Buffalo is the Best!

Aside from planning it all, which was extremely complicated, we had a great summer. I took the kids to Buffalo and stayed about 10 days and then they spent about 4 weeks there without us (with my parents). I was extremely nervous about this but after the initial adjustment which was really only a few days (for them, we never quite adjusted though we made the most of our 'childless' time together) they had a great time. Miki went to the same daycamp as last year and Lili also went every day (complete with backpack), hoping they would let her stay :-). The earliest age is 3 1/2 but I have a feeling she is going to be planning next summer this entire year. This is less complicated (and more relevant) when in her world, the future can simply be summarized as tomorrow and the past as yesterday. In other words, only Miki went to camp yesterday, but they will both go tomorrow.
The weekends were also full of activities- I really appreciate my parents' motivation and energy to take them somewhere every weekend and America's ability to provide a seemingly endless list of (fun/educational/safe) activities for kids, from simple things like the library (where Lili just walked around shocked saying ' theye is so many books here') to the Strong National Museum of Play, which is just an amazing place.
I have to say, over the last few years both Mikael and I have developed a new appreciation of Buffalo, from my parents back yard (which is average sized but unaffordable to us in most DC neighborhoods and simply nonexistent in NYC- which are the last 2 places we lived prior to coming abroad) to affordable and good restaurants, generally no traffic (to us anyways, my parents complain), to plenty of nonovercrowded kids' activities. And I am not ashamed to include the outlet mall on this list; always a family destination.
I am not sure if Buffalo has come a long way in the last 20 years or if it is just me. For sure, being one of a few foreigners growing up there, up until later on in high school, I always felt like I had a 'double life'. When I got to college, this whole new world opened up to me in terms of meeting people like myself- not quite foreign but not exactly all American either and I think I took out a little bit of my anger? (about feeling isolated? being different? who knows at this point) on Buffalo (don't get me wrong, I have very fond memories of my high school years, I think I experienced just average teenage angst). Anyways, the point of this not this rambling or self analysis, rather that Buffalo has become a pleasant surprise in my life over the last few years. So I have to agree with the kids- Buffalo is the Best!

PS That's them talking to Mikael. They still love us :-).