European Date Night & Smoke Alarms

I realize most married women probably say this and so it doesn't carry much weight, but I really do have the best husband ever. 

I have had a rough couple of weeks, and quite honestly, I still don't feel like I've made a very smooth transition since we got back from London. I know it has almost been two months, but for some reason I just haven't quite been myself since we've been back.

I was getting ready for work yesterday morning and I found the sweetest card ever from Jordan. Without divulging too much and embarrassing him, I'll just share one line that he wrote to give you the gist of his plan:

"Tonight is all about you and I relaxing and slowing down like we were back in our flat in London without a care in the world."

I always read cards twice, and I cried. Both times. 

So I walk in the door when I got home from work, and there was this awesome appetizer display on our coffee table. One of our favorite discoveries in Europe was gourmet cheeses dipped in honey, so he recreated that and picked out different specialty cheeses for us to share with honey, crackers, and some wine before dinner.

Maggie always seems to find her way into every picture... :)

Next, on to the main course...

We both absolutely loved the Mediterranean food when we were in Italy, but I never got to have my favorite seafood, lobster, while we were there. So for the main course Jordan cooked asparagus, cheese risotto, and LOBSTER!!! Can you believe it?! I would have never guessed he would cook lobster in a hundred years!

I'm not just saying this to be nice (those of you who really know me know I don't do that!), but the lobster was absolutely delicious! And it looked so gourmet -- nice job, babe!

We decided to go on a walk around the park near our house to let our stomachs settle, and then came back and Jordan fixed up dessert -- banana and Nutella crepes!! Another one of our favorites from Europe. They were to die for, and needless to say, they were all gone before I could get any pictures. :)

As if the whole night wasn't amazing enough, Jord gave me a legitimate, full body massage. Don't worry, this is a PG story, I promise. Well, maybe PG-13. :) He covered all the windows in our room with blankets to make it dark, and then lit like 50 candles in our room before he would let me come in. It was so beautiful and romantic, and totally relaxing...

Just when I started to get cocky and think to myself, "Wow, we are totally starring in a romantic music video right now," the smoke alarms started going off! And let me tell you, not very many things in our house are top of the line, but I think we might have THE LOUDEST smoke alarms in the history of the world! And we could not get them to stop for the life of us -- I'm practically naked running through the house trying to find a broom, Jordan is frantically trying to tear the whole alarm apart, Maggie is looking at us like we're idiots -- it was a total circus! We finally got it to stop, looked at each other, and busted up laughing. 

It kind of made me stop and realize that the imperfections of our life together are sometimes what makes it fun and real... and perfect in its own way. 

Christmas in July

Try not to be jealous, but I get two Christmases every year.

Christmas in December consists of trees, presents, hot chocolate, family, snow, ornaments, yummy food, Christmas music, white lights, and the absolute indescribable joy and love I am always surrounded by on Christmas morning.

Christmas in July consists of vodka watermelons, fireworks, sun, the lake, bonfires, s’mores, family, friends, yummy food, fishing, and the pure, unadulterated all-American feeling of summer… also known as the Fourth of July.

I think my cousin, Megan, and I Facebooked back and forth to each other probably 100 times the week leading up to the Fourth about how excited we were! The Fourth always ends up being the perfect combination of fun and relaxation, and of course, yummy food.

Have I said “yummy food” three times already in this post?!?!? Hmmmmm…

Speaking of yummy food, my Mom gave me the brilliant idea of making a vodka watermelon for a fun snack on the Fourth. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to partake in eating it (me and vodka are no longer speaking), but it was a fun summer treat, nonetheless!

We had a total all-star cast this weekend up at the lake – my parents, Jordan & I, Megan & Chris, Penny & Rich, Grandma Ha, Lorna, Rio, Nick and a bunch of his friends, Leo, the McMurray Family, Nicole & Marc, my grandparents, and Maggie and Charlie, the dogs. :) We missed having Lindsay, Cilya, and Sara there!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend...

