Congratulations Katie and Jeff!!!

Last weekend was a big weekend-- we traveled to Denver, CO to attend Christy's sister Katie's wedding. Christy was the matron of honor, and it was so fun to see our family. We flew through Houston and thankfully had no problems with delayed flights or missing baggage. Nicholas was wonderful on the plane. He was full of curiousity, making friends with the other passengers (hopefully they didn't mind too much) and took a nap on each flight. He even slept relatively well in the hotel's pack and play.

The wedding took place on Sunday at Evergreen Lake House outside of Denver.


The rehearsal was Saturday night:

Nicholas loves to play with water bottles.

We had a delicious dinner at a local restaurant.

Nicholas got to spend time with his GG, Grumpa and Great-Grandad.

too cute--we don't have the sign, but Saturday was actually Nicholas's 10 month birthday, too.

The morning of the wedding we got together for a nice family breakfast--- Uncle Tom and Aunt Sam and cousins Ted and David were there as well as Uncle Gene and Aunt Joyc, Grandad, Christy's parents, and Katie, of course.

While Christy was hanging out with Katie and the bridesmaids and getting her hair done, David and Nicholas went with Uncle Tom, Aunt Sam, Ted, and David to see Buffalo Bill's grave. There were some beautiful views of Denver and the surrounding area.

our little cowboy!


Back at the hotel, the girls were getting ready....

the comfy pre and post wedding flip flops

and into the wedding shoes

the groomsmen

the ceremony

bridesmaids!

there were a few drops of rain as the ceremony started and a few of us were really nervous, but then the cloud blew away and instead a beautiful rainbow became the backdrop for the ceremony

time to kiss the bride!

Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Matthews-- and now Nicholas has an Uncle Jeff!

waving hi!

love the cupcakes

Katie and Jeff with Christy's parents

sleepy boy

the morning after..... one beer can survived

Now Katie and Jeff are off to enjoy Costa Rica (after registering with the State Department in case of any emergencies, of course) and we are back to Sweet T&T

It was a busy week too. We got home about 9:30 Tuesday night, then had dinner at colleagues' houses both Wednesday and Thursday. We said good bye to our friend and colleague Maren who is headed back to Washington to start A-100.

Friday night we enjoyed the monthly Wine and Cheese and met several new families that have just arrived. This weekend is a quiet one--sleeping, unpacking, laundry, and a bit of golf for David (with new golf shoes!)

Next week will be busy as well as we are welcoming another couple that we are sponsoring who arrive on Wednesday. We can't believe how quickly July is flying by.

Swing, swing my playmate....

This weekend we hosted a big BBQ for the Halpin family to introduce them to others in the embassy. It was a success and David enjoyed grilling. Christy also took Nicholas to the park and introduced him to the swings, which he loved. Other than that just another busy week--and this weekend we are headed to Colorado for Christy's sister's wedding. We can't wait!


Nicholas having fun at the park. Before we know it he'll be climbing and sliding down the slide too!

Moe hanging out

Nicholas in his "Stud Puffin" onsie from Baltimore Aquarium, before our BBQ on Saturday.

This is a video of Nicholas on the swing.

Have a great week!

Happy Birthday, America!

Happy Fourth of July to everyone! Celebrating the 4th overseas can be fun, as the embassy always has a big event and sometimes being away makes one really appreciate how wonderful America is.

Friday night Nicholas stayed home with Alicia so David and Christy could attend the embassy's Independence Day celebration at the Hilton. It was pretty low-key as far as embassy 4th of July's go, but the Ambassador gave a nice toast (that David helped write) and the food was delicious. David had to leave a few minutes early to head out to the airport to pick up a new family that we are sponsoring.

Saturday we helped them get settled by heading to PriceMart (Trinidad's version of Costco), Movie Town, Hi-Lo (the grocery store) and Westmall. After a busy day of shopping we went out to Ruby Tuesdays to relax.

Sunday was a bit drizzly but we did make it over to the Marine House for a nice BBQ. Christy really missed having fireworks (in Berlin the embassy put on a show) but David found the Macy's firework display in New York on TV so at least we got to watch that.

Monday was the best kind of day--we love celebrating American holidays when it's not a local holiday. We headed to Maracas Bay with a number of other embassy families to enjoy the beach. Our new family must have thought we were crazy driving towards the beach in the pouring down rain, but sure enough by the time we got there the clouds were breaking and we had a really nice day. Monday night we headed to a neighbor's house to help celebrate their kid's birthday, and now we are ready for bed and another busy week at work.

Nicholas hanging with daddy before we had to leave to go to the reception

cheesecake lollipops dipped in chocolate.... the desserts were fabulous.

Ambassador Welters giving her toast

the marines presenting the colors
Aren't we cute in our 4th of July outfits?

at the beach-- as long as Nicholas had his pacifier in his mouth, the sand did not go in.... this was the first time we really let Nicholas play in the sand and he loved it!

That's all folks--another busy week at work ahead, time to sleep!