Hallo! Just thought we'd keep a little journal about our adventures in Germany as they occur. Hope you enjoy!
We flew out of Salt Lake City, UT on Sept. 22nd at 7 am and arrived in Frankfurt, Germany at 7am on the 23rd. With all of our luggage for the year, we took the train to Mainz (approx. 1/2 hr). Once we got to the main train station, we put our things in lockers while we tried to find our way around. Our first stop - Home Company to find an apartment. The first apartment we found is the one we fell in love with. We did look at a couple of others, but fell back on our first choice. We had never imagined finding a place on our first day here, not to mention within the first couple of hours! However, our landlord would not be available to give us the keys until 6:30, and at this point it was only about 2...we were exhausted at spent our time hardly talking while walking all over the train station, taking breaks on the benches, and a quick nap at the park nearby. At 5 we decided to walk to the friends' house we had originally arranged to stay at for the first couple of days to tell them we would not need their couch ;) Karim was very willing to help us with anything we needed, and also offered to take us back to the train station to get our luggage and take us to our new place. A little more waiting...then she finally arrived! We moved our stuff in quickly - and we were in bed soon afterwards. We slept until 3:30pm the next day! Oh jetlag is killer!
24th: Walked to the grocery store 5 minutes away, then got to cleaning. By 11 we had all of our things put away and were loving our place even more.
25th: Went to main train station again today to meet w/ Brody's assistant director for the school - we walked all around the little shops.
I'm really loving it here! Good thing Brody is here to talk to everyone and translate what others are saying - that part is hard to get used to...but I am very motivated to learn the language! The neighborhood we live in is adorable! Quiet streets, brick sidewalks, nice homes and friendly people :) Auf Wiedersehen for now!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Couple's Plans
The next couple of months or so are going to be a bit insane for the couple, but exciting at the same time. Both have had the great opportunity of spending the summer in school ;). Brittany is finishing up her Bachelor’s degree in nursing over the summer at Valparaiso University. She will be finished the first week of August, and have half a moment to breathe – but only just a moment! Brody has been in Vermont at Middlebury College for six weeks of the summer beginning his next Master’s program which is in German. The couple hadn’t been apart for more than a period of hours since their first date, so this six week split has definitely proven a challenge for them, but it will be worth it. Brody will finish up his summer program in Vermont in mid-August, and then they’ll have the chance to finish all the last minute wedding plans.
The wedding will be on the 3rd of September in the Nauvoo Illinois Temple followed by a reception in Michigan and an open house in Utah. With the mention of all of these different locations, a lot of travel is implied, and that is how the couple will be starting out their life together. Brittany will be flying out to Vermont to meet Brody at the end of his summer program and then they’ll drive back to Michigan together just a couple weeks before the wedding. After the wedding they’ll have a few days to relax before hopping back in the truck for more driving since the week after the reception in Michigan will be an open house in Utah. From there, the couple will be heading off to their final destination… Germany!
Brody’s master’s program has provided the couple with an opportunity to start their lives together on a foreign adventure! So right after the wedding, they’ll be packing everything into a storage unit – with the exception of their suitcases – and will be headed to Europe. Brody will be studying at the Johannes-Gutenberg Universität for the next year to finish his degree, and so the couple will be moving to Mainz – which is about a half hour or so south of Frankfurt. There also happens to be a U.S. military base not too far from the University, where Brittany hopes to find her first job as a civilian nurse. They still have a lot to figure out, but they do know they’ll be in Mainz at least until next July. Life is definitely starting out on the adventurous side for the couple, and will hopefully be filled with great experiences.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
How They Met: Her Story
To begin with a little background…I grew up in SW MI, and right after graduating HS, I had my mind set up to move out west to the hot weather and sunshine all year round. Always knowing that I wanted to be a nurse, I focused my pre-reqs on that and after a couple of years began applying to different nursing programs. I had never even heard of Valparaiso University before – and it was only an hour away from my house in MI if that tells you anything – lol. My sister, Corlista, had just completed the accelerated program there and absolutely hated it. Still being in AZ, my first choice was at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, who had an excellent program, but a long waiting list. Valpo was appealing because you finish in 15 months and there’s no wait – Good deal! (except for the tuition of course) – but anyway - I had it set in my mind that I wouldn’t go back to the Midwest although I did love to visit; I just very much dislike the cold as many of you know. But as fate would have it, I got accepted right away, took a couple more classes that I needed, then packed up my car, and came back. There were several obstacles that stood in my way – but I couldn’t let anything stop me when I had made it that far. I first lived in Chicago for few months of the program (which I love by-the-way - intense but just my style), then moved into the Salisbury’s (my adopted parents), to my dad’s, and finally, after having commuted an hour each week since May…decided to move into an apartment on campus in January.
