So we're back at home in Saudi. This time, feeling a lot more like home than it did this time last summer. We had an amazing summer, and one that we will remember for a long time. It was busy, but it was good. Simple even; which we are glad for since we don't anticipate much will be simple for a while now with the baby coming so soon.
After we finished up our time in Italy, we made our way stateside. We landed in New York city and made sure to spend a night visiting Shannon's sisters. We stayed in their apartment and had a nice picnic in their community park, complete with delicious beverages and New York bagels. It was a great start to the relaxing part of our summer.
The next day, as he has done many times, my best friend, Justin picked us up in New York and drove us to Philadelphia to get our rental car. Special shout out to Justin for continuously helping us out with whatever we need. When we had our rental car, we drove to our hotel and then started setting up plans to see everyone. Whenever we are in New Jersey, we always have an amazing time, but we are also very busy. With almost all of my family there including my grandmother, sister, niece, mom, aunts, cousins, and friends, we're always pressed for time.
Our plans were put on hold however, when we found out about the death of a loved one in my family. Luckily, we were there in NJ so I was able to handle a lot of the necessary arrangements with my sister.
From there, we did our usual tour of spending time at my mom's place, friends' places, our annual visit to a Phillies game, and we managed to sprinkle in a few trips to the mall to get Shannon some maternity clothes.
One of our many errands included a family trip to the beach on the fourth of July that was organized by my mom; or so we thought. We showed up to pick up my grandmother, where we were surprised to find a surprise baby shower for us! Masterminded by my mom and the aforementioned Justin's lovely wife Megan, we were treated to a BBQ baby shower themed for Independence Day, complete with shirts that read
Red, White, and DUE. Very clever play on words, and a wonderful surprise. We spent the afternoon with my family, eating food, and opening gifts. Nothing is quite as cute as opening tiny clothing items for a little baby.
We spent the next few days going to other BBQs, taking my niece to see Jurassic World, and hanging out. It's always a rushed experience when we go home, but it's my favorite part of the year. We spend so much time away from some of the people who we love the most, for most of the year, that even when it's condensed, spending time with them is really fulfilling.
When we were done with our visit in NJ, we took a train down to Washington D.C. to see my uncle, aunt, and cousins. We stayed there for a few days, and rather than see the sights, we were content to watch the World Cup Semifinals and Finals and rest. The weeks in Italy and New Jersey took the last of our energy reserves, so we spent a good amount of time napping, or lounging around the house reading.
After we left Washington D.C., we went to Orlando for the last leg of our stateside trip. We were able
to spend quality time with Shannon's parents, her sisters, and some of our dearest friends from Florida. They too, threw us a baby shower with Shannon's family, where we got a bunch of other clothes for our little one. It was a great way to catch up with some members of her family that I don't know very well, and another BBQ, which is always a good time.
The rest of our time in Orlando was filled with trips to Animal Kingdom, where we had a special VIP safari, dinners our with friends, a few trips to the beach, and even another movie trip or two. We went to the doctor a few times to check on the baby, and laid low. It was a great balance between the busy summer we had up to that point so far, and restful relaxation.
When it was finally time to head back, we decided that rather than the 22 hour journey that we had taken in the past, we wanted to spread out our travel time. So we took a little layover in Paris. After some weather issues, and delays, we finally got to Paris and crashed, where we caught up on our jet lag. Our only issue was the lack of air conditioning in Paris coincided directly with a heatwave, and a 6 and a half month pregnant wife. The apartment was between 80-90 degrees the whole time. Cold showers were taken, rags were stuck in the freezer and draped on faces, and ice was routinely worn as a fashion accessory. But aside from the heat, we had a lovely time. We went out to dinners, took walks through the park just outside of our apartment, and went to a local bakery on more than one occasion to set ourselves up with fresh baguettes. When it was finally time to come home, I actually remarked that it was ironic that we were heading back to Saudi to cool down in the comfort of our air conditioning.
All in all, our summer was amazing. We were able to much needed quality time with our closest friends and families. They were all able to fuss over Shannon for being pregnant. We rested a lot, read many many books, traveled all over, and spend time with each other. It was a great way to spend our summer, and a wonderful way to prepare ourselves for the upcoming year at school, and the upcoming changes to our family.
