We flew to the US for 2 1/2 weeks in July and had a wonderful time visiting family and friends. As it was our first time back in the US for nearly a year (except for Dave, who had been back for work a few times), we definitely noticed a lot of differences.
Some nice things, and some things that made us appreciate Switzerland! I must say that the freeways in Los Angeles, 6 or 8 lanes wide in one direction and always packed with cars,
was quite a shock compared to many of the streets in Switzerland which I would call 1 1/2 lanes wide for 2 directions (in the neighborhoods, you have to move way over to the side if someone is coming in the other direction).
We went shopping, which is so easy, plentiful and cheap in the US compared to Switzerland
(I also did some online shopping before the trip and had everything shipped to my parents' house - more boxes than I care to mention...
thanks, Mom, for keeping all of them for me until we got there!). And, most importantly, we spent time visiting and relaxing with family
(including fireworks on the 4th of July, swimming and fishing in LA, and riding the 4-wheeler, playing ping pong, and visiting friends in Utah).
This was the first time our parents and families had met Meredith. And Meredith even got to meet her new little cousin Natalie Michels.
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Our stop in the Bay Area was too short,
but we were able to stay with our wonderful friends the Hiltons, who are the best hosts anyone could every imagine, and see friends from MVP, LP, and church.
It really was gratifying to see our friends - you are all so kind and we miss you! We stopped by our house to see our renters, and they are very happy there (of course, it's a little strange to see someone else living in our house).
Elise had 2 sleepovers in 3 nights, and was so sad to leave her friends in Moraga again. But, she's happy here too,
and I think she really does understand and appreciate the fact that she can have a lot of friends everywhere! Even with the jetlag when we got back home, the trip was well worth it. What a blessing our families and friends are!
and I remembered hearing good things about a small amusement park about 45 minutes away, near the border of Germany.
So, we set out in the morning and got there shortly after 10:00 when they opened...we stayed all day until they closed at 18:00 - it was so much fun!
They had pony rides, a giant slide, bumper cars, a very fun water ride, and even a couple of scary rides 
(we have to remember next time that the big boat that swings back and forth is a little too scary for Will and Nathan
- but that's where we learned the phrase, "Hände hoch!", "hands high!")! They also had dolphin, sea lion and bird shows, as well as some circus-type performances. What an incredible place - yet small enough that we were able to do just about everything! We're definitely going back…
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