I was clicking through old facebook photos tonight when I came across these snapshots from my sophomore year. It was sunny and we were probably supposed to be in class (sorry Mom!). Instead, we grabbed a blanket and headed down to the river where we gabbed about Jesus and boys (in no particular order), planned out our junior year apartment color scheme, and laughed ourselves silly. At some point during this riverside girl fest we must have noticed that we were color coordinated and whipped out the camera for a photo op:
So young! So carefree! So not wearing sunscreen!
Not even aware of how glorious junior year would be.
I've been blessed to call her my friend for almost 6 years, my roommate for 2 years, my bridesmaid, and my sister in Christ. And now this beautiful face is getting married.
Rob is one lucky man.
So lucky!
So Lee, if you're reading this, I love ya bunches. And I cannot wait for August 28th. :)
Prepare yourselves, British neighbors--the Hess invasion is happening this summer!! And JUST in time for the 4th of July. Further proof that God loves me. :) If you thought I was excited about Laura's visit back in January you probably won't be able to stand being in the same room as me once we start approaching July... I will be beyond myself with giddiness! I probably won't sleep for weeks--WEEKS I tell you! Heck, I'm getting so excited writing this post I might not even sleep tonight! Slightly premature, perhaps. For those of you who have met my parents and my sister you understand my joy. I wish I was as cool as they are. For those of you who haven't met them yet... they're pretty much amazing. Allow me to introduce them.
My 53-year-old Dad is way cooler than I am. I mean, the man jumps out of planes! I still get nervous driving over long bridges...
And when he's not defying gravity he models rugged outdoor wear? Truly a Renaissance man.
He also happens to have married one of the sweetest, kindest and (unintentionally) funniest women around! I think that speaks well for the man. Which brings me to...
Mooth!
Or Moother, Mumsie, Mammacita, Omama (yes, like our president), Fwisten... she answers to them all.
Moother Fwisten's favorite things include a well crafted tuna fish sandwich (the slice of tomato is a must), sheep (also known as "sheepies"), Criminal Minds marathons, being read aloud to, agapanthus (agapanthuses? agapanthusi?), and large glass bowls of cranberry sauce.
Oh, and my sense of humor. :) Could she be any cuter?
As for that sister of mine, she already had an entire post dedicated to her. Don't want her to get too big for her britches.
LAURAI'MDYINGTOSEEYOUCOMETOMEALREADY!!!!
The only major bummer in all of this is that my brother can't make it. He will be going through the Marines Officer Candidate School and, while I am extremely proud of him, I'm still kinda wishing he could fake an injury or something to visit for a few days. He is, after all, the coolest Hess. The motorcycle driving, skydiving, guitar/banjo/mandolin playing, soon-to-be Marine Hess. And I miss him.
Won't be the same without you, buddy. Can I make a suggestion?
Happy Saturday, Readers! Will is in London at the London Men's Conference where he is enjoying the fellowship of 4,000 believers and Mark Driscoll's preaching. I am so jealous (about the Mark Driscoll part). This leaves me cozied up at home, avoiding running in the rain and catching you up on our London adventures. Where was I.
Ah yes. 300,000 people singing "God Save the Queen." I still get chills!
After the anthem ended we pushed our way through the crowds in an attempt to beat the rush to Buckingham Palace for the coveted balcony kiss viewing position. As it turns out, we are amateurs when it comes to estimating crowd numbers. The police had already barricaded all routes leading to the Mall because there were literally tens of thousands of people already waiting in line. We had no choice but to jump into a pub and watch the epic (although slightly formal) royal kiss with the cheering locals.
One of the many festive pubs.
After this picture my wimpy camera decided to die. Ugh. One of these days I am getting myself a nicer camera. Or stealing Laura's.
With the couple wedded and kissed, we met up with the wonderful Followwills (who had just returned from Easter in Jerusalem) and headed back to their London digs to relax, compare wedding stories, and replenish our caffeine supplies. We had planned to head home that afternoon but the Followwills were so generous to offer us their apartment for the night that we pulled our shoes back on our sore feet and headed out to the West End in search of Les Mis tickets! Even though the wedding had ended hours earlier the streets were still crowded with celebrators:
Bless you, iPhone, for your camera capabilities
Will and Kate passed through this arch and, just hours later, so did Will and Cait. :)
With less than 45 minutes to spare we arrived at the box office, snatched up two tickets and found ourselves seated in the Queen's Theatre, excited beyond belief. This is the last year that Les Mis is playing in the West End and we were fortunate enough to grab last minute tickets! I fear my blogger's integrity would be compromised if I did not admit that this was not the best performance of Les Mis that I've seen. Someone must have spiked the conductor's drink with extra shots of expresso because he positively marched through some of the dramatic, slower numbers. "Bring Him Home" loses it's impact when sung at the pace of a Sousa! Nevertheless, we paid for the experience and it did not disappoint. We stumbled back to the apartment that night on sore feet, exhausted from our Royal Wedding escapades and all of the British patriotic fever. It was nothing short of a magical day. Now what are the odds that Harry would get married before Will graduates, I wonder?
