Ode to Brandon

Yesterday I celebrated the birth of my favorite person...

THIS GUY!!

I have to thank his parents for bringing him into this world 31 years ago and subsequently raising him to be the stud of a man that he is today. That was a good call on their part.

Camping Time

I don't know if you look forward to the weekend as much as I do, but it's almost unhealthy. It is a combination of the excitment at the opportunity to spend two full days with my husband and a need for sun (don't get to see much of that from the windowless lobby where I work). Well, this week I got lucky--3 days of freedom. I took a day off to visit social security and the DMV so I could officially become a Bath (Ya! I know I've been married for, like, 3 1/2 months now). We planned it well and ended up being done by 10 am! Do you think I went back to work after? No way man! We got ready to go on our first camping excursion of the summer. We headed out with Brian (Brandon's brother) and experienced luxury camping at its finest. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of "roughing it" Brian-style, he sure does take care of his fellow campers. Steaks and Alfredo for dinner, hot chocolate when you wake up, and he is prepared with every form of camping gear that you might EVER need. The next day we went fishing. Didn't catch anything. And even though fish were jumping around 3 feet from the shore to taunt us, we still had a good ole time...except for one thing...I love the outdoors, but apparently the outdoors didn't love me this weekend. My fair (you might even say "pasty") skin could not handle the intensity of the sun while we were fishing. Someone's gotta keep those aloe vera people in business!

It is still that intense shade of lobster.


Here is Brian taking care of our tummies.

The sky was awesome...

And even more awesome.


Brandon and I went adventuring the next morning and climbed the hill above our campsite. You can see Brian's truck and our tents in the picture of Brandon sharpening his binocular skills. Also note the stylish camo hat that was given to me as a gift. :)

Doesn't this look relaxing?

I now own a brand new fishing pole and tackle box (complete with knife) thanks to Brandon. He also taught me how to build a fire. What a man!

Summer of Fun

While there is no way to top some of the things we've seen and done this year, we are going to try and have an excellent and fun filled summer. The weather has tried to stand in our way thus far, but it can't get us down.

We started out with the Herriman rodeo. There is nothing like a warm summer night at the rodeo...but if one of those is not available a freeeeezing cold night will do. We had a little trouble finding the venue and stopped off at a near by frogurt. We left with directions to the arena AND dessert. Mmmm.

We also did some home improvement...


A motorcycle ride....


And a picnic in the park.


That was last weekend. This weekend was spent mostly dealing with car troubles, but we did fit in a hike.

Brandon takes on this mighty, raging river in a single leap.

We saw some flowers and trees....took some pictures...So, pretty much your average hike. We'll try to make it a more exciting adventure next time!

Well, our trip is sadly coming to a close. After Brugges we decided to head to switzerland to enjoy even more delicious food and scenes of purple mountains majesty. We took the Jungfrau train to the "Top of Europe," which during a snow storm looks extremely white. Too white in fact. Our grand views were limited to about five feet. But since Eden and I are not easily discouraged, and since we are adventurers to the nth degree, we decided that we would see those views from the bottom up instead of the top down. On a motorcycle. With no helmets. And eye patches. Just kidding, we did have helmets and awesome biker jackets too! We were just going to get scooters, but the bike was cheaper and much much cooler. We drove around a lake on a windy road, and then up a twisty road in a canyon. This is motorcycle Nirvana in case you have never been on a bike. We did stop to admire the cows in all of their smelly ambiance many times, Eden took several pictures but this computer won't let us up load them. We had chocolate fondue for dessert. Also, one member of this adventuring duo had no less than FOUR pastries in a time span of roughly one hour. I'm not naming any names but it rhymes with Bo-Beden. We loved S-land, but it was really expensive! Six dollars at Burger King in america translates to 22+ dollars in Switzerland. Now when they charge me fifty cents for cheese in america I will feel like I'm getting a fantastic bargain.
After That we headed to Berlin, Germany in search of the perfect struedel (still looking for that btw). We only had one day there, but we saw a lot of cool sights, and a giant aqaurium exhibit complete with a mirror maze, black light theater featuring jelly fish and a small petting tank with some sea critters. After seeing all the cool sights we could, he headed to a movie theater to bask in the comforting glow of a movie screen. After we had good experiences in Budapest we had high hopes for another american movie. All we can say is: Thor :'-(
Today we arrived in Vienna, we will be here tomorrow and then leave the next mornig to fly back to the real world. I have a feeling Eden is going to do everything in her power to make us miss the flight home. I just may go along with it.

P.S. We can't download pictures, but we can provide a link!
http://www.daniels-fun-rental-interlaken.ch/english-home/guestbook-interlaken-switzerland/

Goodbye To Prague, Hello Bruges (and a little taste of Amsterdam)

We finished our time in Prague with a trip to the Zoo. Grrrr! This tiger wouldn't stop roaring. It was intimidated by Brandons raw masculine power.

Here is Brandon exhibiting some of that said masculine power as he takes control of this wild donkey.

