Our impromptu "Baby-moon"

Who buys plane tickets for less than 24 hours from then and randomly goes skiing in CO?  Apparently we do.

Before baby E enters into our lives for good, Los and I wanted to take a last hurrah trip of sorts.  As excited as we'll be to have a family, we'll also miss our own spontaneous vacations.  So when he came home last Monday and said he had the next 6 days off, we got to thinking...  It is almost New Year's Eve, we have no plans...  it's hot, it's flat, and yet, it's December...  where would we like to go?  SNOW.

So on no notice, we cashed in some frequent flyer miles and up and flew to Denver.  About two hours before leaving for the airport, on some good intel from friends, we booked a ski-in/ski-out at Crested Butte , one of the most beautiful places we've ever skied.  Such great powder, and the most charming of towns beneath the expansive mountains...  Since we were so late in getting our flights, we even flew first-class (which makes me never want to fly coach again, dangit), and then got a Highlander (one of the cars we're thinking of buying); it seemed too good to be true.

Of course it wasn't all peaches and cream- getting there took twice as long as we thought it would, due to road conditions and over-turned cars.  I was the lucky recipient of a week-long cold, so I spent the week doing the Neti Pot (quite the experience, though I'm now a HUGE fan) and sucking down whatever meds were okay for preggo ladies.  I also puked once just for good measure.  If I didn't have the expectation that morning sickness would've taken a hike months ago, I wouldn't be as annoyed that I still puked in week 18.  Oh well.

Skiing as a pregnant lady presented it's own set of anxiety.  I hadn't gone last season, and now there's a person inside of me to protect...  with a congested head... at 11,000 feet altitude.  I was a little nervous until I saw the mountain doc who told me his wife skied all three of her pregnancies until 8 months!  Crazy.  At 41/2 months myself, with a body and joints that haven't changed yet, I felt fairly competent.  Also, we chose CB, as opposed to the Vail resorts, which had 20,000 skiers/boarders over the holiday, b/c it is more remote and challenging, scaring away the average Joe/Jane...  Only 3,000 people and mostly good skiers.  After getting the green light from the doc, Los and I had two awesome days on the mountain, covering as much terrain as possible, and only scaring myself on 2 or 3 runs.  I never fell (amen for that), and only had my breath taken away by a couple of steep pitches.  Skiing was so fun, the hardest part, TRULY, was walking to and from the ski valet with all my stuff on at the base of the mountain.  That and Los had to buckle my boots for me:)  What a guy.

The nights were fun too.  NYE, while everyone was out and partying, we got a pizza, and chilled in our suite, watching Alias on the laptop.  After our first ski day, we got luxurious massages, which were a treat.  Living the high-class dream, we had Top Ramen for dinner that night:)  Friday, my friend Katie (one of the pastors at FPC Colorado Springs) came over to join us for the day.  She and I graduated from Fuller together this summer, and she's very encouraging to be around.  After a snowy caravan together Saturday, we had a meal with her in the downtown of the Springs.  We went to her church Sunday, which was so great; and then had brunch with another couple I know and love, Lynsey and Joe, before heading back to Denver and "home" to TX.

Maybe some day TX will feel like home?  But for now, our hearts are filled up with the beauty of the snowy mountains that we took in this past week; the perfect picture of what winter should be like in my mind.  The fact that I got to wear my North Face and puffy, a wool sweater and scarves+ beanies galore for at least one week, will get me through the 70+ degree days that we've returned to.  Happy New Year indeed.

Our So-Called Life: Whirlwind Edition

So the winds of change are a-blowin' with hurricane force! Here are updates:

#1- OUR HOUSE SOLD! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!! In this horrible buyers market, we were really nervous (read: I was really nervous) that I'd be stuck here until winter, with Los having to go ahead of me to TX. The market here has 10 months SOLID of inventory, our agent said she's only selling 3 houses a month!!! Compare this to 2005, when we bought: she closed on a house every other day! She said she took no days off, didn't vacation that year at all, and buyers were running around like mad. The day Los found our house, he was the first of 3 or 4 offers on the FIRST DAY it was on the market! Crazy... NOW the average house is taking 6 months to sell, and those are good houses, not crappy ones...

