We're Baaack . . .

(at Minnehaha Falls)

Our great road trip is over, and what an adventure we had! The girls got to visit Kansas City, Minneapolis, Chicago, Pittsburgh, New York City, Nashville, and lots of places in-between. There were great restaurants with wonderful meals along the way, and I think that Abbie enjoyed that aspect of it.

(view from Governors Island)

Although she is only ten, one of the things that we tried to impress upon Abbie is that there are great schools in some of these cities that she may want to attend someday, so it is good to think about whether it is a city that she would enjoy or not. In NYC, I took her up to Columbia's campus so that we could walk around and get a feel for it. She definitely liked the excitement of the city. In addition to seeing Columbia, she had an excellent babysitter in NYC who doubled as a tour guide while Mom and Dad had to work. She took the girls to Governors Island, Central Park, a water park, and out for donuts, frozen yogurt, and pizza (not all at once!).

(Central Park Zoo)

One of the nice parts of our trip was the chance to see both sets of grandparents, virtually all of her aunts and uncles, all of her cousins, and some family friends. Oddly enough, she and her cousin Veronika both had the same shirt and were able to dress as twins with their jean skirts and sneakers. Personally, I was shocked at the resemblance in terms of their hair color and style.

Now that we are back home, Abbie has started devoting more attention back to violin. Orchestra rehearsal began this week, and Abie has two pieces to learn. As with anything new, there has been a bit of apprehension, but the orientation this past weekend set her at ease a bit. Also, her conductor is incredibly nice, so I think it is going to be a good year.