James

Past three years... wow. Can you all believe it's been that long. We've all grown and moved on with life so much in that time. I've been so busy I haven't had a lot of time to do this blurb - but now I can. (In fact, I am still trying to get over to the blog and finish reading everyone's stuff.)

K, last three years. Still doing school at BYU. Switched majors and am studying Studio Visual Art instead of Graphic Design like I was doing when we left for London. I should really just finish and graduate. I'm feeling that now. I guess I've just been dragging my feet. (And trying to decide on what to do/where to go).

I'm running my company - Aliuqis Multimedia. It's a multimedia & design company, and handles a lot of video work, dvd authoring, graphic and web design, etc. I do a lot of consulting as well. I also work for Apple Computers as a Campus Rep, and I really love that. (Whoever nicknamed me the computer slut in London was so totally right it wasn't even funny!)
For those who knew-remember Angie, we stopped dating about 6 or so months ago, but continue to hang out and work together. 2 years is a long time to date someone, and it's working out good this way. (Haven't found anyone yet to start dating again. Is it just me or are most all the girls around campus like 19?) I take that back. I kinda have been dating a girl. Nothing serious, and I'm not really sure that it's going anywhere, but there ya go.
Gosh, really that's about it. I am toying with the thought of moving to California or Maryland in the next several months. Probably LA, or DC or something. I guess it'll depend on what & when I finish up school, and then what I want to do with the company. Until I get that figured out it's here in Provo for me, so if any of you all are going to do something, or wanna do something - let me know for sure!

K, guys. Awesome to hear from everyone. Heidi - I think this was totally an awesome idea to keep everyone in touch, way to go. Hopefully I'll talk to or run into you all soon.
James Wakley

Kristen D.

I received a very short letter from Kristen and this picture was included. Kristen is currently on a mission in Taiwan, and this is what she wrote for the blog (-Heidi):

I have a few more months left on the mission. I love being a missionary and serving the Lord. It's been a really special experience that has molded my thinking and pushed me and taught me more than I could say.

My homecoming talk is December 31st, 2006 in Park City. My parents number is 435-658-1702 for people who would like to come.

I miss and love you all!

I also got this little update from Lindsey Iorg on Kristen's life other than the mission... So, before her mission Kristen decided to major in Sociology. She hopes to go to grad school at some point possibly in London. She lived with me before her mission and was working as a server at Magelby's. I think she has another year left at BYU. Kristen and her sister went to Guatemala in summer 2004 to help in orphanages. Before her mission she went to Costa Rica on a vacation with friends for a couple weeks.

President and Sister Randall

How wonderful it was to hear from you. Because of the opportunities that we have to meet with Janice, we do get some opportunity to catch up on what some of the London students are doing. This Blog will be great for us to read in order to stay in touch.

Sister Randall and I have been serving as President and Companion in the Canada Edmonton Mission since July of 2004 -- perhaps some of you will remember that we received our call while in London. Never in our wildest dreams did we realize the great blessings we would receive from doing such service. We have been blessed with over 250 additional members of our family (missionaries). Our lives have been touched by their service and dedication. We have also been blessed to see many join the church and several who have come back into activation because of missionaries and members working together. What a wonderful experience it is to see the changes that come into peoples lives as they grow in the gospel. We will ever be grateful for this marvelous experience we are now having. Unfortunately it will come to a close in June of 2007, but there is still much to do and we try not to think about coming to the "end of the middle of our mission."

Our family at home has grown. Brock is now married and they have a little one. Since we left home we have also been blessed with additional grandchildren -- we now have 18 1/8. President hasn't met Brock's wife and has only met one of the new grandchildren.

We remember fondly our time together in London and will look forward to reading the posted material. Thanks to each of you for the wonderful memories.

President and Sister Randall

Michelle

Has it really been three years? At times it seems like yesterday but a lot has happened to all of us and I love that we have been able to catch up again. I cherish all the memories I have with all of you from our adventures. Since London the main thing that I have done is serve a mission. I went to Italy! The Catania mission- consists of the island Sicily and a bit of the mainland. I spent about half my mission on Sicily with the Mafia! It was quite interesting to see it at work sometimes—very subtlety of course!

