Our Trip to the U.S.

Hello family and friends! As we are nearing our one year anniversary in India on October 1st, our Visas recently needed renewing. We left for the U.S. on August 13th and arrived in Chicago on Thursday the 14th, exhausted but excited. From there we drove to Moline where we met up with Grammy and Gramps. Aunt Pat and Uncle Tom joined us for the weekend and we celebrated Aunt Pat’s birthday with pizza and cake at our hotel. Our stay in Moline lasted almost two weeks and was filled with playing, shopping, swimming, visiting friends, and letting Grammy and Gramps soak up as much of the kids as possible. We especially had fun going to a carnival, the park, the zoo and the Painted Penguin. Shortly before returning to India, Chris was able to drive to Nebraska with his friend Rob via borrowed motorcycle (Thanks Pastor Jerry!) to see the farm we purchased back in January. It was killing him that he hadn’t been able to see it in person. As a bonus, Chris’s brother Spencer met him in Omaha. He had the time of his life on the twelve hour ride and his overwhelming desire to see our farm was satisfied, for the time being. Our stay in the Quad Cities was completely relaxing until Grammy and Gramps left for Arizona and Chris left for India. At that point, the kids and I descended on our friends, the Longs, for another few days. Anna and Max had a blast catching up with Payton, Sheridan, and the rest of the Winding Creek gang. On Friday the 29th we headed to Michigan to visit my family. The next week and a half was spent visiting family and friends we haven’t seen in a while. During the days we played with Grandma Sally and the triplets she watches. A boat ride, swimming, and a trip to Chuck E. Cheese’s were among the highlights. Most evenings were spent visiting at my Dad’s. Anna and Max couldn’t get enough of Grandpa Richard and Grandma Joni’s hot tub, trampoline, and tree house. Other things we enjoyed in Michigan were Mema and Papa’s tractor show, a football game at my high school alma mater, Max’s first hair cut, and dinner with Aunt Angela and Emma. Mom drove us to the airport on Wednesday the 10th and we arrived in Mumbai at midnight on the 12th. The kids and I spent the night in Mumbai before heading to Pune the next morning. We arrived late in the afternoon and soaked up some much needed time with Daddy. After being back for a week, the kids are finally back to normal sleep schedules, thank goodness! We are now looking forward to our Halloween party, Thanksgiving, then Christmas when we will head back to the U.S. We hope you are all well and look forward to hearing from you. Take care!