Bachelorette Weekend in Vegas

Amy went to Vegas for the long weekend for a bachelorette party for one of her friends from the bank. 

The big event for Amy was a visit to the Christian Louboutin Paris shoe store to try on and purchase a pair of Louboutin shoes. It has been one of her life goals to buy her first pair.

Success.

The girls in Vegas for the weekend rented a vacation rental and spent time lying by the pool, riding the Ferris Wheel in Las Vegas, shopping and dancing. 

In fact, Amy said, “Too much partying. I can’t stay up late anymore!” Chris replied, “Spoken like an adult!” 

And when she finally arrived home, she was all peopled out.

Europe 2025 Day 5 Rovinj

Can you believe I slept until 10:30 am? That’s the beauty of a Unisom and jet lag. 

Our room was a short distance from the restaurant where we would enjoy our breakfast (happily breakfast was served until noon!). We did not realize how close we were until when we got on the elevator and descended the distance of six steps. We should have just taken the stairs but didn’t realize the stairs were taking us to the same place. 

We enjoyed breakfast on the patio and then returned to Old Town Rovinj to wander the streets. 

Our afternoon was spent relaxing by the pool for a couple of hours. So nice to rest. 

We showered and then returned to the Old Town again for dinner. Each time we walked there it was a 20-minute walk. Using the recommendation of the lady at check-in, we had reservations for 6:30 pm at Giannino. It was not busy. We were visiting at the end of the off season. The place would soon have 40-50,000 tourists in the next couple of months. 

We kind of love visiting places that aren’t quite so busy. Chris ordered the sea bass with veggies. I wish I had ordered that. I had ravioli with truffles. If you are a foodie, truffles are a big thing, but to me they were meh. Just some over-rated mushrooms. 

Our dessert of Mille Feuille was delightful and beautiful to look at. 

We caught the sunset again but did not have to rush back so quickly. 

I was actually wearing my Birkenstocks and found them to be rather slippery on the worn cobblestones.

Kristen's Mission Emails - Week 48 Pt 2

Hi peeps, Long time no see! 

Here's the last three days!! 

• Sisters Conference!! It was so good and so uplifting and if they stop doing them now I'll cry! I loved getting to see all my silly friends. 
• Stake Conference!! My district sang in the choir and I was right smack in the middle of the zoom...I saw some less than flattering shots of myself afterwards😐 
• We got to go the stake country dance!! So fun but killed me a bit to not dance to Cotton-Eyed Joe...next time! 

Okay that's literally it and I know you just heard from me but I wanted to pop in and say hi and that I love you all!!

I've been thinking a lot about unanswered prayers. But that's not the same thing as unheard. We often expect an answer to be a single faceted godsend. But how many times have we expected God's answers in our own timing and way? And how many times are we disappointed when we restrict it to those bounds and don't see that exact result? 

We are not forsaken, ignored, or unloved by our Father in Heaven, perhaps we simply aren't seeing all that He does from His holy perspective. Regardless, whatever unanswered prayers you have are heard. Give it the time it needs, pray for eyes to see, and as they said to us in Sisters Conference, be okay sitting with the wrestle. No growth in the comfort zone after all! 

Love, Sister Kline

Europe 2025 Day 4 Zadar to Rovinj, Croatia

I slept in until 8:30 am.

The sun was shining bright in Zadar. We walked along the jetty from the hotel and found an industrious boatman willing to give rides the short distance across to the Old Town for one euro. 

Unfortunately, we had to go back to the airport to pick up our rental car after a short time. After looking around for a little bit we just decided to start our 4-hour journey to Rovinj (Pronounced Ro-veen with a slight “nya” sound on the “nj”). 

The driving was not too difficult; we stopped at a coastal town along the way called Opatija and walked along the waterfront. 

Google was fairly reliable and guided us to our next stay in Rovinj, Croatia. Rovinj was once part of Italy and had a strong Italian influence. We loved the small town, the hotel, and the amazing views. On our first of three nights, we walked to the Old Town to explore and find a place for dinner. The walk along the waterfront had us stopping every so often to take pictures and marvel at the view.

There were plenty of cafes and restaurants along the water front, but we walked a little off the main tourist path and found Bura with our waiter, Petar. 

We enjoyed burrata (cheese), freshly caught sea bass, and pasta.

The sun was just setting as we tried to find the most advantageous spot to watch it. We could have used a WC (restroom) but none were available. Tip when you visit Europe: Use the restaurant’s WC before you leave. We should have. 

And then we realized that the next day was Sunday when grocery stores would be closed and raced about a mile back to the Tommy grocery store. We made it with 5 minutes to spare and got some snacks and drinks.

Open Houses

While Chris and I were in Europe, our agent held two open houses. One on Friday evening and another Saturday morning. She had a few people express interest, but no follow ups yet. 

