Bags packed...#1

The last two weeks have been a crazy time as we get ready to head overseas. It was a lot of fun spending the last week or so with my family. It was a pretty hectic time as Emily was getting ready to leave for her freshman year of college and Kylie and I were packing for Turkey. It turned into a rather humorous clothing exchange between Kylie, Emily and Melissa. One would sort through their clothes and then run a pile up to the other with a pile of their "old" clothes to go through and then end up coming back with a pile of "new" clothes to sort through. So Emily and Kylie both took whatever they could fit into their suitcases...and the rest Melissa added to her collection. But by the time it was all said and done we were able to get everything we wanted (or at least think we'll need) into four suitcases.

While packing and getting things ready took up a lot of our time the highlights were definitely getting to spend time with family. Nate, Kylie and I all went out Sunday evening to a pizza place downtown. Kylie had found a good deal online for this place so we knew nothing about it. When we got there we realized it was inside of a London-style pub. The pizza was pretty good. The clientèle was a different story. Our favorite was this really young looking kid who decided that our table on the patio was a great place to crash land to smoke his cigarette. He was so drunk but pretty much minded his own business and at least made an attempt to keep the smoke out of our faces. When he got up to leave things got really shaky. He fell on Nate. Then finally made his way inside and fell onto another table and sat for about 10 minutes. Then he got a friend...or something...to walk him across the street. This guy really helped me see where the idea for Frogger came from. But he made it away safe and sound...safe at least.

Another highlight of the week was Monday night. Mom made a really good last meal for us. Then Emily had spent ALL day going through dozens and dozens of old family videos and pulled out some of the funniest. It was really, really fun to watch them all and see so many old memories. We were all so different when we were little. Emily wins the prize for opening the most presents...she had a hand in every single birthday and Christmas present that ANYONE got. Melissa and I tie for the worst birthday candle blower-outers...except I was 8 and she was 2. So I guess that might put me in last place...even with Nate's covert attempts to help. It was a lot of fun to spend time together before we all scatted again.

Now Kylie and I are out in PA with her family. We leave tomorrow morning to drive down to spend a week in the Outer Banks. We are really, really excited! I am sure we'll post pictures before too long. Well, gotta get back to unpacking and repacking our bags for this trip.

Beginning of the Journey

This is not the end. This is not, even, the beginning of the end. But it may, just possibly, be the end of the beginning. - Winston Churchill

I love the wit and wisdom of Sir Winston. He always has an interesting way of assessing the situation. For us we are standing on the cusp of the end of the beginning. We are excited as we look ahead to what lays in front of us. We are excited and grateful for all the things that have brought us to this point and have prepared us for what is to come. The next few weeks, months, and years are going to be an exciting adventure. So we hope that you will follow along as we use this site to keep our friends and family up to date on the things going on in our lives and as we share the adventures and lessons we learn.

We are beginning this journey from my hometown in Denver, CO. We have been out here for the past six weeks. I have been working and saving money, something that was quite difficult as we finished college and graduate school this past May. Kylie has been completing an intense teacher certification course. In the end it really has been a profitable time - but it is about to come to an end.

Just a few days ago Kylie was offered a contract to teach English in the English Language Program at Zirve University in Gaziantep, Turkey (if you are wondering where that is look at the top left corner of the background of this page). We will give you a lot more information on Zirve and Gaziantep and Turkey in the near future, but that is where we are headed.

We need to arrive in Gaziantep by the 1st of September. So the next few weeks will be full of a lot of details and preparations. We are in Denver for just about one more week. Then some time with Kylie's family in Pennsylvania and then we will depart for Turkey in time for our arrival date prior to the beginning of the school.

So thus begins the journey and it is going to be a grand adventure that we trust will teach us a lot about the world, other people, and ourselves. The primary purpose of this blog will be to help us to record the things we are learning and, we hope, to help you take part in our adventure too.