I guess it's my turn to finally write a few things about the trip to the UK. I've been pawning it off on the kids so far and now I need to step up and add a few thoughts of my own.
We had an incredible time. I had a friend yesterday, say that you can't put a price tag on the experiences that we are having as a family. She's right. We're having some amazing experiences and we feel extremely blessed to be in a situation that we can do these things together. I had another friend remind me, earlier this week, of something else I'm failing to remember. She said, "Jen, we are so blessed to be in Abu Dhabi! There are so few people that are given this opportunity and it is a blessing." She's also right, of course. I needed the reminder as I feel sad that we're not closer to family. We really are trying to make the most of the time we have here. It can come to a close abruptly and to take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way, is a must. So, yes, we are seeing some incredible things and meeting beautiful people, but the thing that I see as the most important change in our family, is that we do everything together. We've pulled together more than any other time in our lives. The relationships between the kids has strengthened. The ties between Drew and me and the kids has strengthened. That's not so say, we don't have our moments, because we do. We are just like any other family. We get stressed, we yell, we break apart arguments, the kids still bug one another. (Many happened on this "incredible" trip. :)) But, overall, I see the difference in how the kids collaborate with one another. Subtle changes are happening amongst the everyday family life. It truly is a blessing. One that I need to remind myself of often.
At the top of our list, in planning our trip, was to go somewhere that had open and functioning temples. We looked at France (Paris doesn't open until late this year, early next year), Spain (hopefully going there with a friend next year), Germany (all closed for construction), Kiev (not going there until Masha can go with us) and others. We finally decided that England was our best option. We have many friends here that have either lived in England, are nationals of UK, or have traveled there extensively. We got some great tips on places to see and what to do. We did almost all that we were hoping. The only things we missed were Hampton Court in London, and a couple places in Wales. I guess we have to go back!!! But, not until we see all of these other countries! My, oh my, how are we going to pull all of this off?!
I'll just mention a few of my favorite parts of the trip. That seems to be the best way for us to tell a complete story of how it all went. You've already heard many funny stories from the kids. They've painted a pretty good picture of the trip as a whole. It's been fun to see their insights. I've been amazed to read about the details that they remember, things I hadn't paid as much attention to. Incredible!
#1 for me-Visiting the temples. We've missed being so close to SO MANY temples in Utah. It was wonderful to do some work there and feel of the spirit in the temple and on the temple grounds. I spent most of my time with the younger kids on the temple grounds. It was lovely to just be able to walk around and take in the beauty. I did have the unprecedented privilege of doing Masha and Anastasia's mother's work. Anastasia did the baptism and confirmation. Then I was able to do the initiatory at the London Temple and I did the endowment at the Preston temple. I feel honored that the girls wanted me to do this for them and it was a very sweet spirit felt as I did that for their mother. Thank you for that! It was a special time for me.
#2-Wales! OH, MY, GOODNESS! It was fantastic! June and Arnold were so welcoming and loving. They were so good with each of the kids and the kids came away from there loving their new grandma and grandpa. I loved interacting with people that know the culture and warmth of the countryside. It was a great respite, squashed between the hustle and bustle of London and Scotland. Thank you to them! We love you. We were with them when the vote took place to leave the EU. We woke up Friday morning to them announcing that the UK was no longer part of the EU, or at least, they are now headed in that direction. History in the making and we got to witness a small piece of it. They also told us of the best fish 'n chips in Merthyl Tidfil. It was delicious! We'll always remember Ty Hapus (happy house, in Welch)!
#3-Giant's Causeway and the Irish coastline. This area was stunning. So green and right up next to a beach coastline. I loved the mossy hillsides that grew up next to the sand. It was beautiful and reminded me of Oregon (at least the green and moss). The Giant's Causeway (Northern Ireland) was a natural miracle. Volcanic rock (oh, I mean a Giant's old stomping ground) stacked in these perfect hexagons was really fun to witness and climb all over. The kids had a great time. While we were there, we found a mother duck and her ducklings-right out at the coastline, on top the hexagon pillars. How fun to see such wildlife in that kind of nature!
JR already mentioned that Northern Ireland and Ireland are two different countries. Northern Ireland is part of the UK, Ireland is not. The region as a whole, including Ireland, is known as Great Britain. Interesting random facts that we learned along the way.
#4-Riverdance in Dublin. There are pictures of this below. I loved this!! It was so fun to see this performance again. Drew had to really work at getting me out to this and I'm so glad he did. The kids loved it almost as much as I did. Rylee, literally, danced the entire way home from the performance. But not before the kids got to meet some of the dancers, singers and musicians. It was inspiring for all of us. What a fun night.
The lady next to Anastasia was the violinist. Rylee loved hearing her play.
Above and below: these guys were the American style-tap dancers. All of the kids loved these guys too. Super fun to see them dance-battle with the Irish dancers!
This dancer did the Spanish pieces. She was also really fun to watch and was pleasantly surprised to have Bryce speak Spanish to her!
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