For the past six years, we've avoided coming "home for the holidays" for many reasons. But this year was an exception, due to a few different factors such as Logan's age, and our willingness to use all of Ben's available vacation time on one super-long trip. We began our 6+ week holiday "holiday" with 20 days in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The American Midwest usually gets a good amount of snowfall during the winter, but it's not always guaranteed in December. We got lucky this year and witnessed a few decent snowfalls with just the right amount of snow - enough to form a small snowman and make the world look beautiful, but not enough to derail any travel plans. Arden loved venturing out into the winter wonderland, throwing snowballs and dusting off the bushes.
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| Arden's first snow. |
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| Winter Wonderland. I look like a marshmallow. |
Crazy facts: this was the first time Ben had seen my brother and dad since
Hawaii in 2016, when Arden was 8 months old. And the last time Ben visited Grand Rapids was in 2013, shortly after our wedding and right before our relocation to Australia. It was really nice having him around this trip to enjoy and experience some midwestern fun, especially now that we have two kids to fly with. (Also: people keep asking me how the flights were, and I usually respond with... they were successful, because we got to our destinations safely! That's all that matters, right?)
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| first long international flight with two kids! |
Even though we arrived on the evening of American Thanksgiving Day, we were in no condition to have a proper holiday meal right after our arrival. So prior to our visit, my mom loaded the fridge with some pre-made Thanksgiving food, and we enjoyed our holiday feast the following day. We also spent that evening putting up and decorating my family's Christmas tree, which the kids were pretty excited about.
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| a belated Thanksgiving dinner |
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| Thanksgiving foods are mushy and hearty - perfect for hungry babies! |
Ever since Arden was a baby, it's been a dream of mine to take her to Grand Rapids for winter holiday events - especially music concerts that I had participated in or attended as a young adult in Michigan. And this year was finally the year we got to do it!
The Grand Rapids Symphony Holiday Pops concert is a really fun event. People either dress in their festive best - or in their most hideous holiday sweaters - and the orchestra performs a mix of well-known seasonal classics, featuring a few guest stars (including Santa, in some form). This year my mom (who directs the Symphony Chorus) reserved some top-notch balcony seats for us, and both kids did really well throughout the concert. Baby Logan took a nap during part of it, and when he was awake he was mostly quiet - only humming contentedly during the quietest parts of "Silent Night," of course! During intermission, Arden went backstage with my mom to hand out M&M's to chorus members, a fun tradition that my brother Gabe usually helps out with every year. Arden sat quietly on my mom's lap for most of the performance, except when my mom went on stage to conduct the Hallelujah Chorus, which was a treat to watch.
The Festival of Lessons and Carols is a special church service featuring some of the choirs from Calvin
College University. I performed in this service back when I was an undergrad (over a decade ago... yikes), and I really wanted Ben to experience it with me. I hadn't really thought about taking Arden, but we asked her if she wanted to come and she did, and was thankfully on her very best behaviour (impressive, as it's a pretty long service and it's not really for kids). The festival, as well as going to my family's church services, was a wonderful way to experience the holiday season with classical, traditional music. I got to exercise muscles in my brain that have long been dormant - keeping track of which verses to sing in unison or harmony, trying to remember how to sight-read four-part harmony, singing lyrics packed with meaning and eloquence, hearing the choral descant soaring over the congregation during the final verse. (so, I may or may not have a few strong opinions about traditional vs. contemporary music in worship services... anyway.)
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| Arden taking notes during the Festival of Lessons and Carols. |
My mom also took Arden to see the Nutcracker ballet at the Symphony. Arden did very well, watching closely and quietly, and asking to go backstage during intermission to meet the orchestra and conductor (a friend/colleague of my mom's, of course). I love that Arden has been able to see so much of what happens behind the scenes, but I also know she'll be SO disappointed if we take her to an Australian symphony and she can't hang out backstage with the performers!
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| at a meet-and-greet at the Nutcracker |
Because we wanted to visit during all the wonderful holiday concerts, my mom had to host us during her busiest and craziest time of year (sorry Mom!) - but I love that the kids got to see her in her element, conducting and directing orchestras and choirs. They're so used to seeing her as playful and fun-loving "Ahma", and I thought it would be fun for them to see her as professional and artistic "Dr. Shangkuan".
