Lauren's Wedding

The weekend of July 11th, my cousin, Lauren, got married!! It was a lot of fun and such an honor to get to be a part of her special day!! Here are just a few pictures from the day!

This is Lauren, me, and Chelsy (a friend from OBU).

This is Leah and me right before the wedding!  So glad she was there to do my hair and makeup!! I would have been lost without her help!!

Didn't Lauren look GORGEOUS??

This is my old roommate, Sara, and me.  It was so great to get to see her!  It has been months since we last got together!!

My Aunt Cheryl, me and my mom as the reception.

Me, Aunt Cheryl, mom, and my cousin Andy at the reception.

This is one of my favorite pictures taken the whole weekend.  Here is a selfie taken by Lauren's dad, Terry, of the entire bridal party right before we all walked out! Such a great picture!!

July 4th Weekend 2014

The weekend of July 4th was a excitement-filled one!  I headed home on Thursday to get my hair done before Lauren's wedding, which was the following weekend.  I was determined to park in the parking spot in the shade which, unfortunately for me, resulted in someone backing in to my brand new car that I just got the end of March!  What a happy way to start off a fun-filled weekend right?

Well, lucky for me, my family is pretty good at keeping my mind in happy spirits (most of the time)!!  

Dean and I had a lot of fun showing our love for the USA!!

One way that we celebrated America was by making red, white, and blue red velvet cupcakes! And I got my own little kitchen helper!

Ryder Vance Cooley

On June 22, Ryder Vance Cooley decided to finally make his appearance in the world!  Mackenzie was spending the weekend with me when I got some text messages from Emilee letting me know that I would be loading up in the car as soon as MPH woke up and heading to Fort Smith to see the family!  If you know me, you know how much I love my sleep, MPH and Penelope seem to take after me in that aspect! (:

While waiting at the hospital, Dean and Mackenzie made sure to keep everyone entertained! I mean, how could you not be with these two kiddos? (:

This is one of my favorite pictures that we took while at the hospital! Dean LOVES his cousin and this was such a sweet moment!

FINALLY we were able to go back to Emilee's room and I got to meet my sweet, newest nephew, Ryder Vance Cooley! What a sweetheart!

Nan & Mal Visit Europe: Days 11-14

My mom and I ended our European adventure with some relaxing at Buckingham Palace - one of my favorite places in London.  Luckily for us, it was a gorgeous evening and it wasn't very crowded so we were able to sit in St. James' Park. 

It was nice to have a bit of a break at the end of our trip!  I loved getting to show my mom around Europe and we have already begun planning our next adventure!

Xo

Nan and Mal Visit Europe - Days 9 and 10

This past Saturday, as my mom and I are packing for London, we decide that we don't want to spend our entire last week in London anymore.  So, we decided to buy train tickets to Scotland.  What can I  say? Neither one of us really like plans.  We prefer to make things up as we go!  With that being said, we woke up early Tuesday morning and headed to the Kings Cross Railway and hopped on a train to Edinburgh, Scotland  - and boy did we love it!!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Scotland that I took while we were on our trip!

Right when we got to town, we decided that we were going to

get our exploring in since we only had a little over 24 hours in the city.  The first thing that we did was head up to Edinburgh Castle - and let me tell you, it is not an easy walk up a mountain!  Obviously they did not choose to build a castle there because it was easy to walk up to! (:

Next, we decided to do something a little fun (since we've only done boring things thus far)!  We headed to the Scotch Whiskey Experience.  You should know that neither my mom nor I are very big drinkers - I prefer water or sweet tea over anything you put in front of me.  However, we were in the home of whiskey so we thought, what the heck. 

This was a lot of fun!  We got to ride a wooden barrel through the "whiskey making process" and then we got to go and learn about the types of scotch made in Scotland.  I must say, I learned a lot!  There are 5 regions in Scotland that make whiskey and each region makes a completely different style of scotch.  We even got a scratch and sniff card! (:

Another neat thing about the "experience" is that they have the world's largest scotch whiskey collection.  It was AMAZING!! I have never seen so much alcohol in one room let alone collectors items.  Over half of the bottles on display are all limited edition and one of, if not the only, bottle still full and in existence today.  Even Edinburgh has overwhelming whiskey history!!

How can you see this and not be in love with this place?!

