After Europe we had Halloween. In college, Halloween was my favorite holiday. My friends & I went crazy and dressed up almost every day of the week of Halloween. Thankfully I married someone who loves dressing up just as much as me. The most memorable (before this year) was when we lived in Michigan. We knew nobody and were completely bored on Oct 31st but we still wanted to keep the tradition alive. We dressed up as goths, walking around the mall getting judgmental looks. People didn't know whether it was a Halloween costume or not. I grew a love for nose rings after just a few hours (just kidding, maybe).
This year was epic. It topped all past years. I had seen the costume idea of Doubtfire around Christmas 2014 and knew THAT was it. Shaun had done Mrs Doubtfire imitations before so I knew he'd be able to pull it off. As for the "couple costume" part I struggled. I wanted you to be able to tell that I was Miranda Hillard. My sis came up with brilliant idea to hold the frame of Stew to make it a little more obvious. (although those less devoted Mrs. Doubtfire fans still asked who I was...)
Shaun wanted it to be evident that he was Mrs Doubtfire and not just a random old lady. It took many trips to Goodwill and a 90 minute makeup job, but it came together. We went and visited some friends that night and as soon as we stepped out of the car we heard a nearby family of trick-or-treaters yell:
"Hey! It's Mrs Doubtfire!"
*FIST PUMP IN THE AIR*
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Shaun even had someone come back around the neighborhood to find him again.
"My Dad LOVED that movie. Could I send him a picture of you?"
I won't lie. I already have the 2016 costume in the works. I'll give you a small clue. When I told Shaun what we were doing he said "why am I always the girl..."
(Whew! What a relief. We can move on with life. Now let's do a few throwback posts)
Storytime: Back when we were first married, we lived in Georgia. I had a few cousins that lived close by so we would get together every once in a while. One time we were at a BBQ restaurant and my cousin Jake told Shaun to try one of his favorite meals called "The Hog-a-chonga."
Hog-a-chonga:Chimichanga that is filled with pork, baked beans, cheese and then deep fried. It is then covered with some sort of stew. Gross? Delicious? Watch the video of them making it here and then get back to me (skip to 1:30).
Here is a super cute shot off of Yelp
So SJ orders it, finishes it, and feels like a real man. The next morning Shaun begins to tell me about his rough night. You can listen to the details below, but I will mention, I had to throw away my cute bathroom rug & shower curtain. It has now been one of the most hilarious stories he shares about the results of peer pressure.
Fast forward about three years...
Shaun is in Utah doing a show at his old stomping grounds. They were playing a game where they had to make up a song using a phrase from the audience. His phrase was
"I shouldn't have eaten that"
Right then I knew exactly what he was going to sing about so I grabbed my camera...
I went to a BBQ place in Atlanta, Georgia
My wife's cousin told me to try a dish called the Hog-a-Chonga
It's a chimichanga but it's like ten times as big
and I think they marinated it in dirty oil over night.
But I wanted to be cool so I ordered the dish
and then I scarfed it all down like it was my greatest wish.
And then I went to my house and I tried to go to the sleep
but I went to the bathroom and I couldn't make a peep cuz
We got to Rome mid afternoon and walked around a bit. Found the nearest gelato and pizza place. Went shopping in Rome (so fun)!
After we went shopping, we tried to see the Trevi Fountain which was walking distance from our hotel, but it was under construction. We were so sad! But through glass it was pretty...
After strolling around enjoying the exciting sights of Rome, we headed to bed early anticipating our big tour the next day. We knew we had to see all that we could in a day and in a half so we took the advice of one of SJ's colleagues and booked a tour guide. This incredibly nice Italian picked us up at our hotel in the morning. He made his way around all the crazy traffic and crowds while telling us about everything we drove passed. We could stop him at any time if we wanted to get out for a quick picture. I can't imagine getting a taxi from place to place or driving our own rental car in crazy Rome. The tour was 100% the way to go.
Here are a few of the spots we checked off in the morning:
Charriot Races
You can see how ginormous this stadium was by that small man in the middle of it.
Roman Ruins
This was pure magic. I mean does that photo look fake or what?
We were the only ones there for a little while so it was fun to take it all in with just the four of us.
Some of these ruins date back to the time before Christ was on the earth. I was completely blown away. I recommend everyone see this in their lifetime. It's still so unreal to me.
You can also see how huge this yard of ruins is by the size of the people. You can see a glimpse of the colosseum in the center.
Temple of Hercules Victor
Dating back to 2nd century BC
The Monumento Nazionale
Monument built in honor of Victor Emmanuel who was the first king of Italy. It also holds the eternal flame
Capitoline Hill
This plaza was designed by Michaelango
NOTE THE NEON PINK SHOES. I wish I could say I would do it differently now that I'm home and can see how ridiculous they look, but I honestly can't. I was walking on air during our 12 hr days.
The sugar from breakfast got to us by now. Dancing for the tourists
The Colosseum
Absolutely loved this, second to the Roman Ruin lookout. A very close second.
I dragged Santa hats in our backpacks all ten days just for this shot! #worthit
Every person looked like they were on the phone (listening to an audio tour)
I thought getting low to the ground and seeing all of the detail of the tunnels was awesome! Back then there was a stage floor over the top of this. They had little walkways/tunnels underneath where they would walk the lions and animals. Then they had a floor piece where the animals would raise out of the ground. Incredible hard work that went into these nasty violent gladiator battles. So interesting!
The Vatican
GREAT shot of us and the Vatican..
Apparently it's a well known fact that the Vatican is a country in itself. They have gas stations and even a shopping mall where only citizens can go.
Our tour guide had tickets to everything and we just went to the front of the lines and went right in. I felt so bad for the people waiting 4+ hours in lines and even some getting turned away at the end of the day. Our tour guide met another vatican tour guide who took us through. She was super knowledgeable and we learned a lot.
You weren't allowed to talk once you entered the Sistine chapel.
An illegal photo of SJ & the Sistine chapel. If it were for sacred religious reasons he wouldn't have done it. The only reason they don't let you take pictures is because China still owns the copyrights of the ceiling (LAAAME) so Shaun didn't feel too awful... let's get real, everybody was doing it.
Anyone who has heard the RIDICULOUS story of me and a crazy asian woman in the Vatican will enjoy this photo. I was avoiding her like the plague, which my group thought was so hilarious. They snapped a picture to always remember her...
Outside the Vatican where they have all their meetings
Where the pope comes out and waves to the tiny people.
Our tour guide took us to this beautiful spot overlooking the city. I begged the driver to stop so I could take a picture of this AMAZING road. I almost got run over taking this picture.
Again, #worthit
Looking over Rome
The Pantheon
We were being SUCH crazy American tourists by this time of day. Dancing and taking video in front of the Pantheon. We were not paying attention to anybody around us. As we are dancing we hear becky yell "OH MY GOSH HORSE!" I kid you not, I turn my head and literally am smelling horse breath as I stare into the horse's mouth. That horse and carriage in the back had made its way around and we were in the way. They didn't warn us at all! Anyway, I wish we could have filmed it. We freak out and get out of the way while everyone on the Pantheon steps starts laugh at us.
Of course we go back to dancing. Not even a minute later Becky yells HORSE AGAIN! And it had done some U-turn and was coming back to stomp us down. We couldn't stop laughing for fifteen minutes. I now have nightmares with horses breathing in my face.
Spent the last night in Rome going out to dinner and just walking listening to street music and getting gelato. It was our last night together which was sad. But it was so fun talking about the memories and laughing about the life changing trip we had experienced together.