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| Arden and Logan made a special appearance at Women's Chorale and Capella rehearsals! |
Because our Michigan visit didn't coincide with Christmas Day, we decided to have our own family Christmas morning near the end of the visit, opening a few presents and having a delicious lunch near Reed's Lake. We actually got a light dusting of snow that morning, a lovely coincidence. Later that day we visited the Frederick Meijer Gardens to see their Christmas tree/holiday traditions exhibit, then had a festive dinner at Olive Garden where Ben and I commended/criticised the enormous serving sizes. SO many carbs for a very thrifty price. Amazing.
As is tradition in our family, we had a small dedication service for Logan. It was a special and meaningful event, and as a bonus it was held at a small chapel in the same church we got married at (which ironically isn't actually a church my family attends!), and we had the same pastor who officiated our wedding as well. Logan was attentive, smiley and very present during the service, and didn't have a meltdown until the very end of our reception.
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| professional photoshoot by Arrae Photography (who also photographed our wedding!) |
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| a photo of the kids smiling together! a rare thing |
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| a meaningful and sweet little service |
My parents graciously watched the kids while Ben and I caught up with a few local friends, which is always fun - and a great opportunity to check out some of the breweries and less-child-friendly spots in the city. We also had some fun reunions: we got to see our friends Matt and Kathryn and their daughter Arlynn (who we
hosted in Melbourne back in January 2019!) and most of Matt's family whom I've known for a long time - such a great surprise! We also met up with my friends Lori and Abbie, who were my roommates during my epic time in Florida (and who are a big part of how Ben and I met in Seattle!).
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| The Kortlevers and Riemersmas |
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| A fun brewery tour with many Riemersmas! |
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| Florida roommate reunion! |
Frozen 2 came out this season, so we got to take Arden along with Gabe, who is a huge Disney fan. It was Arden's first full-length feature movie in a theater (we took her to see a short Paw Patrol movie a few months ago, mostly to prepare her for Frozen 2), and she did really well for such an intense movie (and kind of sad too... I may or may not have cried a bit). We also visited Gabe at Equest, a therapeutic horse riding center.
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| visiting Gabe at Equest |
We spent a long weekend in Chicago, where it was nice to walk around and explore. A few days before the trip, I remembered that American Girl Place is in Chicago, and brought out my old American Girl doll (which I received on my 10th birthday... how vintage!) so Arden could have a fun American Girl experience. But honestly, she wasn't that impressed. Maybe when she's a bit older?
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| Australian-American girls! |
As usual, our visit in Grand Rapids was a good balance of fun, engaging events and also some good quality relaxing time at home. My parents fully prepared the house for the kids, even buying some great second-hand items like an exersaucer toy gym for Logan, some Princess-themed furniture and a play kitchen for Arden. Along with Gabe's basement of books and toys and a huge train track table, the kids had no shortage of entertainment, especially with my parents playing with them and spending as much time with them as they could.
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| at the Grand Rapids museum |
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| I'm pretty sure I had my high school prom at the museum |
Overall, it was a wonderful and festive visit. It wasn't easy - Logan had a bit of jetlag at the beginning of the trip, and any travel with small children is challenging. But it was definitely worth it. Certain moments felt nostalgic, surreal and a bit emotional: watching Arden enjoy her first snowfall; holding Logan on my lap during the Symphony as they performed Mannheim Steamroller's "Silent Night" (which I played a few times in high school); bringing the kids to places and events that I frequented as a teen and young adult; and being with Ben in Michigan again.
I always appreciate my family's help and support during these long trips - and it's really nice how they seem to appreciate us being there too, and the opportunity to see the kids during their various unique stages. Despite the distance, Arden feels right at home with my parents and brother. Baby Logan actually lets other people hold him, so he was able to bond with my family a bit (on the other hand, baby Arden was so traumatized during her first visit to the States, that she burst into tears whenever anyone so much as smiled in her direction). I love how my parents relish the tiniest of details about their grandchildren, from the way Logan "dances" in his high chair and has a mini meltdown if you don't feed him fast enough, to Arden's dramatic sense of humor and unique fashion style.
The goodbyes at the end of this visit were very bittersweet, as we were off to see more family and friends in Washington. At this age, Arden has a much better understanding of saying goodbye (our last visit to the States was when she was 2.5 years old, and she hadn't fully grasped the concept just yet). "Angkong," she told my dad at our last dinner, "Tomorrow we're going to Mimi's house, but you're not coming. I'm going to miss you."
A huge thank you to my family in Grand Rapids for hosting and making our trip possible, to the friends we were able to catch up with (sorry to everyone we missed!), and to my family's friends and communities for showing us a great festive time. We'll be back soon!
CK
