Happy Halloween!

I can't believe it's here already, but isn't it the greatest holiday EVER?!! (Well, ok...so Christmas might be in the running too, but there's something about Halloween. Does that make me the devil? :)) Happy Halloween everyone! I hope it's scary, and spooky and full of trick-or-treaters (our building is locked, so don't take your little costumed cuties for granted!).

We celebrated Halloween a day early around here. Our ward trunk or treat was last night, and we made quite the cute little dog and cat combo if I do say so myself. If you can't tell from the pictures, Brian was THRILLED to be a dalmatian. Simply thrilled. :) (Thanks for being a good sport Bri...well...good-ish sport. :) I've always been a dog lover.)

We had a lot of fun passing out candy to the adorable kids in our ward. And we loved hanging out with our chums, the Jacksons. If you thought our costumes were good, check this out!



Incredible, right? Look at little Bam Bam! He's got white, baby-powdered hair and a stick!! They won a costume award, and rightfully so! They rocked the Flintstones! (Should I have said "bed-rocked" or would that have been a little over the top? :))

After the partying, Brian and I carved our pumpkins. (Yes, that's me in the fuzzy yellow chick robe and cat nose. I forgot these would be appearing to the public. But at least it's my favorite robe. :)) Isn't his...nauseating? :) So creative.



Have an amazingly Happy Halloween!! (And for those of you who get to go to Mom's spooktacular, annual shin-dig tonight, you lucky lucky things...eat some amazing food for me while you have the chance. You may not get any next year...after a one year draught, the cranberry wassail, pumpkin stew and old fashioned donuts will be MINE...all mine. Ba ha ha ha!)

PS-Thanks for letting me rip off your cute colored text idea Coo. My holiday post needed a little snazzing up :) Oh, and I'll get to your tag as soon as the craziness dies down! Promise.

Hangin' with Hoola

Well, I just dropped my sister Halee (aka Hoo, aka Hoola...yeah...I have no idea where these nicknames began...) at the airport, and after a week of sister fun, I am all alone! Sniff, sniff:). After Halee and Carly's visits, I have decided that it's official: the Gotberg girls rock :) Halee and I had an awesome time. She's quite the little dynamo--she packs a lot into that little tiny frame, so we ran all over the city doing everything imaginable: Holocaust Museum, all the monuments, the Capitol, a tour of Printing and Engraving, Air & Space Museum, the National Archives, the White House, the Natural History Museum and, of course, shopping at H&M (Brian called about meeting us at the metro in the nick of time. Halee says he saved her from what could've been a fashion catastrophe. Afterall, the longer she looked at the mannequin at the front of the store, the less strange the outfit looked... She was 'this close' to full-length leg warmers and a plaid skirt. :) I say go for it girl...your tiny little self just might "rock it". :)).



We spent our last night on a ghost tour of Old Town Alexandria, led by a lady in colonial garb. It was AWESOME. Very cold, but very worth it.




I already miss all the laughing! (Isn't it fun when you get home from a FULL day of walking around and you are SO tired you'll giggle hysterically over ANYTHING without being able to stop? But I mean, seriously...what if we really did have to drag ourselves around on our stomachs with our elbows the rest of the week because our legs were so sore? Or what if my team mascot for Nuts/Nertz was a yellow fuzzy chick? Or what if my name really was hukalsioulskdoiulkajoljowj? Or what if Halee and I really were the Jefferson and Washington Monuments?)


Those things are all HILARIOUS, right? :) Yeah...let's just say Brian is a very very good sport...

We're so glad you could come Hoola, and love you way too much!!
Love, Bri Bri and The Girl with One Ear (don't ask...it was a cheap earring, gangrene accident...)

Coo in the Capital

My sister Carly (aka Coo) came for a visit Wednesday through this morning. We toured all the monuments, shopped, toured Old Town and plain ol' partied (can we say "addicted to computer text twist"? Man we were getting good!). It was a blast! We really, really reeeeeeeeeeeeally didn't want to turn her over to her work people when the time came. Sigh.

Unfortunately, between a lost camera, a camera that lost battery power at the last second, and three cell phones that unexpectedly died (yes...three...it takes talent), we didn't get any pictures of her at the monuments. But we made up for it during our shopping adventures. (If anyone can pull off a crazy hat, it's the Coockleberry!)


I love you Coo! We miss you already!

Now...bring on the next sister... :)

Fall Camping

Me and Brian headed into Shenandoah National Park this weekend for our first camping trip as a married couple. I have to say, it was pretty incredible! I even survived a little Joan of Arc episode. :)



We couldn't have picked a better weekend. The leaves were at their peak, and everything looked perfect. That being said, looking back on it, I think it was all the little mishaps and imperfections that made the experience. For example:

*How many Eagle Scouts and Young Women Certified Campers does it take to start a fire? Apparently more than we had with us. It was freezing, and we HAD to have a fire...we're talking survival here. :) But, after gathering the driest wood we could find, we realized it obviously wasn't dry enough. Thank goodness for the Campstore, equipped with fire-starter logs and bags of dry wood. As you can see in the picture above, we eventually got a rip-roarin' blaze going, and the hot dogs and smores were DELICIOUS!



