Wait. I'm leaving?

Alright I'm going to say it: I'm seriously going to miss the rain. And no, it's not because I just love getting soaked as I'm walking into work. It's because I have this weird thing in my head where my whole life, whenever I imagine certain places, I picture them in a specific way. Paris, I see covered in snow with twinkling lights. New York, draped in fall colors. England and Ireland... cloudy, rainy, and gray. And after a gorgeous summer, it's finally turned to the weather that, to me, feels like Ireland. Which kills me because my time is seriously limited.

First a quick update and then I'll fill you in on my plans, promise. Since my last post, I worked a lot. Then about three weeks ago, it all kicked off. Started with an incredible YSA church trip to the west coast where about 50-60 of us all raided a hostel in Lehinch on the beach. Insanely fun. Did a beach clean up, hiked from Doolin along to the end of the Cliffs of Moher (my favorite), had a much needed and inspiring devotional, then overtook the Galway Branch Sunday morning. It was an uplifting and memorable weekend.

SURPRISE! Went home to Reno to surprise my family! My brother Chase made a last minute trip home, so I did too. They were all downstairs watching a movie and I crept down the stairs, turned around the corner, and nonchalantly said "Hey guys," while looking down at my phone. It was quiet at first and then chaos haha. Everyone was so confused but so excited. I'll always remember that. Then about 7 hours later I was off to the airport again, after already traveling for 24 hours, to spend the day in Salt Lake City with a couple friends and then for a job interview Monday morning. Then back to Reno that afternoon. The week was non-stop craziness, having a blast catching up with my family. Quick mention of how weird it was to be driving on the other side of the road and how the money looked fake to me, kind of cool.

Now I'm here, just having walked home this morning in the rain and not believing that I only have two weeks really left here. WHAT. Eight days of work, and in two weeks I'm off on my EU adventure. Don't get me wrong, I'm beyond excited for that. But Ireland has really touched my heart, especially the people here and how much I have learned here. Life is always full of mixed emotions. And here I'm definitely torn. It's hard because I know it's my time to go move on to new things, but I don't want to leave. All I can do is trust in the plan that Heavenly Father has for me. Every time I've let Him guide me, it's always turned out to be the best thing for me. So currently, it looks like my plan is to finish up here, go on my trip through Europe for about a month and head back to the good ol' USA at the end of November for Thanksgiving. Then, I'm sorry, but I just can't quite fill you in on my plans after that yet. Let's say "to be continued..." ;) I did give you a clue though, did you see it?

For the time being, as much as I'm super bummed to be leaving Dublin, I can only be grateful. I had my moments of sadness but from here on out I'm choosing only happiness. And guess what- how amazing is it that I got to experience all of this anyway? If I didn't leave happy, than I would be an extremely ungrateful person. Like come on, what more could I want?! I'm totally looking forward to my trip, where not only I'll have an experience of a lifetime, but for me, will be the best learning experience. You guys, God is SO GOOD. Do what you're supposed to, better yourself so you can help better others, and His beautiful, often challenging, but incredibly perfect plan will unfold for you.

A perfect day off  by myself at Greystones

This is my place

Jordan River Temple in South Jordan, Utah 

Best day at Lake Tahoe

I love my sisters-in-law and I love Lake Tahoe

This adventure we're on is too good

Umm excuse me, but do you know where the last 6 weeks of my life went?? But seriously. I guess that must mean I'm blessed to be having a great time out here, and mostly because there were loads of people visiting friends which means I got to play tour guide! I'm so incredibly grateful for the people I have met here. They have made the biggest impact on me and I have learned so much from all of them. I miss those who have left, but I know we have lasting friendships. Oh and speaking of friends, let's not forget that I just got back from a holiday to Vienna and Prague with one of my best friends Chance!

Run-down of our trip: First, Chance came to Ireland where I took him to my favorite spots. Timing was perfect, and while I worked on Saturday he got to go to the Cliffs of Moher. Then on Sunday we flew into Austria to stay with my friend Katharina! Her family was so kind and we loved having the experience of seeing into the culture of the home/family life there. They even made us Schnitzel :) It was great too because Katharina showed us her favorite parts of the city. Vienna is so beautiful and I could totally live there. On one night we even went to a Mozart concert at this church downtown, which was super cool and made me realize how much I miss playing in orchestra. We also got to go to the country and see the mountains and some waterfalls with the clearest water I have ever seen. I miss it, but what a good thing to miss.

