Reintegration to the United States

Our month of reintegration to the United States is ending tomorrow when Mike goes back to work (it's actually school), but we've had a BLAST traveling around the East Coast.  

I wish I could say we traveled light, but who am I kidding? We maxed out our checked bag and carry on limit, bringing our total number of bags to eleven plus a stroller and a car seat and I'm not even sorry about it.

We made sure to stop in Philly and catch up on our Chick Fil A and Philly Cheese Steaks.






We landed in Norfolk on August 5th and spent ten days in Virginia Beach at my parents' house.  We recovered from jet lag while my parents and brothers snuggled with Finn.  A win/win for everyone.

My two favorite ND fans!

I visited Target more times than most people would deem necessary, but I definitely needed to go.

One of the major highlights of being home was the baby shower that my aunt and my mom threw so that everyone could meet Finn.  

I went to the barn with my mom and got lots of snuggles with Sully Monster.  

We got to go down to North Carolina and see Mike's Mom's new river house. 

"Mom, why are you making me look so ridiculous?"

Tucker the dog has his own float.

We watched the five boat regatta

 We headed north to Washington, DC for another ten days, where Finn got to meet a whole new group of friends and family.

Olmsted does DC!

We went to the American History Museum where Finn ran for president. He has my vote!

 Finn got to meet his great grandmother Mimi

Four generations!!

Finn and Mike spent some time lounging

And, despite this picture, had lots of fun meeting Rachel

He went to his first major league baseball game and watched the Nationals crush the Mets! PS there is an AWESOME breast feeding room in Nats stadium!! I'd go to a game just to hang out in that room!

Finn was too into the game to smile for pictures.

And our last stop before heading to our new home in Connecticut was in Maryland, so Finn had to bust out his crab outfit.  We had fun hanging out with Karen and the Degenhards eating crabs and catching up. 

He loves his aunt Karen!

Needless to say, we had a ton of fun traveling around Virginia catching up with all of the people we have missed over the past two years.  We are definitely glad to be back in the USA!

Tchoussy Berlin!

We arrived back in Berlin from our week in paradise on Saturday and the movers were set to arrive on Monday for three days of packing and moving us out.  How many times do you think I've thought we're crazy? Probably too many to count at this point.

After a little bit of a mix up as to when the movers would come, we finally turned in the keys one week later and said goodbye to our wonderful apartment.  Both Mike and I were pretty sad to leave this house. I am always a little sentimental when we leave our homes, but this one was extra difficult.  I had visions of the countless nights I spent nursing Finn on our couch or how the first night at home, we had to bring the swing into our room because he wouldn't sleep in the bassinet.  Mike just kept thinking about the hours we spent on the floor with Finn on his playmat and how excited we were the first time he held his head up.  So many of our first memories with Finn were created in that apartment and it definitely made it harder to say farewell.

The Olmsted Foundation gave us a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel around Europe and spend our first two years as a couple together.  We spent our time wine tasting on Mt. Etna, exploring the souks in Morocco, skiing in the Alps and dogsledding in Lapland.  To say we are lucky and blessed is an understatement because we have memories that will last us a lifetime.

They say when one door closes, another one opens and that is definitely true for this experience.  Our two years abroad were life changing, but we are both excited  for what this next chapter will bring.  We both miss having a routine and the continuity that comes with a 9-5 (or 7-7) job.  Being close to family is something that I missed greatly and I am so happy to be back in the same time zone as all of our loved ones.  I know that this next tour will bring challenges such as deployments and long working hours, but we will have great memories of these past two years to carry us through.

A Babymoon with Baby: Tenerife

Lots of people plan and take a "babymoon" when pregnant, especially with their first baby as one last chance to spend some time together as a couple.  Our life for the past two years has been a babymoon, so we didn't feel like we had to go out of our way to do this, but it did get us thinking.  Even though we didn't need to spend time together (we are ALWAYS together), we did think it would be a good idea to do some things that might be more difficult/less enjoyable with a baby.

