Coming to America

After a loooong trip socially distanced masked trip….

…we landed in Florida. It was our first time in two years in the US and we were all excited to be home and spend time with all our family that we had missed.

We headed straight to Grandma Gertch’s house where we spent a few days relaxing, making cookies with Grandma, bird watching, shopping, getting used to the hot sweaty runs, coloring and getting over jet lag. It was our first time at Grandma Gertch’s Florida house and it was great! It was comfy and nice with a great yard, it even came with neighbors with a dog that Malcolm was obsessed with. Whenever we couldn’t find him we knew where to look, he was always with We settled in, got over our jetlag and Randy, Grandma Gertch and I cooked some yummy dinners amd then watched cooking shows. Randy and I even got to run together while Grandma hung out with the kids. Pretty nice deal!

Before we knew it it was time for Grandma Yuyu, Aunt Sandra, Roman, Isla, Grant and Tamer to come visit. They were staying at a nearby house that had a fun pool and pretty beach so we hung out there loads! It had been two years since we had seen everyone and it was so amazing to see all the kids playing together. They were all older and the perfect age to play and enjoy each other.

We even snuck in a fishing afternoon on the pier. We didn’t catch anything but everyone loved it!

These three were the cutest, Grant and Tamer were so great with Miral, sharing and playing with her. I know twins are so close and it was so sweet to see how they took Miral into their fold and hung out together all week.

Aunt Fo was a hit too 😉 mostly cause of the treats.

We also got to spend time with Grantie Vange and Grantie Lori, Grandma Gertch’s sister and wife who live so close to Grandma Gertch. It is so nice to all be so close. When I was growing up Aunt Vangie lived a few hours away and I would count the days until she (and her kids) came to visit up. Vangie would always bring her guitar and stay up way too late singing with her beautiful voice. I love that she is so close to my mom and they can take care of each other.

After so long away from family it was so special to have this time together! It makes me wish we were closer so we could have more of these moments but it also makes me appreciate them so much more. All the more reason to enjoy every second of it! And what better way to commerate it than by trying to take pictures of all 7 kids and 6 adults all smiling.