Saratoga

We next made our long-awaited trip to Saratoga to visit Bill’s brother Max, his wife Amy, and our two nephews Isaac and Leo. Isaac and Leo were both born while we were away in Australia, so we hadn’t met them until we came back. It was so much fun getting to know them, hopefully they will remember Aunt Kersti and Uncle Billy next time we see them! They were so cute, although also a pair of trouble makers! A typical day included taking them to the park, giving Leo some ice cream, having dinner on the back porch, and playing on their back lawn (which seems like the size of a football field). David also came up for one weekend, so all the Peter bros were back together. It was a fun time; we hope to go back soon!

Picking blueberries, think we got enough? What was it? 29 lbs?

Playing in the fountains at the park


Leo loves to dance! He loves it so much he was willing to give an outdoor concert (for free!) for the neighborhood one evening.

Actually, this time he didn't like to dance. He thought the other children at the Kid's Concert smelled and wanted to keep a safe distance.

Bill and Isaac walking back from the fountain

Kersti scooting Isaac along. The guy loves to drive!

Swinging at the park

Whee!

In their spacious back lawn

Our super accomodating hostess, Amy

Nap time!

The Peter bros chilling on the porch

Isaac takes the opportunity to go for the unattended pizza!

A gift from China, our little Buddhist nephew

Boston

An important stop on our trip was Boston to see Sean and Caryn and their beautiful new girl, Allyson. We had lived with Sean and Caryn in San Mateo, but had missed their wedding while we were away. Ally was born just a couple months ago, although Caryn looked completely unfazed! I swear she really was pregnant -- we saw pictures! We stayed at their idyllic new home, and Caryn’s family threw a pool party where we got to reunite with some old Dartmouth friends.

Sean, Caryn, and their new baby girl Allyson! Caryn is proudly showing off her new hat from China.

Seany grilling up some chicken at the pool party

Seany, Chalmero, and McKnizzy (real names are omitted to protect the innocent)

Visiting Chalmers at his and Margie's house in Connecticut

New York City

After Rochester, we headed to New York for some city living with some Dartmouth buddies. We stayed at Ravi’s spacious pad; we really were living the luxurious New York lifestyle. The first night we went out on the town, and met up with Karim and some old running teammates, Ryan, Bonnie and Jimmy. It was quite a fun night, starting with margaritas and ending up at some karaoke bar making fools of ourselves as always.

What a crew!

Karim, Bill, and Ravi being as serious as always

Ry-Ry and Kersti!

Bonnie, Jimmy, and Kersti happy to see each other again

The next night Ravi pulled out all the stops and prepared a gourmet barbecue. His specialties included chilean seabass, shrimp stuffed jalapeños with bacon wrapped around, crazy good beef, and amazing burgers--delic! We've since made the jalapeños ourselves, but we haven't attempted the other dishes yet! Kersti says she wishes I could cook like Ravi.

Ravi slaving away

Bill supervising

Hurley!

Enjoying NYC in the summertime - admiring some urban design changes to intersections!

Breaking in Ravi's new hot tub!

Rochester

In July, we headed up to Rochester, NY to visit our old friends Samer Jaber and Juliana and Erik. We first stayed at Samer’s house for a long weekend, he is a resident at the hospital there but made sure to still show us a good time. We played some kickball (Kersti was MVP), went hiking at Letchworth State Park, and he even threw us a party at his apartment. He has a great group of friends at the Med School. Even more importantly, we were introduced to the bizarre game of Rayman’s Raving Rabbits, the perfect party game.

Our gracious host Samer!

After two years of bitter starvation, Bill finally got his Arby Melt on.

All that practice partying in Europe paid off.

Bill trying to see if he can see the DJ...

Hiking in Letchworth

I wonder if Rochester is always this nice...

We borrowed Samer’s car and went up for the day to Niagara Falls. Kersti had never been, I hadn’t been since my uncle took me as a kid. It was a beautiful day, and we took the Maid of the Mist ride right up to the falls.

Kersti's first time in Canada!

Blame Canada, Blame Canada!

The second half of our stay we stayed with Juliana and Erik. Juliana is a friend of Kersti’s from when they were little, and Erik is her fiancé. They will be getting married in Orinda over Labor Day, exciting! They have a fantastic old-style colonial house they recently moved into. Juliana and Erik both play in the Rochester Symphony, and we got to see them perform while we were there. We were sure to sit right in the center of the front row to make sure we had a good view! It was really an amazing experience, plus it is much cooler knowing the musicians, we even got to go back stage. We are tres cool. Juliana performed a beautiful solo, and then they had a party back at their place to celebrate. We can’t wait for their wedding!

Juliana and Erik, musicians extraordinare!



Old shool friends

Hanging out at Juliana and Erik's.

Return to the States!

Well, it has been a long time since we made any posts, but we decided to do some brief updates on our summer travels now that we have returned to the States. It has been a wonderful summer of catching up with family and friends, with so many people graciously putting us up.

We arrived back into California, where we relaxed and caught up with Kersti’s family. Billy briefly headed to the UK, where he met with his old company, and when he returned they made a trip down to Santa Cruz to visit Julia, Kersti’s sister. Our friend Dan came down with us, and we had an awesome time touring the campus, it was gorgeous during the summer and all the seniors were graduating.

Celebrating Leslie's Birthday

When we arrived, we were shocked to see the famous Warhorse pong table in full use in the middle of her dining room. A gift from our college buddy Parker, we were psyched to see that such a precious item was still getting use in such a perfect home. And it had clearly been being used well, Julia lived in a big co-ed house and the table was full of empty cans. So after Dan and I had practiced on our pong skills, we headed to the movie Hangover and had a good laugh. Julia was a great host!

Practicing our skills on the Warhorse table!

We then took a flight to Florida to visit the family, and with David and Max and his family all down, it was the first time since the wedding we all had been together! It was mad hot, but we had a great time at the beach and playing some croquet on the lawn.

David, Max, Isaac, Leo and Amy all in Sarasota!

Tom and Marjie working on their croquet skills

Leo enjoying the beach and staying out of the sun