I returned this past summer and am now at BYU finishing my Art History degree. I am debating on weather it would be better for me to graduate in April or August. It all depends on what goals I want to pursue afterwards. Decisions, decisions! I’ll figure it all out one day right?!

I am now working at Hope Gallery. I wanted to see if I enjoyed Gallery work. From what I’ve seen I think that I would enjoy running it but right now I am just a sales person so basically just answer questions and sell the art to the FEW that are actually interested in buying something. Slow going definitely as is the art market almost everywhere but most especially here in Provo. I am hoping one day the owner will take me with him to Europe on one of his acquisition trips—I think I could convince him to let me be his Italian translator. J High hopes right now.

Well, there is not much else for me to say. I miss you all and wish we could just turn back the time, even for a day! Take care and let me know if I can ever help you out.
Love you all! Michelle

Erin U.

After London, I went home to work, but had a hard time finding a job for two months. So I made bread and folded lots of Origami. I went back to BYU for Fall 2004, and then in April 2005 I graduated from BYU with a BA in Visual Arts and a Minor in Art History. That summer I went to Vermont to work at a summer camp for girls on Lake Fairlee, called Camp Lochearn. (It slightly resembled The Parent Trap.) It was a lot of fun, but probably not something I will not do again. I lived in a cabin with a co-counselor, she was from England, and 6 girls ages 10-11. I was part of the Outdoor Adventure Program, so three days a week I took campers on hikes, canoeing trips and twice to a waterfall, to paint water colors. (I did dump a camper and myself in the lake by accident the last week of camp. But I now know how a canoe over canoe rescue works.) On the days I wasn't hiking I taught quilting and basket weaving. Camp Lochearn is 45 miles from Sharon, VT, the birthplace of Joseph Smith, which I was able visit during the year which marked the 200th Anniversary of his birth. I thought that was pretty cool.I spent most of my time off in Hannover, NH, where Dartmouth College is located. I made quite a few phone calls from Dartmouth Green waiting for the van to take me back to camp. I also consumed lots of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. There was a flavor called Chocolate Therapy. Which was very therapeutic.

After camp, I went back to my hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming. I started looking for a professional job, while working at Little America Hotel as a desk clerk. Finally in April I was interview & hired by the Wyoming Society of Certified Public Accountants. I am the Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Coordinator. I also do the newsletter and make brochures to promote our Educational Fund. I am pretty creative, and CPAs really are not, so just about anything that passes my standards of quality flies. When I was in London, I didn't imagine myself back in Cheyenne. But it's actually been a good thing. My Dad was diagnosed with MS this past May. So I’ve been helping my family, mostly by being a chauffer. I’m getting really good at transferring my Dad’s wheelchair in and out of the trunk of my car in a skirt and heels, which I consider something of an accomplishment. I never thought I’d be helping an ageing parent in my 20s, but I’m glad I’ve been able to be of some help.

Eventually I would like to get an MBA with an emphasis in Art Management or Nonprofit. But I need more work experience first. I am currently housing sitting, with a roommate from my singles branch, for a couple who are on a mission in New Zealand. I loved our London experience and am going back sometime, I just don’t know when yet. I don’t miss the alarm clock chorus, waking me up every morning, but every once and a while, I do crave a Sandwich from Pret and the National Gallery. It’s been fun reading everyone’s update!

Erin

SaraMarie

I got married Dec. 17th 2005 to Jake Barber, who is from Nebraska. (I met him through Diana and Lindsey V.). We are living in Spanish Fork, UT while Jake finishes school at UVSC and I work. I am teaching English and Historyat Provo Canyon School. PCS is a residential treatment center for troubled teens. I mostly work with the 7th and 8th grade boys, but I do have a class of girls on the girls' campus. I really enjoy the small classes, the structure of the program and free lunch. I am serving in the Young Women's in my ward and really enjoying that.

SaraMarie Barber

Janice

Hey everyone! When I returned to Edmonton, Alberta, I too was depressed and missing London and all of you terribly. I continued to pursue my BSc. in Human Ecology since London, and just graduated this past June. When I wasn't in school, I was planning trips to hang out with you people! It was great to tour the lovely campus of BYU with Lisa, and stay with Caroline, Alexis and Emily and catch up with the rest of you found in Provo during my very first visit to Utah in February '04. Since then I also made a trip to D.C. to hang out with Caroline and Alexis, and one more trip to Utah again in the Spring '05. Last summer I also had an amazing opportunity to be in the Hill Cumorah Pageant with my family.

