Vacationing Overseas

BOSTON, MASS-- You know you had a really great vacation when you come home exhausted and can't stop thinking, "I am so glad we did that!" Isaac and I returned home yesterday from a week and a half vacation to Germany and Israel, and we can't stop thinking about how we are SO glad we made this trip happen. There were so many reasons why we might not have... too expensive, too much time off work, not comfortable traveling so far being pregnant, etc. But, ultimately we figured it was now or never. So, now it was! We had a wonderful time we will remember always. Incredible sites, wonderful to spend time with family (who were incredibly hospitable (THANK YOU a million times), and many touching experiences. Below are just a few of the hundreds of photos we took.

Germany first to see Isaac's brother:

Train ride up the Rhine River to Cologne after we landed in Frankfurt

In Bonn at the gardens behind the Augustusburg Palace

Augustusburg Palace in Bonn

Some neat little grove of trees in Bonn, near Augustusburg Palace

We loved touring all the "old cities" everywhere we went

Hanging out on the Rhine River

Cathedral in Cologne

Isaac, me, and Casey in front of the cathedral in Cologne

One of the trip's highlights: Having dinner with this family who are in Casey's ward. They made us a real-deal German dinner. It was incredible. 

In Aachen's "old city"

Also Aachen

We may have stopped to partake of delicious baked goods like these, every so often

Aachen "old city" with a bag of cookies in my hand

In front of some cathedral in Aachen

Got to watch part of Casey's rehearsal at a cute church in a city whose name I don't recall. The music was beautiful.

On to much warmer weather in Israel to see my brother and his family (and lots of sites):

Isaac in the BYU Jerusalem Center's backyard. What a view, eh?

Funny that it seemed perfectly normal to meet up in Jerusalem with a few of my favorite cousins. Loved seeing them!

At the Western Wall

Wanted to capture some of the fun headware these guys sport. It was so hot too... I can't imagine wearing a fur hat!

At the Dome of the Rock. We weren't supposed to be touching (religious rules there) but forgot. We were quickly reminded. Oops.

At the Garden of Gethsemane. Lots of Olive trees behind us.  

I think I took a million pictures of this sunset on the Mediterranean Sea near Rob's house. So beautiful. We tried to squeeze in beach time whenever we could.  

Another sunset picture. I could have stayed and stared at this forever (until it got dark, of course). Actually, I think that's what we did.

At the Garden Tomb. One of our favorite places in Israel. So powerful. It alone made the entire trip worth it.

Golgotha (now a bus station)

Inside the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

The spot where Mary apparently laid Jesus after he was born

Favorite meal in Israel: Arabic food. Chicken, couscous, and an eggplant tomato sauce, along with freshly squeezed Pomegranate juice. SOOOOOO good! 

A view of part of Bethlehem. We had a blast driving around the narrow roads, getting lost.

Sea of Galilee from Capernaum

Ate lunch in Tiberius, right on the Sea of Galilee. Ate "St. Peter's fish" caught fresh from the Sea to honor the occasion.

Had the best hummus there too! 

In Caesarea at an old theater with my niece, Ella (isn't she so cute?! I love her)

Isaac and Michael made it to the top of the amphitheater!

In Caesarea, where they used to hold chariot races (and other gruesome sports) behind us

Exploring the ruins

Loved hanging out with Rob and his family! Michael and I played no less than 50 games of Uno while I was there. 

Isaac with a great view of part of Caesarea behind him.

Caesarea, right on the Mediterranean Sea (we got splashed by the tide coming in, hence the spots on his shirt... he's not sweating that bad. ha ha)

Jaffa, a really old port town, and my increasingly chubby, pregnant self. 

Met up with Rob for lunch on the Mediterranean Sea our last day in town. The view was spectacular. 

View of Jaffa from near where we had lunch

Everywhere we went, we could spot these beautiful, bright, vibrantly colored flowers. They were breathtaking! 

That was a lot of pictures. If you made it to the end, congratulations! And if you have the opportunity to go to Israel ever... good grief: GO!!!!  It will be well worth the long flight, rest assured. All the tourist sites aside, it was just really nice to spend some quality time with family who we don't get to see much. We are so grateful for their hospitality and kindness in entertaining (and feeding) us. We can't thank them enough for such a wonderful vacation! 