Now the exciting part begins ;) January 11, 2009 is when I first set my eyes on who would become (much faster than ever expected) my husband! I had come late to church that Sunday – but only because the street sign wasn’t marked and I didn’t know where I was going. I was sitting in the lounge area, when Jennifer Jolley (now Caggiano) sat next to me and introduced herself. She was trying to name some people she would introduce me to once the meeting was over – and she was like “I think there’s a guy named…Brody or something...yeah, he comes to institute but I don’t know much about him.” Not even kidding…the first time I even just heard his named my heart just skipped a beat! He walked out wearing square rimmed glasses completing his "handsome AND smart" look …and I just had to smile. Then, standing next to him was his friend, Trey, who quickly invited me to dinner with a bunch of people at his place, but told Brody to get my number so that if I needed directions I could call him. I didn’t think anything of it, but apparently this was Trey’s effort to ‘hook us up.’ The following Sunday I had gone home (as I did many times after that as well to do laundry and such), but came back that Monday and went sledding with the young single adults (YSA)…in which it was made apparently obvious to some of our friends that Brody was interested in this ‘new girl’ that they had never met. Well, they didn’t get a chance to meet that ‘new girl’ until the end of March because of my frequent trips back to MI and spring break when I went to AZ. However, one Sunday before my disappearance, I had brought my friend Mike to church with me because I wanted to show him what it was all about. And yes I say friend because we have been close friends since the 4th grade. We had recently tried dating again after it had ended our senior year, but I couldn’t get it past me that it was anything more than friends. After I had introduced them, I thought to myself, “why did I just do that? I kind of have a crush on this guy.” Whoops! Lol. During the class that Brody teaches, I couldn’t help but smile (and it was definitely at him – but he just liked that I looked so happy…and Brody will admit (at least to me anyway) that he knew then that he wanted to marry me right then *Jan 25th to put this into perspective) – after facebook stalking me (gotta love fb!), he saw that I hadn’t changed my relationship status yet from ‘in a relationship’ lol, and thought he had no hope. After that Sunday, the Britt disappearance occurs. Once the end of March came around, I told myself that I needed to get more involved here (Valpo) and not go home on weekends as much. **Best decision of my life! I started going to Institute and hanging out more with the YSA – so much fun! To sum this up because it’s getting lengthy for most people although I could go on and on – I’ll spare you most of the juicy details. Brody’s b-day was on April 9th…in which I had invited him previously to come over and watch a movie w/ my roommates and I – not realizing it was his 25th birthday! So that day, I quickly called everyone and made a surprise out of it in which I made a quick brownie/cake and hung up balloons while Tiare and Cyd drove him around blind-folded trying to waste time. I still wasn’t quite sure how I felt about him at this point, because we really hadn’t talked much, but I knew something was there. That weekend we all went to Potato Creek and had the most amazing weekend just playing volleyball/ultimate Frisbee/and games at night. This is when I really started to realize just how much I was falling for this guy. We had a couple of chances to talk and get to know each other a little more, although we were with the group for the majority of the time. That Sunday was Easter – and I hadn’t planned on going home, but after checking the planner, I knew I wouldn’t have any other time to visit with Lisa before she left to go back to Idaho. Because Brody had invited Rachel and I to have dinner at his place that night (even though he didn’t have any food – lol) and I decided last minute to go to MI, I thought “hey! I should invite Brody to come to my dad’s with me!” Well, I called him up thinking he probably wouldn’t want to, and was pleasantly surprised that he said “sure!” So Brody met my dad before we had even gone on a date we went to Warren Dunes that night w/ Lisa and took a bunch of fun pics, then headed back to IN. That Monday we did not see each other, Tuesday he asks me out on our first date to Chili’s – had to cut it short to make it to institute because it was at his house, we sat a little extra close that night…and um…..when everybody FINALLY left after 1-ish…we talked a bit – and had our first kiss – yep first date! Well, life has been in the clouds since then, we haven’t spent more than 24hrs away from each other (VT is going to be killer), and after exactly one month of our first date, we had a ring picked out! Graduation was that weekend, so we decided we would tell the parents while they were here that we were going to be getting married. Quite surprisingly, we didn’t get the shock factor we were expecting. Instead, most of what we got was…yeah, we knew it was coming. But! The good thing was that they were all nothing but supportive Well, the actually ‘asking’ hadn’t occurred yet – so I couldn’t really spread the news – and it was so hard not to just shout it out! That Monday we helped a friend move who lives north of Chicago and