a happy trip home....

I have been back in Rwanda for a little over a week now, after a totally fun, totally whirlwind trip home (my sister got married!!!)! This delay in blog posting is mainly because I've had a lot of trouble posting photos since I've been back. For those of you who have been checking the blog, thank you for your patience and sorry for the delay!

There's so much to say about the trip, and maybe my thoughts will surface on this blog in the coming posts, but mainly I just wanted to thank all of you who are reading this who made the trip so special. After the wedding, I had the blessing of driving to CO with my parents (I love road trips and some quality time with Mom and Dad was great) and then I got to go to CA for even MORE fun times! There are countless moments that are etched into my memory...

...sharing a caramel apple with Vic on a mall bench (there are no caramel apples in Rwanda...and worse yet, no Vic in Rwanda! So it was a happy day)...
...enjoying Hyman's in downtown Charleston with 12 other extended family members I rarely get to see ("who doesn't love Hyman's?")...
...spending some quality time at the beach...
...seeing my beautiful big sister get married to a fantastic man (yay!!! See photo, above)...
...experiencing a fabulous Southern wedding reception on a boat(!)...
...devouring a huge and tasty steak with my parents in Kansas (in Bob Dole's hometown, in fact)...
...para-sailing (more stories to come...!)...
...being blessed by friends at a brunch at home (thank you!!)...
...getting caught up with the ladies at lunch...
...enjoying Interior and even an Africa Hope prayer meeting...
...being surprised by apple fritters from a friend (Kim, you're awesome)...
...having some of the best hosts ever in CA (here's a shout out to Brad and Leslie, who wondrously accommodated the continuous 80 mph pace of the visit)...
...watching Vic's brother get married to a lovely lovely woman (more yays!! See photos below)...
...experiencing another fabulous wedding reception (this time boat-less, but still absolutely gorgeous)...
...meeting so many fun and new people at the reception...
...eating octopus, sushi, and kim-chee with Vic's extended family...
...spending an evening with the Odendaals et al. in Lake Forest (thanks again!)...

It was a fantastic trip. I am happy to be back in Africa too, but it has been a super busy week, so I'll have to catch you up later on. But in the meantime, here are some photos of the trip:

More of the bride (and groom):






Bride and proud proud bridesmaids.... (This is at the reception. We did cry at the wedding, but not too much! We were having too much fun! Way to go, Al!!)


Meet the parents, looking sharp:



Then it was on to CA, for Vic's brother's wedding. Here's an "exclusive" shot of the back of a wedding guest's head with the beautiful couple in the background (and yes, I do need to learn how to take photos, you're absolutely right...JenDiz, help!):



Here's the happy couple in football jerseys:



Here are my two lovely friends who hosted a brunch for me in CA (totally sweet of them):



Another shot from the brunch (thanks to George W. for the great photos!)



There are more photos, but I want to get this posted!! See you again soon.