All Settled In

We are finally settled back in our Indiana House, as Andrew likes to call it. It kind of feels like we were never gone. We started going to back to our play group that we missed so much. Andrew was so excited to see his friends.

We took a few trips to story time at the library, and had to squeeze in a few trips to Chick-Fil-A.

We even took a trip to the zoo.

Our most exciting news is that Andrew started going to "school" on Friday mornings. He goes from 9:00-1:00. The first day he was a little unsure, but as soon as he saw the train table he was ready for me to leave. There are nine kids in his class and two teachers. When I went to pick him up on the first day he wanted to stay and play! He has now been to school three times and is always so excited to go. He always has a little craft he brings home. This past week I grabbed his little picture and asked him about it. He said that it was a picture of his family, Mommy, Daddy, and Andrew. It is so fun to see him learning. After school on Friday we were running an errand, and I hear him sing "The B-I-B-L-E..." I asked him if he sang that song at school and he said yes. For those of you that may not know the song, it is a song about the Bible and at the end the kids get to scream Bible as loud as they can. It was one of my favorites growing up in Sunday School. It was one of those Mom moments where I was so proud and my heart just melted. I was so happy and proud that he was learning something at school and that he was learning about the Bible!!

We still do not have our dog back, but we get her this coming Sunday. Andrew finally seems excited to see her. At first he didn't really seem to care that she was gone, but in the past week he has been talking about her more.

Mark and I are glad to be back in our routine. We were able to join a small group at church, so that has been fun getting to know some new people. Our house has been loud on Sundays with football. Andrew has picked up on all of the right things to say during the game. Andrew still loves to watch football with us. We are about to venture into potty training with Andrew. Not sure how that is going to go! That is really all we have been up to. We are just happy to be back to "normal," if that is what you call it.

 

Flight to Missouri and a Visit With Mema and Papa

We are finally home!! Sorry for the delay in posting. Our flight to the US was 8/24. We woke up around 5:00am and headed toward the airport. We were a little nervous about our travels home because we had to drive to London, return the rental car, take a shuttle bus to our terminal, and get our entourage of luggage through security all with a two year old. I felt like there were one too many chances for something to go wrong, especially with our English luck. We were about ten minutes from the airport when I said...I can't believe we made it with no traffic. Mark gave me a look and 30 seconds later we were in stand still traffic. Funny how things work like that!! Thank God the traffic only lasted about ten minutes and we arrived and the airport in good time.

When we checked in at the airport we realized our seats were much better than what we originally thought. The airport people told us to go to the business class lounge to wait for our flight. I am so glad we did. When we walked in I saw hot breakfast, drinks, fruit, cold breakfast, and even an open bar. We were pretty happy to find out that this was all included. There was even a playroom with toys for kids. I was also informed that there is a spa and I could have had a free 20 minute massage!! If I would have known this in advance I would have been there 30 minutes earlier.

We knew we were going to be in business class but I had no idea what to expect. Let me just tell you it exceeded my expectations. I felt like I was on vacation. I had no problem flying for eight hours with this kind of service. We were greeted when we boarded with water, orange juice, or champagne! Our seats were so big and reclined into a bed. We had our own personal TVs with different choices for which movie we wanted to watch. We had a menu with many options for lunch and snacks. All beverages were included. The people next to me probably had close to ten whiskeys each and then they slept for the rest of the flight. They gave us a toiletry bag with socks, toothbrush, eye mask, ear plugs, lotion, and face wash. It was pretty posh!! I felt like a kid because I was so excited, obviously this was my first trip in business class. Here are a few pictures.

We connected in Chicago, made it through customs, and back through security in a timely fashion just for our next flight to be delayed. We finally made it to Missouri with headaches and a cranky two year old. It didn't matter because we were back in the USA!!

We had a great visit in Missouri with Mark's family!! They had a little welcome home party for us with an Afternoon Tea. Mark's mom went all out on this one. There was an amazing spread of tea, sandwiches, and little desserts. She also wore her white gloves and crown for the event. Andrew, Mark, and I wore themed shirts ourselves. We had a chance to see some of the extended family that we don't get to see very often. It was good to catch up with everyone.

