Jolly Pumpkin Brewery, Tahquamenon Falls, and a Party for Baby Molly!

And, it is FINALLY HERE, the long awaited and much deserved SUMMER BREAK! Right now, James, MJ, and I are sitting in the living room of our Log Lake rental cottage in Michigan. James and I are sipping some coffee as MJ takes a little snooze. Maybe, we will go for a walk around the lake when she wakes up. Ah...the freedom and lightness of summer :)

Last day of school!

We have been on summer vacation for a little over a week now, and it has been absolutely wonderful! Our last day of school was on June 19, and we were picked up for the airport just a couple of hours later. Our first flight was to Frankfurt, Germany, and it was 6 hours long. Our second flight was to Chicago, and that flight was 9 hours long. And our last flight was to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and that flight was about an hour long. 3 flights in total. We were all in and out of sleep for most of the flights, which worked out nicely. MJ got just a bit fussy at the end of our 9-hour flight, but I think we were all a little fussy by that point ;) It was a long way home, but well worth the trip, and we are SO happy to be in the U.S. for the next couple of weeks.

On our flight to Germany

In my baby bassinet

Snoozin' on our flight

Still snoozin'

On our flight to Chicago

Very happy our flight is almost over!

We started our summer vacation with a night in Grand Rapids where we met up with James' brother, Troy. And the next day, we got our rental car and drove to Kalkaska, Michigan (where most of James' family lives) where we rented a house near Log Lake. We have already done a lot of fun things here in Michigan. We started it off with a Father's Day breakfast at "Brew" in Traverse City. We got to order coffee and beer as part of our breakfast! And we have done a ton of hanging out with our Michigan family - shopping, lunches out, family dinners, and more!

At the Log Lake cottage

Looking pretty!

Playing in our jammies

The Rampley/Wilson family

Cousins - Molly & Cheyenne!

Uncle Thomas with the girls

Log Lake cottage

Smiley baby

Beer tasting :)

There have been 3 highlights of our trip so far. The first highlight was going to the Jolly Pumpkin brewery in Traverse City for dinner. Pumpkin beer is my favorite, and although, that kind of beer is not in season right now, so they didn't have it on tap, we were able to buy a bottle of it! The brewery and restaurant is in this old haunted mansion type looking house. The atmosphere was fitting, the dinner was good, and the beer was even better!

The second highlight was making the drive to Tahquamenon Falls State Park in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We visited the Lower Falls and then the Upper Falls, and there were nature walking trails all along the river there. The Upper Falls is one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River and was a stunning sight to see. After hiking around the Upper Falls, there just so happened to be a brewery and restaurant in the State Park, so that was a bit of a treat at the end of our long journey!

At the Lower Falls

Also at the Lower Falls

The Upper Falls

More of the Upper Falls

Heading back down the trail

Looking up at the beautiful trees

Back at the Upper Falls

Molly and Mama

The Upper Falls again

At the Shipwreck Museum

Outside the museum on Lake Superior

Family picture!

And our third highlight so far was a family party for Baby Molly! With the help of James' Mom and Dad, we were able to organize a BBQ and party for family and close friends to meet Molly. James was on the grill, and MJ was passed around to all of our family and friends that wanted to hold her :) It was so nice to see and spend time with some family and friends that we had not seen in a while. Thank you to all who were able to make it out for the party!

At the party!

Log Lake

Molly & Great Grandma :)

We are in Michigan until July 2 when we leave to drive to the Jersey shore! Michigan has treated us well so far, and we still have a couple more days here. We have a shore house rented in Sea Isle City on 38th street from July 4 until July 25, and then, we will be staying with my Mom and Dad at Bayberry Cove for about 2 more weeks. We head back to Saudi Arabia on August 9, but I don't want to think about that just yet!

We are so happy to be home, and we are hoping to spend time with all of our family and friends while we are here. It will be a busy next couple of weeks, but don't hesitate to reach out to us! We LOVE and have missed you all, and we can't wait to see the rest of you so soon! XO

Stay stoked.

