Wheeling and Dealing

Before moving to England last summer, we had to sell a lot of our belongings. What that means now is that since I am moving back to the states I am going to have to replace a lot of those items (and more since I had to leave some things behind). I need a new mixer, a vacuum, a toaster, a crock pot, a couch, a bed, a kitchen table, a car, a cell phone, and various other small items. But some need replacing sooner than others.

Like a car.

So today Stan took the day off work, we all piled into the car, and we drove about an hour to Elgin to look at some cars that I had found listed online. Two Toyota Corollas and one Honda Civic. All reasonably priced and comparable in mileage and features.

I ended up with this one...
It's a 2004 Toyota Corolla and I am pretty happy with it. Negotiating with the salesman gave me a stomachache and made me so nervous, but having my entourage for support made it more manageable. Every time the salesman went off to talk to his boss, I conferred with Mom and Stan and got ready for the next round.

It took a while - like four hours - but by the end of it I got a pretty good deal. I talked them down another $1000, got them to fix a wheel bearing and a piece of trim that was coming off, got new tires and a car wash. So there. I did it. Now I just need to get car insurance.

Snow Balls

Sammy and Maggie.
Playing in the snow. Too cute.
But not cute enough to get me to brave the subzero temperatures to get a picture - this one was taken through the window while I stood warm in the family room.

They must have played out there for almost an hour. Sammy got Maggie to do all sorts of tricks. Then she would toss snow balls for Maggie to catch in the air.

Lights Out

Christmas was different this year.
Why? Because we spent a lot of it without electricity.
That's right. I said no electricity.
Here's the story...
(it's long, but worth a read)
On Christmas Eve around 3pm the lights went out. We weren't too terribly concerned...at first. We found things to do around the house, but as dinner time neared we realized that cooking without electricity would be a challenge. Luckily the stove was gas - it just needed to be lit. Kudos to mom for making the entire meal by flashlight. We ate dinner by the light of about ten candles, which was kind of fun actually.

At about 8pm the lights came back on. YAY! We all rushed to turn on lights, check email, watch TV and clean up the kitchen. About 15 minutes later the power failed again. Are you kidding me? When Stan called, he found out that it might be out for the rest of the night. Decisions had to be made. The heat didn't work without electricity so the house was getting colder despite the warm fire in the family room. The food in the fridge and freezer would soon begin to spoil. And how would be cook Christmas day meals without power? What were we going to do?

To add insult to injury, the homes directly across the street still had their power! We sat in our dark house looking longingly at the neighbor's beautifully lit Christmas tree waiting for our lights to come back on.

Without much left to do, we got ready for bed. We packed the food into the garage and even buried some under the snow outside hoping to preserve it. We gathered together extra blankets. We went to bed hoping to wake up to a house with electricity.

No such luck.
We woke up to a still dark, very chilly house.
After a lot of thought, we decided to call Heidi and tell her not to come since we had no heat. Literally, while mom was on the phone with her the power came back on. But we weren't sure it would stay on - especially after last night.

But it did.
And we were grateful. For something we usually take for granted. Electricity.

Return to sender

We're ba-ack!

That's right. After a brief six months in England, the kids and I have returned to the states for good. The decision was made (for a multitude of reasons that I won't bore you with) to move back to Bloomington. We flew to Rockford to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa and will soon be heading to Indiana to spend a week with Aunt Costa and Andrew before making our way to the Ostlunds' house - our temporary home until the summer. The plane rides and airport lines were long and tiring, but it was such a relief to finally be back in the good old USA.

Jonathan turns 14

14 wonderful things about Jonathan:
(1) he is patient
(2) he is a loving big brother
(3) he has a strong testimony
(4) he is an avid reader
(5) he is kind to others
(6) he is a good student
(7) he is dedicated
(8) he is dependable
(9) he is honest
(10) he is very creative
(11) he is thoughtful
(12) he has a broad range of interests
(13) he is strong
(14) he is intelligent

USA ONLY

Here's a hint:
If you are planning to move to a new country and take some of your things with you, check the back of your TV for a little label that says "USA ONLY". It will save you a lot of trouble if you do.

We didn't.

So, when the technician came to install our satellite TV, he was unsuccessful. He spent four hours at our house and even called another technician for assistance. When he finally gave up, we called another specialist from Comet to have a look. After an hour and several phone calls, he told us that it just wasn't going to work. He said, "Apparently, USA ONLY means just that."

So on Monday we will be getting a brand new TV. It is actually the exact same model as the one we already have, but it is the British model. So in theory it will work.

Is nothing ever simple?

First Day of School

Uniforms.
Aren't they cute?

In England all the schools require students to wear uniforms. Not such a bad idea, I suppose. It really takes the guesswork out of getting ready for school each morning.

Jonathan will be attending Beverley Grammar School - an all boys high school.
Sammy will go to school at Beverley High School - an all girls school.
They will walk to and from school each day (as will I since I will take Sammy to school). It should be interesting with all the rain we get here in England.

Cookie Monster

It's a running joke in our house now that Mike has turned into a Cookie Monster.

You see, the grocery stores here sell bags of 5 home-baked cookies for only a pound! It's quite a deal, and I admit that they are really yummy. Soft and fresh and delicious.
BUT,
Mike picks up several bags a week. Sometimes seven or eight bags at a time! He jokes that he's on a cookie diet. He has lost some weight since he's been here, but I can't figure out why. With all the cookies he eats, it's surprising. And unfair. A "cookie diet" for me has the reverse effect!

Special Delivery

Today the movers unpacked the last box and placed the rest of our furniture in our house. It has been really fun the past two days watching them unload everything from our sea container. It has been two months since we have seen most of our belongings and so it was a bit like Christmas as they unpacked each box. The kids were so happy to have their toys and books and games. I was excited to unpack my dishes and put them away in the (now clean) kitchen. Could it be? Are we finally getting settled here?

