Thanksgiving in Texas

Knowing we wanted to spend our last Christmas holiday in Europe, we opted to cross the pond for a Thanksgiving in Texas. This is one of the best times to be in the Lone Star State, as the weather is usually beautiful with lots of sunshine and warm temps. We arrived a week before Thanksgiving in order to attend the wedding of our GK friends, Brandon and Margaret, who have since moved to San Antonio. I was so glad the timing worked out for us to attend their beautiful wedding in San Antonio with a reception on the River Walk.

Along the River Walk

The beaming bride and groom

Engaged in Spain, they decided to incorporate a lot of Spanish influences into their wedding. They had beautiful fan-shaped programs for the ceremony, did a surprise Spanish dance at their reception, served Spanish food, and decorated each table with pics of their engagement trip. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding, and the best part was that we were able to have a mini-GK reunion with both Margaret and Brandon, Jill and the Cook family.

Their excellently choreographed Spanish dance. The facial expressions were the best!

A pic before we all got a little too disheveled from the heavy dancing on the dance floor

Our last reunion pic from the day-after wedding brunch

The day after the wedding, we enjoyed our morning in San Antonio visiting the iconic Alamo and perusing the shops of the Mercado with Jill. It was so surreal to be in Texas with our friends from GK and I'm so grateful we managed to attend this special event and re-connect with our friends who we miss dearly. 

Shopping at the Mercado

After returning to Austin for a couple days with the Blue family (which now includes my newest nephew Boulan, born on Oct. 8th), we trekked to the ranch for Thanksgiving week. Jon relished the opportunity to do lots of outdoor manual labor and I enjoyed spending lots of quality time with my adorable nephews, sisters, parents and grandmother. My cousins Janet, Jenny and her family also joined us for Thanksgiving and it made for a lot of activity around the ranch. 

Catlin family photo on Thanksgiving Day

At our engagement spot on the ranch with a 17-week bump.

Cousin pic! Enjoying smores and a bonfire on Thanksgiving night

Me and Braxton (in his late-night smore coma)

Though we did make a few trips into town, we loved simply being on the ranch and enjoying its beauty at this perfect weather time of year. Our days included lots of patio time, exploring the ranch in the 4-wheeler and mule, feeding the donkeys and horses and being outdoors as much as possible.

Dad, Jason and Jon - so proud of the rock fence they repaired

Braxton and his sly smile

Braxton and his Aunt Cat on a walk

Me and Goldie - the horse that walked me down the aisle

Leaving the ranch - see you this summer!

After five glorious days in the Texas hill country, we drove to Dallas with Mandy for our final night in Texas. Jon was able to connect with his college buddy, Aaron, and finally eat some delicious Texas BBQ. It was an incredible trip filled with lots of family memories in the most special place on earth to me - the Hix Ranch. Though it was sad to leave Texas and my family yet again, it is a comfort to know that we will only be one state away come this summer and I am already looking forward to numerous trips down to Texas in the next year. 

We snapped the photo below while out on the 4-wheeler our final day at the ranch when we were trying to savor every minute of being in this beautiful place. In birthing class, they tell you to have a relaxation tactic, or peaceful image to focus on. This will be mine, looking out at the rock-fence lined creek and blue hills in the horizon. Part of our family for over 150 years, it is a comfort to know that generations before me have seen this same view and I hope many generations after me will continue to gaze upon my family's heritage. A Texas tradition I can't wait for our baby to be a part of!

A Very Spencer Visit

Today is January 22nd, and there is a beautiful blanket of snow covering the ground. Somehow the past couple months have flown by so quickly and before I delve into the exciting happenings 2013 has already brought, I want to touch on some of the highlights of 2012 that occurred in the final two months of the year. One of them being the long-awaited visit from the Spencers! Kelly is my oldest and dearest childhood friend, more of a third sister actually, who I've shared so many memories with over the years; from our childhood play dates, to summer visits in our teenage years, trips to our universities during our college years and now transcontinental visits in our adulthood. Ever since we knew we were moving to Europe in 2007, Kelly has been promising to come visit. Now in our final year here, 5.5 years later, she and her husband Nick finally made it over.... just in time! We were thrilled to host them at our house and give them a taste of Europe with trips to nearby destinations.

On November 2nd, they arrived in Amsterdam where we spent that day and night exploring this most famous Dutch city. Between roaming the canals, and visits to some of the most famous sites, we simply enjoyed experiencing this lively city with two of our favorite friends.

The Prinsengracht Canal, Amsterdam, on Spencer arrival day

Touring the Heineken Brewery, Amsterdam

On our way to Sittard the following day, we stopped at the Kinderdijk for a photo op with these famous windmills as our background. 

We spent the next couple days in Sittard, showing off our quaint Dutch town and doing as the Dutch do - biking everywhere. We also visited nearby Maastricht, Aachen, the Dreilandenpunt, and the American Cemetery in Margraten. 

Kelly and Nick on the Sittard square

Our super cool bike gang

Standing in 3 countries at once

We planned an overnight trip to our favorite Belgian destination, Bruges, which turned out to be the highlight of the trip for the Spencers. There's something to be said about visiting these smaller European towns that have so much ambiance and beauty. And it helped that we were visiting during the middle of the week of a non-touristy season, where we truly had the city to ourselves (along with the locals, of course).

