Milestones

One of the things we miss in Kenya is being a part of Milestones. This year while we are back in the U.S, I am so excited to not only be a part of the day-to-day life, but to experience all the milestones along the way - Birthdays, Weddings, Funerals, Anniversaries, etc.

The first week we were home, we attended a funeral for my Great Uncle. While it was a sad occasion, it was neat to actually be a part of it. We were able to go to the visitation and the funeral. When Jeff's grandma and my grandpa passed away, during the last 4 years, we attended their funeral via skype. Yes, we are thankful for technology and the ability to be a part of a Milestone from afar, but it is so much better to be there in person and give tangible condolences.

We have been able to celebrate two birthdays, one anniversary, and enjoy seeing a new nephew, born since we were last here! And this weekend, we will attend a wedding! So fun to actually be here and be a part of it all.

Cousins!

Coffee Date with a great friend!

Family Reunion

New nephew!

Fishing with cousins

Our First Month

Well, clearly I haven't updated the blog in a while - we are too busy enjoying our first summer in the US in four years! You know, the first few weeks we were back here, I was tempted to think life here is perfect. Absolutely perfect. The lawns were manicured. The stores were clean and well-stocked. We could throw a load of laundry in and within a few hours, those very same clothes were clean and dry and ready to wear again! Every street corner had garage sale signs posted. We ate delicious food every day. And when I didn't feel like cooking I called a magical number and instantly my family was well fed with delicious pizza. :)

I know life here is not perfect - well at least sometimes! But I am still relishing in many of the above as well as enjoying fun things such as listening to the radio, a dishwasher, driving at night, and many other super fun things! But now in the midst of my wide-eyed wonder, we are starting to find our routine. We are grocery shopping, cleaning the house, figuring out the routine at church, and visiting our local library every week.

Some of our funny moments (I knew there would be a few!) of our first month here:

• Visiting Goodwill our first week back and being so excited about all the choices, that I (and my sister in law, partner in crime) ignored the "8 limit" sign on the dressing room, took our cart in (another no-no) piled high with about 100 things! We emerged about an hour later to see angry faces and hear a lecture about following the rules. Oops.
• Ian trying to open an automatic door and getting his hand pinched! He wasn't hurt but was scared and tearfully told me later, "I just can't remember that the doors open by themselves here!"
• Some very kind "aunties" gave the kids some spending money and so I took them to Target this week to spend it. Of course they wanted to put everything in the cart. They finally narrowed down their treasures to one or two toys each, paid for their loot,  and as we exited the store, they exclaimed, "Target has everything you could ever want! Target is the best store in the whole world!" Oh my. I sometimes think so too!
• The kids told me the other day, "Everywhere you go in America, you need to drive in a car!" They are used to Kenya, where we get in our car about once or twice a month during the school year. 
• As we were driving, the kids have a ton of questions about all the signs and traffic rules. They are intrigued by all the different signs. One day Megan told me that traffic lights were so cool and made sense, that Kenya should think about using those too. I agree Megan! :)
• After going on game drives in Africa and seeing the Big Five, what are my kids enamored with? Squirrels. You would think they had just seen a leopard by the way they jump up and down every time a squirrel runs through the yard. They have named the two squirrels who live in our yard - Larry and Mary. :)
• Jeff and I had just dropped the kids off to play with cousins while we ran some errands so we decided to use a coupon and grab a coffee to turn it into a date! :) We entered the coffee shop and stared at the menu for several minutes with our mouths hanging open. The lady kept asking if we were ready to order but we were so overwhelmed by all the choices, we couldn't make up our mind. Jeff was wondering if coffee shops even sell a regular old coffee anymore? 

All in all, we are loving being here and catching up on life in the good old US of A!