Jordan and Rio collecting rocks for a sand castle. Rio is my cousin, Cilya’s, daughter and was the flower girl in our wedding. She absolutely adores Jordan!

Jordan taking Maggie out for a swim to cool off!

Chris, Jordan, and Megan having one of many great conversations around the table on the new deck. Notice there is always a snack involved. :)

I love this picture of Megan and Chris on the surfboard… totally double-fisting vodka watermelon and a beer. Now that’s talent!

My Mom and her twin sister, Penny. Yes, they are twins, I promise!

My Dad is the ultimate fisherman, and he is also the most patient man I know! He took all the little kiddos out fishing!

Letting the fish go, and watching them swim away -- some kids never grow up! :)

Nicole, Megan, and Charlie out on the point playing ladder ball.

Megan and Chris were worried their dog, Charlie, wasn’t going to be a water dog. Well, let’s just say they don’t have that problem! He would literally stand in the water just like this and not move an inch for 45 minutes at a time -- it was absolutely hilarious!

My Mom with her famous Fourth of July gooey brownies, of which I ate half of the tray by myself. :)

Photo shoot on the deck!

Mom and daughter picture -- me, Mom, Megan, and Penny.

Tampien family picture...

Couples shot! Marc, Nicole, me, and Jordan...

One of my all-time favorite humans! Darcy and I...

I hate to sound conceded, but we really do have one of the most beautiful spots on the lake. Sometimes when I’m having a bad day, I’ll think of this view and it always helps me relax and realize how lucky I am to have such an amazing lake place… it’s our own personal slice of heaven!

Once the sun goes down, the Fourth of July really begins at Murphy Bay. Fireworks, bonfires, s'mores, oh my! :)

We had such a great weekend, and are so thankful to get to celebrate being American! I just had to post this last picture of Maggie -- she was so tired from the weekend that she fell asleep before we even reached the car bridge on the drive home, which is less than 5 minutes from the cabin! So sweet…

To see all of our pictures from the Fourth of July, click here.

Hoopfest Weekend

Growing up, Hoopfest was never really a big event in my family. I played in it a couple times as a kid, but we usually just went to the lake instead. That all changed when I married Jordan. Hoopfest is his favorite time of year in Spokane -- case and point, he played on not one, but TWO teams this year! Team one was a co-ed team with Jordan's brothers, Joel and Joseph, and sister-in-law, Julie. 

Jordan tries to convince me to play on a co-ed team with him every year, and he thinks I'm kidding when I say no because my parents won't let me. When I used to play basketball, I would get so fired up and my parents were always afraid I was going to hit someone. And they were probably right. :) Volleyball was a much better choice for me...

Since Joel and Julie are both in the Army, they got Army uniforms and their team name was "In the Army Now." It was a little traumatic the night before Hoopfest watching them all try to turn their t-shirts into cut-offs, which, as you can see, turned into an absolute comedy... :)

Joel, Julie, and our nephew, Beau, stayed with us all weekend, which was a blast! Joel has been in Atlanta for the last 6 months doing Army training, so it was a great reunion to have their family back in Spokane for a little while.

Here is Julie shooting a free throw in their morning game on Sunday...

They won their first two games on Saturday, and had a rough day on Sunday, losing their first two. Here is the result of having four competitive people on a team during a timeout... :)

Jordan's other team was with his law school buddies, Nick and Shamus. Nick's wife works at Weldon Barber and was able to get their team sponsored by Weldon, which meant they got free uniforms, food and drinks all weekend, and their entry fee was paid for! Pretty sweet deal!!

The Weldon team won two games and lost one on Saturday, and ended up winning two before they lost their last one on Sunday. I think they ended up in the top 5 or 6 of their bracket.

Here is Jord, shooting one of many free throws... Hoopfest is such a physical tournament. It's seriously like playing football on pavement, without pads or refs.

There was actually one more guy on their team who's not in this picture, but here are the future lawyers from GU -- Shamus, Nick and Jord.

