London AGAIN and Utah

Picking up where I left off on my last post, (only about 2 months late) I got to London Tuesday night! I only had one little issue in the Madrid airport when I was trying to check-in my bag. I didn't speak Spanish and the worker didn't speak English. For some reason, she closed the line to everyone after the people who were behind me (and there were a LOT of people in line). I still don't understand why that happened, but I am really glad I made the cut or who knows where my bag would have ended up. Luckily, the travelers directly behind me were American and spoke Spanish so they helped translate for me and I made it on my flight!

Once I got to London, I took full advantage of room service. I mean, who likes eating a meal by themselves in public? I know I don't. So for a couple days I just worked and ordered room service. Then on Thursday night my BFF from London, Manny, took me out on the town. We went SHOPPING!!

And apparently this cookie was a MUST have. I did randomly crave one a couple weeks later...

We debated getting this hat for Eric. Do you think he'd like it? After all, it was our 4 year anniversary the night before. Don't worry, we talked every night (afternoon for Eric) on FaceTime!

Manny is quite the shopper and very stylish as you can see. We went from store to store in search for the perfect pants. And you all think shopping with women is bad...we ain't got nothing on this guy!

Then we grabbed chicken and chips for dinner. I forgot for a second that chips is fries in London, so I was a little surprised when I got my plate.

On Friday I spent the whole day flying back to KC. I got home, ate dinner, slept, woke up early Saturday morning to pack, and then Eric and I hopped on a plane to Utah for a week. Needless to say, I was exhausted. Eric was not a fan of my grumpiness, but hey, a girl needs her sleep.

A couple hours after we landed in Utah, we headed to my little bro's basketball game. He's #10!!

Look at this awesome action shot I got of Jeremy!

We spent time at my mom's house and then Eric's parents house. That weekend Wendy and her family were in town and staying at my mom's. Savannah was a big hit as always and loved her Uncle Eric!!

We played some mini golf with my mom and Jeremy...

And I totally won!! We also went bowling and I ALMOST passed 100 with excellent coaching from Eric and without bumpers. It would have been epic, but I cracked under pressure.

I got to see one of my bestest friends, Julie.

We walked to Bridal Veil falls in Provo. I wanted to go to the very top but apparently that wasn't a very popular idea.

We went to Utah to check out a possible chiropractic opportunity for Eric there. We're not sure it will all pan out, but it's nice to get the ball rolling. We only have one more year until graduation and I can't wait to stop living like a student!!!!

Spain Trip

I headed to Spain at the end of April for a work trip. Yes, I left Eric to fend for himself yet again, but he didn't break anything this time! I went to Europe all by my lonesome this trip (I'm all grown up)! Traveling by yourself has its ups and downs. I like having the freedom to do whatever I'm in the mood for, but it's not very fun sightseeing without someone else to share it with. 

I left on Saturday and arrived in Madrid early Sunday morning. The flight to Madrid was completely full and, having only booked my flight a couple weeks earlier, I was stuck in a middle seat. Normally I sleep so easily on planes, but I could not fall asleep for the life of me. It really messed with my "flawless" sleep plan. 

Sunday morning I took a cab to my hotel in Madrid and slept for a few hours. I didn't want to sleep too long because I still had to go back to bed that night. Plus, Sunday was my fun day and if I was going to see anything in Spain I had to get my butt out of bed. After asking the front desk where I should go, I took another cab to the city center. I absolutely loved my cab drivers. Just an FYI, cab drivers in Spain don't speak English but most of them try (just like I tried to speak Spanish). Attempting to communicate was one of the best parts of Spain. Eric will come in handy when we go back. 

Puerta del Sol

Is it just me, or does the Spain version of Mickey look really creepy?

 The city center is basically an area full of shops and restaurants. I don't like shopping by myself, so I was at a loss. I still walked around for a bit to get the "experience."

Lots and lots of pigs hanging from the ceiling

 I saw a lot of tourists taking pictures in front of this statue and I know I've seen the symbol some place before. It has to be important so of course I did what any smart tourist traveling by themselves would do -- I copied what everyone else was doing. 

 Any idea what the significance is?

It didn't take long for me to get bored wandering around by myself. I decided to take the advise of a co-worker and got on a tour bus. Apparently it's the fastest way to see a city when you are short of time. 

There's me!

 Now let me just tell you, I was running on a few hours of sleep and history was my least favorite subject in school. So...a tour bus to learn about all these historical sites in a country I didn't grow up learning about was good and bad. It was good because I was able to sit down and not have to think about where to go next. It was bad because I can't recall a thing that was said during the tour. Literally, I have no idea what I was looking at the entire two hours or so. It was pretty boring listening to a recorder explain a bunch of sites I was too tired to care about. 

