USA Holiday- 3 baby showers & a wedding!

Whoa, I’m still recovering 2 weeks after returning from a whirlwind trip back to the USA. But who am I kidding, every trip home to the states is a whirlwind for us- no matter how much, or little, time we spend there due to the nature of the beast…that is trying to see family, friends, and work colleagues spanning 5 states across the country.

Like the last time we went home, this one was due to a wedding of a childhood friend although this time from David’s side (Last time we went home was for my friend Anne’s wedding- you can read about that one here). It was such an honor that Brian asked David to be a groomsman and luckily since I would still be in my 2nd trimester and able to travel, we really couldn’t say no, on top of the fact that Brian is such a great friend and important person to us both! Anyway, like before, we tried to squeeze as much out of this short 2 week trip that we could, saving up the majority of David’s vacation time for taking our baby home next fall to meet her extended family & friends.

So here’s the rundown of how it all went down: We started in Indianapolis, IN for 4 days- both for a baby shower that my friend Kirsten was throwing me, as well as a 2 day work meeting David had at work headquarters. Then we jetted off to Phoenix, AZ for 6 days- there was to be another baby shower that my sister Genea was throwing me and family to visit with. After this we flew off to Orange County, CA where we drove down to Carlsbad for 3 days (north San Diego county) for a baby shower my friend Anne was throwing me & then drove back up to Orange County for 3 days in order to join in on all the wedding weekend festivities. Holy moly, I mean seriously I need to take a nap after writing all this out- what a fun-filled & exhausting trip!

Funnily enough, I had been telling everyone I was to see about how active our little peanut has been inside my belly & was excited for them all to feel her move….but wouldn’t you know it- she was as quiet as a church mouse the whole 2 weeks we were there, and then as soon as we arrived back home in KL- she was back at it again kicking up a storm day & night keeping me up. She’s gonna be a handful & most likely will have a stubborn streak just like her mom & dad- gotta love her spunk (please remind me I said this when she’s driving me to the breaking point!).

Anyway, I want to share with you some highlights of each stop & share some pics of the fabulous baby showers that were thrown in our baby girl’s honor (apologies in advance if you were in on the festivities and not in the following pics- I couldn’t keep up on all the pics, but I do love & appreciate you all dearly!)

Indianapolis- our home away from home. We lived there for 2 years before our jump to KL and in such a short span of time, have made lifelong friends. I’ve written about “Indy” before and you can read about that here. This time David and I chatted the whole flight home about the “good eats” we wanted to hit up while in the friendly midwest. Our first stop always has been, and always will be, The Frontera Grill in Chicago O’Hare’s Intl Airport. Have you ever heard of chef Rick Bayless? He’s only the most amazing chef of mexican cuisine ever. Funnily enough, he’s this total white jewish guy from the states but man he has learned some insane skills on cooking authentic mexican cuisine!! He’s got 3 restaurants in the Chicago area, plus this off-shoot in the airport, which, crazy as it sounds for being in an airport, tastes just as it should from one of his restaurants! Anyway, we gorged on some Mexican Tortas before hopping on our quick 45 min flight down to Indy & thus, the madness began. The following day was our great friend Drew’s birthday so we did what any beer loving group of friends would do- we went on a microbrew crawl in the famed Broad Ripple area of Indy, which is a fun artsy neighborhood with what is becoming a mecca of microbrew stops as well. What a fun day of american pub food & micro beer (well, not for me, but they all enjoyed it!). Later that evening we dined with some other awesome friends at another favorite spot- Divvy in Carmel. Great american style tapas meal….and couple that with 2 pregnant friends due 2 months apart and you get a feast! :):)

Sunday was the shower that my dearest friend Kirsten threw me. The 7 inches of snowfall did not hamper the mood, and the food was divine. Knowing how much I love & miss mexican food, Kirsten threw me a mexican themed baby shower, complete with the cutest little taco cupcakes you have ever seen, thanks to Pinterest! She had awesome advice cards for the mom-to-be that are so helpful! My other friend Liz brought a ridiculous homemade chocolate cheesecake that was out of this world!! What a perfect afternoon with the gals from my book club as well as my other Indy pals! I feel so blessed & was showered with a ton of love.

Monday & Tuesday were filled with more food indulgences & meeting up with friends from around town, including Matt the Miller’s Tavern and The Brockway Public House as well as tons of shopping- for both maternity wear and baby gear! A quick but perfect trip :-).

Wednesday we jetted off for our 2nd destination of Phoenix, AZ. My husband grew up in Tempe (a suburb of Phoenix) and went to undergrad at ASU and graduate school at Thunderbird so between his history there and his parents still residing there, along with the transplants from Seattle from my family of my brother Lance and sister Genea, we always have a packed schedule on our trips out! Luckily, my parents also made the effort to come celebrate with us in Phoenix so it truly was a family affair.

