As evidenced by my lack of blogging for so many months, one could conclude that I think Facebook is way easier than blogging. They would be right! I hate how long it takes to load pictures on here and label them and write what is going on in my life. Does anyone still read blogs? The few readers of this blog probably consist of my family members and one or two friends who think Facebook is the devil. But, in an attempt to at least update this record of my life, I am going to post various pictures from the date of my last post to the present. Make of it what you will.
This was in September, so it was still pretty warm in Romania. It was really fun to see a baptism there, in the Black Sea, much different from the ones we have in the United States, where you have a babtismal font just for the occasion. The elder performing the ordinance is none other than Elder Jeff Frandsen of the Frandsens of Skyline High School fame in Idaho Falls. Small world we live in! I was asked to give the closing prayer..........in Romanian. First, I had my friend Mariana translate what I wanted to say from English to Romanian. Then I had 2 days to memorize it, but it was kind of difficult for me. I was so nervous, I couldn't remember all the words, so I wrote them down on a cheat-sheet and used it during the prayer. I was still complemented on my Romanian accent, even if I did read most of the prayer rather than just saying it from memory. The words were still from the heart!
My friend Mariana's parents were very fortunate to get an apartment in the building on top of which I am standing in this picture. That is a fascinating story! They had not yet joined the LDS church at that time, but they were blessed even then. The country was still communist, and her dad had just started as a policeman. They were to be assigned an apartment. He applied to get a 3 bedroom apartment, but everyone laughed at him because they said he only had one child (Mariana) and what would he need with such a big (to them) apartment. Miraculously, they did get it, which was fortuitous because they ended up having 5 kids, 3 sons and 2 daughters, a very large family for Romania! They still live in the same apartment, which happens to be right on the Black Sea and only a few blocks from the building they use for church. It's such a nice location. The view of Constanta and the sea from the top is spectacular!
In October, Karissa and her boyfriend, Fielding, who works for Troy's company, both wanted to go to Transylvania to see the parts they had missed in prior trips. This picture was taken at the Pelesh castle. Karissa and I had been there, but Fielding hadn't. I enjoyed seeing the castle with all its fall colors!
November: The finished Dome! I think you can get a feel for the scope of it, looking at how small the people are, standing next to it.
We could hardly believe it when we were finally packing up to go home. Somehow, the last year had seemed to fly by AND take forever! It is more emotionally taxing than you would imagine to live in another country for a year, especially without speaking the language fluently, but also just not having all the comforts and food you are used to. I think we talked about the foods we craved every day! By the end of the year, we finally found a place with decent steak. The owner of that restaurant had lived in the United States for a few years. His menu had more of the items that had been lacking in our diet for a year. Toward the end of our time in Romania, one of the Butikofer kids with us out there got so sick and had a fever for a week. They couldn't figure out what was wrong until they took a blood sample and found a severe iron deficiency. We realized that, being so used to having red meat all the time, we probably all had an iron deficiency!
While we were going to miss our Romanian friends, we were thankful to be heading out. There really just is no place like home!
For doing such a great job in Romania, the company flew us all out through London. We had the opportunity to stay for a week there! I would go back any day! That is one place I think we COULD live for a year or more and not feel homesick. But then again, most of us have some ancestry there. It's our history, so it feel like home. And they spoke English, therefore everything was so much easier. I think we were so grateful to be in an English-speaking country again, we would have loved it just for that! Aside from that, the people were all wonderful and helpful, it's clean, there is something new to see or eat around every corner, and the past whispers to you from the tops of the buildings to the cobblestones that still cover many of the streets.
One of the first sites we visited after arriving, the Tower Bridge was a marvel. Some of it, you can see on the left side there, was being renovated while we were there.
One of the telephone booths, these were all over the place. Some were way gross though because it looked like homeless people live in some of them. The one I'm standing in was right down from the Tower of London, so it was pretty clean.
You wouldn't believe how much room there actually is in these cabs.
Big Ben at the parliament building.
Our first trip on a double-decker bus. I could have spent all day just seeing London from the top of one of these.
Buckingham Palace. There were so many people there! We didn't take the tour to see the inside. I wish we had, but there was so many places yet to visit, we were afraid we wouldn't have time.
Piccadilly Circus. It was exciting and busy. There were so many shops around this area, it may as well have been the biggest outdoor mall I've ever seen, though I don't think they refer to it as a mall. Troy liked some of the fashions the girls in London were wearing, so he was determined to find me an outfit similar to what they wore. Who am I to complain about getting new clothes?
