Summer Party in the USA

One of the weird perks of this hybrid American expat existence is that we get to have a fun adventure with our kids learning the language and experiencing China during the school year, but then still visit the US every six months.  We come back for 3 weeks during Christmas Time, and for 7 or 8 weeks in the summer.

I love the crazy grind of China, but it has felt pretty amazing to be back home.  We started off our summer in Mexico (one of our fav destinations to unplug) for a week, then to my hometown in California for 3 weeks, a week in Utah, and our last 3 weeks we spent in San Antonio with Stu’s family.  

My kids have loved everything about summer.  In Mexico, we got lots of beach time in and lots of Mexican food which is pretty hard to come by in Beijing.  We always go to our favorite taco spot Pancho’s tacos and say hi to our friends Manuel and Melany. We have made so many good friends over the years of going there and it is super fun to brush up on our Spanish with locals there.  That makes the trips more than just laying on the beach and swimming- although I am a big fan of beaches and swimming.

Another favorite spot down there are the tiangis at La Penita.  We can barter for some Mexican dresses, the wooden tortilla bowls I love, and then end the shopping trip with palletas, or popsicles.

California summers on the Central Coast are some of the happiest of my memories.  I have gone to Moro Bay and San Luis Obispo for my whole life, and even lived a summer there in college with my best friend.  This year we had a Carter Reunion with my family for a whole week at the beach there. The kids loved being with cousins, making silly movies together and generally just owning their day without school and normal routines.  Morro Bay is always a must. I used to sit by this rock and play guitar to the ocean; it was my favorite pondering place. When I get to be on this sand, looking at this familiar view, it grounds me to who I have always been, to something I have always loved, and makes my heart feel settled and content somehow.  A bit sentimental, I know, but staying a whole week there was heaven.

We celebrated the 4th by eating Guiseppe’s and then watching fireworks back on the beach, ate lots of clam chowder, enjoyed a party boat in the bay, and went to the Farmer’s Market Thursday night in SLO.  So many familiar, wonderful things.

We caught up on life and had some downtime in Bakersfield and one of my favorite things was getting to go to Costco and Target.  Yep, it’s the little things. I loved seeing my parents and catching up with family.

Utah is always fast and furious and we try to see as many people as we can in a short period of time.  The kids got lots of neighborhood playtime with our good friends in Orem. Almost all our close friends from our ward live on the same street so we can park it there for hours and Jackson gets to play with his best friend, who has a house full of brothers, I get to chat with ladies I adore- and my girls run among several houses of good friends.  I love that the kids can just pick up right where they left off and build on all the good things they remember and keep making new memories with these good kids. We got to stay at my sister’s house and visit with her some more, and go out to dinner with friends. So grateful for this sparkly spot- and the fact that it proves to all of us that our past life in Utah, almost 15 years, didn’t just die.  

Last up was Texas.  There are so many cousins, 3 of Stu’s siblings live in Texas, so we just bask in the daily play dates and swim parties.  We celebrated some birthdays, went to Schlitternbahn several times (best water park ever), and caught up with family. Stu’s parents are in the temple presidency, so it was fun to see them there and also to see them lots of time in between their busy routines.  We got our pediatrician well checks in, got some immunizations, and I met with the OB. So many exciting things.

And after years of anticipating, we found out Jackson will finally get a little brother!  We are having baby number 6 in December and I am thrilled that Jack can live all his older brother dreams with a kid brother.  Here is a video of the big reveal when we told the kids.

Here are some pictures of Stu and I on our temple trips.  We love being in the US when it means we get to go almost weekly to the temple.  It is my favorite.  

We are excited to be back in Beijing and ready for another great year!