So close. Good thing we had that thin pane of plastic between us. So comforting...

We also visited the church in Kutna Hora filled with human bones. It was creepy, but not quite as creepy as the museum of torture that we hit the next morning. That made both of us feel sick to our stomachs. A little advice...don't practice witchcraft. It DOES NOT end well.

Scooby-Doo where are you?!

After Prague we took another night train to Amsterdam. The plan was to spend the day there and head to Bruges later that night. You might be wondering why we didn't post pictures after spending the day....well, we didn't stay long and here's why. You may enjoy Amsterdam if you like the following things:

A. Smoking copious amounts of pot.

B. Hookers

C. Smutty and skeezy establishments

D. Many, many cyclists with mild road rage and a sense of entitlement.

We are not knocking any of these things. Many people like them, but they are not for me and Brandon...so we moved on to greener pastures. A country full of chocolates, waffles, and french fries! These things are definitely our cup of tea.

One of the many beautiful views in Bruges.

And yet another.

The best view of all. Get in my tummy!

Can we stay? Forever?

Brandon is very patient, but after being the subject of about 3,000 photos, he reaches his breaking point. But I must add that he lets me go into every Zara, H&M, and Mango store I see. Best husband ever!

Prague!

The rain can dampen our clothes and make my hair frizzy but it can't dampen our spirits in the amazing city of...Prague!! Upon arrival we comenced our second wave of feeding frenzy (the first was in Italy). All we have done since our night train pulled in this morning is eat vast amounts of carnie food sold on the street for easter celebrations. We're talking meat cooked over an open wood fire, chocolate dipped strawberries on a stick, and roasted nuts. Mmmmm. That's just a sampling of the things we've eaten. If we told you everything you might be disgusted with us....enough about food though! The city is beautiful and full of energy and hordes of people. We thought budapest might be full of easter celebrations, but it was pretty quiet for such a big city.Turns out the party was here! We did enjoy many things in Budapest, though. The thermal baths, sightseeing, and the english movie theater. We enjoyed the movie theater so much we went two days in a row, to see "Source Code" and "Unknown". You may think its crazy to go see movies on a european vaction, but we needed a break...and it was so nice after being deprived of american entertainment for a month. I'm not down playing all of our amazing experiences, just saying it was a nice addition to our travels. Don't judge, okay! :)

P.S. Thanks for all of your ideas. We have narrowed it down to Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. I think there is some more narrowing down to do. Let's be honest, we only have six days...Budapest Parliment building.
Fisherman's Bastion- One of our favorite places in Budapest.
The thermal baths. The four men near the railing, sufferring from the beginning stages of skin cancer are playing chess while soaking in the bath. Looks like this game has lasted for a really long time, judging by the brown crispiness....
Snack food at the movie theater. Just like home!
Eden was on the top bunk during our night train ride. Much better than the other night train where we didn't have beds. However, the four star hotel we stayed in the night before was miles above this. (It was cheaper at the hotel too!)
Eden enjoying an elevated experience.
Hey look, I'm there too!
Rain gear, the first time in a month that we have had to bust it out. No complaints though, it was only one day out of thirty.
Apparently I'm a tough looking hombre in sepia. Thats what keeps Eden coming back for more, me, in sepia.

The last thing we ate before going to bed, and a definite repeat on tomorrow's list of amazingly good food we will be consuming.

Your valuable input is requested!

We are conducting a survey today. We have made good use of our time here in Europe. After we have visited all the cities on our itinerary we will still have an extra week to explore before our return flight. There are so many options and we are both indecisive people. Any suggestions? Some things we thought of were amsterdam, london, belgium, or a more extensive trip to germany. Please comment and give us good ideas!

Love you all!

The Hills are Alive...with the sound of Brandon crying because he has to drive a smart car.

Eden was thrilled to ride these beautiful Lipizan "stallions." Our two hour ride included a stop at a brown bear inclosure (with real live brown bears!) and some cantering in a lovely pasture (and some unplanned galloping). Two days Brandon is still sore, but glad he could give his wife a great time.
Eden got some food out of a nearby dumpster* to feed this duck, he dont care tho!
*A clarification, it was a nearby garbage can, and it was her un-eaten portion of her kebab, so really not a true dumpster diving event.
Eden can JUMP!
Cheesy romantic photo op.
Good camera work by Eden.
Best snack ever, MT DEW and Worcesterschire chips from an English store. Delightful! My first real mt dew in about a month. I bought an extra one for tomorrow.
Overlooking the city of Werfen (Verfen in english) from the castle on the hill in Austria, near Salzburg. The same castle featured in the movie "Where Eagles Dare" With Clint Eastwood! Since I have seen the movie at least a dozen times it was really cool for me. I hear there is another movie that was allegedly filmed near here, but what could possibly compete with Clint Eastwood?
Our rental car. I want to beat myself up for even standing next to it. But it is fully insured so I may drive it off a magnificent cliff into a pristine lake. Maybe.