Then on Thursday morning, Chance and I took the train from Vienna to Prague. It was so cool to be on our own with a crazy language where we had no idea what was going on haha. We took the metro to our hotel and everything was perfect, no problems. Then we just stepped outside and explored the city- and it took our breath away. The river is beautiful and there's a gorgeous cathedral on the hill overlooking the city. We basically just walked the streets for two and a half days. I think my favorite part was this cute little book store we found on some random street. I need to go back. I flew back to Dublin on Saturday and Chance flew into Paris on Sunday. And now after my holiday, I feel like I need a holiday ;) So lately my life has seemed like a non-stop adventure.


I've been thinking a lot about that word "adventure," and what it means exactly. It can be defined as "an exciting or very unusual experience," or "a bold, usually risky undertaking; (hazardous) action of uncertain outcome"(thank you dictionary.com). Okay so I definitely get that- I would for sure include our hikes and cliff jumping in Howth to be adventures, because of the excitement and hazardous risk. And sure, I take my time in Hawaii and Ireland to be adventures because of the excitement and unusual experiences they were. But I think we are all on our own personal life adventures, even if physical circumstances don't change too much. We're all on our own journey, each of us taking those actions of uncertain outcomes. We can take those actions each and everyday, all the while moving through our own internal adventure. We venture into and explore new ideas, we learn, we make mistakes, hopefully we progress, we love, we lose, we work, we serve... and sometimes we do all of this without much else changing. New adventures start whenever we feel change within ourselves and make new goals or envision new things we want to work for. We are explorers, of the world yes, but of ourselves too. And how awesome is that?! We have so much to experience and so much potential. I think we sometimes focus on the grand adventures so much that we downplay the small everyday things we are experiencing, when really those smaller ones seriously influence the person we will become and the impact we will have.

Personally, I feel like I'm moving into my next life adventure. I've learned so much from what I've gone through here with work, traveling, church, and the people I've been blessed to meet. Now I have to figure out what to do with what I've learned. Life is constantly changing and we have so much to look forward to. And as I start my next life adventure of exploring who I am, I have to ask myself, as Marvin J. Ashton suggests, “Where do I need development? What do I want out of life? Where do I want to go? How can I get there?” 

Alright, picture time:

Castle in Vienna

Neptune Fountain

St. Charles church where we saw the Mozart concert

Waterfalls outside of Vienna- you almost can't see the water it's so clear

Soaring over Vienna

Old Town, Prague

I miss you Prague

Expect life to give you the unexpected

I just realized that today is my two month mark for my time here in Dublin. How did that happen?! But seriously. I feel like it's flown by, but at the same time I feel like I've already done and experienced and learned so much. Incredible really is the best word to describe my time here.

So you know how life almost never gives you the expected? Well I've definitely experienced that in so many degrees since I've been here. First of all, I never expected to actually be living in Dublin. And I never expected to come to Ireland and feel the way I feel here, which is completely at peace. I guess I expected to come and have culture shock or have to adjust and such, but nope. I know I'm supposed to be here and I haven't had once ounce of negative feelings or questions about being here in Ireland. It's the craziest thing. Heavenly Father really knows what we need, doesn't He?

One thing I did expect coming here was feeling comfortable at my internship at the hotel. I totally expected to come and love the job and complete the six month contract and maybe even extend. I never expected to be job searching like I was a few weeks ago. I never expected a possibility of quitting my internship. Even looking back on these feelings is a lot for me to take in. So let me explain without getting too detailed... Basically on my first day I was placed in a department that I had originally said no to twice before I moved over here. But I decided to give it a try and do my best. But I did not agree with the standards and values of those running this department and everyday I left feeling like I was not a part of something "good," you know? What it came down to in the end was a lot of life questioning for myself and what I want for my future. And all I know is that I want to do GOOD. I want to help people and serve people and make any difference that I can.

Through a lot of thinking, help from my amazing friends and family, and so much praying, I knew what I had to do. I knew I needed to talk to Human Resources and tell them everything I was feeling and say that I was prepared to quit. Which absolutely terrified me for so many reasons, but mostly because the reason I get to stay here is because of my job and all I knew was that I was supposed to be here. But I did it. I went in and met with them, and I've never been so strong and confident in what I said- I felt like those words were not my own. I really felt the Spirit giving me strength. I  was so relieved when she told me "How does one more week sound there? We have a new position for you ready." Oh I felt like I could breathe again! How perfectly the Lord works if we let Him into our lives. This next week I will be starting in the lobby and I'm so excited for the guest interaction. Hopefully it's a better situation for me, but if anything it's a major blessing for me right now. Through it all, I can only be grateful. I have learned SO much at the hotel. I've learned a lot about my future career, about leadership, and a lot about myself. No complaints at all, only gratitude for the learning experience.

