I'm home!

I got to fly home for a very quick weekend on Friday night. Mom and Dad brought me home because Dad is being ordained as Stake Patriarch on Sunday. I am so excited to get the chance to go home and see some family, especially since I had already take some vacation time just a week earlier. This is a big deal for our family, though, so I am extremely glad my bosses are understanding! Today was eventful: we went to Prophet's Rock to walk around a bit, Panera for lunch (SO YUMMY!!!!), shopping in the afternoon, a visit to Grandpa Martin at Mulberry, and then dinner with Pooma and Grandma Martin. Dad barbecued some awesome chicken, and we had scallops and shrimp as well. I haven't gorged myself like that for a long time!

After dinner we all packed up the car and went to a drive-in movie. They were showing Up, the new Pixar, and it was awesome! It was a little bit of a dive, but there were a lot of people there with their families. We got there an hour early and still had to park in the back! It was so much fun! Jessie had us do a few different contests on Star Wars trivia. Wow. I'm a nerd! I was able to do a lot of the challenges she made up.

The movie was great as well. Curt, Jessie, and I all sat outside in chairs while Mom and Dad stayed in the car. It was a lot of fun to listen to the movie from the car. And the movie was so well done too! It was a double feature, showing Up and then Night at the Museum 2, but we decided to take off after the first one. We were all so tired!

It's great to be home. :)

England Day 3: C.S. Lewis is My Homeboy, Hottie Jailbirds, and Badminton Champs!

Today was a very full day, but I got to be a tourist and it was so much fun! Eagle & Child for lunch. This pub is where C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and their literary club, "The Inklings" would meet every Tuesday to drink, eat, smoke, and talk about philosophy, religion, current events, and their current writings. It was so COOL! Lindz and I actually got to eat in the room that they would meet in. There were pictures of them, copies of their manuscripts on the wall, and a guest book you could sign! This is Lindz sitting by the fire, contemplating our highly educated, and mature entry of "Lindz and Lisa from Illinois. FOR ASLAN AND FOR FRODO!" Yeah. We're cool.


It was also here that I got to taste the traditional English dish of fish & chips, smooshy peas (that is REALLY what they're called!), and tartar sauce. I'll be honest. Everything was so bland! There was no seasoning on the food or the table except vinegar, so I stole some ketchup from the bar, and used that as my seasoning. Overall, the fish & chips were great, but the smooshy peas were not. And I LOVE peas!!! They were a paste. Yuck.
After lunch we headed to Oxford Castle, which was a little ways away from the Eagle & Child. We walked over and were able to latch on to a tour that was just getting ready to go. Thankfully we didn't have the tour with about 25 unruly German schoolkids!

The castle was used as a jail over the last several centuries, even until the early 90's! We toured the castle and turrets, we even were able to go up to the top of a tower (120+ REALLY narrow steps!), and see Oxford from up top. SO COOL! After that they took us to the crypt, where they used to store people who died during the winter and couldn't be buried in the frozen ground. Lindz and I took some time to be instructed by the wax figures that were down there.

There was also a cool story that went along with it. The guide that took our tour around told us that there was a centuries-old legend a ghost of a monk that roamed the hallway in the crypt. Tourists and employees have claimed to see him, but the interesting and most convincing fact is that animals will NEVER go down into the crypt. The guide had worked there for over 15 years, and never once has had a guide dog or service animal ever go down to the crypt. He has watched them refuse to even go near the steps! Weird coincidence . . .

We then saw the cells that housed all the inmates. They were so teeny! I can't believe they housed people for so long! We spent a few hours wandering around the entire place. There were stories of some of the people that were kept in the jail, and mysterious things that happened to them. Lindz and I also got to try out some of the machines that inmates used to work on for hours a day. We also got to try on their stylin' uniforms. Check out how hot we are!
And you should check out the mug shots we took! Lindz missed the memo that we were supposed to be mean criminals!!!!





After our fun at Oxford Castle, we went to FHE at the church, where they were playing badminton! Lindz partnered up with Austin, and I got to be with two other YSA. We did well, but we had to make up rules to help us be competitive! :)

England Day 2: Priesthood Program, A Surprise Graduation, and Aliases

Okay,

So Sunday was a good day. I always love Sundays. I will let you know that I was able to get ready for church, shower, blow dry, straighten my hair, AND put all my makeup on in UNDER 30 MINUTES!!! I think Lindz was shocked out of her mind. She had told me the previous night that church was at 10-1. Me, in BYU mode, thinking that there were messed up time schedules because of the amount of wards using the building, thought she meant 12:50 ( ten minutes to one). Yeah, I'm a dork! Well, I am all reading my scriptures around 9:15, and Lindz comes in a little surprised. She asked me when I would be getting ready. That is when it all clicked in my head and I immediately went into panic mode! I jumped in the shower and got ready as fast as I could. Granted, I didn't look my best, but I did get ready in under 30 minutes. Funny thing is: I wasn't the last one out the door, either. In fact, I was the first one!

