Jenny and Ava with the Florida cousins

We had a nice visit from Robin, Shannon, and Lauren this weekend.  Everyone came over for dinner on Friday night to celebrate Ben's birthday. And we had lunch and walked around Georgetown yesterday.  Lauren in particular loved seeing Jenny and Ava and couldn't get enough hugs in!  Here are two good photos I took on Friday night when we were having dinner on our back deck.

J.

Photos from the last few weeks

I just uploaded the photos on the camera because I had forgotten what new photos we had taken.  There was a good one of Jenny and Rachel before they went out to the Kennedy Center together.  There were also a few funny ones of Ava with yogurt all over her face.  She discovered yogurt when we were in China since all of the hotels had it for breakfast.  And she insists on feeding herself even if it means she gets it everywhere.  I think these are so funny.

J.

Final set of photos from China

Here's the final set of photos from China.  I won't try to name all of the places but I believe the top one of Jenny was at a Buddhist monastery in Hangzhou and the one of R and Ava with the umbrella was in Suzhou.  The last on was taken on our last day in Shanghai.

I'll write more later about the China trip but it really special not only for Jenny but for the whole family.  It was such an impressive place - large, with such a storied history, and full of contrasts. Jenny in particular was eager to take in as much of it as she could.  Even after long days of touring, she was always interested in attending a show or concert.  R and I took turns going with her (and the other one stayed back at the hotel with Ava).

Perhaps the most interest of these shows was the one that Jenny and I attended on our last day in Suzhou.  It was in a beautiful garden in the middle of the city and there were a series of different acts -- some music, some opera, some drama -- each one in a different part of the garden.  It was totally non-touristy and we loved it.

R asked me at the end of our trip what my favorite city was.  It's impossible to answer since they were all so impressive.  I'll comment more late on my impressions in the different cities and what we did.

J.

Third set of photos from China

I believe this first photo is at the Summer Palace in Beijing.  The third and fourth are of our amazing visit to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Warriors. The final photo was at the panda reserve in Chengdu.  Not sure where the second photo (of Jenny and Ava) was taken but I think it's a cute photo of them.

J.

Photos from China - second set

Here is a second group of photos from China -- these were all taken in Beijing.  The first is with Jenny and Alex right before our rickshaw ride through an old Beijing neighborhood.  I really like the one of R and Ava in our van.  Next, there are a few good ones at the Great Wall.  Finally, there are a few photos at the Forbidden City.  I particularly like the last one of our family.

J.

First set of photos from China

Here's the first of what will be several posts from our trip to China.  The first one shows us on the way from home to National Airport.  Then there's a good one of Ava sitting with our carry-on luggage before the flight.  The last two are of the flight over on Air Canada from Toronto to Beijing. It was a wonderful trip and we are just getting adjusted to being back in DC after the flight from Shanghai to Toronto to DC last night.

J.