We made it to the US and back in 30 days!

It's kind of old news, but I wanted to share a little bit about our recent trip to the USA.  At least you can enjoy looking at the pictures!

We spent a week in Singapore, where Dave was involved with a conference.  It was hot!  We stayed at a guesthouse right across the street from the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which is free and open from early in the morning until late at night!  Jenn was 7 weeks pregnant at the time, so we weren't ambitious in our adventures.  We were happy to go to the gardens just about every day.   Here we are during our walk through the exquisite Orchid Garden.

It was a bit surprising to go back through my camera and realize how very FEW photos I actually took of during our trip.   (Dave has told me that he is going to be in charge of the camera from now on during our travels!)  We arrived to Dave's parent's home in Mount Vernon, Washington and spent 16 wonderful days with them -- most of those days we were dizzy with jetlag.  I can't believe it but I don't have a single picture of any of us with Grampa Roger!  We especially should have gotten some shots of Dave and his dad fishing -- they went four days in a row!  One of the first tasks I accomplished was to head to a resale shop with Grandma Arlette and buy some warmer clothes for Jonathan!  It was a cool spring in the Pacific Northwest, and definitely cold to us!  Above is an early morning picture of Grandma Arlette with Jonathan ....

Auntie Ruth and cousins Emily and Erica came to visit for two nights!  It was loads of fun and the cousins invoked much silliness out of Jonathan!  (Hard to believe from this picture, I know.) 

Bubbles in the backyard was only the beginning!  One big highlight for Dave and Jenn is that the family babysat for TWO nights in a row and we got to go on a couple of dates! 

What toddler-hood is complete without a ride in the Little Tikes "Flintsones" car? 

Here is another rite of toddlerhood for an American kid -- riding in the "car" cart at the local grocery store!

We really enjoyed all of the fun playgrounds! 

One park had a splash water play area.  Jonathan recognized the concept from Singapore and wanted to get right in ....but the problem was BRRRR!  The Pacific Northwest water was cold and he barely got more than a toe wet! 

We were able to meet Auntie Kristen and family at a park for a few beautiful hours of play and good picnic food!  Here is Kristen reading Jonathan the book she brought for him!

Uncle Mike, Ben, Ethan and Dave all played a game of toddler baseball (Auntie Kristen would only allow them to bring the plastic ball and bat!)  Jonathan surprised us by "getting" the game pretty quick!  Maybe he will be an athlete? 

The smiles say it all -- it was a fun afternoon!

Grandma Coral and Jonathan play "giddy-up horsie!"

Okay, so we spent a week in Lebanon with Jennifer's mom.  This picture is the only proof I have that  we were there!  It was a lovely week spent visiting friends, resting, and eating yummy food.  We also celebrated a big milestone -- Jonathan's first overnight away from Mommy.  It was our 4th anniversary and we had a wonderful dinner at Red Robin (have you tried their new zucchini appetizer) and an overnight to ourselves in Portland!

Grr!  I can't find the CD with pictures from our special day spent with Becky, Sammy and Reuben!  That will have to be another story for another blog post!
 

We left Lebanon on 4th of July to head North on a long mosy back to the airport in Vancouver BC.  That evening we stayed the night with our good friends in Puyallup -- Art, Kim, Shelby and Jenna.  We love this family so much and Jonathan sure had fun playing with the girls.  Here they all are exploring a "sensory box." 

We stopped to visit Aunt Marlene in Seattle, and she lives just a short walk from Cascade Locks.  Jonathan loved the fish ladder!

Yes, that is the last photo from our trip!  I have only commented on the events that I have documentation for, so for all of the dear friends we visited and did fun things with, please know you are loved and we treasure the memories in our hearts.

I'm still feeling rather schizophrenic about our trip, now that I've been home for a month.  It was wonderful to visit family and to reconnect with friends -- but mostly I remember how tired I was most of the time.   I don't recommend month-long (short) trips around the world with small toddlers while pregnant.   I am so thankful to my helpful husband during all of our travels, and our family was gracious to us during our many times of adjustment.

We had some wonderful blessings during our airplane trips, such as the gift of 2 extra seats during one 6 hour flight and another 12 hour flight that surprisingly turned into a mere 8 hour flight.  There are other moments from our flight that are better left forgotten -- like 2 hours or more of turbulence so bad that even all of the flight crew had to be seated and belted, forced to hold a crying Jonathan on my lap while learning to use an airplane vomit bag for the first time in my life!  

So yes, it's GOOD to be home and back into a routine.  We've moved in a new house and are still getting settled.  Dave starts official teacher's meetings next week.  Jonathan, who was sleeping through the night consistently before we left, is still waking up about twice each night after our return.  So we are doing a lot of retraining.

I think this post may sound a little whiny so please forgive me for that!  We are SO thankful for everything we experienced and everyone we saw and especially God's faithfulness in all things little and big!