Europe 2025 Day 3 Haarlem, Netherlands

I wish that I had known sooner about the Corrie ten Boom house in Haarlem, just 15 minutes by train from Amsterdam. When I checked for tickets, they were all booked for months out. I would have LOVED to tour this house. 

I have read “The Hiding Place” a number of times. Corrie ten Boom wrote about life in Haarlem hiding Jews in their home during World War II. She survived concentration camps. If you have never read the book, I highly recommend it.

Chris and I left the train station in Haarlem and walked down Kruiswig (wig = way) to Barteljoristraat. I was just cool walking the streets that I knew Corrie had walked. 

While in Haarlem, we also saw the St. Bavokerk Church and took a brief tour. Outside the church, a "Bubble Guy" started to draw a crowd in the town center. 

We made a quick stop at the Visitor Center to get directions to the Molen de Adriann (windmill). It wasn’t too far though we had to endure a little rain along the way. 

Ymi was our tour guide at the windmill. She spoke passable English and struggled with a few of the words. We were fortunate in being the only two at the windmill at the time for our tour. We met the miller, Hugo, and he proceeded to show us the workings of the windmill and the masts. He even climbed up on the arm to put the mill at half mast. 

We learned that many messages could be sent by the placement of the arms, and even showing the location of an event by turning the direction the masts faced. His schooling to become a miller took about five years. He works the mill with 5 or 6 other millers. 

Chris was fascinated. 

Today the mill grinds chicken meal and delivers it to local farms. 

We walked back to the old town and found a cute creperie for lunch. It took longer than expected to make the crepes, so Chris and I quickly ate our salad and got our savory and sweet crepes to go to eat on the train back to Amsterdam. 

From the train, we rushed back to our hotel to pick up our luggage and caught our train to the airport in Eindhoven for our flight to Zadar, Croatia. We arrived at a small airport that offered flights on small discount airlines. 

The airport was loaded with people, especially some obnoxious 20-something’s on their way to Croatia for a party weekend. We were grateful they wouldn’t be following us on the rest of our vacation. 

Chris found a brand new Hyatt in Zadar that had opened on May 1st. It was beautiful and spacious. Too bad we were only staying one night.

Europe 2025 Day 2 Amsterdam

My flight arrived in Amsterdam early Thursday morning about 20 minutes early. I was quick about getting to Immigration once I got off the plane. I went through as quickly as possible and then had to wait for my luggage to arrive. 

While waiting, I chatted a bit with Kristen (it was her temple p-day) and Chris. I successfully purchased my train ticket to Amsterdam Central Station where Chris planned to meet me and then go back to his hotel with me. I was grateful for his help on the subway. 

He had meetings for most of the day. We walked down the street from the hotel to grab a quick breakfast at the Lebkov and Sons Cafe. The açaí bowls were just enough to fill us. I returned to the hotel where I slept for a couple of hours and Chris headed off to meetings until 3:30 pm. 

I was happy to get sleep and then shower for the day. Once Chris was done meetings, he was officially on vacation! Hooray.

We set off to explore in Old Town Amsterdam with a Rick Steve’s tour and then a quick dinner at The Greek Embassy restaurant (not at the actual embassy. Just a clever name). We ordered an appetizer with beetroot hummus and avocado tzatziki. Mmmmm.

Before heading back to our Hyatt hotel, we walked through the neighborhood where the Anne Frank house was located. Even at 8 pm, there were people standing in line for a tour. 

Chris and I have already toured the Anne Frank house on a previous visit, but I didn’t get a great outdoor shot at the time.

Kristen's Mission Emails - Week 48 Pt 1

Hey y'all! 

Just a quick update!! 

• We put our friends Sophia and Aquilla on date! They're so cool and prepared, it's crazy!! 
• We got to go to the temple today!! I just love the temple and the chances I've gotten to go so frequently!
• Went on exchanges with the sweet Sister Nybo! We got celebratory cheesecake for my 11 months!!

That's kind of all the big news from the last while! But I'm happy and growing and breaking out all the jumpers because it's literally winter here👎🥶😤.

I just want to encourage you all to go to a temple near you. Maybe it's just some time on the grounds, maybe it's participating in ordinances, but whatever it is, I promise you'll find the peace, answers, and the love of God that you seek.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

God loves ya and so do I! 

Cheers from Oz, 

Sister Kline

Europe 2025 Day 1 Flight to Amsterdam

I set my alarm for 5 am, but my body woke me up around 4:30 am. I was expecting a delivery from Amazon sometime between 4 am and 8 am and had kept my phone close by in case they called about not being able to get in the gate. They did call while I was working out. 