So the fact that our beautiful home took LESS than a month to get TWO offers, and for us to settle on a buyer and contract is nothing short of a providential miracle! I am oh so grateful, as it makes our move to TX right on time (as we thought out months ago), which NEVER happens! Our next door neighbors have been Geo-bacheloring from VA for 4 months so far with no end in sight, b/c getting out of their house is tricky, our other next door neighbors have put their house on the market TWICE in 3 years, with no luck, and are relocating to CA. Los' brother's house has been on the market in Seattle for 5 months while he's been in NY, and dropped $80,000 and still no offers, another friend's home just took 11 months to sell, so... WOW. I feel really blessed that this worked out so perfectly for us! We didn't make money, as we'd hoped to, but our peace of mind is priceless, as we don't know if we'll ever return to the northwest, and selling just made sense. Is my relief palpable to you?!

#2- WE GOT THE GOLF COURSE HOUSE IN TX! The link I posted this past month was to a slideshow of our fave house in TX (gorgeous custom home on the course: 3 bed/2 bath and amazing features everywhere- like the built-in 48 bottle wine cooler and gargantuan master closet, all of our clothes could fit in 1/6 of it!) We are so excited the owners picked us, when the realtor showed us around, it was by far our fave! We'll have wonderful neighbors (they gather once a month for wine/hors d'ouerves) and it's super safe/peaceful/gated community). After living near I-5 (I am such a light sleeper) I can't WAIT for our home to be somewhere SO QUIET!

So all this means...
#3- WE MOVE TO TX IN 3 WEEKS FROM TODAY! I can hardly believe it, even as I type this! It went from such ambiguity (will our house ever sell?) to GAME ON! So we're having a GOING AWAY PARTY THIS WEEKEND if you want to come? We'll be in Seattle trying to connect with people, and for Los' next race; and at home next weekend, when I may sky-dive with friends. The following weekend we have Kendall's wedding and then I'm going up to Canada to see JJ/Lisa and volunteer at Passion's World Tour stop in Vancouver. That will be fun, even though it means I won't sleep at our own home the last 2 nights we're in it. I'll drive back from Canada Tuesday morn and then we'll be off!

Our probable itinerary is as follows:
Tuesday 10/7- Lake Oswego, OR: playing with the Bishop's and buying stuff where there's no sales tax (can I say Apple store, with my 10% student/military discount?! Boo yah...)
Wednesday 10/8- Redwoods National Forest, CA
Thursday 10/9- Napa, CA and playing with the Flory's
Friday 10/10- Berkeley (maybe?) or Central Coast (SLO/ my parents' house in Los Osos)
Saturday 10/11- Fresno for my mom's 60th bday, woo hoo! Also FSU football tailgating and game with fam, fun!
Sunday 10/12-Flagstaff, AZ (or maybe Vegas, but probs not)
Monday 10/13- GRAND CANYON: we've never been, can't wait to hike around!
Tuesday 10/14- Santa Fe, NM (one of US' coolest, most unique cities, love it!)
Wednesay 10/15- Dallas and Austin, TX (we heart Austin, it's so awesome)
Thursday 10/16- shop and look at furniture (since we're selling ours on Craigslist for the most part)
Friday 10/17- arrive at the beach and new home. We're staying with some friends on the Island for 2 weeks until we can move into our new fab house on 11/2!

Many pics to come in the month to follow! Stay tuned to the life and times of the Evans adventures:)

5 States in One Week... you know, the usual.

Well team, thanks for all the prayers going into the past crazy week of our lives. Everything went smashingly! Of course, there was the one time when I got our flight time from IAH-JAX incorrect in my brain (which I use as my PDA). The Houston gate agent said there was no way we'd make our flight; but we sprinted/sweated (as quickly as one can sprint while carrying luggage anyway) across that gargantuan space and arrived at E-13 with moments to spare. Then we grossed some locals out by wiping away all our sweat (back sweat included) while trying to catch our breath. Whatever.

Other than that, the trip was great. I'm pretty sure I did decently on my exams. Then we had a good lunch with the Zentlers and dinner with the E-R's before we flew south. In Corpus Christi we connected with some people for lunch (from what may be our new church) and found a couple houses we love, that are fabulous and super affordable. We had great time with Kiesha and Dave in TX. We can't wait to spend 2 years with them down there. You should check out her blog, she's been writing some funny things about TX; I'm sure I'll have similar culture shock when we get there.

