New Zealand!!

Now onto New Zealand!! We were told that New Zealand was going to be freezing and rainy the entire time...but it actually was great. I think we only got one day of rain, but it was beautiful.

We did a lot of driving and saw a lot of it.

On our way to Cathedral Cove.

McCall, Neeley, Katie, Me, Isaac, and Ally

Here is Ally and Me at Cathedral Cove.

So we got to go stay in a Marae (ma-rye). The Maori (mow-ree) people were so great!! They've had a tough past but they are still the sweetest most caring people! They were so generous to us. We had this cool ceremony to welcome us then we learned about the history and enjoyed ourselves. We all slept in the Marae which is the Maori people's temple. So cool! It was hot and loud but still fun!

This is the leader of the Maori people. He was such a sweetie!!

We did a lot of hiking including a 10 mile hike. We hiked up to a cabin with our big backpacks and spent the night and then hiked bike. It was extremely tiring but very beautiful!

New Zealand is very green and gorgeous!

So we also got to go Bungee Jumping. Ally and I did tandem because we were a little nervous and thought it would be fun to do this together.

Getting excited!

Getting all bound up!

Going up!!

1.2.3...GO!!

We laughed the entire we fell and for about a half hour after.

Eyes a little puffy from the head rush. But we made it and it was a blast! The fall made me a little......out of it. The rest of the night I was a dazed and kind of confused. Everyone kept making fun of me but I eventually became normal again :-)

So we got to do a really cool thing too. We got to go Black Water Rafting. And no that's not a mistake, it was black water. We went underneath this big mountain and we also got to see the Glow Worms. The water was pretty dang cold but eventually you got use to it but the glow worms were great!! They looked just like stars. We got to jump backward off of waterfalls. They didn't tell us this till after, but their were eels underneath the water. Apparently there is one that is 5 feet long and has lived there for a while. I'm really glad they didn't tell us cause it would have totally freaked me out! But it still turned out great!

So other places in the world McDonald's is actually a pretty nice place. We went to the McCafe and got this little tasty treat. It was a great deal and turned out so pretty we just had to take a picture of it!

This is the Hamilton Temple. It is GORGEOUS!! The town around it is called Church-town. There are only about 6 non-members in the whole town. Seems like a pretty great place!

This is a beautiful black beach.

Sad to leave...

But onto Fiji!!

P.S. The Australia is below the Lexy Lou one (don't know how to switch them).

Australia!!

Guess what!! I'm finally updating with my blog with my summer study abroad!! I have so many pictures that I really have just kept putting it off. But my wonderful smart mother gave me a great idea...do it in parts!

Part 1: Australia

This picture is in Cairns. Our first destination. We had been flying for about 24 hours and as you can see I look like it. But Ally and I were tent-mates and so we had to show off our wonderful job of setting it up. We spent 5 nights here and it was pretty great. They had a swimming pool (but being winter the pool was freezing) and they had showers and free internet. It was a great place! We made friends with the local YSA ward and spent a lot of time with them, including going to Harry Potter 7 Part 2 with them.

While in Cairns we went to the Rain forest Station. It was great! We got to pet kangaroos and Kola Bears. They were so fun and I really was temped to bring some home.

I think that Dingos are so beautiful!! Unfortunately their really mean so we could only look but that's alright I enjoyed looking.

Can you see the baby?!

This is Jack The Ripper. He was HUGE!! They call him that because they tried to mate him with 12 yes count it 12 females and he killed them ALL!! He's an angry guy...so don't mess.

I learned how to throw a boom-a-rang...I'm no good but it was still fun.

On one of our drives to a beach we stopped at this beautiful view. There were some great views!

We are now in the Outback of Australia. To be honest a lot of it looks a lot like Southern Utah. But it was still pretty awesome! This is Katie Jensen and I

Oh and I got to ride a Camel. It was so fun! You couldn't help but smile and laugh while you were up there.

Finally some warmer weather for our hikes.

this is Katie, McCall, Emma, and me

Emma, Me, Kirsten, Katie, Kate, and Ryan

Cute Jessie

This place is an ancient place that fathers use to take their sons to learn about the female anatomy...kind of like maturation.

Left to right: Neeley, McCall, Ally, Me, Emma, Katie, Kate, Kirsten

Uluru Rock. This is in the evening with the sun setting. It was great to see it then!

We are now in the Blue Mountians

The weather was rainy and chilly, but then again it was winter there so that's understandable.

The 3 sisters....

This is on a sky coaster. We rode across this amazing valley that was just COVERED in trees. So amazing!!

They had this funny ride that we went on. None of us knew what was happening we just followed the instructions to get on. We were really confused with the cage like atmosphere. We were wondering how we were going to see the view...turns out that's not the point. It's one of the steepest incline in the world. We got to ride down in and it was pretty exciting!

This is a hike we did called the Natural Pass. It took us about 2 hours I think and was so awesome and beautiful!!

Now arriving in Sydney!

I've always wanted to see Sydney so this was pretty exciting for me. We got a lot of free time here so we got to really explore the city. It's an amazing place...but we sure did stand out in our quick dries.

On the train to go see the opera house with McCall.

The opera house. Not great weather but we got our quick dries so we were fine!

After walking ALL day we decided we need to eat. We wanted to eat somewhere local and different. We asked a few people and they would keep telling us that it was only a 10 min. walk that way. After about 20 min. we would ask someone else....they would do the same thing. Finally someone gave us good directions...kind of. They sent us down this dark Alley. We were a little skeptical at first but then we came across this awesome Italian place. It was really delicious and the people loved us because there were so many of us (well only about 10 from the group) and we were all in big rain jackets.

It was the highlight of the day.

We also got to see a Rugby game. Turns out...I LOVE Rugby. It's such a fun sport to watch! I don't understand it at all, but its still cool!

We got to see the Wallabies vs. South Africa. Which happen to be 2 of the top 3 teams in the world. We had a great time!

Over all I loved Australia! I would go back in a heart beat. It was a really great place!

Lexy Lou!

Yes it is true I'm finally updating my blog. My Study Abroad ones are coming soon I promise. But first I wanted to take this opportunity to pay respect to two very important family members. Today we had to say goodbye to the best dog ever! Lexy Lou Hanks, 1997-2011. I remember the first time I saw her. Mom brought her home to show Dad to see if we could keep her. I went and played with her and fell in love immediately. She was a sweet tempered puppy and remained that way her whole life. She was Clayton's little buddy so its pretty sweet that she would get to rejoin him so close to his birthday. I'm sure he was so happy to see her again and same with her.

I would also like to quickly mention a quick Happy Birthday to Clay. It's been two years this weekend but it still feels like it happened yesterday. I still miss you everyday. I know you're doing great work on the otherside. Keep it up bro. We miss you here!

I thought this picture was perfect. The two of them together!

I realized that I didn't have many great pictures of her. So this is one of the few that I have of her.

Just a few pictures to remember Clay. He sure did bring a lot of joy and light to the family!