Bruges by night

The Bruges Square

The Bruges Square

Bruges by night

Prepping for our canal trip of Bruges

Atop the De Halve Maan Brewery 

The finale of their week-long visit was a trip to Paris for their final two nights. Nick, Kelly and I train-ed to the City of Light together and hit the ground running, touring the Notre Dame, Latin Quarter, St. Germain, Jardin du Luxembourg, Jardin des Tuileries and of course my favorite, Angelina's Tea Room. They managed to see a lot on their own (Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe) while I spent some time shopping at some of my favorite haunts.

 Jardin du Luxembourg

Jon met up with us on their last night in Paris, which also happened to be his 33rd birthday. We had a fantastic dinner with our Parisian friends, Thomas and Clemence, before hitting up some tres local nightspots. At 3:00 a.m. we said our adieus to Nick and Kelly and they headed for the airport, after a lively send-off from Paris.

The following day and night, we spent Jon's birthday visiting the Montmartre arrondissement. We began at the St. Ouen flea market followed by lunch at the over-the-top French locale bistro, Chez Louisette. Afterward, we walked to the Sacre Cour before wandering through the artist-filled Place du Tertre. That evening, we enjoyed the City of Light in all it's nighttime glory by wandering through the Latin Quarter, and across the Pont des Arts bridge to the Lourve. It's hard to believe that out of my 11 trips to Paris, this was only my second time with Jon. The city can truly become such a romantic place with your love, and I am so happy we were able to spend his birthday in this incredible setting.

Sacre Cour

Place du Tertre

Pont des Arts

Lovers' locks lining the Pont des Arts

The Lourve

All in all it was an incredible week of many memories made during our travels with the Spencers, which culminated in a fantastic Parisian birthday celebration for my main squeeze. Thank you, Spencers (aka, Frank and Marissa) for making the effort to come visit us in Europe. We will cherish these memories spent with you forever and look forward to many more get-togethers with you in the near future stateside. Dank je wel, Danke schön and Merci!

A Pirate's Promotion to MajARRRGH!

On October 1st, another big milestone occurred in our lives, Jon became a Major! As he was on TDY in Afghanistan at the time, we had to wait a few weeks to mark the occasion. Jon was lucky enough to have his dad and brother present when he pinned on Captain (a small affair on their family farm), and he wanted to include them again for this next promotion. This was a great excuse for us to have a family reunion in Germany and throw a party for the occasion. Jon's parents, Beckie and David, flew over two days prior to the ceremony and drove up with Jon's brother, Neil and his family. We all convened on Geilenkirchen Air Base on October 19th for a Friday afternoon ceremony.

Becoming Major was a particularly hard milestone for Jon as he has identified with 'Captain' for so long. Not only due to the association this term has with pirates, but also because of how easily it rolls off the tongue..... Captain Clough. Jon will certainly miss this title, but I think it's worth it, considering the benefits of becoming a Major. Or, MajAARRRRGH! As is custom at promotion ceremonies, it's always important to have fantastic cake - and no one does cakes better than Karissa Thacker! She made this incredibly creative cake (designed by Jon) for the ceremony.

Lt. Col. Neil Clough said a few words about Jon, which were very kind, and portrayed how proud he and the family are of this accomplishment. He told hilarious tales of their many adventures together over the years and how at times, he was skeptical a promotion would occur. Afterward, he swore Jon in, followed by Jon's parents pinning on his Major rank. 

It was so special to have so many of Jon's friends and colleagues be there, especially as it was a Friday afternoon on a NATO base (which means the place is usually a ghost town by noon). And of course, sharing this day with Jon's parents, brother and nieces made it especially meaningful. 

Rune Kohler wearing his spiffy Danish duds

The movers and shakers of the ceremony

The entire Clough Clan

Lt. Col. Ret., David Clough, Major Jon Clough, Lt. Col. Neil Clough

That night, we wanted to throw a party in honor of this special day and as it was a party to celebrate Jon, we figured a pirate theme would be quite appropriate. It should come as no surprise that we didn't have to search very hard for decor, as we have so much pirate paraphernalia lying around the house. 

Pirate ship table with sails

Wine bottles as candle holders

Drinks table with skull wearing the major rank

Terrace set-up

And of course, we encouraged people to dress in their best pirate duds as well. The night turned into not only a Major celebration, but also an announcement to our friends that we're having a baby! We wanted to wait until I was around 12 weeks to tell our friends, and Jon thought with everyone gathered together that it was an appropriate time. Thank you to all who came to share in this special day with us!

The no longer-Captain Clough and his pirate-wench

Jon and Beckie

David manning the Kebab grilling - they were delicious!

The lasses of the night

The pirate and his mates

Jon's parents stayed a few more days with us in Sittard, and we managed to introduce them to some new areas. Jon took them on a day trip to Bastogne, Belgium to visit the WWII sites of the Battle of the Bulge. They were amazed by all the sites there and were so glad to have visited this monumental place. 

We also spent a beautiful Autumn day in Monshau, Germany. The leaves were changing colors in brilliant hues and we enjoyed walking around this picturesque German town.

Jon and David at the Siegfried Line or Dragon's Teeth on the way to Monschau

It was truly an unforgettable week of family togetherness and great celebrations. I'm so proud of Jon for all that he has become in the 11 years I've known him. I greatly admire his exuberant positivity and enthusiasm for life, his optimistic approach to a challenge and  ability to find humor in any circumstance. I distinctly remember his Air Force officer commissioning ceremony on the Baylor campus in 2002, feeling proud of my then-boyfriend, but unaware of the journey and eventual future that would lay ahead for us both. It's truly an honor to be a military wife and I've loved every minute of our adventure together in this life we've created. Though you no longer are Captain Clough, you'll always be the captain of my heart (yes, I just went there)! Congrats, Major Clough!