Once we made our flight to JAX, we relaxed in the company of great friends. I'll have to put pics up, but first we spent time with the Flynt family. They are inspirational to us as parents and as a couple. We played with their cute kids Gavin and Sophie and then enjoyed a good meal and wine as grown-ups. I got to read Sophie (and later the Moseley's daughter Elise) books before she went to bed; that was a definite highlight of the trip for me. I always cherished that time when I was a kid, and then in college as a nanny. It is fun to do it for our friends' kids now, and it is one of the things I know I'll love about being a parent some day.

From the Flynt's, we went to a couple beaches we love in Jax/Ponte Vedra, that was a happy few hours. Los went running and I built a fortress in the sand. Then we joined the lovely Pendleton Clan for dinner and wonderful conversation. Their baby Judah remains our fave little man, and he's just as cute as I remembered him from 6 months ago when they moved away from us. The next night we had steak dinner with the Pound's and Reifers' (the pastor who married us and my Jax host parents whom we love); we talked about religion and politics and all the good stuff.

Next we buzzed through Georgia en route to South Carolina. We stopped in Savannah to pick up Erika, who'd flown in from Denver to join us. We celebrated her 30th birthday (the first of my close friends to reach this milestone!) and had good conversations about seasons in life. I have now been in 10 states with her, I think more than any other friend? (p.s. I rank friends by how many states I've been in with you, though my ranking has no bearing on our friendship)

After getting massively lost on one of SC's many state route 17's, we finally made it to the Moseley's at about 3am. Good thing I was still kind of on west coast time! Besides, what would a road trip be, if you didn't get lost at least once:) We hadn't seen them since our wedding (they lived in Japan 2 years, good excuse!) and we had a fabulous weekend with them, meeting their sweet girls and hugging our beloved Gus, their chocolate Lab. We decided that if they won't give him to us, we're going to have to get a Lab ourselves, because he is the best dog on earth other than Burly. Friday we got to tour the amazing plantation I linked to below, photos of that to come will show how impressive it is. Saturday we walked all over historic Charleston, which was really special for me (to see where my fam came to the States) and Los (we went to the birthplace of his fraternity). It's a fascinating mix of gorgeous architecture, preppy college students, Confederate history, great Low Country food, and cute boutique shopping.

Sunday morning we went to explore Savannah some (Los and I have been multiple times, but E had not), and then trekked back to Jax to fly westward. We were grateful that we missed both Tropical Storm Faye and Hurricane Gustav en route. All in all, a wonderful trip, I'll post pics as soon as I can find our camera battery charger!

Two weeks of blogs smashed into one entry

Here are a bunch of things running through my mind. I don't have long to blog the next couple of weeks, so in no particular order:

#1- When I was in LA last week for my LAST WEEK EVER of graduate school, there was a big buzz on campus that a fellow Fuller alum, Rick Warren (you may know him as the Purpose Driven Life guy) was hosting John McCain and Barack Obama at his church, Saddleback, for a discussion of faith, politics and all things election-related. I wish I could've gone, but my flight was for that morning. There are videos of this up on the internet and I'd encourage ya'll to check it out. I've heard critiques from the Right Wing "how dare you let Obama speak about abortion at a church!" and the Left Wing, "McCain had the upper hand listening to Obama and planning his rebuttal before his turn!" But whatever. I think it's an interesting and cool thing that Rick Warren did to invite both candidates to So Cal for this discussion. Check it out.

#2- Did you know that Louie Giglio of Passion is planting a church in Atlanta?! His worship leaders are none other than Matt Redman (moving here from England) and Chris Tomlin (leaving his church in Austin) and Christy Nockles (whom I love.) It's been something stirring around in Louie for a long time, and though it means leaving North Point and his good friend Andy Stanley, they are fired up about it. I've been thinking about it all day, wondering what it will be like, and how it will diverge from both Passion and NP. It's sure to be a mega-church mega-fast, that's the one thing I know. I look forward to visiting and hearing the podcasts. We can't wait to see Louie when the Passion World Tour comes to Vancouver in October!

