This Weekend

This weekend, we welcomed our friends' new baby, Bethany.



And we tried out a new restaurant. Matt loved his kebab.



And we hung out with Jana Banana.



And I made a new blog for the baby. I didn't want to bore some of you with endless details about baby stuff. So for those of you who want updates on baby (that's you Mama!), I've added a link on the right under "Czech it Out". Enjoy!

Poland and Packages

We took a trip to Wisła, Poland last week for a conference of sorts with a group we're working with here in Prague (IFES). It's located right on the Czech/Polish border, in the mountains. We were hoping to have all these wonderful pictures of the beautiful mountains, Matt learning how to snowboard, and all the fun people we met. Unfortunately, the 2nd day into our trip, Matt got a nasty stomach bug and 2 days later, I got the same thing. We got to attend a lot of the meetings but didn't get outside much. We're all recovered now but we only managed to get exactly one picture of our trip:



We had stopped to check the map and I rolled down the window and snapped a quick photo. This is actually just outside of Prague in the Czech countryside. We had gotten quite a bit of snow, although most of it had been cleared in the city.

Anywho, we returned home to a barrage of packages from home - mostly for Christmas. The first was a package from a family in College Station that attends Central Baptist Church, one of our prayer partner churches and the church we attended in college. They sent us a ton of yummy goodies and the cutest Aggie coffee mugs (they're huge, Mama, you'll be so happy!).



The second package was from my brother and sister-in-law, Brian and Jennifer. Jennifer packed up a TON of pregnancy and baby resources for me. Now as soon as I finish reading all of it, I should be an expert and this baby thing should be a piece of cake. Right? The third package was from my Mama. She sent some pregnancy belly bands, an adorable apron and some of our favorite dip/dressing: Ken's Steakhouse Honey Mustard. Try it. It will change your life. Chicken tenders, here we come!

Madrid with Jesse, Julie, and Renae!

After we sent Matt's parents off into the wild blue yonder, we hopped a plane and flew to Madrid to visit our two great friends and their adorable baby girl (who really isn't a baby anymore, but I refuse to admit it). We had a really great time seeing Madrid and eating a lot of yummy food!



Of course, the first thing the guys did was try out the new Wii.



And we found a playground. It's what we do.



The boys had fun, too.



And Renae did the slide all by herself!



And we ate. This was a genuine Texas burger joint started by a genuine Texan. Yummy burgers!



And we found a Dunkin Donuts. Matt got sprinkles.



The Plaza Mayor. Also pronounced "Pla-tha May-or".



A pretty building. No significance. Just pretty.



Matt beside part of the ancient wall.



Palacio Real. Also pronounced "Pal-a-thio Re-aal."







Renae and Aunt Valerie.



The Opera House.



The other side of the Palacio.



The yummy churro place (think funnel cake flavor, but crunchier and long and skinny). Did I mention you dip them in warm chocolate sauce?



This is the "I missed my nap but I'm still sweet" face.



Julia, my friend and fellow churro junkie.



And this is the time Jesse dared Matt to put a whole foot long churro in his mouth. And he did.



Matt wanted some of mine, too. He couldn't get enough churros.



Outside. Full of churros. Happy.



This was a really neat pedestrian mall area. We also saw a mariachi band here. Strange. Mariachi is from Mexico.



I introduced Renae to Starfall. She started saying 'a' and 'b' sounds. She's a genius.

Our Big News!!

Well, if you read our monthy email, then you already know that we're pregnant! If you don't get the email, leave a comment with your email address and we'll add you. We're expecting our new addition in early August. We thought we'd share this incredible picture with all of you.
Isn't he/she cute?

Tangier, Morocco!

Our second-to-last day in South Spain, we took a 1 1/2 hour ferry across the Straight of Gibraltar to Morocco, the city of Tangier to be exact. Remember the third Bourne movie? They go to Tangier in that one. We saw the little cafe where Nikki gives the bad guy a new phone and where they run across the roofs of the buildings chasing each other.

Here's a view of the city and the coast.





Camels!



A Christian cemetery with fallen soldiers from WWII.



Our tour guide describing a marriage ceremony, standing outside a place where you can hire a band - traditional or modern - for your wedding. The family parades the bride around town on a horse for 2 1/2 hours or so. All the while, the band is playing and she's hidden in this box atop a horse. Two and a half hours.



Here's an artist's rendition of the festivities:



And here's the box the bride gets to sit in. Did I mention for over 2 hours?



The fish market. Stink-y.



And camel leather. Wanna know how they treat the leather? Camel. Urine.



And a magoogabooga tree. Not really. I can't remember the name but it's like 800 years old.



A pretty square near the market.



A berber woman near the market. They were supposedly the first to settle the area where Tangier is.



And this is the area where Jason Bourne, Nikki, and the bad guy chase each other through unsuspecting Moroccans' apartments.



The very narrow streets. I have no idea how our tour guide knew where he was going.



My handsome man with his cool tour sticker.



Entering the Kasbah (old castle). This little boy was really cute with his Real Madrid soccer jersey.



Charlotte and I weren't quite ready for this shot. But Matt was.



The snake charmer.



A view of the ocean outside the wall of the Kasbah.



If you look really closely, you can see Spain in the distance.



Apparently Saturday is laundry day in Morocco, too.



Did I mention this was my first time ever in Africa?



This was at the spice market. Matt was rubbing orange blossom oil on his temples. It's suppose to help with stress, memory, and all kinds of other stuff. We're still waiting.



On the quite rough ferry ride back to Spain. Goodbye Africa.



I will miss you. But not your smells.