Father's Day

It's been a quick minute since I posted last, but I had too many thoughts today about Father's Day than could be shared in a simple Facebook or Instagram post.

For the last two years I had one goal in mind: to go to graduate school at Utah State. 

Everyone knew it, and in my mind as long as I got accepted it would be a no-brainer and the easiest decision I ever had to make.

Fast forward to applications being submitted, interviews with schools, and incredibly important emails containing my fate...

I was accepted to Utah State, but I was also accepted to all of the other programs I had applied to, and BYU really stood out to me when I had my interview with them.

I knew from the moment I walked out of my interview that I would end up at BYU, and a part of me was really excited about it, but a part of me didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to let go of my dream of getting accepted to and attending Utah State, and I also wasn't particularly thrilled about moving to Provo. Once I received a scholarship offer from BYU I knew the decision was made and I started to get excited about the big upcoming changes. 

I decided to start in the Spring, which meant putting in my two weeks notice at work, figuring out financial aid, finding a place to live, and finishing up my last semester of my second bachelor's degree two weeks early to be able to start school at BYU.

It was a hectic few weeks to say the least and finding a weekend to move was nearly impossible.

My parents had a trip planned to visit my sister in Idaho one weekend, but I had to beg my dad to stay and miss seeing his grandkids so he could be here to help me move.

Moving day came and on three hours of sleep I showed up to my parents' house to go and pick up the rental truck.

I was exhausted, I was stressed, and I was terrified about the major changes that were about to happen.

Right when I walked in the door my dad gave me a hug and said he understood it all without me even really explaining why I had such a sleepless night.

Holding back tears, he made me breakfast and we were on our way.

Hours later after getting moved out of my old house and into the new one, my dad stuck around to help me clean and get settled. We took a trip to Home Depot to pick up a few things, and the physical and emotional exhaustion set in. 

I wasn't happy with my current situation for a myriad of reasons and I was taking it out on my dad. He was trying to help me and was going above and beyond, but my patience was wearing very thin.

At one point after apologizing for all of the trouble and thanking my dad again for helping, he stopped me and said something to the effect of, "Look, until you're married and you have a man in your life, you're the woman in my life besides your mom." 

In my emotionally and physically exhausted state this translated to, "Hey Melissa, your life sucks because you're not married and that's why you're in this situation."

I cried right there in the lighting section of Home Depot.

After a good night of sleep and some clarity, I was ashamed at how I had acted and how I had misinterpreted my dad's comment. 

See, my dad has never been incredibly affectionate vocally, but looking back on that weekend that he spent with me - foregoing visiting his grandkids to help me move, spending two days cleaning with me, taking trips to Home Depot and buying me a few things I wouldn't have spent the money on myself, making me dinner and taking me out to lunch - all of those actions spoke volumes about the lengths that my father is willing to go to for me.

They were simple things, things you might say a father is supposed to do, but for me, in those moments of unfamiliar and uncomfortable, I had my dad by my side, and that truly meant the world to me.

So now I know, instead of meaning that I am a burden to my father and subjected to certain situations because I don't have a spouse in my life, he meant that it was his privilege to help me in any way he could.

(I'll also throw in here that I am, in fact, perfectly content with my marital status at this point in my life ;) )

I'm not sure he knows this, but that was one of those comments that will stick with me for a long time to come.

I love you dad, Happy Father's Day!

My Month in Europe: Germany Days One and Two

Our first day in Munich was pretty relaxed.
We woke up early to travel from Zurich to Munich, and as soon as we arrived we had a business visit with the U.S. Consulate, where we were able to hear from a few of the different departments.
It was really interesting!

From there we went to the BMW factory for a tour!
We were able to look around the showroom floor for a bit before the tour, and even though I'm more of an Audi girl myself, it was pretty fantastic! 

The tour was about two hours long and it was SO cool.

We were able to see the entire process of making and manufacturing BMW's from start to finish.

Unfortunately, photos weren't allowed :)

That evening some of us went out to explore Munich and get some dinner.

While exploring, we stumbled across Aston Martin, and I just about cried tears of joy...

So this happened today... My heart rate quadrupled and I think I nearly passed out. #astonmartin #beauties #munich

The next day when we were out and about we walked past this beauty just casually parked on the side of the road...

One day I'll own one ;) 

(In my dreams!)

