My Month of June: Parties, Weddings, and Reunions with Friends

Is it really July 7th? I don't know where the summer has gone - but I'm glad that it's moving along swiftly as that means I'm that much closer to being back in Germany and the halfway point of my separation from Jon. Since my family trip to Mexico over Memorial Day, it's been one crazy, busy summer filled with wedding madness and I've loved every minute of it!

The month of June was consumed with two bachelorette parties, showers, Allison's wedding on June 21st and Lucy's wedding on July 5th. It has been so much fun to be a part of both weddings and I've really enjoyed catching up with so many friends. Especially, my long-time friend, Kelly Spencer! She and her husband Nick stayed with me over July 4th weekend while in town for Lucy's wedding and it was such a blast having her around!

We had plenty to catch up on as I hadn't seen her since my wedding last May, and since then she's become pregnant and is the cutest pregnant lady in the world!

The event-filled month of June started out with Allison's bachelorette party in Dallas, complete with an exotic dancing class, lingerie shower at the elegant Magnolia Hotel, dinner at a fun restaurant downtown and a night out at the Ghost Bar. The next weekend, I had a low-key, relaxing reunion at Judy and Claudia's lakehouse with the family before revving things up again for Lucy's bachelorette party in Austin the following weekend. It was biker rally extravaganza that weekend, which provided for that much more hootin' and hollerin' on 6th street. We had a great Austin weekend with plenty of Mexican food and dancing for all.

Allison's elegant wedding was on June 21st and I felt so honored to be THE Matron of Honor. It was absolutely gorgeous and I enjoyed every second of wedding preparation time I got to spend with her. She is such a sweet and awesome friend and I will always treasure those memories.

After taking it easy last weekend with no big plans, other than the Polish Pickle Run 5K, Lucy's week-filled wedding events began last Thursday. It was so much fun participating in all the fun dinners and outings to North Gate for country dancing and the wedding itself was perfect. The ceremony was so special and moving and the reception was an absolute blast! I will miss my sweet neighbor dearly as she heads back to Indiana with her new husband, but have cherished the past month we've gotten to spend together as neighbors again immensely.

It truly is so special to be able to be in these two amazing girls weddings and stand next to them on their happiest of days, as they stood next to me for mine. I am so blessed to have the most wonderful friends anyone could ask for, and I feel so lucky to have had this summer to be able to maximize my time with those who are so important in my life.

Although my wedding obligations are now through for the summer, the fun doesn't stop there. I have an incredible two weeks coming up as one of my best friends from Germany, Michelle, will be coming to visit me in Texas. It will be so much fun to show this Aussie around Texas and we plan to have a jam-packed schedule visiting places such as, Bandera, the ranch, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Baylor University and of course the big, bad, Bryan-College Station. More updates on our Tour de Texas to come!

Acapulco Con Mi Familia

I'm an Aca girl, in an Aca world,
Acapulco.... me gusto mucho,
Tanning in the sun, having lots of fun,
Extravaganza, makes me bonanza!


(Now sing to tune of, "I'm a Barbie Girl" chorus.) Yes, totally ridiculous, but it was the song I made up when I was 16 on my second trip to Acapulco. Now I have been there six times and although the experiences may vary greatly, it never disappoints!

The 'Pack 5' (aka. the Catlin Family) went for four days over Memorial Day for a relaxing vacation. Beyond laying by the pool, walking along the beach, ordering our daily guacamole and pina coladas, we ate at fabulous restaurants and experienced the invigorating nightlife.

Our first night, we ate at one of our favorite restaurants, Su Casa. Flowers cascade over the walls and stairs leading up to the open-air, festively decorated restaurant. Nestled high on a hillside overlooking the bay, the view is breathtaking.


The second night, we ventured to a new restaurant called El Olvide (the forgotten) posted high above the beach with a fantastic view. It was impeccable cuisine and we all decided would be the perfect spot for an Acapulco wedding. Not that there will be one, but if there ever was, that would be the place.