#3- I am taking the biggest exams of my academic career on Friday and Saturday for 9 hours. They span the breadth of Scripture and historic apostolic Christianity (from Biblical times, to the early church, the Reformation, modern thought, etc.), and all Theology therein. As I answer, I must also be congruent with the Polity of the Presbyterian Church... I am just a little bit intimidated. So pray for me to pass. It's amazing/humbling how much I DON'T know after all these years studying this stuff!

#4- The night my exams end we are flying to TX. It's a red-eye, not ideal, but we wanted to max out the leave Los gets for free for house-hunting (9 days). We're only going to be in Corpus for 48 hours, but in that time, hopefully we'll find our dream home and I'll get hired at a church. Go big or go home, right? So pray for that too. (and for some sleep) When we leave TX, we're flying east, to spend a couple days in FL (Jax) and a couple of days in SC (Charleston), to see some sweet friends both places; we're hoping for maximum connection time with each party involved. 5 states, all in a week's time!! Are you stressed out listening to the agenda?

#5- Meanwhile, back at the ranch: the first weekend we're gone our realtor is going to have an Open House here. Pray for someone to fall in love with our house and put an offer in for it!

#6- My September should hypothetically be relaxed. I mean, I have to write 31 pages and read a few books to finish up summer quarter. But that's it. Then I am done and done. So if I don't blog for a while, you know why...

Carpe diem. Or something like that.

Bungy-Jumping in Corinth Canal, Greece

What a way to celebrate our independence day half a world away, hucking oneself off a 240 foot bridge?! This canal was started by the Roman Emperor Nero (sound familiar?) and then was worked on by 6000 Jewish slaves (it's 90 meters tall and 4 miles long, connecting the Ionian and Aegean Seas. It was finally finished just over 100 years ago. After seeing ancient Corinth, we opted not to go to Cenchraea in favor of bungy-jumping. 6 members of the group did it, I wish I could have too. Maybe in South Africa?! It was voted best bungy jump on The Amazing Race.

Amber modeling the shirts Zulu Bungy sold

Becky's perfect jump; she went waist-deep in the water, no one else did.

Los getting ready to go



I love this photo. You should've heard him laughing, it echoed throughout the canyon like the wicked witch of the west. If I could figure out how to attach the video, I'd put it on.


Christina caught us smooching after he finished, I was so proud, vicariously living through him.

Los, Becky, Emily, Amber, Susan and Tyler exulting post-jump.

Greece Bungy Jump- 4th of July

This is how Los celebrated America's birthday yesterday, hurling himself 240 ft. down the Corinth, Greece canal. He and 5 of other friends jumped, as we celebrated our last day as a big group and our last full day in Greece. On the bus (between seeing the Acropolis and Mars Hill, en route to Corinth) we heard Luke (unbelievable memory) recite the presidents and give us presidential trivia. That was about the extent of our patriotism for the day. Celebrating our birthday in another country is a bit anti-climactic... However, we did drink to America on the rooftop bar at our hotel which has an amazing view of the city and the lit up parthenon. A sweet last night. We head back to London today and then back across the pond! Can't wait to connect with fam and friends! love you all.

World Cup 2010- South Africa

Maybe one of our next adventures? Who's coming with us?

Netherlands

So my little brother decided last week to up and move to Amsterdam to play baseball for the summer.



I know it's not quite as enticing as asking ya'll to come visit us in South Texas (psych), but if you are in his new hood, go say hi!

Australia- The Land of Oz

It's been a year now, since we flew to Australia. We were reminiscing this weekend, because we did what is now an "annual tradition" of purging out our closets before we left, this Memorial Day weekend. I don't know if we'll ever go back to Australia, but I miss it a lot, too bad I never blogged about it to capture specific things we liked. Metropolitan Melbourne was fun to see. Los got really into watching AFL (Aussie Rules Football) which is an awesome sport, more fast-paced and athletic than US Football. It would've been fun to see it, or cricket, live. By the University and St. Kilda Beach were fun places to wander around, and the public transportation was great. If we'd had more time, we would have liked to do the PCH-esque Great Ocean Road down to the 12 Apostles rock formation.