The next day was one that I was looking forward to in a very somber way.

We drove to the Dachau concentration camp and we were very fortunate to be given a guided tour by an incredibly knowledgeable man who seemed to know every last detail about the holocaust.

As soon as we stepped through the gate the atmosphere was incredibly palpable.

"We live in a free world today because in 1945 the forces of imperfect goodness defeated the forces of near-perfect evil." Michael Dipaulo #dachau #germany

This gate was unfortunately stolen not even a month after we had stepped foot through it.

As our guide walked us through the camp he gave us a ton of information and focused on the things we wouldn't be able to find or read about online.

We saw the living quarters with rows of bunk beds.
Three people shared one of these bunkers.

The people who were sent to Dachau weren't Jews, but were those who the Germans felt to be a threat - sympathetics, homosexuals, and many more.

We also saw the gas chamber and incinerators.
Before going inside and while walking through I felt this extreme heaviness on my chest and wasn't sure I'd be able to do it.
It was extremely difficult, but in a weird way I'm glad I was able to be there to experience what I did.
I learned a lot and my worldview definitely shifted a bit.
Even now, a year and a half later I feel a heaviness in my chest when I even look at these photos.

These were all plots were the bunkers had been. The Germans came back to tear them down to get rid of proof near the end of the war. 

Touring Dachau was one of the most sobering and palpable experiences I've ever had, and one that I am not sure I'll ever be able to forget.

 After a pretty quiet bus ride back to Munich a group of us decided to go rent bikes and ride through the city and the English Gardens!
I absolutely loved it! 

It was a perfect day, the gardens were beautiful, and I had some great company!

Bike riding through the English Gardens of Munich on a perfect call day with these lovely ladies!

Riding through the city was a different story, and a tad stressful, but it was still so fun :)

That night we went to dinner at the famous beer fall, the Hofbrauhaus.
It was chaotic, loud, packed full, and so fantastic :)

The food, oh my goodness, the food.
I ordered Spatzle, bratwurst, and sauerkraut, and it was to. die. for.

What really made this experience though were the people and the atmosphere!
The hall had a live band playing traditional music, as well as a whole lot of drunk people ;)
We had to wait for a seat and had to actually ask people if we could take their table when they were done.

We ended up sitting by a woman, her dad, and three of their friends.
They all got so incredibly wasted and it was so entertaining!

One of the men who was so drunk he was literally on the verge of passing out said there were no words for how beautiful I was and kissed me on the hand twice.
Talk about out of my comfort zone, but it was definitely a night to remember!

Hey Europe friends! I'm sorry I've been holding out on you guys. I have sooo many pictures I'm going to try to get them all up this following week. Here's a video from Germany where we met Peter. I miss you all!!! Ohh and I should probably mention we were not drinking. Just FYI!
Posted by Kendra Weiss on Saturday, February 7, 2015

So much fun :)

After dinner we went to get some gelato (of course!), and head back to the hotel.
On the way we stumbled upon a pianist named Daniel Stenway, just casually playing a grand piano in the middle of Munich.

He was SO good.

I took a few videos of him playing, and once he saw me taking a video he got slightly upset and nodded his head at me.
Apparently in Europe when you're a street performer it isn't cool for people to record you, so I'm doing him a favor (or in my opinion, a disservice!) by not posting any of the videos on here.

Too bad, because he was fantastic!

Overall it was a long and emotional, but great day in Germany.
:)

Our second day in Germany was nothing special, and was probably my least favorite day of the trip so far.
Exhaustion has really set in, and emotional/grumpy Melissa made an appearance (along with a migraine).

We went to a branch in Germany for church and it was a very interesting experience.
Church was all in German with people translating, and Sacrament meeting went about half an hour over.
I was trying to hard to enjoy it but I was just exhausted.

We took the nearly hour-long trek back to the hotel and I took some Excedrin and a much needed nap.

That evening we had a YSA fireside with a traditional German dinner - homemade pretzels, sausage, and the most amazing apple streusel!

After dinner we had the fireside where me and two of the girls in the group sang I Know That My Redeemer Lives, at the request of our bus driver, Patrick!

Overall, the evening ended up being great, but as soon as we were back to the hotel I fell asleep faster than I ever have before, and I didn't mind one bit :)

Christmas in Rexburg

This year we were due for Christmas in Rexburg with my sister Jen and her family!

