Decade Accomplishments

Last year I posted our accomplishments for the year, but Ryan and I were talking about all the wonderful things that have happened over the past decade, so I thought it would be fitting to go WAY back!

















Note the date on this photo of Ryan and his sister, Cara. This is where this blog entry begins...at the turn of the millennium. Since this picture was taken the following has happened:

Met and Fell in Love










Got Married











Graduated from UVSC













Graduated from UofU













Moved to Cali










Moved Back to Utah (Bought First Home)













Visited Japan










Visited Europe










Became Parents of 2 Dogs










Became Aunt/Uncle to All of Our 5 Nieces and 1 Nephew (so far)






















Sure the last decade has had its moments of sadness and disappointment, but when we look back at the good things that have happened we can't help but feel very blessed. Here's to another 10 years of fun times! Happy New Year!

Thank You, Santa!

Kiki was particularly happy about what Santa left in her stocking this year. Can you tell?!



















We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Santa brought you all something just as exciting!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We were able to spend Thanksgiving with my whole family this year! It was a lot of fun. I am thankful for my family! And I am thankful for olive hands!

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

I happened to see the meteor that flew through the sky at 12:07 this morning. It was absolutely amazing...like Wow! Ryan and I got quite the shock when it suddenly got as bright as day outside. Then I saw a fiery streak and I knew right away it was a meteor. Pretty cool!

Here is a link to a news clip.

Greece!

Greece was amazing! After going to Italy and being totally impressed I was sure that Greece could only be a let down. Oh, I was wrong! Greece did not disappoint. So let's get started with my top 3.

#1 Favorite Historical Site: The Acropolis



















Okay, this place is OLD! And so amazing to behold! I could not stop taking pictures of this place. It is true. I ran out of memory in just a few hours when I didn't run out of memory any of the previous days. So we had to go back to the hotel and download our pictures so I could take more. It was such a beautiful morning so it made taking pictures all the more fun.



















#2 Favorite Island: Patmos



















We hiked from the shore below to the top of this island to the monastery on top. This place was absolutely beautiful. It was really breath-taking! I really liked that this island was small and there were fewer people. It was a lot more quiet then the other islands. Ryan and I found an awesome restaurant with amazing food and stayed on the island as long as possible.

#3 Favorite Food: Santorini

Santorini was probably my second favorite island. It also is very beautiful. It is an island that is created from volcanic ash and rock. It was once round and then thousands of years ago the volcano erupted and now all that is left is a crescent shaped island with cliffs on the side of the island that blew apart. The white-washed towns sit on the top of the cliffs with an amazing view below.



















As for the food...don't get be wrong, the Italian food was amazing, BUT the Greek food was even better! And we found a restaurant on Santorini called Naoussa that we instantly fell in love with. The locals that ran the place were very nice and the food...well look at how amazing! It was yummy, to say the least!
























Once again, this is just scratching the surface because I also loved the Minoan Palace, the beaches, the beautiful Aegean Sea, baklava, the Street of the Knights, Crete, Rhodes, Mykonos, Turkey, the scary guy in Turkey who tried to steal our kidneys, the amazing museums, the sun, and so much more. So check out our albums if you want to see more pics!

Italy!

Italy was amazing! I can't stop thinking about how wonderful it was. We have well over 1000 pictures, so I am going to limit my blog entry on Italy to my top 3 things. Not easy! And Ryan's top 3 are probably different than mine. But I am the one posting so...here it goes.

#1 Favorite Art: Michelangelo's Pieta
























This sculpture was in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It was so amazing to see in real life. All the art was really amazing. I was able to buy some paintings from street vendors and now they are in my dining room looking amazing and reminding me over and over again of how wonderful Italy is.

#2 Favorite City: Venice



















We went to the top of the bell tower and looked at the view from above and then we walked around the entire island for hours and hours. We got lost a million times and had a blast see it all.
























#3 Favorite Historical Site: The Catacombs in Rome

Unfortunately, we couldn't take any pictures of the actual catacombs. But we got to go down underground and walk through the halls of tombs. It was amazing to imagine all of the early Christians digging all those tombs to put their dead. I think things like this are cool, and I know I sound morbid. The guide that took us through the catacombs told us about the belief that the Christians had of Christ coming again and how they needed to save their bodies for the resurrection instead of being cremated. I thought it was a touching message that made me think about what I am doing as a Christian to make sure that I am ready for Christ to come again.

Okay, those are the top 3 and that is just scratching the surface because I also love the Coloseum, Assisi, Verona, the gondola ride, the amazing food, gelato, Florence, Rome, Pisa, the crazy Italian drivers, olive trees...I can go on and on. So if you are interested in seeing more pictures then check out our albums.

Ready or Not...

Is there such thing as really being ready for a 2 1/2 week trip to Europe!?! I feel like I have been getting ready for months, but I am still not there. I know that there are people out there that make this travel thing look so easy. They leave on a trip and are back without you even noticing.

Hopefully I will get better at this stuff with practice. And hopefully I can find me one of those magic "Preparation" wands.

17 items on To-Do List...2 bags to pack...Quarterly books to close at work...5 1/2 days left to do it all. Maybe if I close my eyes and click my heels three times....