Update

Hi All,
Alli and I are tired, so back at James' we thought we might update once again. For Lara's sake I will not speak British. This morning we had a English Breakfast...ICK. Beans and french fries, and mushrooms, all nasties. We then set out with James to do a little shopping for his school. Next, James had to go to class, and we set off for Hyde Park. It is a beautiful, enormous park, right by Buckingham Palace. After freezing for a while, we went to the most ridiculous store I have ever seen! HARROD'S. It is a luxurious department store in the rich part of town. They had an antique pool table selling for 1 million pounds. A butcher shop with a 176 pound (cost) cut of meat, a 100,000 pound TV, etc. Way expensive. We then did more walking, which I think we have walked 100 miles since coming to Europe. Having a nice time, tomorrow we get to see Bath and Stonehenge.

Safely in London

We had a nice time, safely here, call on Sunday.

Europe

Hey All, just an update. Alli and I are here in London at James' house. It is beautiful, and even more interesting. The flight went smoothly and James was waiting right after customs. We went back to his place, dropped off our stuff, and saw the sights. I will blog in more detail of what we saw when we return. Today Alli and I took a wonderful tour of the Tower of London, and wandered around the city, souvenir shopping (for Alli), along the way. Tomorrow we head for Paris for 2 days and nights, then hop on a train to Brussels for one day. Then London for another day, travel the countryside Saturday, and fly home Sunday, will call those relevant when we return.

Happy Travels,
Nate and Alli

Dedication Takes All Forms

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally!

Alli, the ever dedicated teacher, became an instant hit with all the school when she sported this garb to teach the math principle order of operations. Please excuse my dear aunt sally is the phrase used to for remembering the order, and Alli really hammered that home. Don't worry she cleans up nice, she has to try hard to look this old.

Downing's Are Heading Across the Pond

Alli and I are packing our bags and heading to London to visit our friend James. We also have plans to rendezvous in Paris, and bask in Brussels. We will be packing a lot into our trip, including seeing London, the countryside, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the UN in Brussels. Pictures will be posted. The only people who check our blog are the people we call and tell, but we were on here anyways. I also thought, maybe Barack Obama will see this and he might want me to increase our foreign relations, just like Thomas Jefferson did 250 years ago. Except I have a wife, so I can concentrate more on the business side than he did.
Also, We have decided we want a dog, but have to wait a long time so we have a house suitable for a dog, at least the decision is made, so I can dream.

Memories

Soon it will be our 6 month anniversary and over the last six months, we often reflect on our honeymoon. As we have not written on the honeymoon, we would like to give a brief recap while it is cold and snowy outside. Due to our wedding being up north, we waited an extra day to leave Minnesota. After Matt Kesanen (my best man) woke up extremely early to drive us to the airport, we flew into Boston. We rented a car and drove to York, in southern Maine. We stayed at a beautiful bed and breakfast, and really enjoyed the town. While there, we ate lobster, which I loved, but Alli despised. Our next adventure was Acadia National Park. We stayed in Bar Harbor for 3 nights. During our stay, we hiked, kayaked, went whale watching, enjoyed the scenery, and due to being on a honeymoon, tried to relax. Once again we stayed at a lovely B&B. We then drove down the coast to our final Maine destination. This is a funny story, I thought we were staying in Belfast, so when we got to the town, Alli entered the name of the Inn we were searching for, and it came up as being 100 miles away, which I thought was incorrect, until we realized I had the wrong town. So we ended up driving to Brunswick. It was storming, so we had a true veg-out night, we ordered pizzas, watched movies, and caught up on some sleep. The final night we stayed in Boston. It was pretty, except the weather was 96 degrees and humid. We stayed in a wonderful hotel directly across the Charles River from downtown Boston. The following day we left and returned to Minneapolis, already planning our next visit to Maine. The honeymoon was an amazing experience for us to really adapt to married life, as well as do something we both love, traveling.



A beautiful picture on our way to whale watching

Hunter or Gatherer?

November is deer season in Minnesota, and I always try to get out at least one weekend. The previous week my father had been skunked, so I set out to my stand having no real expectations. Well, only after 1 and a half hours, this buck walked into view and landed on the dinner table. My dad may have been jealous at first, but he was vindicated after all the deer he shot. Also, my brother-in-law Josh was able to come and see the shack during hunting season and help drag the deer. I am not a violent person, but conservation is important and I am happy to do my part. The real trouble will be getting Alli to eat venison.