New York!

On Tuesday, we flew to New York, and were greeted by Oma and Papa at the airport. We returned to their house for a quiet, relaxing dinner - and the kids were thrilled to see all "their" toys... along with some fun new additions. But the highlight may have been seeing the finished basement - as it had been recently flooded during our last visit. Jack's favorite pastime is walking on their treadmill - so he was thrilled to see that it was back in action, along with some comfy new chairs to relax in - in between workouts. :) It was a nice evening, and fun to catch up with Oma and Papa.

On Wednesday, we had a BIG day! In the morning, I had a great workout down the street at their gym (literally 3 doors from their house - very convenient), and then we all got ready to go to Manhattan. We started our adventure by seeing "The Little Mermaid" on Broadway. This was Kate's first show, and it was an excellent choice. The music, the scenery, the story, the costumes - all of it was spectacular. Kate spent the entire show moving from one lap to another, all the while clutching onto Sami's "Ariel" doll that had been loaned to her for the occasion. And Jack ate it all up - he laughed at all the right parts, danced with his favorite songs, and was captivated by the scenery changes. We had great seats, and it was a wonderful event.

Afterwards, we went to Serendipity for dinner - but really, dinner there is just an excuse to get to the dessert. Dinner was great, but dessert was unbelievable... we ordered a frozen hot chocolate and a brownie sundae, and we literally could not finish more than half of either. Even me, the dessert hog, had to surrender to the giant desserts.

They were incredible, and we were all stuffed. So stuffed that when we ventured down the block to the most incredible candy store I'd ever been in (Dylan's - a 3 story candy-lover paradise), I had to pass up any additional indulgences. :)

On Thursday, we started the day with a tennis lesson for Jack at Oma and Papa's club. His instructor, Jared, was great - really enthusiastic and funny - a perfect fit for Jack. And Jack loved not only the lesson - but having 4 of us there to cheer him on! The lesson went so well that Oma and Papa arranged for 3 more lessons while we were there... and it was really fantastic to see how much Jack's skills improved by the end of our time there. Roger Federer, look out!

After the lesson, I returned to the gym (a feeble attempt to burn off some of the damage from Serendipity), and the kids played with Oma and Papa. In the afternoon, I made one final run to the mall, and was able to finish my "US" shopping list, which was fantastic. Oma and I took the kids to the pool when I returned, while Papa went to pick up Jay from the airport. They met us at the club, and the kids were THRILLED to see their Dad.

It was one of the best reunions yet. We had a great dinner outside on the terrace, and both of the kids could hardly keep their hands off of Jay.

On Friday, Jay and I visited the gym in the morning, and then we all went to the pool in the afternoon. Shortly thereafter, Mary and Jim arrived with Jared, Sami and our new nephew, Baby James (only 3 months old!). It was so fun to see all of them - and to get to meet our new nephew for the first time.

He is gorgeous, sweet, and just perfect... and the entire Ferris gang is doing so well at adjusting to their new family member. We all had dinner together at the club, and it was nice to catch up with everyone. Jared is such a sweet, thoughtful young man, and Sami is the light of Kate's world... so it was really a pleasure to be together.

On Saturday, Oma and Papa had organized a party for all of the extended family - aunts, uncles, cousins, and cousins' children... around 50 in total. The party was held at a nature center in the Greenbelt, and it was the perfect venue - there was a beautiful patio out back, and we spent nearly all of the evening outside, enjoying the nice weather and live music. It was a great chance to see all of Jay's family - and for Jack and Kate to meet the multitude of kids that make up the "Sac Pac," to which Jack has pledged to become a member. And Kate was fascinated by all the girls - young and old - and they were all so sweet to her.

We also found out that one of our cousins, Kelsey, will be studying in Prague for the fall, so we hope to see her while she is over here. Below is a picture of all of the cousins' children... there are a few missing faces, but it was so nice to see the majority of them.

Then on Sunday, we had THE big event - baby James' baptism. We headed out to New Jersey late morning, and the baptism was held as a separate ceremony after Mass. Baby James looked very regal in his baptism outfit, and he was a very good baby throughout it all.

Baby James tolerated me holding him for most of the ceremony (even though its clear he definitely prefers his wonderful mother), and it was such a treat to be there in person.

Mary and Jim asked Jay and I to be his godparents, so it was a very special day - and we felt really blessed to all be together (and thankful to Mary and Jim, for making that possible).

Afterwards, we went back to the Ferris home for a great dinner of paella, and the kids were in cousin heaven - Jared played the Wii with Jack, and Kate played all things American Girl with Sami. It was a really special day, and it was so nice to have the time to catch up with Mary and Jim.

Sadly, Monday was our last day... we started the morning off with one last tennis lesson for Jack. His teacher even introduced the serve this lesson - which was fun for us all to watch. Mrs. Vozeolas came by for a visit during the lesson, so we caught up with her in between "oohs" and "aahs" from Jack's fan gallery.

We spent one last afternoon at the pool, swimming the kids in circles (hoping to wear them out for the flight), and then headed to the airport in the afternoon. On this trip, Jack mastered going off the diving board for the first time... below is a clip of his diving form.

It really was a perfect ending to our trip back home, and we could not have been better taken care of. Spa Saccaro is a pretty nice place to visit - for all of the Saccaros.