Cosmopolitan Sydney was a fun place to explore. We met up with Steph (a senior Theta in my Core Group at UW) who was studying abroad and she showed us all around. Bondi Beach was beautiful, the harbor with it's sparkling water and myriad sailboats was a great place to picnic. We ate lunch one day at their fish market, and even tried things like mini octopus that I would never have otherwise. I was excited to see the Ian Thorpe (Thorpedo) Aquatic Center. He wasn't there, though:(

Going to the Opera House, for a Handel performance was a memory I'll never forget. We also took a day hike in the local Blue Mountains, gorgeous, and rode up the World's Steepest Railway (so scary, but fun!) We went to church at Hillsong, one of the world's biggest and most influential churches, that was an interesting experience. We had Kangaroo pizza by the Harbor Bridge one night, but our favorite meal, by far, was downtown at a restaurant called Selah. I painted that word on a canvas for our living room, so we spoke with the owner and asked him about the name; he was a Christian as well, and we came back the next night for dinner. Australians don't eat until super late, so at 7, we had the place to ourselves. Every single bite, from my vegetarian entree to the last scrape of dessert plate, was sumptuous and delectable. Because we didn't have the chance to visit all the fabulous local wine regions, the sommelier educated us and let us sample regional specialties. We're not really sweet wine people, but for dessert, he poured us the award-winning Margan Botrytis Semillon which was like heaven in a glass. We definitely brought a bottle home with us.

Of everything we experienced, I crave the simplicity and beauty of Queensland the most. Even in the "winter" there, it is fabulous weather. The "biggest" city, Cairns, is only 100,000 people... We stayed in a boutique hotel that was like apartments, and you could walk pretty much everywhere you needed too- I love that kind of life. They had a great public park with a lagoon that all kinds of people were playing in, and a miles-long boarkwalk and selection of restaurants and nightlife along the water. We met an ex-pat on the boardwalk, early one morning. I forget her name, but she was probably in her late 60s, and from Ohio. She lived in a high-rise condo across the street from the ocean, retiring there. She had multiple kids and grandkids spread across the US, but she was just doin her thing in Australia. I thought maybe she'd be lonely or sad, but no, she was full of life and had lots of community; and flies back yearly to see the grandkids. Interesting character. But what an unbelievable place to retire- it is so peaceful there and has mountains, ocean and tropical beauty everywhere you look!

The coastline was just like California and Hawai'i, except without the people and development, it was amazing. The Great Barrier Reef was the singular BEST thing I have ever seen or done in my life. I was so full of joy and astounded by the brilliant rainbow of aquatic life there. I loved quaint and sleepy Port Douglas and the Animal Preserve we went to there... Petting koalas and kangaroos was too cool- a definite life goal of mine checked off the Bucket List. We went to an aboriginal village, but it was too commercialized (hey, everyone's trying to make a buck, I get it) for our taste, however, just the drive up there was so great. I made Carlos drive most of the time. In the States, I drive us a lot, but I didn't feel comfortable driving on the other side of the car, on the other side of the road, it was too disorienting. After I took us down the wrong way on a one way street, I was traumatized. Luckily Los had driven in Japan before and it was kind of normal to him. Let's just say that I'm glad we're not getting a car in London:)

So unless for some reason, we ever go back to the Land of Oz, these memories and photos will sustain me:) Thanks for reading of our adventure:)

Going For It- Urban Assault and Fremont Market

Making memories with the weekends we have... Here's a pic from the Fremont Market

We've been talking about getting Burly a sister, and I thought a black Frenchie would be fun. Until I heard how much this one snorts like a pig. (her tutu didn't help either) I guess we'll go with a black Pug after all.

Some pics from Seattle's Urban Assault after-party

It was a team cycling obstacle course/scavenger hunt all around Seattle

A bunch of Pi Kapps did it, and our squadron-mate J-Dub as well

Gotta love lesbians with punk rock mohawks, I saw my fair share of tattoos there too (notice the Texas flag tat on the gal to the right)

Good morning!

A weekend of firsts: cycling, kubbing and golfing, oh my!

