Rebel, Sweetheart

I'm really trying to hurry up and post stuff from when I was in Colorado so that I can move on and get back to more Abu Dhabi-related things. So here goes...

The week I got back from Taos, I scored some tickets from a gal on craigslist to see THE WALLFLOWERS at the Denver Botanic Gardens with my lifelong concert-going partner, Katharine (who is moving back to Portland, so it's a good thing I got to see her before she moved and I left!!!! I miss you, K!! xoxo)

A couple of thoughts from the concert:

1) The Botanic Gardens rocks! It is really pretty cool to see a show there. The venue is small and outdoors and the weather was great, so that made for a lovely evening. However, they DO NOT serve drinks, of any kind. So, if you are ever going there to see a show, come prepared, or head to the closest Colfax haunt and pick up the necessary items. Katharine and I enjoyed a lovely bottle of rose. Mmmmm...

2) People actually get to the concert when doors open, and you should too. When Katharine and I arrived at 6:30 pm (doors were at 6) the place was PACKED...with picnickers. Holy cow! Everyone was there with their dining room and kitchen in tow. No joke! All the people around us enjoyed a gourmet picnic during the opening act. :-( Next time we'll know.

Anyway...we didn't really care once the Wallflowers came out, because we got to stand right at the stage!! I've loved this band for a long time and have seen them a few times live, but never this close.

Happy Birthday Nana!

The third weekend of July was cause for celebration! The Saulsbury's and Campbell's got together for a trip down to Taos, New Mexico to celebrate Nana's birthday. Mom rented a house that was a short walk to the town square and close to lots of beautiful New Mexico sights.

The whole fam fit into the ol' minivan :-) We headed out to dinner at Orlando's our first night there

Molnar & Madrid

Day 2: On the lift going to the top of Taos Mountain. What views!!!

On the ride down... whoa!

New Mexico has a really big sky.

Birthday Dinner for Nana at an AMAZING restaurant, The Stakeout.

The grown-ups were at the other end of the table ;)

The patio was set up for a killer view of the sunset!

Last night out in Taos. Steve-O and I standing in front of a mural painted by George Chacon...who also owns the house we stayed in! So COOOOOOL!!!

Coors Light, Baseball, and BBQ

Pete made a quick trip out to Colorado to go to my sister's and Guido's weddings. During the short time he was there, we managed to get in a few good Colorado activities. Such as...

A visit to the Coors Brewery in Golden, CO.

They don't have tour guides anymore, just a handheld device that

narrates your journey through the brewery.

I think Pete and Ken were anxious to get to the tasting room at the end.

Not available in Abu Dhabi!

A few snaps from Guido and Angela's beautiful wedding at Hudson Gardens. Unfortunately, rain moved everything inside, but it went great anyway!!

First dance...xoxo

We also hit up the July 3rd Rockies fireworks game vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a really great game and the Rockies won! After the game we got to (slowly) move down to the outfield to watch the fireworks.

Here we are....waiting to get on the field.

It was definitely worth the wait! What a great show :-)

Pete's visit wouldn't have been complete without a 4th of July barbeque at Ken and Tracee's house! Sarah, John, Baby Caden, and Adam even drove out from Kansas to see Pete during his short stay in Colorado! (Nice job guys!)

Unfortunately, it was raining for most of the night, so everyone

had to hang out in the kitchen: Adam, Atti, Maria, and Charlie.

I was a little tired at this point: Sweater Bob, Me, Margo, and Caroline

Madrid Wedding Weekend in Durango

The weekend of June 27th brought the Madrid and Saulsbury families together in Durango for a beautiful wedding celebration. My mom rented a sweet casa on the west side of Durango in Dalton Ranch. Most of the family stayed there or in the downtown area.

Pete cooked an amazing spaghetti dinner (with short noodles) for the whole family.

Practice kiss at the rehearsal.

Location of the rehearsal dinner.

Beautiful Bride and her bridesmaids!

Something blue...

"C'mon Pete, try and keep your eyes open!"

Katharine and I showed up naked for part of the reception. LOL!

Lil bro and mother of the bride.

Mike and Katie: Suspicious behavior.

View from the scenic overlook near Wolf Creek Pass.

Hello gorgeous greenness!!!!

Bachelorette Party - CSprings Style

One of the main reasons I came back for part of the summer was to attend a few weddings. Probably the most important one was my little sisters! The second weekend home, we got some ladies together for her bachelorette party in downtown Colorado Springs. The night started off with some awesome margaritas and delicious fajitas at Jose Muldoons. There was a magician who was showing off some tricks to all of the tables, which threw everyone for a loop. Here are a few of the more memorable pics:

Three Saulsbury's: Page, Caitlyn, and me

The bride to be and her big sis!

