December week one 2010

Hello All!
Here it goes...my first post.  Where do I start? So much has happened in the last few months.  The Hawley's world has changed so drastically.  Three months ago Colby and I were packing up our 600 square foot Seal Beach apartment, getting ready to embark on our great adventure.  Since then I drove with my Mom from California to Minnesota, Colby and I spent about a week in Minnesota, moved to NYC (Where I trained at the 5th Ave store and Colby got fat on NY pizza), went on a weekend trip to Philly (Ate great cheesesteak sandwiches and saw historical places-well America's baby history).  On October 23rd we jumped the pond and arrived in Paris, our home for the next two years.  Honestly, its still such a shock.

Our first impressions of Paris were very blurred.  It just felt like everything was moving in slow motion.  Its one thing to study abroad or go on trip, but completely relocating is a whole other ball game.  It sort of feels like you have been just dropped off on another planet.  We got introduced to foie gras, the baguette obsession, pastries from Heaven, the metro, watching where you walk (In general French do not pick up after their dogs), SMOKE, gorgeous architecture, and a language I continue to fall in love with.  I was nervous about what everyone has said about the French people being very rude, but honestly we have experienced quite the opposite.  Paris is like a bunch of small towns squished together (Well, there are definitely some signs of the city life).  The French have been very welcoming and encouraging as we mix up words like "gas" and "cash" in the check out line. 

After about two weeks in Paris we met up with Suzie (A girl who got her hair cut by the same person as us in Seal Beach.  She studied abroad out here during college and moved to Paris indefinitely a few months ago).  Suzie instantly became our friend as well as her boyfriend Omar.  Omar is from Morocco, but he has been living here in Paris for the past six years.  They are a breath of fresh air out here!

We experienced our first voyage outside of Paris with Suzie and Omar.  We went to the town of Brugge, Belgium.  It is in the far north, near the coast.  Check out my photo album on facebook to see some pics. To get to Brugges we took a two trains (two and half hours total). Going there we almost missed our train, because we didn't see we only had 6 minutes to switch trains and since the first one got there a few minutes late 6 got shortened to 3. We also had NO idea where to go. We were literally RUNNING through the station and still barely made it. It was intense. The train ride itself was really nice. I had my breath taken away as my husband slept next to me and I watched the sunrise through the countryside fog.  After arriving we walked the town.  The architecture there was beautiful as well.  Aside from all of the architecture we enjoyed chocolate, waffles, Flemmish stew, a boat ride, tour and sample in the oldest and only running brewery in Brugges.  The beer was very good there.  We also found ourselves in the middle of the papa noel parade in the middle of the town.  The is where Colby gave Papa Noel (Santa) a high-five on Belgium TV!  We marched down the street right behind Santa on his horse. 

Our second trip was to Amboise, France.  Amboise is a small town in the Loire Valley.  It was about a two hour train ride southwest of Paris.  The Loire valley is known for castles and wine...we enjoyed both!  It was very easy to walk all over the town.  We toured the Clos Luce manor where Leonardo DaVinci spent his final three years of life and finished some of his most well known works.  We also toured the Chateau d'Amboise (The castle in the picture).  In Amboise we ate the best (LITERALLY THE BEST) chocolate I have ever had the pleasure of eating.  We also sampled some local wine (Which was also spectacular) and our first foie gras experience.  Colby and I felt like we had seen everything that we could in Amboise by Sunday late morning.  So, we took a short train ride over to Tours (a city 19 km west of Amboise).  Tours is where Medeival architecture was introduced to France.  It was also the capital of France for two centuries. 

Well y'all...its time for me to eat the dinner mon mari a cuisine pour moi and watch some Glee Christmas.  This weekend Colby and I are traveling to Venice, Italy (Leaving Friday night and returning Sunday night).  We will keep you posted on our adventure!

Exploring the Cities

Bonjour everyone,

Well Jenna and I are beginning to settle into our new surroundings and surely making a new home for the time being. We are slowly getting to know the train system, where train stops are located, and where each trains destination is located. It is quit a task but we are learning slowly. Other then that, Jenna and I are doing great. We are beginning to branch out and explore the city. Most of our time is spent in Hoboken (New Jersey), and around the streets were Jenna's store is located (5th Avenue & West 56th St). The two of us have been to a few other spots in the city which I will touch on further in this posting.

Let me catch you on what has occurred the past couple of days:

On Tuesday night (9/21/10) once Jenna was off work, Jenna and I took a stroll through Central Park. The park is amazing and everything you would think off. When entering the park we saw horse drawn carriages and people socially. We made are way through the park and observed a variety of different trees and plant life. The park was pretty crowded because people are either walking, biking, running/jogging around or in the park. We continued into the heart of the park and saw a small pond, as well as the large reservoir which Central Park is most famous for. It was getting dark so we were able to observe part of the city and its lights. It was a sight to be seen. Around this time, our good friend Garett Awad called because earlier in the day we talked about meeting up for dinner. He informed us that he was with some coworkers and they were going to have dinner over on 1st & 1st. That was pretty far from us so Jenna and I hurried and found a train close by. We found a train and had to connect to, if I remember right, three different trains. It was an adventure but we made it. 1 hour and 30 minutes later, we found the restaurant and meet up with Garett and his coworkers. The restaurant appeared to be a local hangout, and was pretty crowded when we got there. The ethnicity of the food was Italian. We were seated and ordered the food. The food was AMAZING!!!!!! We all pigged out. Once dinner was over, we all said our good byes and went our separate ways. Of courses we headed home.

