Wedding

So some of you might know that I went back to Colorado/Kansas for a wedding this past weekend. The wedding itself was amazing. All the work that went into it and the love that the family had for the married couple was just amazing. I do have to say, I don't think I will be going back to Hugoton, KS anytime soon though. It's a great little town to grow up in, but not much to do for entertainment and activities. There is one stoplight and no Walmart or Target. So, I don't know by today's standards if it counts as a "town". Overall, though the place is very family oriented and has a great community. 

I flew into Denver on Thursday, and then headed down to Kansas with my friend Jeff, the groom. Thank goodness he was keen on driving pretty much the entire way since I was pretty tired. I had worked Tuesday night, went to bed and then was at work Wednesday morning at 0600. It was pretty rough, and the fact that airplane seats are the most comfortable to sleep in. If I ever get the chance to sleep international business or international first class, I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to coach. I helped set up Thursday night and then went Friday night after the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner to finish up the reception place. The place was pretty lame before we finished decorating, but after definitely looks much better after we have finished. 

The wedding was amazing. It was the second Catholic wedding I have gone to this summer. The first though, wasn't a "full" Catholic wedding (as in there was no Mass that went with the ceremony). It was interesting, as an attendant, we did a lot of standing up and walking, more than most "traditional" weddings. I'm not complaining too much, I didn't have to stand the whole time so that was good in itself. Father Coy that led the ceremony was interesting during the rehearsal, in that he just rushed us and was pretty much on the scatter brain side. He was also interesting since he is of Vietnamese heritage, but also speaks "English" and Spanish. Spanish is the one that threw me off. After the wedding, we went into the party bus to take some pictures around town after finishing up the pictures at the church. 

At the reception, Jeff and Teresa asked me earlier if I would be willing to say the prayer for the dinner after the wedding, so I ended up saying the prayer for the food was served. The food was amazing, all hand made by family and friends. The beef brisket was just amazing. Also, the watermelon from Jeff's family's farm was great. Yellow melon is really sweet and takes as good as the normal watermelons that we normally see and eat. The wedding cake was also pretty amazing. I got a picture of the cake and the Bride and Groom in the background. The flower girls dresses also matched the cake, which I didn't notice until later in the night. I also finally got to see cake on the groom's face. I did not get a chance to get a picture of it though :(, but the wedding photographer did and others as well.  

The cake was amazing. Each layer was a different type of cake. 

Earlier in the week, on base, the ES Esmeralda came into port. This was I believe Tuesday night that they were having a huge party on the boat. I stopped by to see what the boat was called and looked it up later online. It is a naval vessel that is still in service by the Chilean Navy as a training vessel and frequents Pearl Harbor every so often. It was pretty interesting since you don't see many old style naval vessels anymore. The USS Ronald Reagan also came into port along with her task group force for a few days last weekend on it's way to her home port. I didn't get a chance to take any pictures of the carrier this time since I was leaving to go to Colorado. I will just have to wait till the next one to see if I can get aboard again.