It snowed big, beautiful, fluffy snowflakes all day on Christmas Eve.

We spent good quality time together, and the anxiousness for Christmas morning was palpable.

Christmas Day was simply perfect.

We opened presents, played games, colored, ate delicious food, and went to bed early.

I had the best time with my niece Sophie during this trip.
She's really growing up and it was so much fun to do puzzles with her, color with her, play games, and do endless crafts with her!

I cherish trips like this when I get to spend quality time with those nieces and nephews of mine.

The next day we decided to brave the frigid Rexburg temperatures and go sledding!

My girls and I were all matching! :)

Sophie and I had a snowball fight, Sam and I tried desperately to make a snowman with the dry snow, and we did quite a bit of sledding!

I haven't played in the snow like that since our Minnesota and Illinois days, and it was so much fun!

It was a simple, perfect, and spectacular Christmas.

Las Vegas Bowl

My dad and I were casually discussing the BYU bowl game over Thanksgiving and talking about whether or not they would end up in Vegas.

We were 99% positive they would, and decided that if they ended up playing Utah we had to be there.

My oldest sister was already going to be there with her family for a vacation, so before Utah was announced as BYU's opponent we got tickets.

Good thing we did because tickets sold out pretty dang quick once Utah was announced.

We got in the night of the pep rally held down on Fremont Street.

For this being my first time to Vegas, I was less than impressed, and couldn't wrap my head around the appeal of Vegas from what I had seen.

                                 

                                  

The pep rally was fun, but we were hungry and anxious to get to dinner!

We ended up at the Wynn and had the most delicious dinner!

                                 

                                  

We ordered three mini desserts and it was brought out on this cute little tray with orange flavored cotton candy.

The desserts were warm cookies and mint milk, creme brulee, and a decadent orange mousse cake.

The entire dinner was absolutely incredible, but the desserts were definitely the icing on the cake!

I've never tasted cotton candy like that in my life.

Not only was it orange flavored, but you couldn't taste the chunky sugar at all.

We even asked if we could take it to go because we were going to be meeting up with my niece and nephew, but the waiter told us it would disintegrate by then anyway!

                                 

                                  

We walked around the displays and shops (PRADA, anyone?!) at the Wynn and then headed to our hotel for bed.

I woke up the next morning so nervous, and let's just say the day didn't start off too great.

My mom had a migraine and stayed at the hotel, the parking situation at the stadium was an absolute nightmare, we barely made it for kickoff, and then within the first seven minutes of play time Utah was up by five touchdowns.

It was rough.

BUT...

It turned into a game and I could not have been happier with how BYU played from then on out!

Utah fans got quiet real quick and (in my humble opinion) if BYU would have gone for an onside kick in the fourth I think they easily could have tied it.

After the kind of start that they had, I was proud and happy in the end!

The entertainment was great, as to be expected from Vegas.

Before kickoff, Nellis AFB did a flyover and it was deafeningly spectacular! 

That's one way to get a crowd riled up for a game!

They also had some of the cast from Cirque du Soleil perform during halftime.

After the game we met up with my sister and her family and headed out to explore some of the resorts. 

                                 

                                  

That was the Vegas I expected!

All of those hotels are incredible.

We ate at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and then headed over to the High Roller to see Vegas from the sky!

                                  

Vegas redeemed itself a little bit, although I do have to say that I swear I just saw dollar signs everywhere I went.

That entire city just screams money.

The next morning before leaving to head back home we went to brunch at a french restaurant in the Venetian (I know, it didn't make sense to me either ;) ).

It was so good and made me seriously miss the food in France.

We walked around some shops, including Louboutin...

                                 

...had some gelato (nothing like the real stuff!), and then headed home.

It was a great quick trip with some of my favorite people!

Katy's Wedding

One of my best friends, Katy, got married at the beginning of December!

Katy is the one I went to Europe with, but more than that, we've been friends through a lot over the last four years.

We've lived together, travelled together, obsessed over Ed Sheeran and went to his concert together, and more!

I was so happy to be a part of her wedding as a bridesmaid, and it was such a perfect day for her and Dylan!

(Never mind the freezing temperatures that turned my innocent cold into bronchitis...)

Europe friends, reunited! :)

It was such a great day!

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Jones!