My arrival into the Mother Land - ITALIA!!!

After a really busy week of wrapping up at Annandale High School for the summer, celebrating my birthday with friends, packing, and the like, I flew to Florence, Italy to work for the next 6 weeks.

...The sunrise in Munich, Germany on my way to Florence.

My home for the next 5 weeks. It is sooo beautiful! ...and so completely Tuscan. I already feel at home and I've only been here for a week.

Home for Hayley and Sam's Birthdays

This Memorial Day weekend, in stead of the annual excursion down to Duck, NC, I decided to fly home to Chicago to spend a little QT with my sisters and parents...and most of all, the nieces and nephews.

So, here's the story. Last year at Duck, a bunch of us girls were talking about how many years we have been coming to Duck, and a need to mix things up next year. So, we made a pact that we were not returning for the 2008 Mormon Skin Parade (as Michael Taylor calls it), no matter how enticing it seems once spring 08 rolls around. Well, I seem to be the only one to uphold the pact! I chose to spend that weekend meeting my newest nephew, Devin Abraham, and participating in the birthday parties of Sam (6) and Hailey (4)

As usual, I had such a great time with the kids, Beth and Emily and their spouses, and mom and dad! Ethan (age 2) is such a ball of energy! I got the best action of him jumping on the trampoline and just too busy having fun to pull up his pants. I took a lot of other great pics too...enjoy!

Ethan...in all his energetic glory!!!

I LOVE living in DC!!!

So, I've been out on my bike a lot lately. Last Thursday, I had planned to go on a ride with a friend. By the time we got out it was nearing dusk, so we chose a quick ride from Crystal City (where I live) into the District and around the monuments. We rode over the Memorial Bridge, down along the Reflecting Pool by the Lincoln Monument, past the Vietnam and Korean, then the WW II and the Washington Monuments. We finished off down by the capital. I just LOVE it here! What a beautiful, unique, and exciting city I live in! After nearly 10 years, DC has truly become my home; I can't imagine any other place in the world the I want to live right now...or ever.

Isn't it amazing at night?! If you haven't ever been here, please come visit anytime...and if you have?...come visit anyway!

Taking the Plunge...

Today I attended the baptism of Matt Burgess. What a beautiful experience! It was a great reminder of the importance of the gospel in our lives...a great reminder of my commitment to the Savior and the promises that I (and we) made at Baptism. I have been thinking long and hard since about the purpose of our existence on earth and my need to focus on continuously developing my relationship with our Heavenly Father and the Savior, Jesus Christ so that I better understand who they are and who I am in relation to them and the plan of salvation. I'm so grateful for the simple faith and courage of people like Matt who help me remember the reasons why we live the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Eddie Royal Goes Pro

Eddie Royal, a former student with whom I worked at Westfield High School, was just drafted by the Denver Broncos last weekend!!! Congratulations Eddie! I absolutely adore this guy! He took the WHS team to State in 2003/04 and they WON! Then he went on to play first string at Virginia Tech as a Wide Receiver and Punt Returner. I was his high school counselor, so he and I worked closely together on the NCAA process and his transition from high school to college. In the process we became good friends and have remained in touch. An amazing player and a good guy! He'd probably laugh at this to read it because he knows I haven't always watched the games... oh yeah, and know little about football! Hmm...I wonder if I'll ever get free Broncos tickets!?!...could be instrumental in curing me of my football ignorance... Eddie?

Here we are together after his graduation from high school in 2004.

GO BRONCOS!

"Say"

...and here it is, John Mayer's "Say"...that song I mentioned a few weeks back! Let's just call it "Jen's mantra". Tracy VonCannon helped me load it. I need to work on my song loading skills...this looks a bit large. Anywho, ENJOY!...and think of me ;)

Thailand in Color

So, I just returned this past week from beautiful Thailand. It was truly an amazing trip! First and foremost, I was with two of my favorite people and dearest friends, Diedra Spencer and Jen Griffith. But aside from having great travel companions, we experienced quite a bit in the "Land of Smiles". We visited the temples in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, rode elephants, had massages (multiple...since they were dirt cheap)! We also enrolled in a Thai cooking class, rode up the Ping and Chao Praya rivers, visited the night market daily (and spent mucho dinero!), rode in a Tuk Tuk (open air cab), went to the beach, visited the factories for making Thai Silk, Parasols, laquerware, and silver...and the list goes on.

I tried to narrow down the number of pictures, but alas, there is just too much to share. Enjoy the album!