For dinner we went to one of the best pubs in town (according to Trip Advisor that is) and ordered some authentic Scottish cuisine.  Fish and chips and some shepherd's pie.  My goodness was it one of the best meals I have ever had.  I ate so much I thought I was going to explode!!

 After dinner we decided to catch a taxi down to Leith Docks and see the waterfront and the Royal Yacht Britannia.  Lucky for us, we got in with a cab driver who was SO passionate and proud of his country and he decided to give us a "real" tour of Edinburgh - which ended up being a 2 1/2 hour ride!  It was so much fun!  He gave us so much history with so many different places that we never would have found on our own!  I was already loving Edinburgh but he made me REALLY love the city and his country!

If any of you are Harry Potter fans, you may know that JK Rowling (the author) is from Edinburgh and she wrote most of the series in the city.  Our driver took us to two of the schools that she based Hogwarts off of and they were breathtaking.  I mean, they look just like that schools back home I guess...

This first one is a college

 This school is for kids K-5th grade!!

Of course we had to get a picture of this for my nephew!

Our last day in Edinburgh (before we had to catch the train back to London), my mom and I headed to Holyrood Palace.  Holyrood is the current summer home of the Queen and the former home of Mary Queen of Scots.  This was probably my favorite historical site that we have visited.  I am kind of in a Queen Mary phase at the moment (thanks to the TV show Reign) so I may be a little biased.  Anyway, while at Holyrood, we ran in to a good friend of mine from Tulsa, Jennie.  Jennie and her sister are spending the week in Ireland and Scotland and our paths somehow crossed in Edinburgh! What a fun surprise! (:

I have been to a lot of countries around the world (and hopefully will be to a lot more in the future) and Scotland has stolen the #1 position.  My goodness.  The people are SO amazingly nice, the scenery is spectacular, the history is overwhelming, and their food is delightful!  I will definitely be back in the future!!

XX

Nan and Mal Visit Europe - Day 8

On Monday, my mom and I headed on a looooong day of touring two places outside of London.  Our first stop on this 12 hour day was Stonehenge.  I absolutely loved getting to visit here.  I was little weary about it at first because everyone that I spoke with just said "it's a bit of a let down." or "it's just a bunch of rocks piled in a field by the highway."  Well, it is just a bunch of rocks piled in a field by a highway but it is so amazing!  I guess it is just the nerd in me but it all fascinated me so much!

The next stop on our tour was Bath.  Now Bath was completely different than what I had pictured in my mind but we both enjoyed it.  The first thing that we got to visit was the Roman ruins.  The Romans built a bathhouse in Bath (clever name!) and a lot of it is still standing today with the same waters flowing in to it.  I tell ya, they never cease to amaze me.

My favorite part of Bath was the Jane Austen Museum.  Jane Austen lived in Bath for a few years.  It was so fun to go in to a house just like the one that she lived in (even with no air conditioning or ceiling fans) and learn about her life!  They also have the Jane Austen Festival in Bath every year if anyone wants to join me and go one day!! (:

Stonehenge and Bath were both fun places to visit! I recommend taking the time to visit if you're ever in this part of the world and have some time!  They even have a jewelry store named after me - which is obviously a good enough reason to visit!

Xx

Nan and Mal Visit Europe - Day...I'm a bit behind! London!

Well, I am a bit behind, and I apologize for that! It has been a whirlwind past few days and I have loved every minute of it! This past Sunday, my mom and I left Salzburg and headed to London!  It was so sad to leave Austria but I was excited to get to show my mom new places!

We did not waste any time once we arrived in London!  We went straight to our hotel, changed clothes and headed out to explore!  We were SO lucky too because the weather was absolutely stunning!  We decided to get on one of the hop-on-hop-off double decker buses and see as many sights as we could!

One of my favorite places in London is the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.  Fun fact: Big Ben is actually the name of the bell in the clock tower - the tower itself is actually named Elizabeth Tower, after Queen Elizabeth II.

Luckily for us, our bus tour tickets included entrance in to the Tower of London.  I was really excited about this since I have never been inside the Tower of London and I love the Tower Bridge!

