Nick and family have arrived back to the U.S. and it's been a whirlwind of activity. I'm not sure why because Nick had to quarantine for 14 days for his job so he was not allowed to leave his house. So, we came to him! We had a family dinner at his house the day after they arrived and barbecued chicken in their backyard (along with corn-on-the-cob, baked beans and macaroni salad) That seems to be Nick's favorite first American meal when he returns from Japan.
Their house has a very comfortable backyard, thank goodness for us, since that's where we hung out to visit with them.
The weather has been plenty warm so it's not a problem to stay outside to limit the spread of covid if any of us happen to be carriers. Although, I will admit we did not always keep our masks on or stay six feet apart, at least with our grandkids. It's hard to follow all the rules but we are doing our best. In our state, the rule is not more than five people outside your of household in a gathering but when we all get-together, it's seven of us. But like I said, we are doing our best and I'm not going to stress out over it. We've waited too long to have Nick and family back in town and we are going to enjoy every minute of it.
We made about four or five additional trips to their house to bring them stuff since they weren't suppose to leave. They also had friends nearby as "runners" who made a couple Costco runs and grocery store runs for them. I think Nick was craving some homemade American favorite dinners so I made chicken pot pie one night for their dinner. I made special ones for the grandkids to enjoy with their initials as the steam vents.
Another time we barbecued hamburgers and I made a peach pie for them. That was also a really good dinner.
Nick said he could not remember the last time he had a hamburger! (They eat a traditional Japanese diet.) The grandkids loved the cheeseburgers Bruce made for them and we were honored to be the ones to provide them with their very first American hamburgers.
Another night we barbecued salmon and made homemade popsicles for the kids; another first.
It's thrilling to be able to provide so many "firsts" with our grandkids even though it's mostly food-related. They also loved the homemade smoked salmon we brought over and then Bruce made more before the birthday celebrations because that is one food that gets eaten really fast. Add a little cream cheese on a Ritz cracker and, well...heaven!
Lauren and Keaton have the same birthdays on July 25th but we decided to wait until they were done with quarantine to celebrate. So, on day 15 of their new American life, they headed straight to our house to spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa.
Bruce barbecued his most delicious spare ribs which turned out to be even better than the hamburgers.
Lauren requested her favorite cake lemon curd and white chocolate truffle cake and one of the best on my blog.
All four layers of it.
For Keaton, I made his favorite banana bread in cupcake form.
Hana helped me make fruit salad using blackberries that we picked from our backyard.
Nick got Bruce's extendable tree trimmer to pull branches closer that were thick with the blackberries and snipped some branches off so it was easier for the kids to pick.
Hana picked a cucumber from the garden that we ate with our appetizers along with Bruce's smoked salmon.
After dinner we opened presents. Lauren got lots of help, of course.
Summer birthdays are the best and I'm so glad our family has lots of them. We had to wait a little longer this year to celebrate but the wait was worth it. Nick and Sachiyo are back and fun times are just beginning.
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