Five things that happened

It’s been too long since I updated this thing. Here are five things that happened:

1) We moved!

We swapped our London life...

...for the British countryside.

Tom grew up here, and life moves at a much slower pace. 

Strangers say hello, pasties are king, and the scenery is gorgeous.

Quick geography lesson (courtesy of my mad Paint skills).

The river near us has so many moods. I love getting to know them all.

The Cornish accent sounds just like a pirate, which is awesome. Hard to understand, but still awesome. 

 2) We went to California!

Ah California. Because a slice o' pie should be the size of your arm.

And a doughnut shop should be open 24/7.

And cheesecake should be served frozen, dipped in chocolate, on a stick.

This was Tom's first time to the Golden State.

We weren't so much golden (more like lobster red), but aloe vera was our friend.

We took a whale watching cruise, hosted by the lovely Devon!

We became friends in London, and now she's a super cool marine biologist at Newport Beach.

No whales to be seen. But THE BEST thing happened.

I saw hundreds of dolphins. They are my favorite animal, but I've never seen them up close. I may have cried a little. Just a little.

We loved Newport Beach. I mean, check out this sunset.

If you look closely, you can see a little wedding party on the beach.

My cute parents on the beach. 

Super cool brother looking super cool on the beach. Note the BYU pride; no fair weather fans here.

Then it was off to Disneyland via Hollywood.

Live long. Prosper. Don't let the creepy guy dressed as Superman rope you into a picture.

Tom's first time at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Gorgeous Momma.

This just makes me happy.

Splash mountain with all of us plus Tom's sister. 

I've gotten much braver since 1999:

Zoom in on that face:

Fun fact: I thought I was going to fall out.

Other fun fact: You can't tell because of my super trendy overalls, but I'm wearing my favorite Winnie the Pooh shirt in that picture.

And who should we happen to find? Winnie the Pooh POOH!

Peter pan ride, of course.

Time to go back to Utah to meet my niece...

3) I became an aunt!

This gorgeous sister of mine had a gorgeous baby girl. 

I love her so much, and enjoyed all the cuddles in Utah.

The morning before we flew out, we got to see the eclipse at my mom's school.

No eclipse is complete without a massive burrito from Beto's of course. My brother gave Tom this impressive t-shirt to complete the experience.

The most fun I ever had in that junior high building! 

I got to see my bestie since birth, who just had a new little one. Congrats, Whit!

 I got to see other friends too, like these dear ding dongs (a term used most affectionately, of course!)

But no vacation can last forever, and it was time to head back to England and do some adulting.

4) I started my own business!

Clack Communications is officially in business. I wanted to keep working with companies in London, even though I was moving to Cornwall, so I started my own company.

It was a bit intimidating to branch out on my own, but I enjoy it and work with nice clients.

Essentially, I write stuff for companies so they don't have to. Since my main tools are Microsoft Word and the internet, it's easy to work from home.

But I do get to visit London for work occasionally. 

I see you, London. I see you.

5) I watched the best conference!

I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and every six months there's a church-wide conference.

It's basically a whole weekend of TED Talks - super uplifting messages on how to live life better.

They cover those huge problems people face, like family issues, addiction, discouragement, sickness, death, loneliness. 

They talk about finding inspiration, peace, and help through every struggle by leaning on God. It was exactly what I needed after so much adjustment in the last few months.

I loved this from one speaker:

"God knows your every thought, your sorrows, and your greatest hopes. God knows the many times you have sought him. The many times you have wept in loneliness. The many times you have felt helpless, confused, or angry. The many times you have failed. 

"Yet no matter your history - if you have faltered, feel broken, bitter, betrayed, or beaten - know that you are not alone. God still calls to you." (You can hear the whole talk here.)

I'm so grateful God cares and is always there to help.

Want some inspiration? There are more conference talks coming up today (Sunday, 1 October).

Free, online streaming. Open to everyone - any religion or no religion. 

Check it out on YouTube live from 12pm - 2pm then 4-6pm EDT (or 5pm - 7pm then 9pm - 11pm BST).

Busy? Missed it? No worries. You can check out the full archive of talks anytime and find topics that interest you.

Ultimately, we are enjoying our little Cornish life. We miss Utah and London friends/ family, but we can't wait to see where this new chapter takes us.

Let us know if you're ever in the area. We'd be happy to show you around! 

Special note: We realize that Shel doesn't live in Logan anymore, and Wendy doesn't live in London anymore. Rather than change the name of the blog, which would take effort, we will leave it as it is. Let's be honest, 'From Southern Utah County to South West England' doesn't trip off the tongue. Sorry for any confusion now or in the future. - Shel and Wendy

An American in Paris

 Ah Paris, you delightful charmer!

Tom and I got to walk those beautiful streets over the weekend, and loved it.

But it wasn't the patisseries and views of the Seine that brought us back over the channel. It was the temple!


Paris temple

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (our religion) just finished building a temple in France. We believe that temples are God's house and are places where Heaven feels close. 

And this temple is gorgeous! Previously, members of the church in France had to go to other countries to attend the temple. Now they have one in their own backyard.

Tom served a two-year religious mission in Paris, helping people learn about God. The church members he served with desperately wanted a temple nearby, and prayed for years. Now they have one!

We couldn't take pictures inside, but you can see what it looks like here >

Fellow missionaries met up afterwards in Paris to celebrate the temple and catch up. What a good lookin' group!

It was fun to meet everyone.

Then it was time for patisseries, crepes, and a stroll along the Seine.

Chartres Cathedral

We've been to Paris a few times before, so we've done most of the traditional touristy things in the city. We wanted to get out and see something new, so we hopped on a train to Chartres.

Good luck pronouncing it. It's 90% back of the throat, 10% choking noise.

But it was beautiful! I mean, the place has its own hashtag.

The outside was nice...

But my goodness, the inside was UNREAL kind of beautiful. Get ready for stained glass overload. Most of it was original from the 12th and 13th centuries.

It was honestly too beautiful. We had to take a walk outside for me to process it all.

So we walked down the cutest narrow roads...

And we found yummy things.

And saw a pretty view...

And said one more goodbye to the Cathedral.

Church and crepes

We got to attend a church service and visit a congregation that Tom spent a lot of time with when he was a missionary.

I tried my best to sing hymns in French, but I have a long way to go before I blend in.

Later we got the see that beautiful Eiffel Tower sparkle on our last night in Paris. 

Then it was up early to meet my Parisian friend Nel-Ange for crepes. How cool does it look? Why do we always fold ours on top of each other when it could look like subtle origami?

Merci Nel-Ange for showing us where the cool crepes are!

We had a wonderful time in France. It was the perfect way to ring in my 28th year!