Lately life has been unreal here. The weather has been gorgeous which means practically everyday I would come home from work, change, and then leave to meet up with my incredible friends for rugby matches, frisbee at the beach, going to parks, having BBQs, seeing sites, private karaoke parties, playing tour guide, and more. Basically everything but sleep. But hey, this is the time right? Today I just got back from England, where I was able to travel with others from church for a temple trip to the Preston, England temple. What a special experience, and it came at the perfect time after everything at work. It was exactly what I needed and I was so grateful to go do the work. And yesterday I even got to explore Manchester for the day and be a proper tourist. I still can't believe this life is mine and that making weekend trips to England is my "norm" now. But I'm so happy and just want everyone who has helped me and been there for me, whether it was talking me through things, taking me on adventures, or just brightening my day, to know that I would be lost without you and that you all mean the world to me. Cheesy I know- get over it :)

Stone steps at Powerscourt Estate

Powerscourt Estate- seen in "The Count of Monte Cristo"

Playing in Bray with Cameron

Preston, England Temple

With Sarah and Aisling :)

Manchester 

Manchester Cathedral

Best (Birth)Day Ever.

Okay but seriously.... Can days get better than this?? That's why I have it "(birth)day" because honestly, it didn't matter that it was my birthday. Because this was just an incredible day and would have been no matter the date. 

Let me set it up for you. Before I even had the idea to move to Ireland, and before I thought even visiting Ireland was a possibility, I wanted to go to the Cliffs of Moher. It had been on my "list" for a few years. Like, this was a really BIG deal to me. And so, imagine how anxious I was to make it there after moving to Ireland. One month's wait was already too long. So I requested my birthday off, which conveniently landed on a Saturday, which meant friends could join me (though I would have gone alone). But how grateful I am for amazing friends who made it such a special day.

It started with a surprise birthday breakfast of waffles with Nutella (thanks Eric!).Then we took off driving through the country to the west, which was already so beautiful to see. Our first stop was at Ailwee Cave, where we took a tour of the cave and later hiked up the hill for a nice view of the coast and country side. Then we ate lunch at some pub in some tiny town I don't know the name of, and then it was off to the cliffs.

THE CLIFFS. Once we got to the visitor's center, and I knew I was so close to seeing them, I couldn't contain my excitement. We finally walked up to the top and of course I started jumping with excitement. Seriously breathtaking; seriously stunning. My eyes were having a hard time comprehending such beauty. I almost- almost- wanted to cry because of how happy I was. And that was only the beginning. Wow, I'm sounding like a drama queen.

I don't know how, but somehow as we continued along the cliff walk, the views just got better. Every turn we made, we kept saying "How is this getting prettier?!" And apparently, the weather was incredibly rare with bright blue skies. We couldn't have gone on a better day. We totally lost track of the time, but I think it took us about four hours. At the end we all laid on the grass to take it all in. It felt like heaven. After that we started making the drive back, stopping in Limerick for some dinner. Even the drive back was fun while we all told embarrassing stories and shared some laughs.

I can't tell you exactly why I love standing on the edge of cliffs that are a long and straight drop into the ocean. But I think that in those moments, I can see and think clearly. I'm reminded of the great Creator who gave us such beauty, and nothing else seems to matter. 

Sorry for the picture overload... especially when I'm not sure the pictures can do it justice.

View from hill by Ailwee Cave

Tanner, Miho, Eric, and Juni.

That's happiness right there.

Amazing people.

Sorry Mom. I love it too much.

Eric and Tanner looking all dramatic.

Must find out what this is- could be my favorite scent ever.

For real? 

Cuties.

Careful: it's good craic, not "crack"

Last week two new American friends from church arrived in Dublin. After church we had dinner at their place and a girl who has lived here awhile asked them, or what they thought she asked, "Do you have good crack in America?" They were so confused it was hilarious. Uhhhh? Really she was asking, "Do you have good craic in America?" Basically what it comes down to is all about having a good time, good entertainment, conversation and such. I'll let wikipedia do some of the work for the definition of craic, but here it's something you have to feel. Like some places have good craic, some don't. 

This day was good craic. After my friends mentioned above, Juni and Tanner, got off work, we took the train up to Malahide just to explore- typical Wednesday afternoon. Went to the castle, walked around the peninsula, all around the town, and ate at The Greedy Goose where we had the most delicious seafood! We plan on going back just so we can do a three course meal there. After that we took the train back and went to their company's equivalent of flag rugby game which was so fun! I wanted to get out there and play. After that we all went to the pub up the street for diet coke of course, and it was good times. 

I love my days off. I love that I have the night shift the rest of the week so I get to sleep in. But most importantly, I love my life and feel so grateful to my Heavenly Father each day that this is where I'm supposed to be. 

Tanner calling to his Rapunzel 

Malahide Castle 

Tanner and Juni