Plain of Spain

Vacation 2009

fun with kites...

Birthday with family- Seagrove, FL

paradise

Our home for six nights, seven days, Grayton Beach State Park.

Summer Vacation

Late August and early September took us to Grayton Beach, Florida (near Destin) for a week-long, much needed vacation. We were pleasantly surprised by the white sand and clear waters of the Gulf. We had thought you had to go to the Caribbean to see this sort of paradise.

sharks!

our friend, the seagull

Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire!

Late last week, I heard a contest advertised on the radio on my way in to work, so I got on the website and registered to win. I forgot about it until the following Monday, when I received an email saying I had won tickets to see Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire in concert in Cincinnati in two days! So after work Wednesday, Aaron and I drove up to see the concert.

While we were among the younger ones in the crowd, the concert was awesome. Chicago did not disappoint, and, along with their cheesy 70s and 80s love songs, they played their big band hits from their earlier days, the ones that I love; among them: "25 or 6 To 4," "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" "Saturday in the Park," and "Make Me Smile."

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with EW&F, because I didn't think I was familiar with their music, but they rocked. During the concert, I realized that I actually recognized many of their songs, including "Shining Star" and "Boogie Wonderland." The original bassist, Verdine White, was on fire with energy, and a riot to watch.

The two bands played a few of their biggest hits together, and kept the crowd on its feet throughout (a little annoying at times since we preferred to chill on our blanket during some songs).

What a great concert... and you can't beat free!

Weekend in Gatlinburg w/ Stoffle-Martin Family

This past weekend, my dad and Theresa rented a cabin in Gatlinburg for a mini-family vacation. The time together was great.... rafting down the river (well, some of us), sitting in our private hot tub, and swimming in the pool.

Oh, and on the last night, when it was just Britt, Jeff, Aaron and me, we went "out," but ended up spending an hour staring at a fascinating spider and her web.

We even found a poor cricket, which we promptly threw in her web, and watched as she wrapped it up in a cocoon of her web to save for later. It was so much more interesting than anything else we could have found to do there.

Six Years

Recently we celebrated our six-year anniversary. Time is so strange. In a way it feels like a lifetime that we have been together; in another way it feels like six years cannot possibly have passed already since our wedding day. We celebrated with a picnic at a local winery at sunset and a movie. Ah, a sunset plus wine and cheese plus a horror film = love. I can't wait to see what the next year will bring us.

Cedar Point

The five of us--Jeff, Brittany, Jake, Aaron and I--all took the long trek up to Sandusky, Ohio, last week to visit the best theme park ever: Cedar Point. It met, and even exceeded, our expectations. Even my sprained ankle didn't cause any problems after I iced it once in the morning and again at lunch. That's how hardcore we roll.

My favorite remains the Top Thrill Dragster (see pic), but other favorites of our group were Millennium Force, Raptor, and Maverick (although Jeff preferred the Tilt-A-Whirl).

Chicago

We took a weekend trip to Ch

icago for Independence Day, after Casey and Marcy invited us to spend the weekend with them. The long weekend was spent walking around the city and along the lake, eating pizza and dogs, and playing games. It was great to spend time with C&M, while exploring a city that Aaron and I had both visited, but never gotten to know fully.
Highlights included the Art Institute of Chicago and the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) with its new Skydeck attraction. What we found was a cool (in temperature and style), shiny city, with crazy Cubs fans and a fireworks display on Lake Eerie.

We're back.

We are now living back in central Kentucky after our 2-year stint in Spain. Life here has been much different, but it's familiar since we both went to school here. The bluegrass state is gorgeous, and offers us lots of outdoor space to camp, hike, bike ride, and run.

We're in a huge time of transition right now, and the waiting is definitely the hardest part. Aaron is spending his days looking for a new job (and I'm helping), and we have no idea where we might end up. We're trying to focus our search to a few states, but the current job market doesn't allow us to be too choosy. It's an exciting time, but also a time of unrest. We want to belong somewhere, to settle down, to buy a house and start a family. But instead we are waiting. And looking. And listening. Welcome to our journey.