US Holiday

Sorry for the lapse in posts everyone, but we've been very busy enjoying our time here in the States!

We flew out of Manchester last Wednesday, and arrived at JFK about 8 hours later. Our flight over was much easier than the one going to England, because there was no pressure to make the kids sleep. We were fed every 2 hours it seemed, and we had an abundance of movies/TV shows/etc. to watch. As far as 8 hour-plane-rides go with 2 kids, we can't complain!

We spent not even a day at my parents' before we drove down to Maryland to visit friends and family there. We stayed with my Aunt Nancy's family, and were so glad to have time to catch up with them. We also had lunch with a group of Ethan's co-workers at Red Robin (our favorite burger joint), and a picnic lunch with a bunch of friends from Harford County at Mariner Point Park (Thanks for coming, everybody!). It meant so much to see and catch up with loved ones.

We then drove back up to Long Island and spent a few wonderful days with my family. We did it all: two glorious days at the ocean... plenty of fun time in the pool... a nice visit with my Granny, and we even got to meet her boyfriend, Mr. Jim...

a beautiful boat ride on Papa's boat... Ethan and I actually had a date night where we got to be grown-ups and go out for dinner and a movie...

a bivowac (cookout on the beach) with a gorgeous sunset...
AND, my mom gave my sister and I a gift certificate, so I could get a Mama massage and she got a facial. We packed so much into those four days. It was a blast!

Then, two days ago, we left Long Island and headed for Ethan's parents' house in Ithaca. On the way, we stopped at our good friends' the Gillens, for some lunch, slip-n-slide, and water balloon fun! Needless to say, our trip has been fun-filled and wonderful so far. I will post more about our visit with Mom and Dad Stryker in a few days.