A Look Through London's Eye

It has been 92 days since I left home and have been here in London. It just hit me tonight that I have been LIVING in one of the most magical cities in the world! I have lived ten minutes away from Big Ben, Parliament, the London Eye and Westminster for the last three months. I can hardly believe it.
Tonight we went as a group downtown to just walk around and soak it up at night. If you go far enough back, we did a similar evening one of the first days we were here. We took a second round of pictures tonight and it was surreal. It seemed like we were in this exact same spot a week ago.
Since day one we always said that we would do the London Eye (the farris wheel looking thing) the last week to see the city. The Eye takes a half hour to go all the way around. It seemed like it was forever away that we would do this together, but tonight did come! As we all sat and reminisced for the half hour overlooking London, we all got teary knowing this is soon coming to an end. We have been so blessed to live here and I never want to leave. I have no idea the next time I will be back here, but I have to come back at some point in my lifetime! I love these girls and the amazing people I have met here. The scenery is great, but it is the memories I have made with some of my best friends that made this semester the trip of a lifetime. Why did 3 months have to go so fast?! :(


Here is the beautiful place we have been living for the past 92 days...

Children's Hour

Weird blog title? I'm very aware. But before you get confused, let me clarify. Children's Hour is a play that we went to as a group two nights ago. No, it wasn't my favorite, but Keira Knightly was the lead so I figured it was "blog post worthy".
The play itself was about two girls who make up a lie about their two teachers and caretakers and how the one lie causes a downward spiral of events. The play is a tragedy and Keira's co-star ends up committing suicide to end the play. Yes, you can add this to the list of tragic plays I have seen this semester!
After the play ended we had the neat opportunity to wait at the stage doors for Kiera Knightely to walk out. It was the neatest thing to experience. As soon as she stepped foot on the street, flashes went crazy and she started to sign ticket stubs and pictures. I watched all of this and she walked over to us putting me three feet from here! It was so surreal. She did a fantastic job! It was a super fun night despite the tragedy of the play we saw.

Loving Support...

As time is coming to a close, I realize that I have blogged about all that is here, and the people that are here, but I also have a world back home! I have family and friends that have supported me through this semester from overseas. I love them so much!
My family means the world to me. I have such a wonderful immediate family, and we are super close with our extended family. Both my parents have 5 other siblings, so you can imagine how big my family is. I am so glad that we have eternityto spend together. Here is a little about my family...

My immediate family consists of my Dad (Mark), Mom (Kristine), Tanner(15) and Lindsey(10).

My Dad is a doctor and I love him so much. He does so much for our family! I have missed him this trip, but enjoy our emails back and forth. I hope to marry someone that possesses all the qualities he has someday. I miss him when I am away. Him and I are more alike than different and I get so many qualities from my Dad that I love!


My Mom is my best friend. I miss talking to her all the time on the phone while being here! You know how daughters tend to keep stuff from their mom? Well...I pretty much will tell my mom anything. She is my hero! She is not only the most kind, but the most generous woman I know. My mum is constantly doing things for other people and never for herself. I love her so much and hope to grow to be just like her someday!


My cute siblings:
Tanner is such a stud. He is 15 and in his teenage years, and I love it! He may be younger than me, but he is definitely taller at over 6 feet! I feel like I have a different, yet equally as good relationship with both my siblings and Tanner and I can now relate in so many different ways since he has entered high school. I love texting and talking on the phone and emailing. I called home the other night and we talked for over a half hour. It meant the world to me! Love him so much. I can't wait to see him in the airport in just a few short weeks.

Lindsey is 10 and she is so adorable! This cute girl is in the 5th grade. Next year my mom will no longer have an elementary schooler anymore. Scary how fast time is going and how fast she is growing up! Though we have 8 1/2 years between us, I love having a sister. There is something different about the love of sisters! I can't wait to have a sleepover when I get home. I know we will be closer than ever for years to come! She has so much life in her, not to mention she is beautiful. I love you Linds!





I am so grateful for both my immediate and extended family's support! I could have never made it here without their help in this process!
To all my friends back home...I can't blog about all of you. But thanks for your emails and letters while I have been here. I appreciate how our relationships have continued to grow even though I am far away!
Love you all! Thanks to everyone for their love and support! I am so blessed to know such wonderful people. Can't wait to see all of you!

Soccer? Football?...That ball that is black and white...

Last night we had the wonderful opportunity to go to a football (soccer) game. Football is one of England's most popular sports and the fans love it. It is like American football. People talk about the teams and follow the stats. Fans go crazy!
Last nights game was England vs. Ghana! The game was down at Wembley Stadium. It took over an hour to get there because there were so many fans headed towards the stadium, using the tube. The crowds were so big and riled up. None of us had any idea how intense the game would be or how many people would be there!
The stadium was gigantic. Probably the largest stadium I have ever seen. 80,102 people attended the game last night and there were just as many Ghana fans as there were England fans! Football games are an hour and a half long with a break after 45 minutes. The clock continually runs and counts up instead of down. At the end of the game it was a tie 1-1. Because it was an international game, they did not go into overtime to break the tie. Ghana fans were especially happy because England is supposed to be an exceptionally better team, so the fact that they tied was a victory in itself.
On the way out we weaved through the crowds running towards the tube station. Many others were right with us doing the same thing. As we ran we passed thousands of people and it was a good thing we got to the tube station before them. The trains were packed and extremely hot and musty! 80,000 people packed in the train station was not fun. It was good that we got out a little early to beat the crowds!
It was so exciting being at the stadium last night. We had a ton of fun cheering for England, wearing white and red, and watching the drunk masses get excited about the game! With the cheering and crowds I felt like I was at an American football game...but this was definitely an England football experience!