we had planned to stop in downtown to eat at Giordano’s on the way back. So we eat dinner and then take a walk to Navy Pier. Me “knowing” that the ring was getting sized, was “sure” that it definitely wasn’t going to happen that night, but was highly anticipating when it would. For some reason, Brody asked me a couple of times if I wanted the jacket he had been holding for me because it was a little chilly. Usually I would say yes to anything that keeps me a little warmer, but the wind felt good. So finally he was like, “well, I’m going to put mine on.” So we walked to the very end of the pier, and there were a couple of people around, but it was still very quiet and you can’t beat the view of the city lights at night and Lake Michigan. We were taking pictures of ourselves (nothing new lol)…but Brody was like...”hmmm…they’re just not turning out” so he asks a random stranger to take a picture of us…and me being completely unaware about what was going on…he looked me in the eyes and told me how much he loved me, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! OMG! YES!! I had no idea, and I had a late reaction to the crying – but yes I did cry – and we got some applause in the background…and a comment that I have the most romantic fiancé ever! I would definitely agree! WOW! And yes, many of you may be astonished by how fast everything has gone and know that it’s very unlike either of us to be like this – but as the saying goes…”when you know, you know,” and we know! What a wonderful blessing it has been to have him come into my life – he is everything I have ever wanted and so much more. I am incredibly grateful for every moment I have to spend with him, and I cannot wait to see what life has in store for us. I love him with all of my heart and Sept. 3rd just seems so far away – the day when I get to be married to him for time and all eternity in Nauvoo. Thank you to everyone who have supported us and shared in our joy. We hope to see you at either one of our receptions to celebrate the beginning of our new life together!!
Now the exciting part begins ;) January 11, 2009 is when I first set my eyes on who would become (much faster than ever expected) my husband! I had come late to church that Sunday – but only because the street sign wasn’t marked and I didn’t know where I was going. I was sitting in the lounge area, when Jennifer Jolley (now Caggiano) sat next to me and introduced herself. She was trying to name some people she would introduce me to once the meeting was over – and she was like “I think there’s a guy named…Brody or something...yeah, he comes to institute but I don’t know much about him.” Not even kidding…the first time I even just heard his named my heart just skipped a beat! He walked out wearing square rimmed glasses completing his "handsome AND smart" look …and I just had to smile. Then, standing next to him was his friend, Trey, who quickly invited me to dinner with a bunch of people at his place, but told Brody to get my number so that if I needed directions I could call him. I didn’t think anything of it, but apparently this was Trey’s effort to ‘hook us up.’ The following Sunday I had gone home (as I did many times after that as well to do laundry and such), but came back that Monday and went sledding with the young single adults (YSA)…in which it was made apparently obvious to some of our friends that Brody was interested in this ‘new girl’ that they had never met. Well, they didn’t get a chance to meet that ‘new girl’ until the end of March because of my frequent trips back to MI and spring break when I went to AZ. However, one Sunday before my disappearance, I had brought my friend Mike to church with me because I wanted to show him what it was all about. And yes I say friend because we have been close friends since the 4th grade. We had recently tried dating again after it had ended our senior year, but I couldn’t get it past me that it was anything more than friends. After I had introduced them, I thought to myself, “why did I just do that? I kind of have a crush on this guy.” Whoops! Lol. During the class that Brody teaches, I couldn’t help but smile (and it was definitely at him – but he just liked that I looked so happy…and Brody will admit (at least to me anyway) that he knew then that he wanted to marry me right then *Jan 25th to put this into perspective) – after facebook stalking me (gotta love fb!), he saw that I hadn’t changed my relationship status yet from ‘in a relationship’ lol, and thought he had no hope. After that Sunday, the Britt disappearance occurs. Once the end of March came around, I told myself that I needed to get more involved here (Valpo) and not go home on weekends as much. **Best decision of my life! I started going to Institute and hanging out more with the YSA – so much fun! To sum this up because it’s getting lengthy for most people although I could go on and on – I’ll spare you most of the juicy details. Brody’s b-day was on April 9th…in which I had invited him previously to come over and watch a movie w/ my roommates and I – not realizing it was his 25th birthday! So that day, I quickly called everyone and made a surprise out of it in which I made a quick brownie/cake and hung up balloons while Tiare and Cyd drove him around blind-folded trying to waste time. I still wasn’t quite sure how I felt about him at this point, because we really hadn’t talked much, but I knew something was there. That weekend