Friday, August 6, 2010

My Top Ten (Part 1)

Since I am coming close to getting to all of the 50 United States before I hit the age of 25 it is about time to expand my horizons and let you all in on a little secret..so here it goes. These are the first three of my top ten (or eleven) places I would love to visit most in the world outside of the United States (they aren't in any particular order). I got my love for traveling from my Grandparents who went nearly everywhere in the world before my grandpa passed away in his mid 70s.

1. Santorini and Athens, Greece: I mean who wouldn't want to visit the beautiful white buildings and cathedrals, green rocky cliffs and the bluest ocean views, quite possibly ever. Ancient Athens and the Parthenon are nice perks as well. If that isn't enough, how about the mountain of Olympus or the beautiful beaches.  I used to want to study Archaeology and with all of the ancient Grecian ruins and artifacts, this place would be a truly amazing, historical place to get lost in.

2. Germany & the Netherlands/Holland-  I chose to group these into one because I discovered that if I don't, I really have eleven places I would absolutely love to visit, but then it wouldn't be a top ten list now would it?

German Chocolate, the name Heidi, my family, German Pancakes, all of the delicious pastries and deserts I have heard about and the green rolling countrysides with little towns settled in between them. Hamburg, Cathedrals, the list goes on and on of the great things that are in and come from Germany.   What more could you want?

Holland: Tulips, Windmills, Amsterdam, Haarlem, Futbol (aka Soccer!), canals, old, wooden shoes, riding bikes through fields of flowers, castles, the port cities. Everything is easy to love when its Dutch..
Fun Fact: Did you know there is a city in Holland in which there are no streets for driving, you have to travel from place to place, and house to house on the river ways in a canoe or paddle boat! Love that!

3. London, England. The REAL land of Harry Potter, Big Ben, London Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Abbey Road, Double Decker Buses, a beautifully large ferris wheel, small towns and the beautiful countryside, castles, museums and cathedrals. Enough said.

4. Rome and Tuscany, Italy.  A picture is worth a thousand words, and I have two that I believe are worth about twice that many. Decide for yourself.











5. The Igazu Waterfalls on the border between Argentina and Brazil. Once again in my opinion one picture says it all.  Bonus: In Argentina I can kind of speak the language and there is so much untouched beauty in both of these countries, I will never get bored.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Rainbows over Provo


I got the chance to teach Relief Society today in my ward and our lesson was on covenants. It made me think of all the wonderful promises God has given us if we just keep the covenants we have made with him.  We talked about Noah and the sign of God's covenant with him to never flood the earth again, which is manifested over and over again with the sign of the rainbow. 

As I get older I don't know if I notice the little things more, or if I look for them more, but lately I have noticed the hand of God in my life almost daily.  I was reading in the lesson I gave about how if we do what we say we will, the Lord is BOUND to do what he has promised us in return.  These rainbows can be daily reminders that God has not forsaken us and that he will never leave us alone or comfortless.

One last quick thought.  Rainbows remind me of my brother, Kevin who is currently on his mission to the Las Vegas Nevada West Mission speaking Spanish. I don't know if he knows this, but the day I dropped him off at the MTC, as I drove away a rainbow appeared in the sky over Provo and in the year since he has been gone I have seen more rainbows than any year previously. The Lord knows each of us individually and knows what we are going through. That rainbow was my little reminder from God.  There was a double rainbow today.