Christmas 2009

Christmas this year was a little different then what we've had in past years. We were able to get together with family and it was nice. It was a bit slimmed down, but I think most people were more excited about what they had given to others than what they received. I think most of us were just glad to be together.

Kyle will be leaving for Afghanistan March 2nd and this will be the last Christmas we'll have him here for at least a year. It was nice to have both Kyle and EvaLyn with us Christmas morning.

Judson and Michelle were not with us Christmas morning, but we got to see them later that day. There was a tragic four-wheeling accident at Bear Lake and Kelly Stoker, Michelle's dad, passed away late Christmas Eve. Our heart's just ache for the Stoker's. Kelly was a wonderful guy and we all feel very blessed to have been able to have known him.

“The spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.” (Alma 40:12.)

Published...

I have recently been somewhat promoted at my job at Deseret Book HQ. I now work 10 hours a week in the Creative Services area desiging a variety of things, plus I get a higher pay rate than what I get delivering mail. Yay! This was one of my bigger items and it is currently being displayed on the front page of Deseretbook.com.

I just want to point out that I started with a blank white screen and designed everything except for 3 images that were stock images. The gold tree and boxes are stock, the snowflakes, and the faint snowflake background. I worked my magic and made things come together and look like a real card and a real banner. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

It's not very often I get to show off the work that I actually do since most of what I do at the Church is behind the scenes and isn't really presentable. Anyway...this is me...showing off. :)

More Eastern Europe

So here's a few more pictures of my trip. I took like over 900, so I've weeded out quite a few. Next time though...I need to take more people pictures, instead of landscape/building pictures. I've always done that, but I kind of regret not taking more of Stephanie and I. Live and Learn.

Ok, the one up top is of Vintgar George just outside Bled, Slovenia. Beautiful day! I couldn't believe our luck. It had snowed here the week before, but the sun was out and in the 50's when we were there.

Vintgar George again. The colors were amazing and the water was crystal clear.

This is our last day and our taxi driver had dropped us off at the airport and had agreed to take our picture. We were only getting one though, he was pretty apprehensive about taking it. It turned out pretty good though. This is my first taxi I have ever called and they came and picked us up. It worked like a charm and he was the sweetest guy too.

Christmas stockings that we saw at the Christmas market in Budapest. We saw a lot of items all made out of felt. I had no idea it was as popular as it was.
The big Christmas tree at the start of the Christmas market in Budapest. It was beautiful and had it's own style. Things weren't as cluttered as they are here. You'll notice you can actually see the tree. I prefer this type of decorating to the ones where you just see ornaments and nothing else. To me, the tree is a big part of the beauty and shouldn't be completely covered.

People were drooling over the sausages. Apparently they are quite the treat. They even had blood sausage. I've had it once before, but was good to stick with the vegetable stir-fry instead.

This was the only sandy beach that we saw while in Dubrovnik. It's mostly the rocky beaches, and the locals actually prefer the rocky beaches to the sandy ones.

Cool red, phone booth in Budapest. I love these things. They just look cool. We saw a lot when I was in England a year ago, but I was never able to get a descent pictures. This made up for it.

Another view of the Old Town in Dubrovnik. Most of the boats here are fishing boats, but we did see a glass bottom boat. If we had more time, I would have loved to have gone on it. We were told that Croatia's coast had some of the clearest waters in the Meditteranean. I totally need to go back and dives these waters. :)

Sunset over one of the islands we saw while coming back on the ferry to Dubrovnik.

This would be the House of Terror in Budapest. It housed the Nazi headquarters during WWII when the Nazi's occupied Budapest. It was also headquarters for the evil communist leaders just after WWII. The building is now a museum of sorts and brings to light the evils of what went on. (It shows pictures of not only the victims of those killed during communism, but also the communist leaders who were never brought to justice. They have also recreated the torture cells and gallows in the basement just as they were when occupied.) They hide nothing. It was very well presented, eye-opening, and very hard to process. It was more about the communist occupation of Hungary than anything. Everyone should visit a place like this. Everyone needs to know exactly what Communism is and how it destroys every human right and freedom available to man. Read up more info on their site at: http://www.terrorhaza.hu/en/index_2.html

China Buffet in Budapest. We didn't eat here, but thought it was cool they had them here.

We hiked to the tallest point in Budapest on the Buda side to get a good view of the city. This is what we got. :) It was misty and humid, but still beautiful. This was one of the few days where it wasn't sunny. We were really blessed to have awesome weather.

After walking all around the city, we found this in a park on the Buda side. It represents Buda and Pest and the Danube river runs down the middle. We could pick out what buildings were what because we had walked the whole city. It was very well done and fun to see.

We saw babushkas everywhere. This was in the Old Town in Dubronik in her traditional dress, making dolls and other handmade goodies.

Eastern Europe trip Photos

The island in the middle of Lake Bled in Slovenia.

I've been back from my Europe trip for about a week now. I flew back Sunday the 22nd, but it's taken a good week to catch up on sleep and laundry. It was so worth it though. I had such a fun time and wanted to share some of the photos of the trip.