Wednesday was Jenna's day off. We both decided that it would be a perfect day to do the whole Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island thing. So we got ready and made our way down to the front desk to ask for directions. We were told by the front desk and the maintenance guy that to get to Liberty Park (where the ferry took off) was around a 30 minute walk from our location, or we could take the Light Rail. Jenna and I both decided to walk because it was a beautiful day and we wanted some exercise. So we started walking and about an hour later, we were like, "Where the hec is Liberty Park?" At the time we were in some "ghetto" around and it appeared that we were not even close to Liberty Park. I then pulled out my GPS and plugged in Liberty Park. It showed that we were around 4 miles away and it would take us another 45 minutes to get there. Man were we mad at the front desk and maintenance guy. So we decided to stop, refresh, and eat. We stopped at some hole in the wall Colombian restaurant. Again, the food was great, especially the Plantains. Once refurbished, we finally made it to Liberty Park. The park use to be an old railroad station where the immigrants from Ellis Island would stop and catch the train to their destination. It was a great piece of history to observe and learn about. We then made our way over to the Ferry and embarked to Ellis Island then to the Status of Liberty.

Here is a quick video of where we took off at:

Here is where we took off at:

Here is a video of us entering into Ellis Island:

Here is some pictures of Ellis Island:

 Jenna and I explored Ellis Island and entered every exhibit. The exhibits contained a lot of history and pictures and miscellaneous artifacts. During our exploring, when we turned on corner we saw SWAT. We both were like, "What in the world is going on?" Turns out, that day, the Catholic church was having a convention, and the Archbishop of New York was there. That would be Archbishop Dolan.

 

We made our over to the Statue Liberty next. Here are some pictures:

It was awesome to explore and witness the Status of Liberty, especially how it is such a landmark of our Country's history.

Once done and back on the mainland, I really wanted

to see Ground Zero:

        

Here is what is Ground Zero currently looks like:

Wow, was this a powerful site. It really does not really hit you until you are actually there. Let me give you the scenario on what was going around the area. Well first off, Ground Zero is located in the Business District of New York so there are high rises all around. People are walking all around the area, going to their destination. It just seems like everyone has moved on and Ground Zero is just another piece of construction. It was differently a site to see.

In the evening, Jenna and I went and got some pizza over in Hoboken, New Jersey. The restaurant was recommended so we tried it. Definitely a good choice.

On Thursday, Jenna went to work and I worked on my Master's application. Nothing really eventful. In the evening, Jenna and I meet up in Hoboken and had dinner. We ate at a local restaurant which is famous for their 24oz Top Sirloin. We ordered for the two of us and we pigged out. It was great. We really have not been let down on any of the restaurants that we have eaten ate. I would say that pretty much every restaurant in Jersey or New York is yummmy.

This morning (Friday), Jenna and I headed over again to Hoboken for breakfast. Jenna did not start work till 1:00 pm. We found a good bagel shop and had breakfast. On the way back, we stopped at Carlo's Bakery. Carlo's Bakery is most famous or known for the show Cake Boss. Carlos's Bakery is the bakery on the show. As we walked in, Carlos, the main guy, was greeting the clients. It was now around 10:00 am and of course Jenna had to buy some pastries. I guess Carlo's Bakery is most famous for their canolies. Jenna got two canolies, and a lobster tail (like a eclairs). We head back home, where Jenna got ready for work, I worked out, and both of us went our ways. I came to Starbucks, where I am currently act. I am supposed to be working on my Master's application but I am getting distracted. 

So there you go.

Love you all

The Hawleys 

New York cont.....

Bonjour Everyone,

I am sorry I had to cut it short yesterday but Scott Riddell just popped out of now where and I needed to cut it short. Well let me continue where I stopped and I will catch you up on what occurred yesterday, also some news interesting and exciting news.

So I stopped off by letting you all know that on Sunday was our day to go to the airport and fly to New York. Yes that happen but before we went to the airport, Mr./Mrs. Quist, Laura Vandermolen, Drew Quist, and Jenna and I went to some Mediterranean restaurant (sorry can't remember the name) for lunch. We have eaten there before, but this time it was at a new location. The food was amazing. We all just pigged out and I for sure over eat.

After lunch, Laura and Drew took us to the airport. As I mentioned in the previous post, Jenna and I had a total of eight bags, and they are huge bags, so we needed a little help. Drew helped us get to the Curbside check-in. Once Drew got us there, he left. At the curbside check-in, we started the check-in process. It was not a very fun experience. The guy checking us in was a total idiot. He screwed everything up and he almost made us late. Basically he only checked in Jenna and we got so annoyed with him, we told him not to worry about me. We then made our way inside. At the check inside, it wasn't any better. We were assisted by an older women that was retarded. Jenna and I were stressing out because we only had 30 minutes to get to our gate before the plane took off. So we rushed and just made it.

