Visit to the States

For the past 16 days, I have been in the States. I had to attend an event in Phoenix, Arizona, for my masters program, but I managed to tack on visits with family and friends before (and after) my week in Phoenix.

My first stop was Springfield, where my siblings and I threw a surprise, joint 60th birthday party for the 'rents. Actually, the first part of the surprise was that Angela (San Francisco) and Andrew (Chicago) flew in for the weekend to join Emily, my parents, and me. Immediately following their surprise arrival, we whisked my parents off to their 60th birthday party. The whole ordeal was a huge success, and it felt so great to have the whole family together. I only wish that Michael could have been there to celebrate with us!

Family photo: we couldn't send the "bring a black shirt and jeans" memo to my parents cause it was a surprise. Honestly, who doesn't own a black shirt??!??

The Walker Quadruplets.

After spending four days in Springfield, I traveled back up to St. Louis for a few days with Michael's family. I got to see my beautiful nieces and their parents, Michael's mom, and Michael's grandparents: Ma and Gramps and June. I also got to spend some time with my very good friends, Pete and Trish. Unfortunately, I didn't capture much of this precious time digitally. (Carol, if you have more family pictures, can you send them my way so I can include them on the blog?)

Me and my "new" niece Sophie.

Me and Ma.

After my family time in Missouri, I traveled to Phoenix to participate in a residential colloquium for my Master's in School Counseling. This was an AMAZING experience, and I met many, many wonderful people.

My "Capella Family"

That pretty much sums up my time in the States. As I write, I am waiting at Angela's place to be picked up by the San Francisco Super Shuttle. I have a direct flight from San Fran to Shanghai, and in about 20 hours I will be 'home'. This time with family and friends has been great, but I am very excited to get back to my wonderful husband and sweet baby (Bella). I am envisioning some intense snuggle sessions Saturday night and all day Sunday!