Tuesday, October 7, 2008

England!



I finally got pictures of my trip to England. Now you get to hear all about it! If you come to my house I'll let you watch the twenty minute movie Alicia made:)

It was the trip of a lifetime. Definitely bitter sweet, but more sweet than bitter. This was my first trip to Europe. It was beautiful. It was amazing to see such old, beautiful buildings. Here an old building was built in the 1800's, there an old building was built in the 1100's. Pretty amazing history. I loved the trimmed hedges and trees and the beautiful flower gardens. The little town of Stroud was the best though. I must be a country girl at heart. Beautiful green rolling hills with sheep grazing and narrow cobblestone roads. We toured London in a day. Only Spjutes can see London in one day. The best part of London was seeing Wicked. Amazing! I loved it more than I thought I would ever love a musical. They did an amazing job. Loved it!

Even with all of those wonderful things we saw, the best part of the trip was feeling close to Linz and meeting the people she loved. What an amazing experience to be able to take part in a little bit of her mission. We were able to see where she was running when she passed away. I'm sure Linz couldn't have picked a prettier spot if she'd been able to. That will always be a sacred grove for our family. We saw where she lived, and met wonderful people and families. The Virchande family in Coventry truly found a place in our hearts. They are wonderful people and friends for life now. The Turners and Holly in Stroud went out of their way to make our visit enjoyable. The acts of love people showed us will never be forgotten. We spent an unforgettable night in the mission home with the Mofets. All in all the trip couldn't have been better. The Lord truly poured out his blessings upon us. I know Linz was with us and loving that we were meeting so many people she loved. It was hard to come home. Hard to try to move forward, feeling like we were leaving Linz in England. I will be forever grateful for the memories we made. They will last a lifetime and bring comfort in the days ahead.

8 comments:

The Christensen's said...

WOW!! Laura that is so amazing. I am pretty jealous you got to go to England. But no one will have the experience your family had, that is totally unique just to you. What beautiful country and how neat that you could to with your family!

About Us. said...

This totally makes me want to got back to England sooooo bad! So glad you got to walk where Linz walked, it probably brought you a little more closure to everything. What a great experience. I do want to correct you on one of the pictures you showed on your slide. My British Friends who stayed with me a few years ago went bazerk if I referred to the "Tower Bridge" as the "London Bridge" (since the real London Bridge is in Lake Havasu, Arizona). So let me spare you from the same fate! I Don't miss the food I had there ever... except maybe the chocolate and fish and chips, the rest yuk! Love ya, Spjute!

Hilary said...

I can't imagine the mixture of feelings you experienced on your trip. England is so beautiful and full of history, but it will always be more than that for your family. I don't know whose idea it was for you to go there or how you managed to make that happen, but I'm so glad you will now have those memories. And I'm certain that meeting you was also a blessing for those who knew and loved Lindsey there in England. Amazing! Thank you for sharing the pictures and experiences!

the mortensen's said...

beautiful pictures!
so, since you are a running queen...I'm planning on running a mini in the spring, do you have any good training worksheets or websites that you know of I could check out? I don't really know what the best way to do it is. mel gave me stuff once but I have no idea where it is

the mortensen's said...

holy crap no! Just a half marathon. I ran 7 miles the other day, the most in my life! Physically I can do it, but I am such a mentally WEAK runner. any tips?
sherstinem@hotmail.com

Tamara said...

i'm so glad you got to go. I bet Linz loved that you were there and saying goodbye on her behalf to the friends and families she loved. What a great family you guys have.

April and Jared Fenn said...

That is awesome! I'd love to go to England someday but first I want to go back to El Salvador for the Temple Dedication. You should come with all of us. You look so dang cute. :)

AJ Gorham said...

What an amazing journey. I am so happy for you...you and your family deserved that time. I would love to see the video so you better bring it with you over Thanksgiving and we can watch it on the big screen!