Home Sweet Home

Well we're here! But first . . . back up a little bit. For the 4th of July we went to Bastogne, Belgium (where the Battle of the Bulge happened!) Honestly, it was ok. There wasn't a TON to see and the trip was planned a little poorly, BUT! We got some great pics! Right when we arrived in town there was this huge tank in the middle of the city. It was a real one. I think it was called Baracuda and all the insides of it were in a museum, all old and rusty.

They climbed all around.


Then there was an army jeep we crawled inside.
Since the battle was so big, long and bad there are bullets all around and people still keep finding them! So there are stores where you can buy them. It sounded a lot more glamorous then the actual experience was. But it's kinda neat. After that we went to a WWII museum. Greg really liked it. I am just SICK of museums and don't care if I go to one the rest of my life. I DO like learning things, but it's a rare occassion that the audio guide gives you just enough information, but not too much (which is USUALLY the case). Also, Greg disagrees, but all the clothes were on manequins, so I thought the whole thing just looked pretend. I would've gotten way more feeling out of it if they were on hangars. I'm probably the strange one in this case, but that's how I feel. They had SO MUCH there! But I barely noticed 'cause all I could see were the FAKE soldiers. I enjoyed the window displays and they had old magazines and newspapers! That was interesting. Here's a pic of me after we went thru.
Another jeep outside.


This is a beautiful and HUGE memorial built for the Americans. It has all 50 states written across the top and a really long message of thanks all along the 12 walls. I love these memorials. It always makes me feel good like there is a good bond between America and Europe. You don't always feel that way these days and it makes me forget.
It was too big to fit in the camera.
It was in a beautiful part of the country.
It was kind of neat going to a place like that on the 4th of July. Kind of patriotic. I'm all for the 4th, but I've honestly never been passionate about it. I don't know if it was 'cause I was living in another country, but I felt very moved and grateful that day. Right when we woke up I put on this "country patriotic mix" that I got from my Dad and Greg and I both got teary. I am grateful to be an American. I feel very lucky and blessed to have been born here.

Well, the next week we moved out!!! This is Elder and Sister Phair. They taught us french (when we were going to the classes). They are really kind and really involved with the young adults. We wanted to sell all our stuff, but since we needed everything 'till the day we actually moved (so we could still cook food and sleep on a bed)- it posed a problem. So we emailed a list to the ward and said they could have anything for free but had to come get a certain day. The missionaries emailed first and said they wanted EVERYTHING. So it was actually a blessing. They came and got it all in one swipe. So much easier! Pretty funny. Packing the kitchen up and moving everything else into a van took, at the most, 5 minutes. And when we cleaned the next day, it took 2 hours. How simple is that for a move out? Here it is (and aren't I beautiful?), ALL CLEAN!!
That night we went out with Danilo and Ana Paula for MUSSELS!!!!
We have been planning to get them SINCE WE'VE BEEN HERE, but waited 'till almost our last night. Mussels are big here so we had to try them. I was NEVER interested until recently, but Greg was always planning on it. They're EXPENSIVE and only in this annoying part of town. It's annoying because all these restaraunts line the street and it is CROWDED. It's a fun atmosphere but the WAITERS literally step IN FRONT OF YOU and will grab your arm and tell you "you must come to my restaraunt! blah blah blah." They are VERY pushy. So we were walking along trying to find the cheapest place and they were all staring and yelling at us, trying to get us to come to their restaraunt.

Ok, mussels are the sickest looking thing I have ever seen, let alone eat. I felt like I was eating private parts, because that's what it HONESTLY looked like.

Empty shells!
Greg didn't care for them. I liked them! It wasn't my favorite, but I would do it again! It was just another experience!

The last few nights in Brussels we stayed with the Osorios. This is Leonardo and Teresa and their son Jeshua. They also have another son, whom we've never met, and two daughters- Elise and Janae. I was so sad to not get a whole family pic! Elise is at BYU and Janae was at EFY. But here they are and we LOVE them! They have been so good to us. They always brought me movies and soup when I was sick. They're ALWAYS giving us rides and all sorts of help. They have been our home away from home.It was nice and comfortable at there house. It was like a little preview to the U.S. They live in a big house with a big fridge (well, I guess it is a little small, but it was ENORMOUS to me!) They have base privileges so there was american food EVERYWHERE! I'd forgotten about so many things! Cheezits and who knows what else. But I'd open a cupboard and think, "Oh yeah, I forgot about those!"

This is me at the airport. Greg wanted a pic. I'm eating my Petite Beurres. They are the best cookies ever and I will miss them greatly. I brought 2 boxes on the plane (40 cookies) and only a few made it home. As in I ate 35 cookies. Greg kept pulling them away from me, but I didn't think I was doing anything wrong.

Ah, now I'm ready.

Yeah, down below, is not the cutest picture. We had just landed in the U.S. I kinda went into culture shock. People said I would, but I didn't believe it. I felt strange. I didn't even know how to order chinese food. For the last year, when I order, I point and say "one" in french. And honestly, usually I try for a moment, then give up and look at Greg, for him to take over with his suave french. Suddenly I was at the counter and felt speechless! I wasn't used to english! It was wierd! And holy cow! Talk about the greasiest food I've ever eaten! GROSS! It was caked in grease! And SO MUCH! When I was looking at the options, I thought, "I want less! Isn't there a smaller option?" People aren't supposed to eat such GIANT amounts. No wonder America is fat. And they are. I honestly could count on my hand how many fat people I saw in Europe. But I suppose that's a little mean.

Well, as wonderful as I look, this was only the half way point, 12 more hours to go! Hooray! The joys of traveling between countries.This trip actually went very well. This was my 4th flight overseas so I was a pro, at this point. Also, on all my past flights I'm unable to sleep until the very last hour so am a wreck when we get off the plane. I actually slept on and off the entire flight! So I handled everything so much better! We arrived in Oregon at midnight so we were able to just go to bed (even though we stayed up 'till 3:30am- what is wrong with us?). Both of us woke up feeling completely unaffected by jetlag. How cool is that? What a smooth transition.

Greg and I stayed at Pat and Randy's a few nights and now I'm at my sister's and he's on his way to climb Mt. Rainier. He better come back alive, that's all I have to say. I'm having a really good time with my sister. I've forgotten how much we laugh together. I think it's gonna be a really good week. A good week of "girl time".