A Goooood Weekend

Our Wales Reunion--so good to see all the Welshies again. It was fun catching up with all of them.

My Staci :)

Our outing to get the Christmas Tree--it took us approximately 7 minutes to choose a tree. However, putting the tree UP was a different story. THAT was a whole lot of work.

                                                     My little broskee and me

After my endowment session

Those who came to my endowment session: Tim, Sarah, Eric, Liz, Emily, Mom, Dad (in the picture) and Grandma Janet, Reed, Tracy, Jay, Jane, and Marc. We also got to see Linda and Thom Harrison at the very end of the session. Perfect.

Such a good weekend!

Paris Snapshots

One of the rooms in Fontainebleau Château

At the Middle Ages Museum--an altarpiece. These things are so amazingly detailed.

Inside le Musée du Moyen Age

Hand-painted and -written books

I frickin' loooove these books

Middle Ages Museum

Burrito Fête with some of the Paris St Merri and Paris Lilas missionaries.

The Paris letters at Vincennes

With the Paris Lilas sisters

I took a day trip to Chantilly--paid 17 euros to get there. It was a Tuesday...

I stupidly forgot that Tuesday in France=EVERYTHING is closed. But I got to walk around the château and the city at a time when it was pretty much deserted. A-mazing.

My new favorite street in Paris--Rue Mouffetard. This street is GOLD. Not literally, but they have every French store you can imagine--fromageries, pâtisseries, boulangeries, poissonneries, crêperies, boucheries, charcuteries, etc.

The Eiffel Tower from the Trocardero

The Eiffel Tower from the Arc de Triomphe

A gypsy begging on the Champs-Elysées

La Durée with Kacy and Mariya

An alley on Rue Mouffetard...random artwork

I thought this looked pretty cool--at Fontainebleau Château

Fontainbleau--the sky was amazingly blue that day

That was the sunrise the morning I left Paris--perfect ending :)

Champs Elysées on my first night--I was soooo happy to be in Paris

The Louvre

I love this map so very much--the metro and RER map

Rive Gauche (Left Bank) of the Seine

                                                         Hôtel de Ville

The armpit of Paris aka George Pompidou Modern Art Museum. Tim said it reminds him of Mario. Unique as it may be, I think it's hideous.

                                                        Hôtel de Ville at sunset

                                                                Notre Dame at sunset

Inside Notre Dame

                                           This frame...apparently Louis XIV didn't think less was more

                                                   The dogs at Château de Cheverny

                                                     Chambord has the coolest staircases...and 365 fireplaces

                                                         One of the horses at Chambord

                                Place des Voges where Victor Hugo lived--Renaissance architecture at its best

                                                               The Pantheon near la Sorbonne

                      McDonald's dessert menu--it totally reminded me of the game Candyland

                                                       The Christmas Tree at Galeries Lafayette

           Soooo good. My Italian panini and nutella crêpe at Rue Mouffetard. 5 euros for this. Yum.

                                                                        Rue Mouffetard

                                                                  The Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero

                These were at the Swarovski store on the Champs Elysées--check out the prices lol

                                        Macaroons at Ladurée--I snuck a picture before getting in trouble

                                             I've always loved this sign on the metro and RER...Wannabe Bugs Bunny

                                                                          Fontainebleau

                                                             Galeries Lafayette on my last night in Paris

Only when you work for the Church does your company Christmas party go like this:
-Delicious luncheon in the Relief Society Room of the JSMB--starts out with a prayer, of course
-Move into the Chapel where we have a musical number
-Listen to a message from the Presiding Bishopric--they're the CEO's of the company
-Sing two hymns
-Message from CCRI President Mark Gibbons
That was what I did yesterday. The luncheon had assigned seating, so I sat next to Steve Romney--one of the bigwigs  at CCRI. Come to find out, he was mission president in Chile. So I got to chat with him and ask him some questions. So great :) He told me some helpful things:
-When learning Spanish, don't rely on my companion when I don't know how to say something. He said, "Slaughter the language. Just do it, because the people you are teaching will repeat back to you the right way to say it."
-Carry a vocabulary notebook around with me. Write down unknown words or phrases, look them up, and then use them 5 times that day with my companion
-Pres Romney told me that he placed North Americans with Latino companions because that was where the most learning could occur. North Americans could teach the Latinos leadership skills and qualities. Latinos teach North Americans humility. He told me to ask myself, "How can I bless this person's life?"
Anyway, it was cool to sit next to him and be able to talk to someone with a mission president's perspective who had also served in South America.

Aaanywho, for Family Home Evening the other night, Dad, Tim, and I played mini billiards with the billiards table Tim had made in 8th grade wood shop.


Good times.
Other than that, this next 5 weeks will be pretty amazing. Here's what I have to look forward to:
☼Wales Study Abroad Reunion Friday
☼Receiving my endowment Saturday morning
☼First Presidency Christmas Devotional Sunday evening
☼Deseret Management Corporation Christmas Party with Dad next Tuesday
☼Last day of work next Wednesday
☼Special Stake Conference with Elder Oaks on the 12th
☼Peter coming December 21st--having the family together at Xmas for the first time in 5 years
☼Christmas parties with the Maxwell and Bradshaw sides of the family
☼Speaking in Sacrament Meeting the 26th
☼Being set apart and taking off to the MTC January 5th
Lots and lots to do before then...