Westminster Abbey. I was sad we got there so late, we missed touring the inside, but it was beautiful even still!
The Eye of London. We always see it in movies, it was fun to see in real life. We took a ride on it, and you really can see so much of London from the top! Amazing!
An experience I will never forget: seeing Wicked in London! Amazing, fantastic, insane, unbelievable, can't describe it kind of night! I couldn't stop listening to the soundtrack for a month after because it would remind me how I felt that night at that production. I just loved it! It's so funny because I will also never forget the shoes I wore then. Troy got me these great looking shoes for my birthday in Romania, the kind of heels you can wear with a dress or jeans. But they are very narrow. Negotiating cobblestones in those shoes was torture! But I made it, and we still had one of the most memorable nights ever!
We are standing outside the Globe theater, where Shakespeare's plays were performed, the first stage of its kind. I never realized, but it is right down on the River Thames, as are a lot of the historical sites.
St. Paul's cathedral. This is one place I'm planning to tour the next time we go to London since we didn't have time for it. I'm eager to see the inside!
The Tower of London. There are so many buildings inside the grounds here, and each of them has a rich history. Mostly, I remember the stories of political and religious prisoners who were kept here, and many never left.
After getting home, we spent Thanksgiving with my family. Being away for so long, it was so amazing to eat homecooked Turkey, potatoes and gravy, rolls with homemade jam, and casseroles of every kind. It is also very humbling to think of all the blessings we have, the many opportunities and physical comforts we take for granted in our country. Really, I just about cried the first time I walked in a Walmart after we got home.
Right after Thanksgiving, Troy and I flew out to Arizona to visit his daughter Katie, who had just given birth to her second child 3 weeks before that. Troy and I loved being around those little kids, especially fun little Liberty, who is reaching the age where you can really see her personality coming out. She's hilarious, a little goofball, who was majorly influenced by having her goofy grandpa, Troy, there with her. Just by being himself, he would get her all sorts of riled up. Those two especially enjoyed each other.
Liberty walking with Grandpa
We spent Christmas Eve with Troy's son Casey and his little family. Casey's son Creek was such a joy to be with for Christmas. I'm not sure if he knew quite what to think about the sudden precipitation of toys showering down on him.
Creek with Grandpa, Christmas day.
We certainly had a very full year in 2009!
The school has 4 buildings, meant to look like planets when finished. In this picture it wasn't quite finished, but you get a rough idea of how it was going to look. Troy finished the project at the end of April, ahead of schedule. 
The school has 4 buildings, meant to look like planets when finished. In this picture it wasn't quite finished, but you get a rough idea of how it was going to look. Troy finished the project at the end of April, ahead of schedule. 
Fielding and Karissa
Me
Katie's son, Justice, 4 months old at the time
Casey's son, Creek, and Katie's daughter, Liberty
Kids and spouses, all in Phoenix for a "Troy Potter" family reunion.
Katie with Liberty and Troy with Creek at the Phoenix zoo.
Justice and Katie
Creek riding the tractor at the zoo. So cute!
Liberty and Creek riding the merry-go-round at the Phoenix zoo.
Creek being his cute self.
In May, I had the opportunity to participate in the Salt Lake City breast cancer walk/run. I ran it with my sister Lynette. It was a lot of fun to spend time with her and also my step-daughters and sisters-in-law who participated as well.
In June, my sister Mary (pictured on the left) really wanted to tie-dye, so we got a kit from Michaels and she, my sister Analeigh (in the middle), and I amused ourselves one afternoon designing shirts. Consequently, I spent several other days during the summer tie-dying with friends as a way to distract and entertain their kids. :)
My sister Mary bought "How to Talk to Girls" as a joke for my brother Blaine since he came home from his mission in the month of June. I found it extremely amusing to catch my brother Devon intently reading it one evening. 
Since everyone was gathered for my brother, Blaine's, homecoming, we got a few family pictures. Sadly, Troy wasn't able to join us. He was sent out to Kansas to begin another project.
Siblings: Blaine, Lynette, me, Analeigh, Dayna, Mary, Devon, Lee
Sisters: Lynette, Analeigh, me, Mary, Dayna
Troy enjoyed it a lot. He hasn't been fishing in a really long time. I had only been fishing one other time, so it was fun for me to try casting and reeling it back in. 
Troy finished the project the first week in August. It turned out really nice.
We were excited to return to Idaho and see Troy's kids, and especially his grandson, Creek.
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