Church in Oxford was really great. They have a fantastic group of women there, and I was very comfortable with them. The lessons were all very well taught and kept my attention well! They have the reverse schedule, so RS is first, then Sunday School, and then Sacrament. I liked the change. Sacrament meeting was done by the Priesthood brethren because it was the anniversary of the priesthood being restored to the earth. I had a blast listening to the Young Men speak (short, concise, read right off the paper!), and then all the brethren went up to sing a number. I'm not sure a few of them knew that would be the case, because it was like watching the Primary kids sing! Some were singing VERY loudly and were shoving to the front so they could be seen and heard, some men refused to sing at all, and there were hardly any parts being sung. They had two conductors that were quite funny too. It was a father and son combo, and they were both very jaunty and ostentatious. The father lead the first verse, and when it was done, stopped, and extended his hand out to his son as if to hand over the reigns of the choir. As I watched, his son gave him a half bow! I almost started laughing right there!!!! Lindz and I ducked our heads so people couldn't see we were laughing. Thankfully we were in the back, so I don't think anyone noticed.

After lunch we took a quick nap and headed up to Institute graduation in Reading. Lindz and a few other girls were slated to sing on the program, so we went up with a friend. After a few practices, we decided to sit and wait for the program to start, and Lidnz and I flipped open the program to look at it. Up top, in bold blue CAPS, was Lindz's name as one of only two graduates from the Institute program. She didn't even know she had finished her Institute requirements!

The musical number turned out really well, and the whole graduation turned out the be "The Lindsay Show!". She sang, graduated, and spoke in the program. I kept teasing her about stealing the show.

Afterwards they had a great menu of desserts for the students. And they had a chocolate fountain! Woo hoo! (And no, I didn't explode the fountain all over anyone this time!) It was during this time that I started meeting a whole bunch of Lindz's friends, and I couldn't keep them all straight! At one point, a guy named James asked me my name, and automatically, without thinking, I said, "Lindsay". I had to stop him and actually tell him that I had made a mistake, and I gave him my correct name. He laughed and said, "I didn't think I was ugly enough for you to give me a fake name!" We both just laughed about the whole thing, but he teased me about giving him a fake name for the rest of the time I was in England! Why do these things always happen to me?! Oh well. It was a funny end to a great day!

England Day 1: Punting, Church Rooftops, Napping!

Today was the first official day in England. I got into the airport at 6:55 a.m. London time. Yeah. No sleep the night before, fitful sleep on the plane, noisy Sri Lankan lady next to me. I was a little cranky. And to help matters, I had a minor panic attack in the London airport when Lindz wasn't there to pick me up. I had very little American money, no contact info for Lindz, the ATM wouldn't take my card and give me cash, and the internet wouldn't let me on because I didn't know the LAST FOUR DIGITS OF MY ZIP CODE (after the 84604 that is)! I looked it up- it's 6520. I don't think I'll ever forget that. Anyway, it turns out Lindz was just a little lost, so I was in the airport for about 30 mins hyperventilating. Thanks, Lindz. :) Here we are at the airport. Keep in mind I hadn't had any sleep or shower for the last 36 hours. And I was on a plane.
Yeah. I look great. (ROLLING EYES!!!!) Well, we headed to Oxford, and the countryside was so beautiful! I pretty much just gaped out the window the whole drive and barely answered Lindz or her friend Roo when they asked me questions. I'm so rude! I was just so distracted by how gorgeous it was outside.
So we got to Oxford, showered, chatted, and then headed to Lindz's college to rent some boats to go punting. Punting is similar to what they do in gondola's in Italy. It's a long boat that someone steers from the back with a long pole. They push off the bottom of the river with the pole. Here is Lindz bailing out our boat with Roo. It had a lot of water in the bottom . . . which eventually gravitated to my end of the boat and was soaked up by my bottom. Nice.
Dave took over most of the punting, but Austin, Roo, and Lindz also took turns. It was a lot of fun to be steered down the river, hitting the banks a lot, rocking the boat, getting turned around, watching people crash into each other and us, and getting water poured on my head from a paddle by Dave. Yeah, and I had just barely met him! Here are some fun pics from the little river excursion:

Austin and Roo had a fun time posing for the camera. They are complete goofs and I love them! Check out the model faces. Fantastic.
So after we went punting we met up with another friend, Ruth, who was able to get us VIP access to the top of the tower in University Church. We stopped by the church library and fooled around on the thrones that were left in there. Check out how huge they were!After this we headed up to the very top of the tower and had a gorgeous bird's-eye-view of Oxford. Check it out!




Well, as you can guess, I was pretty exhausted after all this! We sat in the Church and listened to Ruth play the two-story organ for a little bit, and then walked home. We had planned to play some games and eat some food, but I laid down on Lindz's bed for a "quick" 5 minute nap . . . . and woke up over seven hours later! Talk about jet lag! Lindz woke me up when she came in the room at 1 a.m., and I fell back asleep for another 6 hours. Wow. But I needed it for the next day that was ahead of me!

