New Update!

Giselle out in front

Just after the dance, doesn't she look amazing!

Tower Bridge (London)

I just got home from London last night and decided that it was finally time to update the blog! Giselle's team did well with the latin competition and ended up taking 4th out of 8 really strong teams. The team was happy with their results (they were up against the world champions and the european champions and still managed to give them a run for their money)
We were all very proud of them and watching Giselle dance out there was really exciting and emotional as she accomplished her goal of competing against the best after so many years of hard work and training. After Blackpool we headed down to London and finished up our trip there. I'll post more pictures of that later. Good job Giselle!!
Giselle will be home later tonight and then she'll be driving down to her new home (she's never seen) down in Gilbert, Arizona!

Castles!

2 more castles on our list!
We had the chance to drive up to Dumphries, Scotland (the advantage of renting a car) so we could check out a castle up there called Caerlaverock Castle. This castle was built in 1300 A.D.

This is a view from the back of the hotel


This is a view of the back wall that fell in the 1600 in a fight between the Scott's and the Brit's.

Then 2 days later we drove up to Lancaster, England and we visited the castle there. This castle is the oldest prison in the country. It is still being used as a prison and there were 218 prisoners there today when we visited. It was such an amazing castle but unfortunately, they dont allow you to take pictures inside (for security) they even warned us that if we were caught taking pictures we could go to prison for 2 years. Here are some pictures of this castle (Lancaster Castle) This castle is owned by the Duke of Lancaster who happens to be Queen Elizabeth herself:

This is a picture from the front view


Giselle and I (I bought a new hat today)

Castle view from the side

Second Place!

Greetings from Blackpool!


(Giselle is the 4th one in from the right)

I know we have a lot of updating to do but I'll post this news bulletin first and then upload and post pictures of the other things we've done and seen in a separate post. Last night, Giselle and the team competed the Standard Medley. They performed well but unfortunately didn't beat the German team. So UVU took second place and beat the other US team that took 3rd. We are very proud of them and Giselle of course was stunning and danced like a pro! The competition going on before and after the team competition was the Pro Latin Category and it was absolutely amazing! We watched the top ballroom dancers in the world competing for first. We all thoroughly enjoyed the competition and we loved seeing Giselle out on the same floor that the world's best were dancing on. Tomorrow night the team will be competing the Latin Medley against 8 or 9 other teams from various countries. It's going the be a very tough competition but we'll be cheering them on wishing them the best! I'll let you know how that goes!

And we're off!!!

We'll, it's finally time! Giselle leaves today for England and my parents and I will be leaving tomorrow. Her parents left yesterday and they should be arriving in London right about now and catching a train to Paris. I wanted to post a brief itinerary so everyone can see where we'll be and when in case we need to be reached. I'll have Internet and a local cell phone the whole time over there so feel free to email/call me at any time. We'll keep the blog updated!

(remember to add 7 hours to calculate London time)
Cell Phone: 01144 7515 073479 (Dial just like that from the US)
Email: ndrasheta@hotmail.com

The Best 2 Years!!!

I can't believe it's already been 2 years since we got married. It's sad to have to celebrate our 2 year anniversary so far away from each other but we look forward to reuniting again finally at the end of the week in England! I still feel the same as I did that day 2 years ago, a deep love for an amazing person who is so sweet, kind, loving and amazing at everything she does. I'm such a lucky guy! I feel like it's been a 2 year honeymoon and I look forward to continuing our honeymoon for many years to come. I love you Giselle! Happy Anniversary!

10 year High School Reunion

Nik and I had the chance to go to Guadalajara this weekend for our 10 year high school reunion and we really had a great time seeing all our friends again. We got to go visit my great-aunt and spend time with family and friends. Not to mention all the amazing food we had! We arrived on Thursday night and went straight to the taco stand (I had 10 tacos). Here are some of the pictures

Nik and I kissing Tia Lupita

Nik and I with Uncle Jose Luis and Tia Nena


Nik and I with some of our buddies (Gerardo, Toro, Mayo, Noah, Ivan, Nik, & Fausto)

Our Birthday Present!

Nik and I got to go indoor skydiving today for our birthday present! We had such a great day. I had ground school in the morning and a flight in the afternoon. The skydiving was in between. Then tonight we had cake and dinner. What a fun day! Thanks to everyone involved in surprising us today!!

First Triathlon Ever!

Last week I participated in my first triathlon down in Rocky Point, Mexico! It was so much fun participating with my brother Nik, his wife Anissa, my dad, my brother Dak and with our good friend Aaron Wettstein. We swam 400 meters in the ocean, biked 10 miles up and down hills along the coast and finished up by running a 5k through the golf course and finishing the run down the beach in the sand to the finish line. It was a blast! I think it will become a yearly event. We all did well but Nik was the top athlete in our group! We'll be on his heals as we train for the next one! The only thing missing to make this trip perfect was Giselle! Here are some pictures of the place.

Here we are on the beach before the swim (Dad, Dak, Nik, Anissa, Noah, Aaron)

The Bros.

My dad did it! We were so proud of him!

In Loving Memory

My beautiful grandmother, Louise Bisel passed away last night. She had been struggling with her health for quite some time, and was brought home to be made comfortable and to be with family these last few days. I was lucky enough to be in Kamas for the weekend, so I was able to visit her yesterday. I will miss her so much...from her snappy humor to her always put-together look, from her beautiful singing voice to her sweet smile and laugh.

More than any other lesson she has taught me, I have learned from my Grandma how to love your husband. The relationship of my grandparents is a perfect example of love and care for each other. As long as I can remember, I have seen my grandparents pay sweet affectionate attention to each other. They have constantly acted like newlyweds, and have set the bar high for their children and grandchildren.

I have so many memories of my beautiful Grandma, and am happy to be able to celebrate the life she lived. I love you, Grandma!

More time = More updates!

First, I got my hair done again today....getting lighter! I have one more time to get it done before Blackpool.
My AMAZING cast! They did such an awesome job performing in my Senior Project. From left to right: Emily Darby, Dai Sato, Alessandra Gonzalez, Ben Bolick, Candice Grimstead, David Moon, Alayne Wadsworth, Lance Gillman, Kelly and Cory Baldwin.

Our cheesy shot that turned out really cool!

My Mom and I had a slumber party Friday night after my show and stayed up until 1:30 just chatting. She did my dishes and folded my laundry while I slept in, and was the best visitor ever!

Giving my presentation at NCUR in Maryland.

Salisbury University Campus - so pretty!

The water was FREEZING but I knew I had to at least get my feet in for Noah.

The view from our room...