Since you can’t go to Phoenix in the springtime without hitting up a spring training game, our first activity was to see the final Seattle Mariners game against the Chicago Cubs at the Cubs spring training fields in Mesa. What a blast! Absolutely perfect weather, great ballpark eats (read: junk food galore!) and the M’s win it!! For dinner after we headed to a favorite spot of mine- Oregano’s! Phenomenal italian cuisine in the SW corner of the states. Love.  Of course lets not forget about the multiple trips we also took to David’s favorite Mexican joint- Somburros, home of some seriously authentic & delicious mexican food, cheap! There were BBQ’s at David’s parent’s house, my brother’s house, and my sister’s house & we ate our way through the trip for sure! It was also Easter weekend so it was so awesome to be with our families during that time & to celebrate our Lord & Savior on Sunday. We shopped till we dropped multiple days and since the greater Phoenix area is known for its vast shopping malls, I was NOT disappointed in the least :)!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday my sister threw me a perfect baby shower for family & close friends in the Phoenix area, complete with a BBQ to include the guys after their round of golf!  She really outdid herself. She had the best finger foods, including her famous green chili queso dip and bought the cutest & most delicious cupcakes ever!! For the BBQ, my parents grilled up some awesome BBQ chicken, potato salad, and all the fixings for an American style BBQ.

Genea also had a station for the ladies to fill out advice for the mom-to-be cards as well as a homemade scrapbook for people to fill in- so sweet. The shower games were hilarious and everyone joined in on the fun- measuring my belly, charades, scrambled words, and even a fun beer drinking from a bottle trick for the guys- haha. Luckily, the dad-to-be won! Woohoo 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday we packed up once again to head to our final state, California. Here we would split our time between Orange County (wedding fun) and North San Diego County (baby shower).

No trip to SoCal would be complete without multiple Mexican meals, pizza, and walks on the beach. Luckily, the trip did not disappoint. We started out with a walk/run down in Cardiff with my dear friend Lori, and it was so great to catch up and have that 1-on-1 time with her…and of course ending with a trip to Starbucks for iced coffees & treats :). For dinner we met with my oldest & dearest friend Anne and her husband Sean, whom I have known since grade school, for some good ol’ fashion mexican grub at Carlsbad‘s Las Olas: my old stomping ground and favorite mexican restaurant of all time- best char-grilled fish burritos on the planet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another day brought another walk on the beach, this time with Anne and then in the afternoon she threw me a fabulous baby shower for my old pals in San Diego. We had a great turnout of lovely women and I couldn’t be more blessed, once again! Anne has turned into quite the Martha Stewart and made some great homemade shower treats including ridiculous scones and chocolate peanut butter bars. She also made, from scratch, lavender bath salts for the ladies to take away! The games were a hit and the gifts oh so generous. What a perfect afternoon! That night we met up with the guys at the place where David and I had our first date- Pizza Port: home of delicious pizza and in-house microbrews! Perfection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday my brother Seth & his family came down from Seattle and we were able to spend the day with them before heading up to OC. For breakfast we met at the best (not so) kept secret in Carlsbad- The Naked Cafe. Delicious & healthy (with not so healthy choices) California fusion cuisine. Afterward some shopping for us all, the afternoon at the beach playing in the freezing waves (for my nieces) and dinner once again at Las Olas- heavenly day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday we packed up and headed up to the OC for wedding weekend fun! We had a lunch & rehearsal in the afternoon, followed by a great “welcome” dinner. Great food & fun times with old childhood pals for David. Plus there were like 5 pregnant gals there so I fit in perfectly- LOL. Saturday I met up with Anne at the Shops at Mission Viejo for some last minute shopping (can you tell I have issues yet?!?!) while David had pre-wedding pictures with the guys. Then I jetted off to the wedding site to witness the most lovely, warm, and heartfelt ceremony ever. Simply stunning backdrop for a beautiful couple, inside & out (who, might I add, also met on EHarmony, as David and I did, at our encouragement!!!). They also had quite the perfect wedding party….I must say my hubby looked quite dashing that night and I was a lucky girl with a hot baby daddy date :). We dined and danced the night away in the most magical setting in the foothills of SoCal, complete with tigers in cages!! What?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday we were lucky enough to spend some daytime fun in San Clemente to meet up with my brother & his family again, as well as my cousin and his family- lunch at Avila’s El Ranchito on Del Mar street, an old favorite (David lived in San Clemente for a year when we dated), followed by more beach time, and Anne & Sean driving up for one last pizza and beer at the San Clemente Pizza Port- a perfect send off!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, our time came to a close in the USA and we once again packed up and to head back to Asia. This time we looked like a freak show….2 people, 6 humongous checked bags, and 3 carry on bags. What can I say, we scored big time on baby gear in the states and saved a ton of money by doing it this way! Fortunately, and due to David’s crazy traveling, we cashed in a chunk of miles to treat ourselves on our final solo transcontinental flight with International First Class all the way back home to KL. Oh yea…..no checked bag fees plus the most amazing experience to date on an airplane. Personalized services on ANA to Tokyo, complete with PJs, beds, and more. Then Thai Airways to Bangkok and KL on the new Airbus 380 where they served flipping Dom Perignon Champagne at take off- what?! I so wish I wasn’t pregnant for that treat :):). Anyway, to say we arrived home in comfort is the understatement of the year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, our fun-filled 15 days in the states was a whirlwind but as perfect as it could have been, given the circumstances of it all. We enjoyed seeing our families and friends so much….and the amazing blessing of having 3 baby showers thrown for our little girl was just too much. I’m one of those delayed reaction crybabies and I’ve since had my moments of emotion since being home. The 3 of us (David, me, baby girl) feel so much love and are just so grateful for the people in our lives who love us so much. Topping it all off was being a part of such a beautiful wedding celebration for Brian and Kristen.

Thank you all for everything, especially Kirsten, Genea, and Anne for throwing me such beautiful showers!!

See you next time as a legit “International Nabers” family of 3~

Kimbra