the story of the terrible awful

WARNING: Images may seem disgusting and disturbing. 

And that could very well be completely true.

Last weekend I went home for the short break, and what followed could only be described as "the terrible awful".  While the whole family was occupied in the basement watching American Idol, Jenna and I threw away a batch of homemade oreo's that were much too runny for cookies.  And sitting there in the garbage can, we laughed at the pile that resembled something only little boys should laugh at.  Wanting to create something with this pure genius look alike that couldn't be passed up, we cleverly devised a plan that would surely satisfy all of our laughter. So we craftily molded a piece of dough into a little loaf that could only be mistaken for a half hazardly attempt at pinching it clean and laid it in the wrong spots.  Worried that the twins would possibly foil my plans, I very explicitly explained the instructions to not tell my parents with G responded with a serious, "Whatever it is, I'm in". A few hours went by and we still had not had an incident. As bed time came, I pushed G to lead Dad or Mom to the bathroom to find the little bomb. I thought that he had, but I only found Dad and Brig scolding him for not cleaning up rat poop. He walked out of the room and in his grumpy G way, adamantly threw his hands in the air and said, "I know! I'm getting the toilet paper!!!" and then walked past me and winked and shot me a gun gesture.  Confused and out my main man, I made Brig reveal the secret. 

"I need Gus and Leo here, RIGHT NOW!"

"What? Why?"
"Huge poop. On the seat. POOP. On the SEAT!"

And that was all I could have asked for. 

But I'm not sure which is more satisfying - the reactions from my parents, my dad laughing for hours the rest of the night, or the pure genius that stemmed from G (side note: he took a piece of the fake poop from the toilet, rolled it into a small rat poop, and placed it next to my dad to trick him into walking into the bathroom to get toilet paper and find the big behemoth). I don't know whether I should be proud of him or scared. Both ways, I still can't stop laughing about it.  

things my brothers tell me, part 3:

G (looking at an old and very 90s family picture): Elsa, are you wearing trousers in that picture??
L: Dude, those are overalls.

Noah (after I told him about the new release of the trailer for the movie Noah): Russell Crowe is playing me? Couldn't they have gotten Liam Neeson at least?

Me: Hey, do you like orange juice? Maybe we'll buy you some for your throat.
L: Yes, and I also love polynesian sauce.

G's commentary on a lady's musical number in church:
-Whoa, that was loud. I'm just saying what you were thinking.
-Did she just say enjoy your cake? (It was "in joy or pain")

L: Oh whoa mom, I can feel the comb on my head.
Mom: Yeah, that normally happens.
L: No, like I can feel it through my hair on my head.

G: (talking about One Direction) Harry is the British one
Me: They're all British
G: Well he's the most British. So he's the most cool.

G: (upon farting) Sorry, I can't help it when I'm nervous.

Me: I know that you love sports so much, but they aren't meant for inside, right?
G: Yeah, except maybe pool.

L: Nial's hair looks like Sky's.
G: Sky who?
L: Elsa's friend Sky. Sky Geren.
G: You're just saying that because they both are blonde and have good hair.

G: Its easier for me to remember Harry's last name because its like hair style.
L: Yeah and he has the most hair style.

Can you tell they are a One Direction fandom right now?

I am Danish

My grandmother's adventure was German, 

but as for my grandfather, it was all Danish.

i am obsessed with danish poppy fields. 

as you will notice throughout this post.

i have cute parents

my grandpa searches for family in a cemetary

this is where his family lived and farmed.

copenhagen docks

My Grandpa's family came from Denmark. 

The prophet Brigham Young asked his grandparents to immigrate

over to the states so that they could bring the Danes in the gospel here. 

(family mentioned in this church talk here)

His father was then called as a missionary to go back to Denmark

and start the work there. 

We are heavily Danish, as you can tell by the blonde haired blue eyed Jensen's,

and it was such a good experience to see all of the exact places 

that my great grandparents had lived and served and been.

I love my family and the sacrifices and great measures they took

so that I could be here today and have the wonderful blessings that I have.

København

my parents are tourists

look like narnia to anyone else?

Copenhagen is a dream. It's like a European New York City, 

but way better because of the history. And the danishes. 

City: København, or Copenhagen

Favorite place: Definitely the Frederiksborg castle. I could have stayed there all day.

New found interest: Photographing interiors. At least I could have all day at the castle.

Best art: The original Christus statue in the official church of Denmark.

Funniest occurrence: Running into LDS members from other parts of the world 

on 3 different occasions. It was even funnier when one couple was from 

small college town and taught at my school. 

Traveler's advice: Be prepared to go bankrupt in Denmark. 

It is literally 3 times as much as any other European country. 

I only wish that was a joke. And learning Danish isn't essential. 

Most people speak English and very well. 

This day deserves a story. Hamburg.

And I hope that at least a few of you stick around to read it.

Because this was a day that was altering and beautiful to me 

and I wish to share that with those that will listen.

this much i had always known of my family before me:

they were full blooded german (on my grandmother's side)

her father (my great grandfather Karl) had been involved in the wrong efforts by accident 

during WWII and was captured by Nazis, 

and eventually the entire family immigrated to America to stay.

I ama named after Karl's wife, my great grandma Elsa,

and that has always been of at least a small significance to me.

as i have grown older and learned more, i've had specific and spiritual moments 

in which i have felt my grandma Elsa.

and this day in particular is one in which i learned the great importance of her 

and my special responsibility of the name that i hold that is hers.

the purpose of this entire trip was to take my father's parents back 

to the countries that they had come from.

my grandpa to denmark, and my grandma to germany. 

neither had been and it was a big ordeal that almost all 

of their children and some of their grandchildren joined in on

and i heard of stories of my ancestors that i had never heard before.

this is as much as i know.

my great grandpa had worked in the government at the time of hitler's take over

and did not like the direction that he was taking the country in.

while he resisted, he was found and taken to a concentration camp.

he escaped and spent several months on the run.

i'm unsure as to the timing of the events, but i know that Elsa was left to her own with her children.

Hamburg was put under massive bombings because of its status as a port town,

and because of that the women and children were evacuated to live 

in an evacuated work camp on the outskirts of the city.

It was there that Elsa gave birth to my grandma during the middle of an air raid, in a bomb shelter.

there were so many stories, but the message was still the same to me.

they greatly sacrificed so that we could be here today.

so that i could carry a message as a namesake.

we spent that day trying to find where the work camp had been that my grandma was born in.

while it was a bit of a goose chase, we were surrounded and helped 

by the most wonderful germans that were so pleased to have been a part of it.

we finally found the street next to that which the camp had been

and a sweet old german man told us that he had lived there his whole life

 and we were in the right place.

with a few of the old bunkers left, we knew it too.

it was an incredible experience, and one that i am quite proud to have been a part of.

we spent the rest of the day at the harbor and saw in person 

what we had seen in paintings of my great grandfather so many times.

i was grateful for that day and the lesson it gave me of family and heritage

and of the strong witness of the importance of my name

and the person that bore it.

my great grandparents, grandmother, and great uncle in Salt Lake.

Dresden, Germany

Dresden was my most favorite place in Germany.
I could have spent an entire week there.
I had no idea how impacted it had been by the war
and it was humbling and incredibly neat to see the buildings still standing
with charred exteriors to prove.
It was so sophisticated and untouched by American influence
that I never wanted to leave.

City: Dresden
Best gelatto: Raspberry and dark chocolate.
The best I had the entirety of the trip.
Best food: A true German meaty meal complete with potatoes
Favorite place: The main square and surrounding castles and streets.
So all of it.
There's really not much more I can say. I loved it all, so so much!