Our summer adventure
Now to recount the events of our summer. We left home on July 11 and spent the night in Nairobi, so that we would be closer to the airport for our flight the next morning from Nairobi to Amsterdam. Our first stop was in the Netherlands for 2 days, where we had a really nice visit with my friend Marit and her family. It had been 13 years since that last time I saw her, and it was great to see her again after so many years, and to introduce her to Thor and our kids. It's neat how after not seeing someone for so long, it is so easy to reconnect again. It was also nice to see her parents and sister Lise again as well. They have all been friends of our family for many years, since our days in Ethiopia when I was about 5. It was a treat to eat at McDonald's again after not having it for several years. Torsten was very impressed by the ice cream shop we went to our first night there, where he got "spiderman" ice cream. He still talks about that all the time.
Our next stop was in Denmark to see Thor's relatives. We flew from Amsterdam to Copenhagen, where we were met at the airport by Thor's mother's cousin and her family. We stayed at their home, and had a wonderful visit with them. We enjoyed a nice boat tour of Copenhagen and saw some museums there. We were able to spend an evening with Thor's two cousins and their families as well. After several days in Copenhagen, we drove to Herning (about 4 hours) to visit Thor's grandmother. She was thrilled to see her great grandchildren. The last time she saw Torsten, he was 4 months old, and she had never met Torrie or Kammie. We had a very nice day with her at the Jylland Park Zoo, where they had a small zoo as well as playgrounds and rides for children. We also spent a day at Legoland, which the kids loved. There were lots of rides geared for small children, and a large lego village with moving trains, boats, trucks and planes. We ended our time in Denmark with several days on the coast, where Thor's relatives had rented a summerhouse. The kids loved the beach even though it was quite cold. They also had fun swimming in a pool there.
Next, we flew back to Amsterdam, and then on to Chicago, and then to New Orleans, where my family was waiting for us. It was wonderful to see them again after two years, and to introduce them to Kammie for the first time. I think I did go through a little bit of reverse culture shock with being back in the U.S. again. I was amazed at the nice roads and how normally everyone drove. I was also amazed when I went into Walmart for the first time at the amount of stuff that was available and the low prices.
The first week back was a whirlwind between getting the kids over their jetlag (they woke up at 3 or 4 AM every day for about a week) and helping with getting ready for the 50th anniversary party for my parents. Also, Thor made a quick trip over to Houston due to the death of an uncle that he had been close to. We also had to speak in our church our first Sunday back, which went well, but was also stressful. The anniversary party went very well, and it was a chance to get to see a lot of people we knew. It was also nice to have my brothers and sister and their families all together for the weekend. We took a family portrait that came out nicely. Thor had 3 wisdom teeth removed right after all that.
We had about one more week in Baton Rouge and then headed up to Washington state to see Thor's family there. We stayed with his parents several days and then also drove over to Kennewick (4 hour drive) to see his brother and family. Our kids loved playing with their cousins Abby and Lizzy, and enjoyed going to a water park and going swimming. I enjoyed getting to have a short visit with my friend Lori, who I was also good friends with when I was 5 when I lived in Ethiopia. The story of how she and I reconnected is somewhat interesting. We hadn't had any contact with each other since her family moved away from Ethiopia when I was 5, until about 2 1/2 years ago. She just happens to work in the same office as Thor's stepmother, Pam. Pam was telling her about how we were going to Kenya, and she made the connection of who I was and emailed me a picture of us when we were five. We met for lunch the last time we were in Washington, just before we left for Kenya. She had a new baby girl since I saw her last, and it was fun to catch up again.
The day after we arrived back in Baton Rouge from Washington, we drove up to Shreveport to visit one of our supporting churches there. We had a nice visit and saw many old friends. The day after we returned from that was when Thor left to return back to Kenya. The kids and I then spent several more weeks with my parents. I was very glad for that extra time to get needed things done and to have some down time. Up to that point we had been doing so much traveling and visiting of different churches, that it was very nice to have some time to just stay in one place.
The week before we left, Hurricane Gustav blew through Baton Rouge, which was an interesting experience. It was definitely the worst of the hurricanes that I've experienced. There were trees down everywhere and quite a bit of damage to homes and buildings. I was amazed at some of the huge trees that looked very old, that just blew down so easily from the wind. My parents home was fine, thankfully. Our power was out for 4 days, which made the heat quite uncomfortable with no air conditioning. It took about a week for businesses to reopen and for things to become somewhat normal again.
