Tim's regular golfing buddies
Angie and Baby Lauren
Although 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!
Although it is clear Halloween isn't nearly as big of deal here in London, there were still plenty of activities for us to do and get in a spooky mood! On Tuesday we went to a local kitchen store to decorate cookies. The girls had a great time with our friends Shelly and Sarah slathering frosting all over yummy spider and bat cookies.
The week leading up to Halloween was also Half Term, which means there was a week off from school because Autumn Term was half over. There were a lot of kids everywhere, but also many things for us to do. The local branch of the public library even had a craft (glueing glitter to a styrofoam ball to make spiders, no less) so we were busier than a normal week.
They were so proud of their sweet creations! But loved eating them more. When we first moved to the UK, neither of them liked gingerbread, now both chow it down.
Sophie dressed up as our cat, Charlie. I couldn't talk her into putting on her paws or giving up a magic wand... so not an exact replica.
There they are, my two little goblins. We dressed up twice Halloween week - once for a friend's party on Wednesday and then, of course, for Halloween.
I can't tell you how much I love Abby. I wish she always acted the way she looks in this picture. She doesn't. Sometimes I think she is too smart for her own good but I guess a little spice in a girl is a good thing. Her little friend Ines who was in Teddies daycare and then in her afternoon nursery at Southfield Primary left to go to morning nursery. I asked Abby who she played with now that Ines is gone - she said a boy named Aaron. I asked her if he was nice to her and she said "yes, he does whatever I tell him to do". Oops, maybe I have created a monster! I then asked if she was nice to him. She said yes.
Halloween night we decorated cookies and ate a few too many right before bed. It was a late night, but a special treat. It was an all day project, as I was rolling out the gingerbread that I made the day before all afternoon while we were doing Halloween Skype calls with Tim's family.
Here is Miss Abby's gorgeous creation. Before the artwork was completed, it was a gingerbread jack-o-lantern with cut-out eyes, nose and mouth. Those holes quickly were filled up with sugar and butter and food coloring.
I think Sophie was literally crying over spilled milk in this picture. After a long day we almost didn't go trick or treating. We decided to go on the way to pick up Thai take-out. It sounds horrible, but there were only a few houses on our street that were open for business anyway. Halloween night wasn't the same as in MN!
One of my favorite things to do with Abby is to bake. Banana bread is our specialty, though we can make cookies and cakes too. She didn't have an apron, so I gave her a cool one, just from me. Tim and my other present to her was a scooter. She had been begging for one since we arrived here and most kids have them. It definitely makes our daily long walks to school go a little faster and she is really pretty good at riding it too!
