Catching up (at last) on the summer

SO much to write about, so little time to do it. (In fact, I started this post 2 weeks ago.) Andrew is the superior writer and better suited to the task of catching up on the blog, but he's sworn that he'd not write another word until I get things rolling again.

Off I go -

Our summer trip back to the states far exceeded our expectations in almost every respect. Certainly I expected that it'd be wonderful to be "home" again, but in fact it was MORE than wonderful. The ocean-spanning plane trips were uneventful, thanks in large part to the fact that both kids will actually watch TV now; our accommodations were comfortable - even in those places where we all slept in the same room; and the weather was gloriously sunny and hot - VERY hot.

Our first stop on the fun-filled American Adventure was Maplewood, NJ where Martin and Jen, the parents of Sadie's good friend Zellie, graciously opened their beautiful South Orange home to our overtired and jet-lagged selves. It is no small task taking on a family of four for five days, particularly when 2 of those are toddlers content to wake up at 2:30 am ready to start the day. Sadie and Parker truly enjoyed their time there, wreaking havoc on little Zellie's toy room, and reacquainting themselves with the suburban life. By the end of our time there Sadie had (almost) gotten over her fear of squirrels and dirt, though she still harbors a deep suspicion of cats, dogs, bees, sheep, and inexplicably, waves. Andrew worked from NY and Boston while we were in the NY area and I spent our time dragging the kids all over NJ catching up with good friends and former (and future) neighbors.

Despite my fear that Sadie's newly acquired car-sickness would "dampen" our experience traveling down the NJ turnpike, we nonetheless rented a car to get to Andrew's parents' house in DC. Owing once again to the power of Mickey Mouse and the iPad, the drive was without incident. Again, the weather was blazingly hot and sunny and we spent our days at the playground, the Building Museum, the Cleveland Park Pool and the best community pool ever - that in Peter and Jes's neighborhood Mt. Rainier. It was so great to be amongst

the warmth of family and the kids were in heaven with Meme, Pepe, Aunt Jes, Uncle Peter (for a very brief half-day) but especially with their cousins, Jasper and Josie.

One highlight of our trip back home was a four-day jaunt to the beautiful, scenic, private community at Scientist Cliffs, MD. Jessica somehow managed to secure a rustic 3-bedroom cabin on the cliffside of the Chesapeake Bay, with stunning views and a precipitous drop off to the beach below. Between the five adults and Jasper, who we paid 25 cents for every 15 minutes of "Parker duty", we managed to keep Parker alive, with only a few bloody incidents. And for the first time, Sadie and Josie really played together, (unfortunately to the exclusion of Parker and Jasper), so much so that I barely had any contact with Sadie for the four days that we were there. Well, except for the time she locked herself in one of the bedrooms and Andrew had to scale the side of the house to rescue her.

We've never been the type of people to stay in one place for very long. Next stop: Buffalo!

My Dad picked us up at the airport and (after a quick dinner at that great American standard, Cracker Barrel) took us back to his own little corner of paradise in Lewiston, NY; which as far as I'm concerned is basically in Canada. I refer to it as paradise with no tongue in my cheek, it has all the attributes for a relaxing vacation. Big spacious rooms, comfortable beds, jacuzzi tub, in-house chef (Dad), free babysitting services(Dad and Diana), heated outdoor swimming pool, a playroom stocked with generations of toys, and Sadie's favorite part: Dora the Explorer DVDs. The day after our arrival we hosted the Fifth Annual Blersch Wingfest - a gluttonous affair with copious amounts Buffalo wings (as the name implies), beer, and pizza.

Our week in Buffalo/Niagara Falls included a trip to my Aunt and Uncle's farm to "ride" the horses, (oh yeah, Sadie and Parker are terrified of horses too); the Carousel Museum (not afraid of those horses, thankfully); Olcott Beach -- a wonderful toddler-friendly amusement park; Niagara Falls; Fort Niagara; lots of time spent with Dave, Stacey, cousin Emma and the newest addition to the Blersch clan, Audrey; and visits with the family matriarch, GiGi (my 91 year old Grandmother).

I am SO thankful to have had this time back home. It is as if I harvested all the love and support from my friends and family to renew my energy for another year (or two!) in London. But more so than that, we realised that WE MADE IT through 2 of the most difficult years possible with young kids. Sadie and Parker were so well-behaved and incredibly fun to travel with: so much so that when we made it back to London, after one failed attempt to leave Buffalo which sent us back to Dad's for two extra days, we took off again for a family vacation, just the four of us, up to Derbyshire, England.