Happy Birthday Kelli!!!

It's Kelli's Birthday! Shout Horray!

In honor of this special day, enjoy some pictures of Kelli and I in Ireland.

The Joys of Being a Government Contractor

I interrupt my UK vacation posts to tell you about my current employment situation and the joys of being a government contractor.

Let me back up a few months...

We all knew the current contract was going to end on 28 September 2010, but a lot of tasks under the contract were going to roll over into the extension contract. However, there were quite of few tasks that were ending completely, though (thanks to President Obama's new "insourcing" mandate for government work. Less contractors, more government employees...and those of us without government preference points (who's never been in the military or had not worked for the government in the past or are not disabled veterans) find it next to impossible to become a government employee, even though we have the experience and are the most qualified to do that job...can you tell I'm bitter?).

My task was safe. It was funded and my company even had the money in hand. Everything was set. My team would stay in tact and we would continue through til June when the contract would be up for re-compete. No worries.

Or so we thought...

Then the carpet was pulled out from under us. On August 31, I was notified that my task was pulled. Upon further inquiry, I discovered a higher-up that really doesn't know what goes on below him and who is in a disagreement with another higher-up pulled our task for whatever political maneuver. My company had to give the money back. There was no saving us, though our task is pretty vital for the Army (we sustain the process behind logging people into government computers using common access cards...pretty important, right?). The only good news they gave us was we were promised we would all still have jobs. I think the exact words were: "You are losing your jobs, but not your employment." They said they would find positions on other tasks for us and place us there after the contract ends.

And to top it all off, I learned of the demise of my task the day before I was to leave for three days to attend my grandmother's funeral. What a kick in the gut!

I left for those three days with a lot on my mind. Should I look for a new job? Should I ride it out and see where they would place me? Should I just leave it all and find a job oversees? In Kuwait? In Iraq? Or should I play it safer and go to Germany? But I didn't like the three year commitment for Germany. I started leaning more towards one year in the Middle East. But I also wanted to ride it out and see where my company would place me. If I didn't like it, I could always get another job. My mind has been spinning non-stop for a month!

Nothing happened for nearly two weeks after I returned from Utah. Then finally last week, the other three members of my team were placed on other tasks and a new charge code was uploaded to their online time cards in preparation for them to move to those teams.

For me...I caused a bit of a problem. They penciled me in for a team, but I did not feel comfortable working with the person they had as team lead. I've witnessed a few things, and I was afraid if I worked with him, there might be sexual harassment issues. I let my company know of my concerns, so they discussed where else they could place me.

A few more days go by without any word.

Then I talked with a friend who suggested I ask to be put on the team that shares the same office where I sit (Retina/REM). I've seen a lot what they do; I already have a professional relationship with them; I already do similar things so there would not be a huge learning curve; I already know and work well with the government team lead; etc. Plus, I wouldn't have to move my desk!! I thought that was a great idea, so I presented it to my company.

The next day, my NCI supervisor, David, called the team lead on the Retina/REM team, Adam. David told Adam they wanted to move him to another team and backfill his position with me. When Adam got off the phone, he jokingly said, "Erin, you just stole my job!". Then over the next few hours, Adam and Tony (one of my team members) went back and forth about how you have to watch out for the quiet ones, how I have the ear of NCI and can get any position, how I backstab (Et tu, Erin? was said at one point), how Tony shouldn't be too excited about his new position, or I would turn around and take it from him. Of course, all this was said in jest and we had a really good laugh. My stomach was hurting from laughing so much.

Later that day, David called Adam back and said his new position could allow him to stay with the Retina/REM team for a while. That started another bit of laughter and jokes about how Adam checkmated me and thwarted my attempts at taking over his job. It was a pretty funny day.

But all the while, I never received a phone call or an email from David telling me the plans. I just went off the conversations and information from Adam. Finally, on Friday the 24th (remember, my job was ending on Tuesday the 28th) I emailed David. He told me to be patient. Actually, his exact words were: "The dominos have not started to fall. [The contracting officer] needs to tell us if Adam is moving. If he does, then you take his position.... I will tell you Monday".

So I patiently waited until Monday. Still no word.

Tuesday the 28th came. Still no word. I emailed David to ask what's happening. He said he had a meeting at 10am with the contracting officer and he will let me know after that. I waited. Luckily, we had a team farewell potluck during that time, so my mind was on other things.

By 4pm, I still hadn't heard. So I emailed again. David said he needed to email my resume to the contracting officer so I can be promoted into the System Engineering Senior slot (no monetary promotion...job title only). I sent him my updated resume. And went home.

Wednesday, I woke up with a bad headache and a stomach ache. When I wake up like this, I usually go to work anyway, because it will pass sometime or another, but that morning, I didn't feel like fighting through the aches and pains just to sit at my desk and wonder what team I would be on. So I called in sick!

I vegged all day and I am glad I did! It was fun to take some ME time. I hardly ever do that!

Today, I came to work hoping for an email to let me know where I would be. I should know how things work (or don't work) by now....no email.

Today is the last day of the pay period, so I needed to sign my time card. I didn't know what code to charge to so I had to call the NCI office. For nearly ten minutes, they went through list after list trying to find where I finally ended up. They could not find my name. I felt like I slipped through the cracks. I just sat on the phone and waited for her to find out what's going on with my position. She kept finding old lists with the first position I turned down, or the other one they were thinking about placing me on. But she couldn't find the current list. I just kept thinking, I'm glad I took a personal day yesterday!

Finally, they found the current list, which said I was team lead of the Retina/REM team, but it still didn't sound official. But she did upload the charge code of that team to my time card so I could get that signed and finalized.

So now, I *think* I will be on the Retina/REM team. All signs point that way, but being around government work for over a decade, I know things can change quickly. But fingers crossed, I will keep this position and I can keep my desk as is, without having to move!

Just to give my company credit....they did have to place nearly 100 people into different positions with all the contract changes and tasks not rolling over into the extension contract. They were super dooper busy, but they were able to keep everyone affected by these changes. No one was let go! NCI is a great company to work for! They really do have your back and try everything in their power to keep their employees. They are usually very good at getting information to their people, but this was a special circumstance. They had trouble getting information from the government, so of course they could not give out information they did not have.

It's been chaotic, hectic, stressful, and the worst contract change over I've experienced in my 11 years in the business, but I am still employed and am still under the same government team lead, who I really like working with. So, I feel blessed in the long run. Now, let's see if I like the work. Maybe Kuwait still sounds appealing!

Getting back to it

This summer has just flown by and I don't think I am caught up to it yet. I can't believe it's already September...I think my mind is still in June or July. Oh well... Now I have to try to catch up with everything, including this blog. I have so much to blog about. I just hope I can remember it all. :o)

Here is a sneak peek at some upcoming blog entries:

• Day to Day info about my trip to the UK
• Young Women Summer Camp
• Callahan Family Reunion
• Walton Reunion and my grandmother's funeral
• Exciting new changes in my life that I have the opportunity to make :o)

Check back soon!!

