Happy two years to us!

Then...

Now...

Happy anniversary!!!

(Gifts on our cotton anniversary... from Joel to me- the blue bag, "from us, to us"- the tablecloths, and from Beni to me- the t-shirt with the lovely picture of the three of us!)

Wow... nearly two months since I blogged!

Well, you know, we've just been in the States. We've been hanging out with friends and family and enjoying ourselves. Also doing a lot of running around trying to figure out how to get more stuff to Laos- by mail, in our suitcases, etc. Actually, our time in Michigan, especially after Joel came back, was pretty hectic. Throw in a Jani celebration in Garezers and a weekend away at my best friend's a few hours away, and we didn't actually have much time for relaxing.

And then...

my baby brother got married!

(this pic shows them exiting the ceremony- it's over and they are married, hence the big smiles!)

We all flew back out to Colorado for the wedding, which was unique, personal and earth friendly. :) My brother Martins and his wife Sara wanted to create a very specific experience for their whole wedding weekend, and they achieved it beautifully.

It was a great weekend spent with family. You know when you're with family at home and all the responsibilities of regular life surround you, you just don't spend the kind of quality time that you would like to together, because there is always something else pulling you away. But when you are 2,000 miles from home and all you have to worry about is getting a few things done for the wedding, you get to spend a lot of time with family and really, really enjoy it. I got to laugh a lot with my mom and step-dad which was really, really nice for me. I also got to hang out with my aunt Rudite, which doesn't happen nearly enough. And seeing all of these people have fun with Beni was great too.

Here's us at the wedding

We're in Latvia now, and enjoying being with family here too. Joel and I had quite a shock to see our nephews Tiss and Mik- we hadn't seen them since our wedding in 2009, and boy have they grown! Beni is loving spending time following her cousins around and eating their Lego. She got to quake with fear and cling to me as she witnessed for the first time what "playing" (also known as wrestling) with their Uncle Joel means to these boys. Yikes! All kinds of new experiences. So anyway... we should get the camera out and start taking a few more pics... I've been terrible lately about taking pictures, but I don't want this whole trip to go undocumented so, we'll have to drag it out soon!

I'll try not to let it be 2 more months before I post again! :)