Summerfest: All good things come in 3's

As we were planning this year's Summerfest, it didn't take us long to find a theme: All good things come in 3's. Eva turned 30 in December, I turned 33 in May, Quinn was born in the 3rd month, and our family now has 3 members.

To add more cool to the coincidences, we had our Summerfest on the 7th of July of 2007: 07.07.07. Pretty cool...at least for a bunch of 30-somethings.

Let's just say it took us a while to do the shopping for all of our guests. We had almost 40 friends and family over...and I got to grill for all of them. I made my 'almost famous' burgers - from scratch - with almost 20 pounds of meat. Just in case that wasn't enough, we added another 10 or so pounds of sausage.
It started out tame enough around 5pm. We had a nice mix of friends and family that travelled the 4+ hours (or more...due to some pretty bad traffic jams) as well as our local friends.
Kaya and Henrik looking at our lavender shrubs.
Britta, Christian, and his cousin Lars.
The gang from the Ruhrgebeit (the area of Eva's hometown), decided that beer and wine wasn't enough...let the schnapps drinking begin. All in all, we killed over 2 liters of Jägermeister and Sambucca.

Robin, Anna, and Christian: for those Pi Kapps that are reading, this pic reminds me of the thousands of similar looking party pics at the House.

As midnight turned, Babsi celebrated her 30-something birthday...Eva was prepared with a cake (that was really, really good...I hope she makes it again).

We really don't know how Quinn got in this position. He can turn really well onto his stomach, but he can't really get back on his back. Eva and I both missed this one, but it seems that he did the full turn...and somehow avoided banging his head on our hardwood floors.

The family and friends from the Ruhrgebeit meeting for breakfast in our yard. No grilling...just rolls and coffee.

...ok, and Quinn has milk for breakfast...

I really love this baseball hat, but his head is now too big for it. Quinn's fully rested and woke up at 7am. I went to bed after 3am and looked the part the next morning.

All in all, it was a great time. I was a bit worried that the neighbors would complain a bit, but Babsi emparted some great wisdom on me: everyone is allowed to be loud at least twice a year...

Girl's Weekend

While I was off in the States a few weeks ago on a business trip, Eva took the chance to have a 'Girl's Weekend' with her close childhood friends, the Ischen: Babsi, Susi, und Ecke.

They went up to the Fränkische Schweiz just north of Erlangen and booked a weekend at a 'Wellness' Hotel...complete with sauna, spa, and massages.

Of course, the girls celebrated a bit, but Susi and Eva had non alcoholic champagne.

...and between all of the 'wellness' they had some time for a hike...

The Party

We were so very grateful for all of our friends and family that travelled from near and far to come to our wedding. We also understand the complexity of travel, and can appreciate those that were there 'in spirit'.

In short, it was a great party that we will never forget. It was hard to believe that those 13+ hours at Diergardt's went by so fast.


We really confused the waitstaff at Diergardt's when we decided to cut the cake with the American tradition, namely starting with the 2nd layer and saving the first layer for our 1st anniversary. In German tradition, the 1st layer is eaten first.

The wedding table, (l. to r.), Tante Ali, Rainer, Father Bill and Candy Houghton, Grandmother Lydia, and my dad Robert.

During the party, there is a 'segment' where games are played and poems can be read. Our friends and family came up with some great games. This one, above, we had a cooking contest: i had to cook a German dish (with stovetop), and Eva had to make an American dish (Hamburger) with a microwave. At the end, there was a panel of judges to determine who was the best cook.

Of course, the outcome was fixed and Eva won.

Not too sure what Joel is thinking about, but I love the pic.
Eva's parents.
Eva's mom and Lea.
Katja and Mareike.

The 'Ischen' posing for the camera.
As earlier mentioned, my dad doesn't smile for pictures. This is the second known picture of my dad smiling. This almost doesn't count because we didn't tell him we were taking the picture.

Needless to say, my parents also had a great time, and it was great to see them dancing, laughing, and having a great time.

Unfortunately, there was some bad news that followed our wedding Tanta Inge had been ill for quite some time and was in quite some pain even during the wedding.

