Brent's 1st Blog Post

Hi, this is Brent. I thought I would come on here and share my first blog post.

This is a quick study break since I have just under 5 weeks to go for my last exam (hopefully forever, or at least a very long time!) and every second counts.

Just wanted to share a bit of news, set to music...

Barcelona -or- The Town that Gaudi Built

A couple of weekends ago we went to Barcelona. British Airways was having a sale on vacation packages and we wanted to go somewhere (Prague was our first choice but too expensive and very, very cold) and Barcelona fit the bill, literally. AND we heard they had sunshine there so that was a major draw, seeing as how at that point it felt as though we'd gone 2 months without seeing the sun.

We flew in super early Friday morning, checked into our hotel and headed out. The first stop was the Cathedral which was really beautiful. Gothic cathedrals are my favorite and this was a perfect example. We got a little lost on our way there wandering around eating so we happened upon a sneaky side entrance that took us through the cloisters, instead of the main door of the nave so we wandered around the courtyard a little.

The inside of the cathedral was pretty amazing and to top it all off, we took an elevator to the roof to check out the view.

Next we wandered our way through a park down to the beach. The sun was shining and the weather was a perfect 65*. There were lots of people walking along the beach and eating at the many restaurants. We did a little people watching then headed off to find our own food.

We couldn't decide what we wanted for dinner so we had gelato at the port and happened upon several modern sculptures and a monument to Columbus.

We then headed back to the hotel, stopping for a quick dinner, changed our clothes and went to a Spanish Guitar Duet concert that was held in a tiny private chapel of a centuries old church in the middle of the city. It was really beautiful (the church and the music) and a perfect way to end our first day.

Saturday was Gaudi day. He was a famous architect during Barcelona's Modernisme period and designed tons of buildings throughout the city. The first stop was The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, a Roman Catholic church that is still under construction, over a hundred years after it was started. The outside is a jumble of all kinds of different art nouveau styles and if you look closely you can spy all kinds of interesting things, like gecko gargoyles and turtles holding up the big columns.

The inside was COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED. It was totally different from anything we could have expected, probably because on seeing the outside we had no idea what to expect. It was incredible. I think the stained glass windows were my favorite part.

The we took the elevator up the tower and got to see the view from one of the walkways between the big towers. It was crazy cool.

Next we we toured Casa Batlló, a private house he was paid to remodel. The whole thing has ocean and underwater themes and was very swirly and strange. It was like walking through some kind of cartoon or something. I think my favorite things there were the façade and the roof.

Then it was on to Casa Mila, a building of private apartments. The real draw here was the rooftop terrace with its crazy chimneys and the view.

Our last stop that day was Parc Güell, a garden/park with lots of architectural bits. It was dark by the time we got there and it is surprisingly unlit but we still had a good time exploring and trying to take some decent pictures.

Sunday was our last day there and we used it to catch a few last things on our list. We were so tired from all of the walking the day before that we didn't even leave the hotel until 1pm because we needed a nap after breakfast. Day of rest, right? We wandered around town a little and saw another cathedral and had some tapas and then we took a funicular ride to the top of the big hill to see the Olympic Park and to just walk around and enjoy the sun and fresh air.

We happened to come across a few pretty little gardens and passed the art museum on our way back to the hotel (but didn't go in because it was closed).

We had a really nice time in Barcelona and think it was time and money well spent. If you'd like to see more pictures, here is a link to the Picasa web album.

Barcelona Feb 2011

One More Year

For those of you that don't know yet, we extended Brent's work contract for another year. We decided that we aren't quite done living here (for several reasons) and Brent's work team is short a few people this year so they asked him to stay on. So now we are moving back to LA around February 2012.

It's a little strange having a definite end to this whole adventure. Basically, we have 52 more weeks to get the most out of it. We re-evaluated the list we made back in 2009 of all the places we want to see and discovered that there is a lot left to do, so we better get cracking.

This year will include trips to Spain, The Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, the Baltics via a cruise, Moscow, Devon/Cornwall, Scotland and lots of London catch-up (museums, shows, etc that we haven't done yet). Phew! It sounds exhausting but I honestly don't know how I could live with myself if we moved back and we hadn't seen all these places.

To start it all off, tomorrow morning we are jumping on a plane to spend the weekend in Barcelona. Olé!

Top Ten Greatest Hits

Today is our 7th anniversary. 7 years? Is that right? I can't believe it's already been 7 years. As I was lying in bed last night trying to fall asleep I thought about some of the defining and most memorable moments in our 8 years together (our wedding anniversary also happens to be the anniversary of our first date, the year before). So without further ado and in no particular order, here are our top ten greatest hits:

1: The few days leading up to our first date. Oh, the anticipation! There was *something* in the air and I just knew he'd be asking me out soon and that it would change the world. In those few days we had snowball fights, 3 hour long chats on the internet, caught the other staring several times and made up lame reasons to "need" to stop by the other's apartment to borrow something or another. I think I had butterflies in my stomach for days.

2: Our first date. We watched movies and ate pizza and since we didn't want the date to end we went on a walk around campus, in the snow. It was freezing but we didn't want to go home because we knew we wouldn't see each other for 2 weeks. Finally, Brent gathered up the nerve to hold my hand and we walked home, shaking from cold with giant grins.

