America Was Great Again!

After a fabulous 3 weeks in London, we headed to England's spawn, America. First stop? Our nation's capital (ish). We stayed for a week at Joanne and Amir's beautiful home in Bethesda, MD, just outside of Washington, DC. We've been to the area several times, so we felt no need to re-do the tourist sites with a two-year-old in tow. Instead, we spent most of our days by the pool with the kids, and Ryan proved that he was uncle extraordinaire:

Kendall and Ben took great care of Maddy.

Coffee for Mom and a babyccino for Mads.

Selfie!

After Bethesda we headed to Salt Lake City. We were lucky to have a reunion with Ryan's two brothers, their families, and his mom and step-dad Joe. Some of my favorite activities included playing "Heads Up!" in the evening, a day at the reservoir with a water trampoline, and a visit to a hip SLC bar.  Some of Maddy's were jumping on the outdoor trampoline, playing in the baby pool, and coloring with "chalk the sidewalk." 

Chalk the sidewalk.

Ring Around the Rosie. 

Trampoline hair.

Mads liked to entertain us with her rendition
of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on the piano. 

Chillin' with dad.

Here are some of my favorite family pictures:

Brothers.

Cousins.

And then off to The Promised Land: California. We started off with an Airbnb rental in Redwood City, keeping close to Roxana the Fox, Ashley, and Uncle Mike. We celebrated Madeline's second birthday with them and some family friends. 

Frozen themed cake!

Birthday dinner with Grandma.

This tough chick rides a Harley!

As a birthday gift, Uncle Mike took Madeline to Build-a-Bear, where Madeline proceeded to select what is possibly the ugliest bear ever created (Ryan wishes they had a trophy for that!) It's so ugly that Ryan aptly named it "Garish Bear," and Madeline in her innocence has adopted this moniker for her bear. "I need to kiss Garish, Daddy," she says. The highlight of Madeline's Build-a-Bear experience was being escorted across the mall by the mascot.

We enjoyed the excellent California weather and even got out for a hike!

We reunited with some old California friends as well.

College friends. 

It was a sunny day in Pacifica, so we had to take advantage
by heading out for a walk along the beach. 

We spent about a week at the Rancho Vitta Bella in Petaluma. Madeline became Grandma Nay-Nay (Renee) and Grandpa Mike's sidekick in the garden. She loved being outside with them as much as she enjoyed all the stations that Grandma Nay set up for her in and around the house: play dough, kinetic sand, a reading station, puppets, and musical instruments. 

Eating carrots straight out of the ground.

At the play dough station. 

Being transported via wagon. 

Riding around the property.

Hiya, Mads!

 Another highlight was a visit to the beach for Grandma Nay's birthday.

Dad, I dug another hole.

Grandma Nay and Auntie Liz.

Our visit to the US was short and intense, and we value this time with family and friends so much. We have so many lasting memories from this summer. Madeline loves to look at the pictures we took and reminisce about all the fun things we did. We planned our US adventure a bit last-minute this year, and we really appreciate that people found time in their homes, hearts, and schedules for us without a moment's hesitation. We can't wait for another visit next summer!