We had such a fabulous weekend with friends, and will post lots of pics to show some of our time. I love when random things work out and fire on all cylinders; we were mixing Navy, college and California friends, and the chemistry was great. Friday night we had three friends over for a meal and Settlers. At 5:45 am Saturday, Justin came over to pick up Los and Carl. The 3 of them cycled the beautiful Chuckanut Ridge Loop by our house, something like 36 miles, Los' first time ever riding that far. He wants to do a Half-Ironman this summer (swim:1.2 miles, bike:56 miles, run: 13.1 miles) and the running/swimming are a piece of cake to him. Cycling is the hardest part for him, but Carl (who has cycled across the country) was merciful and he and Justin would slow down and wait for Los periodically.

Saturday afternoon we played Kubb and then went to see the tulip and daffodil fields en route to the best Farmer's Market ever, Snow Goose Produce, where the world's best ice cream is served. Sunday Los and I woke up early and drove to Redmond where he played in the annual Pi Kappa Phi golf tournament, his first time ever shooting 18 holes. Luckily Bish knew what he was doing, and carried their team of 4. The low score was 11 under par and 120 people came out for the tourney. Burly and I walked on the equestrian trails around the golf course, and saw them a few times throughout the day. The miles of trails are beautiful and we saw ten horses/riders during our hour+ walk. We all collapsed from exhaustion Sunday afternoon, but had such a good time this weekend.

Bucket List- last installment: Things to do before I kick the bucket

76. Sell, donate or give away everything we don’t really want in our home
77. Let everything in our home tell a story (e.g. we got these candelabras in Buenos Aires at the San Telmo Antiques Market)
78. Learn how to be more lavish (with self and others)
79. Ski black diamonds confidently
80. Build community with neighbors everywhere we move
81. Play card games (and other games) as a family
82. Use alternative gift markets at Christmas
83. Practice yoga and/or pilates regularly
84. Officiate weddings
85. Officiate funerals
86. Be as good of parents as the Cummins’ are to their girls
87. Try Zorbing
88. Go to Thai beaches and eat Thai food in Thailand
89. Learn how to dance with abandon (without feeling awkward)
90. Find the perfect haircut for my crazy curly hair
91. Memorize a book in the Bible (I’ve seen it done)
92. Go hiking and camping
93. Teach our kids to engage the culture and change the world
94. Learn about Judaism and Jewish Festivals
95. Know my geneology and have my family’s/Los’ family history written down
96. Get heirloom jewelry and china from people in our family
97. Do a polar bear plunge (just once)
98. Get a tattoo with Los (in solidarity with C and J)
99. Make good memories
100. Help others live fully while they’re alive and make friends with death, it is not the enemy, and it is not victorious.

Bucket List- part 3 (of 4): Things to do before I kick the bucket

51. Become more ‘Green’
52. Buy the world’s most comfortable couch
53. Amass furniture that isn’t hand-me-down
54. Have a big tub in the master bath (TMI, perhaps)
55. Get a nice camera and learn more about photography so we can capture our adventures more artistically like Joel
56. Paint a big canvas with our kids
57. Go to a soccer game (football match) in Europe
58. Attend a Puccini opera
59. Get SCUBA certification and go to as many reefs as possible
60. Own kayaks or maybe a sailboat
61. See a manatee up close
62. Go to a Dodgers baseball game with my dad
63. Train my dog not to think he’s the center of the universe (or train myself to think that)
64. Go skydiving
65. Ride a Vespa somewhere scenic
66. Own a Bernese Mountain Dog, or a French Bulldog, or both
67. Exercise regularly
68. Have a flower ‘cutting’ garden to have fresh flowers in the house all spring/summer/fall
69. Cruise from Singapore to Dubai or China
70. On the way, eat Indian food in India
71. Buy some brilliant fabric in India to make pillowcases with
72. Learn how to sew (first step, get a sewing machine, or at least a needle/thread)
73. Have an instant hot water faucet on our sink
74. Live somewhere warm enough that we can grill/eat outside at least half the year
75. Have an ‘outdoor living room’

Bucket List- part 2 (2/4)