We landed in New York, and a good buddy from college, Matt Schulien picked us up from the airport. Thank God he did because otherwise it would have been a $100 taxi ride to our apartment. Matt briefly explained and pointed out certain scenic spots and explained a little history about New York. He was like a minor tour guide. We got to our apartment, which is an amazing. Its a One Bed/One Bath apartment, right on the Hudson river in Jersey City. The apartment is fully furnished and has everything we could ask for. We dropped off our stuff and went out and grabbed some, what Matt calls 4 out of 10 Jersey pizza over in Hoboken. I thought it was pretty good but I guess there is better. Once done with the pizza, we headed over to a local bar and had some beers. Matt dropped us off and went to bed.

Monday: We were up Monday morning around 7:00 am. Monday morning Jenna had to report to the Abercrombie on 5th Avenue to start her flagship training. Being the good husband that I am, I went with her, seeing how it was the first day she would be using the train to get to work. I wanted to make sure she got there safely and of course I wanted to know where she was working at. The train traveling was successful and we found the Abercrombie with no problems. Ok, the store is like Disneyland. It is five floors, and has every piece of clothing that Abercrombie makes. The store is just fing HUGE!!!! Matt told us at times there is a line outside the store. Anyways, the travel time from our place to the store took us about 45 minutes. After I dropped Jenna off at the store, I went to a coffee shop around the corner, got some breakfest, did some work on the computer and decided to talk a walk. Then meet up with Scott Riddell. A surprise in the day, Joel Kim (high school) friend meet up with us. Scott, Joel, Jenna, and I went to lunch and caught up. After lunch, Jenna went back to work, and I went with Scott and Joel to Times Square and saw the movie "The City." The move was bad ass and I would recommend it. After the movie, I headed back to Jenna's work, and we caught the train over to Scott's apartment by Madison Square Garden. All three of us caught dinner (pizza), and Jenna and I caught the train back home. Jenna was exhausted so she went to bed and I watched a little TV before falling asleep.

Tuesday: I woke up around 7:30 am and Jenna was already gone. I guess she had to be at work at 8:00 am. So in the morning I lounged around, got dressed, and headed down to the gym across the way from where we were staying. I was told by the front desk of our place that the gym provides two week free trails so I was like, " I could use that." Once at the gym, I told the front desk that I just recently moved into the area and was looking for a gym. They told me that manager is not in yet and to leave my name and number and she will call me. I left and headed over to target and got some groceries. I got a few simply things that we needed, and headed home. Put the food away and then pulled out my P90X Ab ripper and did a quick exercise. Hec, if I am not working, might as well get sexy. After the intense ab work out, headed over to the gym, talked to the manager, and she only gave me a 5 day free pass. That bastard, I want a two week free pass. I tried but I did not get it. Oh well, but 5 days will do. Did a quick work out, ran on the treadmill (4.3 miles), not to bad. Went home, organized some clothes, took a shower (get your mind out of the gutter), got dressed, and headed to the train to meet up with Jenna for lunch. Of course I got lost and took the wrong trains, and meet Jenna two hours later. I will figure out the trains sooner than later. For lunch we had hot dogs. Yummmm.

Well there you go. Jenna just left and went back to work and I am in some freezing ass Starbucks. I swear it is like 50 degrees in here. It is like the fing Artic.

Now the news: So Jenna and I were told by Jenna's boss (District Manager), which he is staying next door to us, that he is staying in New York till October 23rd. We were like, "Does that mean that we are staying in New York for that long." He did not know. So Jenna asked her Regional Manager today if we are staying in New York till October 23rd. I just received a text from her and she stated that most likely we are. I guess our Visa's are not ready yet. So what that means is that we will be staying in New York for a month, but sadly, which means that we are not going to London. Bummer but I can not really can't complain. I am unemployed and homeless. AMAZING!!!!!

Tonight Jenna and I plan on taking a stroll around Central Park and possibly meet up with Garett Awad because he is in town for work with TOMS.

Well love you all.

Question, I am curious how many of you actually are reading the blog. I would love to hear some feed back. You can faceobok it or post a comment. I love to hear if you guys like it.

The Hawleys

New York, New York!!!!!

Bonjour Everyone,

WE MADE IT!!!!! Jenna and I are officially are in New York. We officially got in last night around 7:30 pm. It was quite a adventure and I will fill you all in. Here we go:

The last post I listed I informed you all that I was going to go to the University of Minnesota to meet with the Director of Admissions for the Graduated Social Work Program. Let me catch you all up on what occurred.

On 9/16/10 (Thursday) I made my way down to the "U" (University of Minnesota) to met up with Kate Walthour (Director of Admissions). If you have never been to the U, well let me tell you, the school is FING enormous. Plus there is absolutely no parking. Good thing I got to the school 30 minutes before my assigned meeting because it took me about 25 minutes to find a parking spot. For several minutes I drove around the school to find parking, but I realized all the on campus parking you have to pay for. I was planning on being at the school for a few hours so I really did not want to pay for parking. So I continued to explore for parking and I never found anything. I gave in and parked on campus, $6, not to bad, whatever. So I made my way to the School of Social Work just in time for my assigned meeting (3:00 pm). I was meet by Kate and I spent some time with her. For the first 20 minutes we talked about life and she answered a few of my questions. Then she gave me a tour of the building and introduced me to several facility. During the tour, Kate introduced me to some facility and she informed them that I worked at DCFS in Los Angeles. All the facility were impressed with that. They immediately started asking me questions about how I felt about the Elderly getting involved in working/volunteering in Foster Homes/Out-of-home Care by providing counseling/support. I gave them my opinion and they were all very impressed. If you want to know what my option is on that, then email me or ask and I will tell you. Anyways, when I was talking, all of the facility sat down, took notes, and appeared really impressed. That made me feel quite intellect. I believe it showed Kate that I really knew my stuff and I would be a good candidate for Grad School. Shortly after that, I attended the Informative meeting on the application process for Grad school. That went well. After I went back to Jenna's parents house and hung out.

