The last and awesome part of my visit home...and the main reason I stayed there for a whole month...was so that I could see Julia! She arrived in the middle of the chaos of people flying in and driving in to be there for Grandma Honey's funeral. She took it like a champ and fit right in with the flow of everyone there. Some of my cousins who haven't seen us for awhile probably thought they just forgot which cousin she was and were wondering why she had a German accent!
Julia is so smart that her school funded her to come over to America to do an internship/job shadow for a month. She observed at a pediatrician's office. While she was here we had a lot to do. We couldn't believe it had really been 7 years since she was our foreign exchange student.
Katelyn liked her a lot and gave Luke a break sometimes when she was around and would ask "Dia" to play and sneak her chocolate, and go out to see the puppies. We headed out to the pool a couple times and played some tennis with her too.
Hello Belly!
We introduced her to a fair and rodeo too. Rodeo's are a little crazy and silly when you think about them...It is a different sort of talent that was tricky to explain the "why" behind the sport.
After hanging out for a week or so there, I headed home to my poor lonely husband. David came to Washington for the wedding for a week, but I was in Washington for over a month, so he sort of missed his girls! When I got home, he did mention I looked a little rounder and bigger, which I was not offended by entirely because I was 35 weeks pregnant and he hadn't seen my belly in three weeks. But I told him he was lucky I was pregnant for such a comment! He is always so so so honest...which is great and not so great sometimes :)
So I was home and we were having withdrawals from having people to entertain us and to share the cooking and cleaning duties. Then three weeks later, Julia "stopped by" on her way back to Germany ...for a week! Yay!
We showed her Baltimore and David played tennis with her. We played some Settler's and Ticket to Ride and we made sure that David or I would win JUST before Julia could win because she doesn't like to win...right Julia?! It didn't drive her crazy or anything :)
We spent a day checking out Lancaster, PA and an Amish house and farm. We checked in on the bonnets and realized that they are not meant for us still!
We learned about the Amish families and culture and were fascinated with how many ties they have to Germany in their history. That made it more interesting for Julia and I.
I wanted to take her there because when she first heard that she was being placed in a Mormon home for her foreign exchange program, 7 years ago, her family joked that she wasn't going to have electricity and would have to ride around in a horse and buggy, thinking that the Mormon's lived that way. She was a little nervous but soon found out that it was Amish, not Mormon's and she fit right in with us!
She didn't want me to do much so that I wouldn't have the baby while David was out of town and would grab bags, Katelyn, or take over any task that looked semi-intense. It is always a funny thing when you are pregnant, because all the help is nice, but it is almost all do-able while pregnant, but sometimes I just had to let people be nice. Julia was extra cautious and I had to tell her "no" sometimes...except when she started doing the dishes! She is one of those people that cleans everything up right after the mess is made and it was so nice! I love having things cleaned, but I usually do the bare minimum and get the spoil-able food put away and save the rest for when I feel like it. Having her keep up with the dishes each meal was wonderful! I never said no to that!
It was great to just sit around and chat for hours and get entirely caught up with her life and have some good debates, with David of course, on education and health issues. I am excited for her and all that she does and it is fun to keep in touch with her...which reminds me that we are due for a skype session! Katelyn loved having her around too and she was willing to do whatever Katelyn wanted, probably because Julia stole her bed :)
We promised to go to her wedding, so no pressure, but the sooner she decides on a guy, the sooner she gets to see us! I could use another trip to Germany...I wouldn't mind a bit! We love Julia! See you soon, right? :)
Julia is so smart that her school funded her to come over to America to do an internship/job shadow for a month. She observed at a pediatrician's office. While she was here we had a lot to do. We couldn't believe it had really been 7 years since she was our foreign exchange student.
Katelyn liked her a lot and gave Luke a break sometimes when she was around and would ask "Dia" to play and sneak her chocolate, and go out to see the puppies. We headed out to the pool a couple times and played some tennis with her too.
Hello Belly!
This is a stalker photo for sure...I was on the opposite side of the pool creeping! At least she had a good dive!
We introduced her to a fair and rodeo too. Rodeo's are a little crazy and silly when you think about them...It is a different sort of talent that was tricky to explain the "why" behind the sport.
After hanging out for a week or so there, I headed home to my poor lonely husband. David came to Washington for the wedding for a week, but I was in Washington for over a month, so he sort of missed his girls! When I got home, he did mention I looked a little rounder and bigger, which I was not offended by entirely because I was 35 weeks pregnant and he hadn't seen my belly in three weeks. But I told him he was lucky I was pregnant for such a comment! He is always so so so honest...which is great and not so great sometimes :)
So I was home and we were having withdrawals from having people to entertain us and to share the cooking and cleaning duties. Then three weeks later, Julia "stopped by" on her way back to Germany ...for a week! Yay!
We showed her Baltimore and David played tennis with her. We played some Settler's and Ticket to Ride and we made sure that David or I would win JUST before Julia could win because she doesn't like to win...right Julia?! It didn't drive her crazy or anything :)
We spent a day checking out Lancaster, PA and an Amish house and farm. We checked in on the bonnets and realized that they are not meant for us still!
We learned about the Amish families and culture and were fascinated with how many ties they have to Germany in their history. That made it more interesting for Julia and I.
I wanted to take her there because when she first heard that she was being placed in a Mormon home for her foreign exchange program, 7 years ago, her family joked that she wasn't going to have electricity and would have to ride around in a horse and buggy, thinking that the Mormon's lived that way. She was a little nervous but soon found out that it was Amish, not Mormon's and she fit right in with us!
She didn't want me to do much so that I wouldn't have the baby while David was out of town and would grab bags, Katelyn, or take over any task that looked semi-intense. It is always a funny thing when you are pregnant, because all the help is nice, but it is almost all do-able while pregnant, but sometimes I just had to let people be nice. Julia was extra cautious and I had to tell her "no" sometimes...except when she started doing the dishes! She is one of those people that cleans everything up right after the mess is made and it was so nice! I love having things cleaned, but I usually do the bare minimum and get the spoil-able food put away and save the rest for when I feel like it. Having her keep up with the dishes each meal was wonderful! I never said no to that!
It was great to just sit around and chat for hours and get entirely caught up with her life and have some good debates, with David of course, on education and health issues. I am excited for her and all that she does and it is fun to keep in touch with her...which reminds me that we are due for a skype session! Katelyn loved having her around too and she was willing to do whatever Katelyn wanted, probably because Julia stole her bed :)
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