The Gila Valley Temple, Part 5: The Dedication

I don't know why this blog post was so hard to write. Sorry for the delay in getting it posted.

Sunday morning (23 May 2010), we were asked to be at the church building next to the temple at 10:30. My mom and I had a leisurely morning in the hotel, then we got ready and headed to the temple grounds.

The choir met in the chapel and did our warm ups and worked on a few trouble spots in the music before heading over to the temple. My mom and sister, Kelli, met in the chapel also. They listened to us practice, then they headed to the temple when we did. The choir had our pictures taken in front of the temple before going inside. While we were taking pictures, Kelli and my mom got through the long line and were escorted to their seats. Kelli sat with another choir member's 80+ year old mother (who was really cute and funny) in a room near the celestial room. My mom, with her white ticket, was escorted into the celestial room.

The choir lined up to get booties put on over our shoes, then headed inside. When I walked passed the celestial room, I saw my mom in the FRONT ROW!! She was right next to the glass art wall separating the celestial room from the room where the choir would be sitting and there was nobody sitting next to her (she was the only person in that row). That could only mean one thing...she would be sitting by family members of the Brethren! I later found out my mom was seated next to Elder Holland's wife. How cool is that!!

I actually got to sit next to my mom too, kind of, though I was on the other side of the glass wall. I sort of saw her dress print through the glass. But I thought it was really neat how close we ended up being to each other.

We waited reverently in our seats for about 30 minutes before the session began. Then we saw (distortedly) through the glass wall the people in the celestial room stand up for the prophet. My heart started pounding. I was trying to make out the people walking in, but I couldn't see much. Once they sat down, the TV switched from prerecorded music and pictures of temples to a live shot at the ceiling of the celestial room, with organ music (played by our choir organist) streaming through. The shot went down to show the magnificent chandelier and continued until it was pointing at the podium. The Brethren were dressed in white and sitting reverently in their seats in the front. Then President Eyring got up to conduct the meeting.

Cue the choir members.

We got up from our seats and lined up in the hallway. As we were lining up up, all I could do was mouth the words "WOW" to one of my friends. It was really happening. Once President Eyring said a specific phrase, we were told to start walking in to line up where we practiced the day before. My heart was pounding SO HARD. It was almost overflowing! When I walked into the celestial room and saw my mom, the prophet and an apostle sitting there and President Eyring standing at the podium, I could barely keep the emotions in check. I had to take a lot of deep breaths to contain myself to get ready to sing the first song. When we lined up, I was actually over the left shoulder of President Eyring and very visible in the camera. (Side note: my sister Jessica later asked me why I was making faces at President Eyring. I told her I was just trying to keep from crying! Haha!)

The first song we sang was "The Morning Breaks". That was my most difficult song, but miraculously, we sang it flawlessly. It was the best we sounded. I sang the right parts and didn't mix up any words. I felt really blessed, because I had never made it through that song without some kind of flub! Once we were done singing and the opening prayer was said by our old stake President and Patriarch, President Haymore, the choir turned and walked back to our seats in an orderly single file line.

The meeting continued with talks by a member of the Temple Presidency's wife, Elder Claudio Costa of the Presidency of the Seventy, President Eyring, and President Monson. Somewhere in the process, the choir sang our second song, "Oh, Come Thou King of Kings". I was so overwhelmed, and I didn't take notes (shame on me...I really should have), that I can't remember when we sang next. But once again, it was awesome! I love that hymn now; It has become one of my favorites. People said they could hear more than 20 voices singing. Someone even had to recount the choir members, because he couldn't believe there were only 20 of us.

At one point, when we were not scheduled to sing, President Eyring accidentally announced "The choir will now sing..." We all started looking at each other. We were still in our seats and not lined up ready to go in, we had already sang our second song, and we were not supposed to sing our last song until after the dedicatory prayer. Then, President Eyring caught himself and said we would not be hearing from the choir just yet, but from President Monson, who is better than the choir. Then he caught himself and said, not that the choir isn't good. It was funny. We all laughed, maybe a little too loud. :o)

While the choir was sitting in our room, we had the opportunity to watch the teleprompter guys in action. They would make sure each written talk was right on target with where the speaker was. Every speaker stayed on script, except for President Monson. He was very emotional during this session (I heard he was playful and funny during the first dedication session). President Monson was very reflective and paid a lot of tribute to President Spencer W. Kimball. There were several times, President Monson veered off the teleprompter and talked for a few moments from the heart. At one point he sang to us, like he did the night before, except this time it wasn't in Spanish and it wasn't as lighthearted. It was cute he sang again (he kept telling us that his wife and daughter would not like him to sing, but he did it anyway. His wife was still recovering from her fall a few months ago, so she was unable to come to the dedication, but his only daughter, Ann Dibb (and second counselor in the General Young Women Presidency) came with him. She was there during the cultural event as well.) Once President Monson neared the end of his written talk, he veered off the teleprompter for about 15 minutes. It was funny to see the teleprompter guys look at each other, then watch to see when the prophet would get back to his written words, so they could re-sync him with the teleprompter. But the last 15 minutes were all from the heart and as the spirit directed. It was amazing to see, hear, and feel.

President Monson then dedicated the temple. From the LDS Church News, we can read these excerpts from the dedicatory prayer, which President Monson read in all three dedicatory sessions:

"We are grateful for this sacred and hallowed structure. We are grateful for the purposes for which it has been built. We thank Thee for the faithful Saints who will use it," President Monson prayed.

Further, he petitioned, "Wilt Thou accept this edifice as a gift of Thy people to Thee. It has come of their consecration and love. Wilt Thou hallow this house and sanctify it. May Thy presence be felt here, and may Thy Holy Spirit abide constantly within its walls. May all who enter feel of that Spirit. …"

After this beautiful prayer, the choir was invited into the celestial room one final time to sing "The Hosanna Anthem" immediate following the Hosanna Shout. As we entered the room, President Monson turned around just as I entered, looked me straight in the eyes, and said "Beautiful choir!". It was neat to be looked directly in the eyes by a prophet. That's the second time in my life that happened. The first was with President Howard W. Hunter when he came to the Tucson Regional Conference in the mid 1990s. I will always remember his crystal blue eyes. But I digress...

Elder Holland lead us all in the Hosanna Shout, then the choir began our closing song. Wow! What an experience. I do not have words to describe what occurred. I think all of heaven joined in singing to shout hosanna for this beautiful temple.

