dripping with passion

we returned to london last night after two and a half weeks in the usa visiting family. it was a wild wonderful whirlwind trip that included lots of spectacular highs along with a few not-so-fun lows. we were able to see nearly every family member on both sides (we sadly missed one of ian’s brothers and his family, and an eyre niece and nephew) and to enjoy some of our favourite places and american stuffs. the first half of our trip was a lot of city hopping – we flew into new york city and then took a train to baltimore, then hopped on a plane to dallas, celebrated moses’s first birthday at grandma and grandpa’s house (another post coming all about that special day!), then flew to salt lake city and drove down to provo to visit ian’s grandparents and spend a night with his two sisters and their husbands. phew! after that we had one short day in slc seeing friends (moses and me) and working (ian) before heading up to bear lake (where we spent the second half of our trip).   ^^ ...

  one. a belated happy fourth of july!! i absolutely love independence day. it’s a little different celebrating it in england … it’s the only day of the year when i feel truly homesick for america. ian had to go to work of course, but we still made the day special – with our stars and stripes outfits, shake shack for dinner, and even some mini sparklers before bedtime! moses and i also enjoyed a picnic in the park with american friends and some classic american food (chocolate chip cookies, pigs in a blanket, oreos, pretzels, etc). we are really grateful for the freedom and security we experience as americans. traveling and living abroad has decreased my nationalism and increased my patriotism, which i think is good.         two. speaking of the usa, we are headed there today ! in just a few hours we leave to fly across the ocean and i am so pumped ! our first stop is new york city. we are just sleeping over there and then hopping on a train tomorrow mo...

last saturday we celebrated moses’s upcoming first birthday with a crowd of our awesome londoner friends! we gathered in a park near our flat (the same place we had our gender reveal party last february !) and ate ice cream cones, cheered kids on as they whacked open a piñata, chatted, laughed, and partied hard. it was a pretty epic afternoon full of friends and festivity. we will be in texas (at grandma and grandpa’s house!) on moses’s actual birthday this coming sunday, so it was really great to gather with a big bunch of our london friends and celebrate together. ian and i (and moses!) are so grateful for all the wonderful people in our life here in this city (including those who couldn’t come to the party or didn’t make it into the photo above!). we are sure lucky to have a lot of amazing examples and growing friendships in work, church, and life. and little mo is lucky to have loads of pals and admirers :)    ^^ moses wasn’t entirely sure what was goi...