On Friday morning, Jenna and I went to the Minnesota DMV so that we can register as Minnesota residents, and get Minnesota drivers Licenses. We got to the DMV a little after 8:00 am right after it opened. There was no line. Comparing the DMV in LA to the one in Minnesota, there is no comparison. It is night and day. The DMV in Minnesota, you can go right up to the window and immediately be helped, no wait. Anyways, Jenna did not need to take the written drivers test because her Drivers License was still valid, but I needed to take the written test. I took the written test, PASSED, with 80%. I am now a official Minnesotian. We then made our way over to United Educators to pay off the rest of our car loan on the Subaru. That was successful and now Jenna and officially own our Subaru.

I have failed to inform you all the crap we have gone through with the moving company that has been moving our stuff from California to Minnesota. So if you did not know, the moving company picked up our stuff on September 8th in Seal Beach. The day they picked up our stuff, I was quoted that our stuff would arrive on September 12th in Minnesota. Well that never happened. Starting on September 12th, I was calling the company everyday trying to find our stuff. Everyday we were told that the stuff would be there the next day, then the next day, then the next day. Finally, Jenna and I did our research and found the company that we used was a Fraud. We began to flip out. At this time, we did not have our stuff for nine days. We were freaking out and planning that we would never get our stuff back. On Friday night, we were told by the driver that he would be at the house on Saturday morning with our stuff. We prayed that this was the truth.

Friday night, Jenna and I meet up with some friends in Uptown in Minneapolis for dinner. It was amazing. It was great to see them and catch up. After dinner we made our way over to Chino Latino. Got some drinks and continued to socialize. Around 12:00 am we made our way home.

Saturday Morning: The moving truck showed up. Praise God. All of our stuff was there and nothing was missing. Three things were broken but that is the least of our problems. I am just glad we got our stuff. So we unloaded the truck and packed our stuff away. This took up pretty much all morning. Around 1:15 pm, Mr. and Mrs. Quist, Laura (Jenna's sister), and Jenna and I went for a nice bike ride. It was very nice but it sure pooped me out. Once we returned back to Mr./Mrs. Quist home, I passed out for two hours. Much needed. Saturday night the whole family played a game of Phase ten. Then went to bed.

Sunday: In the morning, Jenna and I got all of our crap ready to go. We had a total of eight bags of luggage. Holy Crap, I know that is a lot. Plus every bag weighted a ton. The next thing we know, it was time to go to the airport.

Ok have to end short, I will fill you in tonight what happen next, Scott Riddell just showed up. Sorry in a Starbucks in New York City at 6th Avenue and West 56th st. Ok bye

Officially in Minnesota!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bonjour Everyone,

Well as promised I am updating the blog. A lot has occurred since being here so I will do my best to update you.

First, I want to continue to stay true to my word and post some pictures from Hawaii. Here you go:

1.) Hanauma Bay

2.) A few underwater shots and yes that is a real sea turtle

3.) Lastly here is a video of my mother and I following the sea turtle

That gets the Hawaii stuff out of the way

Since my last blog, I spent several days in California. My last two days were spent with friends and family before I said "Good bye" to California.

9/12/2010 was a eventful day. Jenna and her mother arrived from their road trip from California to Minnesota. They arrived around 6:00 pm. I caught a flight earlier in the day, which was from California to Minnesota. My flight took off at 5:30 pm. I arrived to Minnesota one hour early, and was picked up by my brother-in-law, Drew Quist (Jenna's brother). We headed straight to the Quist household where I was meet by Jenna. We went straight to bed.

The next morning, me, Jenna, Mrs. Quist, and Drew hang out and caught up. We then headed over to a restaurant that I do not remember the name of, and had lunch with Laura and Derek Vander Molen (Jenna's sister and her husband). Lunch was great, definitely no complaints. Then after lunch, we had to run a few errands around town to finish up a few finishing touches to prepare for us leaving the country (Car Insurance, Bank shizzz, Moving Company, Student Loans, etc). Later in the evening, I went fishing with the boys, Mr. Quist, Drew, and Derek. Noooooooo fish. That night, was a Phase Ten sess. Derek and I lost pretty bad. Then went to bed.

Tuesday: Tuesday was somewhat eventful. All morning we were trying to figure out what to do. Jenna had the idea of us (me, Jenna, Drew, Mrs. Quist) to go for a walk about Lake Calhoun with the Corgis So we did. It was a nice walk, about 3.2 miles. That pretty much took up all the day. We headed home around 4:00 pm and then had pretend Mexican food. That night, Jenna and I, sat in the porch with Mr. and Mrs. Quist, along with Drew at times, and had a very nice helpful conversation. It was one of those conversations that was comforting, compassionate, educational, and loving. We then went to bed.

