Mother's Day Weekend

This weekend has been great! We are currently packing and getting ready to go to Europe. I am excited and nervous. Im worried that Im forgetting something critical like my shoes or a rain jacket, but I have been assured by Brock that I am bringing more than plenty of stuff. So with all this stress of packing it was nice to take a break and spend some time with family.

The weekend of relaxation started friday morning when Brock and I went on a 15 mile bike ride around town. It was more like cardio on steroids. Gig Harbor offers beautiful views of the harbor but along with these views, it offers some of the biggest hills I have seen. The bike ride definitely kicked my butt! On our bike ride we went to this great pizza place called Fondi's. It was really good and to get our Italian celebration on, we ordered italian sodas. YUMMY! After lunch we headed back home and relaxed for the evening. 

  

Later that night we went with the family to the movies to see Dark Shadows. I thought it was going to be allot funnier than what it was. It was weird and at some points scary. But how can it not be, it is a Johnny Depp and Tim Burton creation of course it is going to be bizarre. Overall, I did like it.

On Saturday, we headed over to Pasco, Washington to visit some of Brock's family on his mothers side. I met his Aunt Jody, and his Cousins Wendi and Tracy. Wendi has two little boys and the most adorable baby girl I have met. We played with the kids and headed over to Red Robin for lunch. Afterwards, we went back to their home and played with the kids some more. Its always fun meeting new family and fitting right in. They were awesome and we were a little sad to leave at the end of the day. When we finally said goodbye we parted ways and got back on the road. In Brock's family it is always tradition to stop by in Yakima and go to Miners Burgers. I was burgered out so instead I had some chicken strips. OMG were they good! Definitely a yummy tradition!

This Sunday we woke up early to wrap our presents for mother's day and to prepare dinner for later that day. We went to church and the children were so adorable in sacrament. Mothers day has always been one of my favorite holidays because I can show how much I love my mom and do nice things for her. Unfortunately I was far from home but I called my mom to say Happy Mothers day. I am so thankful for all the hard work she has done to give me the life I have lived. She is my number one role model and best friend. I couldn't wish for anyone better than her. I love you mom!

Overall, our weekend was fun and well enjoyed with family. It was exactly what Brock and I needed before our great adventure. Next time I'll be blogging from Europe! See you then!

Here it goes!!

Brock and I are going to.......backpack across EUROPE for a whole month!!! We leave May 15 and get back June 19. How exciting is that!?!? Okay....you probably thought I was going to share a baby announcement, sorry to disappoint. Europe is exciting enough, isn't it? (I think so). I have been keeping this secret for about 6 months and 9 days already and have been miserably counting down for our departure. Six months is a lot of days, 192 days to be exact, 4,584 hours, 275,040 minutes, 16,502,040 seconds. Yes, a very long time and I cannot wait any longer. Only 4 more days left!!!

So why are we going now? Let me back track just a little. I have been dreaming to go to Europe all my life and I just thought it would never be possible. In between moving to different places, going to school, finding a job, and getting married, going to Europe was just never in my plans. Luckily, we have graduated and don't have to move to Texas until the end of August. We have no worries of school or jobs and all we have in our hands right now is FREE TIME.

When I was in Oklahoma on my internship, Brock shared the news with me on his birthday. I was bummed that we couldn't be together on his special day and he cheered me up with this news. He had been dying to tell me and couldn't hold it any longer. He wanted to go to Europe to celebrate our 1year anniversary. How romantic, yes I know...he's my hubby :) Ever since we have been planning....well when I mean "we" I mean more like Brock has been planning all the details of our amazing trip. I am so blessed to have such a great husband that does all these really nice and meaningful things for me. I truly am a lucky girl!

The reason why we never shared the news was because we didn't want to jinx it. It was too good to be true. Also, we wanted to make sure we had enough money to go. And I know that there are so many of us who want to go but just don't have the opportunity. I didn't want to be a snob and rub it in peoples faces. So we just kept it to our selves, a marvelous secret full of magic! It just made it more fun to look forward to.

So just to give you a little sneak peak. We will be flying out of Seattle to Atlanta. From Atlanta we fly to Madrid, Spain. We will be traveling by train all across Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Greece. Most of the time we will be staying in hostels and I think we are camping out by the beach. I am so excited!

Don't worry, I will definitely take a lot of pictures and post them when I get back. Also, If you have gone to Europe share with me some tips and favorite places you went. It would truly help. Alright well thats it! Now I have to start packing! Thats another challenge I have to conquer, c'mon Im a girl how can I fit a wardrobe in a backpack??!?!?! Wish me luck! Au revoir! (Thats french!)