Shamus and Nick are definitely Jordan's closest friends at school, and I just so happen to love both of their wives, Breanne and Katie! The joke of the day was how our roles as wives instantly turned into water girls at Hoopfest... :)

It was so much fun to watch Jordan play basketball, and I have to admit, Hoopfest is definitely growing on me. However, I make no bones about the fact that the huge shaved ice cones are my FAVORITE part of Hoopfest! If there weren't shaved ice cones, I probably wouldn't go! :)

Needless to say, we were all hot and exhausted by the time we got back to the house Sunday afternoon. Uncle Jordan had the brilliant idea to show Beau how to run through the sprinklers in the backyard to cool off... 

I don't think Beau was quite prepared for the freezing cold water, and he was not very excited about it! I love this picture of the two of them though.

Despite being a little unhappy and soaking wet, Beau still mustered up his cute camera smile for his Aunt Whitney. He's such a trooper!

Julie and Joel watching the sprinkler masquerade from the patio...

Beau fell in love with Maggie this weekend, and was so curious about everything she did. He was totally enthralled with her dog door, and at one point we saw him contemplate going through it! So funny!!

He also wanted to be everywhere Maggie was. He loved sitting in the little bed we have for her on the couch, which was just a wee bit too small for him. :) He's getting so big!!

All in all we had an awesome weekend! Friends, family, sun, basketball, shaved ice, BBQs -- you really can't beat it!! We decided between Hoopfest last weekend, and the Fourth of July this weekend, these are two of the best weeks of summer.

A Fresh Start

I've been going back and forth about the blog ever since we got home... Should I keep it going? Should I not? Will people think we are totally self-involved for posting about our lives, even though nothing specifically "exciting" is going on? No more living abroad, no babies in the near future, nothing "exciting" or out of the ordinary...

Just day-to-day life.

After much deliberation, we decided (and yes, I can say "we" because I asked Jordan's opinion) to keep the blog around, at least for a little while to see how it goes. Quite honestly, I've kind of missed it the last month. Well, okay, I've kind of missed the care-free life of having the blog be my only real time commitment. :) Which explains why coming back to reality has been a harder transition than I thought it would be!

It's crazy that we've only been back for a month, yet London and our life there already seems so distant. I find myself looking at all our pictures lately to remind myself that those 5 months really did happen. They seem almost surreal.

Okay, shifting gears...

My plan for the blog is to post fairly often about any fun projects we're doing (i.e. the Extreme Makeover we're currently doing on our backyard), fun trips or vacations we take, the everyday funny happenings of life, and anything else I think is post-worthy. :) I also really want to make photography a legit hobby, and I think having the blog will keep me accountable for taking pictures more consistently.

So with that said, here's to a fresh start in our life back in Spokane and in the blogging world!

Home Sweet Home

We made it safely home from London late Wednesday night after a long travel day, to say the least! We calculated it with the time change, and we were awake for almost 26 hours. Ugh! But it was definitely worth it for the feeling of finally being HOME.

My parents and my sister picked us up from the airport, and they brought Maggie along, which was a surprise. I have been so worried about her remembering us when we got back, but my fears were slightly resolved because when she saw us and we called her name she started piddling on the floor!! Okay, I know this is probably gross to most of you, and yes, I realize we were THOSE people whose dog was peeing on the floor at the airport. She used to do that as a puppy when she got too excited, but hasn't done it since. I know it sounds kind of gross, but I couldn't have hoped for a better reaction. :)

We came home to a spotless house -- Josh had cleaned it top to bottom! And Angie made us this cute sign that was hanging up in our living room.

Also, my Mom had planted flowers in our flower boxes outside, and she got Maggie groomed the day before we got back.

Everything was picture perfect for our return, which was so sweet and thoughtful. Although, we kind of ruined the picture perfectness in less than five minutes with our 250 pounds of luggage exploding everywhere. :) It has taken almost two days, but we are finally almost finished unpacking and moving back into our house!