Travelling and Other Things

BOSTON, MASS. -- Isaac and I are trying our best to squeeze in as much travelling (and really anything fun) into our lives before December rolls around. Two weekends ago we went whale watching off the Boston coast... and it was spectacular! This past weekend these travel/fun plans included a last minute flight to visit Britt and her cute kids in Tennessee. Oh, how I wish I lived closer to family. They were like a breath of fresh air...

We played at the park, and just had a merry time.

Alivia was all smiles on the swings

 Every time I pushed James on the swing he'd gleefully yell at the top of his lungs, "WOOHOO!"

Yes, I look fat. I feel it too.

How did this kid get so big?! I swear just yesterday I could easily give him a piggy back ride.

We're also headed to see these cute kids next month in Israel, after a little stop here to see Isaac's brother. And sometime before December, I'd really love to squeeze in a trip to see this kid too (and his mom). Other planned weekend getaways include a stop here, here and possibly here.  And this weekend we are going here.  In between all of this, we are having several visitors come, which we are beyond thrilled about!  I may be exhausted from all of this by the time December rolls around, but at least we can say we lived up all the East Coast has to offer before our lives change forever (I realize we can still do fun things post-children... but... you know...).

Thoughts on Boston, Boxes and Babies

BOSTON, MASS. -- We've been in Boston for almost a month now. Wow, how time flies! And thank goodness it is flying, because we are in the middle of a nasty heat wave over here in New England and the sooner we are out of it, the better. I think, somehow, being pregnant makes everything feel a million degrees hotter. I hope that's normal. And note to self: never be pregnant in the summer ever again, if you know what's good for you.

Despite the sickly humid temps though, we have managed to have some fun. We explored a New Hampshire beach, and even braved a Red Sox game on the Fourth-- and boy was it HOT! One thing I would certainly not necessarily classify as "fun" though is public transportation. When I ditched the metro in D.C. to drive to work, I thought I had bid public transportation goodbye forever. But lo and behold, public transit is how things are done around here. It sure doesn't make moving around in the heat any easier. I'll spare you the details.

At Fenway. In 95 degree heat. It was a killer. But the Red Sox won.

 

After a month of living like minimalists, our movers finally arrived with our stuff last Friday (well, some of our stuff). Worst moving experience of my life. I miss the days when I could fit all my belongings in my car. Please don't ever refer your friends, family or anyone you generally care about to these movers. They were a disaster. Our boxes arrived looking like a ton of bricks had been stored on top of them. Some were completely ripped open with the contents pouring out, others were semi-flattened. One of our boxes of dishes marked "fragile" was completely demolished. The good news though, is that most of our stuff arrived and now we are finally starting to feel at home here. I think we're going to like it just fine.

Yes, that box is ripped open, and yes, that is how it was delivered to us.

And now, for some cheerier news... We recently had our big ultrasound, and despite thinking it was a boy for quite some time, our ultrasound revealed our first child will instead be a little GIRL! She was a wiggly one, and has been every time we've done an ultrasound. I am not sure how that will translate outside the womb. But we are very thrilled about the revelation (the gender part... not the energy level)!  In fact, this is the first thing we I hung on our new fridge:

Not many clear pictures of this little wiggle worm, but it's all we've got.

And, that's our update. We're hot, getting settled, and genuinely excited for what lies ahead. In the meantime, I am going to be taking it easy over hear sipping an ice cold drink. Hope all is well with everyone else's summer too!

The Latest and Greatest from Seattle

SEATTLE, WASH. -- For those of you who don't already know, Isaac and I thought we'd add some more fun to our already adventurous year. Check out the video to see our news:



XOXO,
Isaac and Andrea

Thoughts on Dating and Marriage

The words cut to the core: "You better get all your dating advice out now, because no one will want it after you're married." The thoughts came from my soon-to-be husband, when he heard me giving a friend some relationship "suggestions." At first, I dismissed the thought thinking, "No way, I give legit dating advice! Why would it suddenly be irrelevant after I'm married? That's ridiculous!"