Good thing I took my phone down to the gym. At least it wasn’t delivered after I planned to leave at 7:45 am. I’ve had that happened before. 

I made sure the garbages were all set out, swept some rocks off the driveway, and made sure the house was ready for any showings that might happen while we are gone. Too bad all of my peonies are in full bloom. I’ll miss them blossoming this year.

I arrived at the airport in good time, made it through security in no time and reached my gate just before they started boarding. I was hoping that the aisle seat in my row would be empty so that there could be an empty seat between me and the guy next to me, but no luck. The aisle guy arrived at the last minute.

Chris texted while racing to the airport in London for his flight to Amsterdam. It was a matter of hurry up and…wait. Traffic was crazy for him getting to the airport, but once he arrived, the delays began.

My flight to Dulles Airport in Washington D.C. was scheduled for 2 and half hours with a 2 hour layover before my 8.5 hrs flight to Amsterdam. 

I would not say that I had a great sleep. My seat only reclined a little and sleeping upright hardly makes for a comfy sleep.

Chris’ Leg Room

Chris had a quick flight from London to Amsterdam. The airplane was a little tight on leg room. There are some draw backs to being tall. At least he lucked out in having no seat mate.

Lowering our Price

Who would have thought that it would take well over a year to sell our house? Not us.

Our agent has really worked hard in advertising and promoting, but interest rates and current world affairs aren't helping much.

We are still hoping and praying for a miracle, but I also shake my head as I type that. We've been hoping for a miracle for awhile now.

Amy Work Dinner

Some of the big directors at Glia were in town for a dinner that Amy got to attend. She was a little nervous before hand, but it turned out to be more fun than she thought. The directors mentioned when they were introduced, “So you're Amy. Amber (her sales executive) gave you a shout out this morning on our call!” 

Amy also had the chance to get to know one of her co-workers who is rather shy. The girl noted, “You radiate confidence.” Amy was kind enough to give the girl a ride home from the restaurant after the dinner.

Saying Goodbye to Pelican Shores

This weekend was Amy's last time at home at Pelican Shores. The girls had to get into a few shenanigans by moving the speed bumps on the road!

Mother's Day Part 2

It was nice to be celebrated by my family and have Amy home for the weekend. We had roast beef with carrots and potatoes. Misha made pretzels.

Look, Kristen is giving me a flower! These are the flowers Misha brought by last weekend and they have lasted really well.

So grateful to be a mom.

Kristen's Mission Emails - Week 47

PICKLEBALL IN OZ🫶🎾 

Hi people! Here's my week!! 

• I was sick again 😭😭 sub par immune system for real. That took me out for a few days but didn't stop me from social media finding (pickleball night go crazy):
• Zone conference!! Got to see all my buds and sing and learn about the falling away. We'll get a sisters conference and mission conference later in the transfer, we're gonna be so spiritually filled 
• We started a pickleball night and had so many random non members show up and I love being back on the court crushing all these inexperienced Aussies Wahoo! 
• We're teaching a young family and found out the daughter is already good friends with one of the girls in primary and actually went to her baptism! The Lord prepares people so well! 
• Got in contact with one of my friends who was on date in Fulham and she moved to my area here! Miracle!! 

Anyways, it was a slower week, but we made it work! We get to go to the temple AGAIN (so blessed) so you won't hear from me until late next week. Just a little reminder today 🫶 

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

Me and Sister Bradbeer at Zone Conference

Love, Sister Kline

Misha Graduation

Presenting the recently graduated Misha Kline, graduating with honors (and no debt)! She worked for the Wellness and Recreation department for her time on campus.

Misha had a graduation photo shoot a week or so ago and was happy with the pictures.

On graduation day, we took a few more shots, but we weren't really close enough to the stage to get close-ups. Here she is just receiving her diploma and holding it high over head!

After the ceremony.

We had to get an upside down diploma shot since that happened at her high school graduation accidentally.

Amy and Misha both requested a celebratory dinner at Caprese Trattoria in Longmont.

Kristen even got in on the gnocchi action!

Congratulations Misha!

Amy Home for the Weekend

We were excited to see Amy for the weekend as she made a quick trip for Misha's graduation.

Amy flew in on Friday afternoon. Misha picked her up at the airport and they enjoyed a fun night eating pizza at Beau Jo's in Denver and staying at the Grand Hyatt in Downtown (Chris had some extra points that were expiring).

We met up with Amy at the Denver Coliseum right before graduation. Look who she brought? Flat Sister Kristen!

Amy had dropped Misha off a couple hours earlier.

I waited for Amy and Chris went to find seats. Pretty exciting (Amy says she is still glad she didn't walk for graduation). There were a few minutes of excitement when we spotted Misha entering the arena and then when her name was called. Other than that, it was pretty much a whole lot of boring. At least the seats had backs!