After graduating this past June, I lived in Montreal for five weeks to study French. In fact, it was my experience in London that has made me want to be bilingual. I believe it was right before we went to Paris, and someone said "Janice knows French, doesn't she?" and Ryan said something like, "NO, the only French she knows is what she reads on the back of a cereal box," and I've been ashamed to call myself Canadian ever since. Becoming fluent is now my life-long goal.

I currently work at the University of Alberta, here in Edmonton, as an office coordinator in a research centre. Last summer I worked part-time in a Student Services office on campus, and I think I'm discovering that my interests lie in administration and development in post-secondary education. So I'm networking hard and working hard, and trying to build a career path for myself at the U of A. I am currently not attached to any boy, and life is very full of options right now, (including accompanying my aunt to Oxford next year for three months to be a nanny!) so I just can't even guess what this year is going to bring. If any of you ever find yourself wandering north, please be in touch. The only people from SA who have made it this far are President and Sister Randall and Brock. I don't know when the Randall's will post a blurb, so I will just say that everyone in Edmonton LOVES them to pieces and thinks that they are doing an amazing job as mission president. They both work really hard and it is a blessing to have them in Edmonton. I see them fairly often and I will be sad when they go this summer.

It's been wonderful to hear from you all, keep in touch!

Kim

What a brilliant, beyond brilliant idea for keeping in touch!

I've worked for an interior plant design firm in Washington, DC for 18 months. After BYU graduation in Spring 2005, I played around in Europe for a while before trekking east. During the summer of 2006 Caroline Tung and Kelli Urry were also in the area. It was great getting together to reminisce our London times.

Any beaus? Mmm, maybe. Let's just say, I'm enjoying myself and not taking anything too seriously. It's wonderful surrounding yourself with highly driven and motivated people.

So, all in all I'm doing pretty snazzy and staying very busy. I do love playing tour guide in this historically saturated town! So if any of you feel so inclined to come east, just let me know!!

Much Love,Kimberly Mihlfeith

Dainan

It was great to hear about all of you. I am amazed to see how blessed each one of us has been over the course of the last three years. My life has been full of adventures since I decided to go to London. After coming home and graduating in the spring of 2005, I finally decided on a master's program.With a little help from Erin Hartigan I decided to go into Library and Information Sciences. It all started in London when we kept visiting the homes and palaces that had their own libraries. I fell in love with the few rare books I brought home and decided to be a rare books curator.

So, where did I go for library school? There aren't a lot of options around Utah/Idaho. Colorado has one as well as California, but I decided I might as well go somewhere more interesting and fun. And here I am in Hawaii. I've been here for a year now and am loving it to death. I feel so lucky to be here and even more lucky to be almost finished. Then I get to start a "real"job and start paying my loans back.

Before coming here, I flew over to Australia to visit my sister and her family. I spent three weeks over there going to many of the beautiful places near the Gold Coast. One of the best things I did was the Australia Zoowhere we saw Steve Irwin's wife (he was busy with the expansion project they were doing to the zoo to enlarge it for animals from Africa). His death was a tragedy.

Leslie Alridge already wrote that she had come over to visit Hawaii. We did so many things in the one week that she was here. I'm sure she would recommend that everyone visit the beautiful islands of Hawaii. If you want to read of my many adventures (and misadventures), read my blog: http://dainanskeem.blogspot.com/

