Thanksgiving

This has been a most wonderful past few days with family and friends.

Mom and Mike (Matt's mom and stepfather) came in town and we cooked up a storm!! Turkey, dressing, squash casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, cranberry relish, sweet potato-ginger bread, derby pie, and pumpkin chocolate chip squares. WHEW.

We are still eating on the goodies.

Our friend Max brought his roommates Jeremie and Flo to dinner. It was really fun to catch up with Maximilian and meet new friends!

Friday we watched Auburn beat Alabama (THANK GOD), and Saturday we hit the road and toured the National Mall with the guys. So much fun! A particularly touching experience watching our European friends discovering our capital for the first time.

Now we're watching The Great Outdoors with our friend, Sam. He is headed to Bremerhaven, Germany in just three days!!

Which reminds me, we'll be headed that way in ONE week!!!

Later Taters,
Britt and Matt

Missing the 80's

Does anyone miss the 80's as much as I do? Granted, I only experienced 3 years of this decade, but still. I've spent the last couple of hours watching intros to "Who's the Boss", "Empty Nest", "Night Court" and "Alf", among many others. It seems that with every theme song I think of someone.

Every once and a while I'll bring up one of these shows to Matt, and it seems he only remembers "Alf" and "Night Court". What about "Rainbow Bright" or "Care Bears" or even "Fraggle Rock"???

I don't really know why I'm so caught up on this at the present moment. But one thing's for sure. My children will NOT be influenced by the Jonas Brothers or Hannah Montana. No sir, they will surely prefer the Care Bear Stare!!!

For your viewing pleasure:

For you haters, THERE ARE SUCH THINGS AS SNORKS!!! They are underwater smurfs, DUH! ->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4ALjDSsMd4&feature=related

Rainbow Bright -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35cRCGy8n54&feature=related

My Little Pony -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOZLoWu4BHM

Care Bears (pretty trippy now that I'm older) -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOZLoWu4BHM

Alf -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NVr-vXIa-A

Meet Patton!

We just got a new camera, and I'm trying to figure it out. For now, Patton will be my muse.

S & D Wed

So we witnessed the marriage of Sarah and Daron. What an amazing weekend we had in the process!

We saw "Love", The Beatles themed Circ du Soliel, tried our hand at roulette, and dined at a Moroccan eatery. All of this was done in the company of our greatest friends. And at the end of the trip, we got to celebrate the wedding of our best friends. What more could you ask for?

Though I had fun, I must admit, the past weekend was very hard for me. I've not really thought of the consequences of our moving to Germany. My minds' been set on the glüwine, Christkindlemarkt and our holiday in Amsterdam. But it hit me in Vegas. Hard. And I couldn't explain why I was so sad. And though I had a blast with the best folks I know, the thought of leaving them couldn't pass.

Don't get me wrong, Germany's going to be amazing. We're going to experience things we never thought we would. Matt and I are going to have to depend on one another more than ever. And if anything, this move is going to prove how much our friends mean to us.

Love and Peace,
Matt and Britt

Here's to Sarah and Daron!

So we're about to head to LAS VEGAS for Sarah and Daron's wedding!!! Much fun will be had, and hopefully we come back with more money than we left with. Doubtful, however, due to Matt's lack of blackjack skills (sorry babe, but you aren't exactly skilled).

Thursday night we are going to see "Love" by Circ de Soleil, and I absolutely CANNOT wait!!!! I've been wanting to see this show for at least five years. Last time we saw "O", and it was great. But "Love" is what I've been dying to see...

Saturday night is the Rehearsal Dinner. But the BIG DAY is SUNDAY!!! WOOHOO!!! Sarah will officially be a Flory!!! My best friends have been together since I've met them, but it is truly an awesome thing to see them become family, legally.

Sarah and Daron are two of the best people I know. For those of you that don't know, Daron has been Matt's best friend since high school. It wasn't until I started dating Matt that I met the two lovebirds. The first night I met Daron we had a "talk" and our friendship developed from there.

And with Sarah, it's like we just clicked! I've never met such a genuine, happy, fun spirited, uplifting person in my life. Though I haven't known her as long as Matt's known Daron, I truly don't know what I would do without my Twink. She and Daron are more than best friends to Matt and me, they're the brother and sister we never had.

Sarah and Daron:

We couldn't be happier to share this day with you two. You both have been placed in our lives for a reason. Daron, thank you for always giving it to me straight, even when I want the truth sugar coated. You have a way of telling people what's on your mind, with reason. And you've helped me grow as a person. I respect you for the person you are, and the work you do. I could never ask for a better "brother".

Ans Sarah, where do I start?!?! Thank you for always being there to talk. Thanks for calming me down when I freak out about life and people that like to make it difficult. You always seem to lighten my spirits when I'm being a sourpuss, and never fail to make me smile (and laugh hysterically!!!!!). You are the most beautiful person I've ever met, inside and out, and I am truly grateful to have you in my life.

Matt and I can't wait to our many future vacations (GREECE!!! and god knows what else), raising our kids together (and buying the boys matching baby bjorns!), our houses side by side in our older years, and laughing and crying together for years to come. We love you two!

Matt and Brittany

More Pictures from Wetu & DC

So many people!!! We found out there were 400,000 people in attendance!

Rett, me, and Peri

Katherine Bibb, myself, and Frazer

Getting Our Sane On

This has been a pretty amazing weekend. But first let me start with last week. Matt headed off to Log Warrior to do some tactical mission stuff (very broad, I know), and I spent the week in Alabama visiting family one last time before the move. Most of my days were spent in Wetumpka, though I did spend Wednesday in Auburn!!! It was our friend Taylor's birthday, so she, Laura Lea, Paul and myself had a delicious lunch at Momma G's. YUM!!!

Then Thursday I drove the 12 hours back :( Thank goodness I had my favorite pup along for the ride!

Friday we drove up to DC to visit our friends Becky and Ryan, who are moving to Kyrgyzstan in the next couple of months. We all attended Jon Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity" on Saturday, and oh my, was it fun!! It's quite adorable because though I am a rally veteran, this was Matthew's first. He was so excited, and I don't think he was at all disappointed. Jon brought out Stephen Colbert, of course, but more surprising guests, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) and Ozzy Osbourne. Yusuf sang my favorite song, "Peace Train" which was then countered by Ozzy's "Crazy Train". Pretty fantastic!

The message was simple and clear, with humor mixed in. I feel personally challenged to see past all of our differences and not blame or judge others because they believe differently than me. Jon said that there are extremists of all kinds out there, but we can all get along. Very true. We will be posting pictures soon!

That being said, there are a lot of decisions being made right now surrounding Don't Ask Don't Tell, in regards to gays being open in the military. I feel compelled to ask everyone to please keep not only our service members, but our decision makers in mind as there could be life changing decisions being made in the next year. The Cole's stand behind our LGBT soldiers and pray that the right decision be made soon.

Peace and Love,
Brittany and Matthew