Of course beyond taking part in exceptional eating, we did manage to make it out to the clubs as well. And no clubs in the world can beat the classy Acapulco clubs, Mandera and Palladium, with their floor to ceiling windows next to the dance floor and incredible views of the bay. The first night we left the club at the unbelievably early hour of 3:30 a.m. and the second night we ended up meeting the future mayor of Acapulco (we'll see about that) and were persuaded to stay out until 6:45 a.m. Although we felt like that was quite an accomplishment, I doubt the people still packed in the club when we left thought that was an admirable feat. Either way, we proved that we still got it, Acapulco!


The city may be packed and may not have the prettiest beach with the clearest water, but there's something about Acapulco that has charmed our hearts and will always have a special place in our lives. It's a real city with real people in a gorgeous bay where such culture and vitality collide to create authentic beauty. I can't wait to visit Acapulco again - a city that has truly touched my heart.

Another Wedding on the Horizon

That's right, the Clough's look forward to welcoming the Blue's to the family! Laurel and Jason are finally engaged! The long-awaited engagement occurred on Thursday in Austin and I feel so honored that I got to be a part of this special occasion. Jason had come to visit my parent's house last weekend to talk to my Dad, and we had a pre-engagement celebratory toast and hatched plans for the proposal the following week. Jason wanted to propose in a scenic spot next to a creek in a green belt area near their apartment in Austin. In order to get a picnic area set-up beforehand, he needed some assistance and I jumped at the opportunity to be there. I met up with him on Thursday afternoon and he showed me the spot to set up a blanket with rose petals and picnic basket with champagne and fruit. After setting it up, I was to hide a ways down the trail in order to put the ring (which I had attached to a collar) around Bandera's, Laurel's dog, neck. Sure enough, I heard them coming down the trail an hour later and instead of Bandera running past me on the trail, it was Harley who came right to me. So, although it wasn't in the plan, Harley was the one to wear the collar and bring the ring to Laurel. Needless to say, she was very surprised and ecstatic to see such a beautiful ring. Jason designed the setting himself, which has small blue diamonds (how appropriate as his last name is Blue) around the base of the diamond.


After giving Laurel another surprise by popping out and taking some pictures of them, we headed back to the apartment and got ready to meet some friends at a bar for Jason's birthday. Mandy surprised Laurel again at the bar, and we had a great time celebrating both their engagement and Jason's birthday with many of their friends.

I am so excited for the two of them and can't wait for all the wedding fun to begin again. Although no date is set in stone, it will most likely be another ranch wedding and Jon and I can't wait to return to Texas for such a fun occasion. It will be fantastic to have a brother-in-law and I'm excited about our stupendous growing family!

Texas vs. Iraq

It's hard to believe that on May 5th, Jon and I celebrated our one-year anniversary. Well, it wasn't exactly a celebration considering we couldn't be together, but I did get a phone call from Jon in Iraq and hearing his voice was gift enough. This year has truly flown by so quickly, and three days before our anniversary, Jon left for Iraq for his eight-month deployment. Although I will desperately miss him, I have fun plans of my own for the summer as I will be returning to Texas.

I've only been back four days, but have already had Tex-Mex several times and am re-adjusting to the Texas heat and humidity. I have stayed in my parents house numerous times since graduating high school, but this will be my first time to live in my old room for four months since high school with no car. Therefore, I feel I'm returning to the age of 15 when I would have to beg for rides from Mom and Dad and had all my household chores. Truthfully, I'm so excited to be home again and really won't be at "home" all that much. There are so many friends I look forward to re-uniting with, weddings to be a part of, vacations to go on, etc. Really, I'm looking forward to an outstanding summer with the family, and what an opportunity to spend so much quality time with my parents even as a married woman.