*I mentioned it was chilly...but it's worth mentioning again. It was chilly! For those of you who have emailed telling me what a romantic life we lead, picture this scene: 2 newlyweds, each layered and looking like marshmellows, bundled in their respective, blanket-lined sleeping bags, when one turns to the other to say goodnight: "Brian? Wait...Brian? Where are you? Oh...burrowed down in your sleeping bag...huh. Guess I won't kiss you goodnight."
The answer is muffled and sounds really far away: "Huh? What? Did you say something?"
" Hm. Guess talking is out of the question too... can you at least peek out for a second so I can take a picture?" :) he he he. Priceless.

*The signs that greeted us as we entered the campsite told us we were in bear country, and there were pictures of bears in campsites last week. I was terrified when I woke up at 3 a.m. and heard all kinds of creepy sounds. Did we for sure put all the skittles in the car? Images of getting dragged out of the tent over one green little piece of candy had me going nuts. I would've woken up Brian...but I probably wouldn't have been able to dig him out of his cacoon if my life depended on it. :) I had no reason to fear, though. We ate, slept and hiked part of the Appalachian Trail encountering nothing scarier than Bambi.



*Cleaning up camp doesn't sound fun, but it actually turned out to be quite the bonding experience. Our true dorkiness came out when we high-fived, whooped, and got WAY overly excited about getting the tent, tarp, sleeping bags and air mattress all back into their original packages. Seriously, that's an accomplishment, right?! We thought so!!



Yep, it always seems to be the unexpected, quirky, little things that make an experience worth it. Anyway, here's the pictures! Enjoy the colors! We sure did.

Picked a Peck

Red Delicious, and Golden and York! Oh my! Not to mention a couple of hard earned Granny Smith, some Romes, and lots of unknown apples we like to call "Hybrids" (Golden Delicious meets Granny Smith in a shaded, remote corner of the orchard, and well...the rest is delicious history).

We went apple picking at Hill High Farm this weekend, and it was such a fun day! Nothing says Autumn quite like driving into the Virginian countryside, with all the changing colors and cute little farm houses, turning off on a little dirt road that leads to a real-live farm, deciding between a peck a bushel or a half-bushel, and then spending a few hours walking up and down rows of apple trees searching for the best apples. We were a little bummed when we were told there were no more Granny Smiths--they're Brian's favorite, and I'm a sucker for an apple crisp that has a bit of a bite. But after hiking to the most remote part of the orchard, where either due to the gigantic hornets' nest or sheer distance no man but us dared to go, we saw 2 decent sized Granny Smiths up near the top of one of the trees. And up Brian went. I think he's part monkey. I, of course, snapped pictures thinking, "Ooooooooo blog." :)


After the apple picking fun, we strolled through the pumpkins, and had a glass of delicious apple cider at the little gift shop in the barn. Can we say fall? Fall, fall, fall, fall!!! Anyway, here's some of the pictures from our day at the farm:



I tell you, for someone who's not usually a planner, Brian sure has outdone himself lately. I believe we're on the path to making this the "fall of all falls". It will definitely go down in history, and might just be tough to match.

PS: Brian, I definitely think your tractor's sexy. As for mine, well...I guess it's not so bad either! :)

Getting Squirrely

Yes, we're newlyweds, but NO that is NOT what this post is about. :) This is a family friendly blog people. :) Sheesh...onward... :)

This is a typical ride to the grocery store for us:
"Ooooooo...Brian, look at the squirrel! He's eating an acorn! Hi little squirrel!"

This is a typical walk to the park for us:
"Ooooo...Brian! Squirrel! He's looking at us! Look...look at his cute little face! Hello...you're so cute!"

This is a typical trip to the mailbox for us (yep, we get the mail together...give us a break, we're newlyweds!):
"Oooooooo...Brian! The squirrels are chasing each other. Look how they run! [Insert me doing an idiotic impression of a squirrel, teeth and all]. Go little squirrels, go!"

Yes, being from Utah I am only used to seeing squirrels when I'm camping, and then maybe one or two. But here, oh my! They are EVERYWHERE! And they are so stinkin' cute. So, after obsessing about them every time I've gone outside in the past 4 months, I thought it was time to finally give them an official blog shout out. :) I should've known moving out here would be full of squirrel fun--after all, when I came to visit Brian last November I had quite the friendly little guy stalking me through the National Mall. He would NOT leave, and kept coming right up to me and standing on his little back legs to look. I was trying to figure out a way to cuddle him without getting rabies. Brian was getting a teensy bit jealous. :)


Since I've moved here they've all been a bit more bashful, but I know one day they'll talk back!