"What happened to Madrid Days 9 and 10?" you ask. Well, those last few days were rather busy with lots of staying up late. I came home on Saturday, April 25th and was greeted by Ivan and his dad. That's right, Papa Viktor arrived in NYC while I was away. It was his first trip to the US and we tried to do everything possible to make sure he got the most out of it. The first weekend he was here we stayed in NYC and took it easy. The second weekend, we took a trip down to DC, stopping at Philadelphia on the way (thanks, Kristen, for letting us crash at your place). During the second week that he was here, Ivan had an alumni event for Southwestern in the city, so Susan and Ivan went to that while we sent Papa Viktor off to enjoy the New York City Ballet. The third weekend that he was here, we all flew to CA to spend time with Susan's family and introduce Viktor to the west coast (or, as Claire says, "the best coast" - not to be confused with the east coast aka "the least coast").

We left for California on Thursday night. On Friday we spent the day in Ventura. On Saturday we went to Santa Clarita where we had brunch with the Paradises (Papa Viktor had met them almost 15 years earlier in Kazakhstan). Gayle (Ivan's English teacher in Kazakhstan) came with Nanci on her way out of town and it was touching to see how emotional the reunion was for Papa Viktor.

After brunch, Susan hung out with some friends (Joanna and her family and then Caroline and her family) while Ivan showed Papa Viktor The Master's College campus. Then, we all went to Vitaliy and Michelle's house to hang out and catch up with them. I think Papa Viktor enjoyed having a real conversation in Russian! Monday the 11th is a birthday shared by Ivan and Vitaliy's oldest son, Daniel. Daniel is such a cute kid, he loves it when we come over to visit and always wants to talk to us and when we sit down for a meal he wants to sit in between us. It's so much fun to have a friend's kid be so affectionate.

On Sunday we celebrated Mother's Day and Ivan's birthday. Then, we drove to LA, where we showed some of the sights to Papa Viktor before meeting up with Uncle David and Aunt Valarie for dinner. Finally, Susan's parents dropped us off at the airport and we were on our way back home. Yesterday we took Ivan out to the Outback Steakhouse for his birthday meal and today Papa Viktor left to go back home. So, now we have our house all to ourselves again. Overall, it was a very nice visit although quite rushed. Ivan and his dad had some great conversations and even Susan had a few lengthy conversations in Russian. It will take quite a bit more practice for Susan to become adept at conversing in Russian, but this was a good chance to brush up on it.

Labels: NY, Quick Trip, Summary