I wish you all luck and success.
Dainan

Jack

So, it is pretty awesome to hear how everyone is doing. It totally freaks me out that some of you are parents or almost parents or whatever, no offense. Well, my life has been pretty normal since London; I came back and finished my junior and senior years at Spanish Fork High School, where I may say many of my friends were jealous that I got to live in London with so many cool people (all my guy friends were especially jealous about the girl/guy ratio) I was also very inspired by our experiences at The Globe, so I tried out for the Shakespeare play when I got back and got the lead, (Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor) I also competed Malvolio’s letter monologue from Twelfth Night and got ranked really highly at the Utah Shakespearean Festival, and then to round up my drama experience I took a playwriting class and wrote a play based loosely on the characters Leslie and I created around the many estates we visited. During my freshman year at BYU my drama teacher asked if the school could perform it for competition and they got ranked really highly at state with it. Holly, apparently you and I both haven’t gotten over Mark Rylance. So, it was a lot of fun to finish up high school and then I started at BYU last year. My freshman year was actually pretty fun, stressful but fun. I lived in the dorms with one of my best friends and met a ton of way awesome kids in our ward and my classes. I also met some great English kids who love that I know what they are talking in about when they reference The Tube, Jaffa Cakes, Marks & Spencer, and H&M among many things. I have continued doing Ballroom off and on and as far as the ladies…..let’s just say I have cut a wide swath among the female students at BYU, but I will say no more. So, I am now in my second year at BYU, I haven’t picked a major yet. Who knows what it will be; one minute an English major, then Print Journalism, followed by P.R, and then after a particularly touching E.R., Pre-Med. So who knows what my major will turn out to be. I am confident I will minor in French, but then again who knows. Well, that is all for now, I hope everyone is doing really well in all your different reaches of the world. I miss you all, London, and Wagamamas.

Loves-Jack

p.s. this is a picture of me and my best friend on my 19th birthday after a bit of a spending spree at The Buckle

Carly

Gosh, it has been so much fun reading the updates! You all seem so happy. I'm glad that you're living such exciting lives. A lot has happened with you while I was on a mission in România (September 2004 – April 2006). It's surprising how much catching-up I have to do for only having been gone a short period of 19 months.
After SA-London, I returned to the University of Utah, continuing with my premedical preparations and sorority activities. Shortly thereafter, I was called to serve a mission in Eastern Europe. I've been home for about six months now and am happily engaged to the amazing boy, Steve, who waited for me. Cute huh! We are getting married in the Salt Lake Temple this upcoming spring. You will all be invited to the reception! Until then we are finishing up our degrees at the fabulous U and getting ready for grad-school. Life couldn't be better!
Please keep in touch. We all became such great friends; it'd be a shame not to.
Va pup, Carly R. (soon to be Bench)

Abby Jane

After London, I lived with Lindsey I. and Heid (where we mostly pined for London and encouraged Lindsey and her British lover), finished up my associates at UVSC, and put in my mission papers. Summer 2004 I left for a mission to the Dominican Republic, which was an amazing blessing in my life! I returned from the mission February of this year. I spent the next few months traveling to Italy, Mexico, and New York City. Spring term I started up at BYU, and that is how I have been spending my time ever since, getting my undergrad in Art History and learning Italian.

The picture is this past summer at lunch with Cass, Erin, and Heid

Lindsey V.

Hey everyone! Okay, I know I'm not the first one to say this but...has it really been 3 years???? Wow, time goes sooo fast and it is so cool to see that everyone has been successful and is doing well. We truly are an amazing group! The semester after London, I think I cried as I headed back to Provo and BYU. I wanted so much to be somewhere else, somewhere cool again! Starting another semester as a prenursing student just didn't sound exciting-in fact, nursing didn't sound that exciting to me anymore! So, I took a few classes to remind me of London, and then I changed my major!

During my final year (and a semester) as an exercise science major I had the time of my life-living the single life with Di and a few other friends in Provo. Then, I started dating the man of my dreams...again! Remember the guy I constantly talked about while we were in London? Yep, we started dating again last summer (2005), and the rest is history (sorry Kirk, I just couldn't get over him)! I graduated from BYU in December 2005 and moved home to save some money for a certain life changing event that was about to take place! Josh and I were married in the Salt Lake temple on August 4, 2006, spent a fantastic week in Sedona, AZ for our honeymoon, then packed up our things and moved across the country (and then some) to Miami, FL!

I started my graduate program less than 2 weeks after we were married-which puts me in the middle of my first semester of PA (physician assistant) school at Barry University, which is in North Miami. Josh is the manager for a spa/gym in one of the high rises in the area and if it weren't for him I think I'd go insane from all this studying!! We are excited to be newlyweds in a new place and hope to get out and really see south Florida during the next 2 years. We are loving life and feel very blessed for all the opportunities that are coming our way!
It\'s been great to hear from you all! Take care and stay in touch!!

