Durfventures in Spain (Part 1)

The night before we left for Spain, we grabbed some Panda Express and I got this fortune. 

Fitting, don't you think? 

I took this advice (side note: I think they should call them "advice cookies" instead... much more accurate) and was not disappointed in the slightest. 

Spain was beautiful and we had a splendid time seeing the sights, visiting friends from Dallin's mission, and eating an abundance of delicious food. I'm so glad we were able to go! It was a perfect trip. We only got a little lost once (truly a miracle since the roads there are a tangled mess!), and even though we were jet lagged pretty much the whole time we still had lots of fun.

Sunrise over the clouds on the flight there.

My first view of Spain from the plane... so purty!

Our first order of business once we landed in Madrid and dropped off our luggage at the hotel was head to church since we got there Sunday morning. Conveniently, the church, MTC, and temple are all right next to each other so we got to start off our trip with this beautiful view. 

Madrid, Spain Temple

This temple is stunning. The marble exterior and the walkways are such a bright white that it is hard to keep your eyes open at all when the sun is out which is quite the effect. I think I understand what it means to be "above the brightness of the sun" a little better after frying my eyeballs trying to keep them open. 

It was amazing to feel the difference between being on the metro/street and the temple grounds. There is such a feeling of peace, tranquility, and security -- just like coming home. One of the things I love most about traveling, especially abroad, is experiencing this wherever I go. I remember attending church for the first time in Russia and the relief I felt when I walked in was so overwhelming. It was nice to feel that here too!

Anyway, after that we spent the rest of the day walking around the city. Here are some of the sights we saw!

First, The Almudena Cathedral, or the Royal Cathedral. It took them 110 years to complete this thanks to a civil war that really did a number on the country in the 1930s. In the middle of construction they changed the plans from a more Gothic design to what you see here. It's really an interesting mix of old and new, especially inside! More on that later including pictures of the amazing roof inside. 

(I'm trying to do this chronologically and we didn't go in until the end of the week)

There were lots of street musicians and people doing all kinds of crazy stuff to make money, including this guy that was making these huge bubbles on the plaza between the cathedral and the royal palace that you can see in the background. 

This lady tried a slightly different tactic by dressing up in tan clothing and covering herself with sand from head to toe. I haven't been able to find a good job here so maybe I should see if this is a good option for gainful employment? (Answer: No.)

Interesting...

Plaza Mayor. There were cool plazas everywhere! 

(Fun fact:  a few movies have been filmed here including Vantage Point.)

Cool metro entrance at Plaza del Sol, which is kind of like the Times Square of Spain. 

I must say that Russia really spoiled me when it comes to the metro. The stations there are absolutely amazing, beautifully designed and full of art, while the metro in Spain is functional... the end. Apparently when Dallin was on his mission you could still smoke in here, and I am most grateful that is now illegal.

This is a post office... can you believe it?! I'm quite certain this is the most beautiful post office I have ever seen. 

Here's where Dallin made his first contact on his mission. :)

Lots of green and pretty things everywhere! Also, Spaniards really seem to like fountains because there were lots of them. Fountains and roses and statues everywhere. 

One of Dallin's former mission apartments!

Those things that look like huge chocolate cookies are palmeras. We ate lots of them because they are flipping amazing. :) It is a flaky pastry covered in amazing chocolate, and just thinking about them is makin' me hungry so let's move on, shall we?

Neither of us have ever really had any issues with jet lag... except for this trip. I had no idea it was possible to be so tired and yet somehow still be (kind of) awake. It is pretty rude to yawn without covering your mouth in Spain, so my hand was over my face most of the day, or at least that is how it felt! 

Mid-afternoon we couldn't take it anymore and went to our hotel to crash before waking up bright and early for our drive to beautiful Mérida the next day!

...to be continued.

Waterslides Canyon

This weekend's canyoneering adventure took us to Waterslides Canyon, which is out in the middle of nowhere somewhere kind of by Roosevelt Lake (but not really, I'm serious when I say there is nothing nearby).

I've been on some pretty fun canyons, but this one (besides the long hike/rock hop and  getting carsick for the second time in my life) was such a blast. It is aptly named Waterslides canyon for the many sweet slides that make this trip worth the effort!

But before we got to the fun stuff, we had to hike/rappel into the canyon. Here I am on the first rap. 

The sun is a ginger's worst enemy. I took advantage of any opportunity to take cover. :)

Finally to the water! It felt so good to get in! 

