Florida Vacation!

Last week, we went on vacation down to Florida. It was a cheaper vacation because it was associated with a timeshare spiel, so needless to say, there were some interesting parts to the vacation (some less than ideal like the hotel rooms) but we had such a good time just being together and seeing new things! Neither of us had been down to Florida before and so it was a whole new experience. We both agreed that we would never move there but it was fun to visit. Also, it was fun to leave the 40 degree weather behind in Washington and spend week in the sun!

When we got down there, we spent about 3 nights in Fort Lauderdale. It only rained the first day and then it was nice and sunny the rest of the time. We spent time on the beach prior to going to the timeshare deal (which they say will last 2 hours and turned in to lasting 4-5 hours... it was exhausting!). It started raining right after we visited the beach... as you can tell by the stormy clouds in the sky...

Fort Lauderdale Beach

Chet on the beach

Us on vacation!

On Sunday, we went to church and then spent the afternoon sunbathing. On our way to the hotel the first night, we passed by this amazing looking Presbyterian church. Based on the appearance of the church, for lack of other deciding factors, we decided to check it out. Apparently, once we got home, a friend of ours said that it is actually a famous church and the founding pastor was an advisor to some of the Republican presidents. The church had two services, traditional and contemporary. We went to the traditional where they had a huge pipe organ, choir and an enormous sanctuary. The service was actually quite good as well and we enjoyed it, despite it being so different than All Saints! Here is a picture of the outside!

Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church

We went to the beach that afternoon and just relaxed. It was so nice to be warm in the sand. Unfortunately, we both discovered that we had "sunscreen application errors" that night! We were trying to be so careful with putting on sunscreen but apparently we missed a few spots or didn't get thick enough coverage. It made for some funny moments discovering where we missed with the sunscreen. It was worth it though! We aren't quite as white as we were when we went down there! We also ate at some really good restaurants while we were down there. We are always determined to avoid eating at places we could eat at up here in Washington. Chet loved the BBQ place (so good!) and we both enjoyed the view at Aruba, a place right on the beach.

Aruba on the beach...

Sunday sunbathing

BBQ Jack's... YUM!

Another fun thing we did was an airboat tour in the Everglades! We got to see alligators (up close!), vultures, a huge iguana, and lots of other types of birds we don't remember. The airboats were fun to ride in as they don't sit very deep in the water and can go easily through the shallow water of the Everglades. It is such a unique ecosystem so learn about and see. Definitely a highlight of both of our trips! Below are pictures of our friends the alligators and some of what we saw!

Our airboat

A view of the Everglades...

Alligator up close!

Alligator again.

Us on the tour...

Then we went on our mini-cruise! It was a brief cruise to spend a day down in Nassau, Bahamas... basically, one night down, 8-10 hours in the Bahamas and then one night back. It wasn't the newest boat but we enjoyed ourselves. The entertainment was a little bit cheesy as well but the time in the Bahamas was worth it. We had an outside berth, which was nice to see the sunrise in the morning! The little bathroom and shower were kind of like being in a camper. :) One night, we just went up on the deck and watched the stars as we cruised along... which was so relaxing. When we were down in the Bahamas, we went snorkeling (very fun!) and then went to a resort and enjoyed their restaurant and beach. The sand in the Bahamas is so light and fine... it felt cool despite the warm sunshine. The water is also the most brilliant color... just amazing! Definitely a place we'd like to go back someday.

On the cruise deck...

Chet ready for snorkeling!

Snorkeling in the Bahamas!

View of the water...

Sand and water...

What a beautiful place!

Back in our berth waiting for dinner...

After we got back from the cruise, we headed up the coast toward Orlando for the last couple days. On our way, we stopped at the Kennedy Space Center. If you are ever in Florida, go there! It is amazing, even for us who are not big space nerds! We loved the tour there and seeing where things are put together and the long path out to the launch pad. The history about the Apollo missions and moon landings was impressive... the Saturn V was so huge! We learned a lot and saw amazing parts of history. The whole center is very well done and interesting while very informative. They actually let you come back another day with the purchase of your ticket because there is so much to see! When we were in Orlando, we spent our day at Universal Studios Orlando (we had gotten free tickets for it so Walt Disney World will have to wait till we have kids). It was fun and cool to experience together. Here are some pictures from those activities...

The engines of the Saturn V

Two cleats of crawler that takes the rocket to the launch pad.

View of the Saturn V... so big!

Us in front of the rocket garden...

Universal Studios!

Blues Brothers Show

We had a fun day...