If you know me very well, then you know how much I enjoy mysteries - another trait I inherited from my mother I suppose.  I really like the Sherlock Holmes stories as well as the PBS series (yes, I love PBS) Sherlock.  If you don't watch Sherlock, then you're living your life wrong and you need to fix that!  All three seasons are currently on Netflix! (:  Anyway, there was no way on earth that I was going to be in London and not stop at the Sherlock Holmes Museum at the most popular address - 221B Baker Street!

We had a very busy and very eventful first day in London and it was a lot of fun!  I love being in this city and I am glad I got to share it with my mom!

Xx

Nan and Mal Visit Europe - Innsbruck - Day 4

Today, my mom and I woke up very early (5:30 am our time to be exact) and hopped on a train to Innsbruck, Austria.  Innsbruck is a neat little town about 2-2 1/2 hours from Salzburg via train.  It was my mom's first time on a European train so it was definitely a fun experience for her!

 

When we first arrived in Innsbruck, we were walking down the streets and we could not get over the fact that we were seriously the only people out.  It was a very strange and almost eerie feeling.  Fortunately for us, that meant that we could get all of our "touristy" things out of the way before everyone else showed up!  Nothing started opening up until 9:30 (it was a national holiday today) so it really was empty.  We walked around, saw most of the big sights and even got our panorama photos in (:  This is a picture of us in front of the Triumphal Arch.  The arch was ordered by Empress Maria Theresia to celebrate the wedding o her son on one side and to honor her husband who passed away on the other side.

After the Triumphal Arch, we headed to the Imperial Palace.  It was absolutely stunning!  I love all of the Hofburg palaces throughout Austria! They are all so pretty!  Unfortunately, photos were not allowed inside so I have nothing to show for that part of the trip!

Next we headed up to the high plateau of the Hungerburg.  It was an absolutely GORGEOUS view of Innsbruck.  First, we rode a tram up about halfway and then we had to get off and get on a  gondola cable car the rest of the way!  The whole way up (or down) there are little trails and paths for hikers, bikers, etc.  On the tram with us, there was a family of 3 men and a high school aged boy all with their mountain bikes and mountain biking gear because they all RODE DOWN THE MOUNTAIN!! Obviously it wasn't their first time doing any of that but holy moly, no thank you!  - We did see them after we made our way back down and they all made it down alive! (:

The view!

The last thing that we did while in Innsbruck was ride a horse and carriage.  Neither one of us had ever done this so we were excited about it!!  One thing that I loved about the people who run these carriage rides is how amazing they treat their horses.  If you go to New York or another big city (even in Vienna), they don't treat their carriage horses very well.  But don't worry, these horses were treated VERY nicely!! Haha 

The horse that took us around was named "Super."  He is 22 years old and a former race horse whose owner saved him from being put-down.  He was so sweet and definitely still had a little bit of his race horse instincts.  He kept trying to speed up and pass cars or other carriages that were too slow for him - he knew we were the last trip and he was ready to go home!  My favorite part about our ride was that our carriage driver let me drive the entire trip! So good news! If speech path doesn't work out for me, I have a promising future in carriage driving! (:

Only one more day left in Austria and then we are headed to Germany for part of a day and then the UK for the last week!  What will we get in to next?

Xx

Nan and Mal Visit Europe - Day 3

Today was a very fun day for my mom and me.  We woke up early, had a great German breakfast and headed out in to the cold cold rain for a day filled with the Sound of Music.  Now, if you know my family at all then you know how obsessed we all were with this movie while growing up.  I mean, who in their right mind goes on vacation and only answers to their parents if they refer to you as the name of whichever child you chose to be for that day and only called your mom "Maria?"  - We also did other things that prove that we weren't in our right minds, and still aren't, but that's for another day.

We were about 45 minutes early for our tour this morning so we just hung out around Mirabel and we found our tour bus.  No one was around (like that would have mattered anyway) so we decided to get a picture with our tour bus! The best part about this photograph (and others where we are standing apart) is that we actually took this photo ourselves.  Thank you Apple and your ingenious, easy-to-use panorama option while taking photos. 

One of the places we went on our Sound of Music tour was the village of Mondsee.  I really enjoy going to the Lake and Mountain District here in Salzburg.  Even on the coldest, rainiest, and cloudiest days (like today) you really can't beat the views.  That goes for all of Austria, actually. 

Anyway, Mondsee is a neat little village which holds this beautiful cathedral right in the middle of the town.  The most special thing about this cathedral is that it is where the wedding scene from the Sound of Music takes place - not at the Abbey where the movie makes you believe it is at.  

