Greetings, all-
We're just back from a long-awaited family, as in all six of us, trip to the U.S. We're still holding for some more processing on the adoption, but Chris was able to travel on his Kenyan passport. We started out in Atlanta, where the kids were fortunate enough to have all four grandparents meet them at the airport on arrival. Chris had made the flight and arrival with no worries at all, meaning we shouldn't have spent all that time worrying about how he'd react to the airplanes, relatives, new activities, and the general business of the U.S. We put about 3,000 miles on a minivan (we're far past sports car territory) over the three weeks.
We had a great time visiting with the in-laws in Georgia. Chris met several people for the first time, though he acted like he'd known them the whole time. He figured out the "treats in a Happy Meal" racket, too, and collected plenty of toys with his cheeseburgers. The boys spent a lot of time in Grandpa Watts' train room and only a few times caused train wrecks. We enjoyed a family gathering one weekend where Annette's grandmother had ten of her great-grandchildren with her at once (you might be able to see her behind all those kids in the attached photo). We got to see Rachel and Aunt Emily in an Irish dancing performance and did lots of bike riding.
We headed down to Louisiana next. Aunt Kathryn and Aunt Sarah graciously hosted us at their house in New Orleans, and they learned what a jet-lagged baby sounds like at 3 a.m. We had a great time playing tourist there. We hit the Audobon Zoo, ate beignets at Cafe Du Monde, and ate too much good food. We spent a night in Thibodaux, where the kids' Great Aunt Marcia made the mistake of sitting on the floor and encouraging three boys aged five and under to jump on her.
We spent an evening in Birmingham at Jubal and Jenny's place, and the house was still standing when we left. The boys really enjoyed the time with Lily and Eva, and look forward to meeting their newest cousin in August.
Back when we thought Chris might have trouble adjusting, we had scheduled a tip to Chattanooga, Tennessee for just our immediate family. Although the time apart wasn't vital, we enjoyed the trip, especially sleeping in a train car that had been converted to a hotel room. They still have the luggage racks along the top sides of the train car, so I told the kids when we got in there that the luggage racks were the kids' beds. Little Mark, not to be messed with by his old man, looked at me and demanded I pass a pillow up to him to make his sleep more comfortable. We visited the aquarium and Ruby Falls, as well.
We ended the trip in Virginia, with my folks, Aunt Vi, Uncle Jim (in from Wyoming) and Thad (recently back from a year in Afghanistan). Grandpa Zimmer issued the kids rubber band guns on arrival in Front Royal, much to Annette's delight. Somehow, the guns only made it out of the suitcases here in Nairobi ten days after we got home (Annette must have forgotten about them, I guess). The boys enjoyed a brief fishing trip during which Luke alerted us that his bobber was defective when it went under the water (he reeled in a blue gill shortly thereafter). Chris caught a bass but refused to touch it. I'm not sure if all that Army training made Uncle Thad ready for wrestling with the nephews or not.
Back home in Nairobi, Joy has finally decided to start walking. She's doing quite well, especially when she sees one of her brothers with something she wants. She has a new, very special, sound that she makes when things aren't going exactly her way. The sound is less frequent, though, as she gets us all trained to answer her every whim.
Clifford was happy to have his kids back, though we're enduring a hunger strike. I asked the trainer/kennel owner if everything went alright while were gone, since Clifford isn't eating his dry food well. He said, "Yes, he ate the rice and ground beef I gave him without any trouble."
For the 'Kids Always Win' file:
- The boys and their cousins decided that bikes were the flavor of the week while we were in the States. So, we bought Chris and Mark each a $50 bike to ride while were there (Luke got a hand-me-down from his cousin Alex). Chris refused to ride on two wheels, so we bought him some $20 training wheels. The rear axle wasn't long enough, so we bought a new tire for $73 that would accommodate the training wheels. So, we invested $93 into a $50 bike. Less than a week after we got back to Nairobi, Chris asked to ride his bike while I had the training wheels off to fix a flat tire. He took off on two wheels and hasn't looked back. Great investment on the training wheels.
- Annette and I always said we wouldn't be "those parents" who let the kids rule by, for instance, forcing us to run out at night to get a blanket or doll we had left somewhere. We went to a wonderful Easter lunch at the home of some friends here on Easter Sunday. We got home about 7 and got the kids ready for bed. We realized about 7:15 we had left Joy's rag doll at our friends' house. Joy screamed until about 8:00 while we debated about the doll, reminding ourselves that we weren't going to be "those parents." At about 8:01, I hopped in the car and took off down the road outside our house, fondly known as "Carjack Alley," to go retrieve the doll. Our friend, who will get his reward in heaven and has young children himself, understood the gravity of the situation and set out from his house to meet me partway with the doll. I got back with the doll in about ten minutes, and Joy was asleep about a minute later. We are, in fact, "those parents."
Hope everyone is well,
Mark & co.