One of the audience members in the celestial room told a choir member later that once our choir started singing "Hosanna" (the first word of the song), President Monson and President Eyring looked at each other and nodded, as if to say "This is right...this is good!"

Once we started "The Spirit of God" part of the song, I was so overcome, I just cried and could not sing anymore. For the full first verse and chorus, I was just mouthing the words, with tears streaming down my face.

The Spirit of God Like a Fire is burning!
The latter-day glory begins to come forth;
The visions and blessings of old are returning,
And angels are coming to visit the earth.

We'll Sing and We'll Shout with the armies of heaven,
Hosanna, Hosanna to God and the Lamb!
Let glory to them in the highest be given,
Henceforth and forever, Amen and amen!

The choir supported the congregation as we sang a descant over the normal verses and chorus. But hearing both together and IN THE CELESTIAL ROOM was something beyond this world alone. The angels were truly "coming to visit the earth" and we sang and shouted "with the armies of heaven". I didn't personally feel my dad and my grandma, but I KNOW they would not have missed the opportunity to join in and sing with us that day, to be a part these armies of heaven.

I pulled myself together for the second verse because I didn't want to miss that opportunity to sing this song in the temple.

The Lord is extending the Saints' understanding,
Restoring their judges and all as at first.
The knowledge and power of God are expanding;
The veil o'er the earth is beginning to burst.

We'll Sing and We'll Shout with the armies of heaven,
Hosanna, Hosanna to God and the Lamb!
Let glory to them in the highest be given,
Henceforth and forever, Amen and amen!

What a glorious experience! After our song, the last note echoed in the room (and in our hearts). I think I'll always remember this experience, especially this song.

The closing prayer was said, and the brethren got up and slowly left the room. They didn't shake the choirs' hands, but that's okay. I got to be in the celestial room of this BEAUTIFUL temple with them, and that is enough.

Once the brethren left the room, the choir went back to our seats. We didn't want to leave the room. We watched as everyone on that side of the building walked through the hallway on their way out of the temple. Some choir members left when they saw their spouse or family members walking by. The ones who remained just sat and watched until the line was completely gone. Then we hugged and cried and reminisced. We didn't want the experience to be over. We lingered in the temple for as long as we could. Then it was time to leave. I didn't want to go. But I wanted to find my mom and sister to hear about their experience.

We met each other outside in the courtyard. Someone offered to take our picture (which I haven't gotten yet, or I would have included in this blog). We talked and laughed and cried and shared our experiences. We talked to our friends. Such remarkable experiences everyone had. It was so personal in every way.

I couldn't even talk very much as my mom and I drove home. I was reflective the whole ride home.

A few days after the dedication, the choir members sent emails to each other. Actually it started as one, then one by one people replied to all until everyone responded. What a GREAT keepsake. For my response, I wrote:

I have really enjoyed reading everyone's comments and feelings about our recent experience at the temple! I am glad to know I am not the only one who wondered why I was chosen to be a part of such a wonderful choir, though I am eternally grateful for this opportunity. Meeting new friends, reconnecting with old friends, learning these beautiful songs, having these spiritual experiences, and singing in the celestial room with a prophet of God present are all things I will treasure forever!

Thank you, everyone, for making this such an enjoyable experience! I appreciate everyone's hard work and willingness to do whatever was asked of them. I apologize for missing two full practices (and I struggled a little because of it!). Most of all, thank you, Sis. Clark and Sis. Fenn, for your sweet spirits, and for all your blood, sweat, and tears in leading the way for our little choir to be so successful and to have had such everlasting experiences! You are both truly amazing!

Listening to the first choir in the celestial room on Saturday during our rehearsal blew me away. I knew this experience would be so much more than I could have even imagined. Then walking into the celestial room for the opening song on Sunday and seeing President Eyring, Elder Holland, and our dear prophet sitting there was almost overwhelming. What a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

I am grateful for all I learned during this journey. I, too, am a different person because of it. My co-worker (who is not a member of our church) told me today that for the past week, I've had this glow about me. I was really shocked when she told me this, but maybe this glow is residual from our experience at the temple. I need to return there often so I will not forget!

There have been several people who have told me we were not the only ones singing during that session. I know a Heavenly choir joined us, and I would like to think my dad and grandma were right there among them. Both loved to sing, and I don't think my dad would have missed the opportunity to join in the celebration of this new temple. He loved this area and knew a temple would some day be close by.

Thank you again for allowing me this opportunity! I will never forget it and all of you will always have a special place in my heart! Til we meet again!

I have such a strong testimony of the temple and the importance it has on our eternal salvation. My testimony is even stronger now after these experiences this weekend. I know President Monson is the prophet of God on this earth at this time. He leads and guides this church as the mouthpiece for the Lord. This gospel is TRUE! The Savior LIVES! Our families can be together forever if we keep the commandments, keep our covenants, and endure to the end. I will take advantage of the proximity of this temple and return their often so I can always remember the things I felt and learned this weekend.

The Gila Valley Temple, Part 4: The Temple Cultural Celebration

Before I tell you about the temple cultural celebration, I want to tell you about some other small things that happened during the day on Saturday, 22 May. The culmination of these small things lead to a tender mercy that was really meaningful to me and my mom.

When I picked up my mom in the morning before heading off to Thatcher, she was distressed because her phone had dropped out of her pocket onto the tile and now would not turn on properly. The phone was unusable. I tried to reboot it and do a little troubleshooting, but nothing would make it work again. She needed a new phone, but we didn't have time to get one today. She would have to wait until Monday. But, as I told my mom, if a broken phone is the worst that happens this weekend, we are doing pretty good. :o)

Then, when we arrived in Thatcher, my phone had absolutely no service. When I dropped my mom off at the EA Stadium, we had to go old school and set up a time and place to meet after my dress rehearsal. It's amazing how much we rely on cell phones now-a-days! It's hard to remember the days before this mobile technology.

After my time at the temple, I headed back to the stadium. The youth where having one final dress rehearsal before the big performance that evening. The day was extremely hot and still. There was no breeze to keep them cool. By the time I got there, the practice had been going on for two hours, and they were only about half way through the program. I felt bad for the youth...they were sunburned, sweat drenched, and exhausted. But all of them were so cheerful, ready to do what they practiced, and all were excited to see the prophet. Especially the youth of the Sierra Vista stake. I heard that the SV stake was the model stake for everyone else to follow. The youth knew all the dances, they didn't bother bringing their cell phones or iPods, they were always where they were supposed to be, and they were never disruptive. The cultural event leaders were really appreciative of our stake. What a great compliment!

While I was looking for my mom, I saw tents where the youth of my stake were trying to get some shade while waiting for their turn on the field. I chatted with a few of the leaders for a bit. Then, I happened to mention to my friend (and bishop's wife) about my mom's phone dropping and that I had no cell service, so I had to look for my mom the old fashioned way by asking around. Another friend from SV overheard me and told us that her parents also had Sprint and they had to set their phone to allow roaming. So I reconfigured my phone and found I now had some service. But because my plan charges for roaming, I didn't really want to use my phone for anything other than an emergency.

