'Murica

Discoveries made: 

1. The American Corner AKA American food, candy, cooking supplies, everything! 
2. A Dominoes Pizza, right here in Alcala!
3. AND Debi and I figured out how to make No Bake Cookies right here in Spain. Shout out to the oven for not working and making us think creatively! 

We also made our week an even bigger tribute to the good ole Estados Unidos by having a good ole fashioned Slumber Party! Complete with Liar Dice, Black Magic & the sacred Girl Talk. 

I am seriously so blessed to be here, in Spain, with the amazing girls that are in my group! These girls are my bread and butter and we all bring out the best in each other! I love my spanish Cheetah Sistas. 

xoxo,

Lyds 

I'll Go Inside Some Day...

I love to see the {Madrid} temple, I'll go inside some day...

Probably some of the most famous lyrics when it comes to children songs in my church, and I can and will never deny them! I will go to the temple and perform sacred ordinances and I will always love to see all the temples. 

Holiness to the Lord, the House of the Lord ~ Santidad al Señor, La Casa del Señor 

xoxo,

Lyds 

Conquering Madrid

So, a few of us have been into Madrid before, but this time we had the infamous Brad Wilcox to show us around and spill out all his knowledge on the famous buildings, plazas, and statues that we were seeing. He is so knowledgeable and truly loves the culture that we have here, and that makes it that much more enjoyable!  

And Madrid? It's so quaint and hispanic. It's perfect. I may or may have not been so engrossed in my surroundings that I forgot where exactly we all went, but here's my list... 

• Plaza del Sol- basically the Times Square of Madrid
• Catedral de la Almudena- aka every girl's dream wedding cathedral 
• The very center of Spain
• Mercado San Miguel
• Plaza Mayor 
• El Prado
• A Flamenco Show- which is a serious and angry dance, don't be thrown of
• Museo Arqueológico Nacional
• and many, many streets and smaller plazas with gorgeous architecture 

Sadly, my camera died halfway through the day, but it gave me a chance to get out from behind the lens and just take it all in! And it's really no big deal, because I am living here for 2 more months! LOVE THAT. 

xoxo,

Lyds 

My Favorite Things

Double posting today because I am so in love with everything about Spain! From the beautiful streets, to my own street, all the way to sweet Brad & Debi Wilcox, who I absolutely adore! 

xoxo,

Lyds 

Princesa Lydia

Has a good ring to it doesn't it?

The other day, a small group of us made our way to Madrid! We may have gotten on the wrong train on the way there AND on the way back... but we still made it! We decided to explore the Botanical Garden and take in the huge sight, otherwise known as my future home, El Palacio Royal! Wow, it was so huge and intricate, I was in awe.

The next day we headed back into Madrid, without any problem, and went to El Prado and a cathedral across the street. First of all, the architecture here is already breath taking, then you add the artwork to it? Geez. There is no way I would've appreciated the art as much if I hadn't taken a painting class my senior year... Just thinking about how I struggled so much to mix colors and make things actually look real? These artists amazed me! From Rembrandt to Velasquez, I saw and fell in love with almost everything I saw.

So, not only am I a princess and an art lover, but I am also officially a student! Classes are officially in session and I still hate doing homework! haha I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be studying Spanish though... I have already made leaps and bou
nds towards improvement! Immersion is seriously the only way to learn a language. Why haven't I done this sooner?!

So. yeah. I am definitely so in love with España.

xoxo,
la princesa

Hogar Dulce Hogar

OMG! I am so excited for this post! 

I made sure I took pictures of our cute little abode because it is seriously the cutest! I can't say it is what I expected because I really was too nervous to even have expectations! haha but essentially, these pictures are it! Of course there is a our host abuelita's room, but I don't think she would appreciate that being all over the web! My froomie and I are loving our little living quarters! 

I sure do miss my pillow though... 

xoxo,

Lyds 

The Church is TRUE!

 So, as most of you know, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! or as they say it out here La Iglesia de JesuCristo de Los Santos de Los Ultimos Dias, and make sure you have a lisp while saying it haha

Well, today we had the opportunity to attend the ward, el barrio, or our congregation, in our area that we will be attending while we are here! The building that we are in was the first chapel built in Spain! And wow. The gospel does not change no matter where you are in the world and no matter the language you speak.

Out here the meetings are backwards, so we attended Relief Society first, then Sunday School, then finally Sacrament Meeting. Lemme tell ya, my brain was working so hard to try and understand every word they were saying in the lessons and the prayers! They speak fasssttttt!!! But hey, I actually got quite a lot from it and I totally have to thank the Spirit for that. The Spirit testified to me that everything they were saying was stuff I already knew, and even though my understanding was not perfect, I still felt uplifted after leaving our meetings today!

