PROMISE RING

What's love got to do with it? What has happened to our world where your relationship isn't official unless you post it on social media?! People used to give a promise ring to show their love and commitment to each other. I find it really romantic.

Is this ring a passing fad or a new way for couples to declare their love?

Brilliance.com has a new Promise Ring collection. It is a lovely way to say "I Promise" to love you and be faithful to our relationship. Check them out and let your loved one know your promise of love.

MEXICO VACATION - DAY 3

This morning, we loaded into a van with our driver Gustavo and tour guide Jose. Our first stop was at the humble home of a shaman (he calls himself a JMan) near Chichen Itza.

 He took sat us down individually to purify us and then he bonded us a family. It was...interesting.

My favorite part of this stop was this abuela shucking corn.

We continued our journey to our next destination: Chichen Itza. The Mayans used a tons of symbolism in all of the buildings in this complex. Our guide was giving us an in-depth explanation of it all. Then some in our group needed him to speed things along so he shortened it and we started taking photos.

Climbing the ruins was closed in 2007 to the public so we weren't allowed to go to the top. I was a little bummed at how commercial/touristy the area is, but it was cool to see.

 About fifteen minutes down the road, we stopped for lunch at a small Mexican restaurant. My group was afraid eating local food would upset their stomachs...so that meant more tacos and horchata for me! 

(PS my stomach was fine.)

While we were eating lunch, a cute little parade passed. I love being immersed in a culture.

The final spot on our itinerary for the day was Ek' Balam.

 It is another Mayan village in the Yucatan with ruins that we were able to climb and enjoy.

*Here we are rocking those homemade shorts I showed you from day 1.*

 The site is known for a plaster on the tomb (on the side of a palace) of a king who was buried inside.

My favorite part was climbing to the top to enjoy the view. 

The clouds were so fluffy today I thought I was gonna die.

LINZ, AUSTRIA

Sometimes I drive 2.5 hours to another country just to take a photo of a cool memorial all by myself.

Then sometimes I turn around and drive back. It was well worth the trip.

I drove to Linz, Austria, to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. Some people might think this isn't the happiest way to spend a Christmas vacation, but I loved the drive.

I have been to the Dachau concentration camp in Germany before and the feeling there was very heavy. I wasn't interested in going on a tour here - I came just to see this giant menorah memorial. 

 It is free to see the memorial, but you must obtain a ticket. As I was getting my ticket from the visitor center, the woman behind the desk wrote on my map and told me to go to the sculpture spot by the gorge and then walk through to the museum where I can visit two rooms for free as well. 

I went to visit the two rooms. Might as well, right?! Well, the two rooms in the museum were the killing rooms and room of names listing around 82,000 victims. Thank you, visitor center lady for a rush of emotions.

The end of my trip was a walk by a beautiful gorge surrounding the area and a look at what are called the Stairs of Death.

 It might not be the happiest place to visit and you might not get the happiest feelings there or maybe even looking at these photos, but it reminded me that I am lucky. We are lucky to be alive, to have freedom, and to learn from the past to be better people.

CANDY BOMBER

Have I mentioned that I am SO exited to be in the USA for the 4th of July?! Provo has been killing it with the festivities this year. I truly believe I am in the best city, in the best state, in the best country in the world this year to celebrate.

This year they are showcasing the best story of chocolate, bubble gum, and hope you will ever encounter. It is the story of Gail Halvorsen, a WWII hero known as the candy bomber.

 He will be doing his last candy drop in Orem over the Scera Park on July 3. It will be an event to remember and I am so excited to be a part of it.

If you don't know who he is, google his story. Be prepared for your heart to melt with happiness and love in knowing that there are good people in the world. You can also check his story out in the Meet the Mormons movie.

IRON CURTAIN

During our bike ride, we stumbled upon a small history lesson

at the Czech/German border

  

After the communist coup in 1948 the Czech/Bavarian border was closed. Thousands of soldiers of the so-called border guards did their job here until the year 1990.

The Iron Curtain, an expression first coined by Churchill, separated the democratic states from the so-called Eastern block countries for 40 years.

If people attempted to escape into the free democratic West, they were either shot dead or electrocuted by the high voltage of the wire on the border.

Thousands were arrested and sentenced to many years of imprisonment. Many opponents to the Communist regime were sentenced to death.

An off limits border strip in former Czechoslovakia was set up and it was strictly forbidden to step onto it. The inhabitants of the villages had to leave and were resettled somewhere else. Later all the buildings were destroyed.

I think, being from America - "the land of the free", this blew my mind. To be standing here next to this border with a person telling us stories of their personal experience of having to camp 3 days to watch the border (of another area) to find the perfect time to run and escape when guards weren't looking in hopes of finding a better life beyond communist control.