Dallin on the first slide! This one was so fun that we kept climbing up to do it again over and over. 

My turn!

Our friends Bret and Jeff came too

Such a beautiful place on such a beautiful day!

My splash at the end of a steep slide. I like this one!

Purty.

Dallin and me in our supersuits. ;)

Dallin getting ready to go down the big one! You can't tell in this picture, but this slide is about 40 feet high and very steep, plus there is a bit of a jump that can really launch you if you hit it right. Let's just say I was really good at hitting it just right, and my backside is probably going to feel a little funny for a while... haha! 

You can kind of see me getting launched in the second picture.. This was terrifying, by the way... haha. It might look tame in the pictures, but it was pretty scary, especially from the top! It's really steep and much higher than it looks in these pictures.

Jeff jumping by the big slide

I thought I had a video of me going down the big slide, but apparently I don't so here is one of Jeff!
(P.S. Enjoy my awkward giggling . Please tell me I don't always sound like that...)

Awww.

Having fun with the waterproof camera

All in all it was a good trip, but let's just say there was no way I was wearing heels to church today. I'm a wee bit sore. It was definitely worth it though. 

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On an unrelated note, remember how I mentioned in this post about how afraid I am to play the piano in church? Well guess who is the new pianist for the Spanish branch we are now attending? Yep, that would be me! This ought to be very interesting. I knew this day would come, and to be honest I'm really thankful that it came when we're in a small branch of super nice people that I already love so much. 

Oh, and if this Spanish branch business is news to you, Dallin was called last week to be in the branch presidency so we will both be attending there from now on. Dallin is fluent in Spanish, but I don't know very much and have a really hard time separating Spanish from Russian in my mind. It's just a matter of time until I start spouting off Russian when I mean to say something in Spanish. I'm telling you, it is going to happen. I'm exciting though! It's going to be an adventure for sure! 

On another unrelated note, aren't tulips such happy flowers? Spring flowers are my favorite.

Happy Sunday!

Currently, I'm...

Loving: This springy, bird-singing, grass-growing, perfect weather. It makes my heart happy! Spring will always be my favorite season.

Feeling: Like Mother Nature punched me in the gut. And punched it hard. But also happy that I can stay home and eat my feelings until she goes away. Ah, the joys of womanhood...

Reading: Les Miserables. The abridged version, which is still pretty dang long. So far so good!

Watching: Psych and Duck Dynasty with Dallin. We're a little obsessed with both of them. I'm also watching The Voice on my own, and I love it! (P.S. Ryan Innes is one of Dallin's college friends which is kinda neat! Hope he wins!)

Listening to: Music from The Voice (especially this and this)

Eating: Lots of strawberries. I'm really thankful that some of my cravings are actually healthy! Although I am thinking that I might need to dip some of them in chocolate, because chocolate dipped strawberries are one of my favorite things in the world. Mmmm.

Working on: A million sewing/refashioning/craft projects. My goal is to finish one of them today. We'll see how that goes... hah! :) Just to name a few of my projects, I've got a maxi skirt to finish, a smash book to work on, a thrifted dress to alter, and a DIY camera bag to complete.

Wearing: Mint jeans. They make me very happy. :D

Wishing: Tomorrow's seminary lesson would prepare itself. Five lessons a week is a lot of work. Good thing I love it, even though I get a little burnt out sometimes! It helps that my students are the best.

Thankful: For a sweet husband, good health (knock on wood), and the good, kind, selfless people that keep my faith in humanity going strong.

Looking forward to: Spain! It's getting so close!

Awkward and Awesome

I don't know who started it, but I've noticed a couple bloggers (here and here) that do an "awkward and awesome" segment on their blogs. I like this idea, so I am going to steal it. ;) Here's what's been awkward and awesome in my life lately.

Awkward:

• My stomach has been a little wonky today. I mentioned it to a few people and each asked me if I was pregnant. (In case you were wondering that yourself, I'm not. :P)
• I cannot eat chocolate without getting some of it on my face. No really, I'm serious! It's embarrassing. 
• I'm at least 2 weeks behind posting my Pin a Week projects. Eh. 
• I almost smacked a random guy's behind a couple days ago thinking it was my husband. Crisis avoided (Hallelujah!), but still awkward, at least for me.
• I may or may not have stepped out the door to get the mail today with nothing on but my undies and a t-shirt. Thankfully the cold wind on my bare legs alerted me of my pants discrepancy right away. Crisis #2 avoided. (Hallelujah again!)
• Speaking of cold wind, it snowed today. Nothing stuck, but it just a reminder that I do still live in AZ where the weather doesn't stay the same for long. Hopefully my warm spring weather comes back soon!