I really do have a point by telling you about our phone troubles. Bear with me... :o)

I finally met up with my mom and Cindy Pearce and we went for lunch and a little shopping. Then we explored the small town by just driving around. We found the Safford High School and saw that our stake youth were there resting after their practice. All of them camped out in the gym the night before. We went inside and visited them for a while as some boys played basketball (I don't know where they got the energy after the draining practice earlier), some took naps, and others were getting ready for that evening. Then we headed to our hotel room, took a short nap ourselves, and got ready for the evening.

When my mom and I arrived again at the stadium by 6pm, they were not seating the audience yet. We stood in line for about 30 minutes before we were allowed in. Our tickets were for seats in the yellow section, which ended up being on the side lines. They weren't the best seats, but it was still fun to watch the show live.

Here are a couple of pictures I took of the youth on the field waiting for the prophet to arrive, and of the area where the prophet would sit. After I took these two pictures, I was told we were not allow to photograph anything, so I had to put my camera away for the rest of the show.

The area where the prophet would sit is a little hard to see. It is below the main stadium seating and before the temporary field lights. If you enlarge the picture, you can see it better. It has cushy seats and blue gift bags on each seat.

Now on with the show...

More than 1,600 youth participated in the Temple Cultural Celebration. All of the youth were out on the field when the prophet arrived and was escorted to his seat in a golf cart. After he stepped out of the cart, he talked for about 15 minutes before heading to his seat. It was really neat to see how much our prophet loves the youth and how much he wanted to spend time with them. President Monson stopped on his way into the stadium to address the crowd. "I love these big events," he said. "No one in the First Presidency or the Twelve advocate these big events more than Tom Monson." President Eyring publicly agreed with him.

Then the show started with an opening song and an invocation. President Monson talked a little more to the youth, then improvised and sang a little song with President Eyring. It was so much fun to see our prophet and first counselor letting their hair down and having fun. When he proclaimed "On with the show!", the youth ran off the field and set up for the opening act.

The youths retold — through song, dance and spoken word — the rich cultural history of eastern Arizona. In the final moments of the show, they themselves became the foundation stones of the temple, standing close together wearing white. The Angel Moroni statue, common on most LDS temples — including the Gila Valley Temple — completed the scene as it rose above the man-made foundation.

This is the program for the production, titled "The Place Which God For Us Prepared":

• Grand Processional -- All Stakes
• Mormon Battalion -- All Priests and Elite Young Men Dancers
• Honeymoon Trail -- All Priests and Laurels
• Taming the Land -- Duncan and Pima Stakes
• St. Joseph Stake Academy/EAC -- Thatcher Stake
• Hispanic Heritage -- Sierra Vista Stake
• Spencer W. Kimball Tribute -- Elite Young Women Dancers
• Patriotic Tribute -- St. David Stake
• Mining History -- Safford and Silver City Stakes
• Lengthen Our Stride -- All Stakes
• Grand Finale -- All Stakes
  

They also had interviews from youth of the different stakes which were shown between the acts as the next stake was setting up. Some interviews were very funny, others were very cute, and others were very articulate and meaningful. There are some awesome youth with very bright futures ahead of them.

It was a great show and the youth did an outstanding job. Everything came together perfectly.

Here is an article from the church news about the Youth Celebration, including lots of pictures:

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/59380/Youth-celebration-depicts-cultural-history-of-eastern-Arizona.html


Here are two videos from YouTube recorded by EA Courier:







All in all, it was a great evening with the youth. After the show ended, President Monson did not want to leave. He talked to the people around him, he shook hands of the youth and audience members, he wiggled his ears for the children, he took hats off people and put them on his own head, he played and joked and laughed, and he sung a little more. It must have taken about 30 minutes or more for him to leave the stadium. What a great opportunity for the youth to be so close to their prophet. It was a great evening.

My mom and I waited for a long time to leave, to try to allow the traffic to clear up a little. As were were waiting, we talked with quite a few people who participated. It was neat to hear about their unique experiences.

We finally headed to my car, but when we got there, there was still a long line of traffic waiting to leave. We waited in the car for a few minutes, then my phone started ringing. I picked it up and saw an unknown number. I normally don't answer my phone if I am not familiar with the phone number, and I didn't really want to get charged for the call since it was roaming. But something pushed me on to answer it. It was my bishop. He wanted to know if we had left yet. I told him we were still in the parking lot. Then he said the stake president wanted to talk with my mom. I handed the phone to her, then I watched as her face lit up and then she told me President Goates had one ticket for a seat in the celestial room at tomorrow's dedication. I strongly suggested she should take it, and she accepted the ticket. I ran back to the field to get the ticket from President Goates. It was about 10:30 PM at this time.

We were truly blessed this day to experience so many great things. Some things could have been disastrous, but they all worked out the best way possible.

Next Post: The Dedication

The Gila Valley Temple, Part 3: The Dress Rehearsal

We were asked to be at the temple for our only dress rehearsal at 9:45 AM. That meant I needed to leave my house by 7:30. My mom came with me, but I dropped her off at the Eastern Arizona College stadium before heading for the temple. She was meeting Cindy Pearce at the Temple Cultural Celebration practice. On the two hour drive to the Gila Valley, I practiced the three songs and tried to do some last minute memorization. I was really struggling with "The Morning Breaks" because I put that song off to the last minute to memorize. My procrastination sometimes gets me into trouble.

All four choirs were at the temple at the same time. While we were waiting, I saw a few people I knew from my years at EA. It was exciting to see people I haven't seen for a long time. However, most people don't remember me because I was a little overshadowed by my more popular roommates. I don't tell you that to feel sorry for me...I actually do the same thing...I don't remember some people who were in the background, just like me. But I tell you that to set up the next scene. My choir-mate, Billie, who also went to EA during the same time I did, ran up to me and asked, "What is the name of that girl?" When I looked up to see who she was talking about, that same girl looked at me, and with a huge smile, ran up to me and gave me a HUGE bear hug! Her name was Stephanie Herring (now Hoopes). She wanted to know all about me since EA (everything within the last 13 years). It was like I was a long lost BEST friend. I was actually really surprised she remembered my name. She is an awesome and very outgoing person. She was probably one of the most popular girls during those years at EA. I always thought she was the coolest person, but I never thought she would remember me. I was definitely proven wrong. I asked about her. She said she married a guy from this area and they now own Casa Manana! Casa freakin' Manana!!!! The best Mexican food around and one of the most popular restaurants in that area! That is so fitting for Stephanie to own that place! It was a lot of fun to reconnect with her again!