Austria had chevron before chevron was cool! (:

Out of all of the cathedrals that I have been to all around the world, this one is probably my favorite.  I love all of the pink and white and the gold.  It's absolutely breath taking when you walk in the door.  I have seen this cathedral 2 or 3 times already and it still amazes me.

One of the first places we went to on our tour was located at one of my favorite places in all of Salzburg.  Helbrunn Palace.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to go in to Helbrunn but it still made me happy to be on the grounds! (I did a post back in June of 2010 about Helbrunn if you want to see what it is).

During the filming of the Sound of Music, 3 gazebos were used.  This is the only one that was "real."

After Helbrunn, we headed to Schloss Leopoldskron.  I absolutely love this place.  It is only a short walk from the home that I lived in while studying abroad here in Salzburg and we came here many times!  This is now privately owned so you can only see it from across the lake, which is probably the best for tourists because you get to see the entire home.  This is the home that was used during the filming for the terrace and the lake where all of the kids fell in when they fell out of the boat after their day out with Maria.

This is my mom and I at one of our stops through the Lake and Mountain District.  Behind us you can see Lake Wolfgang.  This is my favorite lake/village (St. Gilgan) to visit.  It is absolutely beautiful and it has so many neat things to see.  Unfortunately, this is as close as we got but it was still a beautiful "visit." (Another shot taken by us!) (:

Needless to say, it was a cold and rainy day today for our tour but it was still fun and definitely worth it!  Tomorrow we are headed to Innsbruck, Austria for the day!  I am really excited about it since I have never been to Innsbruck and my mom gets to have her first European train experience!

Xx

Nan and Mal Visit Europe - Days 1 & 2

We are finally on our European Trip!! It has been so much fun already and it's only Day 2!  I am so happy to finally be able to share one of my favorite places with my mom!  I just wish my whole family were here with me!  Especially you Erin - since we both share our study abroad love for this gorgeous city! (:

We got here yesterday around 11:30 am.  It was a LOOONNNGGGG trip!  I think we calculated it to around 20 hours total - including an 8 hour flight from Chicago to Frankfurt.  Unfortunately for me, I do not sleep well on airplanes so the sleep was minimal.  Thankfully Lufthansa had WONDERFUL movie choices - I got to watch 3 of the Bourne movies and A League of Their Own (and if you know me well you know how happy the latter choice made me).  Once we finally made it to our hotel, we decided to take a little power nap (aka 4 hours).

 We finally woke up around 4ish and decided to get up and go out and about since it was not raining and there was even some sunshine!!  Here is one of my favorite views of Salzburg.  You can see the fortress all the way up there!

After I took the photo above, we decided to walk up to the fortress!  The forecast all week is supposed to be rainy and a little cold (just like it was last time I was here).  Unfortunately for my mom, I decided that we should walk all the way up to the fortress rather than spend 16 euros on a ticket to take the tram up.  Well, I guess my memory was a little fuzzy because the trek to the top was BRUTAL.  If you look at the square in the photo, you can see little dots - those are the people.  I think that should give you a pretty good idea of how far up it is to the fortress! And if you look to the left, you can see tracks - that's the track for the tram; we took it down from the fortress! (:

But in my opinion, it was all worth it.  I got my exercise in and I got to have this view.  I mean, look at that!  I don't know how anyone could complain about having to walk a ways and then get this kind of view.  I just love Austria!

This is my mom and I at the top of the fortress with the gorgeous city of Salzburg behind us!

This wonderful building behind me, built in 1558, is where I spent every Monday-Friday at while I was studying abroad here in Salzburg.  It is sad to think that students studying abroad now are experiencing something different - although I am sure it is equally as wonderful!

Today (Tuesday), my mom and I slept it late (I think we're recovering from yesterday's hiking).  When we finally awoke there was a gap in the raining and we decided to head out and see Mirabel, which is right down the street about 2 blocks from our hotel.  I love Mirabel.  It is one of the prettiest (man-made) locations in Salzburg, in my opinion.

Who needs a photographer when you have an iPhone and can take a panoramic shot? (:

Well, that is all for days 1 and 2!  Can't wait to share what happens next as we are currently deciding what cities to see after this!  

Xo