And while I am getting all churchy on here, I just want to share my testimony with ya'll that I know that this gospel is so true! I know that Jesus Christ is my best friend and that he is always there for me! He is my Savior and my Redeemer, and I am forever grateful to Him! I know that my Heavenly Father listens to every, single word of my prayers. He knows exactly what I need whether I like it or not! I know that Joseph Smith received revelation and restored this gospel. I know that we still have revelation today and it is because we have an awesome prophet, Thomas S. Monson, who I absolutely adore! I know that the Book of Mormon is true and I freaking love that book! It has given me so much knowledge and direction for my life and I know whenever I need to figure something out I can turn to it. I am so grateful that these facts I know in my heart don't change just because I am in another country and hearing it all in a different language!

As long as I have the Lord on my side I know that this trip will be an amazing experience as I continue to follow Him!

xoxo,
Lyds

Reportin' Live from Spain

Sí, sí I am in the beautiful España!!! After about 13 hours of traveling, I made it and managed to connect with my group once we made it to Madrid! (more to come on my adorable house mother and my awesome roomie)

3 bonita tender mercies:
1. On my first flight out of Huntsville, I had the pleasure of being surrounded by Mormons from my very congregation! Shoutout to Sister Asys and Doctor Crosby for keeping me sane and full as we waited for our delayed flight.
2. As I am rushing over to my gate for the flight to Spain, I happened to come across 5 other girls from my program on the same plane! What a blessing to see some familiar faces as I took off to a foreign country!
3. I sat down in my seat, all flustered from the rush over to my gate, and a nice looking man sits down next to me. A penny for my thoughts? Of course. "What am I doing. Why did I do this? There is no way that I am going to spend 3 months away from the states, friends, family, and familiarity and all for what? At least he looks nice. He won't mind if I bawl my eyes out this entire flight, right?" Before tears start streaming down my face, the man next to me starts asking me about where I was headed and what I was doing. I told him and he said, "Wow that is so neat, through what university?" Of course I said BYU and he grinned. He pulled out a book from the pocket in front of him and said, "Recognize this?" It was a book on Parley P. Pratt!!! AKA a Mormon historical figure!!! wow. I cannot express how blessed I am to have been seated next to a strong, successful Mormon! He reassured me that I can indeed be successful and live an awesome life and he had tons of knowledge to share with my little freshman self. He completely distracted me throughout the take off and was so kind to me throughout the flight and afterwards. I mean seriously? Can it get any better than that?

So, here is silly, ole me all ready to embrace what Spain is going to throw at me! And are you really going to Europe if you don't take an airport picture and wear a cute hat? 

xoxo,

Lyds 

My {Toy} Story

When I was little, my little brother had a hard time pronouncing my name and it most often came out as "Woody" instead of Lydia. Of course, we also loved the movie Toy Story and from then on my brother was my Buzz Lightyear and I was his Woody. It was us against the world and we were always {reaching for the sky} 

And well, I guess this is one of the ways I am going to carry out my kid motto! My first real blog that isn't full of teenage angst or for a school project. With that said, I really hope you don't expect some profound posts because this really and truly is the first time I am going to try and document my awesome life.

Yes. My life is awesome.

My life= 4 younger siblings and 2 rockin' parents that have lived all over the states and have made travel a priority. I was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and I am a Mormon! I love the gospel and I love to worship my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I attended and graduated from Randolph School with the best of friends I could ever ask for and still love talking and hanging out with them!

Now, I am a freshman in college at Brigham Young University and have been living in Provo, UT since June, so 6 months out west. Wait, did I mention I am from the beautiful Huntsville, AL. Oh yeah, the good ole South, where my heart will always be! Alright, back to those 6 months- I had the BEST time! I had amazing roommates both semesters, I got involved with BYUSA and met amazing people, and I experienced amazing growth in spirit and in mind. So yeah. It's pretty awesome and I am so grateful for the life I have been given to live!

Although it was all amazing, I needed a change of scenery, a new adventure. In less than 24 hours, I had applied and been accepted to a Winter Semester Study Abroad in Spain! I leave in just a few days and I hope to keep track of this crazy opportunity on this very blog!

Whenever people ask me if I am ready to go, I always just shrug my shoulders and spit out an answer that sounds good. Honestly, I am not so sure if what I say is what I believe. One of my best friend's Dad gave me the best advice I have heard as I have been getting ready to take off. He said that the feeling and cramping you get in your stomach whenever you are about to go up to bat or perform on stage or in my case, go to Spain for 4 months, the feeling is the same for both anxiousness and nervousness. It is up to your head to decide if you are going to let nervousness hold you back or be anxious and just go for it. (Shoutout to Mickey Plott because that was all you!) Do you think Woody and Buzz were nervous or anxious when they decided to go on their big adventures? I would put money down that they were anxious and they always succeeded. They also had 3 big movie adventures and hey, I am ready for my big debut. I am so excited to keep living my story and to never stop {reaching for the sky}

xoxo,
Lyds