However, in what I would call typical of the family that I married into, she and Uncle Charlie celebrated with the best of them, had a great time, and were always smiling. Uncle Charlie even apologized for leaving so early (somewhere between 1 and 2am nonetheless).

I believe this is the last picture of Tanta Inge before she passed away 7 weeks later, and one of my favorites.

My mother, my grandmother, and Candy Houghton. For me and Eva, it was a special honor to have my grandmother at our wedding. Growing up, my grandmother and I had spent countless hours talking about all sorts of things, and she had a very unique way of really understanding your position and giving advice without 'preaching'.

My grandmother Lydia was off and on sick the months prior to the wedding and thankfully was healthy enough to make the long flight. The family very much rallied behind her trip and supported here every step of the way.

I'm particularly thankful for the extended family and friends for making her feel so welcome.

I think it is a true mark of her 'being' that she was able to make such an impression on so many people at our wedding in such a short time. So many people came to us during the wedding and the party and just said that my grandmother was 'so cool!'.

My grandmother passed away a few months after the wedding.

Eva and Jo (not to be confused with any of the American guests). Yes, Jo is Canadian.

Kerstin, Heinz, Rene, and Tanja.

The bridesmades posing for the camera.

Suzi is really a master of all disguises. Earlier, you saw her with her Jennifer Anniston look. Here, Suzi is incognito as a Turkish peasant.

Moritz making sure that no one was without something to drink.

(Technically, this picture happened before the wedding during the 'rehersal dessert'), but I thought it fit best here.

Klopfentanz. I have to put on house slippers, put on a sleeping cap, have a block of wood tied to my ankle, and have a pipe in hand. Eva has a baby and an apron. This is one of the traditional wedding dances of the region.

I don't know who took this picture, but we appreciate it tremendously! Captured during the 'throwing of the bouquet', the bouquet is actually still in the air.

Also note the stark contrast of girls that are fully prepared with their hands up and those girls that have their hands down.

Every good wedding and party must come to an end. Christina had the idea to light some candles and to have everyone get in a circle, hand in hand.

It was a great end to a great wedding and an awesome party - something that we will never forget. There are too many good memories to post them all - they will have to remain in our hearts. We thank everyone again for sharing this great event with us.

'Bridge over Troubled Water' was played as we were all hand in hand, together, in this candlelit room, and is a very near and dear song for both of us.

The Church Wedding

We had found a cute little church near Hattingen in which to get married, and it fit perfectly our criteria: small, old, cute, and welcoming. The parish was very accepting of our unique situation: A German Catholic marring an American Episcopalian in Germany in a Protestant church, where we were bringing our own American Episcopalian priest and not using the local pastor of the church.

Needless to say, it was a complexity in the organization.


Here are my groomsmen in our 'Abby Road' pose.


Joel, Hunter, and Romaniello as 'The Alternates'. They were willing to step up as groomsmen should there be a groomsmen injury in the few minutes before the wedding.

The bridesmaids, the groomsmen, and the direct family, from above in the church.

Our grandparents.
The 'moms and dads' picture.

The groomsmen, the bridesmaids, and us. The picture worked out well in the stairway of the church, but Babsi looks way too much like a linebacker here. Due to the tight space, the picture is somehow distorted.

Babsi and BW during the readings.

Proud Papa escorting his daughter down the line.

My father during one of his readings.

Standesamt (The Civil Ceremony)

Germans can get married twice: Standesamt and Church. The Standesamt wedding is required whereby the church wedding is optional. In the eyes of the German state, we were married at our Standesamt ceremony.

It was cold, but very sunny...almost too sunny.

I was a nervous wreck before the wedding. While my German was sufficient and improving each day, I had to prove to the Standesamt that I could speak and understand German. If this was not the case, we would have to have (and pay for) a translator. So, the nerves of getting married was shadowed by my fear that before the ceremony, they would decide that my German was not good enough and force us to get a translator, which would literally cancel the wedding by means of a delay in the Standesamt wedding.

As a side note, there were some papers that we both signed. I did not read these nor do I know what the content was. Eva jokes, at least I hope she's joking, that it signs everything over to her in the event of a divorce.

Us and Eva's parents.
The complete gang, including my grandmother on the front row.

Both families together.

My parents and grandmother.