Jon will hopefully send updates on the blog periodically during his deployment although he worries that it will simply be a recount of groundhog day. Regardless, we plan to still update the blog even if we won't have travels in Europe to write about (at least for four months). This summer will be dedicated to my hometown return and all the adventures of reunions with family and friends.

Thank you for continuing to read the blog and for your support of Jon and me as we endure this deployment. One thing is for sure, we've both been through the long-distance dance before - this will be a piece of cake.

A Night at the Casino and The Last Week

Viva..... Wiesbaden!? Well, although we didn't land hordes of Euro to set us for life like we planned, we had a great time dressing up and gambling away our piddly amount we set aside at the casino this week. Although I had been to the decadent casino a couple times before, this was the first time I gambled at the black jack table solo. Well, I didn't quite have the lucky streak that Mandy and Jason did a few weeks ago, but it was fun nonetheless and definitely improved my math skills.

The night actually was intended for the four studly men pictured on the left (Jose, Jake, Jon and Ray) to have a classy men's night out making the big bucks. Well, no one made the big bucks, sadly enough, but I think they enjoyed suiting up and feeling oh so debonair. The casino in the Weisbaden Kurhaus is truly a sight to behold and Molly and I tagged along so that we could also have an excuse to dress-up and rub elbows with the rich people (or at least the people GETTING rich). Some of these folks had stacks and stacks of 50 Euro chips at their table, all the while we were pondering why they wouldn't break our 2 Euro chips down to .50 cent Euro chips. It sure would have allowed the night to last longer!

Last weekend, Jake and Molly hosted a going away party for those deploying in the squadron. The theme was to celebrate all the holidays they would be missing over the next eight months including 4th of July, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Halloween, Election Day, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving.

When I first walked in I was totally confused as to why Molly still had her Halloween decorations up when they didn't even move in until January, but then remembered the adorable theme. It was a great party with tons of food (the most important element of a successful party), games for the kids and one last opportunity to unite with the squadron before Jon deploys and I head to the States.

Yes, the dreaded date is soon approaching, one week from today to be exact. I find myself wanting the week to speed up and slow down at the same time as I want to cherish every moment we have left together, while also wanting the countdown for the time he's gone to hurry up and begin. This last week together we have nothing major planned, but simply hope to enjoy each other, our friends, and Wiesbaden as much as possible.

Happy Friday to all!

Catlin Sisters in Germany!

Deutschland mit meine Schwestern ist wunderbar! Yes, indeed, Germany with my sisters is wonderful! I am so lucky to have such fun, fabulous sisters and the 10 days they were here were absolutely fantastic. It was so thrilling to be able to plan the trip and tour them around for once, and although we saw some amazing sites and visited beautiful towns, the best part was simply being together. Although there are more stories and adventures than I could ever try to condense in one blog entry, I did my best to include the highlights of our incredible reunion.

They arrived together on Saturday, the 29th, and Jon and I wanted to give them an authentic German welcome with German style. Me in my drundel and Jon in his 'stache and hat.

After a day of touring around Wiesbaden and visiting the Farmer's market, checking out the shops and a wee nap, we had a welcome dinner at a traditional German restaurant with friends. It was great to have them be able to meet the friends we have made here, and of course everyone LOVED meeting them! Afterward, we had a fun night at a nearby bar decked out in whimsical decorations, a bit of dancing and sparklers at midnight.

The next day, we began our traveling adventures by trekking to the medieval town of Rothenburg via the Romantic Strasse, or in German, Romantische Strasse. It was an absolutely beautiful day and was almost warm. Who would have thought - warm in April!

After settling in at our guesthouse, we took a stroll around the town. We then walked the mile on top of the wall that surrounds the town and got great views from above. Rick Steves claims that this is the best preserved medieval city anywhere, and the town works hard to keep it that way.

That evening, we went on THE Night Watchman tour that is very popular with tourists. At sunset, the Night Watchman invites guests to take a walk with him around town and provides stories of Rothenburg during medieval times. Rick Steves calls him the German Jerry Springer, and although I'm not sure I agree with that, he sure does have a great sense of humor!

