Wow, we are pretty pathetic at blogging.  I'm so sorry!  Dave and I have been super busy, and the blog has suffered.  Also, we have misplaced our camera battery charger, so neither of us has not taken pictures for MONTHS... basically, I don't think we have ANY pics since we moved here. 

So, despite the lack of photographic evidence, I am happy to report that things are going well.  We are healthy (Dave is--now!) happy and enjoying being back in the US. 

Our house is great, but needs a lot of work.  (The photos in the slide show are our house, but were taken during the inspection, so they show the house before we moved in).  The yard waste bin is always full as we try to get our yard in some type of order.  We currently have eight holes in the ceiling of our formal dining room and are trying to figure out where our plumbing leak is coming from!  We got a beautiful Christmas tree (admittedly, it's from Costco and came pre-lit) but our house feels great, and it has been really amazing to be part of a great community again.   

In addition to his new job as the family grounds keeper, Dave is plugging away at his new job and burning the midnight oil, trying to learn as much as he can about the new business he works in now. 

I have just completed my paralegal certificate and have started looking for a job--wish me luck!  It was not easy, but I've learned a lot and look forward to a meaningful career again. 

We have met some great new friends, and are trying to reconnect with old friends, too.  Honza has a new best friend named Kona, and is completely adjusted to being an "American" dog.  He is definitely happy that I'm not working yet. 

So, I promise to get back on the blogwagon and hopefully we will be able to take some photos soon!    

Well, we made it!!! We have been out of communication for a while, but it is just because we are finally back home and adjusting to the sweet life again.  Dave is hard at work in his new job.  Jess is hard at work in her paralegal certification program.  Honza is having a little difficulty adjusting to the various grasses and pollens in the Puget Sound.  He has some serious allergies and is on Benadryl twice daily. 

We made an offer on a house in Woodinville at Dave's golf club called Bear Creek.  It's a beautiful house and we are really excited.  It's not totally ours yet, but it is set to close in May.  It needs a bit of work to be just right, but we feel good about it. 

When we are not working and/or studying, we are really enjoying getting re-acquainted with our home town.

We just got home from the Maldives--a fantastic vacation to be remembered forever.  About a year ago, I heard about the Maldives for the first time when one of my business English students showed me his vacation pictures.  It looked like an amazing place; unlike anywhere I had ever seen.

Our friends Cindy and Mike suggested that we make a trip there before we both moved back home.  So, we planned the trip for the week of Valentine's Day.

We all drove to Munich, and flew directly from there to Male' which is the capital of the Maldives.  The flight was on Condor Air; a charter flight for people who used the same travel agency as we did.  When we arrived in Male' the weather was hot and it was gorgeous.  We hopped on a DeHavilland Twin Otter (sea plane) called the Maldivian Air Taxi.  It was awesome-- the pilots were wearing a pilot uniform shirt, shorts and no shoes or socks! 

On the way to our hotel, we flew over about half of the Maldives.  From overhead, the islands look like a string of pearls.  It is made up of a little over 1200 islands, separated by of small volcanically formed, white sand and coral atolls.  About 30 minutes later, we arrived at our hotel, the White Sands Resort and Spa. 

Our hotel was really unique.  The resort used to be two different hotels.  The hotel lobby was totally open and had beautiful views.  From the hotel, you can walk along a long boardwalk or dock, I guess, that starts out over the sand, where you can turn toward a cafe, or toward the spa and boutique, or continue straight on and over the water in the lagoon.  If you walk about 4 minutes from the lobby, you get to the bungalows.  We chose to stay in over-the-water bungalows.  It was a totally amazing setting.  Each bungalow is built up on stilts and there is a long row of them.  The room itself was very rustic, and was all wood inside.  You could see the ocean between the floorboards of the bathroom. We had our own sun deck, which has steps down to the water.  Each time we walked along the walkway, we saw lots of sea life, including sting rays, puffer fish, lion fish, even little sharks. 

The sand was incredibly soft and white, so you could always see the fish in the water.  We snorkeled from our bungalows through the lagoon and found a really nice coral reef with quite a lot of fish around it.  Cindy found a very big Hawksbill turtle hanging out on the reef eating dinner.  We followed him around for about 15 minutes.  It was unreal!!

Words really can't express how much fun we had.  We went to the spa and had a great massage in a special room where we were side-by-side.  There were two different restaurants: one cafe-style restaurant on the beach, and one more formal restaurant built over the water that had a theme buffet dinner each night.  Which brings me to the only down-side of our trip.  The food was quite tasty, but unfortunately, Mike and I got food poisoning.  We were each out of commission for an entire day.  Thank God, Cindy and Dave were lucky enough to escape that torture!  

Cindy and I visited a neighboring island called Dhigurah Island.  It was about a 20 minute boat ride.  The island was very rustic.  The homes and the yards were small, and the people were friendly but shy.  The women were all wearing traditional Muslim dress, and the children were beautiful.  We saw two government offices, a mosque and a school (where the kids were learning in English).  There were two phone booths on the island.  We toured their shopping area, since tourism is their main industry.  We each picked up a beautiful carved sea turtle to commemorate our turtle sighting earlier in the week.

On the day I was sick, Dave went on a "Discovery SCUBA" dive.  He had the orientation in the hotel's lagoon and then went on a 12m dive with Mike and Cindy.  He had a great time and saw lots of fish. 

When I was feeling better, Dave and I went on a half-day snorkel safari to three different areas.  The water was so clear and warm.  There were literally thousands of fish visible.  We saw all different kinds of coral.  It looked like something out of Finding Nemo under there.  We saw too many different fish to mention them all, but the highlights were: pilot fish, a lobster, sweet lips, parrot fish, angel fish, 4 moray eels, trumpet fish, grouper, giant clams, bluespine unicornfish, and many more! 

On Valentine's Day, we went on a sunset cruise and then had a "private" dinner on the beach with about 10 other couples!  It was really amazing.  We were sorry to leave that amazing place.  One interesting thing to note:  our plane was equipped with one of those GPS maps that told us our exact location.  We were slightly nervous to see that we flew right over Baghdad.  Needless to say we were happy to land back in Germany safe and sound.     

As usual, we ended our trip with an "American Style" dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Munich.

Please enjoy our pictures on the Maldives slide show!       

 Despite the distance, we’ve had a great friendship over the years and enjoyed many visits in a few different locations (Edinburgh, London, Seattle, and now Prague).  As usual, we picked up quickly and had a really enjoyable weekend sharing the sights of Prague, enjoying some nice Indian food, and playing a few XBOX  games.  We are looking forward to seeing the Frame’s in another new place – their home in Budapest next February.