And then it hit me. It was as if all the negative thoughts I'd ever had upon receiving dating advice from a married person came flooding back to me. I'd relate boy drama to some married friend or another, more just to vent (and sometimes I'll admit I would hold back, because I was so certain they wouldn't understand), and then their advice would come. I'd generally roll my eyes and think, "yeah right. You have no idea what it's like. You're married. And you got married when you were 21 (or insert any age younger than I was). You don't know what it's like to be 27 and still dating." And then, "...29 and still dating." and "...30 and still dating," etc. After all, they had someone. I just had myself (which I never thought was all that bad, just to be clear). But, how could they possibly know what it felt like to be my age and still dating. They were clueless in my eyes. Clueless about so many things. While they were worried about what kind of diapers to buy their kid, I was still worried about what party I should go to that weekend. Their advice might have worked for them, back when they were single. But I was me. I was different. It was a different time. And they could not possibly fathom what it was like to be me and still single. Not possibly. (I know, I know...)

I'll admit. The part of me that likes to tell people how it is was crushed upon Isaac's statement. "But so and so needs to know this. Someone has to tell them. If not me, then who?! My input is so useful!"

Well, now that I have a few months of marriage under my belt, I've realized all the more that Isaac's words were right. No one wants dating advice from a married person (at least not unless they specifically ask you for it). It's okay to listen and give encouragement. But advice? Forget it. This hit me even more this week when I learned that a dear friend was avoiding calling me recently because I "was married and wouldn't understand." What?! I wanted to fire back, "But I just got married. How am I any different? I'm still Andrea!" As if suddenly my whole persona had changed and I no longer connected socially with her as I once did (just five months ago, mind you), simply because my relationship status changed. But, I didn't say anything. Because I knew. So, instead of offering the dating input I knew she wanted (just not from me), I told her to go read this blog that an acquaintance had recently written on dating, because the advice was pretty decent. She asked if that person was married. Yes, I sheepishly admitted. And she quipped back with, "Well, then what makes her a dating expert?" Okay. Fine.

I still "get it" though. I do. I'll always get it. At least to an extent. Because I was there. Much longer than I have been here. Perhaps a part of newly wed life, or at least part of mine, has been trying to figure out what it means to not be that person. As silly as it sounds. Because I get that life. It brought meaning, value, strength and faith to my life I wouldn't trade for anything. Though I know the years ahead will bring their own value to my life, this new part of me is still figuring out what married life means exactly (please don't mistake that for being ungrateful, because I am extremely thankful). Though, I now understand that the status of being married makes me seemingly unrelatable to those who aren't.

And no one really warns you about that change in all those dating and marriage prep classes.


So, rest assured, I gave plenty of dating advice to friends before October 20, 2012 rolled around. I had to get it out.

One of my fav pictures of Isaac and I while we were dating, that someone stealthily took at church (ha ha)

Taking engagement pictures in Seattle.

October 20, 2012. What a good day.

Thoughts on Birthdays... and Other Random Things

SEATTLE, WASH. -- Inevitably, as my birthday recently rolled around, I pondered what on earth happened to another year of my life. Like, seriously, didn't I just turn 15 yesterday? As reality set in this past month, I audibly gasped in horror at the though of it... At the risk of sounding too dramatic, I'll admit that I can't even bring myself to say the numbers out loud. How did it come to this? Just last week wasn't I trying to figure out what to major in? And the other day... I swear I was road tripping across the country with my mom to my new home in Florida. Three states later, and here we are. Another year. Older. And wiser. I can only hope.

My very wise husband says I need to embrace this. "There's so much good that can come from this age," he said. Mostly sarcastically, I think. "It's not about what it's in the past. It's about what's in the future." And so it is. With the new year, came a new gig at a PR firm. And I'm trying to embrace learning all this new agency stuff. They speak a different language there. Part of me finds it mind-boggling. And I wonder if its because I'm older (translation: wiser) and know that there's a better/easier way to communicate? Or am I just becoming increasingly more stubborn the older I get? Probably the later, as I'm sure anyone who knows me could attest.

So far, though, I will admit, this new age thing has treated me pretty decently. So, bring it on 32! I can take you! Ick. I still don't think I can say that number out loud.

In other news, try this*. I think you'll like it. I hear if you try it every day it'll make you feel more youthful.





*I also added a few strawberries and frozen peaches.