East Timor

I arrived in East Timor last night (first time here). Here are a few of my initial thoughts...

• it's a crazy combo of Indonesian and Portuguese (rightfully so, I guess!)
• The UN is everywhere, and I mean everywhere! There are about 12 UN police officers stationed at my hotel (I'm down the street from Embassy Row...nothing like DC's embassy row!)
  
• The country is beautiful and lush...I imagine Bali to have looked this way 50 years ago
• It's expensive...way too expensive for what you get ($110/night for room...you've got to be kidding me!)
  
• Internet isn't reliable, but what's new in a developing country.
• For those who told me ET is the Africa of Asia, they were correct.
• The airport was like stepping out of a 1940's movie! It's all outside...even the baggage claim..crazy. Oh yeah and our plane skidded to the very end of the runway...yes, all the way. I was a bit nervous to say the least
• People are very hard to reach by phone and email...have to admit I'm a bit jealous!

I'll post some pictures later (probably in Indonesia when the internet is better).

Also, three upcoming posts--1) THE TIPSY TURTLE IS OPEN! 2) Speaking at Muster in Panama and 3) Old Crow Medicine Show.

Stay tuned....

April Update

So, I haven't been very good at this blogging thing lately!

Here's a quick update in pictures from April:

Lake Whitney with Friends

A beautiful place! We had a great time w/ Brian, Jodi, Pat, Angela, John, Jess and Baby Carter (who stole the show, precious thing)! Jodi's pics are MUCH better than mine...check out her blog pics





Visit to See Sweet Baby EK

I take every opportunity I get to see sweet miss thang (and her mom and dad too!). A couple of weekends ago, I drove over to Fredricksberg to see the Foster Fam during their last family vacation before Easton's arrival (which is VERY soon!)




Tipsy Turtle

Aaron has been working NONSTOP (literally) to get the Tipsy Turtle open! It's definitely come a long way from a tattoo shop. We're hoping to open by next week...can't believe it. I'm so proud of him!





Random Pics w/ Friends

Here are some random pics from recent times with friends (though admittedly not all from April!)



Also, would like to congratulate all of our friends/family expecting little ones in the coming months: Kristin, Casey, Jodi, Angela and Jen....baby fever is here!

Dr. Borlaug Turns 95!

Last week Dr. Borlaug turned 95! We celebrated his birthday in style...well, with a luncheon at least! It was an honor to be present for such an amazing event. This man is such an inspiration for so many people around the world. Every time I'm around him I feel compelled to help others and to never give up this fight of ending world hunger.

Here's a pic of our staff with Dr. Borlaug.

Paddock Lane turns 3 years old!!!

I can't believe that we opened 3 years ago! Time flies....lots has happened in 3 years and the place has changed so much. I am so proud of Aaron!

Here are some pics from the night's festivities....







Here's a sneak preview of the TIPSY TURTLE!! Stay tuned for progress updates.

Grammie's 90th Birthday

Last weekend Aaron and I were in DC/VA to celebrate his grandmother's 90th birthday! It was really neat to be able to celebrate such a special event! Grammie has had such an amazing life with lots of fabulous stories and adventures (Aaron's grandfather was a 3 star general in the air force). She is a phenomenal women!

All of Aaron's cousins came into town for the event, so it was GREAT to meet their wives and to get to know one another. Can't wait to see everyone again!

Here are some pictures from the weekend....

Grammie w/ Robin, Laura, Sue and Ken

Me, Mere and Baby Dean

Aar and I w/ Grammie

The fam w/ Grammie

The cousins oldest to youngest (who stands out?!)


Sweet baby Dean.

Greg, Megumi, Nate & Mere at Cheesecake Factory

Kenya

I'm actually in Kenya right now for work. The internet is horrible, but I am going to try to post some pictures from my visit to the National Park last week. Fingers crossed it will work.

lions in the middle of the road...needless to say, we turned around and went the other direction!


Zebras, zebras everywhere!

water buffalo!


sunset on the Savannah

and my personal favorite! it's not very clear, but i'll try to add better pics later!

Enjoy!

Gave in...

So, I finally gave in to creating a blog! Aaron said, "Oh, it's just because you're preparing for when we have kids...." We'll see! In all actuality, I thought it would be a neat way to communicate with friends and family about the "happenings" in our crazy lives (everything from new bars to travels in exotic locations...unfortunately, travels are for work!)

I'm not very patient with "web technology", so posts may be few and far between. I'll try to figure out how to post some pics here pretty soon.

Stay tuned!