And They're Off!!

Today was a very exciting day here in Newmarket. It was the very last horse race of the summer season! Lucky for us they still have an Autumn season as well so we still have a few more races to attend for the year! This however was MY first horse race, and being the horse lover that I am I was way excited to attend! We only got to watch 3 races but it was actually more entertaining than I even thought it would be!

Because of my new awesome iphone... most of the posts from here on out will most likely be photo posts!! YAY!! If you would like to make the picture bigger so you can see it better just click on it and it will take you to a new screen to view the larger picture. Then just hit back and you will go back to our page.. So here goes...

Here is a picture of the first race we saw.. with the horses crossing the finish line! The red target thing you see on the left side marks the finish line.

Before the race, the horses are paraded in this little arena with their trainers.. Then a bell rings and the jockeys come out and mount their horses.. Here is a jockey on a horse in the arena..

Once the jockey is on.. They take off to get to the start line..

Here are Ev and I.. Notice the thing on Ev's jacket.. that means he is super special at the horse races.. hahaha.. nah he just has "season tickets" and they give you that little medal to put on your jacket..

So little did we know that Jaime's Bachelorette party had a British Horse Race theme to it.. Instead of big outrageous hats, the British wear outrageous hair pieces to the horse races.. Notice the chick behind Everett...

Here is a close up of said hair piece... There were some pretty good ones, but this was the only one I could get a good pic of without being too obvious!

Here is a pic of one of the jockeys in the last race.. This guy was the oldest jockey of the day.. I think he was in his late 60's early 70's!

Last but not least.. Here is a video of the race we actually won! Everett bet on 6 and 8, I bet on 5 and 9.. The top three were 8, 9, 5.. So we did pretty good!! It was a 4 mile race (not all are that long..) Here is just the "tail end" of it.. hehe.. You will have to click the link to go to YouTube to view it!

Click here to watch the horse race!

So far today has been a pretty great day! Everett just got done surprising me with dinner... all my favs: chicken strips, mac and cheese, and corn! Don't I have just the greatest husband ever!!

I will be posting pictures on previous blogs, so you may want to scroll down to see some of them!

Thanks to all who have left comments.. we enjoy reading them!!

The Search is On!!

So this week has been busy for us because we are looking to buy me a new car! We had some prospects on Monday, so Everett took a half day to go look at a car in London. When we got there, the guy had us meet on some random side road. The car was nothing like the ad had said, and we were really weirded out by the whole situation. We decided to pass up on it because it was making funny noises on the test drive.

Sad that we drove an hour for nothing, we decided to use my wonderful new phone to look for other cars that might be in the area. All the cars we liked were already sold by the time we got them on the phone. Finally, we found a car for a very good price, the only problem was that it was 2.5 hours away on the northeastern coast. We decided what the heck and drove out there. Let me tell you.. the drive was GORGEOUS!! It is so green everywhere! However, the roads are super scary. Very narrow and curvy and people drive like speed demons on them!! I think this is why I'm not too hurried to find a car anytime soon! I'm afraid I'm going to get into an accident the moment I get behind the wheel!!

Anyways, we finally arrived at our destination, but the car was not all we thought it would be. We decided not to settle just because we drove all the way out there and made our way home.

Today I made my first dinner here... And I didn't burn or blow up a thing!! I wasn't a big fan because it was a little healthier than I like (since Ev has to lose some weight... haha), but Everett seemed to like it so I guess that's all that matters! Then we went to Everett's soccer game.. I went shopping while he played because it was SOOO cold outside! The weather today was very cloudy and VERY windy! It felt more like November than the end of August! I finally got to drive the car, I'm glad it was just on base because no one was around! I managed to stay on the correct side of the road and didn't hit anything!! I was pretty proud of myself!

Last but not least, I just finished purchasing my ticket to Iceland!! I will be there from September 7th - September 13th. Now we just have to figure out what we are going to do when we get there!!

Alright.. It's getting late and I am ready for bed! It's 11pm so YAY! Maybe I'm on UK time now!! I made sure to follow the facebook advice and try to wake up early and NO naps!! I guess it worked.. we will see for sure tomorrow!

Adios Amigos!

Iceland and Cleaning and House Fires... Oh My!

It has been a busy yet pretty uneventful few days.. Over the weekend, we went out in Cambridge on Friday. The bars here don't close until 4am... That's LATE for an old married woman like me! I was too tired to go out again on Saturday! I just can't hang anymore! : )

Here are some random pics from the bars/Newmarket:

Everett and his friend Evan

Just thought this looked cool..

Don't  you miss us?? : )

Lamborghini chillin' in Newmarket..  It is an extremely wealthy town, so sights like these occur on a daily basis...