The next day, we enjoyed a morning of shopping while Jon busied himself with taking photos (we have over 300 of 1.5 days in Rothenburg).We had a blast meandering down the alleys and browsing in the shop windows. Among our purchases, I received two beautiful German dolls. The wine princess girl was an early birthday gift from my two sweet sisters and I also got a Bavarian boy. What an international doll collection I will have!

After touring the largest Christmas shop ever, eating a great lunch and partaking in more photo shoots with our personal paparazzi, we said aufwiedersehen to Rothenburg and headed back to Wiesbaden.

The next day was our "local day" where we would simply enjoy Wiesbaden. We ate lunch at an outdoor cafe and then headed up to the Neroberg, which is a hill that provides beautiful views of Wiesbaden below. At the top also stands the Russian church. This was built by a duke in the 1800s in memory of his Russian bride who died in childbirth. It's absolutely beautiful inside and the golden spires can be seen from the opposite end of town above the treetops.

That night, we ate dinner and our favorite Italian restaurant, Il Mediterraneo. It also so happens that this restaurant is 10 feet from our apartment entrance. We go there quite often and enjoy their delicious pizzas, pastas and of course, prosecco. The waiters loved meeting mia sorrelle, and how could they not? They are pretty dazzling (wow, I'm turning into Jason with the cheese)!

The next day we were headed off again on our journey to experience more charming villages. This time we headed west to the town of Cochem on the Mosel River. It is an adorable town with a pointy castle that sits above town. We had a great time wandering down the streets, enjoying local wines in a weinkeller (winecellar) and eating at another authentic German restaurant. The following day, we toured the Cochem castle, which is small, yet absolutely beautiful with views of the Mosel river and steep cliffs on all sides.

Afterward, it was time to continue on our castle quest to see yet another gorgeous castle, Burg Eltz. It is claimed, once again by Rick Steves, to be the best preserved medieval castle. This 700 year-old castle is nestled between two valleys behind the Mosel River and has stayed in the same family and never been destroyed.

Two castles in one day was pretty exhausting so afterward, we headed back to Wiesbaden where we made a home-cooked meal of Mom's spaghetti and enjoyed watching American Idol. Although they are great traveling partners, sometimes it's just as fun to be doing the every day things we seldom get the opportunity to do anymore.

The next morning, Laurel and I rushed to the airport to pick up Jason, her boyfriend, only to find him waiting on us. Oops! He was a great sport about it and we were all excited to have a new companion on our journey. After a short break at my apartment, we headed out again to another castle, this time along the Rhine. Marksburg Castle was amazing and is considered to be the most authentic along the Rhine. We were able to see a kitchen, a bedroom, chapel and armory room furnished as how they would have looked in medieval times.

After our wonderful castle tour, we rode a ferry to the other side of the Rhine to the town of Boppard where we viewed a gorgeous church. No matter how tiny the towns may be, they all have magnificent and huge churches. We then traveled a little down the road to the town of St. Goar where we began our Rhine river cruise. Jason had been aching for a beer all morning, and finally on the boat we had our first opportunity to toast to our Germany adventure.

Although we only cruised for less than two hours, it seemed the numerous castles and villages were never-ending. At the beginning, it was such a thrill to spot the first castle on the hillside, and by the end of the two hours, it was like, hmm another castle, should I get up to take a picture, or do we have enough?

It was a blast and I'm so glad that the weather held out for us. We concluded our Rhine cruise in the town of Bacharach.

We enjoyed walking around this adorable town with half-timbered buildings. As the Rhine region is well-known for making Riesling wine, we decided to partake in a wine-tasting at a nearby restaurant.