Readers, I have a confession. My tardiness is not due to an overwhelming amount of pictures to sort through (I wish) or a supremely busy five days. I'm late because I'm still processing. We attended what felt like a world-wide celebration and I am still letting that experience soak in deep under my skin. After watching the wedding highlights for what feels like the 20th time on BBC's iPlayer (ok, so it was only 3 times) I finally feel ready to put words to paper. Screen. Same thing. So where to begin? How about where I stiff armed by husband and friend into following me to London. Every great adventure starts with one adventurer forcing the other adventurers to follow, right? Humor me.
We must begin this story on Thursday night, or, as it shall henceforth be called, Royal Wedding Eve. Mark your calendars. With weather forecasts threatening our plans Will, Louise and I paced our tiny living room debating to go or not to go (maybe the pacing was just me). Will and Louise were indifferent, with Will leaning more towards staying home than indifferent, but both assured me that they would accompany me in my Royal Wedding Fever. Apparently my super expressive excitement is entertaining to watch, even more so than said historic occasion. I fought the feelings of guilt (What if it rains? What if we don't see anything? What if everyone is miserable and it's all my fault because I made them?) and said "weather be damned"! The longer I stay in England the more British my expressions become.
Friday morning came early (too early!) and gray (too gray!) but we were resolved to see this adventure through, so we hastily showered and hoofed it down to the central bus station. We had intended to claim the Will and Kate bus ride deal--all Wills and Kates (or in my case, Cait) were told they could ride the bus to London for a mere £1! However, in typical British fashion, we were NOT informed that in order to receive said discount you must first go to Debenhams and obtain a voucher. Is Debenhams open at 7 am in the morning? No. Will the bus driver look at our IDs and sell us the tickets for £1 pound a piece? Negative. It was too early and I was too excited to be too put out. Will felt much better after the bus driver gave us both student discounts. After being gypped out of our Will and Cait bargain our consciences made nary a protest to this mistake. I keep waiting for the Holy Spirit to convict me on that one but so far so good.
Louise hopped on the bus a few stops down the road and we were off! The drive flew by as Louise educated me on the Princess Diana conspiracy theories (I'm totally a believer now) and Will tried to ignore us and save his tolerance for extremely girlie situations for the wedding itself by reading Greek. The traffic was surprisingly non-existent and we made it to London in record time.
Armed with Starbucks. Let's do this thing!
They seem more optimistic now that they have been properly caffeinated, don't they?
Our bus dropped us off just a few blocks away from the hotel where Kate and Co. were getting ready for the wedding. We briefly contemplated joining the crowd and waiting for the future Mrs. Prince William to emerge but decided against it as we would miss seeing the ceremony. So we took a quick photo and followed the crowds of flag-waving, costume-wearing enthusiasts to Hyde Park, where the wedding would be broadcasted on giant screens.
The crowd waiting in front of Kate's hotel!
One of the many many reasons we were not interviewed for television. With folks like this who wants to talk to us?
Following the masses and the signs...
Having lived through Superbowl and Mardi Gras excitement I thought I would be prepared for what came next. Sorry, New Orleans, but London takes the cake on this one! We joined a crowd of 300, 000 (according to BBC) people on the grounds of Hyde Park to watch the event. 300,000 flag waving, costume wearing, cheering people all crammed into a few acres. There were little girls in princess costumes, big girls in wedding dresses, men in top hats, women in party dresses, and all kinds of ways you can (or maybe can't) imagine that a flag can be turned into clothing.
Why do I even bother bringing a camera when Google images takes better pictures than I do?
We were HERE!!
And so close to the screens (all things considered)!
My enthusiasm is contagious!
It was amazing! I felt like I was attending the world's largest wedding--the crowd jumped to their feet, cheering and waving the Union Jack when the princes, the queen, and finally Kate appeared on screen. They remained standing with the congregation of Westminster Abbey while Kate walked that magnificent aisle. Many of them sang the first hymn from the online programs they had printed the night before. They popped bottles of champagne when Will and Kate were pronounced husband and wife. But my all time favorite memory (and it still gives me chills when I think about it) was when 300,000 people got to their feet and sang "God Save the Queen." That's the kind of stuff I'll tell my grandkids someday.
Well folks, we finally did it. After our plans to visit Blenheim last November were thwarted by Will's mouth attack we have talked and talked about rescheduling our trip out there. And because we are people of action it only took us 5 months to do it! We packed a camera, 5 different tubes of sunscreen infused chapstick (because, like Napoleon Dynamite, "My lips hurt real bad!"), and bike tools and hit the trail. And by trail I mean sidewalk.
