I was skimming through all my draft blog posts and just realized I never posted about mine and Michael's FABULOUS long weekend away to California. The trip started in Encinitas where we stayed with two of our favorite people in the whole wide world. Lacey and Dave Elpers! Talk about the perfect hosts who live in an adorable house just 3 blocks from the beach!
The rest of the trip we spent celebrating Kat and Jordan McKee. You may have remembered my previous post of Kat's bachelorette weekend out at our cottage.
What a fun and relaxing rehearsal dinner in the beautiful backyard of Kat's parents' house. Of course the best part was having the entire IU/Alpha Phi gang back together. Having to meet up from Chicago, Dallas, Minneapolis, New York, and San Diego takes a bit of planning. Wedding festivities are the best excuse!
What better way to spend the wedding day than at the beach!
Silly boys
Lauren and I challenged them to who could make the coolest sand castle in 10 minutes. It turned into a group project and they didn't want to be timed.
On to the main event...
The beautiful blushing bride
Alpha Phis
My hot date and me
Good times with great people! Thanks again to our fabulous hosts and to Grandma and Grandpa Nierengarten for watching Miss Grace while we were able to get away.
One of the best parts of vacationing with Grandparents is being able to have occasional date nights knowing you are being taken care of by family. During our European vacation, Daddy and I went on two dates. The first was an evening in Prague and the second was *into the Alps of Austria.
*When I say into, I literally mean into.
Cheers, Mummy
Date #1: We shared a romantic evening in Prague. We walked hand in hand (I know- we're cheese balls) back up the cobblestone streets towards the castle grounds. We stopped along the way for a glass of the house red at a vineyard located near the top of the hill. Good company, good wine, and a great view of the city below at night.
Surprisingly, we discovered that the castle grounds were open until midnight. We were able to walk around and check it out while it was lit up at night and had very few people. We wanted to capture this moment so we decided to play with our camera's timer.
That's our silhouette in front of the Castle Church.
Date #2: We shared an adventurous afternoon exploring the Alps of Austria. We saw castles, beautiful views of the mountains, and toured the world's largest ice cave. To date, this is the coolest thing your Dad and I have ever done. Our tour guide was one of the best we have ever had and we met a fun group of Australians who kept us entertained.
We stopped to enjoy the view (and take pictures) about half way up our second hike.
Our view just outside the entrance to the ice cave. Daddy and I kept saying our friend Alana and Vinny Miller would be so proud of us. They are our most adventurous friends who go on the wildest vacations.
Once opened, that itty bitty door had a massive rush of cold wind that would come through. Sometimes, up to 90 mph, depending on the time of the year. The entrance to the cave was referred to as the gateway to hell, which is why it wasn't thoroughly explored until 1880.
Since the cave was pitch black, every couple of people were given an open flame carbide lamp to light our path. They had to be relit once we were inside the cave due to the initial massive gust of wind. The main source of light came from our guide who had a long magnesium flare. The flare looked like the world's largest sparkler stick.
The average temperature inside the ice caves was around the freezing point. Since this wasn't a planned event, selecting our outfits for the day was very interesting. We compiled the warmest clothes everyone in our group had and were able to complete our get up with Grandpa Den's coat and Uncle Matt's sweatshirt. Layering was key because we were sweating during our hike up the mountain (huffing and puffing due to the high altitude and thinness of the air) and freezing inside the cave- watching our breath as we climbed the 1400 stairs.
You weren't allowed to take pictures during the tour due to time constraints. People are only allowed inside the ice caves for a set amount of time due to the extreme temperature. Oops- Daddy isn't a rule follower in these types of situations. I spy an elephant made out of ice...
The coolest part of the tour was going under one of the ice formations through an ice tunnel.
I'm not sure which was more breathtaking- the views during the hike up and down the mountain or inside the ice cave.
If you're interested to see more of our adventure, this is the best YouTube clip I was able to find. It did a good job showing the cable car and hike up as well as clips of the actually hike inside the ice cave. Enjoy the cheesy advertisement and feast for your brain!
Thanks again, Dennis and Maureen for an adventurous anniversary gift we will always remember. I'm not sure it will ever be able to be topped.
Grace was excited to dress up for her first Wimbledon experience with a popped polo dress and a sweater around her shoulders. Who are we kidding? We were all excited to experience Wimbledon. Michael decided the day before that he was going to take off work on Friday. People have been casually telling us if we get there early all we need to do is wait in the queue (aka line) for tickets. Depending on the day, we may even get center court tickets to a high profile match. We researched about bringing a baby and I was fully prepared to find a pub or restaurant to read and hang out with Grace. If Michael was to score sweet tickets on the center court, kids under 5 weren't allowed. This later made so much sense because Michael said it was so quiet during the serves that he felt bad taking pictures even without the flash.
Wimbledon attempt #1: We arrived at the queue by noon to find out that we wouldn't be able to get in until after 5:00 PM. Starting at 5 it was supposed to rain the rest of the night. We also had our first babysitter available beginning at 4 PM. Looking back, obviously we didn't plan well (ok, at all) and overbooked ourselves. Optimistic point- Mommy got a break in the morning. Daddy was on duty and I got to sleep in, drink my coffee alone and laugh out loud while reading Chelsea Lately. What do you do on a sunny day all dressed up just outside the Wimbledon grounds? Photo opp!
At least we know we're obnoxious with her sometimes.
After enjoying a pint at a bar and before having a Mexican fiesta into a pub crawl in the west end of London. The first bar was on a boat that is permanently docked on the River Thames and overlooks the London Eye and Parliament.
Wimbledon attempt #2: After waking up at the Blossom's house and a quick walk of shame home, we were out the door headed back to Wimbledon. It was Saturday at 8:30 AM when we arrived, which is when the previous day's attendant suggested we come back. Strike 2--- they were already at capacity (8,000 people) and we wouldn't be able to get in until 5:00 PM once again, best case scenario. Online it said once they reach capacity they have a one in one out policy. I asked about this once we arrived and they said once 1,000 people leave; they allow the next 1,000 people in. That's not what I was picturing when I read 1 in 1 out.
Attempt #3: Wednesday morning, Grace and I arrived at Wimbledon by 11:15. There literally was no queue at all! SCORE! After going through security we were finally inside the grounds on a beautifully sunny afternoon.
Being one of the top sponsors of Wimbledon, all the clocks on the grounds were Rolex time pieces.
Pimms with strawberries and cream- two staple items in the British culture, especially at Wimbledon. Thanks, Lauren Freeland for making sure I checked this off my to do. Side note: Pimms is disgusting, but the dessert was lovely!
Henman Hill (the viewing Hill of the jumbo-tron if you're not able to land premium court tickets) It reminded me of the lawn at a concert without the smell of pot.
After Grace and I had all afternoon to enjoy the weather and sights at Wimbledon, I talked Michael into leaving work a bit early. I wanted him to meet us for dinner since there wasn't a queue. He wasn't the only one who had this idea. By the time he arrived, the queue was at least 2 hours long. That's when things got shady. I strategically slipped my wrist band off, gave him my ticket and sent him in. Grace and I made it back home just in time for her to get to bed on time.
I think this is one of our coolest pictures. Thanks, Michael.
Remember this from last year? We were out at the cottage watching it. I was anxiously waiting it to be over because I wanted to be outside on the boat instead. Michael wouldn't have anything to do with it.
Just as Michael was about to go home after walking around the grounds for a couple hours, he saw an announcement on the jumbo-tron. Tickets to center court for only 5 pounds. He got in the queue and only waited a couple minutes to land 1st row seats in center court for a men's doubles match.
