We usually visit North America in the summer, but because this year's trip was a bit earlier due to my sister-in-law's wedding, Arden and I got to witness Michigan in all its springtime glory. While the weather wasn't consistently pleasant, we saw some beautiful spring colours and enjoyed a few warm days in the Midwestern sunshine.
When I visited Grand Rapids in 2015 during my pregnancy with Arden, I got to attend a Grand Rapids Symphony performance at DeVos Hall, blissfully imagining the day when I'd be able to bring our cute little offspring to one of my mom's performances. And this year, I kind of got to do just that.
toddler choral conducting lesson #1
Our May visit wasn't the most convenient timing for my mother's performance/world tour schedule (right before our visit she was in NYC for a performance at Carnegie Hall; during our visit she had three performances over two weekends; a few days after our visit, she was off to Ireland for a choir tour), but it meant that Arden got to attend various choral rehearsals and concerts, watching her Ahma hard at work. She's a well-behaved toddler, but I didn't know what to expect when we brought her to see the Calvin Capella rehearse and later perform - but she did really really well! She didn't make a peep, watched intently and sat extremely still during the program which included Monteverdi motets, Ola Gjeilo's Dark Night of the Soul and one of my favourite pieces, Sing Me to Heaven by Daniel Gawthrop.
at the Capella concert
Arden did so well during the Capella concert that we brought her to hear the Grand Rapids Symphony Youth Choruses (one of which I was a member of, a few... decades ago? oh dear) the very next day. Again, Arden was very quiet and well-behaved, tapping her foot during a more upbeat piece and gently swaying during a melancholy song.
We were also in town for the Grand Rapids Symphony's performance of Beethoven's 9th, which I got to attend (alone) - although we brought Arden to the dress rehearsal, where she relished the new experience of being in a huge concert hall, her first exposure to a full orchestra with chorus. Even though it was a rehearsal, she was on her best behaviour, even whispering to me when she wanted to take her jacket off. And I didn't even know she was capable of whispering.
I got to run my first Michigan road race, the River Bank Run (the main event is a 25k, which I didn't care to train for - but they also hold 10k and 5k events, the latter of which I decided to enter). I didn't run quite as fast as I had hoped (I had trained in Melbourne the month prior, but didn't have much time to run during our entire Washington visit), but my main goal was just to experience a race in Grand Rapids, and that I did.
My family took us to the usual Grand Rapids attractions: the John Ball Zoo, Meijer Gardens, Meijer (totally not the same as the gardens - if you know, you know), GR Children's Museum, various libraries, parks and bookstores.
family sandbox time at the Children's museum
children's area at Meijer Gardens
Japanese gardens
Calder plaza
Arden loved being at my family's house as well, with two flights of stairs to climb up and down, lots of bedrooms to hang out in, and of course her Uncle Gabe's basement filled with toys, books, video games and a giant train table (that my dad had graciously lowered just for her!). She pounded on the grand piano, enjoyed turning light switches on and off, and I even took out my collection of old Playmobil toys for her to scatter around the house.
I got to see a few local friends as well (apologies to everyone I didn't get to see during this trip!), and it was fun to catch up and enjoy some of Beer City USA's finest offerings.
I'm always anxious about flying alone with Arden, but this year's plane rides (both domestic and international) went much MUCH better than last year's travel experiences. Even though Arden got sick during our last few days in Michigan and threw up at LAX, the 16-hour flight back to Melbourne was actually not too terrible. The biggest difference between flying with a 1.5 year old and a 2.5 year old is that the latter is more easily entertained by things like movies and television shows and sticker books and M&M's, while the former prefers screaming her lungs out for seven hours straight because she's overtired. You know, little differences. Oh, and because she no longer flies for free, she gets her own seat - and the extra room makes a big difference. Even if she still prefers sitting on laps.
And as usual, my mom insisted on flying with us from Grand Rapids to LA so I wouldn't have to make the entire international journey home alone (and so she could have some extra cuddle time with Arden!). Hopefully international travel (and travel in general) with Arden just gets easier and easier every year. So far, Arden has been on... 28 separate airplanes, in 2.5 years. She'll be a pro wanderluster by the age of 5.
Arden and I had a wonderful time in Grand Rapids this year. Thanks to our family and friends for a great visit!
During last year's Washington visit, it was the trees that spoke deeply to me. This year it was the mountains - another thing we miss about our corner of the world. And since it was our first visit to the PNW during the Spring in a few years, the crisp and defined peaks really stood out to us (during the few clear weather days, of course).
the view from Greenbank Farms
It was a great trip home this year. As Ben mentioned in his reflective blog post, visiting during a special event (Saralyn and Ryan's wedding) meant that scheduling was a lot more convenient on our end, as we didn't have to coordinate separate visits with extended members of the family. We saw almost everyone we wanted to see at least once, and all we had to do was show up to events! Along with the wedding ceremony, we were also in town for Saralyn's bridal shower and bachelorette party, the rehearsal dinner with Ryan's family, and our nephew Amare's 8th birthday party. We also threw Arden a half-birthday brunch the day after the wedding, as she doesn't usually get to celebrate her actual October birthday with extended family.