But the artist in me enjoyed the architecture!

 Ooh, this is Christopher Columbus!! That's the only part I absorbed because I've actually heard of him :)

I'm pretty sure this is a Palace of some sort.

Graffiti love. 

Outdoor preaching? I guess it WAS a Sunday. 

City view.

 I'll be honest, I wasn't a fan of Madrid. Having seen the architecture in London, Madrid seemed like just another European city to me. On Monday, I worked all day with Steve, the sales guy I support, and then we took a train 2 hours south to Valencia, then rented a car and drove another hour to a town called Denia. Now DENIA I could get used to. It's a small little tourist town and is so cute!!

This is the gorgeous ocean view I woke up to on Tuesday morning:

I loved looking in one direction and seeing blue water and turning the other direction to find beautiful mountains RIGHT THERE. It's not something you can get in the U.S. I definitely want to go back to Denia one day with Eric. Apparently this is a main European vacation spot. I can see why. 

On Tuesday we went to a client site in Denia where I sat in on a meeting with the head honchos and toured the hospital. Then Steve and I drove an hour back to the train station (Steve only ALMOST drove on the wrong side of the road once), took the 2 hour train to Madrid, and hopped on a flight to London. BUSY BUSY!!

Team Blackout

First day upon arriving in Utah, Cindy and I cheered on Jeremy during his Junior Jazz basketball game. Check out the highlights!

Disneyland Birthdays

For a year, my dad has been looking forward to his 60th birthday because he wanted everyone to get together for a vacation. With 5 grown kids in our family, this isn't an easy task. But somehow, we all managed to make it to Disneyland earlier this month to celebrate my dad's birthday. It just so happens my birthday is 2 days before my dad's so we got to celebrate mine too! I can't remember the last time the 5 of us kids went on a vacation together so it's a pretty big deal. 

Day 1: My birthday at Disneyland

Sisters!

Cousins :)

After waiting forever to get our tickets, we're finally in!

Amora was a big hit with Mary Poppins and Alice. She had no idea who Mary Poppins was and probably didn't know Alice either haha.

 Billy was obsessed with Eric and wanted to ride with him on all the rides. He went on space mountain (even though he's afraid of the dark) and came out just fine thanks to Eric talking him through it!

Eric and his Ewok shirt in front of Star Tours. 

Taking a break from standing in lines.

Can someone say GQ model?!

Sibling love at Indiana Jones! Wendy couldn't join us because she was a little occupied with Savannah and Amora. But Billy hung out with us on all the big rides he could. 

 Day 2: California Adventure

Cars Land has been the biggest addition since we were here last. Eric was very excited to see it, unfortunately he didn't get to order anything from one of the cones. 

 We waited in line for an hour and half for the new Cars ride. It was pretty good, but not good enough to wait in line again. The background made me feel like I was in Southern Utah. It was pretty legit. 

I love these two!

 Day 3: Dad's birthday at Disneyland and California Adventure

Wendy made these shirts for Cyndee and the grandkids to match my dad's. 

 Before we headed out the park, Audrey and I gave dad his birthday hat that says "Happy 60th" embroidered on the back so he will always remember this bday.

Dad and his daughters

The big event for my dad's birthday was Breakfast with Minnie and Friends. The characters went from table to table throughout the meal so we could take pictures with them. It was the only time all 18 of us were together in the parks. My poor dad was having some health issues during the trip, so we're just thankful he could be at his birthday breakfast (even if he couldn't eat much).

 This is either Chip or Dale. Avery (my stepsister's daughter) could tell them apart easily. 

 We made sure each character got a pic with my dad. 

Minnie and Birthday Boy!

John's face in this picture makes me laugh. 

My dad and his 5 kids. Captain Hook was trying to be funny by wearing the hat. 

Adam, Wendy, and Savannah

Me and my daddy

Eric and I went to Toonville (I think that's what it's called). I had never gone before this trip, but it had some cute picture ops. 

Esther, Billy, and me.

One of Eric's requirements on this trip was getting his Dole Whip ice cream. He got the float with pineapple juice in it. I recommend doing the ice cream without the float.

Refer back to his shirt on Day 2. 

 After busting our butts to hit up every ride we HAD to go on, we were completely EXHAUSTED. My feet hurt so bad at the end of each day. My dad rented a house about a mile from the park so we also walked to and from. Let's just say I was dragging my feet on the way back every day.

We had a little birthday party for my dad after the park. Happy 60th Birthday, Dad!!

 And to wrap up our trip, we played our traditional game of Scum. I probably won the whole thing. See, I'm sitting in the president's seat!

Not pictured: Eric, who was taking a nap. 

 Thank you to my Dad and Cyndee for the awesome family vacation. We had a blast and it was so fun so spend time with the fam!