Back to the dress rehearsal...

The three inside choirs listened while the larger outside choir from Thatcher/Safford/Pima sang their two songs next to the cornerstone. Then we all entered the temple (putting on booties over our shoes before stepping inside) and were lead to the celestial room. We all took a seat in the folding chairs that had already been set up for the dedication the next day. We were given a little instruction from the general temple committee member and then from Bro. Harris, the brother called to be over all the music for the dedication.

Then the choir for the first dedication session (from Thatcher/Safford/Pima) was asked to line up behind the podium and run through their three songs (two of the three songs were different than ours. The only song all three choirs sang was" The Hosanna Anthem"). When they started singing, I was COMPLETELY taken aback! The acoustics in the celestial room are AMAZING. They sounded like angels were singing with them already. I could have sat and listened for hours. When they practiced the "Hosanna Anthem", and the other choirs sang "The Spirit of God" with them, there was not one dry eye in the room. The spirit was SO STRONG!

Next it was our turn to practice, since we are the choir for the second dedication session. What an AMAZING experience. It felt like my whole soul was lifted up. I had no care in the world! Though, I did mess up a little in "The Morning Breaks" and we all had a little bobble with the "Hosanna Anthem", because at first it was too slow, so in the middle of "The Spirit of God" section, Bro. Harris asked Sis. Clark to speed it up. Then for a few measures, the choir and the congregation were completely off, but once we figured out the speed, we got back together and it sounded great! Working out these issues during practices are what rehearsals are all about, right?

We sat down and the third choir got up and practiced. This choir is from the Silver City, New Mexico and the Duncan, AZ stakes. Once again, it was AMAZING! Though this time I was more prepared for the "Hosanna Anthem", so I didn't cry...as much.

Since the Duncan/Silver City choir were already standing up, they became the guinea pigs for practicing the entry/exit from the celestial room. They left and came back several times in several different arrangements. Finally, we all decided on the best arrangement. Then they sat down, and my choir lined up to practice our entry/exit. As we exited single file, we were escorted to the room we would be sitting in during most of the dedication. It was the small room between the veil room and the celestial room. It had 20 chairs in two rows lined up single file (it kind of reminded me of how airplane seats are configured...if in single rows). One row was right next to the curtain, and the other row was on the other side of the glass wall dividing the room in two. It was also near the glass wall/door leading to the celestial room (of course this side door was blocked with chairs for the dedication). We sat in the order we stood when we sang.

We just had to remember which chair was ours for the next day's events. So with our chairs assigned, we were escorted back into the celestial room for the last choir to run through the enter/exit practice. Once everyone knew what they were supposed to do, we were excused. My choir was asked to be in the chapel next door to the temple at 10:30 the next day for warm ups and further practice.

It was really happening! I got so nervous and excited at the same time! Tomorrow we would sing for a prophet, one of his counselors, and one of my favorite apostles (I know we are not supposed to have favorites, but I absolutely love Elder Holland!!).

It was only noon when we were excused. I went back to my car and grabbed my camera. I took some pictures of the temple, and of the guys putting the cap on the cornerstone in preparation for it being sealed the next day. Here are a few pictures:



At this point, I felt completely fulfilled! If singing in the celestial room today was the only thing we worked hard for all these months and the only thing we got to experience, I was perfectly happy. It was a marvelous experience. I didn't know how anything could get better than that. But I was really excited and nervous for the dedication. I knew I would experience great things. I just didn't know how great.

Next Post: The Temple Cultural Celebration

The Gila Valley Temple, Part 2: The Temple Choir

One Sunday in January before Sacrament Meeting, President Gore asked if he could talk to me after the block. All through church, I had to stew about what he was going to ask me to do... if he was going to release me from my current stake calling, or call me to something else, or... I had NO IDEA why a member of the Stake Presidency wanted to talk with me and I was very nervous! When I finally was able to meet with him, he asked if I was scared, and I said a little. Then he told me this would not change my world, but it would change me life! I was very confused and a little more nervous. Then he proceeded to call me into the choir. I was humbled, honored, and more than a little amazed that he called ME to this once-in-a-lifetime choir. He asked me not to say anything to anyone (except my family), so I had to keep it quiet for many months. Of course, word got out anyway, but I tried not to perpetuate it.

I had to wait about two weeks before the first choir practice and for me to see who else I would be singing with. When the first practice finally arrived, I was really excited and very nervous. There were ten people from the Sierra Vista Stake and ten people from the St. David Stake that made up our 20 person choir. They called three sopranos, three altos, two tenors, and two basses from each stake.

From the Sierra Vista Stake:

Soprano: Kellie Braun, Marlee (Haymore) Forsberg, and me
Alto: Marnie Goulding, Debi Urkov, and MaryBeth Harper
Tenor: Rick Harper and Rick Holden
Bass: Ron Curtis and Tom Goulding
Chorister: Pam Clark

A couple weeks into the rehearsals, Bro. Holden was deployed to Iraq, so he was not able to continue with the choir. Tim Smith was called in his place. I was really happy for Tim, but devastated for Rick.

I didn't know too many from the St. David Stake. I did know a girl from 13 years ago at Eastern Arizona College (Billie [Palmer] Bright), and a man who used to live in Sierra Vista with his family in the early 90s (Bro. Kempton). That was fun to reconnect with them.

The organist was from St. David, and they also called a backup chorister from St. David and a backup organist from Sierra Vista (Genevieve Kovacs). They wanted to cover ALL their bases.

We were assigned to sing three songs: The Morning Breaks (from the choir book), Come, Oh Thou King of Kings (from the hymnal), and The Hosanna Anthem (from the choir book). We were asked to memorize these songs. We practiced every week for several months. We switched off between the Sierra Vista Stake Center and the St. David Stake Center in Pomerene. I loved going each Sunday and practicing these beautiful songs, and during the weekdays, trying to memorize the words.

Bro. George Harris from The Gila Valley was called to be over all the music at the Temple Dedication. He would travel to the four participating choirs every week to make sure everything was as it should be. He also gave us a lot of words of encouragement and words from the general temple committee. He also bore his testimony and promised us if we prepared now, we would have a pentecostal experience at the dedication. Wow! I was blown away when he said that!

We were all asked to put this choir above anything else. If there was a conflict, the choir always came first. Luckily, I didn't have too many conflicts. However, I had to make sure my UK vacation wouldn't be a problem. Kelli and I reserved this vacation way back in October before any dates surrounding the temple dedication were announced. Because of that, everyone was really supportive of me leaving and being gone for two practices. It was a little challenging to come back from vacation and get back into the swing of things, because I only had one more practice before the big dress rehearsal. I had to really focus at home to finish memorizing and perfecting the songs, but I was still not very confident with myself. I was mixing up words, accidentally singing when only the altos sang and the sopranos rested, and singing the wrong section at the wrong time during the challenging Hosanna Anthem. I was trying so hard, but it didn't seem to be coming together for me. But I prayed hard, and knew I would be blessed for my efforts.