A Special First, Getting Hot, and Summer Vacation

Feeling very thankful. It is 8 am here in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and it is already a balmy 91 degrees. I took my one and only personal day for the year today - if you don't use it, you lose it - and just got back from a long walk with Molly Joan. She fell asleep in the stroller early in the walk and is still sleeping, so I get a minute to myself here. It was a great month, and we have so much to be stoked about especially now that summer is on the horizon ;)

This was quite a special month for me because it was my first Mother's Day! James and MJ got me a beautiful card and some gifts and treated me extra special all day. Then, we got take-out from one of my favorite restaurants here, Fire Grill. We spent the night as a family at home eating yummy food.

Happy (and tired) on my first Mother's Day

Shortly after Mother's Day was James' birthday on May 19. We celebrated this occasion at home as a family as well with a card, some gifts, take-out dinner (going out to eat is just too much for us during the work week!), and strawberry cupcakes. MJ helped Daddy blow out the candles!

Happy birthday, Daddy!

Helping Daddy blow out the candles

And Molly is over 4 months old now! I am counting the weeks, not the actually day (like the 1st). As of today, she is exactly 4 months and 1 week old. We cannot believe it! She is smiling more than ever, and we have actually heard her laugh a couple of times. She is starting to be able to use her hands, and she can even hold some toys (usually only for a few seconds). We are enjoying her more and more each day! Here are some pics from this month.

Practicing my smile :)

Cuddling with my blankie

Playing with my ladybug

Daycare with Byron

Daycare with Byron - take 2!

Happy baby!

Sleepy baby!

Falling asleep on Mommy

And it is getting hot here! So MJ has been at the compound pool every weekend lately. So far, she likes it. She is not a huge fan of hats or sunglasses, so we try to keep her in the shade as much as possible.

At the pool

Family time!

Pool with Daddy

At last, but certainly not least, summer vacation is around the corner! We have exactly 14 days of school left, and we CANNOT wait to get home and introduce MJ to all of our family and friends. Our last day of school is June 18, and we will be on a plane on Friday, June 19 at 1 am to head home. We have a few short layovers (Germany and Chicago) before we arrive in Michigan late on June 19, and we plan to be there until July 2. We will drive to Philly on July 2 and be there and Sea Isle City, NJ for the rest of the summer. I have been thinking about and writing about the summer for at least 3 months, and now it really is almost here! We love you all and miss you dearly and cannot wait to see you so soon <3

Stay stoked.

A Saudi Sandstorm, End of Mat Leave, and MJ's First Passport Stamp

It's finally the weekend after a 3-day work week, and we are just catching up on some family time and relaxing. So, here is this month's blog post :)

In the very beginning of this month, we had a really bad sandstorm, and school was cancelled because of it. I was still on maternity leave, but James got to stay home with us for the day!

Saudi sandstorm!

Chillin at home with my Mommy

At the compound pool

Getting better at smiling but still hardly any hair ;)

Mommy time!

The social committee at our school put on some Easter events. The whole family participated in the 2.5/5K Spring Fling run, and Molly Joan finished her very first race (in the stroller, of course!). Shortly after the run, we went to the Easter egg hunt, and after that, there was a delicious Easter brunch picnic.

Molly Joan's Easter outfit

All done my first race!

Somebody ate too much Easter candy!

Something else that happened this month that I am super stoked about is that my sister, Amanda, got engaged!!! It was such a surprise and an adorable engagement story. Ask her for the details <3 We are really looking forward to that wedding!

So sad but true, my maternity leave ended this month. After 10 weeks of spending all of my time with Molly Joan, we both went back to "work." At exactly 10 weeks old, Molly Joan went to "school" (daycare). The daycare is right on our school campus, and so far, she has participated in a fire drill and a lock-down drill, and she got her first yearbook picture! We are very fortunate that she is so close to us during the day when we have to work. She seems to really enjoy the daycare!

Getting ready for school with Daddy!

The many faces of Molly Joan :)

1st yearbook photo

We had a 4-day weekend this month, and we went to Bahrain. It was Molly Joan's first international trip and first passport stamp. She is quite the little traveler. Hopefully, our trip home this summer will go just as smoothly ;)

My first passport stamp :)

Baby blanket - Molly in both Arabic & English

Hanging out in Bahrain

We have exactly 7 more weeks of school left and a corn hole tournament to attend this afternoon. Molly Joan, and her BFF, Byron (born 8 days apart), are going to be the corn hole judges :) We think about the summer everyday, and we can't wait to see our families in Michigan and Philly. We love you guys, and we miss you so, so much!

Stay stoked.