Wednesday: Wednesday was supposed to be the day that I was going to go down to the University of Minnesota and met with someone from the Master's Social Work Department, while Jenna and her mother went horse back riding. Luckily I called before driving down there because all the facility were in a meeting that day. Some good came out of the conversation because I spoke with the Director of the Graduate Social Work Department for 20 minutes. I believe I made a pretty impacting impression on her. She invited me to come to the school on Thursday at 3:00 pm for a private tour of the school and to meet with her privately. Of course I jumped on that and informed her I will be there. Pretty much all Wednesday morning was thunder and massive down pour. It was relatively nice because Mr. Quist took the day off, and I was able to talk and hang out with him for pretty much all morning. I would say around 2:00 pm, Jenna and her mother arrived home. We has a group made the decision to go to Lord Fletcher's for Lobster dinner. Man that was good. We all then headed over to Grandma Dee's home (Jenna's grandmother - Mrs. Quist mother) for homemade apple pie and ice cream. It was nice to see her and catch up. Pretty uneventful but nice to see her. That is all I will talk about about grandma Dee's home. We then cruised over to Aunt Joyce and Uncle Tom's place. There, the girls pretty much chatted it up, while us men watched the Twins/White Sox game, while flipping to Pawn Stars. Later in the night, we had homemade chocolate fudge and ice cream. It was delicious. The highlight of the night was Ruby. Ruby is a miniature bulldog. She is a kick and full of energy. She is the neighbor's dog. We then headed home.

Overall the stay has been great. Jenna and I have been super busy trying to get organized with things before leaving, as well as hanging out with family. The Quist family is amazing and I could not ask for anything better.

Currently has I am writing this blog, Jenna and her mother went horse back riding, while I am in the basement with Drew. Drew is playing video games which he shouldn't be doing, and of course I am writing the blog. Jenna gave me a list of things to accomplish today but I definitely have not touched that thing. I will soon, she will get over it. Anyways, I should go and get started on that list. I have to do it because if you remember, I have that meeting at the U at 3:00 pm. I will keep you all posted.

Plus I will tell Jenna to post something. She is a slacker in the posting area but I will get on her.

Again, everyone please continue to pray for us.

Thank you,

The Hawley's

The Adventure Begins!!!!!!

Bonjour Everyone,

I first want to start off apologizing to everyone for the fact that I have not kept up on the blog. My only excuse is that I am moving to a different Country, across the world for two years and I have been a little busy (Hence the sarcasm).

Here is the update on what has occurred the past two weeks ish:

Jenna and I had a successful garage sale at our home about 2.5 weeks ago. We made a killing, WELL it was a garage sale so it was not that much of a killing but I considering how much we sold and made, I believe it was a killing. We pretty much sold everything that we wanted to sell. Unfortunately, we did not sell the couch or the Oak Desk. I want to thank all the shoppers and participants that helped us have a successful sale.

On August 25th, Jenna and I opened up our HSBC Bank account. This has been a long process because with Jenna's position, she will need a French and an American Bank account. Jenna's salary will go into the American account, and her accommodations will go into the French account. We were banking with Wells Fargo and of course they are not International, so if we continued to bank with them while we were in France, we would have endless about of charges and life would just be horrible. I did my research and HSBC is the #1 rated International Bank. Therefore, we opened a HSBC Premier account. Watch out, high STATUS (jk - if you do not know want that means, then you are retarded). The frustrating thing though is that we have yet to receive our Credit Cards and we can not check our account because we have not received the welcome packet. Jenna is not too happy, SORRY.

After we opened the account, I was taken to LAX and had to catch a flight to Hawaii. Yes, HAWAII!!!! I went on a eight day/night vacation with my mother (Oh Sandy). Sandy is doing great by the way. She is of course sad to see Jenna and I go but that is just an excuse for her to come out to France. She already has her ticket for June 2011. Back to Hawaii, the trip with my mother was just her and I, and it was the last Ohraw with my mother before I leave. The trip was amazing. I think the highlight of the trip was snorkeling at Hanauma Bay and my mother and I saw TWO real sea turtles. We both swam with them for about 20 minutes, and we were able to touch them. I promise, I do not know when, but I will post some pictures and video with the turtles. It will blow your mind. Sadly, while I was just having a dandie time in Hawaii, Jenna was back in the OC working. Sorry babe.

Once I return from Hawaii (September 2nd)...oh crazy sorry I have to tell you this. So when my mother and I were attempting to land into LAX, I guess there was tons of fog so the plane had to take a detour to Las Vegas. Once we landed in Las Vegas, the pilot came over the loud speaker and informed the plane that the whole plane will be staying the night in Las Vegas. HELL YEAH!!!! I was sooos stoked. I don't get it, half or more of the plane were so pissed. My mother and I were thrilled. The next day we flew back.

Once back home, it became crunch time. For several days, Jenna and I packed up all of our stuff, and prepared for the move. We were supposed to be out of our home on September 8th. When September 8th rolled around, in the morning Jenna and her mother left Seal Beach to begin their road trip to Minnesota, where they still currently are driving cross country. The moving company came around 12:30 pm that morning and picked up all of our stuff. The really annoying thing was it was close to $1000 over what they estimated. Jenna again was not happy. Anyways, that was it. That was the last time I stayed at our home. I have to be honest, I will miss Seal Beach soooo badly and everyone that lives in Seal Beach. It was an amazing place to call home.

