This year we did something we’d been meaning to do for a while: on the way to New Mexico we stayed in Annapolis for a few days, where my cousin Desmond and his wife live.
Unfortunately Desmond was called away for work prior to our arrival, but we had a great time anyway. Irma is a great hostess (and an amazing cook — she made us Indonesian, Thai, and Japanese dishes, each one delicious) but she’s also just a lot of fun. It was great to have a chance to get to know her better. Our visit was made even better because Isabelle and Ellen had a great time playing together. Long after we left, Ellen kept asking when we were going back to Isabelle’s house.
Desmond and Irma live in Annapolis because it’s near to Washington DC, where Desmond works. So we naturally felt like we had to go into DC and see the sights. And so we did. But there is no way to compare what we saw with what we would have seen had we not had two hot and sticky kids with us. We managed to see the World War II memorial and get a glimpse of the White House, and then we were more than ready to call it a day.
So, after a few days on the East Coast, we were ready to take the relatively short flight (four hours) to New Mexico, where we spent the rest of the vacation. (Both flights went surprisingly well, but the flight to Albuquerque was harder despite being shorter, primarily because we had a bassinet and an entire row of four seats on the flight out of Copenhagen.)
This was, of course, the first time that my family saw June. And, just as it was with Ellen, I really enjoyed seeing them with her. In fact it’s strange to me, but I always thought it was sort of pathetic how normal, self-respecting adults turned to mush around a baby, but when it’s my kid, I expect exactly that — and luckily I was not disappointed.
But the admiration is very much mutual. Diego and Connie have raised great kids, and it’s satisfying to see them transforming from kids into adults. Arthur is a passionate and talented photographer (he took some of the images I’m using here, and I’m not prone to using photos other than my own.) Carly is a budding artist, and Celina — well it’s too soon to say — but she was particularly great with both June and Ellen.
But the big agenda item was getting June baptized. We had Ellen baptized in Copenhagen, but Lisbeth suggested we baptize June in New Mexico. So on our last Sunday there (June 10th) June was baptized in the same church I attended growing up, and that my parents and brother’s family attend to this day.
There’s a lot that can go wrong when you have a kid baptized (Carly’s baptism was by all accounts a disaster), but June’s went flawlessly. Afterwards we had a BBQ which was well attended and very pleasant (we counted at least fifty people in all.)
Before we knew it, it was time to head back. The return trip was smooth, despite the fact that we didn’t have the luxury of relaxing for days between flights. And our arrival back in Copenhagen was the best yet because Lisbeth’s parents stayed at our house for a few days in advance, and cleaned, mowed the lawn, and filled the refrigerator. Yep, can’t complain about family on either side.
Finally, congratulations to my sister-in-law Connie, who was honored in Business Weekly’s 40 Under Forty!
The pictures here, and many others, are here.
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