Going the Distance

After saying our final good-byes in Bangkok, we were back to the US for a whirlwind summer break. All of our EVA airlines points finally paid off, and we flew Economy Plus back to the US. I’m not going to lie – it was one of the major highlights of the summer.

We spent a lot of time apart this summer – not by choice, don’t worry Mom! – due to various workshops and family events. Within 48 hours of our arrival, Ryan was off again to spend a Kirchner bonding weekend in Vegas with his brother Isaac.  Isaac placed 12th in event #18 of the the World Series of Poker (woot woot!) while Ryan provided managerial support. I spent some time with friends and family in the Bay Area, and then headed to Wellesley, MA for the Dana Hall Math Institute in preparation for my new job.  Highlights include meeting elementary math guru Karen Economopoulos, intense conversations about factoring, and eating amazing food!

My new BFF, Karen Economopolous

The Dana Hall Institute makes you very fat.

We met up again and headed to Washington, DC for a weeklong Smithsonian Institute workshop on Biodiversity that Ryan was attending. I got to spend loads of time with my BFF from 7^th grade, Joanne, and her beautiful family, including fairy goddaughter Kendall and honorary fairy godson Ben. We also caught up with long lost friend and fellow Cal and Alpha Phi alum, Lizzy.  Seeing Harry Potter, biking to Mount Vernon (sans downhills), and drinking wine over dinner were major highlights.

Joanne and Amir's beautiful family!

Ryan then road-tripped to Salt Lake City to visit our niece and nephew. While they were gallivanting through Mt. Zion national park, some of us were actually getting some work done. I became a fairy godmother for the second time and then volunteered at the Wanderlust yoga festival in Lake Tahoe. It wasn’t all fun and games, you know.

Building this dome made me appreciate that I don't do manual labor for a living. 

Ryan and the fam at Zion.

We spent lots of time with all of our many parents as well. Ryan’s mom proved once again that she is an ass kicker when she crushed Ryan at running up San Luis Mountain. It’s just not fair that we get fat in the summer – it’s all that good American food and beer!  Whatever, Ryan.  We enjoyed beautiful sunsets, planting flowers, and feeding chickens at the Rancho Vitta Bella, Mike and Renee’s own little agriturismo.  Ryan spent a few days at Lazy Bend Ranch, his dad’s house in Colorado. And we had a great time cheering on the Rockies Giants with my mom and driving my sister crazy at their apartment in San Mateo.

When she's not racing up a hill, Ryan's mom does the jig with me. 

Ashley is practicing the art of being Thai.
She has a smile on her face,
but really she's seething inside. 

Ryan and Mike, taking care of the garden at the Ranch Vitta Bella. 

I couldn’t mention everyone that opened their homes and hearts to us again this summer, but we really appreciate you and love you all. Please come visit us in London!