After all that fun, we are back to normal life now. As I write this, it is snowing outside... what a glorious April Fool's Day joke! Nope, no sun for us. It was so nice to have a spring break and enjoy some sunshine... and most of all, spend time together! It is fun to make some of these trips before we have kids and enjoy the experience of traveling together and exploring new places!

Owings' Family Visit

This last weekend, we had a wonderful group of visitors... all of Chet's family! His parents, brother, sister-in-law and their son came out for a visit and for Chet's brother, Glenn, to go to the Black Label Society concert with Chet. It was nice to have everyone out here for a change and, hopefully, it was a relaxing weekend. :) Brianne was in the middle of finals week and Glenn had just finished his midterms so there were some tired people but that, probably, helped to keep the weekend more relaxed. Below are some photos from their weekend out here. Most of them are of Logan, our nephew, as well as our friend's baby, Maia! The babies "played together" one night.

Maia and Logan sharing surgical tubing!

What Aunt Brianne? Another photo?"

Too cute!

Glenn, Liz and Logan

Happy baby!

Snowboarding in March...

We finally had a chance to go snowboarding together! Yay! It has been awhile due to schedules and the snow quality. The snow has been, well let's just say, not quite up to par for parts of the season... but this last week we got some wonderful spring snow! So, today we headed up and enjoyed some powder (and sunshine)! For the first time, we actually brought up our camera and took some pictures! The sky was just so blue against the snow that we figured it would make for some impressive photos. Because of the sun we got our first sunburns of the year as well! We forgot to take a picture of our red faces at the end of the day...

As for the rest of life, we have had quite a bit going on with finals approaching for Brianne, lots of meetings on church matters for Chet, along with work and other normal life activities. Chet's parents, brother, sister-in-law and their son are all headed out next weekend to visit. It should be a busy, but fun time.

End of February... what?

Oh my goodness... the last two months have flown by! I feel like 2009 has just begun and now it is already nearly spring. I guess it is just another sign that it has been busy. Time flies when you are having fun.

Chet and I have just been busy with school, work and trying to see one another. I moved to the day shift in January and not there are some days we work completely opposite shifts. Though I feel more normal being on a more consistent daytime schedule, sometimes he is quite sad that I go to bed before midnight!

School has been going well... clinicals have provided a great deal of learning! One of the best things about clinicals is getting to have "family dinner" every week at my mom and dad's house! Since it is so close, Mom makes yummy homecooked meals each week for her loving family. I love just sitting around the table having good conversation.

One of the biggest changes in the last month is that Chet's grandma passed away. She was such an amazing Christian lady... Her funeral was so beautiful and such a joyful tribute to her life. What things are more worthwhile than to love the Lord, love your family and love others. I am so thankful that I married into such a wonderful, loving family.

Chet and I get to go to Florida in a few weeks for spring break! Yay! Only a few more weeks of crazy life and then we can spend some quality time on a beach in Florida. Neither one of us has been there so we are planning on enjoying every minute of it. We will post pictures when we get back!

As for other things in life, I probably will be posting more. I decided to give up spending time on Facebook for Lent as it tends to suck away quite a bit of time! It is an excellent procrastination tool so it will probably be good to give up... more time for time with God and for school work.

I'd best go to bed for another long day ahead. I'll update more soon... with pictures!

Snow!

So, last week winter came to Washington... and is amazingly still here! I feel like we rarely get real snow and, when we do, it tends to disappear quickly. Snow measuring at minimum of 8-10 inches is pretty incredible! We have definitely had fun in it, because we've had the whole week off before Christmas! Talk about good timing! We've been able to enjoy the snow rather than stress about how to get to work. We celebrated Chet's birthday (x3 days) and even built a snow igloo.

On Chet's birthday, we headed over to Leavenworth for our annual engagement trip. There was snow all the way from our house to the door of the hotel... pretty spectacular scenery. We found our new yearly ornament at the ornament shop (this year it is a tractor in honor of my farming grandpa!), ate dinner at the Alley Cafe (an Italian restaurant that is really in the alley), and relaxed at the Enzian (our favorite hotel there thus far). It was a fun relaxing time to just be together and marvel at the beautiful scenery. Leavenworth is so beautiful with snow and lights!

After a night in Leavenworth (and a delicious breakfast), we headed up to Steven's Pass for a little snowboarding! Amazingly, it was only the second day of the season so it was pretty busy and only three lifts were open. We had a great time though. We do love snowboarding!