26. Drive from Chicago up to Mackinac Island, MI and kayak
27. Teach our kids to develop a habit of gratitude (and make cute handmaid thank you cards for gifts)
28. Have a fountain in our backyard
29. Ski Killington, VT, and/or Jackson Hole, WY (the only 2 good states I haven’t skied)
30. Frame our kids artwork in our home
31. Go to Alaska and climb a mountain (preferably not Mt. McKinley, I’m thinking small, more like a hill…)
32. While I’m there, maybe I can go dog-sledding too
33. Go to Hawaii to snorkel, or ride a bike down a volcano, whatev.
34. Be in a book club
35. Hear the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island
36. Become a Master Gardener
37. Explore Maine in the summer
38. Learn how to be a better DIY-er (laying hardwood, tile, molding, etc.)
39. Have a second home at the beach (Los Osos, probs) or in the mountains in CA (Mammoth, my heart)
40. Go to Israel, Palestine and other Biblical sites
41. complete a triathlon, probably just the sprint distance one (I only like swimming in warm pools, not oceans/lakes)
42. Go to a college football game in the South (at Texas, or Florida preferably, who along with Cal are my adopted teams)
43. Learn more about history (local, national and world)
44. Host an exchange student
45. Build a pergola
46. Have a clean house
47. Buy our first tv (with DVR)
48. Have more rituals
49. Organize my library by topic
50. Have a library I’m proud of (and have read)

My Bucket List- to do before I 'kick the bucket'

Inspired by Annie’s list of 100 things to do in life, I have attempted to write my own, we'll see if I can make it. (1 of 4)
1. Be on all seven continents (2 left)
2. Own an orange cat named L. Tigre (we can call him Teegs)
3. Be published (book, magazine, newspaper, etc.)
4. Live off 70% of our income, save 10%, invest 10% and tithe 10%
5. Go to Charleston, SC (where my dad’s fam came to the US in 1703)
6. Be healthy (which probably means losing weight)
7. Go to Auschwitz and weep
8. Actually stand up on a surfboard and ride a wave in
9. Own a horse (or have regular access to one)
10. Work at a (plant) nursery like my fave Christianson’s
11. Sell one of my paintings
12. Finish out my last 5 of our glorious 50 states
11. Adopt a child from another place
12. Develop a good wine collection and learn way more about the appellations around me and around the world
13. Run a half-marathon with my husband
14. Cheer him on while he runs the NYC and/or Boston Marathon
15. Live close to family and good friends
16. Believe in myself (consistently)
17. Preach sermons in churches around the country/world with confidence
18. Finish a Ph.D. or D.Min
19. Get good at tennis (my forehand is weak)
20. Be able to flip-turn when I swim
21. Grow and eat our own veggies all summer like my dad does
22. Learn how to can them for winter like Los’ relatives do- I think that would be fun to do with kids
23. Learn how to knit and make my own beanies/scarves
24. Do a rafting and houseboating trip on Lake Powell and in the Grand Canyon, AZ
25. Become a good cook

Gas is Brains

A famous saying along Ruta Cuarenta (Route 40) is “gas is brains.” This is no joke; if you haven’t noticed from Joel’s photos by now, this place is not developed hardly at all. It is breathtakingly beautiful for a reason- it is raw nature! So all guide books say to fill up with gas every chance you get, since you JUST DON’T KNOW when you’ll come across gas again! We were smart and had our rental agency mark on our map every place there was a diesel fill up station. Some times it was as ghetto as this picture of a little hut; but beggars aren’t choosers, we were grateful! Getting gas that day was hilarious, Carlos had to go walking around their dirt-road ‘town’ to find the gas person, knocking on doors of multiple homes. That situation was classic in a way that makes me cringe.

One time we stopped at a station to find out they were “out” of gas until Saturday at the soonest- problematic since it was Tuesday! We tucked our tails between our legs and drove 100+ extra miles back to the last place we knew (or rather, hoped) there was gas. Fortuitously, it ended up not being a problem for us. However, friends we met from Chicago, Michael and Alicia were counting on there to be gas at that station; we never found out what happened to them… Hopefully they won’t show up on the side of a milk carton or in those things we get in junk mail some day as missing persons- they were nice.

