Three

It's been a wild year with lots of travel, a baby and a transatlantic move, but there is no one I'd rather do life with.  Happy anniversary, Mike! I love you!

Two Years.

Two years ago, we were doing this.

Our first year of marriage flew by.  We had a big move to Turkey from DC about halfway through and I felt like year one was over in the blink of an eye.  Year two was looking to be a little less crazy, but then an evacuation, a coup, and a (planned!) pregnancy made things just as exciting. Last year, I did 22 things I learned about Mike in our first year of marriage.  While I'm sure I could come up with 22 more, I figured I'd stick to two of my favorite things year two has shown me about Mike.

1. He is my kind of traveler.  He likes to venture out of the city occasionally, but definitely isn't a wilderness guy.  He never hesitates to tell people he doesn't camp, but will always be ready for a hike or a national park.  He doesn't expect to stay in the nicest hotels all of the time, but occasionally splurges for a night in a good bed.  Besides a few spots, we seem to make good travel buddies, which is good because we travel A LOT.

1. Behind that beer drinking, sometimes politically incorrect, tough Naval officer is a very caring guy. Not that I didn't already know this, but year two showed me a deeper and different side of him. Watching him throughout the first half of the pregnancy has brought me to tears because he is already so in love with Baby Maximus.  He will rub and kiss my stomach and tell Baby Maximus that he loves him. He talks about all the things he wants to do with the baby and has been so supportive throughout the whole thing, even when he doesn't know what to do.  It just confirms that he will be a great dad.


Year two was quite the unplanned adventure, but I still look over to the other end of the couch and have to remind myself that this is real life and not a dream.  I actually did get to marry that guy who makes me smile. Year three will bring another (hopefully our last for a while) move back to the United States, a new addition to our family, a reintroduction to the Navy and probably lots of other adventures!

Cheers to a successful and adventurous year two with hopes for a similar year three!

xoxoxo I love you Mike!
Sarah

Mike's Evacuation Experience

When I started the blog, it was just me.  Then, when we moved to Turkey, I figured I'd blog about our experiences since we'd be together and seeing all of the same things.  I never imagined that we would be separated or have different experiences, but things got a little shaken up (gotta keep us on our toes!) and we ended up spending a few months apart.  While I was doing a lot of sight seeing in Germany, Mike was still in Turkey.  I think I was the lucky one because I got to go to a new place and do a lot of sight seeing in Germany.  Mike was stuck at home going to school and dealing with trying to move us. It definitely wasn't fun and was definitely lonely, but he did manage to keep himself busy at times.  He took wind surfing lessons in Izmir and went to Cyprus while I was on the Ladies Trip.  

While he was in Cyprus and in Izmir, he went scuba diving a bunch.  These were his first dives with the GoPro he got for Christmas and the pictures turned out really cool!

scuba diver Mike

He saw some cool ship wrecks too! The one in Cyprus is supposed to be famous world wide and he said it was as cool as he had heard.

Also, happy 4th wedding anniversary to Mike and Anna Fick! I can't believe it's been four years since that coffee stained ensign was trying to win me over at Armadillo's...I guess it worked ;)  Oh, and ya know, four years since you said 'I do' and all that jazz.  We're so thankful for you guys as friends (and matchmakers)!  Have a great day celebrating! Make sure Emma gets you something nice!!

Exploring Catania

On our last day in Sicily, we decided to explore Catania.  We had been staying there throughout our whole trip, but hadn't had a chance to explore actual Catania since we had been in Siracusa and Mt. Etna the days before.   We didn't really have much of a plan since there aren't a ton of actual sights to see, but wandering around the city kept us entertained pretty much all morning until we had to leave for our flight. 

The town square is the main tourist sight and it's definitely worth the venture.  I could have sat there all day people watching and just taking in the city.

The cathedral in the town square is incredible and breath taking.  The outside is full of statues and detailed architecture, while the inside is just as magnificent with artwork covering the floors and ceilings.

It was almost funny walking through the city because things that were just so normal and average in Catania were breath taking to us Americans living in Turkey where there isn't a lot of ambiance or attention to detail. We'd turn down a street and there would be a stunning statue in the middle of the street. No big freaking deal.  Just a gorgeous statue. 

This church had me almost laughing out loud because of the contrast from the outside to the inside. On the outside, it looked like the deteriorating remains of what used to be a church.  We decided to go inside and, let. me. tell. you., this church was gorgeous. Half of it looked like it was made out of marble and there were icons and paintings everywhere.  Absolutely stunning and you'd never know it from the outside. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed.

 After exploring the church, we headed back to the town square for some souvenir shopping and an early lunch.

Mike had pasta, while I had the focaccia bread.  Nomz.

Throughout the entire trip, we kept seeing "Russo" all around, which just made my heart so happy.

I definitely didn't expect to  see Hogan anywhere, but lo and behold...



It was an incredible trip and, even a week later, we're still loving the experience and trying to figure out when we can go back. Sicily was everything I imagined and more and the Italian lifestyle is definitely something I could get used to.  Italy, we'll see you soon!