That brings us to this weekend's events. But this post is already too long, so you can read about the dress rehearsal in my next entry:

Next Post: The Dress Rehearsal

But first, here is a little blurb from an announcement about the Temple Dedication. This part was specifically about the choirs:

Choirs are rehearsing in preparation for the Dedication and Cornerstone Ceremony. A 60-voice choir, directed by Bruce Bishop and accompanied by Ramona Lines, will perform at the Cornerstone Ceremony. Three different 20-voice choirs will perform at the Dedication Sessions, one from the Safford, Thatcher, and Pima stakes directed by Michael Bradley, accompanied by Janice Holladay; one from the Duncan and Silver City stakes directed by Larry Martin, accompanied by Marie Stailey; and one from the St. David and Sierra Vista stakes directed by Pamela Clark, accompanied by Carrie Fenn.

The Gila Valley Temple, Part 1: The Open House

Last weekend was the dedication of The Gila Valley Temple. What a magnificent event! I want to tell you about my experiences, but I will split them up in different posts so I won't bore you with a super duper long post. :o)



Part 1: The Open House

Kelli, my mom, and I were able to go through the temple during the Open House on Wednesday, May 12. The Open House was from April 24 to May 15. Two of those three weeks, Kelli and I were in the UK, so we didn't have a lot of time after we got back to go see it. I invited one of my co-workers, Lynda Hickey, to go with us. It was fun to bring someone to the temple who had never seen one before. I think she really enjoyed it.

I personally LOVED it! There were so many take-your-breath-away moments while walking through this remarkable building!

It really is a beautiful temple. It is not the smallest temple, but it is a smaller temple. We were told that they spared no expense during the building of it; they wanted this temple to be a tribute to President Spencer W. Kimball, who lived a lot of his life in this valley. They even named it "The Gila Valley Temple" to honor President Kimball's memory. This is one of two temples with "The" in the title (besides The Hague, but that is the name of the city, so it's a little different). President Kimball always referred to "The Valley" as the Gila Valley, even while living in the Salt Lake valley. "The Valley" to him was never in Utah.

There is a lot of beautiful glass art walls, marble floors and baseboards, crystal chandeliers and sconces, original paintings and murals, and hand sculpted carpet. The Celestial room has the most beautiful chandelier. Here is an excerpt from an email that was forwarded to me. It was written by Mark Smith Bryce, the Coordinator on the New Temple Committee:

In the last minutes just before the closing of the Open House, I decided to take one last walk through the temple, by myself. It was quiet. Once again I walked through the array of oil paintings, marveled at the majestic mural in instruction room one, and delighted in the fine furnishings of the beautiful House of the Lord. I entered the colorful, joyous celestial room. Then, although I had passed this way many times before during tours and visits, I saw two perspectives of the massive, crystal chandelier which I had never observed: the reflection of the chandelier in the art glass which forms the towering south wall of the celestial room, with prisms of color reflecting and glistening in glorious brilliance. And then, by standing across the room from the huge mirror of the west wall of the celestial room, I could see that the massive, brilliant chandelier was not just one beautiful formation of crystals, but a series of crowns, one above the other, rising up toward the hand-painted colors, designs, and gold leaf of the towering ceiling: crown upon crown, upon crown, as if to ascend infinitely into the highest Heaven. And I thought, "this is a beautiful symbol of Light, of Glory, and Honor, and Eternal Lives."

Here is another excerpt:

Over 90,800 attended the Open House of The Gila Valley Arizona Temple!

On the last evening of the Open House, this thought came to me: "Is there any object, person, or event which would bring over 90,000 persons to The Gila Valley? We are located hours from any major metropolitan area. If we brought the Hope Diamond? Would they come? If the monarchies of Europe came for a visit and to be greeted? If we held a major sporting event, such as a prize fight, basketball or football game?" Would this many come? The the answer it "No." There is nothing on Earth which would bring 90,000 visitors to this obscure, mountain valley in the desert of Arizona. Then why did they come? Was it to see a building, or outstanding art? No-- we have witnessed a miracle.

The definition of a miracle is: an event that occurs that has no explanation based on logic, science, or the laws of nature, an event in which the God of Heaven has intervened in the lives of us on this planet and blessed us, beyond our ability to comprehend. Without a doubt, we have been part of a miracle. The Spirit of the Lord brought many thousands of choice souls to The Gila Valley.

This temple is truly an miracle. People have been and will be blessed to have this temple in our midst. This temple was one of the fastest to be built and dedicated. Everything went smoothly: choosing the temple site, zoning and planning, getting the plans passed through the city government, ground breaking, construction, landscaping, the open house, and finally the dedication. All in all, it took only 15 months. That is truly remarkable!

I found this article about the construction of the temple from the contractors point of view:

http://arizonabeehive.com/showstory.php?article=1

Also, here is a video of the Media tour through the temple.



I am grateful for this temple and am excited to have many opportunities to go more often than I have ever been able to go before.

Next post: The Temple Choir

UK There and Back

Our vacation came and went in a blur! We were afraid we were not going to be able to go because of the volcano in Iceland that grounded all air traffic in the UK for six days. But a few days before our scheduled departure, the ash cloud moved off, air traffic resumed, and Heathrow airport was reopened. We had no problems getting to London, even though it was an extremely busy and full flight. They even had to have added security at the terminal to make sure all re-routed passengers and those wanting desperately to get home would remain calm in the line and peace would remain. There were no incidents, and everyone was very grateful to finally have tickets and be moving again, instead of spending their days and nights at the airport.

We were not as lucky on the way back. We were seated on the very full and hot plane hour late, and as soon as the doors were closed, the pilot came on and said the new ash cloud (a straight stream from Iceland to Spain) was causing delays. Every plane in Northern Europe heading west had to be re-routed to go through a narrow air lane above Iceland. Because of all the coordination between all European airports, we were stuck waiting for our window. The estimated time was 2 1/2 hours to wait. They moved the plane to a temporary holding area, and we waited about 3 hours. Then the pilot said it was our turn to leave, but our engine #3 would not start, so we had to go back to the terminal and get engineering to fix the engine. We did that, and had to wait another hour for it to be fixed and the paperwork to be finished. Finally, they were able to put our plane back in the queue to wait for another window. Luckily, we had an advantage, because the crew could only work so long, and we had an 11 hour flight ahead of us. We only had to wait another hour before we were on our way. Once we took off, there were no more issues. I was so glad to be off that plane! Over sixteen hours in a hot, stuffy plane is just too long!