Reaction to the magician. His tricks were really pretty crazy.

Best comment from Caitlyn: "Now I know why people used to think

magicians were sent from the devil."

Probably trying to dance to Copperhead Road, which was played a minimum of 5 times.

The whole group, towards the end of the evening:

Page, Robin, Caitlyn, Christine, Jenna, Katharine, and Katie

Welcome home

When I got back to Colorado on June 10th, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it had been raining almost every day for most of the summer. Colorado, not being used to this kind of weather, sort seemed to come alive. It seemed especially GREEN compared to the lovely views of sand and sea that I've grown accustomed to in Abu Dhabi.

My mom's awesome garden...bursting with life! :-)

A cool looking cloud, taken from the side of my mom's house.

New Wheels!

Summer is here...and I think that means it is officially TOO HOT to wait outside for taxis. Rather than stay home all day and mope about the heat...Pete and I decided to make our first "too large to fit in a suitcase" Abu Dhabi purchase: a 2006 Honda Accord. YAY! I can get around town now without the help of Pete or any aromatic taxis. Alhamdullah!!

Me and the new ride. 

It even came with a sticker of the Sheikh on the rearview!

Our Abu Dhabi plates

To answer your question...

To those of you at home who have asked me, "What do you do all day?" :-) 

Pedicures in the morning....

Cocktails in the afternoon. 

(Left to right: Julie, Gillian, me, Sinead, Jen)

HELLO FROM ABU DHABI!!!!!

Where's Pete?

Pete pointed out to me that I haven't put up any pictures of him on here since early April. (Oops!) So here is a little update on his goings-on as of late. 

Out for dinner at Heroes at the Crowne Plaza.

(Pete with Irish Dave and Emirati Matt)

When Tamra was here in mid-April, we went on a dune bashing/desert safari.  Pete and I had our photo taken with this lovely camel. 

Also from Tamra's visit: Hanging out at night on the bean bags at the Royal Meridien. Pete was there!! 

Going out for "Burgers and Bubbly" at the Emirates Palace. This pic is terrible, but the fountains that are out in the front of the Palace are pretty cool. 

Pete is in his element - he finally got a chance to do some grilling.  He cooked up some delicious hamburgers, sausages, and buffalo wings. Mmmmmm...

Words of Wisdom

As many of you back in the States have probably already noticed...I have been pretty terrible at keeping in touch since I've been out here.  A lot of factors have contributed to this. First off, the time difference makes it darn near impossible to just ring somebody up and expect them to be free at any time that also happen to be free. Right now, Colorado is 10 hours behind Abu Dhabi time - almost opposite night and day. So while I'm sitting in the hotel eating breakfast, everyone I know is most likely asleep. And when we have finished our dinner and feel like making a phone call, most people we know are heading off to work for the day...anyway, you get the point. Secondly, it's kind of expensive to call home from here. As far as I know, all of the cell phones here are "pay as you go" phones.  And aside from the required phone cards one must buy to put money on the phone, there are no other [long distance] phone cards that I know of, and the rates seem a little bit ridiculous to me, especially after being spoiled in Australia where it was a half-cent per minute!  Lastly, Pete and I had this great plan to get everyone we know to download Skype before we left so we could video chat on there...but so far only a few have downloaded it. (Or maybe more have, but they just haven't been using it?) 

As you're reading this, you're probably wondering why I'm just writing out this big long whine, but there is a point to this! Mainly, I think we just miss our friends back at home. Pete and I have made a lot of great friends since we've been out here, and we are truly thankful for all of them, but that doesn't make us miss our old pals any less. Whenever we do get a call or an email (or even a snail mail!) we are so excited to hear how things are going back home :-) (So keep it coming!) 

All of this not talking to people at home has caused me, I think, to start having dream conversations with old friends.  I wake up in the morning and feel like I've just been over for dinner at Mike and Katies, out for a beer with Kara, or having a relaxed get-together in Leigh's dining room with the whole fam.  The other night, I had a dream I ran into Katharine while I was walking to the store in Abu Dhabi. She ran up to me to say hello, took one look at my disheveled appearance, and told me, "Christine, I know you're not working...but pull yourself together!" Each day that I am here - while Pete is working so hard! - pretty much has that goal (pull myself together), so it is nice to know that even Dream-Katharine has some words of wisdom and encouragement for me! 

P.S. Both Pete and I will be back in CO for a visit this summer....we are definitely looking forward to seeing everyone!!!!!