In our defense of why it has taken so long, we hit the ground running the very next morning after we got back. Jordan started two of his summer classes that day, one of which started at 6:30am and was three hours long!! He is such a trooper. I would have skipped for sure! Right when he got back from class, he woke me up and we went car shopping. We sold my Beetle a couple months before we left for London, so we were down to one car, the 4Runner. We knew what we wanted, and Jordan had researched a lot online before we came home, so the process was actually pretty quick.

So yesterday morning we drove home our new car, a 2004 Nissan Xterra!

Okay, so this picture isn't our exact car, but I haven't been able to take a picture yet and I found this one online of the same year and model. :) Ours is silver, just like this one. We love it! I have always wanted an Xterra, and we were pretty set on getting something with 4-wheel drive after the last couple winters we've had in Spokane.

Other than that, we are just trying to transition back into our lives here. It's funny because on the flight home, Jordan and I both suddenly felt like the last five months almost didn't seem real, like maybe it didn't happen. :) The jet lag hasn't been too bad yet, except for the fact that we have both been waking up around 6:30am every day so far. There is so much we want to get done and get caught up on, and so many people we want to see... it's a little overwhelming, but it's nice to know we don't have to do it all today!

I'm having mixed feelings about the blog at this point. I've had a few people tell me I should keep it going even now that we're back, but I've always just thought that blogs work a lot better for people who are living abroad or for people who have kids. Obviously we won't fit into either of those categories any time soon! :)

At any rate, thank you to everyone who has followed our adventures on the blog the last five months. We both appreciated your comments and support more than you know!

Saying Goodbye to London

It's hard to believe we are leaving London tomorrow morning and heading back to Spokane... and back to reality. :) 

I was reading through some of the old blog posts last night, and I was overwhelmed when I realized how many amazing things we have been able to do and see in our five months here. We really have been so blessed and fortunate to experience so many incredible things. And even though it took a lot of money, sacrifices, and support for us to be here, I know we'll never once look back and regret our decision to come. 

We thought it would be a fun way to reflect on our time in London by coming up with a list of the 10 Best Things and Worst Things About London, although I'll admit that it was much harder to come up with bad things than it was to come up with good things. :) Jordan helped me with these, so they are from both of our perspectives, and in no particular order. We'll start with the negative things first. And just so you know, the most obvious negative to London was not having our friends and family here! :)

10 Worsts of London

1. Rush Hour on the Tube - Jordan experienced this more often than I did, but it gets really old really fast! Just when you think there is absolutely no possible way another person can fit inside, ten more people force their way in... which makes for some awkward and uncomfortable situations.

2. Weather - The daily weather forecast in London is rainy, cloudy, sunny, windy... it is always changing and totally unpredictable! You definitely don't move to London for the weather!

3. Everything is so Expensive - We finally had to give up trying to look at £1 being $1.50 for our own mental health. Everyday things you wouldn't really think of, like maple syrup (a tiny bottle for £5) or going to the movies (each ticket was £11), really start to add up fast!

4. Size of our Flat - Two hundred square feet. Need I say more? This was especially interesting when adding visitors to the mix. :)

5. Tourists - After being here for a few months, you kind of become snobby about tourists because they are always the ones holding up lines, getting caught in the doors of the tubes, and stopping suddenly in the middle of crowded sidewalks to take pictures of everything. And not to mention, going out in the city on weekends became almost unbearable because of the crowds.

6. Doing Everything More Often - We think it's because of the small living space, but you end up doing everything way more often. For example, washing the dishes (usually twice a day), taking out the garbage (at least once a day), and going grocery shopping (usually 2-3 times per week!)

7. Not Having Our iPhones - Okay, this sounds lame, but hear us out! There were so many times in London when a GPS would have saved our lives, or having the internet would have made life a thousand times easier! 