On Wednesday night, I stayed at the Romans (Chuck/Val Roman). They basically are mine and Jenna's second family in Seal Beach. We will especially miss them. Love you guys!!!! I am getting teary eyed so I am going to stop.

Last night I spend the night at Garett and Micah's place. It was awesome because I got to see Garett and Micah, but I got to see Kirsten (Garett's Girlfriend, maybe Fiance soon...wink...wink). Kirsten just arrived from Korea that day. She was teaching English there for the past year.

Currently, as I am typing this shizzz, I am at work. Today will be my last day working as a Child Abuse Investigator for the Department of Children and Family Services in Los Angeles (mouth full). I am a little sad, WHO AM I KIDDING NO I AM NOT!!!!! I will for sure will miss the people, but not the work.

Well that is pretty much it. on September 12th, I fly out to Minnesota and meet up with Jenna and her family.

Just a side note, I am taking the move a little hardier then Jenna because I am officially leaving the nest (SoCal). Socal is all I have known for the past 25 years, and I do not know when or ever if I will call Socal home again. But God is great, and I will trust in him that He will pave mine and Jenna's path. God has been so great to me and Jenna and I will never ever doubt him. Times will be hard, I know that for sure, but I know that God will never leave us and we will persevere.

I will request that all of you that are reading this post, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, pray for Jenna and I as we begin to embark on this adventure. We will need it.

Well love you all and thank you again, The next post, SOON!!!!!

The Hawley's

Update

Aloha everyone

I (Colby) am writing to you from Waikiki, Oahu. I am currently on a week trip with my mother, (Sandy Hawley). Jenna is currently at home, well actually I believe she is at work at this very time. I guess I am getting the better deal of the half. Well I am getting paid at this time. I have tons of vacation time and seeing how I am quiting, it is only right for me to use the time before I quite. Can you blame me!!!!!

I just wanted to let everyone know, all the followers that are reading the blog, that I (Colby) am the one that is doing the blogging. Jenna in the mere future will probably be blogging but as of now, I am doing the blogging. I was told the other day, by a good friend, fing Jennifer Dirty Slut Tibbet, that it was obvious that I am the one that is doing the blogging. She informed me that I type the same way I talk. I guess that is a good thing. Anyways here is our update to what has occurred the past couple of days/weeks. Ohhhh my bad that I have not blogged sooner, I am retarded and slow. I have ADD and I can not multi-task.

1. So probably about a week ago, I officially bought my one way Minnesota ticket. So it is officially that I am going to Minnesota. I will be leaving the OC on September 12th around 5:00 pm.

2. Jenna and I have begun to sell all of our belongs. We have been stressing about getting rid of everything but everything has gone smooth. One of our biggest concerns was selling the Honda civic. God is so good, I put up an add at work and within like 10 minutes I had five different offers on the car. The next day I officially sold the car for full price to a co-worker. That relieved a lot of stress. This past weekend, we had our garage sale. We made a killing, well not a killing but considering that we were selling things for 40cents, we made a pretty good amount. We still need to sell the red down couch, two TVs, and a TV stand. If anyone would like a red down couch for some TVs let me know.

3. Also just last weekend. Jenna and I made our way up to the "Valley" for some get togethers. It first started out by meeting up Jennifer Dirty Slut Tibbet and Derek Purdy. Jenna, Jennifer, and I went to dinner then I then left for Ross Coleman house/birthday party while Jenna stayed with Jennifer. It was amazing to see all friends from High School, people from age ranges from 21 to 30. It was going smooth until I started trash talking to Ross's cousin in beer pong. Luckily I backed up the trash talking and he respected me for that. The night ended, made my back to Jennifer/Jenna/Derek. Next morning got some breakfast right by Azusa Pacific (our old stomping grounds).

4. Like I said a couple of times above, I recently came to Hawaii with my mother and Jenna is back at home. I feel so bad for Jenna because she got stuck having to work and also doing the finishing touches to packing. Jenna is just the most amazing women on plant earth. Who ever can live with me for the amount that she has, and loved me unconditionally, that is a great women. Love you Sweet Pea!!!!!

Well there is an update. I will be writing tomorrow. My mother and I are going to Hanauma Bay and going snorkeling. I will let you know if I see anything cool.

Ok love you all and keep us in your prayers.

Update

Bonjour Everyone,

Hey guys, so wanted to give you an update on what has occurred over the past week and an updated Itinerary.

At this time, we are pretty much set on our itinerary. Here is what our life will look like the next three months:

September 4th and 5th: 1) Garage Sale and selling all of our belongs. 2) Going away party at the Roman's (Everyone is invited - call for details)

September 5th: Last Sunday at Church. Everyone will be praying for us and setting us off for our new phase in life. Please continue with pray even through we are not going to be attending that church. Pray is vital throughout this process.

September 7th: Cheryl Quist (Jenna's mother) flies into town.

September 8th: 1) The moving van will be coming to pick up all our belongs and driving them to Minnesota. 2) Jenna and her mother leave Seal Beach and begin their road trip to Minnesota. They will be driving the Subaru and transporting valuables that we do not want to ship. 3) Cable/Netflixs/Utilities all cancelled

September 10th: 1) Last day working for Department of Children and Family Services. 2) Last day living in Seal Beach  =(

September 10th - 13th: Living with Garett and Micah in LA/Santa Monica

September 13th: I (Colby) leave for Minnesota

September 20th: Fly to New York City. Jenna and I will be staying in Jersey City, New Jersey right on the Hudson River, which is about 20 minutes from 5th Avenue. Jenna will be working at the 5th Avenue Flagship Abercrombie store for Flagship training. You might ask what I am going to do. The answer is, NO CLUE!!!!! I talked to a good friend of mine, Matt, who lives in New Jersey. He informed me that his sister is a manager at a restaurant and I might be able to work there for the time that we are in New Jersey/York.

