Hello, Cyprus!

Four weeks ago today we flew out of Istanbul and headed to North Cyprus for some much needed vacation. We hadn't been on a real vacation in two years (since we went here), so it was definitely needed! It was so good to just relax and swim and visit with friends. There doesn't seem to be much to do on North Cyprus, but that was fine because between two preschoolers, a toddler, a baby, and a rental car that wouldn't hold all of us (in our own seats) and our stroller, we just ended up staying at the resort most of the time.

The view from our balcony of the offices, pools, restaurant, and shops at our resort.

The view off our balcony toward the water. We watched the sun set every night.

Our living room.

We were headed to Istanbul (and I got LASIK while we were there!) so we investigated places we could visit that wouldn't cost too much to get to. North Cyprus is what we found.

Noel had fun!

The harbor in Girne.

And while North Cyprus itself didn't seem to have much to offer, we did have a good time at the resort, just swimming,

napping,

and playing in the sand at the beach.

We also left the resort a few times and ate out,

drove on the wrong side of the road, 

spent some time together as a family,

(Sadly, this is the best family photo we have from vacation!)

and climbed some castle walls.

All in all, we just hung out, chatted, ate out, and got some sun.

And it was great. It's seeming that our pattern for a "real" vacation is about once every two years. Any suggestions as to where we should go in 2015?

A Visit with the Brookses

Today something fantastic happened.

I got to see Kevin and Emily for the first time in over three years. Now you see, me and Kevin and Emily go way back. In fact, we met around exactly seven years ago at the airport in Warsaw, Poland, when I went to meet them for the first time. We've been close friends ever since. While we haven't lived near each other in about six years, we're the kind of friends that just pick up where you left off. Our friendship was forged in the toughness of living in a country other than your home country, and nothing can change that. Some people don't understand how you can be friends with people you rarely see and don't talk to that often. But if you have those kinds of friends, you understand: some friends you don't need to see everyday for them to be your best friends.


Me and Emily on the Baltic Sea. We took a semi-vacation together back in 2005, before any of us had kids.


In 2007 Shannon and I drove to New Orleans to see Kevin and Emily. James was about eight months old then.


Today: Shannon and Lane, me, Emily, Kevin, Beth (almost two) and James (almost four).

I was very proud of both Emily and myself: neither of us cried upon saying goodbye. But it's never really goodbye. Instead it's always "see you later," even if "later" is three or four years from now.

Fun in the Sun

I think it's finally spring in Alabama!


Being pushed around in the stroller is exhausting!

On Sunday our friends Greg and Diana (and daughter Ava) came down from North Carolina to spend a couple of days with us. They have some other friends (well, they're our friends too, but they're better friends with Greg and Di) here who just had a baby boy two weeks ago and they decided to come and visit us all and then head to Florida over Greg's Easter break.


It's the baby brigade! Jerri and Isaiah, me and Lane, and Diana and Ava

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, so we invited Jayson and Jerri to come over and we'd all go for a walk at a nearby lake. We walked around a bit, getting some exercise and just chatting, and fed the ducks while Ava tried to catch them (and Greg and Di restrained her). Diana and I went to Target where I got new pajama pants (my late, late birthday present from Shannon) and sunglasses (my 2-years old, $1 sunglasses from H&M finally broke in half the other day), and then we picked up barbecue from Full Moon Bar-B-Que and brought it home to go with homemade squash and green beans. We played cards while the kiddos slept and just enjoyed hanging out with each other.


I see your pacifier and raise you one!

Diana and I know each other from our time in Poland. We lived in different cities but I met her the day she got off the airplane and she spent a couple of nights at my apartment. We spent some holidays, birthdays, and vacations together in her two years and my three years there. We were roommates my first year and her second year in graduate school. And Shannon and Greg were roommates for the semester before we all got married. They hosted us for our last meal in North Carolina before we left. Diana was a bridesmaid in my wedding, and we cut short a vacation in Hawaii in order to attend theirs. In short, we're all really good friends. It was so good to spend time with them and for them to make the 12ish-hour drive with their almost-one-year old in order to see us. Good friends are worth more than their weight in salt. :-)


Diana, Greg, and Ava (who'll be one on Easter!)

New Years and Birthday Celebrations

On New Year's Eve, my friend Marci, who was my teammate in Poland, flew in from Texas to spend almost a week with me and our friend Paige. We spent Wednesday shopping, catching up, and getting ready for a couple of parties. Party #1 was a last minute party thrown by Paige and some of her other friends. We dropped by for about an hour before heading to party #2 at Alex and Kristel's. Alex and Kristel are in our church small group and they had wanted to throw a New Year's Party. Unfortunately, everyone else in our small group was out of town! But we still had a blast!


Birthday cake #2 at party #1...strawberry cupcakes.


A "Happy Birthday" tree at party #2, Alex and Kristel's.


Birthday cake #3 at party #2. Kristel ordered these fantastic chocolate cupcakes just for my birthday! How special did I feel?


Happy New Year with cupcakes!


Marci Wii bowling. Look at that form!


Happy Birthday to me! Ok, ok, and Happy New Year to everyone else.


Alex and Kristel, showing us gringos how to dance.

Needless to say, Wednesday was a late night. So on Thursday we slept in and took the morning easy and then we embarked on the adventure of teaching Marci how to play Settlers of Catan. She picked it up pretty quickly and was even game for learning how to play the next version, Cities and Knights. Shannon had played about two years ago but not since, so we attempted to play a few games, learning as we went. It was quite fun, especially since I won! But it was my birthday, so I think I was entitled to win!


Look at all those cities and knights!

Friday I had to return to work, and Marci hung out with Paige over the weekend while Shannon and I went to Asheville. On Monday she hung out with me at work and then we played a couple of final games of Cities and Knights (Shannon won one!) that evening before she left on Tuesday. Overall, I'd rate the visit as excellent. It's always good to see friends who you've known for a long time, or who knew you when you were in the previous stage of life than you are now. I've known Marci for almost five years now, and I'm grateful for every one of them and pray for many more to come!


Marci and I on New Years, all dolled up.

5 Years Ago...

...I was in Spain.


A statue in Retiro Park, the most popular park in Madrid

I had flown from Warsaw to Madrid to spend a week with some friends for Thanksgiving. My friend Sarah lived there, as well as my friend Ben, and our friend Mendy flew from Frankfurt to join us. It was a great week, as I desperately needed the break (after a year in Poland I still had few friends, and around the year-mark is generally when culture shock starts to hit the hardest). So, we spent a week bumming around Madrid.


Ben, Mendy, Sarah, and myself

One day we at at Botin's, the oldest restaurant in the world. It dates to 1725, and Ernest Hemingway was a frequent visitor.


Restaurante Botin

Another day we went to Toledo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Toledo was known for religious tolerance, and many Muslims, Jews, and Christians co-existed there peacefully (before the Muslims and Jews were expelled from Spain, that is).


The Cathedral of Toledo, seen through an alleyway.

And, in November of 2003, I made my first complete Thanksgiving dinner while out of America, and only the second Thanksgiving dinner which I prepared alone. I recall being disappointed with the results, but in retrospect, I think I did fairly well!


Clockwise from sweet potatoes: sweet potatoes, green beans, mashed potatoes, turkey breast, stuffing, sweet potato rolls, and salad.

Ahh, memories. Funny that now all four of us are married and not really in touch anymore, and yet that week I spent in Madrid will remain one of my "greatest vacation" memories, perhaps because I needed the break so badly. Maybe one day I'll make it back there again, but if not...at least I'll have fond memories of the week I spent in Spain.