Torres del Paine (Pie-nay) Part I: Awe

This national park is maybe the most amazing in the world. Hard to say, I don’t know if there’s a competition like that? But I have NEVER seen glacial waters so azure and clean. Joel’s photos will speak to a lot of the ineffable majesty we witnessed. It was breath-taking at every turn, to be honest. Our first afternoon we did a 3 hour horseback ride, looking at the Cuernos, a gorgeous range of glacier-filled mountains. Sometimes, though, it was hard to tell which took our breath away more, the beauty, or the intense wind? I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. My horse was being a brat, but it was amazing to watch Joel, Los and Cara canter away into an Ansel Adams-esque landscape… one of those times you are so filled with joy you want to pinch yourself to make sure what you’re experiencing is real.

South America/Patagonia Photos Up!

Okay friends, the Flory's finally had time to sort through the 2000+ photos from our December South America trip, and made a slideshow you can find here!

I'll start posting the blogs I wrote during the trip and attaching photos to them:) Woo hoo!

Choose Our Own Adventure

Among the joys and stresses in our life (this week), we are flying to interview in Washington D.C. b/c we found out that Los made it to the final round of his application for the amazing Olmsted Foundation scholarship. This is a prestigious and awesome opportunity where, if he is selected, we will move to Monterrey, CA to get language training and then be paid to live overseas for two years for him to get his Master’s Degree in International Affairs. Such an incredible time, that we may never get again in life; we want this really bad!

For a while we were trying not to get our hopes up, but our great friend Jesse reminded us at dinner this week, it’s okay, it’s good to get our hopes up. So they are up! If we don’t get it, no worries, life in the States will continue to be great… But we are going for it. We think we would learn so much from living abroad. And it would be amazing to be paid the same as in the States, while getting to travel a ton, as well as get language training and a degree out of the season.

SO… we had to pick our Top 10 countries/cities/schools to give to the interview board. After a TON of deliberation, here are the finalists! First, let me say, it is crazy to have an open heart toward all of these selections equally. But for very different reasons, they could equally be amazing experiences, so we are fired up. The choices are:
1. Madrid, Spain
2. Cordoba, Argentina
3. Brussels, Belgium
4. Geneva, Switzerland
5. Mendoza, Argentina
6. Aix-en-Provence, France
7. St. Petersburg, Russia
8. Cape Town, South Africa
9. Istanbul, Turkey
10. Cairo, Egypt

Exciting, we will keep you posted!

REI Garage Sale-ing

This morning Los and I did our first ever REI garage sale. It was awesome. This is an event that is nationwide and once to two times a year, on random Saturdays. It is a members-only sale where everything returned to REI for any reason is massively discounted and distributed around the nation to all of their stores. Back in college I used to go visit my friends, who would literally camp out around the Seattle flagship store for multiple nights, in hopes of scoring some killer deals on all outdoor gear and apparel at their once-yearly sale. I am not that hard core. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good deal, but the thought of sleeping outside on a sidewalk in the cold just to go shopping was of no interest to me.

So when the person I spoke to in Bellingham yesterday said their sales were more mellow (read: no shoving people and diving to get things) I was pleasantly surprised. I got off work at 8am this morning, and Los met me soon after. We sipped our coffee and hung out with Burly, chatting and reading for two hours until the doors opened. We were numbers 28 and 29 in line, amazing compared to the hundreds who wrap around the Seattle store in serpentine lines before their sale. By 10am, our line had grown to about 150; still not bad.

We decided to divide and conquer as Los really wanted some jackets and a backpack. I didn’t need anything but a water bottle, and was just curious what was available, so as the masses rushed into the store, I snagged Los a great pack and then perused the women’s stuff. No one was really by me, but tons of people were going after the sleeping bags and backpacks, so I watched in amazement while people reminded me of a scene on Animal Planet, emulating a pack of wolves tearing apart a carcass.

I realized the hot-ticket items were the expensive things: skis, snowboards, tents, hiking shoes, packs and bags. Makes sense, you could get a $400 item for $40. Los found great deals on two jackets, and a daypack, plus the big backpack I appropriated for him; I got a pair of shoes and my water bottle. By the time we left, the check-out line went 50+ yards around the back of the store. We walked to our car with purchases in hand, relieved not to be in that long line, and pleased at our morning and money well spent.