Now that everyone is aware why we were in the states for longer than we said I can update you all on our actual time spent in the states.
We spent the first week with my entire family (Brian, Marci, Levi, Andy, Lisa, Connor, Becki, Michael, mom and dad) in Colorado. We spent the first weekend in the mountains and got to see snow...it felt wonderful to be cold. We loved the scenery and being around family, it was a great way to start our time in the states. The rest of the week was rainy and cold, which we were grateful for, but it made it hard to do things outside. We mainly spent time hanging out with family, eating good food, playing games (Lisa loves them) and playing with the nephews (Connor and Levi) as well as celebrating my moms birthday June 4. We also had a lot of fun going to an indoor water park as a family. In addition to my family, my grandmother, aunt Charlotte and cousin Aaron came in from Nebraska to see us for part of the time. It was wonderful to be together as a family, but it went by too fast.
During our time in Denver we caught up with some friends (Andy and Donna, Andrea & Phil and Jodi) as well as Kat, a girl we have known since she was 5 (now 16). Andy and Donna have started a multi-ethnic church in Denver and it was neat to share our experiences with each other and realized we were all going through similar things. It is always great to see Kat and see what a wonderful women she is becoming. We also enjoyed seeing our good friends Phil and Jodi. Phil is Seth's old time friend from elementary school. It was wonderful to talk with them and hang out like old times. We saw Andrea, a friend from ECHO, on our trip to south Dakota since she is living in northern Colorado. We had not seen her in three years, so it was great to catch up with her.
We spent the following two weeks in Rapid City, South Dakota with Seth's family (Kyle, Suz, Carson, Madeline (our new niece), Evan, Roz, mom and dad). It was great to see them, but we also got to see our dog Mani after a year and half...yeah, he remembered us!
The weather was cooler and it rained most afternoons, so we had to do outdoor activities in the morning. We went four wheeling, hiking, played golf, I got a pedicure with Suz, Seth got to go
climbing/bouldering several times with Evan, Seth also went kayaking and biking with his dad and brothers (Evan and Kyle) and we celebrated Father's Day and Evan's, Suz's and my birthdays. The rest of the time was spent hanging out with family, playing with Carson (nephew) and holding our new niece, Madeline. Of course, Mani went with us every where. Oh yeah, minor detail I had root canal surgery...but all is good now. It was sad to leave, but we were grateful for the extra time. Mani road tripped it back with us to Denver.
The last week was spent with most of my immediate family (minus Andy, Lisa and Connor). During the week we played miniature golf, badminton, croquet, spent time
with Mani, went hiking, went to Water World (my favorite water park), had a bond fire at Brian's and Marci's house, roasted marshmallows and ate at several ethnic restaurants (Ethiopian, Middle Eastern, Vietnamese, Thai, Italian). My sister, Becki, and her husband, Michael, bought their first home and Seth and I got to be the first guests to stay with them, so that was very special. Also, I got to
celebrate my birthday with my family. The day started with my sister taking my mom and I to get massages, then we ate lunch and shopped. Later that afternoon we had a BBQ with my family and Phil and Jodi at my parents house and Seth made my favorite desert, Heath Meringue Surprise, yuuuumy! It was a wonderful birthday and a special time with family. By the end of our trip we were ready to come back to Nicaragua, even though it was hard to leave our families and Mani we knew that Nicaragua is where God wanted us to be.
P.S. Check out our photo website to see more pics from our time in the states.
It seems weird to think Seth and I have been married that long mainly it is because we don't feel any older then the day we got married (July 9, 1999). However, as we thought back over the past 10 years it was obvious we have been married ten years. We have so many wonderful shared memories and as a couple we have grown, which in turn means our marriage has matured...it is no longer a young marriage. Young marriage is a beautiful thing, don't get me wrong, we had a wonderful time in our first years, but the focus was more superficial. Superficial in the sense that as a couple you are trying to figure out how to make life work together. Whereas, when you have been married longer you have figured out each others quarks more or less and the focus is more on getting to know your spouse better. Every year we learn more and more about each other, partly because we are not the same people we were when we were 21 as we are today. So as we change as individuals that allows us to learn new things about our spouses and also keeps marriage exciting. I have loved being married to Seth and thank God every day for allowing me to find him so early on in my life. 
We wanted to do something extra special this year for our anniversary, but we did not have any vacation time left after being in the states, so we are planning a vacation to Belize next year to celebrate our 10th and 11th anniversary's. We still needed to celebrate this important milestone so we went to a movie and dinner at a beautiful restaurant (Intermezzo del Bosque) that overlooks Managua. The restaurant is located on a hill on the outskirts of Managua, so as we were driving there we felt like we stepped into Costa Rica because it was covered in forest and the air was cooler. The food was wonderful, the scenery was beautiful, but the best part was had the entire restaurant to ourselves. It was a wonderful evening to celebrate 10 years of marriage and think about our future.