Much love, Lindsey Clark (Van Woerkom)

Holly

Wow--everyone is doing cool things! I love people like you!
I was not happy to be back at BYU after months of being way cooler than anyone I knew. After a semester of working and schooling full time, I opted to shelve the degree in favor of sanity and the pursuit of something new—work experience of course! . . . and cash money. Being a poverty-stricken post-Londoner sucked a little too much for me.

I took Summer 2004 off to intern in DC and scrounge rides off our very own Caroline, who was my best friend and savior. Now, I continue to work in marketing for great companies in Orem and Salt Lake—I get to travel a couple of weeks out of the month, so I have been lucky enough to visit Europe and Japan here and there . . . but never London. I know, right? What a bust.

After an interesting re-admissions process, I will finish my English degree part time over the next ten years (probably), with maybe a business minor thrown in. The plan is to move to London in the fall of 07 to help my Orem company launch their UK marketing office in our old hood, Notting Hill! We’ve projected that this could take two years at least, you know . . . I’m thinking maybe three, or ten . . . so Lindsey, I want to see that baby!

After London, it’s a mystery. I won’t be a corporate whore forever. I smell an MBA or maybe the law degree I was so excited about through that magical, beautiful, fateful fall of 03. In the meantime, I’m building a marketing consultancy with a former boss (the better for a “student’s” schedule, my dear), and teaching yoga in Sandy.

No boys—they can’t handle it. Besides, I never really got over Mark Rylance.
Miss you all!

Cassandra

Hello everyone!! This is one of your U of U friends Cassi Clements! First of all, a BIG THANKS to Heidi for setting this Blog up! What fun it's been to catch up on everyone! Like all of you, I often reminisce about those wonderful London days, and smile about what an amazing semester and experience it was. I'll never forget it.

First, I want to give credit to myself for being the first to be engaged upon our return home to the states. Just eight days after arriving back in Salt Lake, Jordan Allred proposed. Jordan and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple July of 2004. Three weeks after our wedding we packed up and drove across the country to Brunswick, Maine. We lived in Brunswick for a year while Jordan finished his last year at Bowdoin College. He graduated in May 2005 and soon after accepted a job in Boston Massachusetts where we've lived for the past year and a half! Jordan and I love Boston and are having such great experiences here. I am currently attending a two year professional photography program here in Boston called The New England School of Photography. I just started my second year of school. My goal is to become a wedding photographer and have already had some amazing experiences assisting and working in New England. I certainly found my passion in photography and feel very blessed.

Life is an adventure for us right now. We will move again for business school (wherever that may take us) and we're enjoying it all as we go. It's so wonderful to here from you all!! Much Love and Take Care!

Cassi (Clements) Allred

Alexis

It is so wonderful to see/read about you all. It sounds like everything is going really well for all of you, and I am so excited about all of your amazing missions, educational pursuits, marriages, jobs, etc. I have to say that we are a pretty amazing group.

As Kristen mentioned, after London I moved in with Caroline, Kristen (formerly Lamprecht), and Emily Haymond. The year after London was spent mostly in the library with occasional breaks to discuss American Idol and the Enola Gay with Caroline and Kristen. I met my husband, Gabe, the same year that Kristen met Jason. Gabe is from Vegas also (although we didn't know each other before) and is studying English Language. Gabe and I started dating in January of 2005. I graduated in April. I started the English MA program at BYU in September. Gabe and I got engaged in November and married in May. Phew...

Nowadays I am in my second year of the Masters program. I am workingon getting my thesis started, which deals with American literature of the Vietnam War. I am also teaching freshman composition and TAing forone of Phil's American literature courses. Supposedly I am also applying to PhD programs this semester; we'll see what happens. So those are some of the things I have done in the past three years. One of the things I have not done is go back to London, which is very sad. I hope to remedy that shortcoming some time soon.

So good to hear from all of you. Still-in-Provo people, I vote for the reunion.

Much love, Alexis (Turley) Middleton

Emily & Steve on the mission

P.S. This is a Photo of Steve and I in Puerto Montt, Chile. We had to get a photo together!!

Emily H.

