CURRENT MISSION

We like to travel around, see new places, and meet fun new people. We are adventurers at heart and love to go mountain biking, spend time in quality coffee shops, and go hiking in the woods. :)

ABOUT US

Braden (the hubby) and I met at college, got married, and now live together. :) We have one super cute and well-trained small dog, a Westie/Jack Russel terrier mix. She is now 6 years old and is a whole lot of fun. We also have an Eskiepoo puppy (American Eskimo/Poodle mix) - he was born in March 2014 and is a bundle of fluffy cuteness! We all like to go hiking in the woods and on other trails wherever and whenever we can. In addition to this, Braden and I like to go mountain biking, cross country skiing, rock climbing, and snowboarding in our free time (when the weather is appropriate).

PHILOSOPHY

We like the Golden Rule--Treat others the way you want to be treated. It's ridiculous how people treat other strangers when they would never treat their friends that way. We want to show respect and be respected back. We're fun people and we want to be seen as good people too.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW WE PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Julie mostly surfs, as we don't get too many people coming through the towns we have lived in to host, but we have had one hosting experience, and our guest was great! We're still friends.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Julie's stayed at a cooperative living household in Madison, WI and that was a really cool experience. I've never seen one before, and the community that they have established is really neat.

Interests

Triathlons, mountain biking, snowboarding, rock climbing, hiking, camping, backpacking, cross country skiing, reading, visiting historical locations, etc.

• dogs
• coffee
• reading
• traveling
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• skiing
• snowboarding
• rock climbing

Music, Movies, and Books

Love the movie Apocalypto. We typically enjoy action/adventure movies (e.g., Die Hard, Thor), comedies (e.g., Morning Glory, Bridesmaids), dramas (e.g., Pride & Prejudice; Little Miss Sunshine) , thrillers (not gross horrors) (e.g., The Ghost and the Darkness; Super 8), and romantic movies (e.g., Shall We Dance, Crazy Stupid Love). :) Braden is a HUGE fan of the Hunger Games movies. As far as music goes, we like just about everything, depending on our mood; Pentatonix is a new favorite of ours, and Brady enjoys talk radio. For books, we have enjoyed a variety of fiction and non-fiction books; murder mysteries, inspirational, educational, etc. Examples include: The Awakened series by Jason Tesar, 'Attached' by Levine and Heller, "Wired that Way", "Chronicles of Narnia" series, "Ender's Game", and many, many more.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Julie: Worked at a wilderness therapy organization in which we work with troubled teens/young adults to help them reach their unrealized full potential as adults. It is so cool to watch as one of our clients progresses from day 1 to the day they are discharged from the program. No matter how difficult they can be, the reward of helping change at least one life for the better makes it all worth it in the end.

Braden: Supporting Julie on the rough days at work....being there to help her unwind or just let off some steam when the clients are being particularly unruly. Also, snowboarding in Colorado powder!

Teach, Learn, Share

Once we get a better idea of what this fully means, we will fill this in with more detail later. At this point in our lives, we are big on learning and sharing. One area we are currently working on is improving our marriage--we love to listen and learn from others about their marriages. :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Good coffee, and stories! Everyone has different experiences, so we all have a story to tell, ours included. But we also can share a listening ear for those that love to tell their own stories as well. Plus, Braden used to be a barista, so we'd like to think that we know GOOD coffee, and we're willing to share!

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States, Wales