10 things maybe you didn't know about us...
I I always have loved reading bloggers "things you didn't know about me" posts. It's always fun to learn more about people you only know through what you see through the little Instagram squares. So in the effort of connecting more with all of you, here we go!.. 10 things you may have known about us.. (and a few maybe you already did!)
1. Living in Kansas City the past (almost) 3 years is the longest time I have ever lived in one place. Growing up we moved about every 2 years or so with my dad's college basketball coaching job. I have lived in California, Idaho, Utah, Iowa, Mississippi, Kansas, Massachusetts and now Missouri!
2. Brandon and I first met while studying abroad in Italy. We had a class together and one day decided to get coffee to discuss our individual semester-end presentations for an Innovations class. We ended up spending hours getting to know each other and wandering our little town - him teaching me Italian and taking me to his favorite little shops and restaurants. The assignment was to discuss a current innovative product that we were interested in. Interestingly enough our chosen interests are still relevant today for us! Brandon's project was about a Micro Four-Thirds camera (which is the type of camera we use now!) and I spoke about a fitness tracking system.
3. Brandon can do all sorts of tricks on a wakeboard. Honestly I don't know the names of many of them but he can do flips and rolls and superman's. (I probably won't hear the end of it after I post this since I don't know the proper names). He competed when he was younger and went to a National Tournament as a teenager!
4. In the early years of dating, Brandon told me a story about how his dad really wanted to name him "Jett" We kind of laughed about it then, thinking that Brandon could have really been Jett instead. Fast forward a couple of years, while I was about 4 months pregnant. We were discussing names for the baby, and that story came up again. For some reason, it just sort of clicked and we both fell in love with the name! We kept the name a complete secret from family and friends until the moment we announced it to everyone after coming into the delivery room to meet him for the first time!
5. Brandon is a total night-owl and I am an early-bird. I'm happy to be in bed by 9 if I can, when B could stay up until 2. It is actually a great balance as I am most productive in the early mornings, while Brandon burns the midnight oil. When Jett was first born it REALLY helped to have offsetting schedules so the other could get some rest when one was on baby duty!
6. My love for photography was sparked when Brandon first put his Nikon in my hands on one of the first days we met. He showed me some basic functions and taught me how to shoot a photo of our school building (an old monastery) back in Italy. I keep meaning to look back and find that photo I took back then. One of these days I will!
7. On our honeymoon we biked up a MOUNTAIN in the ITALIAN ALPS. We actually had no idea what we were getting into when we agreed to go "riding with our super fit- triathlete Italian friend. It was the most grueling, challenging yet totally rewarding experiences of my entire life. It took us 4 hours to climb 48 hairpin turns climbing over 8,000 feet of elevation. I wanted to scream for about 3 hours of that but we never gave up! The ride down was probably just as grueling as blisters had formed on my palms from riding out of the saddle on the way up and pumping the bike back and forth. Still so worth it. One of my favorite memories and proudest moments.
8. I ran the Boston Marathon in 2013- the year of the Marathon Bombings. Brandon made a sign and jumped in to run the last 2 miles with me - sign in hand. We finished about 20 min before the bombs went off, and were safely down the street and around the corner when we heard it. At the time we had no idea what was going on, and scrambled to get back home to Cambridge while the subway shut down and every taxi seemed to be taken. Living in Boston after the incident was incredibly uplifting to see the city come together - I have never experienced something quite like it.
9. Baby Jett has been on 2 road trips and 3 round trip flights in his 4 months of life. His passport just arrived yesterday as we have plans to fly to Jamaica for Christmas. I am currently on the search for a cool travel map for his room that we can mark off where all he has been. We hope he loves traveling as much as his parents!
10. I have loved following along with bloggers for years - the first one being Sincerely Jules and Gal-Meets-Glam about 6 or 7 years ago. Blogging for me (as much as I hate the word "blogger") has been such a fun creative outlet and a way to push myself in the both the ways of learning more about photography as well as being OKAY with being vulnerable and putting myself out there. Something that has always terrified - yet intrigued me! I am a huge believer of pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone but at the same time it is so hard to practice what I preach! Blogging is always pushing me and I honestly can say it has helped me grow in ways I never thought possible. If you are reading this - thank you! Thanks for following along, it really means the world to me!