On to the exciting news.. It sounds like I will be getting to go to Iceland again! For longer than 30 minutes this time... haha! Everett will be making a work trip there, so one of his coworker's wife and I will be flying there to spend a couple of days enjoying the country. I'm unsure on the dates as of yet, but I know we will be there in September. I'm very excited for my first "adventure" here! Until then.. it will be cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning! I have gotten the kitchen cleaned, but have 3 and two halves more rooms to clean. I know what you're thinking.. come on teacher.. two halves = one whole.. but the bathrooms are so small they only count as half and I didn't want you to think we have 5 whole rooms here!
We did have one scary event this weekend.. I went to cook my toast for breakfast this morning, and I had a little house fire! The toaster was plugged into the wall, so I assumed it was OK to use. I noticed the setting was on the lowest, and I like my toast cooked a little more so I turned it up and turned it on. I went to go get the butter from the fridge not 15 ft away when I look back and the toaster is smoking. I run over just in time for it to burst into flames. I yell at Everett, "Um, there's a fire in the kitchen!" as I turn off the outlet (here in England, the electrical outlets can be turned on and off using a switch). The fire was out before Everett made it to the kitchen, but I learned a good lesson... You can't use American products in English outlets.. They have different voltages! So I have to cook my toast much like a marshmallow now.. wait for the smoke then flip it over!

I look forward to hearing from you guys via facebook, email, phone calls, or even comments on my posts! Missing you still!!

Amber

Whoops!

So I guess I gave you the wrong address!! I copy and pasted it from one of Everett's emails, but I guess he switched the letters up on me!! Here is the correct address:

PSC 37
Box 802
APO, AE 09459

I had put PCS instead of PSC.. Minor mix up!! Thank you Sheri for catching it for me!!!

I woke up this morning to Everett giving me some "good news/bad news".. I'm going to wait a couple of days to see how it plays out, but it could mean that our lives might have an exciting twist coming soon! I'll let you know what it is when I know for sure!! (How's that for a cliff hanger??)

We made it!

Wow! What a busy month it has been since my last post! 


First off, we got married! The day went beautifully and so smoothly that I was having nightmares AFTER the wedding! I guess my brain didn't believe that it actually went so perfectly! We want to thank everyone for helping make our day special, and we hope you had as much fun as we did!!


After the wedding was our 10 day honeymoon to Cancun. We stayed at the Cancun Palace all inclusive and it was so wonderful! We went snorkeling at Xel-Ha, snorkeling with the whale sharks in the middle of the Gulf, and swimming with the dolphins. On our less busy days we spent our day by the pool playing water volleyball and sand volleyball. We also had complementary massages that we made good use out of! After 10 days, we were NOT ready to leave yet... it was so nice not to have to worry about a thing!


Once we got back to the states, things got a little crazy! We spent a few days down in Texas visiting Everett's family, and going to the Red Sox vs Rangers game with my brother Zach and Everett's brother Chris. We sat in the 2nd row about 50 feet from third base, so we had an excellent view! The game was very exciting.. I felt like I was watching a home run derby! 


After our short visit in Texas, we came back to Wichita to get ourselves packed up and ready to move. We got to spend Sunday celebrating birthdays with the Slusser's and Gerstenkorn's. It was nice getting to see them one last time before we left! On Monday, it was time for the movers to come get my things, and then we were off to McConnell to catch our flight! We almost didn't get on the plane because they claimed there were not enough seats, but 10 minutes prior to getting on the bus to get to the jet, they opened the seats for us and another couple! We got on the jet, which was approximately 120 degrees or so.. and of course... something breaks down! 3 hours and 16 mechanics later, they decided to postpone the flight for 24 hours.


So Tuesday we started what I refer to as "Round 2". After 2 more things went wrong with the jet, but were easily fixed, we were on our way to Iceland! I know.. we were supposed to be heading to England, but we had to make a stop in Iceland to drop some stuff off.. I was so excited because I have always wanted to see it, and here was a free trip! But, it was dark out, so all I saw were the lights of the airport : (


Two hours later, we arrived in England, bright and early in the morning! We made our way back to the house, unloaded the car, and vegged in front of the TV! We were trying really hard to stay awake in order to get on UK time, but we were so exhausted that we took a 6 hour nap!


Everett had to fly today, so I've just been hanging around. I have been meaning to start my housewifely duties by starting to clean and organize this dirty house, but I had no motivation... Maybe tomorrow!


I did get my new UK cell phone. Everett bought me one of the new iphones! I tell you.. he is so wonderful! I told him he will owe me once I get this house cleaned, so I guess he made good on that promise!


So far married life has been wonderful! It's so nice getting to be around him all the time and not having to worry about when he will leave again!


Alright, I guess I will end this now! I'll try to update as soon as life becomes more interesting over here! Right now, we are just getting settled in... so I'm sure there won't be much exciting news..


OH! I forgot, I did want to put our address and US phone number on here for you guys!


Address: 

PCS 37

Box 802

APO, AE 09459

Phone Number:
(817)230-4476

Our phone number is a US number, so there will be no charge for calling us! However, I would suggest using your cell phone instead of a land line if you are in the Wichita area because it is a Ft. Worth area code, that way you won't get charged for a long distance call on your land line! Also, we are 6 hours AHEAD of you.. so if you decide at 8pm that you desperately need to talk to one of us, keep in mind that it is 2am over here!

Love you all and check back soon for more updates on our adventures across the pond!!

Amber and Everett