Monday, December 11, 2017

Happy Holidays!

Was it really August when I last updated this blog? Guess we have been busy!

Back to school for some
Dinner in the garden with cousins
The cousins came to visit in late August - lots of splashing at the pool, visiting the DC sites, zip-lining, solar eclipse watching and pasta making and a fun evening watching the Nats...loose that week. We then squeezed in a fun week-end in New York at the beginning of September where we saw Federer on court at the US open.
Girls in New York


London baseball fans!
School has been keeping the girls out of mischief, Isabella very focused on her IGCSE's next summer then it's IB and perhaps medicine beyond that. It's only 2.5 years away and she'll be flying from the nest! She applied to be a volunteer at Children's National Hospital - it's very competitive to get in, but she did. She has been helping out at the week-ends and is thoroughly loving seeing the hospital from a different perspective. Hopefully next year she will actually shadow a doctor or two - well she knows one or two there who are only too willing to show her the ropes. Next year she will also begin driving. Cue knowing nod from all you grandparents out there as I say "where did the past 15 years go already?!" Isabella continues to sing with her choir, last week they were caroling at the new in place to be in DC -  at the Wharf for the lighting of the Christmas tree, complete with surprise guest appearance from ...none other than Father C. Yesterday was the annual Christmas concert and I was in awe when she and one other girl sang the soprano lines of one song - beautiful but also incredibly impressive for a somewhat shy solo performer.


Christmas tree lighting at the Wharf
The singer!

Meanwhile Mati still lives in pajamas or swimming costumes. This week-end she's been swimming in a regional competition, four days on the trot and she's exhausted. Cue sick day today! A couple of weeks ago she was with her school down in Florida for a big sports meet and won three swimming medals. Unless there is swimming to get up for there's no way of getting Mati out of bed willingly before the sun is high in the sky.

Both girls have a new piano teacher this term who seems to have inspired them both to practice voluntarily on a daily basis, even to the point of fighting over whose turn it is to play! Sitting by the fire looking at the Christmas tree and listening to them play the other evening was lovely.

Casablanca
Emma meets a camel
Majorelle gardens
We have had a few visitors from across the pond in the past couple of months to keep us entertained. Gregorio and I have also been busy traveling a fair bit for work. He didn't enjoy his trip to Barbados as much I enjoyed my jaunts. I had a magical trip to Marrakech in September which was a feast for the senses. This was followed a month later with a trip to Europe - I was a guest on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. An indulgent and glamorous trip. We were with a fun group and were truly wined and dined in style and saw some wonderful places beginning in Budapest and then on the train to Paris. We even saw some celebs including Nadal in our hotel but I didn't have the guts to get a photo or autograph in my sweaty disheveled state! 'As if he hasn't seen sweaty people before ' was Gregorio's comment.
suppli al nero di seppia
It was fun to then embrace P & J in Paris and take a mini trip down memory lane before heading north to Normandy to suss out hotels for some D-Day trips complete with an indulgence of French cheese. And a day trip to Strasbourg completed a wonderful autumnal time in France - with perfect weather, some shopping and a couple of morning runs along the Seine and through the Tuileries gardens to try to work off some of the extra calories gained!

Cooking (and eating) continues to be a big family passion. Mati and Bella competing for master baker, while Gregorio continues to perfect his pasta making skills and other carbohydrate delights and Emma cooked the traditional roast turkey and trimmings for our annual Thanksgiving gathering, even if the numbers were rather depleted this year.

We are looking forward to escaping to the Colorado mountains over Christmas and just hoping that the snow does finally fall for our arrival. We had the first snow here this week-end and I know that much of England and Europe has also received a heavy dusting of the white stuff...it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Isabella continues to be off treatment and is blossoming. The last MRI in November showed that all was stable, long may it continue. There will be another MRI in February. In the meantime we wish our friends and family far and wide a magical Christmas and a brighter, happier and healthier 2018.


Lots of love,
Emma, Gregorio, Isabella & Mati xxx

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