we all went to Potato Creek and had the most amazing weekend just playing volleyball/ultimate Frisbee/and games at night. This is when I really started to realize just how much I was falling for this guy. We had a couple of chances to talk and get to know each other a little more, although we were with the group for the majority of the time. That Sunday was Easter – and I hadn’t planned on going home, but after checking the planner, I knew I wouldn’t have any other time to visit with Lisa before she left to go back to Idaho. Because Brody had invited Rachel and I to have dinner at his place that night (even though he didn’t have any food – lol) and I decided last minute to go to MI, I thought “hey! I should invite Brody to come to my dad’s with me!” Well, I called him up thinking he probably wouldn’t want to, and was pleasantly surprised that he said “sure!” So Brody met my dad before we had even gone on a date we went to Warren Dunes that night w/ Lisa and took a bunch of fun pics, then headed back to IN. That Monday we did not see each other, Tuesday he asks me out on our first date to Chili’s – had to cut it short to make it to institute because it was at his house, we sat a little extra close that night…and um…..when everybody FINALLY left after 1-ish…we talked a bit – and had our first kiss – yep first date! Well, life has been in the clouds since then, we haven’t spent more than 24hrs away from each other (VT is going to be killer), and after exactly one month of our first date, we had a ring picked out! Graduation was that weekend, so we decided we would tell the parents while they were here that we were going to be getting married. Quite surprisingly, we didn’t get the shock factor we were expecting. Instead, most of what we got was…yeah, we knew it was coming. But! The good thing was that they were all nothing but supportive Well, the actually ‘asking’ hadn’t occurred yet – so I couldn’t really spread the news – and it was so hard not to just shout it out! That Monday we helped a friend move who lives north of Chicago and we had planned to stop in downtown to eat at Giordano’s on the way back. So we eat dinner and then take a walk to Navy Pier. Me “knowing” that the ring was getting sized, was “sure” that it definitely wasn’t going to happen that night, but was highly anticipating when it would. For some reason, Brody asked me a couple of times if I wanted the jacket he had been holding for me because it was a little chilly. Usually I would say yes to anything that keeps me a little warmer, but the wind felt good. So finally he was like, “well, I’m going to put mine on.” So we walked to the very end of the pier, and there were a couple of people around, but it was still very quiet and you can’t beat the view of the city lights at night and Lake Michigan. We were taking pictures of ourselves (nothing new lol)…but Brody was like...”hmmm…they’re just not turning out” so he asks a random stranger to take a picture of us…and me being completely unaware about what was going on…he looked me in the eyes and told me how much he loved me, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! OMG! YES!! I had no idea, and I had a late reaction to the crying – but yes I did cry – and we got some applause in the background…and a comment that I have the most romantic fiancé ever! I would definitely agree! WOW! And yes, many of you may be astonished by how fast everything has gone and know that it’s very unlike either of us to be like this – but as the saying goes…”when you know, you know,” and we know! What a wonderful blessing it has been to have him come into my life – he is everything I have ever wanted and so much more. I am incredibly grateful for every moment I have to spend with him, and I cannot wait to see what life has in store for us. I love him with all of my heart and Sept. 3rd just seems so far away – the day when I get to be married to him for time and all eternity in Nauvoo. Thank you to everyone who have supported us and shared in our joy. We hope to see you at either one of our receptions to celebrate the beginning of our new life together!!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
How They Met: His Story
I first met Brittany way back in January of this year (2009), and whether it was love at first sight is hard to say, because I had to wait for a few more months before actually having my opportunity to get to know her better. This much I do know, from the moment I first saw her I was more than just a little interested! In accordance with Jennifer Caggiano’s claim, she was the first to introduce me to Brittany ! As sacrament meeting ended, and I exited the chapel Jennifer and Brittany were both sitting there on the couch in the foyer, and Jennifer called me over to introduce me. We spoke for just a few minutes before I had to head off to teach class, but I remember thinking to myself, “yes, a beautiful and single Mormon gal has moved in!” I didn’t think much else of it until the very end of church when another friend saw fit to try and help things move along. Trey and Paige Clark were having a few of us over for dinner that night, and after meeting Brittany they decided to invite her as well. As he was talking to her, Trey called over to me and said, “Hey Brody, come get Brittany’s phone number so you can call and give her directions to my house.” A sneaky way to get a girl’s number, but hey I guess it worked! Thanks for looking out for me Trey!