The kids had a great time with their grandparents and cousins during our last weeks there. Torsten especially enjoyed playing with his cousin Mary Ruth. The kids were sad to have to leave their relatives, but were excited to go back to Kenya to see their Daddy. All in all, it was a wonderful summer that we really enjoyed and one that gave us lots of good memories.
Our next stop was in Denmark to see Thor's relatives. We flew from Amsterdam to Copenhagen, where we were met at the airport by Thor's mother's cousin and her family. We stayed at their home, and had a wonderful visit with them. We enjoyed a nice boat tour of Copenhagen and saw some museums there. We were able to spend an evening with Thor's two cousins and their families as well. After several days in Copenhagen, we drove to Herning (about 4 hours) to visit Thor's grandmother. She was thrilled to see her great grandchildren. The last time she saw Torsten, he was 4 months old, and she had never met Torrie or Kammie. We had a very nice day with her at the Jylland Park Zoo, where they had a small zoo as well as playgrounds and rides for children. We also spent a day at Legoland, which the kids loved. There were lots of rides geared for small children, and a large lego village with moving trains, boats, trucks and planes. We ended our time in Denmark with several days on the coast, where Thor's relatives had rented a summerhouse. The kids loved the beach even though it was quite cold. They also had fun swimming in a pool there.
Next, we flew back to Amsterdam, and then on to Chicago, and then to New Orleans, where my family was waiting for us. It was wonderful to see them again after two years, and to introduce them to Kammie for the first time. I think I did go through a little bit of reverse culture shock with being back in the U.S. again. I was amazed at the nice roads and how normally everyone drove. I was also amazed when I went into Walmart for the first time at the amount of stuff that was available and the low prices.
The first week back was a whirlwind between getting the kids over their jetlag (they woke up at 3 or 4 AM every day for about a week) and helping with getting ready for the 50th anniversary party for my parents. Also, Thor made a quick trip over to Houston due to the death of an uncle that he had been close to. We also had to speak in our church our first Sunday back, which went well, but was also stressful. The anniversary party went very well, and it was a chance to get to see a lot of people we knew. It was also nice to have my brothers and sister and their families all together for the weekend. We took a family portrait that came out nicely. Thor had 3 wisdom teeth removed right after all that.
We had about one more week in Baton Rouge and then headed up to Washington state to see Thor's family there. We stayed with his parents several days and then also drove over to Kennewick (4 hour drive) to see his brother and family. Our kids loved playing with their cousins Abby and Lizzy, and enjoyed going to a water park and going swimming. I enjoyed getting to have a short visit with my friend Lori, who I was also good friends with when I was 5 when I lived in Ethiopia. The story of how she and I reconnected is somewhat interesting. We hadn't had any contact with each other since her family moved away from Ethiopia when I was 5, until about 2 1/2 years ago. She just happens to work in the same office as Thor's stepmother, Pam. Pam was telling her about how we were going to Kenya, and she made the connection of who I was and emailed me a picture of us when we were five. We met for lunch the last time we were in Washington, just before we left for Kenya. She had a new baby girl since I saw her last, and it was fun to catch up again.
The day after we arrived back in Baton Rouge from Washington, we drove up to Shreveport to visit one of our supporting churches there. We had a nice visit and saw many old friends. The day after we returned from that was when Thor left to return back to Kenya. The kids and I then spent several more weeks with my parents. I was very glad for that extra time to get needed things done and to have some down time. Up to that point we had been doing so much traveling and visiting of different churches, that it was very nice to have some time to just stay in one place.
The week before we left, Hurricane Gustav blew through Baton Rouge, which was an interesting experience. It was definitely the worst of the hurricanes that I've experienced. There were trees down everywhere and quite a bit of damage to homes and buildings. I was amazed at some of the huge trees that looked very old, that just blew down so easily from the wind. My parents home was fine, thankfully. Our power was out for 4 days, which made the heat quite uncomfortable with no air conditioning. It took about a week for businesses to reopen and for things to become somewhat normal again.
The kids had a great time with their grandparents and cousins during our last weeks there. Torsten especially enjoyed playing with his cousin Mary Ruth. The kids were sad to have to leave their relatives, but were excited to go back to Kenya to see their Daddy. All in all, it was a wonderful summer that we really enjoyed and one that gave us lots of good memories.
posted by Sharon at 10:42 AM
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