Destination: USA #2

"Hi America!"  These were Olivia's words as she looked out the window of the airplane as it descended into Chicago after almost a year of having our feet abroad.  Hi America indeed.  While Geoff has made numerous visits to the US since we moved to London, for the girls and myself, a visit back to see our friends and family and to familiar territory was overdue and much needed.

  

Jet lagged.  The girls actually did really good handling the jet lag after the 8-ish hour flight. 

Our first stop was Grandma and Paw-Paw's house just outside of Cincinnati.  All my siblings were able to come in for the weekend (from NYC, northern Indiana, Virginia and Orlando).  I really do have the craziest/funniest/best family you could ask for.  

On the hunt for a kitty

Learning all the tricks of the rubix cube from Uncle Scott

One evening to celebrate Stephen's recent high school graduation, the whole family took a river boat dinner cruise on the nearby Ohio River.  It was an absolutely beautiful summer evening for taking in the heartland of the country.  

13 and counting...and yeah, we are a pretty good looking family :)

She really does love Uncle Jason despite the face

Lots of good ole' corn hole

Someone else wanted to give it a try

 

Trying to smell the ocean

What's the best solution to cool off when you're hot?  Strip down in the middle of the yard, of course.

Sibling picture (L-R: Emily, Stephen, Scott, Jason, Brian, Doug, Suzanne)

Well, at least three of them are smiling for the picture  

Our next stop was Houston for about 10 days where Geoff had to work and the girls and I had lots of playdates catching up with friends (and meeting plenty of new babies born in the last year!).  

Bonding with Cooper over the iPad

With Romelia, our former nanny

All that socializing can wear a girl(s) out!

The best part about playdates? New toys to check out!

Our last destination was Granbury, Texas to visit Geoff's parents and his sister and her family.  This meant lots of cousin time.  Olivia had so much fun playing with her cousins Avalon (5 years) and Julie (3 years).  I wasn't sure how the dynamic would work out between the three of them, but they all played so well together.  It's fun to see them having a good time now that they are old enough to actually play with each other.

Princess dress up heaven

The three beautiful princesses

Three little ladies in the tub

Ashton hanging out with her twin cousins

Helping Granddad make blueberry pancakes one morning

It was incredibly hot while we were there.  Temps hovering around 100 degrees every day.   After two years removed, us Londoners are not accustomed to that heat anymore.  We did make a couple attempts to stay cool.  The first one involved the slip-n-slide, which the girls loved.  (Geoff and I did not attempt this one in case you were wondering.) 

Another afternoon, we made an effort to take the jet ski out for a spin on the nearby lake with the girls.  However, as we were launching the jet ski from the boat dock at Geoff's parents house, the bottom of the jet ski hit some mud (due to the water level in their canal being very low) which got caught up in part of the motor, preventing the jet ski from getting any acceleration once we reached the lake.  So we pretty much just slowly glided around in the scorching sun for 20 minutes before returning to the dock.  Bit of a bust and a disappointment.

Lastly, our twin nephews Titus and Zachary turned 1 last month and thankfully our visit coincided with their first birthday party.  What sweet boys they are!  We miss being around to watch them grow...the last time we saw them they were only 4-5 lbs! 

Ashton's favorite part of the party? Checking out the boys' new birthday presents.

After living outside of the US for almost two years now, it's funny the things you notice when you return.  Here are just a few things that stood out:

• American accents!  When we first arrived at Chicago O'Hare, there was much comfort in being surrounded by familiar accents. 
• Overweight people.  Yeah, we all know the US is the most obese country in the world (although I don't think the UK is that far behind), but when you live in a city of relatively skinny people, you really notice the expanded wasitlines.
• Variety and selection at grocery stores. To an almost overwhelming point.  I didn't think this would bother me, but on the several occasions that I went into a grocery store, the amount of different kinds of crackers or beans or box cake mixes was a bit much to handle.  My mind hasn't been used to processing the amount of options to choose from.  In the UK, if you want a chocolate cake mix, well, you only have a selection of one (maybe two if it's a good store) to choose from.  
• Driving a car is like riding a bike.  When we arrived in Houston, I had to get behind the wheel and drive a car for the first time in almost a year.  (How crazy in that?!?)  Easy peasy though.  Nothing to it.  Although the first time I backed out, I had Olivia yelling from the back seat "Don't crash the car, Mommy!".     
• Americans are patriotic.  American flags everywhere.  On buildings, outside of homes and the massive ones flying outside of car dealerships.  What a welcome sight they were.  God bless the Red, White and Blue!