Summer Start: 2014 Edition

We did it!  We survived another school year.  The last 1 1/2 months were hard and long, but we made it.  

LBean finished year 3 (2nd grade for those in the US).

LBean's First day of Year 3, Fall 2014

Last day of Year 3!

First Day of Pre-K last fall.

Last Day of Pre-K, June 2014

EBean finished K1 (or pre-kindergarten).  She will join her big sister at Dulwich College next year as a year 1 student.

LBean finished school almost 2 weeks ago on a Friday and we flew to the US the very next day.  The flight was long, but good.  We were delayed leaving Shanghai.  A United flight attendant shared with me on my last trip to the US that China gives preference to Chinese airlines for take off, so now we have an explanation for why we always sit on the tarmac for 45-60 minutes before take off.  We landed in Chicago during a summer thunderstorm and then had to wait on the tarmac for 40 minutes until the lighting was 20 miles away (so the grounds workers could direct us to the gate).

We spent our first night in a hotel where we "napped" from midnight until 3:30 am (ugh, I hate jet lag).  LBean asked about breakfast around 4am and I had to break the news to her that food would not be served for another 2 hours.

At this point in the morning we had been up for 4 hours (sigh).

 The girls vetoed this idea for breakfast...

 Instead they chose this...

After breakfast we loaded up the minivan and started south.  The girls were teasing Jamie and calling him by our Chinese driver's name.  We arrived in Washington too late to attend our home church's first service, but the extra time allowed us a chance to grab some tasty donuts and drive by our house "lot".  If I try to say, "Let's drive by the house" it just gets caught in my throat, so it's just easier to say let's drive by the lot.  It was the first time the girls had seen what is now just a big mud pile.  We ate our donuts in the driveway and I am looking forward to how different our view will be a year from now.

Future home of the McClintock family!

Haircuts with cousin Ali!

The remainder of our first week was spent trying to enjoy all the sweetness that summer can offer.  Lots of time outside in the grass, playing in the flowers and swinging on the tire swing.  Yummy food (hello molcajete bowl, hot dogs and ice-cream), summer reading program at the local library (where I worked in high school), a trip to Target and lots of time with the family & friends.

That's a long row of swinging girls, my
three girls plus a college friend's three girls.

EBean is preparing for her third (and hopefully final) open heart surgery.  This week we met with her amazing cardiologist and, as I type this, she is having a diagnostic cardiac catheterization.  If all goes well, she'll come home tonight.  The current plan is that her surgery will be next Tuesday morning.  

Waiting for our appointment
with the cardiologist.

Blurry picture, but rousing rendition of
"Let It Go".

More summertime goodness.  Frozen yogurt this time!

Classic American moment...drove the SUV to Lowe's
on a Saturday afternoon.

In between appointments and procedures, Jamie and I have been trying to take advantage of being in the same time zone as our house contractor. We're trying to finalize our floor plan and we've begun the monumental task of choosing flooring, cabinets, counter tops, etc.  Too many choices!  Plans for the house keep us from dwelling on ChinaBean's surgery and the surgery keeps up from obsessing about the house, but I don't really recommend people willingly choosing to do both!