The Death of the Volvo

Well, after 3 yrs, my car had a sudden death yesterday.

It was smashed beyond repair. (Too bad I don't have a picture to show you!) To be honest, we have not liked the car since the day we met, but it treated us well and has survived several flat tires (yes, all due to me - Jenny - hitting curbs, potholes, or whatever on the tiny country roads and trying to figure out this driving on the other side of the road), wheel alignments, wheels, and lots and lots of wear and tear. We have been trying to figure out if we could get a different car for the rest of the time we will be living here, so now we have our answer. We don't know exactly what kind of car, we just know it won't be the Volvo. Actually, I was quite happy to be in it yesterday as it is a big, tough, sturdy car and saved me from any type of injury.

I won't go into too many details, but luckily I had just dropped the boys off at school and was on my way to the gym...taking back country roads. A guy was driving towards me and was in the middle of the road for whatever reason. He hit the front of my car, spun around and hit the lady behind me. She was hurt to the point where they were concerned about a neck injury and had to pull her out of the back of her car, but I was fine. The police, ambulance, and fire department were all there and the road was a mess with cars and debris all over. Dan came right away and helped get everything sorted. It was sooo good to see him! Thanks everyone for the calls, flowers, thoughts and prayers. I am fine and now just waiting to find out what I will be driving next!

Here is a few of the memories we will miss. Max and Blake loved sitting in the back as well as their family and friends.

Max and his cousin, Derek, with the first experience of riding in the back. So much fun!

Max and William

Max and Drake

The car has taken us on several adventures throughout England and we managed to stuff seven of us in it with luggage on top when my brother and his family came to visit. It was a very long 5 hrs drive!

As I was searching for pictures of the car (don't have very many) I went through the last 3 yrs of pictures. Just thought I would show you what Max and Blake looked like when we first moved.

Max looking just a little bit scared in the airport....just like his mom and dad!

Blake just hanging out...don't you just want to eat him up!!

A Day at the Spa

Since living in the UK for 3 yrs, I have been blessed with meeting so many wonderful women and their families. When moving to a new country, you have so many questions about where to find your favorite things, how to get to certain places, and just how to complete the simple everyday tasks. Where we live, there are about 40 other families that have relocated from the states for a certain amount of time. Instantly, there is a network of people that are anxious to help and to make your experience a positive one. You have an immediate connection with each other over this life changing move. We have had a fantastic journey over the last 3 yrs and those people have played a major part in making it so memorable. (It is hard to believe that we are the veterans of the group!) There have been many friends come and go over the years, and it is always hard to see them move not knowing when you will see each other again. Next month, 2 of my closest friends here are moving back to Illinois. Tina is heading home to have a baby girl in April and Amy's husband is starting a new position on March 1st. It will be so hard to see them go in a couple weeks and I will miss them terribly. A group of us decided that it would be nice to spend the day together at a spa before they left. It started out being quite a large group of ladies, but ended up being just 4 of us. (Holli had the best excuse of all as she was with her sister and best friend in Ethiopia while they were each bringing home their 3 yr old little boys. It was an amazing experience and you can read all about it on her blog if you wish).

Amy had taken her mom to this spa a few months ago and thank goodness she wanted to share the experience with us! We drove for about an hour last Saturday morning to Eden Hall Day Spa. Laurie and I had decided to do a package that included breakfast, a 30 min back massage, a facial and lunch...oh and truffles and champagne at the end of the day. Tina and Amy opted for other other treatments and I think Tina had the best day with a baby bump massage that lasted an hour and a half! Can I just say that a 30 min massage goes way too fast!!

The facilities were wonderful and included exercise equipment, fitness classes, several water/sauna facilities, and various areas throughout the building to just relax and enjoy the day.

Tina, Laurie, me, and Amy - after our treatments and a wonderful lunch! We all just wanted to nap!

Overall, it was just a great day to spend with the "girls" without interruptions or any responsibilities. And just in case you were wondering, Dan and the boys had a fantastic day hanging out and going swimming without me! Thanks girls for a wonderful, relaxing day!

More fun with Kelly

Over the holiday break, Dan and I were able to go to London for a night. We had a wonderful time exploring the city, eating, and doing more shopping than Dan had hoped. Unfortunately, we didn't end up buying much. We saw the Horse Guards parade, ate at a fabulous new Brazilian restaurant, stayed at a lovely hotel and toured Westminster Abbey.

Of course, the boys had a great time with Kelly at home and didn't miss us a bit. She keeps them so busy that they are exhausted by the end of the day.

This is a little of what they did... went to the store to buy ingredients for play dough and cakes, had lunch at McDonald's, went bowling, made cakes, watched a movie, had pancakes, bacon and eggs for breakfast, made the play dough (which I heard didn't turn out too well!), and went to the park. Kelly did the laundry, dishes and kept the house clean (or probably cleaner than it was!) And this is just what I know about. (Does it sound like I'm bragging about her??!!) Luckily, Max and Blake let Kelly sleep until at least 7:30am so she could be "rested" for the day! I'm not sure that this is what she had in mind for her holiday break, but we really appreciated it!

