Thanksgiving Day brunch was eggs benedict. Delicious! Um.. Kenny, are you gonna share?
Thanks soooooo much to Brian & Stephanie for cooking! We were excited to spend the day with family!
Today we give thanks for siblings (no matter how silly), for family, for God's sacrifice.
As usual, mom provided the home cooking, the venue, and grandma care! Thanks to Teresa for your fishy faces. :)
My job: turkey carving. Yes, I'm new at this.
On our way home we had the pleasure of flying high over Greenland.
Our route took us over Northern Canada, including Baffin Island.
The flight from Amsterdam to Seattle was 10 hours. We made it home safe & sound... and excited to see Liam!
The streets of Amsterdam were full of life (and bicycles). We had no shortage of delicious food & great places to see.
Unfortunately our dollar doesn't go very far against the Euro, so we opted for the grocery store breakfast.
Nevertheless, we had fun exploring. We spent a day-and-a-half touring the city, including the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House.
We absolutely love their transportation system! Hop on, hop off day passes available for the train, bus, tram...
or even the canal boat, which takes you just about anywhere in the city!
The food was spectacular. We ate traditional and imported cuisines. Not to mention, it was nice to take a break from Indian food for a little while.
Hard Rock Cafe Amsterdam; it's becoming a tradition for us. We've visited one in 6 different countries now.
We'll miss you, Amsterdam!
It's nice to be out of the third world and into Europe (The trains are a lot nicer).
Finally, we're in Holland; the land of windmills and wooden shoes.
We're in a town with fresh cheese. Mmmmmm... I love that smell.
Where the streets are narrow...
And the buildings are nostalgic.
We're in Haarlem, and we love it!
We are at the former house of Corrie Ten Boom! If you don't know what I'm talking about, you have to read this book! Touring the Ten Boom Museum was inspiring to say the least.
We crawled into the hiding place where Jews were hidden from the Nazis during WWII.
We were given a personal tour by one of the volunteers. She took us through the house and retold Corrie's story of faith. We felt like we were reliving the resistance. The Anne Frank house was a good experience, but it was modernized due to the volume of visitors and the rooms were barren. The Ten Boom house was set up much as it was 60 years ago with original furniture and artifacts. It's a must see!
Our time in India has come to an end. Time to hitch a ride out of here.
I'm tired of washing my clothes in the river, anyway.
Now I know why it's important to drink bottled water.
And THIS is why we didn't eat the beef at The Hard Rock! No way.
Apparently Chandigarh is where the money is at. We found a genuine LaCoste store here... we must be getting closer to Europe.
Headquarters for Chandigarh Fire: The nicest fire station I've seen so far in India.
Last King Fisher for a while. It was good while it lasted (and cheap).
Attending as guests at a traditional Indian wedding, we decided to dress in authentic local attire. 
I never would have guessed that I would hear bagpipes played in the streets of India, but apparently the marching band is going to lead the way to the wedding reception hall, announcing the groom to the guests.
Here comes the groom, complete with a sword to defend his beloved.
Our first stop was the reception hall. We had to let the guests in so the party could start and the bride's family met us at the entrance.
HP and his entourage led the way. I still don't know how he could see under that decorative turban.
The groom's family was stopped short of entering the building... apparently they have to agree on a price before they could enter. The bride's family was happy to negotiate.
Surprise foam attack by HP's family! The ribbon was soon cut so the party could officially begin.
As most guests were eating and socializing, we were invited to join the family at the temple for the wedding ceremony. This is the first we have seem of the bride and soon, their arranged marriage will be complete.
After the ceremony, Harpreet and Navdeep make their grand entrance officially declared husband and wife.
Party time! This is a dancing culture. Guys and girls share the dance floor, but normally dance separate.
For those looking to relax... hookah. (Flavored tobacco.)
Cops on hand to make sure this party didn't get out of hand.
13 Alaska Airlines employees/spouses made it to the wedding to support HP. Unfortunately, I got sick the night before and quickly recovered. John (standing next to me) got sick just before we took this photo, but also bounced right back. All in all, we had a great time and were honored to be treated especially well by the hosting families.
The most important thing after a long day of traveling: breakfast... provided by our Indian hosts in Ludhiana.
We tracked down the groom-to-be: HP (Carmen's co-worker at Alaska Airlines, who has claimed her as his unofficial little sister)
He let us into his tent with the family where we took part in the pre-wedding ceremonies.
We took off our shoes, of course...
and we had to cover our heads.
We listened to this guy and his buddies for a little while sing in a language we can't understand. The religious chanting went on for 3 days without stopping.
Eventually we had the chance to give HP a little honeymoon money.
After we had spent some time learning a new culture, we headed to town to find new some clothes appropriate for an Indian wedding.
11 of us packed into a small SUV provided by our host. Well you know; when in Rome...
Nothing like a million colors to choose from and custom hand made fabrics. Their tailors are amazing.
Later we returned to HP's house where they were preparing him for the big day. Ok, everyone else went to the party while I stayed home sick from drinking some bad water. It was a rough night for me. I may be suffering, but I'm optimistic that I will heal quickly and make it to the wedding.
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