But this return trip will soon be forgot, because I can focus on all the great and wonderful things we saw and did while exploring many cities and towns in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Some of the most memorable: going on a river cruise on the River Thames at night, visiting Windsor Castle while the Queen was in residence, walking around Stratford-upon-Avon, exploring the Royal Mile (and it's underground) in Edinburgh, Scotland, eating Haggis at a Traditional Scottish Evening, seeing the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, watching Kelli dance on stage with a cute Irish guy during a Traditional Irish Evening (the "Let's Dance" Wii Game really gave her an advantage!), driving around the Ring of Kerry (breathtakingly beautiful area in Ireland), kissing the Blarney Stone (actually I had to do it twice to actually kiss it. The first time I missed it...kissing a random stone on the Blarney Castle wall...and I didn't want to have to buy the T-Shirt that said "I Missed the Blarney Stone"), getting proposed to on a Jaunting Buggy in Killarney (the buggy driver wore me down until I agreed. He was very convincing :), having dinner in the Cardiff Castle (Wales), seeing the odd, but intriguing Stonehenge, exploring the Roman Baths in Bath, England, and finally seeing WICKED on The West End (Britain's version of Broadway). I loved, loved, loved Wicked. If you ever get a chance to see it, GO!! You will not be sorry and you will be singing the songs for weeks after.

Overall, this tour did not disappoint! I loved every minute of it. I seriously did not want to come back and face reality. It took me a week to recover from it and have any type of desire to do anything. I did have to go to work, but I was only there in body.

I took over 1400 pictures (that is not including the pictures Kelli took), and have been trying to go through them so I can start posting pictures for you. I will probably post a few different entries, split up per country, or maybe even per leg of the tour. I haven't decided yet. Just know, I haven't forgotten you. I am just slow at getting organized. I hope to have the first entry by the end of this week. I'll post pictures as soon and as often as I can, so you can get a taste of the wonders and beauty that Kelli and I experienced.

Stay tuned!

The Best of Britain and Ireland -- Day Sixteen

The following is my journal entry for Day 16 of my vacation to Britain and Ireland.

Today is our last day in the UK (I'm a poet!). This trip has been an adventure in wonderland! We have seen so much and had so many wonderful once-in-a-lifetime opportunities! I am so glad we took the opportunity to come on this tour.

We had to stomach one more English Breakfast before we left the country, but we managed to find some things we would still eat. Sixteen days of the same food (even it is good food) is really hard to manage. Now I sound like I should be on http://whitewhine.tumblr.com. Haha!

Fortunately, we were able to see some of our tour members around the hotel lobby while we were checking our email for the final time (and letting our mom know we were getting ready to leave for the airport). We were able to say goodbye to our favorite Australians again before checking out of our room and waiting in the lobby for our coach. Another American couple from our tour were returning home today as well and were being taken to the airport at the same time as us. We were able to sit and visit with them as we waited for our transport bus. Finally it came and there were about five other couples on the small bus. We were the last to be picked up, and it was off to the airport.

All the couples were dropped off at different terminals and Kelli and I were the last on the coach. Our terminal was away from the main airport and it took about 10 more minutes to get there. We finally arrived and were dropped off, but we were too early to check in. We had to wait for about 30 minutes in the airport lobby before the big screen told us we could check in. Then we made our way through security (which was a bit of a wait, but wasn't bad, since we were super early...we didn't feel that stressed). We then proceeded to go customs so Kelli could turn in her paperwork for her diamond claddagh ring she bought so she could get the VAT tax refunded (it saved her about $200). Then we wasted more time by going through the airport stores to try to use up the rest of our UK pounds. We really got too much money out of the ATMs and now it felt like we had a shopping spree where you had to use it or lose it. We bought a bunch of cookies and chocolate and a few more souvenirs to take back as gifts. Then we had a nice sit-down lunch in an airport pub. We still had about 15 pounds each that we just could not spend. We were so sick of shopping; we were done. We just decided to keep those pounds for next time. :o)

We found our gate and waited to board the plane. We waited and waited. Finally, about an hour late, we boarded. The line was long and we had to climb aboard and be crammed onto buses to be taken to our plane, but after that process, we were finally seated and ready to go.

But nothing really ever goes as planned, especially with an active volcano not too far away.

Our pilot came on the loud speaker and told us there is a long line to leave today....about a three hour wait. The Iceland volcano is spewing ash into the Atlantic from Iceland to Spain. It is a solid wall of ash. Every airport in Europe who is sending planes westward has to coordinate with each other to send each plane through a tiny window to the north of Iceland. In other words, all of Europe had to use the same air traffic path above the volcano, so on a first come first serve basis, every plane got in a virtual line and waited their turn to fly through it. What a mess for the air traffic controllers! What a mess for us already boarded on the plane! When the pilot gave us that BAD NEWS, one obnoxious man sitting next to Kelli on the opposite aisle seat gave a loud groan while slamming his legs into the seat in front of him and forcefully pushing his chair back into the person behind him. He was acting like a child and he continued acting that way for the rest of our time together (which was a substantial amount of time). The old man who almost took the seat back to his face was a good sport, though. He and his wife would look over at Kelli and I and we would chuckle or smile when the man would do something else during our long wait.

And wait we did...We watched several movies (luckily British Airways has a wide selection and you can individually choose what you want to watch...each person has their own screen in front of them.) Right after the pilot talked to us the first time, he moved the plane to a place on the tarmac to wait until our turn to leave. There we sat for three solid hours.

Finally, the pilot got on the loud speaker again and told us he had good new and bad news. The good news was it was our turn to leave. The bad news was that when he tried to turn back on the engines, our Number 3 engine would not start. We would have to return to the gate where maintenance would fix the engine and once that is fixed, he would put our plane back in line to leave. More groans and tantrums from our childish "friend" on the opposite aisle.

One hour later, our engine was repaired. Our pilot told us he put us back in line, but because we had an 11 hour plane ride ahead of us, and the clock was running out on the time the crew was allowed to work, we should have special privileges to be bumped to a higher standing in the line. We waited one more hour, and then we were air born! Hallelujah!

Our 11 hour plane ride was uneventful. We headed north over Iceland, then over Nova Scotia, New York, and across the US until we landed in Phoenix. Because we were six hours later than we were supposed to be, mom was pretty worried. We couldn't tell her we were delayed because were were stuck on the plane with no cell service or wifi. But once we landed, we were able to call her and everything was fine. Now we just needed to drive home and it was already 10PM. Three more hour trip home. Yuck! What a LONG day. What with traveling back over time zones, I think we had about a 32-hour day, or something like that. It was longer than the normal 24 anyway.