3: Our first kiss. Brent didn't want to kiss me until he was sure we were serious and that he loved me. This, I did not know so I spent the first month of our courtship waiting, not so patiently, for a kiss. It was worth the wait and it was hilarious. We had spent the evening with my roommates and girlfriends watching movies and it was time for him to go home. I walked him outside and shut the door behind me. We stood talking for a minute and then heard my friends inside singing "Kiss the Girl" and I could tell they were taking turns peeking through the peep-hole. We moved a little to be out of sight and then he kissed my cheek (to "test the water" as he says) and then it happened. The shortest, most awkward little peck you've ever seen. And we were both so embarrassed we just said good night and he hurried down the hall as I hurried inside. The next afternoon, as we were sitting on his couch, he told me that he loved me. I was so surprised that I think my response was "me too".

4: The proposal. Most of you have heard the story already. Here's the short version: He had an internship over the summer in Washington DC (my favorite city) so I went to visit him for the 4th of July (my favorite holiday). We walked around and saw sights all day then at the FDR Memorial, in front of a stone waterfall garden, he popped the question. I said yes, we hugged, I cried, we kissed, passers-by smiled. Then moments later, as we rushed down to the waters edge, the fireworks started. And in case you were wondering, fireworks look really cool reflected in a diamond ring.

5: The wedding day. Obviously. So much happened that day and a lot of it I don't remember but I do remember sitting in the temple, holding hands thinking "Yes! This is *it*! What I've been waiting and preparing for my whole life. And boy, am I lucky. How did I score this guy?" My mom said after the ceremony when we were getting ready to walk out of the temple, Brent was sitting at the end of the hall waiting for me to come from the dressing room and as we were walking towards him she saw a look on his face that said more than a thousand words could. She says she could see in his eyes how much he loved me and knew right then that we'd be happy forever.

6: The first year. We had no clue what was going on because we were lost in a haze of newlywed bliss. We both had full time school and 2 jobs each but it didn't matter. We barely saw each other but it was so fun to be playing house for real that we didn't care. Our apartment was tiny and most everything we had was hand-me-down and we were far past "broke". We taught the Sunbeam class (3-4 year olds) at church and would occasionally splurge and go to Wendy's for the dollar menu for date night. It was everything I'd ever dreamed of, only better.

7: The day we found out Brent got the job in LA. We were at Sonic trying to decide what food to order. It had been a long few months with several phone interviews and flying all over the country for job interviews so we had been expecting a call from any one of the companies at any time. The call lasted about 1 minute and I couldn't hear the other end of it, only Brent's half. I wasn't sure exactly what was going on until he hung up and said "I got it. We're moving to LA". I don't think we even ordered food. I think we just went straight home and started calling our families. It was so exciting and scary. Just the 2 of us, in a big, crazy city, far away from family.

8: The time Brent saved me from a bear. Ok, it wasn't a bear it was a drunk lady but still. Back story, I LOVE camping and we used to go every year with my family in California (can't now that we live here but anyway). The problem is I have an irrational fear of bears so I'm super paranoid and make Brent sleep on the side of the tent with the door. (Because bears use the door?) One night, I woke up to Brent yelling in the deepest, scariest man voice you've ever heard, "Who's there?!? What do you want?!?" Then an obviously confused, drunk, and now scared lady apologized and found her way back to her own campsite next door. It was hilarious and also educational because I didn't know Brent had a scary voice. I think it would have actually scared away a bear. His side of the story is that he awoke to scratching on the tent and thought "Oh great, Emily was right, bears do try to get in tents" but then realised that they were looking for a zipper and that it must be human. But, being half asleep, he couldn't control his volume and his thoughts came out loud and threatening. What a good Papa Bear he'll be.

9: The day we found out we were moving to London. I was cooking dinner and Brent walked in the door of our apartment and shoved a packet of papers in my face. He didn't say a word, just stood there waiting for me to read it and react to the news. I'm pretty sure we went from shocked to running around the house like little kids that found out they were going to Disneyland or something.

10: Travels. We adore travelling and have several memorable road trips to see family or as romantic getaways. He's surprised me with trips and I have for him. I emailed Brent and asked if he had anything to add to our list and both things had to do with travelling. We walk, a lot. And not just because we live in Europe. From our first date, we have always taken long walks to talk or to get from point A to B or to take in the scenery, and as Brent says, "they don't even have to be on the beach" Sometimes these walks are planned sometimes they are a result of poor choices and sometimes they are to save money or to avoid crowds. Some of these walks have been like on our honeymoon when we got on the wrong bus to get back to the hotel then the buses stopped so we had to walk 5 miles, on Christmas Eve night, with out a map through downtown Houston. Or our date night walks up and down the hill to Universal City in LA. Or when we walked the cliffs of Dover in the pelting rain. Or when we walked through the hills of Scotland with Cami & Luis for amazing cliffs and ocean views. Or walks with our nieces and nephews along the lake in the mountains where we camp every year. Or the waterfall hike in Wales with Molly & Andy that was twice as long and hard as we planned it to be, but still worth it. We love to see the world and sometimes it's fun and sometimes we have to wait a few months or years to laugh about it.

As I look back at those young kids jumping in with both feet 7 years ago, I don't think they could have imagined all the experiences and stories and tears and laughs and sleepless nights and exhausted sunday naps and doctors appointments and miles and crappy hotel pillows and photos and passport stamps in the following years. I just hope we have just as much fun in the next 7.

Happy anniversary to us!