Christmas with the Worshams

Then we were off to Texas to celebrate Christmas with the Worsham crew:

It was amazing weather - we actually opened all the gifts (and look how many there were!) on the back porch next to the lake.

So nice to have the opportunity to spend time with both of our families - as always, we felt very blessed during the Christmas season!

Christmas with the Layburns

We had a blast in Williamsburg (despite the flu/colds rolling through the family).

Exchanging gifts and enjoying the season with the fam:

Enjoying the snow - sledding on the golf course and building a snowman:


And making gingerbread houses!

So fun!

Christmas 2010: Snow AND Sun!

We spent the holidays this year traveling between Williamsburg with the Layburns and then Texas with the Worshams. It was a crazy study in weather changes ...

Williamsburg with a foot of snow:


2 days later, 70 degrees and having a beer while cruising on the boat in Texas:


What can I say? Best of both worlds!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Duke reindeer :)

Food with Friends

With just a few weeks left in 2010, we finally had a couple of weekends at home. So, we took advantage and had some fun times with friends and food (2 of my favorite things!!).

First, we went on a food tour with our buddy, Beth. One of the big surprises for us when we moved back to NC was the amazing food scene that has sprung up here. Lots of amazing restaurants, organic and local ingredients - its even gotten press coverage in the NY Times and Bon Appetit. So, when Beth told us about a company that runs food tours, we were totally in! Basically, a tour guide walks you around town (in this case, Chapel Hill), gives you information about the town and the restaurants and you do tastings at a handful of restaurants. SUPER fun (and tasty!). Can't wait to do all the other food tours that they offer!



Then we had a fun progressive dinner party with our neighbors. Each course was at a different house and we would walk from one to another - enjoying great food and lots of drinks along the way! We hosted the last course - a smorgasbord of dessert fondue capped off by a (slightly disorganized) group pic. Such a fun night!

Trans Siberian Orchestra

Have you ever seen that Miller commercial with the crazy music set to Christmas lights? Well, that crazy music was from Trans Siberian orchestra and so when Brad and I heard that they were coming to Raleigh, we had to go check it out!

It was definitely entertaining - in a nutshell ... a completely cheesy, over the top, Christmas rock opera complete with crazy lights, cheesy lyrics and long-haired musicians! Awesome.

Turkey

Our time in Egypt was followed by a few days in Istanbul, Turkey to close out the trip. Istanbul was a nice change of pace from Egypt - much more "westernized", not so many people asking us for tips, etc - basically just an easier place to travel, though still some amazing sites that we were able to squeeze in...

The incredible Blue Mosque

Hagia Sophia and its amazing mosaics

The covered bazaar and spice market (have I mentioned that I love some shopping when I travel?). My favorite story is that Brad managed to get pooped on by a pigeon while we were inside the covered bazaar - ha! Good luck, right?

Basilica Cistern underneath the city

Church of St Chora

Suleymaniye Mosque

Topkapi Palace

Hanging out in Eminonu on the waterfront, watching the fisherman on the Galata Bridge and walking through the flocks of pigeons in front of Yeni Mosque.

Cruise of the Bosphorus (this is the bridge connecting the European and Asian sides of Istanbul - it is literally a city split across two continents)

And a beautiful sunset on our last day before heading back to the States

Like I said, an AMAZING trip. We are truly blessed that we are able to take trips like these ... and that we can survive traveling for weeks together and still love each other at the end ;) Can't wait for the next adventure!!

Egypt

Everyone that knows us, knows that Brad and I love an adventure. So, for our vacation this year we decided to head off to Egypt and Turkey for 2 weeks. It was a blast! We saw so many amazing things, were blown away by the history, the sights and sounds and smells, and, of course, the adventure of it all.

But let's be honest, it was not a relaxing vacation by any stretch of the imagination. I mean who goes on a vacation that within the first week involves a 4:00 am and a 2:30 am wake-up call? Yup, crazy Brad and Erin. So, we had an amazing trip and returned completely and totally exhausted but with memories to last a lifetime. Some of our favorite sites ...

The Great Pyramids in Giza. The Pyramids and the Sphinx are pretty amazing to see in person .... and from a vantage point sitting a top a camel. I mostly felt bad for the camel but am glad we did it, since that pic was later the centerpiece of our holiday card. I mean nothing says "Merry Christmas" like a good ol' camel pic, right?


Cairo - lotssss of people in a small space. And some beautiful and intricate architecture throughout Islamic Cairo.

High above Cairo, sits the Citadel and the Mosque of Mohammed Ali.

My favorite part of traveling to exotic places is finding the Bazaars. I love the buzz of the markets, the colors, and the hope of finding that special souvenir to bring home.


We also went on a 4 day cruise of the Nile, seeing fisherman and life along the shores as we driften by.


And of course, stopping at some amazing sites along the way:

Abu Simbel

Temple of Philae

Temple of Edfu (and our horse and carriage ride to get there from the boat!)

Temple of Hatshepsut (the Queen Pharoah)

Colossi of Memnon


We even took a dawn hot air balloon - very cool to see the sites from high up in the air and watch the sunrise over the Nile. Also, a pic of Brad and I with our "captain" - we were big fans of his once he safely navigated us back to the ground.

Karnak Temple and a pic of our fabulous tour guide, Sayed, pointing out the "hieroglyph of Obama" ;)

Luxor Temple - by night and by day

And a relief at Luxor Temple - when the Christians came to Luxor, they plastered over the reliefs and painted frescas. It was very cool to see the justaposition of the fresca with the reliefs/hieroglyphs starting to come through the plaster.

There were tons of other pics and lots of other sites. It was a once in a lifetime trip! Then we were off to Turkey to finish off our trip ...