Awesome:

• This morning's seminary lesson actually went quite well!
• My little siblings are really fun to talk to on facetime, especially since my baby sister blows me lots of kisses and makes my heart melt into a little puddle of happiness. 
• This quote by Aesop.

(Made by me using Picnik and Phonto)

• Dallin made me some grilled ham & cheese sandwiches for dinner since that is the only thing that sounded good, and I didn't even ask him to. 
• I am slowly but surely getting more familiar with my camera and weaning myself off of automatic mode. Here's some pictures I took of our beautiful lilac bush yesterday. 

Spring flowers make me happy.

• I finally put away all of our clean laundry today! It was getting pretty bad, take my word for it. 
• I spent some time working on my smash book today. It feels good to do something creative. 
• There is Ben & Jerry's pumpkin cheesecake ice cream in my freezer. Walmart has been getting this in stock not and then, and it's APRIL! I'm very happy my pumpkin ice cream addiction doesn't have to be restricted to the fall. P.S. If you haven't tried it yet, you are missing out. Big time.
• I got tickets to see The Piano Guys in June! SO EXCITED!

Well, there you have it. What has been awkward or awesome in your life lately? Tell me about it! :)

Top 5 places I've been {Friday Five}

I'm a list person. One of the reasons I blog is to help me be a better writer and practice organizing my thoughts into paragraphs and complete sentences. It's a work in progress. :) 

Just for funsies, I decided to start a Friday list series on this little blog of mine to pander to my list obsession. Every Friday (At least, every Friday that I feel like it) I'm going to post a list of 5 things whether it is five favorite foods/movies/books/outfits/places/scriptures/songs/blogs/etc, five items on my ever-growing bucket list, five most awkward/awesome/happy/scary moments, or whatever else I come up with. 

Today's list is my top five favorite places I've traveled to. 

1. Russia

I was lucky enough to have the chance to be a volunteer English teacher in Voronezh, Russia for 4 months in 2011. I also spent a month there when I was 16 when my family adopted three of my younger siblings from northern Russia.

I love that country so much. It is full of beautiful places and things, and some of the nicest people I've met. Oh, I hope I can go back! Maybe when we're old we can serve a mission there. :)

2. Maui

Dallin and I went on our honeymoon to Hawaii, and I absolutely loved it! It's one of the most beautiful places I've been. My favorite parts were driving the road to Hana, hiking around waterfalls, snorkeling, and the black sand beach.

Perfect weather, perfect views, and a sweet new husband to enjoy it with... could it be any better? ;)

 3. Zion National Park

This place is amazing. We like to go here to canyoneer, but there is a lot of other things to do if you aren't into that.

Like... hike half a mile to see this incredible view.

The first time I went to Zion was the day after I managed to chop off the end of my thumb (maybe I should blog about that escapade sometime... haha!). This meant I didn't get to go canyoneering since I couldn't get my big ol' bandage wet, plus every time I got my heart rate up it would start bleeding again. On the bright side, I got to leisurely walk out here and take self-timer pictures of myself. Not as fun as canyoneering, but still awesome. :)

If you are coming from AZ, you get to drive through a mile long tunnel. Here's a picture from one of the windows. Cool, eh?

The second time, I got to join in the canyoneering fun! This was my favorite part of the 2 days we spent there and the 3 canyons we did... the rappel from Mystery Canyon into the Zion Narrows. The itty bitty people down below that cheered for us made it even better. ;)

The Zion Narrows from where we rappelled. Pretty flipping awesome. 

4. Leprechaun Canyon

This slot cuts through Navajo sandstone, which makes for a really photogenic canyon. We've done several similar canyons, and it was really hard to pick just one, but I really liked this canyon... partially because it was really easy. ;) Some of the ones we do are much more strenuous, although those do leave me feeling really beastly once I'm done. :P

5. Buckskin Gulch

This is a long but incredibly beautiful hike! The whole thing is about 20 miles (if you exit out Paria) which we split between 2 days. Buckskin in the longest slot canyon in the world. It's just miles and miles of awesome. 

That's why I'm about to post a boatload of pictures. You have been warned. 

Well, there you have it! And I can't wait to add Spain to this list next month! :)