On Saturday, we celebrated Chet's birthday with my side of the family. Then on Sunday, we had friends over for a holiday party (also to celebrate Chet's birthday)... lots of celebrating, eh? On Sunday, church was cancelled so we spent the day playing in the snow. We went on a walk to find a snow shovel (to no avail) and then came back and made an igloo! I don't know where Chet got the idea for it but it was genius. The snow was perfect and we spent the afternoon packing snow into containers to make blocks. Then, along with our neighbors, Jesse and Deborah, we put together a real igloo. About 2-3 people can sit up in it and it feels pretty solid. We'll have to see how long it lasts this winter... who knows... maybe it will be until March. :) We also sat in the hot tub that night with friends, so overall it was a fun, memorable day!

On Monday, Judy and Skip came out! They spent the night in our house and we celebrated our Christmas together. It was so nice to spend a quiet evening with them. The next day we spent visiting grandparents and had dinner at Chet's aunt and uncle's house! Family gatherings are always so joyful! Lots of food, laughter, family and conversation.

Tonight, on Christmas Eve, despite having a cold and Chet having to go back to work, we had a nice evening with my family. After a traditional Gessaman family Christmas Eve dinner of clam chowder and rolls, we opening presents. One of the best presents was definitely Chet's little helicopter... he still is learning how to fly it though so beware! After Chet had to go to work, the rest of us played Killer Bunnies... what is better than figuring out how to kill bunnies and win magical carrots!?! It was great fun. Now, is the time to catch a little sleep for brunch with the family tomorrow.

Here are some pictures of our holiday adventures!

Thanksgiving!

Out to Montana we went for the long Thanksgiving weekend! We were so happy to get some time off together and to get to spend time with family. With finals looming for Brianne, time in Montana provided an excellent procrastination tool... what is better than getting distracted by hanging out with people we don't see often!

Travel back and forth was excellent... no snow to slow us down and we were able to make the trip in the normal 8 hours. The only concerning thing is that, though it was nice to have good roads, we didn't even seen a hint of snow, which definitely doesn't help the snowboarding prospects anytime soon! Hopefully soon as Chet has a season's pass coming and Brianne wants to use her free time over the break from school making some runs in the mountains.

Back to Thanksgiving... we spent Thanksgiving Day in a cozy cabin with the majority of extended Owings side of the family. Lots of food, lots of people and one very warm wood stove! Our little nephew, Logan, was the center of attention of course with his sweet smiles and cuddly nature. He is sure a precious boy! The only problem was trying to get a chance to hold him. Chet didn't actually get to hold him until the last day of our vacation (which speaks to how popular Logan was!).

Back in Missoula, we spent time with friends catching up and just hanging out. Every time we leave Missoula, we wish we could take our friends Neil & Ember and John with us. It is just so relaxing and fun to hang out with them... it would be nice to see them more often. We will have to try to go out more often now that Neil and Ember are going to have a little one next June!!! Yay!!! We had one hilarious night of playing Wii Fit where we used the new balance board and all looked ridiculous. Not to mention the fun of practicing soccer headers by dodging panda heads and soccer cleats! :)

We also were able to go to a U of M Griz game... something that Chet's wanted to do together since we met! He was so excited! It was a bit drizzly (a bit like Washington, ironically) but it was fun. The Griz won the game and are headed on to the next round of the playoffs. It was also fun because the fans are so excited about their team... lots of cheering and fun fan involvement! Oh, and Brianne enjoyed all the cute kids in Griz clothing...

We included a couple pictures down below of our weekend for viewing pleasure.

Chet and Brianne

Us at the Griz game!

A misty day win for the Griz!"

We were dressed in fall colors for the occasion!

Gram and our nephew Logan!

Time passes quickly...

Wow... I am amazed that the holiday season is already here. This fall has flown by and, now, here we are at the weekend before Thanksgiving. The air is cool, the leaves are on the ground and we are spending much more time in front of the fireplace. It has also hit the busy season of the quarter with projects, finals and other such fun things. Today I am trying to start a paper that is due at the end of the quarter... but as you can tell, I am procrastinating as well.

This week we will head to Montana for Thanksgiving. Luckily, we both got the weekend off so we'll be able to have a few days there before heading home. I am looking forward to the time spent with Chet. Even car rides are a nice time just to be together and talk, something we don't always have time to do with our schedules. I picked out a little bit of new Christmas music today so as we are driving over the snowy passes, we will be able to get in the holiday spirit.

Chet is enjoying his new motorcycle. He is progressively getting it to run better and I have to admit that he looks awfully sharp on it. It is just so much newer appearing and a cooler style of motorcycle than his old one. I know that he is enjoying it and can't wait to ride it more when he gets it licensed.

I'd best get back to studying and writing my paper. It will definitely prevent some stress in the coming weeks to get it started now.

Brianne