Here are a few other pictures of the boys helping Kelly and her family decorate the tree and making chocolate krispies earlier in December.

Max, Blake and Kelly taking a much needed rest at Kelly's house! We love you Kelly! Thanks again for all of your help. I would go insane without you! I think we will just have to bring you back to the states with us someday!

My special day

Last Sunday was my birthday (not telling how many years!) and it was so relaxing. We started the celebration on Saturday night with a wonderful dinner. There is a pub called The Olive Branch, which is about 30 mins from our house, that is fantastic but you have to get reservations weeks or even months in advance. I had been there for lunch a couple of years ago but Dan had never been. We invited some good friends, Warren and Glenda, to join us as they had always wanted to try this place also.

Warren and Glenda had just returned the night before from visiting their family in Ireland for the holidays so it was great to catch up. Warren works at Perkins with Dan and Glenda is my work out buddy and she just happens to work in the village beauty shop and cuts all of our hair. That is actually how we first met. The pub really lived up to expectations and was fantastic. We all enjoyed the dinner, dessert and of course great company!

Sunday morning, Dan got the boys up and made pancakes for breakfast. Max and Blake both came upstairs to get me to eat and sang "Happy Birthday". When I came down, there was a candle in my pancake as well as cards and presents on the table. They all sang to me again and were beaming with excitement.

We decided to open the presents after church, but I did open the cards. (Dan took the boys shopping earlier in the week and they were gone for 4hrs! He really does not like shopping and I can't imagine how much fun he had with the boys in tow!) Max wrote a special note in his card which was very sweet. Dan declared that I was not to do anything today! What a gift! After church, we went to the mall to get one last gift and then to lunch at Pizza Hut. (Yep, Stacey, I chose it too!) After lunch, Dan and Max made a chocolate cake which we ate after dinner. It was wonderful.

The whole day was perfect as I really didn't do anything and Dan took care of the jobs around the house and the kids. That is really the best gift I could ever ask for...I just wish I had a birthday more than once a year! Oh wait, maybe not... Thank you Dan, Max and Blake for making my birthday extra special!! I love you!

Disneyland Paris - Part 2

So the next morning, we got up earlier and started out with the Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast ride.

This ended up being one of the favorites for all of us! It is a game where all of you have a laser gun and you shoot at different targets throughout the ride. And since neither my husband or sons are at all competitive, it didn't matter who had the most points. Wrong!! Mom ended up last the first time, but finally got the hang of it after 4 rides. Poor Blake was usually last but it didn't bother him too much.

After a couple rides, we went to the Winne the Pooh show. It was really interesting because half of the characters spoke English and the other half spoke French. Sometimes they would switch but I think everyone could figure out what was going on in the story.

We rode on several rides throughout the day and stood in some LONG lines.

I was so looking forward to some good food after our meal at Cafe Mickey. We had reservations at the Chicago Steakhouse for dinner. I had really high hopes!! As soon as we ordered the food, this is what happened to Blake.

We cancelled his meal...yeah we saved a few bucks!!...and ended up wrapping up some of my steak and Max's burger for him to eat later. I have to say that it was loads better than Mickey's, but I'm not sure that it is worthy of the name! That night we ended up doing a little swimming back at the hotel, which is really one of their favorite things to do.

The next morning, Dan got to go on Space Mountain 2 (I'm not even sure I'm tall enough for that one!) while I took the boys into Buzz once more. This morning we waited in line for Blake's all time favorite ride...Autotopia. Which is just driving old Ford cars around a little town.

He LOVED it! We rode it twice that morning and 2 more times the next morning. For those that don't know Blake very well, he is a race car and motorcycle fanatic. He would have been happy to continue on that ride all day long. The lines were getting to be about a 45 min wait so we decided to move on.

We saw the Mickey Mouse Winter Wonderland show which we really good and then headed to lunch. We ate at this 50's diner type place and actually had a great hamburger!

The boys wanted to do some more swimming and mom needed to start packing for the next morning. We were going to the Billy Bob's Wild West show at night so after swimming we thought the boys should take a little nap. We had to wake them up after about an hour and boy was that ugly!! They were so tired and just wanted to sleep. We woke them up a little later than we should have in order to get to the show on time so we were rushing around, which is never good with sleepy kids!

Once we got there, got our cowboy hats on and found our seats, the boys started to cheer up a bit. We received a skillet dinner and ate during the show. There were horses, cowboys, Indians, cattle, and a rodeo. It was a little cheesy, but it was enjoyable for the kids. Blake loved his cowboy hat but unfortunately, we had no room in the suitcases.