The weather started out chillier than uk.weather.com had initially advised (typical England) but the skies were clear and the wind was calm and I did my best to keep up with Will, all the while video taping and/or picture taking with one hand and steering with the other.
Yes, my confidence in my bike riding abilities has increased--slightly.
The scenery was incredible! Between the flowering trees and the beautiful skies and the green pastures... well, just have a look for yourselves.
The little green sign says "footpath." Don't mind if I do.
Just another of my many future English cottage homes.
I just can't get enough of these pink trees! If only I knew what their name was... anyone have any ideas?
Seriously people--if you know what tree this is let me know! I intend to plant them all around our future (imaginary) cottage.
Riding a bike AND smiling! Progress, people, progress!
After going through all of our pictures I decided that such a sunny day deserves an equally sunny video with sunny music. So here are the rest of our pictures in video form. Enjoy!
Spring has sprung! The weather has taken a turn for the glorious and, once again, I have discovered another season that I actually enjoy! First it was Fall and now Spring, too, has swept me off my feet. (FYI, I blame my Houston upbringing for my lack of appreciation or understanding of the seasons).
As the weather was particularly beautiful and inviting yesterday afternoon, we decided it was the perfect day for a spring picnic! While Will pumped tires and adjusted handle bars (my demon bike keeps attempting to kill me by turning things loose en route) I packed our springy sandwiches--roast chicken, pesto, mozzarella, and tomato--and we set off for Cutteslowe park and sunshine.
Sure, the bike looks innocent while chained up next to a tree, but don't let it fool you...
Our sunny picnic spot along the stream.
The daffodils are everywhere!
Spring rejuvenates the old bones. :)
Dad, Mom and Laura--when you come over in July we MUST go punting.
All this green refreshes my soul!
It wouldn't have been a Spring day at the park without an ice cream cone! Also, these soft whip cones need to go on the list of "Things Brits Do Better." A-ma-zing. Will and I have found a new Spring Sunday tradition...
Oh the poppies.
How I love the poppies!
Aside from the beautiful weather, the bright colors, and the warm sunshine, Spring has most surprised me with its transformational powers. I mean, I always thought of Oxford as picturesque... until Spring happened. It has multiplied Oxford's beauty to the tenth power. Will tells me that there is no such thing as multiplying beauty to the tenth power... but you know what I'm trying to say, right? Hey, I never claimed to be the mathematician in this relationship!
Hello, my name is Caitlin and I am a first-born-child-drama-queen. Which is why I like titles with words like "crisis." Life is just more exciting when seen through a dramatic lens, dontcha think?
Back to our crisis.
Remember how we were homeless, oh, six months ago? And how a British angel by the name of Peppy took pity on us and allowed us to stay in her quintessential British home while we desperately searched for a place to live? And how there was nothing, NOTHING I tell you, available to rent in October, so we snatched up Flat #28 in Summertown House, courtesy of Oxford Graduate Housing?
Of course you do. How could you forget my trials and tribulations so quickly?
After the initial "hooray-we're-not-homeless-we-don't-even-mind-that-this-place-is-furnished-with-furniture-made-from-Lego-like-plastic" high wore off, we began to take a closer look at our abode. Not in the ungrateful kind of way, but in the weighing-our-options kind of way. We both agreed that we'd like to move come the end of our lease on July 31st and had hoped to find somewhere slightly closer to town, with slightly nicer furniture, a washer, and, if we were really lucky, a place with a smattering of English charm. I had casually begun exploring various letting agencies' websites for our future English flat when two weeks ago we received a notice from our landlord, aka the Oxford Graduate Housing Department, stating that we must give notice as to whether or not we'd be moving out by APRIL 11th! As in this coming Monday!!!
I have spent the last 2 weeks pouring over website after website, desperately hoping to find some charming yet cheap flat available in the summer and not way-the-heck out in the Oxford countryside. I have discovered some amazing (and some not so amazing) places to live but have been thwarted by price and move-in date: my two new arch nemeses. Places like these:
Feast your eyes upon this charming 2 bedroom flat located in Jericho (the cool part of Oxford)... which we will never inhabit as it is £1, 395 per month (excluding utilities and council tax, of course).
But wait! A charming 3 bedroom English cottage for only £775 a month? That is perfectly within price range... and only a mere 11.3 miles from Oxford. Next.
Could it be? Only 1.8 miles away from city centre, with beautiful floors, a washer/dryer, modern kitchen and bathroom at a very affordable £775 a month? So long, Summertown House and hello, new, beautiful... oh wait. Available now. And if we break our lease we have to continue to pay for our apartment until the end of July? Right. I'll just cry a little cry and move on then...
So here we are, on Thursday night--optionless, despondent (ok, maybe that's just me), and running out of time. Summertown House, you may be stuck with us for another year...
