Egypt (warning: this is long)

For a while we had been talking about taking a trip with our friends Nick and Shannon. And when we went Chicago this summer to visit them we made it official. We had the hardest time deciding on where we wanted to go. It went from Kenya, climbing Kilamanjaro, to South America and Patagonia, to driving a hippie van around New Zealand.... and then five weeks before we left, we bought airline tickets to Egypt.

We had the most amazing time! It had everything. Adventure, ruins, history, relaxation, excitement, culture, buses, trains, planes... It was the perfect trip. And Nick and Shannon were the perfect couple for this trip. I was surprised, but they can rough it with the best of them.

After 20 hours of flying (meeting up with Nick and Shannon at the JFK airport), we made it to Cairo and went straight to the train station. We had a long time to wait... and a lot of drama getting our train tickets.

Kurt and Nick waiting in the train station.

Turkey: Istanbul

To get the most out of our trip we decided on a two day layover in Istanbul on the way home. The problem was we LOVED Turkey, and decided that need to go back.... and devote a full trip to it.

None of us were very appropriately dressed for the weather. We must have forgotten that it was winter.
This is our hostel. It was pure luxury compared to where we had been staying.

And it was in the cutest area.

The first place we went was the Blue Mosque.



Kurt is so sad to be home... with no Nick to keep him warm.



We all LOVED the Blue Mosque... however, we thought we were in the Hagia Sophia. Then by the time we visited the Hagia Sophia, it was closed.


Outside the Blue Mosque, this kid was making candy. It tasted as good as it looks.


The next day we made it to the Hagia Sophia....

... and it did not disappoint!

I love how the Turkish flag was flown everywhere.

Kurt at the Grand Bazaar.

We thought nice way to wrap up our trip was to spend the night on the floor of the Las Vegas airport.

LV Ragnar

Kurt and I ran the Vegas Ragnar this fall with some friends. It was brutal! I don't know what effecting me most: the lack of food, lack of sleep, or the actual running.

Here we are with Ryan and Courtney at the start of the race.... still happy.


Kurt on his first leg. He killed it!... despite the heat.


Some scenery.



I was really wanting some shade.



Courtney and me right before her second leg.


This was at about 3:30am. Courtney is stoked.... I am faking it.


The dirt road I had conquered in the dead of night.

At the finish line with the whole team!

I spared you the details.

We had so much fun with Ryan and Courtney, and are so glad we did it. However, maybe next year we will just meet at the beach in Hawaii.

D.C.

Kurt and I spent a long weekend in Washington D.C. this month to visit Ali and Alex. They moved out there for Alex to start medical school at George Washington. He is killing it and Ali has already found a great job.

Kurt and I spent the first day doing all the touristy things, then met up with the Als for a tour at the Capitol Building and some dinner at the Founding Farmers (SO GOOD!).

Other highlights: shopping in Georgetown, autumn jog down the Potomac rover, Spy museum, Natural and American History museums, Taste of D.C. fair for some food stuffs, and the Library of Congress.

White House

White House

Capitol

WW II Memorial

Hanging out with Brigham

MLK

We had PERFECT weather the whole time and absolutely love D.C., but the best part was hanging out with Ali and Alex. We really miss them.

Thanks for the awesome weekend!

Good bye summer :(

CHI Town

Kurt and I went to Chicago a couple weeks ago to visit the fabulous Nick and Shannon. We had SO much fun, I can't even describe.

Nick and Shannon working on Thursday gave us a perfect opportunity to visit Kurt's sister who lives in a suburb of Chicago. Here is Kurt at the train station in Elgin.



And here is Kurt at Chicago Union Station. He was so excited as soon as we walked in because of the scene in The Untouchables (one of Kurt's favorite movies).



Us at the Bean:







I swear, being with Nick turns Kurt into a little kid.

We did some other touristy things while Nick and Shannon worked:

I got mad at Kurt for not smiling in this picture, and then he got mad at me and told me I take pictures like a German (no countdown).

Us at the Art Institute of Chicago:


Chicago Stock Exchange:



Definitely one of the highlights of the trip was the Chicago Cubs game we went to. The Cardinals were in town, so it was SO hard to get tickets. We ended up getting a pretty good deal from a scalper, but none of the seats were together. After being kicked out of three different places we found four empty seats that were perfect... and the owners never claimed them :)







I am in love with this stadium. I think it is so awesome that it is right in the middle of the city. The seats on top of the surrounding buildings are my favorite.





I guess I should also mention that the Cubbies won in the 10th inning. Which just made the game that much more fun. Everyone was singing and dancing in the streets after the game.







We also took an architecture boat tour... and I am really glad we did. It was cool to see all the buildings from the water, and learn some of the history of Chicago at the same time.







Alcohol Party Store!... inside joke

It was a perfect trip. Perfect company. Perfect weather. Perfect city. And SO MUCH yummy food. It really did make us want to pick up and move.