October 1st: Fly to London, England. Jenna starts her Flagship training in London. I know that the first day that we get to London, I have to take the train to Paris to meet with a lady from the American School of Paris to discuss employment. Other than that, I am going to start P90X to get sexy.

October 23rd: Fly to Paris, France. Jenna starts her Language Training. Me, continue to look for a job. Plus, we start to search for housing that we will be living in for the next 20 months.

December 20th: Fly back to the states for Christmas. I will be spending the first five days in Minnesota, then the last few days will be in California.

So that will be our life for the next 3 months. Sounds pretty busy and let me tell you, IT WILL BE!!!!

This past weekend: I have contacted the moving company that will be transporting our stuff cross country. It will cost around $1200. Good thing we are not paying for it, Thanks Abercrombie. Went to HSBC Bank to discuss opening up a Bank account Local/International. Went pretty smooth and we will be going with HSBC. HSBC has a lot of perks and it is the best bank to go with. Lastly, opened up a Delta American Express credit card. Pretty stocked with that.

Anyways that is it. I will ask that everyone begin to pray for us because times are getting pretty stressful. We need as much prayer as possible. I would ask that you pray for safety, protection, a smooth transition, our relationship as a married couple, good communication, and lastly and the most important that our faith will stay strong throughout the process.

Thank you everyone and the next update, I HAVE NO IDEA!!!!!


The Hawley's

Update

Bonjour Everyone,

First off I want to apologize for not keeping up on the posts. A lot is going and I am super busy. Plus, Jenna is currently in Ohio at the Corporate Abercrombie Office learning about the International details and she took the computer so I have been unable to post. Well that is just an excuse because I can post/update the blog at work; I am not supposed to but I am quiting anyway so what are they going to do, FIRE ME!!!!!

Anyways, quite a bit has developed since the last post. I will do my best to explain. Here we go:

Recently Jenna was informed by the International Organizer guy (Norman) at Abercrombie that mine and Jenna's Visa's will not be ready September 18th. She was told by Norman that we are the only one's they are having trouble with getting Visa's. Of course it would be us; it always works out like that. We were told hopefully by October 1st the Visa's will be ready. Based on this information, this is what is going to happen.

Because we have already put in our 30 day notice for our house (Last Day - Sept. 10th), I put in my 30 day work notice, and Jenna's mother has already bought a ticket to fly out to the OC to help with the move to Minnesota (We are storing our belongs in Minnesota during our time in Europe), we were given two scenarios:

The plan is for Jenna to work the last two weeks of September in Minnesota at another Abercrombie store. Most likely at the Mall of America because that is the largest store. I (Colby) will try to work an extra five days before quiting. I am not going to tell my Supervisor about the new plans because they are putting my on freeze today so I do not receive any more Cases. If I tell them about the new plans, they might not put me on freeze and I do not want to get more Cases. I am going to milk it as long as I can. The plan for sleeping arrangements. Because our last day of housing in Seal Beach will be September 10th, Jenna will already be in Minnesota, I will mostly likely live with Garett Awad and Micah Black for the last couple of days I am in California. I am so stoked about this because I would love to spend my last days with Garett and Micah. Probably around the 17th or 18th I will fly to Minnesota to meet up with Jenna and her family. We will reside in Minnesota the last week or so until October 1st.

Hopefully by October 1st our Visa's will be ready. If they are not ready by this time, Abercrombie will be sending us to New York City for three weeks so Jenna can get her Flagship Training at the 5th Avenue store, while I just hang out and explore the city. Scott Riddle lives in New York City so I will be hanging out with him for a bit. (If anyone is going to be in New York City from Oct 1st - Oct. 23rd let us know, love to meet up). Abercrombie will be giving us an allowance for food and will be providing us free housing. AMAZING!!!!!! Mostly likely, by October 23rd our Visas will be ready. With that, on October 23rd, we fly straight to London, England for Jenna to start her Cultural Training. As for my plans, once in London, I will be taking the train from London to Paris to meet up with some employers to explore employment.

Now if our Visas are ready October 1st, we will be going to Paris, and getting settled in (Find Housing). Then when October 23rd rolls around, we will be going to London for Jenna's Cultural Training.

I hope I explained the plans ok, if I did not, I am sorry, too bad, I am not re-writing it.

So that is where we are at right now. During the mean time, Jenna and I will continue to work at our specific jobs, continue to pack up our belongs, organize, and get things ready for the garage sale. Jenna and I would love to hang out with as many people as possible before we leave so please keep in touch.

If you did not already know, we are having a going away party over Labor Day weekend (Saturday and Sunday) at the Roman's place. They live right next to us so its not too far. The atmosphere will be pretty chill. We are planning on just beaching it, then BBQ, and drinks in the evening. I have created a event on Facebook and made some invites already. If I am not your friend on Facebook, then obviously you did not get an invite, but do not let that stop you from coming. We would like everyone to come out that is able to attend. Please do not be shy. If we have not talked to you or seen you for a while, that does not mean you can not come. It is a open invitation.