We did have dinner over at the Clark’s house that night, but not much happened for a while after that. I remember sending texts and calling every now and then to invite Brittany to come hang out with some friends from church. She did respond a couple of times and even came sledding once, but there were also many other times that I never got a response - so I wasn’t quite confident enough to proceed any further at that point! This is what I would refer to as mixed signals!!!
Though not aggressive, I did remain optimistic, and my glimmer of hope came on my birthday – the best birthday ever for more reason than one! I hadn’t mentioned my birthday to Brittany, but coincidentally she had invited me over for movie night at her house that night. As she described it, it was a chick-flick night with all her roomies, not too exciting, but she had invited me and I wasn’t passing up an opportunity! Before heading to her place for movie night I went out with a couple other friends who had invited me out to dinner. I went to meet them for dinner only to get “kidnapped,” blindfolded and drove around town! After Tiare, Cyd, and Arthur’s escapades, they ended up taking me to some unknown location. The blindfold was removed as I entered Brittany’s apartment for a surprise birthday party! It was at this point that Brittany fell madly in love with me!
From this point on, things went fast, and there has been no looking back! I think we sort of did things backwards: we spent the weekend together, I met her dad, and then we had our first date a couple days later! The weekend after my birthday a huge group of us all rented a couple cabins at a nearby state park and went camping. I finally had the chance to get to know her better, and it was a wonderful weekend. As Brittany and I headed home that Sunday I invited her over to my house for dinner, only to be countered with the invite to go with her to Michigan to have dinner with her dad and sister. We had a great meal, and then a fun time exploring the nearby dunes and beach afterward. The next week was busy, but I didn’t want to waste any time, so Monday afternoon (after reciting the lines out loud a dozen times) I called and asked her out to dinner. It had definitely been years since I felt so nervous to ask someone on a date! We went out to dinner the next night – making our first official date the 14th of April. I can honestly say though, that I knew she was the one even before our first date!
It’s hard to really define a second date, as we have spent every single day since then together! Life since April has been absolutely amazing. I have thought to myself several times, things are just too good to be true… but I suppose that is how it is supposed to feel… I love you Brittany!!!
We did have dinner over at the Clark’s house that night, but not much happened for a while after that. I remember sending texts and calling every now and then to invite Brittany to come hang out with some friends from church. She did respond a couple of times and even came sledding once, but there were also many other times that I never got a response - so I wasn’t quite confident enough to proceed any further at that point! This is what I would refer to as mixed signals!!!
Though not aggressive, I did remain optimistic, and my glimmer of hope came on my birthday – the best birthday ever for more reason than one! I hadn’t mentioned my birthday to Brittany, but coincidentally she had invited me over for movie night at her house that night. As she described it, it was a chick-flick night with all her roomies, not too exciting, but she had invited me and I wasn’t passing up an opportunity! Before heading to her place for movie night I went out with a couple other friends who had invited me out to dinner. I went to meet them for dinner only to get “kidnapped,” blindfolded and drove around town! After Tiare, Cyd, and Arthur’s escapades, they ended up taking me to some unknown location. The blindfold was removed as I entered Brittany’s apartment for a surprise birthday party! It was at this point that Brittany fell madly in love with me!
From this point on, things went fast, and there has been no looking back! I think we sort of did things backwards: we spent the weekend together, I met her dad, and then we had our first date a couple days later! The weekend after my birthday a huge group of us all rented a couple cabins at a nearby state park and went camping. I finally had the chance to get to know her better, and it was a wonderful weekend. As Brittany and I headed home that Sunday I invited her over to my house for dinner, only to be countered with the invite to go with her to Michigan to have dinner with her dad and sister. We had a great meal, and then a fun time exploring the nearby dunes and beach afterward. The next week was busy, but I didn’t want to waste any time, so Monday afternoon (after reciting the lines out loud a dozen times) I called and asked her out to dinner. It had definitely been years since I felt so nervous to ask someone on a date! We went out to dinner the next night – making our first official date the 14th of April. I can honestly say though, that I knew she was the one even before our first date!
It’s hard to really define a second date, as we have spent every single day since then together! Life since April has been absolutely amazing. I have thought to myself several times, things are just too good to be true… but I suppose that is how it is supposed to feel… I love you Brittany!!!
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