Poor Kelli! She had to drive the whole way home. I crashed pretty much as soon as we got in the car. I helped navigate her to I-10, but after that, I was a goner. I know she was just as tired as me, but I could not stay awake even if my life depended on it. I had hit a wall and that was it. But she was a trooper and we made it home safely!

We both decided to stay home from work on Monday, since we didn't get home until after 1PM on Monday morning. A day of waiting, jet lag and 16 hours on a plane would do that to anyone!

It's good to be home but it's good to have a lot of awesome memories of our spectacular adventure to the United Kingdom!

The Best of Britain and Ireland -- Day Fifteen

The following is my journal entry (with pictures added) for Day 15 of my vacation to Britain and Ireland.

We were greeted this morning with a fire alarm in the hotel. Luckily, it didn't last long and we were not required to leave the building.

Other than that, we had a normal morning with normal hours of getting up, breakfasting, and getting on the coach. This is our last official day on the tour, and it was filled with very historic sites.

First, we crossed back into England over the Severn Bridge. We then drove through the original town of Pennsylvania and we stopped at the elegant Georgian city of Bath, famous for its Roman baths. We paid the entrance fee and toured through these ancient structures and marveled at the wonders of Roman architecture.

The entrance into the Roman Baths

The Bath Abbey

The Great Bath


The Bath Abbey as seem from the Great Bath

The Sacred Spring. Notice the steam rising from the water.


Another view of the Great Bath from a lower angle

What the whole compound looked like during Roman times

What's left of the temple pediment. The next picture shows what the complete pediment would have looked like.

A image was projected over the top of the real stones

Rooms in the Bath houses


Spring Overflow

Bath is also has the home of Jane Austen, but we didn't get to see it. We had to pick and choose, and we chose to see the Roman baths. I am glad we chose to see these baths, because this was one of my favorite places on this trip...though I say that about a lot of things from this trip.

We boarded the coach and continued eastward, stopping again at Stonehenge. What an intriguing mystery! We had 30 minutes there, so Kelli and I paid the entrance fee and ran around the monuments listening to the audio tour wands. It was SO COLD today! Probably the coldest yet. And being outside in the open hills with the seriously chilly wind did not help matters. Needless to say, we didn't stay long outside. We saw the site, took tons of pictures, then went back to the coach to thaw out.



Surrounding Stonehenge are hundreds of burial mounds.



After Stonehenge, we stopped in Salisbury for lunch. This cathedral in this city has the tallest medieval stone spire in the world. We didn't go over to see the cathedral, so I don't have any pictures. We had some lunch at a pub, walked around an outside market, then went back to the coach.

We ended our tour in London. We were dropped off at a VERY LARGE hotel were we said goodbye to our tour group. Some members were going to different hotels so they could start their next tours (some of the Australians were taking multiple tours back to back, since they have so much vacation time). We said our goodbyes to Christina and our bus driver.


Then we checked in to our room and had an early night. We are leaving back to the states tomorrow, so we have repacking and stuff to do. We also went to the nearby tube station for a quick bite to eat and a little more shopping trying to get rid of our UK pounds. We still have some more to get rid of...hopefully the airport shops will have things we want to buy.

This tour has been tons of fun....but I am extremely tired. I am ready to go home. Hopefully the Iceland ash cloud will not affect our flight home, but we shall see tomorrow.

The Best of Britain and Ireland -- Day Fourteen

The following is my journal entry (with pictures added) for Day 14 of my vacation to Britain and Ireland.

Christina had warned us and we knew it was coming, but this super early morning was really hard. We were up by 5am and boarded the coach by 6.

We drove to the ferry port at Rosslare and waited to board the boat that would cross the St. George's Channel to South Wales.


Once it was our turn and they directed us to the area they wanted us to park, we disembarked the coach, and then we tried to find a place to sit on the boat. This ferry is smaller than the first. Plus, there were more areas for premiere members so us lowly folk were forced to sit along the side near the bathrooms and the store. But it was still a nice ride. Because I stayed seated almost the whole way, I didn't get as motion sick as I did on the way over. This trip was 4 hours long and we passed the time watching the election results come in. This was the first time in history (or for a really long time anyway) that they had a hung parliament and there was no majority winner. The closest winners will have to figure something out so the country will know who their new prime minister will be.

Goodbye Ireland!

We arrived in Wales, boarded the coach and disembarked the ferry in Pembroke.

Our first views of South Wales.

Disembarking the ferry

We traveled through South Wales on our way to Cardiff. We saw Richard Burton's house in Port Talbot (from a distance). It's kind of hard to miss because it's a very 70's style in a very old and "European"-style area. It's kind of an eye sore, but he loved it.

Richard Burton's house in the hills of Port Talbot

South Wales seemed to be much more industrial than North Wales. There is a steel mine still in operation in Port Talbot, in fact.


South Wales was also big into coal mining. They have since closed all those mines (the last one was closed in 2008).

We arrived in Cardiff, which is the capital city of Wales. It is also the most cosmopolitan city in the UK.

We stopped for one hour to walk around the stores near the castle. However, at this point, we were pretty tired of shopping. It really wasn't that interesting. We just walked around and wasted time before we were to be picked up again.

Outside the walls of Cardiff Castle

The Cardiff City Hall


The Welsh Dragon on the top of the City Hall


Streets of Cardiff


A pretty Garden Square

On the coach, we drove around a bit to see some of the city. We saw the huge rugby stadium called the Millennium Stadium. Kelli was a bit disappointed we didn't get to see the Wall of Water, which has some reference to the BBC shows Dr. Who and Torchwood.

The Millennium Stadium


We thought this was funny, but it is actually a brewery. Who would have thought!

We were dropped off at our hotel and had a little time to get ready for our last "Traditional Evening". This one was the Traditional Welsh Evening and it was held in the Cardiff Castle. We first had a short tour of the castle.


Funny story about these inside pictures: The tour director was nice and let us take picture IF and ONLY IF we didn't use a flash. Everyone turned off their flashes and away we went. Then we entered a new room, cameras were turned back on, and pictures were taken WITH flashes. Whoops! Apparently once some cameras are turned off, the flash setting is reset to auto. After a few rooms, the lady asked us to stop taking pictures. I continued to sneak these pictures with my flash OFF.



Then we were lead into the dungeons, which were converted into a large dining hall. We had a four course meal consisting of traditional welsh food (lamb stew, salad, other).


They sang to us and entertaining us with music, comedy, and group participating. It didn't seem as organized as the other countries traditional evenings, but it was still a lot of fun.

On the way back to our hotel, we once again had a sing-a-long on the coach. This time it was to Tom Jones songs, since he is from Wales (probably one of the most famous and timeless singers from this country). Of course, most of our group had a bit too much to drink so they were a little extra animated while singing again. :o)

Tomorrow we return to England and explore the city of Bath and the historic and perplexing Stonehenge.