburned.  There are so few days like this that everyone just soaks up as much as they can!

 We had a two hour wait before we could get into the records office, so after lunch and basking in the sun we went to Primark.  We had a ridiculous outfit challenge and let me tell you they have some ridiculous finds in that store!  Yes those are leopard print pants. We also bought some very special purchases which will remain anonymous. haha

 The registry of deeds. And yes, we did some fabulous deeds.  Actually we really did have some great success! We found an entire family--all the brothers and sisters and their spouses. It was seriously unheard of. Amazing!

After Wakefield we went to an Institute class  in Leeds.  There was the coolest sunset on the walk home. 

5/23/12--Home & Hot

Today was so hot outside! It was glorious! I can't believe that a week ago I was wearing tons of layers and a coat, and today I was in shorts and a t-shirt and still had to eat popsicles to keep me alive.  We were supposed to go to Scotland today and tomorrow, but we decided that it was too expensive and Heidi had to work on her paper. We didn't really do a whole lot today...just basked in the sun, and did laundry, etc. However, for lunch we did go to Headingley and have some Thai food which was exciting. 

We got to sit outside at the restaurant and I think we got sunburned just from that short amount of time. A couple sat down next to us at the end, and they were absolutely hilarious! It was the most awkward date I could ever imagine.  (Picture in your head a couple in their early forties...the guy has a long ponytail and is starting to get gray hair). For starters, they sat down and the guy takes his shirt off. Then the woman starts talking about how she bought sun cream today and she pulls it out and starts putting it all over her body commenting on how horrible it would be to get sunspots on her hands. Then she proceeds to tell him everything she bought all week. Maybe you just had to be there, but it was seriously so funny! I was dying inside. 

We even bought popsicles (or "ice lollies" as they are called here). I am so ready for it to be summer but I have a feeling that it will be a big adjustment for my body when I get back home. Hopefully it will just gradually keep getting warmer here until we leave...

Michelle and I went to the grocery store later today and then I cleaned the kitchen.  That was pretty much our day. 

5/22/12--York

Today was the most gorgeous day!!! It was sunny and warm and perfect. We went to York, and it is the cutest town! I loved it. The architecture style there is really nice and they had lots of castle-like structures.  This wall reminded me of the Great Wall of China.  Notice the people walking up there (above the stop light).  There's just a ledge/drop-off on the one side and no fence except for when it crosses over a road. 

We went to Betty's for lunch, and then looked at microfilms at York University for several hours. I can't believe how draining it is to look at those for a long time, but I am always so tired by the end. It's totally worth it though. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at a grocery store afterwards, and I've decided that my new favorite soda in the UK is the Fruit Twist Fanta. It's crazy how different sodas are in every country.

While we were waiting for the bus, Heidi literally just stood out in the sun and soaked it up. It felt so good! The best part was that it wasn't too hot. It was just nice and warm with a slight breeze. 

We rode the bus to try and get to a church where there was a leadership training meeting with Elder Jensen. However, we totally got off at the wrong stop and had to walk for several miles trying to get there. Miraculously we found it, and were just barely late. 

The walk was actually really nice. The neighborhoods in York are super pretty with well-kept yards and big nice houses. People must be a lot wealthier in this area, because it was totally different than most of the places we've been. This isn't the greatest picture but it gives you kind of an idea. I wanted to take more pictures but we were in a huge rush. 

The fireside was so good, and afterwards we microwaved the dinners that we had bought at the grocery store. We were a pretty long ways away from the train station but thankfully a very nice person gave us a ride there. We were so grateful! We were even more excited about life when we realized that the train station was glittering (look at the floor) haha. It was a beautiful day and I am definitely a fan of York.