We received a lazy susan with 15 glasses of wine that we took turns sipping from. It was so much fun to compare thoughts on each glass and Mandy and Laurel both bought two bottles of their favorites. I feel so lucky to get such great and cheap wine here all the time and I'm sure going to miss that when I'm back in the States!

The next day, we enjoyed another 'local' day and also went to the neighboring town of Mainz to visit the famous cathedral. That night, we got spiffied up and went to the Kurhaus in Wiesbaden where the casino is located. This is no ordinary casino, but is very fancy and sophisticated as all the dealers wear tuxedos and a dress code of suits and ties is required for men.

Although we can't take pictures inside the casino, we are standing here in the Kurhaus main entrance. The cherry wood ceiling and walls of the casino room with beautiful crystal chandeliers, fancily clad people and black jack and roulette tables made us feel as if we were stepping into the last James Bond movie. Both Mandy and Jason came out as big winners at the black jack table as Laurel and I enjoyed being mere onlookers.

The next morning, it was time to say a sad good-bye to Mandy as she headed back to Texas. The week with her seemed to fly by so quickly, but at least I will be seeing her again soon! Laurel, Jason and I headed east to the town of Bamberg. Two waterways intersect this town, and the old town hall pictured above is actually positioned mid-stream in one of the rivers. Due to the emergence of this town from WWII bombings with barely a scratch, it has numerous original half-timbered buildings. Also, this town is known to be a beer haven in the country of beer, producing over 200 varieties locally. Jason was excited to visit the beer museum and afterward, we all enjoyed a rauchbier, which is authentic to Bamberg. We had a wonderful day drinking beer, visiting the Kloster St. Michael on the hilltop above town, drinking beer, eating lunch, meandering around town and finally, drinking more beer.

When we returned to Wiesbaden that night, we met up with Jon who had been in France for a work trip. We had a fantastic evening exploring the beers of Wiesbaden (Jon's a much better tour guide in that area). It was a blast having the four of us together despite the guys tendency to get a bit rowdy around each other. I suppose boys will always be boys!

The next day, we had a surprise when it snowed all morning long. After enjoying a lazy morning, we spent the rest of the day going to the gummi bear shop, walking around one of our many beautiful city parks and our afternoon beer break.

We had a wonderful farewell dinner at the same restaurant where we celebrated Mandy and Laurel's first night and it seemed that the trip had come full circle. It began as a wonderful reunion with my dear sisters whom I love dearly and ended with a celebration of four friends who can't wait to travel and spend time together again. I feel so fortunate that I was born into a wonderful family that is so supportive, extraordindarily kind, and absolutely hilarious, and yet also have such wonderful friends who have become a part of the family I have made. Jon and I can't thank you enough, Mandy, Laurel and Jason for the effort you made to come visit us. We were overwhelmed by your generosity and enthusiasm about the trip and I can't wait until you come visit again. You are all the absolute best!

Tschussies, ciao ciao, bye-bye!

St. Patty's and Easter

Tomorrow we leave for the States for a long-deserved Clough family reunion. We can't wait for good home-cooked meals, fun times at the farm, and a gathering with an awesome family! We will return to Germany on the 27th and two days later, will host the Catlin sisters on a tour of Germany. This will be full of adventures, mishaps and fun stories we will look forward to re-telling on the blog.

The past three days have been an incredible never-ending St. Patty's day. We began the celebration at the James Joyce pub on Friday to see some friends in a band play there, then continued on Saturday when we returned for another night on the town with some of Jon's co-workers. Last night, the actual St. Patty's day, we celebrated at the Irish pub with an authentic Dublin band that played some great traditional Irish tunes. It was a really fun night, although no one does up St. Patty's day like good ole Scruffy Murphy's in Waco or Greenville Avenue in Dallas.

On Sunday, we "starred" in another stellar performance at our church as "disciple John" and "mother Mary" in an Easter play. Our friends, the Aussies, were also acting in the play, so it was really fun to have all of us roped into performing together.

Happy Easter to all and we'll catch ya next week!