There is hardly a day when I don’t think fondly of our London experiences.What a difference it has made in my life. One can scarcely believe that it was three years ago that we were there. I love hearing how much everyone’s lives have been going these last three years.L ike Kristen Lamprecht Gough said, she, Alexis, Caroline and I were roommates when we got back from our European adventure. It was as if London didn’t quite stop for a few months, what a blast! While I was with them I did some soul searching and found a focus for my very fun but liberal arts degree of American Studies. I decided that I was going to focus on receiving a masters in Museum Studies when I finally get out of BYU. After making that decision I was lead to the opportunity to intern with the Museum of Art here on campus and get some hands-on experience.

Having dismissed the idea of serving a mission back in January 2004, a very inspired mother got me thinking about a mission in July of 2004. Before I could even think about it I picked up my papers and within a month—to exact day—I had my call. I served a mission in the only the best mission in the world, Chile Osorno (and Steven Cowles will back me up). What a great experience it was tracking on the Straits of Magellan (during winter---the penguins aren’t even there in the winter!!!) and watching people change their lives! I am so gratefulfor all of the London girls that went before me; your examples really did help me make my decision. I fell honored to be numbered among you all. I got home four months ago (fortunately without many issues—i.e. language,being socially abnormal) and I am back here at the Y. I picked up a business minor, so I should be out of here sometime next fall… If BYU doesn’t kick me out first. I love you all so much and I am excited to hear what is going on in your lives.

Lisa

Dear friends! Hey yall! First of all, can I just say that I love this? What an amazing group we had- what an absolutely incredible experience.

Well... So much has happened in the last three years. (broken record?) I left for my mission to Budapest, Hungary in the middle of March 2004. Remember how people would ask you how your study abroad was when you got home, and you just kind of gushed about the "unbelieveable" this, the "amazing" that, but you never could really do it justice...? Well, imagine that same intensity and that's basically how I feel about that year and a half in Hungary. Beautiful cities, countryside, and people. We just got our first stake a few months ago, and the work is just booming (ha-relatively speaking...).

But, I've been home for almost a year now (which is pretty unbelieveable in itself), and I started back up at the Y this past January. I'm still an English major, still an editing minor, still
hoarding around that Texas Embassy shirt, and definitely still suffering at the sight of a ferrero-rocher (thank you, Caroline). Over the summer I went to school, took scuba classes, went to Alexis's amazingly beautiful wedding, and met a very nice boy of my own (we call him Dan). I just got a job interning with MyFamily.com, working on the editorial staff for their Ancestry magazine. I also started as the head editor for Tabulae- the humanities student journal that will actually be publishing the work of our very own Ryan (congratulations, Ryan!).

Best news for last, I was just offered a job to go back to Hungary and hold mini-training conferences for this company that has started outsourcing to Budapest. I'll just go for a week at a time, and at first it'll only be once every few months, but I start in November. Can you believe it?! (I just found out two days ago, so I'm still kinda giddy by it all). I just feel so blessed I don't even know what to do with myself. Except to give lots and lots of thanks and to work really really hard. ha.

I really do miss yall- it's so so good to hear about your lives. You're all having such crazy adventures and doing so many great things- who would've guessed where we'd be today? (except for the whole Erin and Rob getting married thing... we ALL saw that one coming... :) To all you Provo-ians... let's get together!! I've run into several of you and said the same thing, but... really now. Let's do it. And to those of you who included pictures... I have to say, you really are just getting more and more good-looking. (bunkie- Izzy is gorgeous). Great to hear from you all- hope to hear even more soon!
lots of love,
Lisa

Danielle

Like everyone else I cannot believe that it has been three years since our memorable trip to London. It really was life changing. So much has happened it is hard to know where to begin. Since London I have gone to school and changed my major about a million times. I had the wonderful opportunity to serve a mission in Carlsbad, California! It was such a blessing to be in the service of the Lord. Some of you may remember the missionary I sent off while in London. Well, our story was not over. He came home in October 2005 and we were married August 12, 2006. My life has not taken the path that I thought it would but I couldn't be happier. I love Dan with all my heart and he makes me laugh more than ever. We are both still attending USU in Logan. I will graduate this Spring '06 and then start the masters program next fall in Family Finance. Dan is going into Business Finance and after we both graduate we hope to end up back east, we are thinking about Boston right now but who knows?! Tha tis my life since London in a nutshell. I hope to see you all again soon.