Goodbye 2012, hello 2013!

Wow it's been a long time since we've written on here!!  It's been a busy few months for us, adjusting to our new life here in Germany.

It's always fun to reflect back on the year, as you are entering a new one.  Here are some of the highlights of 2012:

In January, I flew to Germany to visit my friend Jamie.  We drove to Brugge for a fun weekend trip.  What a great city!

Me & Jamie at the cafe by her house in Wiesbaden.

In February, Shane & I went to Istanbul.  We LOVED it!

We returned to Pozanti - the place where we got our dog Bonnie!  It was a fun, relaxing weekend.

I went on several girls' dates to a local Turkish laser salon.  Laser hair removal is SO cheap in Turkey.  Those were memorable days.  :)

We went on a Greek cruise, a trip I had been dreaming of for a long time!  My favorite stop was Santorini.  Simply breathtaking.

We had to say lots of goodbyes in the spring.  Here I am with Wendi & Sarah ("Stebbs") at one of our last dinners together.  :(

Me & my dear friend Angelica.

In June, I returned home to Virginia for my little brother Jacob's graduation from high school!

In July, we said goodbye to Turkey and moved to Germany!

Bernkastel-Kues, a beautiful village in the Mosel Valley.

Burg Eltz.

Hitscherhof pumpkin farm.

In October, we went on a short mission trip with our church to Slovenia.  We participated in a retreat, and Shane & I led the teens in small group discussions.

In November, I went to Prague with my friend Jamie for a fun girls' weekend.

We went to the Azores for Thanksgiving, and had a great time with our friends the Kitsteiners.

One of my favorite parts about winter in Germany is the Christmas markets!

At the Christmas market in Deidesheim.

Merry Christmas!

 As you can see, 2012 was a very eventful year!  We're hoping to do a lot of traveling in 2013.  There are SO many places to travel from here.  I came up with a bucket list for our time here in Europe.  Here it is:

1. Austria (Salzburg & Sound of Music tour)
2. Switzerland
3. Italy (EVERYWHERE!  Definitely Cinque Terre, Sicily, Tuscany)
4. Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, Seville)
5. Portugal
6. Ireland
7. Scotland
8. England (London, the White Cliffs of Dover)
9. France (Paris, Provence, Nice)
10. Baltic cruise (to include St. Petersburg)
11. Mediterranean cruise
12. WWII trip (Normandy, Bastogne, Dachau, the Eagle's Nest)

There are also several smaller weekend trips I'd like to do, and there are other countries I'd like to see like Croatia, Morocco, Egypt, Greece (for a second time)... but we want to see the places on our bucket list first.

Lots to see!!  We better get to it!  Happy 2013 - here's to a year of adventures!