8. Apartment Living - After having our own house, we're not huge fans of living in an apartment! The noise combined with losing our internet at the worst possible times was not fun. Although I didn't mind not having to do yard work. :)

9. Drinks are Different - Jordan noticed right away that soda in the UK is totally different, and not in a good way! We found out later that they use more sweeteners over here. I, on the other hand, was bummed because the selection at all the Starbucks over here was seriously lacking! :)

10. Service at Restaurants - Jordan calls it "service with a frown." We never realized how spoiled we are in America because in the UK service is not a high priority -- you see your waiter when you order your food and when you need your check, and never in between! Another weird thing is that restaurants here don't let you just order drinks or just order a dessert, they make you order a meal even if they entire restaurant is empty. 

And now for the good things about London! And we want to make perfectly clear that we are in no way trying to bash Spokane. Seriously! :)

10 Bests of London

1. Plays/Theater - We were able to see quite a few musicals while we were here, and we absolutely loved them! It is so fun to have the London Theater as an option for evening entertainment. And they make for great date nights! :)

2. London as a Hub - London proved to be the best departure point for traveling around Europe! We never would have been able to do each trip we did individually coming from the U.S. with such factors as cost, jet lag, etc. The flights and train costs over here are insanely cheap, and the time change is never more than 3 hours.

3. Watching Manchester United - Whether in a pub or at Old Trafford, the game and the fans of Man U were a spectacle to behold. They really are passionate about soccer over here, and it was easy (and surprisingly fun for me!) to get caught up in!

4. Parks - We have a theory that since very few people have their own personal back yard here, London compensates by making their parks huge and beautiful. We loved grabbing sandwiches and our books and heading to a park for the afternoon!

5. Walking - We have learned to love walking. :) We still laugh about the fact that in Spokane we have a Zip's restaurant two blocks away from our house that we always drove to. In London, we walk almost EVERYWHERE! Our definition of "a walkable distance" is anything under an hour... one way. :)

6. Markets - London has an amazing variety of markets that are all completely unique and show off its strikingly different areas, which we came to know as the "real London." The markets really make you realize how London has a little something for everyone.

7. Shopping - Neither of us are huge shoppers, but the shopping here is unmatched to anywhere we've ever been! If I had a limitless credit card, I could get in some serious trouble. :)

8. No One Cares - This might sound strange, but in London it seems like the priorities of appearance are much different (and better) than in the U.S. You rarely see huge buff guys or fake-tanned women. People just seem more "real" here. Everyone dresses to how they think is cool, and no one cares or judges your fashion sense. 

9. Pubs - The pub scene in London is not like the bar scene in America. We really enjoyed the chill, homey atmosphere from the pubs here, and not to mention quality food for really cheap and a place to just go and hang out or watch a soccer game. 

10. Big City Life - In London there is always something to do or something going on. There are always people out and about no matter what time of day or night it is. It was a nice change to live in a city that always felt alive!

We have been packing and cleaning like crazy the last couple days, and we are definitely ready to come home. We both think it will be a mixture of being sad and excited tomorrow when we get on the airplane, which I think is a good thing. We will be sad to leave London, but at the same time we are so excited to be home and see our family and friends, and of course Maggie! :)

Check out all our luggage! Go ahead and get a good laugh while picturing us dragging all this 1/3 of a mile to the tube station...

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers during our 5 months in London. We can't wait to see everyone! Our flight leaves London tomorrow morning at 11:05am (which is 3:05am Pacific Time), and we get into Spokane at 10:00pm. Needless to say, it's going to be a LONG day!! Please say a quick prayer that we have a safe flight.

Last, but not least, we want to say a special thank you to Josh Dietzel for living in our house and basically maintaining our lives while we were gone! Also, to my parents for taking care of our dog, Maggie! We really could not have done this trip without their help, and we are forever grateful. We are also thankful to everyone who took the time to come visit us while we were here -- each trip was so memorable and meant so much to us!

I will probably post once more when we get home to let everyone know that we made it safely. Other than that, CHEERIO FROM LONDON!