gabriella & jd (and alex! and vincent!)

mmm, cheese pictures We spent the past week catching up on more administrivia of moving back to the US.  In between, we managed to have many more good meals including Indian, Vietnamese, Thai, and authentic Cantonese.  We also went to Cheesetique in Del Ray, a fabulous cheese store that existed before we moved but we had never explored. Alex enjoyed the playground and has been learning sudoku from Grannie. Oh, and there was the task of registering Alex at Montgomery County Public Schools, which has an entire Department for children arriving from other countries.  Pretty impressive. Oh, and some breadbaking and wine and cheese at Carrie's.  We went to Wegman's which had an excellent selection of French wine and cheese.  JD made friends with the cheese expert, Alfred.

pictures Maisie's 5th Birthday party at Pump it Up.  Alex had a great time on the gigantic inflatables.  It was great to see everyone also.  Then we hit Famous Dave's for some BBQ.  mmmm.

Bonne Anniversaire à JD... pictures More fun at Grannie's.  Vincent likes Alex's toys including the guitar and water guns from Gretchen and Dennis.  He is also enjoying the shopping cart. The boxes arrived, and Alex dug out, among other things, his karate outfit. Hooray. more pictures Hanging with Heather on Sunday and Mondays.  She is staying with Pauline while she volunteers at the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary .  Lunch at some great places in Wheaton, MD - this time, it was Kantuta's Restaurant .  Yum.  Sushi dinner for JD's birthday at Niwano Hana and then a Carvel cake.  Oh, and the next day some Guapo's . We are still getting used to the size of the portions here, but love that there are doggie bags. Don't forget to check out the quick movies, including pool and bike riding - movies

pictures A great way to catch up with the entire Kurtz clan - get invited to their annual July and August Birthday bash held at Greg and Vicky's pool.

Dad and son pictures a few more We met Z and GG at Eastern Market to take advantage of the Saturday farmer's market. Then there was a delicious lunch at Pacifico Cantina to celebrate JD's upcoming birthday on July 19. Can you tell it was hot and very humid?

A Deitch and Two Veitches We were thrilled to see our friends from Paris, the Veitches (but pronouned VEETCH!) this afternoon. They are in the US for summer vacation and are staying with friends in DC. Abigail, Toby and Alex had a great time playing in Lincoln Park. Pictures more pictures Lunch at Eastern Market, Lincoln Park, quick trip to Columbia for JD to have a meeting, snacks in the parking lot and Wal-Mart.  Hitting all the hot spots!

We finally made it to the Cahoon's for a visit.  A great time and a cookout with burgers.  It was so nice to see our friends after so long, and catch up on things.  Check out how much Spencer, Mitchell and Natalie have grown! pictures more pictures

pictures Some fun in the basement and pool time! yard and pool Alex loves to ride his bike, and Vincent is enjoying the zoysia grass at Grannie's (and all the new clothes Toots gave him). Bistro du Coin and Titanic exhibit We met Z & GG and Aunt Shana in DC on the hottest day of the year ( 109 degrees ) for a great French meal at Bistrot du Coin .  Then we took Alex too see the Titanic exhibit at National Geographic, he is obsessed with the Titanic. Chuck E Cheese and yard and bath time

Quick visit to Toots and Poppie's to escape the power outage in Maryland.  Lots of good visiting and waffles and Lego-time and new sandals for Alex. pictures

standing 2012-06-27 last week spectacle and park Alex worked very hard on his spectacle, a modern dance presentation with his class.  We spent the last week packing, hoping we hit our weight limit to move back (1,000 lbs, and we were fine!), and saying goodbye to all our good friends and neighbors. Alex spectacle see video here Spectacle part 1 Spectacle part 2 Spectacle part 3 Spectacle part 4 2012-06-28 packing and leaving 2012-06-29 last day Saying goodbye to our friends and local vendors including Sushiland, the best sushi in Levallois, and the Anjou, the cafe under our windows. 2012-06-30 arriving US Arriving DC to 1.3 million people without power and 100 degrees.  Ugh.  Staying with Ilene who had power for four days.  Thanks to Carrie for all the food and diapers and bandaids and popcorn and dental floss we could not have made it without you. Vincent stands by himself!  Vincent's first pair of shoes (sandals).  p.s. Lincoln and Vincent have had the easiest adjustm

Hard to believe how big he's gotten. Remember the arrival photo ? It's hard to believe, but our time in France has come to an end. After three years and three months we are back. There is no other way to explain our experience save to say that it has been truly life-changing. Here are pictures from the final days. These are from JD's camera. Gabby's has even more. A bunch from the park Alex goes to the park with his friends almost every day after school. He runs for hours with these kids and has made some nice friends that we'll stay in touch with. Move in progress Some pictures of the apartment before and after the departure of the boxes. Departure Final pictures from the apartment and the airport.