US Trip - Summer 2013

We just got back from a jam-packed three-week trip to the United States.  We were all over the country (New York, L.A., Pasadena, Newport Beach, Chicago, Placentia, Riverside, and even Lafayette/San Francisco) and saw tons of family and friends.  It was a bit of a whirl-wind, but we all had a great trip and thoroughly enjoyed the time we got to spend with family and friends.  Given that our new little bundle of joy is set to arrive in January, that will probably be our last trip to the US for quite a while (we probably won't make it out again until next spring or summer), so we soaked it all in.  We all got lots of much-needed Vitamin D, Chris and I enjoyed catching up with great friends, Nathan loved spending all day every day outside switching from sport to sport (yes, that is literally all he does these days), and we all loved spending quality time with the Choi and Valdez families.

In other news, we were able to find out the sex of the baby in California (and it was recently confirmed by our Doctor here).  So, for those of you we weren't able to tell in person, Nathan is going to have a little brother!  We're all very excited and we're all just hoping this one is as obsessed with sports as Nathan, because Nathan is really going to need someone to kick, throw, and hit the ball around with (Nathan is quickly surpassing my skill level in most sports - but, I'm pretty sure I will still be able to take him in soccer for a while :)

For those of you we got to see in New York and California, thanks for making it such a great trip!  And, feel free to come visit us in London!

Ready to fly to New York!

Rockefeller Center

The Brooklyn Bridge with Uncle Casey.

Future Federal Court Judge

Superheroes in Times Square

9/11 Memorial

All dressed up for Kevin and Trish's wedding - Chris was a groomsman.

So good to be reunited with our Mommy and Me friends!

We got to see our old nanny, Lidia.  

Playing video games with the cousins at 6 am.

Paddle boarding in Balboa.

Ice cream with the cousins!

Cousins on the beach.

The Chois and all their grandkids.

Chris with his two best friends growing up and all their kiddos.

We took a quick trip to the Bay Area while we were in California and got to see my cousins, Andrew and Erica.

And, we got to see our dogs, who have a wonderful new home with Chris' sister and brother-in-law in the Bay Area.

Reading the paper with Grandpa - the sports section, no doubt. 

The highlight of his trip - going to the driving range with grandpa, Uncle Casey, and Daddy.

Meanwhile, I got to go to a lovely shower thrown for me by my Pasadena mommy friends.

Until next time, California...

Such a great traveler - he fell asleep right as the plane was taking off  and didn't wake up until it was almost time to land.

Wimbledon, The Zoo, A Baby, And More

We have lots of pictures and news to share in this post.  I guess I probably shouldn't wait so long in between posts :)

It is finally summer here in London and we have been thoroughly enjoying the gorgeous, hot weather we have been having.  One of the highlights of the last month was our trip to Wimbledon.  Nathan had been loving watching the Wimbledon tennis matches on t.v., so we decided to take him to watch it in person.  He's not old enough to go into any of the main courts, so we just got grounds passes and it worked out perfectly.  We were able to wander from court to court watching juniors matches, check out  "Murray's Mound"(the hill where you can sit and watch the main matches on the big screen), get lunch and strawberries and cream, and get some great souvenirs for Nathan.  It was such a fun day and I'm so glad we were able to give Nathan that experience.  He now wants to take tennis lessons and he wakes up every morning and comes into our room asking me to play tennis with him in the living room.  We're finding that he loves any and all sports.

We also took a fun trip to the London Zoo this month with a friend; went to a festival in Battersea Park; checked out a great indoor play space with good friends; and spent a hot day playing in the water at the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park.

And, in case you're not on Facebook or missed the big announcement, Nathan is going to be a big brother.  We're expecting Baby #2 in January!  The most recent pictures of the baby are posted below.

We hope everyone is enjoying their summer.  We will be in California in August and hope to see a lot of our friends and family while we are there!

A fun rickshaw ride after our Father's Day dinner.

Watching the kayaks in front of our flat.

First time getting his face painted (at a friend's birthday party).

After flipping through the pictures, he picked out the angry bird :)

His first cricket set (modeling it while simultaneously trying on clothes that his Auntie Anne bought him :)

Fun summer festival at Battersea Park.

Wimbledon

He was watching so intently and was so good at staying quiet!

The London Zoo with his friend, Tyler.

It was a rough day at football for Nathan and Aiden :)

Friends

This is how much he loves his tennis ball and tennis racket that he got from Wimbledon.  Yes, he is fast asleep!

Making frosting in cooking class - he loves when they use the mixer. 

Playing in the water at the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain at Hyde Park.

Baby Choi #2

We had so much fun with Brice and Aiden at Gambado (a massive indoor play area).

He just kept running up and going down this humongous slide over and over again.

Almost forgot this one, but had to squeeze it in at the end because it is so cute!  He really wanted to get this ball from Wimbledon, but luckily, we were able to talk him into a slightly smaller one :) 

Our Holiday In Croatia

Last week, we went on a little vacation to Dubrovnik, Croatia.  It was absolutely gorgeous and so nice to finally get some hot weather and sunshine!  We got lots of pool time and beach time and also got to explore the old, historic part of the town.  While we were there, we also celebrated my 34th birthday and our 7th wedding anniversary.  It was a great trip and we highly recommend Dubrovnik as a vacation spot!

Soaking in the sunshine by the pool.

We loved our view and the room was perfect for us - a 2-story suite with a bedroom upstairs for Chris and I and a living room downstairs where Nathan had his own little trundle bed that pulled out from the couch.  Nathan loved it and we all slept well!  We highly recommend the Vallamar Lacroma Dubrovnik.

Nathan picking out his dinner :)

Sampling Dubrovnik's finest apple juice. 

It was so nice to lay out in the sun.  We don't see enough of it here in London.

Nathan stayed up past his bedtime one night to see the sunset.

Looking at the fish in the water near the old town.

Wandering around the old town.

The beautiful old town in the background.

Reading on the balcony.

Nathan loved throwing rocks into the sea.

Floating in the Adriatic Sea.