My cousin Kristen posted a few weeks ago about how she and David became one and said she'd love to hear others story. Here it is baby!
The short story is that we met through a friend, but that is sort of boring isn't it? It seems like these days I'm so busy with raising and educating children and homemaking that I don't spend too much time in reflection unless someone ask me how we met. Brendon was born and raised in Tasmania, Australia and I was born and raised in North Georgia and grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, which is where we have lived since we were married!
I graduated from the University of Georgia and worked for a year. I had always enjoyed travel and decided that now was the time to set off for a little adventure. I bought my
Let's Go Europe book, my Eurail Pass, a plane ticket and packed my big old backpack and set off!
I thought it might be fun to learn a foreign language and so I ended up living in Germany and a working in a day care on an Army base, because you need to be able to get a visa to live in another country. I was staying in a student dorm and another American girl told me that was what she was doing in order to get a visa.
That's me at the daycare. I worked with Sue, Gretchen and Erma.
It surely was an interesting place with a few characters and one crazy boss!
Brendon had decided to travel as well. He went to Malaysia for awhile and helped at a mission (believe it or not!) and did some side trips to a few places in Asia. Then he moved on to London, where he apparently had a very good time! He ended up getting a decent job and through coincidence was transfered to Neuchatel, Switzerland. He met up with this guy who I knew as well.
One day this friend, called me up and said he was coming up for the weekend with two of his friends! What do I remember from this weekend? It was the middle of winter and absolutly freezing! Also, that Brendon was interesting, but other than that it was just a weekend with friends.
The weekend we met. Brendon is looking back.
I'm on the left. Audrey is on the right! She was also up for the weekend, but this picture is from a weekend later on. (This is in CH, but I'm not quite sure where?)
About a month later his sister flew in to see him. He immediatly took her down to Italy and then on to Germany. While he was in my area he called me and they got a hotel down the street and we all went to dinner. Narelle, his poor jet lagged sister, was so completly exhausted from travel and she said she had to go to sleep. Brendon and I ended up talking for hours.
After that we took turns visiting each other. When we were in Stuttgart we often went to O'Reilly's (Irish) pub which was two blocks from my apartment. My friend Lavonne, from NZ, went with us a lot. Of course we had lots of fun!
My apartment
The gold colored one, two blocks down hill was the pub!
Tamara and Lavonne at O'Reilly's
Susanne and Dirk
These were my flat mates. They are married with kids now.
When I went to visit Brendon we would drive around to different places and meet up with people we knew. We had great times!
That's me. We drove around alot. Here we were t Lake Geneva.
Brendon and Raph eating fondu for 4 all by themselves!
London
When we first met, Brendon had a business trip to London and my friend Lavonne and I were there on the same weekend. We met up for lunch one day.
Cilla and Martin are some of the people we did stuff with and they were married a month before we were!
Other people we saw frequently were Heide and Ralph, Kim and Aschi, Maggie and Jens. I don't have good enough pictures to post.
We were married a little over a year after meeting. Here we are!
I'm on the left. Audrey is on the right! She was also up for the weekend, but this picture is from a weekend later on. (This is in CH, but I'm not quite sure where?)
My apartment
Tamara and Lavonne at O'Reilly's
Brendon and Raph eating fondu for 4 all by themselves! 
