Auntie Karla, Greta, the girls and me
Uncle Josh and the girls
Cousin Beth and Max
Buddies Grace and Abby
Most of my boook club
Michael, Julia, Bob and Kathye
The Barleys
Ice cream with Grandpa Mike
Fun farm chores!
Abby felt safer with a cow than a scary giraffe
Abby jumping in with Christin and Auntie Dawn
Pizza with the Selbitschkas
At the Zoo with our buddy Aidan
Sophie feeding the giraffe (AJ wasn't interested)
Colin's baptism
All the picnic kids minus little Colin
Anne's kids and in-laws
Tim's regular golfing buddies
Angie and Baby LaurenAlthough we have been back in London for almost two weeks and life has gotten back to normal, we all still talk about our time in MN, IA and IL and can't wait to go back home again soon. For our girls, Tim and I have started to refer to London as home and MN/IA as a trip, but I have to admit, its not something that comes naturally!
Having never taken the girls on the flight BACK to the US, I was quite nervous to see how it would go. The daily flight from Heathrow to MSP leaves here at 2:25 pm and arrives in MN around 5:30 local time (but that's 11:30pm London time). As an adult, I like this flight - watch a couple of movies, eat a snack, take a cat nap and its over. There is no pressure to sleep! The girls were troopers and enjoyed their fill of Nickelodeon TV (way to go NWA/Delta!). Sophie took a short nap and they both fell asleep in the car on the way to my parents and woke up at 3:30 the next morning - pretty good!
Tim had an immediate and needed guys golf day. The weather did not cooperate for a full day of golfing and boating like was planned but the golf and company was good and he had a good 14 hours of Tim-time to recharge. On my first day, my good friend Angie and her 6 month old baby, Lauren came over and experienced toddler and pre-schoolerhood. Yikes! My girls were so excited to meet Lauren and I found myself on the other end of the situation where the baby is getting too "loved" by over-zealous kiddos. It was fantastic to see them and wish I would have gotten to spend more time with Angie! She was my roommate for several years after collge and we have been through a lot. She just moved back from a few years in CO and now I moved away on her. Maybe by the time we are 40, we can spend more than 2 years in the same city together.
Our first weekend was fabulous! We got to see almost our entire immediate family at a picnic near Julia and Michael's. The kids played on the playground and all the adults were able to catch up. The next day was Colin's baptism at the Bascilica and so we got more time with Tim's side during the festivities. By the end of the weekend, the girls were fully adjusted and I had come down with a nasty sinus infection (good thing we got travel insurance)!
My sister Kristin came to spend time with us on Monday and after one dose of antibiotics I was feeling great. We got to catch up a little and visit Maya and Henry's daycare which is a farm with ponies, llamas, goats, chickens, two pools, playgrounds galore, etc. What a way to spend a summer! Abby went with and didn't want to leave.
I got to play volleyball with the girls I have spent every Tuesday during spring, summer and fall for the past 8 years (maybe 9?). Tim went into work and had a happy hour... We also went to our favorite haunt as a family - the MN Zoo with Matt and Avery Barley and Molly , Aidan and Liam Siebert. We had a great time wth good friends and feeding the giraffes (one of the highlights of the trip!). An unfortunate thunderstorm kept us from enjoying Lumberjack Days in Stillwater with the Selbitschkas, but we still went for yummy pizza!
We left for Iowa during our second weekend in the US and spent the first night in Ames visiting the Kleins. It was a nice half-way stop and the girls can't get enough of Ben and Katherine. The next morning we left for the Quad Cities and Kleins followed us down later in the day. Friday Anne had a picnic at park across the street in honor of all the family in town for the Bix 7. Great Grandma was there as well as most Blean aunts and uncles and several cousins. It was great to have dinner with them and swim in the pool! Saturday we spent much of the day at Great Grandma's farm in IL which was another highlight of the trip - the girls had a fabulous time outside feeding the cows, looking at flowers and picking up apples for the goats. Sunday we were able to spend some time with Tim's dad and go out to Whitey's for ice cream! Yummy. Monday we were off back to Ames after some quality time with Anne and Pat.
The following day I spent the entire time with my good friend Karla, helping get her house ready for her second child who is coming in mid-September. We had a great day catching up, sorting clothes and eating Chipotle. Volleyball was canceled for the night, so Karla and I got together with another volleyball friend, Tasha for a chick flick. Perfect day. Tim and my parents with the kids and Maya and Henry went to Como Zoo and played.
Wednesday, just two days before our vacation was over, my mom, sister and I headed to Stillwater for tea and were tharwted by the thriving tea business and lack of reservations, so our tea ended up a lunch. It was fun anyway - and nice to be kidless for another few hours. That night Tim and I had invited most of our good friends to meet us at Chino Latino and we had a fabulous turnout and are blessed to have such great friends. People stayed out late on a school night, enjoyed spicy foods and drove back from cabins just to see us! We felt so blessed.
In the last few hours of our trip home, I was able to get together with my book club, who got together just to see me (thanks!) and Tim was able to get one last round of golf in with his good friend Josh. Finally, my cousin Angie, her sister Beth and her two kids - Grace and Max and my aunt and uncle (Jarv and Mary) came to see us before we left for the airport. The kids loved playing together and it was fantastic to see family. Karla and Greta also stopped by for more hugs and kisses as we loaded up the car!
We don't know when we will be home next, but look forward to it and, of course, loved every moment of being back in the midwest. This fall we look forward to 4 visits from friends and family (one down, 3 more to go) and we are already hearing rumblings of plans for next spring and summer visitors. Keep on coming!