On the last day, we decided to head to our favorite rides first, try out a couple new ones, get Blake on Big Thunder Mountain, and see one more show. I think it was the 2nd day when we realized that Blake was just a "hair" too short for the Star Trek ride which meant he was just that much too short for Big Thunder Mountain. A friendly Frenchman noticed us trying to get Blake on the ride and showed us his "I grew!" trick. We loaded up on a stack up napkins from breakfast and stuck them in the bottom of Blake's shoes right before heading to the measuring stick. We could barely get his shoes tied, but it worked! He wanted those things out badly, so Dan had to carry him through the line so he wouldn't say anything. Both the boys loved the ride and Blake was so proud that he made it!

It was our last ride at Disney and was a good one! We went to the Lion King show and then headed to the train station.

As I said in the previous post, we had to take the public transportation to get to the main Eurostar station which was about 45 mins. Both Max and Blake fell asleep and it got ugly again trying to get them up and help with all the stuff. It was so crowded and we were stuffed in the train. Max figured out that he better not throw a fit, but Blake didn't pick up on that very quickly. We were all miserable, but he had to let everyone know it! Once we got on the Eurostar, we thought they would go to sleep, but this is what they did. I think it was Jurassic Park...Max's favorite!

We didn't get home until about 11pm on Christmas Eve, so we were all exhausted. It was a great trip and created so many memories for the kids. I have never been to Disney in the states so had nothing to compare it too. Dan hadn't been for about 40yrs (yes, 40!!!). From what I have heard, both FL and CA are better than Paris so we will have to see someday!

Disneyland Paris - Part 1

Our trip began with taking the train to London on Friday, Dec 19th. We arrived at our hotel and decided to take the boys out to dinner in the city. It was very cold and crowded! We ended up at an Italian restaurant close Leicester Square. The Eurostar left early on Saturday morning so we wanted to try and get a good night's sleep. The direct route to Disney was full on the 20th and the 24th so we had to go to the main station in Paris and then take the metro to the resort.

It wasn't too bad but just added on about an hour to the journey. We arrived at our hotel, Newport Bay Club, and got checked without any problems. The hotel is massive so there were people everywhere! You would never guess that there is a credit crunch at Disney!

This was our hotel. There were 1093 guest rooms! It was just a short walk around the lake to get to the Disney Village which is basically the place with the restaurants, shopping, movies and shows

We had an extra guest along with us for the holiday. Max was given Blue Brian for the break. Blue Brian is given to each child in Max's class for a week or so and likes to go on adventures. We had to take pictures and then Max will write about the trip in a book. Thankfully we didn't loose him or the kids would be devastated!

He is quite a bit "loved" and Max is taking great care of him!

We arrived at the park just in time to find a place for the parade. People were lining the streets an hour before so we figured we might as well get a good spot so we could see the floats and characters.

Santa carried up the rear of the parade and brought along some snow!

After the parade, we headed to the Mickey Cafe for dinner. This is the only restaurant on the park that the characters come around during dinner. The food was horrible, but the boys really enjoyed the characters. I have to admit that Dan and I struggled with some of their names and still don't know! I'm so disappointed in ourselves!

Who is this guy? I'm thinking he is the tax collector from Robin Hood. Am I correct? I have no idea what his name is though.

Any idea on this one??!!

Yeah Mickey!!

And Pluto!!

No clue...need some more help!

At first we thought maybe Doc from Snow White, but he was with Captain Hook from Peter Pan. We really should have studied a bit before we left. Luckily, the boys didn't care and had a blast.

Breakfast was included with the stay but you had to get a ticket with an assigned time each morning. You could come early if you wanted without a problem so that is usually what we did. Since we stayed at a Disney hotel, we were able to gain access to the park 2 hours early. That meant from 8-10am. We tried so hard to get up early and get there by 8, but we tended to stay up a lot later that normal. We did make it by 8:30a one morning and by 9 the others. It really does make a huge difference in the length of the lines. Sometimes the wait in the afternoon was almost 2 hrs!

We spent the first day at Walt Disney Studios. Blake was just a tad short for the Nemo roller coaster ride so Max and Daddy went on that and Blake had to wait to ride on Lightening McQeen. We figured out a little trick on the last day so that Blake was able to ride on one roller coaster. Max loved them! That day we spent mostly going to shows. There was a stunt show that Blake loved, a tour of the studio, a cinemagic show and and an animagic show with lots of the characters. Blake just couldn't take it anymore and fell asleep at that last show. Dan carried him to a restaurant and he slept for a couple hours. We ate dinner at Billy Bob's which was a pretty good Tex-Mex place. The boys ended up getting their faces painted after they ate dinner.

I thought I would get this all done in one post, but I'm going to have to split it up. Whoever told me that this blogging is so easy, is full of it!! I'm not sure why posting pictures causes so many problems. I know, Holli, that is why you love your Mac!