Well that is pretty much it.

Oh lastly, I want to give a shout out to local boy Brett Simpson who recently just won the Hurley/Nike 6.0 U.S. Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach. This is the second time Brett has won the Open. Plus it is the highest paid Surfing event of the year (#100,000). Let me get some of that!!!!! Anyways congrats Brett.

Next post: NO CLUE, just check it in a couple of days

Bye bye

Update

Bonjour everyone,

Update to the last post:

Saturday the 30th, 2010...Saturday was probably one of the most amazing days in a long time. Well not that amazing because Jenna had to work and I was unable to share it with her, but I was able to share it with another special person, Garett Awad. The day started off by me getting woken up by Jenna because she had to get ready for work so she had to take a shower and turn on the lights. That is fine, I do not mind. So for about 15 minutes into the morning, I laid in bed while Jenna had her breakfast next to me (I love it when we do this...perfect movie scene). Jenna then proceeded to leave for work and I continued to lay in bed. What a tough life right. Shortly after Jenna left, G-wad called and informed me that he was getting a haircut and then he would be done to pick me up to go to Laguna (10th St/Thousand Steps). Thoughts ran through my mind...(Perfect I hate driving). So I laid in bed til around 10:00 am, got up, brushed my teeth, walked to the front door, and a few seconds later G-ward rolled up. G-wad walked in and typical G-wad stated, "Colby I am starving, do you have any food." So me being I guess a restaurant, I provided G-wad with some cereal. We chatted and next thing you know, we were on the road to Laguna.

We arrived to the beach (10th St/Thousand Steps) walked down like 80 million stairs and made camp. If you have never been to 10th St/Thousand Steps, I would totally recommend it, it is incredible. It is so secluded and no one goes there, its perfect. Anyways, G-wad skimmed while I relaxed and soaked up the rays. While we were at the beach, I started hearing some French being spoken next to me. Me being the social butterfly that I am, I asked if the couple was speaking French and if they were from France. What do you know, they were, and they live in Paris in the 5th district. I was like, "Shut the f up, that is where we want to live." So we exchanged emails and we are going to meet up once we get to Paris. They are going to show us around.

Several hours later, we made are way up the 80 millions stairs (man I am out of shape) and made our way down to Brooks St. I surfed while G-wad skimmed some more. Finally we headed home.

Once home, G-wad and I BBQ with the Romans (The neighbors). A little while into the BBQ, some family friends of the Romans showed up (already forgot there names). Then Jenna called and she was on her way home from work. Once Jenna arrived home, we all pigged out. I ate soooo much but definitely not as much as Jenna. Man did she pig out. We all started talking and Jenna's cookies got brought up in conversation. Everyone convinced Jenna to bake some cookies, and the amazing person that she is, she made her famous cookies.

Once the cookies were done, of course the neighborhood kids came over and invaded the cookie jar. Even Ziko got into the mix. Remember, "Keep Ziko Wild."

So its about 10:00 pm now and everyone is poop. Then to top the night off, G-wad called Kirsten in Korea and we got to chat it up. G-wad spent the night and we all went to bed.

Sunday the 1st, 2010...Sunday was another great day. G-wad went home and I went to church. Church was good. Actually we had some surprising guess. If you did not know, the US Open of Surfing in going on right now so all the top surfers are in town. With that, Bob Hurley (the owner of Hurley) was present at church, as well as Bethany Hamilton, Carissa Moore, Chelsea Hedges, and Brad Ettinger. I was a little star struck but I got over it. After church was over, Jenna and I rode our bikes down to Huntington Beach Pier and watched a little bit of the Open. I meet a few famous surfers which was AWESOME!!!!! After a few hours we rode back and pasted out. It was a great day.

Monday the 2nd, 2010...Jenna and I went to work, came home, had dinner, went to bed, nothing special.

Tuesday the 3rd, 2010...Jenna and I went to work. Nothing special yet but I have a great story that happen to me at work today. So at work today, I really needed to use the restroom so I went of course. While I was doing my business, I was sitting next to a Handicap stale and while I was doing my business, I started hearing snoring. I was like to my self, "Did this person seriously fall asleep on the toilet while taking a dump." I was in the restroom for about a good 15 mins and he was still in there when I left. I became a little concerned. I was like,, "I ain't waking this guy up, that is so awkward and that is not in my job title." I went and informed my big boss, and he cracked up laughing. My big boss was like "We better go wake him up." So now it is about 30 minutes that this guy started snoring, and I have no clue how long he was in there before I was. We both walked into the bathroom, and the man was still there. My big boss started making tons of noise and there was no response. Finally, my big boss knocked on the stale door and the man acknowledged him. I was dying laughing. Anyways that is it.

Ok gtg now,

Talk to you soon

The Hawley

P.S. Write comments we like comments

The Beginning Stages

Bonjour mes amis!!

I want to offically welcome you to Jenna and Colby's blog. This is the very first posting of many to come. Jenna and I are thrilled to be able to share our thoughts and future experiences here in the states and soon to be Europe.

I would love to write more tonight but I have worked a long day and I really want to go to bed. I will be giving you an update probably on Sunday night (8/1/2010).

Talk to you soon,

Aurevoir