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

I Did It!

 What an exciting weekend it has been!  I finally graduated from the University of Tulsa with my Masters of Science in Speech-Language Pathology.  It has been such a long journey and I can not believe that it is all over with!

As a graduation gift from my mom, I got a brick with my name and graduation year on it!

One thing that I am going to miss the most about TU is the GORGEOUS view of the McFarlin Library.  This building was the final point of persuasion when I was trying to decide where to go to school.  It is so gorgeous and I love looking at it!

Sarah and I went to the Final Bell Ringing in the middle of campus.  The ringing of the bell is one of the oldest traditions at TU (you can see the bell behind me).  Once you take your last final and are about to graduate, you go ring the bell as a way to show that you have finished.

We did it!! We finished!!! This is Sarah and I at graduation!  We were so proud of ourselves for making it through and getting to wear our hoods!

These two people are the reason that I am where I am today and who I am today.  I am so thankful for my parents.  They do so much for me and have been through so much with me.  I am more thankful for them than I could begin to describe! 

 Now I can say that I am a University of Tulsa alumni!  Go Canes!

New Adjustments

On April 29, I got a new man in my life, and he sure is something!  Sweet Turner graced us all with his presence after teasing us with his arrival for about 2-3 weeks!  I am so glad that he is finally here!  He is so sweet and Mackenzie is so proud of her baby brother!  It's so adorable!

The first weekend in May was a big one for my parents and me.  We moved all of my stuff out of my apartment in Tulsa and into my new home in Russellville.  I am so excited about my new place!  I love everything about it!  I even have my own office! (:  Penelope has been with my parents for the past few weeks while I have been in the moving process (it has been a long one) and she gets here tomorrow.  I can't wait for her to check out our new home!  There will be so many windows for her to look out of and birds to chatter at.  I love visitors so anyone and everyone are ALWAYS welcome to pop in to say hello!!

Last night we had a party with all of the girls in my program to celebrate the end of our graduate school experience.  It was so much fun!  One of the girls is from Tulsa so her parents graciously welcomed all 19 crazies in to their home to eat, drink, play croquet and badminton, and talk about all of the fun times we have had over the past two years.

One person that I am beyond blessed to have met in graduate school is my best friend, Sarah.  I honestly don't know how I would have survived graduate school without this amazing friend.  We spent so many hours studying, preparing, planning, and it is all over with!  I can't wait to see the next chapter!

Brittany was the first friend that I made in my program and I am so thankful for her!  We both would not have made it through our first semester without each other!

I can't believe that graduate school is already over!  The past two years have been a busy, stressful, and crazy two years but I wouldn't change any of it.  Well, other than maybe studying a little bit more and procrastinating a little bit less! (:

Xx

Egg Dying

Today has been such a fun day!  My sister, mom, and I dyed Easter eggs with my nephew this morning!  We used vinegar, food coloring, and shaving cream and they turned out so great!

 Watching Papaw grill hot dogs and hamburgers!

Exciting News!

I have some very exciting news!  Starting in May, I will be living in Russellville and working in the Russellville/Clarksville area as a contract CF speech pathologist.  I am so excited to have the opportunity to be doing what I love and with the population that I love.

This past weekend, I bought my very first vehicle!  My parents and I went to look at possible cars since I would be needing a good, reliable one come this summer.  One thing led to another and I ended up signing the papers before leaving the dealership.  I bought a 2014 Toyota 4Runner and I cannot even put in to words how much I love it!  I find myself just staring out the window at my car - I'm not even kidding...I found myself doing that today at work during a meeting! Haha!  But seriously, the car is AMAZING and I am so happy with it! I definitely could have purchased a more gas-friendly vehicle but I fell in love with it!

I hope that everyone is having an amazing Spring so far! The weather has been amazing here in Tulsa and I am so happy about it! Penelope and I love the winter, but boy are we enjoying the sunshine!

Xx

Thanksgiving

Any holiday with my family is an interesting one.  This Thanksgiving was nothing but the "normal" for us.  Every holiday with the Turners, Molly Anne and I have this tradition with Matt and David where we do "the duck face."  Unfortunately, David wasn't able to be at Thanksgiving, so Dean graciously took his place!

 One of my favorite things about holidays is the crafting.  One of my best friends and I decided to make a few Christmas presents while we were home for the holidays.  We went all out too and made some homemade candles.  Didn't they turn out great??

 I am always trying to get my family to take pictures, but no one ever helps me out with this.  This year, however, things worked out in my favor.  The leaves on the trees going up our driveway stayed on for an abnormal amount of time and I talked my family in to FINALLY taking a picture!! Unfortunately, we were missing 5 people, but the pictures turned out very well, don't you think?