 

 

We spent the rest of our time recovering from our jet lag, swimming in the pool, and spending time with Uncle Matt, Aunt Laura, Johnny, Mema, and Papa! We also tried to find another car because I sold mine before we left, but we were unsuccessful.

Amazing welcome home meal!! The Creasons don't mess around.

Andrew loved the pool!

 

 

We drove back home on Wednesday and Mark went back to work on Thursday. It is so great being back in our house again!! We are pretty much all settled in now. The suitcases are all unpacked and the last load of laundry is in the dryer as I write this post. Andrew and I got a cold some how so we have been recovering this weekend.

Our Last Weekend-The Cotswolds and Kedleston Hall

For our last weekend in England we decided to stay busy again. I am going to miss all of our adventures exploring new places. I have definitely learned a lot on this trip. It has been a rocky road but I would not change the experience. I am so excited to be home but there are little things about being in England that I will miss.

Saturday we drove out to the Cotswolds. This is an area in England that is known for its natural beauty. Our first stop in the area was the Gloucester Cathedral. We had to have one Harry Potter stop on our trip and this was it. For those of you that do not know, Mark and I are not very into the whole Harry Potter thing. This cathedral was used in filming the first, second, and the sixth Harry Potter movies. We did enjoy walking around but did not enjoy the rest of the town. So we were on the road to our next stop.

Our next stop was a little town called Birdlip. I read that there is an area that has amazing views. We were very lucky because there was a sign that said scenic route so it was very easy to find. The view was great! I will definitley miss the English countryside!!

The next stop was the little town of Burton-on-the-Water. It was such a cute little town. There was one main street lined with shops and cafes. There is a river running through the town with little stone bridges. The weather was nice so all of the kids were playing in the water. We had lunch and shopped around. After that we called it a day and headed home to the "new apartment," as Andrew likes to call it.

On Sunday we stayed in Derby and visited Kedleston Hall which is really close to our apartment. I wouldn't mind living in this house. The grounds were beautiful. Andrew liked running around outside and seeing the sheep.

Andrew's favorite part about the house!

 

Airplanes, a Bridge, an English Breakfast, and a Brewery

Last weekend we decided to stay pretty close to home. We went out to see the Royal Air Force Museum because I knew Mark and Andrew would enjoy it. I figure, we have seen trains and boats so we might as well add some airplanes in there. I don't know who enjoyed it more, Mark or Andrew? We walked around and looked at all of the airplanes. There was an area for kids to teach them about how airplanes fly. Andrew loved that part!

Mark in jet engine heaven

The RB211 made by Rolls-Royce. With Mark's new position at Rolls-Royce he works on the fan blades you see in the picture. He used to work on the turbine which is at the back of the engine.

After the museum we headed over to the Ironbridge. This bridge is the first cast iron bridge and it is considered the "Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution." After looking at the bridge we decided it was time to find a place to eat. We picked a random place across from the bridge called Darby's and this is where we got to experience our first full English breakfast. It was more like a brunch for Mark. Mark got the breakfast and really enjoyed it. He did try the black pudding but wasn't a big fan. Otherwise, he finished everything on his plate.

Sunday was kind of rainy so we took a trip over to the National Brewery Museum. It was pretty interesting to go through and see how beer is made. The weird part about this museum is that we were the only people touring the museum. Must not be a very popular place to go. Andrew enjoyed it too. We got to see some huge horses and trains so that made Andrew happy. We ate at the restaurant attached to the brewery and experienced our first Sunday Carvery. It is basically turkey and beef that they slice for you at a buffet. It was pretty similar to a Thanksgiving dinner. It seems like all of the pubs around here advertise a Sunday Carvery or Sunday roast.

The shire horse was huge!

A steam engine used at the brewery

We found another Rolls-Royce engine.

The samples

That was pretty much it for that weekend. This weekend is our last weekend and then we are headed home!!! Can't wait to be home. We have had a lot of fun here, but nothing can compare to being home.