England Trip- the Flight

So here is the first post of the week and a half that I spent traipsing ALL over England! This is going to be backdated so you guys get the full effect.

Thursday was a fantastic day because I went to work and found out that they were making it a shopping day! We had hit a goal for the Spring/Summer leases, and they decided to take us out to the mall. After an awesome brunch at Mimi's Cafe (highly recommend it if you are ever in Utah!), we went to the mall, and I headed out to spend my money.

I bought a few things here and there: makeup at Nordstrom's, shirts at Shade, blah blah blah. But then I was walking past Radio Shack and saw they were having a sale on cameras. Mine is a few years old and starting to really wear down, so I popped in to look at the sale. I FOUND ONE!!! Woo hoo! So now you know why I have 500+ pics from my trip- I had to make good use of my new camera!

I stayed up all night Thursday hoping to exhaust myself to the point where I passed out on the flight to London. It worked. I did cheat and take a nap an hour before I left, but after saying a quick prayer, I headed to the airport. Everything is kind of fuzzy after that! I went through security, and made it right before my flight boarded, so I went to the gate, got on my plane to San Francisco, and I can't remember anything else. I have no idea where I sat, if it was next to anyone, if I drank anything, or how I got off the plane. I have no clue.

In San Francisco I had a little bit of a layover, so I ate a bit and then tried to sleep on the seats- so uncomfortable. When it came time to board the plane, I was a little amazed. I had never seen such a large plane! I was also in the last possible row, right next to the bathroom in the seats that didn't really recline. Surprisingly enough, this didn't really bother me. I had a window seat and was able to crash in the corner. That is pretty much what I did for about 2/3 of the 10.5 hour flight. For the other little bit I got to watch the in-flight movie, Paul Blart: Mall Cop. REALLY FUNNY! I think the older Sri Lankan lady sitting next to me was mad because I let a few loud laughs slip out. Thank you Isenbarger family for giving me one of the loudest laughs ever. I cherish it.

Speaking of my Sri Lankan friend sitting next to me, at one point I guess I leaned too far forward to get something out of my bag and my garments were exposed. As soon as I sat back she asked me, "Why do you wear such weird underwear?". Wow. How's that for forward?!

My flight touched down at Heathrow at 6:55 Saturday morning. Look for my panic attack post coming up next. . .

Branbury Luau

HOW STUPID AM I?!?!?!?!

I planned to get the Luau done and out of the way before I left. That. Was. Stupid.

One of Branbury's biggest activities and I scheduled it two days before I left the country. Wow. The stress of both things almost brought me to tears a few times. At least everything pulled together and people had fun. That is my only consolation. And the fire dancer was cool. Props to that.

If I try to do it like that again next year, please shoot me. That's all.

I Love My Jessie!

Tonight I got home late from a long day at work and saw that I had a missed call from my sister, Jessie. I checked the messages, and she just brought a smile to my face as she spoke. I'm terrible at keeping up with phone calls, so it had been a really long time since I had talked to her.

I called her back and caught her right after American Idol. We talked and caught up with each other over the next hour! So great. I really love and admire her. It was a lot of fun to talk about this and that, but I especially enjoyed our conversation on struggles in our lives right now. I gained a lot of strength from her during that time.

Thanks for the help, Jess. I love you so much!

To My Best SIL

It's Ashley's birthday!!!!

To give you an idea of how amazing it is to have Ashley in the family, I composed a small tribute to the necessity known as my SIL Ashley

Why I Love Ashley:
1. She will be there WHENEVER her family needs her. I hurt my back last May, and Ashley not only came to take me to the hospital when she had a very young son to take care of, but she cooked me meals, scheduled times for me to go to physical therapy, checked on me daily, and helped me SO much! I would have died without her. Really.
2. She has melted right into our family and claimed a very essential role in the Isenbarger Clan. A lot of things get organized and carried out because of this woman.
3. She never gets sick of me coming over and bothering them. I love going to their house because I get the royal treatment. Even though I invade quite a bit.
4. She loves and takes care of my brother. Since Kyle was all I had of my family in Utah before he got married, we became close. I am really glad to know that he has someone to help, motivate, and support him.
5. She is the craziest cook! She can substitute anything for missing ingredients, and the food still tastes fantastic. No, really. I have witnessed this phenomenon on many occasions!
6. She and I have a lot of the same 'likes': Wicked, Twilight, cooking, music, books, teaching, puppies, Braden & Kyle :), driving fast, laughing, and What's Up Doc?. Awesome.
7. She supports me in whatever I do. She helps me make decisions by listening to my thoughts, and then offering very wise advice. I love that.

This is a very short list, but you get the idea. I could go on for a long time! Thanks for all the love and support over the years, Ash. I love you and hope 25 is as great as 24!

Susan Boyle Is Gonna Win!

I get chills when I listen to this woman sing. There are a few shaky parts in the song, but who wouldn't get nervous in front of a crowd that laughed at you from the very beginning?! I think she has a great talent, and I love how she is the underdog. GO SUSAN!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luRmM1J1sfg