Kristi's Wedding Shower

From Katie:

What a great day today was, being surrounded by so many members of our wonderful families (including the Evanses!), catching up, having fun, eating great food, and of course helping Kris and Sam set up their new home. Thank you so much to everyone who came! Here are some photos of Kristi's day.

Tulips graced the main table; they just happen to match Kris and Sam's wedding flowers.

We had lots of delicious things to eat, including some beautiful champagne fruit cups that Amy made.


And mimosas; lots of mimosas.



The mother of the bride downed several of them.


Just kidding! Seriously, though, Pam's house was the perfect spot for hosting the shower. Here she is with Jordan, Kristi's maid of honor (and friend since we moved to Omaha!).


Ann Marie was responsible for organizing the whole thing, which is tremendously impressive, considering she hosted another big party for Chad and Meredith's birthdays a mere 5 hours later. (Superwoman, I'm telling ya.)


Amy also helped put this thing together, and, as always, she had Meredith by her side almost the entire time.


Except, that is, when Kristi wanted a photo with the most adorable flower girl St. John's will ever see!


And speaking of girls, here are some of Kristi's best, and oldest, girlfriends. (Left to right, Jordan, Kristi, Caela, and Allison.)


It was great to have so many mother/daughter combos here, too, including Kim and Steph:


And Barb and Mary:


Katie and Elizabeth:


(And a bonus photo of Elizabeth, because she is so darn cute:)


And Anna and Maria:


And even though she doesn't have a daughter, here's a photo of the ridiculously beautiful Debbie:


Everyone was so generous with their gifts for Kristi and Sam:



And the shower ended on a high note, because we each got to take home a beautiful cookie made by Jordan's aunt.


Thanks so much to everyone who came. We really missed those who couldn't make it!

Can't wait to see everyone at the wedding!

Almost Time to Head Home

The past four days have been an incredible and wonderful family experience. The pampering, the luxury, and the adventures went beyond my expectations, and the memories we all have will be forever tucked inside our hearts.

Unfortunately, Montezuma has found another victim in Jimmy. For the rest of us who have eluded his curse, pray that we'll have good health long enough to get back home.

Hope you all enjoyed the blogs!!

The Making of a Balloon Ride

Steve, Kim, Jimmy and I got up early to meet up with the Hot Air Balloon crew. They took us to a field, and Jim and Steve helped them get the balloon filled.

It was a great time!

We finally got to see the bull fight arena!



The ride was incredibly smooth, peaceful and a delightful experience!

Montezuma Strikes at even the Invincible

Steve is down now - he hates admitting he's human and can throw up like other people.

But he's a fighter.

And very, very stubborn.

Catching up

Friday, we spent most of the day in town. A festival was going on, and we spent an hour waiting for a big race to begin. Miah would probably be familiar with it - I was told it was Mexico's equivalent to the Tour de France. A very big thing--TV cameras everywhere.

We stopped at a little place famous for its hot chocolate and churros. Delish!

Then we went shopping. This is the Mercado - a huge shopping area alive with all kinds of Mexican foods and souvenirs. Here's a couple of ladies with cactus laid out. They're sitting there scraping the needles. Women sold cooked chickens and foods I'd never seen before. Would've loved to taste some of them, but we didn't dare.

Montezuma's Revenge? :-(

Montezuma paid a visit to Lisa and Mom in the wee hours of the morning. Barb was down all day yesterday.

So far, Dad, Steve, Jimmy, Kim and I are still standing.

Is it only a matter of time for us? AARGH!!

Back at the Casa!

After our afternoon of horseback riding, we had a little time to relax before supper. Steve jumped in the pool, and I cut up an apple I brought from Omaha for a snack.

Okay. I admit to being a little paranoid about eating unpeeled fruits and vegetables around here, but I trusted my apple for being safe. Being the nice person that I am, I offered Steve a slice. Except he tried to pull me into the water, and my apple fell in instead.

Here he is, eating my apple that I wanted so bad.

Does it get any better than this???? Sangrias and guacamole beside the pool, after a hard afternoon of horseback riding.

sigh . . . . .

Kim and Dad relaxing poolside.