Mike knew immediately that he wanted to do some serious diving on our babymoon and spending a few days at a pool or beach sounded like paradise to a pregnant me. After lots of research on Mike's part, we set our sights on Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco.  We became extremely ambitious when planning and decided to book our flights for two days after our trip to Portugal, which was not that long after our trip to Spain (rough life, I know). Mike ended up getting mono towards the end of our trip in Portugal and was so sick by the time we came home that we knew there was no way we were going to boarding a flight for our diving and beach vacation two days later.

Luckily, we were able to reschedule our trip for the week following Kelly and Sean's wedding, but that meant that it would no longer be our babymoon.  Instead, we would have a three month old coming along for the ride.  Finn is cute, but he definitely changes the dynamic of our travel.  Sitting by the pool isn't quite as relaxing as it used to be.   He also decided to enter a major sleep regression that had Mike and I questioning our sanity.

While we weren't able to relax as much as we probably would have before Finn came along, we still had a great time.  Mike was still able to go diving and I got to enjoy some adult beverages by the pool, something that I wouldn't have been able to do in January.  We stayed at the Sheraton La Caleta, which may be one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed at.  As much as I make fun of Mike for being a little obsessed with credit card points, it definitely paid off because we didn't pay a dime for our week stay.  So, next time he yells "Use the Chase!" or "We get five times points with the AmEx!" I guess I should refrain from rolling my eyes and just go with it.

The water was a leeeetle too chilly for Finny

One last Olmsted selfie

Lounging by the pool

When you only sleep one hour at a time, you take lots of naps throughout the day.  I did too.

Nomz

Nomz nomz nomz

We loved our time at the Sheraton in Tenerife.  It was relaxing, the staff was friendly and the amenities were glamorous.  It was definitely an expensive and much more luxurious trip than our normal travels, but it was a great way to end our Olmsted travels and rest up for our move from Berlin.

Always review the emergency exit procedures before takeoff.

Eat, Drink, And Be Mongan

One day, I'll get back to blogging regularly, but until then, I'll be playing catch up.   Who would have guessed that a transatlantic move with a 3 month old would be a little time consuming? :)

As you may remember, last August, Mike and I (and Finn, but no one except Mike and I knew!) traveled to London for Mike's sister, Kelly's wedding.  It was a small ceremony with just immediate family, so we weren't surprised that they wanted to have a bigger celebration this summer with friends and extended family.

We arrived in Reading on Wednesday evening and introduced Finn to Mike's dad.  It wasn't long before Mike's mom arrived on Thursday morning and she was able to meet Finn as well.  Both were head over heals from the first minute.

Since we had the day free on Thursday, Mike, Finn, myself and Mike's mom and Jim headed to Cambridge that afternoon.  The town and the university are beautiful and it was a great afternoon excursion.

 We even found the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe door and lamp!

Friday was the first day of official wedding festivities.  The afternoon was kicked off with a boat ride down the Thames.  Luckily, we avoided the typical English weather (cold and rainy) and had a beautiful day of warmth and sunshine.  Finn slept through the entire boat ride, but still managed to win over the majority of ladies.  He is a cutie.

That evening, we went to a cute little restaurant for the rehearsal dinner.  Finn was not on his best behavior, so Mike and I ended up splitting our time outside while the other ate dinner, but from what I could tell, everyone else was having a great time.  

Wedding day came quickly and we were one of the first guests to arrive.  The ceremony and the reception were both at Shiplake College, where Sean went to high school.  The grounds were beautiful and it set the ambiance for a wonderful English garden wedding.   Finn ended up waking up and wanting to eat right as the ceremony started, so we missed the procession and Mike's reading (sorry Dad!!), but made it back in time to stand in the back for the vows and exchanging of the rings.  

It's a good thing he's cute!

Following the ceremony was cocktail hour where we took the opportunity to have a little family photo shoot :) 

The reception that followed was a blast and definitely incorporated lots of eating, drinking and being Mongan (whatever that means). 

 Finn fell asleep after lots of dancing, which allowed Mike and I to enjoy the last few hours with each other.  I'm not sure if Finn will be accompanying us to weddings any time soon, but we are so glad that we could all be there to celebrate Sean and Kelly and their (somewhat) new nuptials! Congratulations Mongans and thanks for a great wedding!