Amare's birthday party
dinner after a swim at the club
This year we held two friend-gathering events, which meant our local friends had a few options to catch us during our quick visit. We also made a few individual visits, including a meetup with my Canadian cousin Evett and her family at the Skagit Tulip Festival. It was fun to catch up with everyone and watch our kids grow, some of whom hadn't even existed during our visit last year.
our final friends-night
Arden and her cousin Hunter
my sisters-in-law at the bachelorette party
meeting my cousin Evett at the tulip festival
it was fun catching up with Kara in person, for once!
visiting the Broekuis family, who seem to have a new child every time we see them :)
Personally, I had a really wonderful visit. This was the most relaxing trip to Washington for me since before Arden was born, as I am no longer nursing and was able to spend larger stretches of time away from her, including an overnight trip during Saralyn's bridal shower/bachelorette party weekend. It was fun being home for a big event, as there was an overall air of excitement and celebration, and an excuse for things like a mani-pedi afternoon with my mother/sisters-in-law.
mani-pedi day!
Arden visited the castle playgroup multiple times
I also stepped up my videography game this year, filming footage for a "vlog" (which was so long I had to split it into two parts), one of my usual vacation highlight videos, and a wedding video which Saralyn had asked for as a wedding present. I had spent the prior two months researching amateur wedding videography, and I think the final result was pretty decent for my first ever wedding video. While I still don't have the fanciest video equipment in the world, I had recently upgraded my camera and was very pleased with the overall footage and new capabilities, like a better zoom and more visible night shots.
Thanks to our family and friends for hosting us and making time to see us! We had a wonderful trip this year, and can't wait to visit again in the near future.
Ever since we moved to Australia I've managed to make a trip back to see family once a year, and we typically plan our trips for mid to late summer to escape the cold in Melbourne and soak up the sun in Washington. This year we had the opportunity to come earlier for Saralyn & Ryan's wedding, and it was fun to visit during a different season (even if we missed the warm sunshine of the summer months). We were able to visit the tulips and celebrate Arden's dutch heritage, see the changing weather on our various ferry voyages, and most importantly be a part of all of Saralyn & Ryan's wedding festivities.
our welcome crew at the airport!
at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
with Dad and Sarri at the tulips
Saralyn and Ryan's rehearsal dinner
Amare's birthday party
Arden's half-birthday brunch
The wedding was such a fun experience. It's always special seeing your sister get married, and I'm so thankful we could make the trip back and be involved. We decided to stay 2 nights at the Inn where they got married, and I'm so glad we did. It gave us a space to escape when we needed to give Arden a nap, gave us a place to put all our stuff and get all dressed up, and also meant that when the wedding was done we could just walk upstairs and go to sleep. I loved seeing Arden dancing with Saralyn, helping Amare get dressed in his tux, and just generally hamming it up with everyone. She did so well all weekend, and it allowed me to really enjoy and be present in the moment.
a wedding video by Candice
Arden loved dancing with her Auntie Saralyn!
(photo by Nicole Michael photography)
This visit was especially nice for us as there were already a lot of family gatherings planned around the wedding, so it allowed us to see all the family multiple times throughout our trip. It was also the first trip where we felt like we were able to have some relaxing down time, and a lot of that was because of having events already planned and not having to do all the planning ourselves. A big thanks to Mom for watching Arden and Amare so Candice and I could go see Avengers on opening weekend!
having dinner with Randall and Liz
catching up with some old friends and new babies!
One of my favourite moments of the trip was getting to spend some one-on-one time with Saralyn. It might have been the first opportunity we've had to do that since I moved away, and it was something I've really been missing. We went for a great little hike up near Deception Pass, and were able to talk about life and really connect without the (wonderful) distractions that kids bring. We've always been close and used to spend a lot of time together when we were younger, so it was really special to be able to share that time with her this trip.
hiking with Saralyn
recreating an amazing old childhood photo...
I think Candice has talked about this in a previous blog, but it is really striking the difference between the trees and nature in western Washington compared with the parts of Australia we have visited. In Washington the trees are so tall, dense and there is an ancient feeling to them, and there's just something that feels right about seeing snow-capped mountains on the horizon. Don't get me wrong, Australia is beautiful and has some incredible landscapes, I guess it's just that Washington is where I grew up and the landscapes there are comforting in a way I didn't really realise until we moved away. Besides family and friends, the mountains and the trees are what I miss the most.
As Arden gets older, the visits with family become more and more rewarding. This trip she was genuinely excited to see and spend time with family, and it was so nice for us to not have to worry about her bursting into tears every time someone else tried to hold her. From tea time and playing cars with Mimi, to dancing and being silly with Grandad, and story time and hugs with her cousins, Arden seemed to be in her element and truly enjoying every experience.
hanging out with some of my cousins and their kids
Amare is always wonderful with Arden.
visiting Grandma Sally's resting place
I'm so thankful for all the wonderful memories and for the effort that everyone put in to spending time with us during the trip. Thank you to all our family and friends for making this such a memorable and enjoyable trip!