To give you a quick run down this is where I went - I flew into Budapest, Hungary and spent a few days there. We then took a train to Zagreb, Croatia and spent a day there. We then flew down to the coast of Croatia to a delightful town called Dubrovnik. We spent 3 days there and this is where I got to spend my birthday. We then flew back to Zagreb, caught a train and made our way to a town called Bled, Slovenia just on the other side of the Julian Alps bordering Austria. We had 2 nights there and then made the long train ride back to Budapest. We had one more day in Budapest and then flew out the next morning. The trip was for 11 wonderful days and they went by so fast. It was a life changing trip and I feel so blessed to have been able to go and that it went so well.

Ok...so here's a few of my favorite pictures to help give you a taste of the trip. These are in no particular order.

Zagreb is the capitol of Croatia. It's a strange mix of very old buildings and very new ones. Lots of churches, parks, and cobblestone streets. We did find the best ice cream we'd ever tasted in Zagreb.

Window boxes were every where and I loved them all. This one is in a town just outside Bled, Slovenia. We were making our way to Vintgar Gorge and the trail took us through this quiet neighborhood.

This is the waterfall at the end of Vintgar Gorge. It was off season every where we went, so we basically had the place to ourselves. The water was crystal clear and the fall leaves still gave the place lots of color. My camera just doesn't do it justice.

Vintgar Gorge in Slovenia.

The path less traveled.
This was on our way back to Bled from our hike to Vintgar Gorge.

One of the train compartments that we were in. We were lucky most of the time to have it all to ourselves. I've decided I like riding trains and I can't help feeling like I'm in the Harry Potter books when I do.

Thermal Baths are a very traditional past time in Hungary. This is one that we checked out in Budapest. It was warm, relaxing, and made for some wonderful people watching.

This game had been going on for quite awhile.

Jewish Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary. Beautiful building and it's a marvel it's still standing. It survived World War II and Russian occupation.

St. Stephen's Basilica in Budapest, Hungary. Beautiful building inside and out. It was amazing to me to be in these buildings that were as old as they were.

Strudel is one of my new favorite things ever! This was a cheap, warm, heavenly treat that we would get at the fresh market.

I had my first squatter toilet experience. What surprised me the most, was that it wasn't half bad. I could actually get used to it.

Hungarians love their salami and sausages!

We found this beautiful park in the middle of Zagreb, Croatia while looking for the local branch. The leaves were amazing and we both wanted a picture. This is Stephanie, my travelling companion.

Have I mentioned that fall is one of my favorite times of year?? :)

Here is a view of the Old Town of Dubrovnik, Croatia from the city wall. This is the widest street in the Old Town. Everything else is very narrow and has stairs. Beautiful city right up against the Adriatic Sea.

Stephanie and I with the Old Town behind us.

Very common site to see laundry hanging, especially in Dubrovnik. The weather was still quite warm and you could dry your laundry outside.

Dubrovnik church bells.

View of the Old Town of Dubrovnik from the fort on the hill. Most people don't live in the Old Town, not after the Yugoslavia War and because it's very expensive. It's mostly just a tourist attraction, but people still live and work there.

Handmade Nativity scene we saw while in Bled, Slovenia.

Pumpkin Soup we had while in Budapest. So good!

Hungarian Goulash made with lamb. Very good and very traditional.

Our last night in Hungary we went to a National Hungarian folkdance. Amazing music, costumes, and dancers. So much fun and such a wonderful way to end the trip!

We stayed in hostels and guesthouses. This is one of them in Dubrovnik.

The last day we were in Budapest we got to check out the Christmas markets. Everything was homemade. These were wreaths and hangings made with limes, mandarin oranges, cinnamin sticks, bay leaves, and dried red peppers. It smelled so good and was so pretty.

Handrail in Dubrovnik.

One of the 7 bridges that crossed the Danube river that separates Buda from Pest. Buda is the hilly side with the castles, and Pest is the side with the large old buildings.

Where we would buy our fresh fruit in Budapest.

Lots and lots of flower shops all over. This was one of the bigger ones.

Still lots of fall colors, especially in Zagreb.

This is the view from our room in Dubrovnik.

Some of the cool architecture in the Old Town in Dubrovnik.

I love these types of ships.

Heavenly desserts wherever we went. Hungary had awesome studel. Croatia had amazing ice cream. Slovenia had amazing cakes.

Croatia harvests fresh olives. I had no idea.

Since Croatia is just across the Adriatic Sea from Italy, they happen to have a lot of Italians. This means they have lots of places with authentic Italian food. It was wonderful!

One of the many cool churches we stumbled across in Zagreb, Croatia. We never did find our branch, but we found like 7 or 8 other Christian churches.

This is a view from the island in the middle of Lake Bled looking towards the Julian Alps. You can see Bled Castle on the left, the church, and of course the Alps. Beautiful! It even had a fairytale feel to it.

In the middle of Lake Bled there was an island with a church on it. The story goes that if you make a wish and ring the bell, your wish will come true. Here's hoping!

Shot taken while at the Bled Castle. It was a bit on the misty side, but beautiful view!

These are my birthday wishes. The man who owned the guesthouse we were staying at, Ante, saw on my passport that it was my birthday. He surprised me with a rose and a bouquet of Croatian chocolate. Stephanie also surprised me with a thoughtful, handmade card. It was a wonderful birthday and it'll be a tough one to top.

Me and Ante.
He took us on a personal tour of the fort above Dubrovnik. Such an awesome guy.