A Year and a Half Later

I can't imagine anyone still looks at this blog. If you do, let me know, as I'd find that interesting. I think it's freeing to write on a blog that you believe no one reads.

As evidenced by the date of last entry- Feb 2010- it has been over a year and a half since we have written a word here. Things have certainly changed and I do wish we'd have documented more. Neither of us journals to speak of, so this was actually a good place to keep somewhat of a record of our life together.

The greatest and most joyful news, of which everyone we know is aware, is that we are the incredibly blessed parents of sweet baby Oliver! Boy was he a surprise. Just Kidding. He is most definitely a gift from God.

On another topic: I wonder about technology. The advances even in the last 5 years are incredible. What I wonder is essentially whether I like the advances or not. I question this particularly where facebook is concerned. Perhaps that is the forum that best displays the positive and negative aspects of the post 2.0 world. I really don't know if we're in a post 2.0 world, so take that to mean nothing other than the technologically connected world in which we live. Anyway, facebook is a time suck, no doubt. But, it also enables me to keep up with friends I care about and no longer get to see much, if at all, due to moves and life changes. I don't think I can expound anymore right now, I need to go to bed.

I wonder if another 20 months will go by before I write here again?

Krakow, Poland

Athens, Greece

Eurostar to Bruges

Because this is the most recent thing I've posted (not at all the most recent trip) I will here explain a little. We have done a horrible job of keeping our blog up to date. We went to Bruges in June of 09 and it is such a lovely city. Please know that the posts surrounding this one will be out of order and date etc.

Prague

Istanbul Christmas

Tenerife, Canary Islands

brown beaches, yes, but look at that sky.

England, wasting film. This trip was like a second honeymoon- especially in the sense that we had to rely on disposable cameras to capture it all (couldn't find our camera, which turned out to be in the glove box).

Jordan is so cute! This is how he always leaves our house--he will turn around just before exiting the gate and exclaim--bye bye cottage, wish us well, see you later, we'll miss your smell. I don't know where he picked that up. I think he said his dad used to say something similar when he would pull out of the driveway.

Yes, I am taking this, outside our house the day we got back. Ashley said she really liked this pic; which i took to mean that she had something against the top of my head. Don't know?

When we arrived they seemed in a bit of a faff. We're assuming they lost our reservation, but we didn't care, as they upgraded us to a junior suite. Breakfast and dinner included. LOVELY. This is the view from our balcony. There were lots of Germans here, interestingly. Applarently the joke amongst British people is that when you go on holiday and Germans are there the Germans go out in the wee hours to stake their claim on all the pool chairs. We did alright. If it isn't obvious that is the ocean just beyond the palm tree. It was nice, you literally walked out the back gate of the pool and were right by the ocean. There were always alot of surfers out there.

Tenerife is on a volcanic island, hence the dark sand.

I was really trying to capture the edge of my finger but ended up taking a picture of the beach....so I thought I would include that here

out for a walk, just lost a flip-flop to the ocean but recovered nicely....the waves were crazy here....I am really living on the edge so to speak. the excitement put this big smile on my face.

A HUGE wave came up and knocked me over and I lost a flip flop, but, amazingly, it came back to me. The ocean is 0 for 2 on my flops.

Same spot, but if you notice Jordan is backed up away from the waves where he can't get knocked over. Some would call it sage understanding of the way the ocean works, some would call it learning from others mistakes--me, I call it chicken!

The cute British man who offered to take our picture initially pointed the camera at himself. I had to tactfully tell him he had it facing the wrong way...

Ashley will often try to draw attention to herself by going through this elaborate process of putting on sun lotion. I usually try to buy the spray on kind (aerosol). However, she tends to argue that unless you are rubbing it in then it doesn't work as well. So, we tend to compromise and buy the stuff that you spray on but then it just sits there on your skin. Which is actually pointless because then you have to rub it in anyway. So she likes to squirt a bunch of sun screen on, because everyone knows that the more you put on the area the better the protection. The math is approximately: SPF 30+rubbed in three times + an extra gob that didn't get rubbed in = SPF 145. Then everyone usually claps at the end of the performance.