DEEP Cleaning

Today was a long day. It was a bank holiday, so Mike had the day off, but we didn't spend it playing. We spent the whole day cleaning. Why? Well, the house that we signed a lease for was dirty - uninhabitable, in my opinion - and our things are being delivered tomorrow. There was no way that I was going to let the movers place our belongings into a filthy house, so we spent the whole day doing some really deep cleaning. I spent four hours on the kitchen - an hour on the refrigerator alone!

We have some really great friends here in England. The Wilkinsons showed up around noon with their kids and a bunch of cleaning supplies. They worked just as hard as we did cleaning all the nooks and crannies of this house. When we were through, the place sparkled (sort of). Now it is ready for our delivery tomorrow.

A sign

Okay.
This has to be the best sign I have seen so far.
The Butts.
It's actually a street name!
Can you believe it?

(note: What I wanted to do was have our family pose with our bums sticking out under this sign, but it was on a busy street and we were in a hurry to get to Warwick Castle. The best laid plans...)

Warwick Castle

This weekend we went to Warwick Castle (pronounced "war-ick" since apparently the w in the middle is silent). It was a fun filled day.

We toured the actual castle and grounds, watched lots of shows, and walked the castle walls. For a castle located only a couple hours away, it was the best we've seen yet!

SOLD

At long last I can finally post this.
Our house has sold.
Today was the official closing. We took a bit of a loss, but that's hardly a surprise in this economy. We're just glad to have sold our house so quickly.

I admit, I cried today. It was sad to think that our dream house was gone.
I guess it's just time to focus on our new adventures here in England.

Failed attempt at sharing

Measuring cups vs scales.
For me it is no contest.
MEASURING CUPS.

All my recipes are in cups, tablespoons and teaspoons.
All the recipes in England are in milliliters, ounces and grams.
The other day I tried to share one of our favorite recipes with a friend.
I dutifully copied down the ingredients and the directions for Chicken Divan for her and delivered the recipe after one week. (I kept forgetting.) She was so happy and planned to make it very soon.

Fast forward to today...
I recieved a call from Cheryl early this morning. She was inviting me over to make dinner for her family. Cheeky? Just a little! :)

See it turns out that she really wanted Chicken Divan and when she looked at the recipe she didn't understand the cups and teaspoons as measurements! Silly me - I had forgotten about the differences here again. So we are heading over to Cheryl's house tonight to cook Chicken Divan for their family.

She even invited us to stay for dinner too! Ha ha ha.
Gotta love Cheryl.

Keep children under control

I love this sign.
And I love Jon's pose.
This sign made me laugh when we visited Clifford's Tower in York the other day.
It seems to describe my goal this summer - to keep the kids under control.

It has been a really long summer for us since the kids got out of school in May in the states and don't start back again in the UK until September 9. Long days without much to do make it harder to keep the kids "under control".

A Day in York

Today we drove to York to tour the city. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time exploring museums and the pedestrian walkways.



We went to the York Castle Museum first. Then we went to Clifford's Tower for a look at the city from up high. Next we went to Jorvik Viking Centre. After walking through some of the shops in the pedestrian walkways, we walked to the York Minster and were amazed by how huge it was. I couldn't even get a picture of the whole thing! Finally we walked back to our car on the wall that surrounds the city.

Another food post

Recently, my sister sent me an email in which she bemoaned the fact that FOOD is such a big part/obsession of this earthly life. I can completely agree with her.

However...
I do love food and I also enjoy making food.
Take, for example, the following:
Today I made homemade applesauce.
My motivation?
I don't like the applesauce that they sell in England. It is too chunky.
Want to try my easy (except for the peeling of the apples) recipe?

Ingredients:
3-4 pounds of peeled, cored, sliced cooking apples
4 strips of lemon peel
Juice of one lemon, about 3-4 Tbsp
3 inches of cinnamon stick
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
(1) Put all ingredients in a large pot. Cover. Bring to a boil.
(2) Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
(3) Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon sticks and lemon peels. Mash with potato masher. Ready to serve warm or can be refrigerated.

I know it's easier to buy a jar of applesauce, but this turned out really yummy. And for the food crazed people reading this blog, try the warm, fresh applesauce over vanilla ice cream. DELICIOUS!

Finding a place to live

At long last we have decided on a place to live "permanently" while we are here in England. We knew we anted to live in Beverley, but finding a house that was large enough and had enough space for all of our things from America was a challenge. Today I viewed a property that I think will work quite nicely for us. It is a four bedroom, three bathroom home with a large family room, a dining room, a recently remodeled kitchen and a laundry room. Although it will need some cleaning up before we can live in it, I am sure that it will be a great place to live. Mike hasn't even seen the place yet, but he is trusting me to make this decision...

This house will be the fourth place we have lived since landing in England. The first was The Station House where we lived in a small two bedroom apartment for a week. Second, we moved to another temporary housing situation at Anlaby House. This was a larger (and quite posh) two bedroom apartment that we stayed in for two months. Next we will move to the Beverley Parklands house that Mike rented while we were still in the states. It is a four bedroom home but is VERY small. In fact, our furniture won't even fit through the front door. Which is why we needed to find our fourth home on Molescroft Road.

The poor kids have been so confused with all the moving around and I haven't felt settled yet. Hopefully with our final move into this house, it will begin to feel like home at last.

Lovely litter

We went to The Deep today. It's an aquarium/museum.

My favorite thing to look at was not the fish - it was the artwork made entirely from trash found on the beach. There were serveral very neat pieces, but this one was my favorite.

It's a lovely display of litter collected from the seaside.

I'd like something unique like this to hang in my own house!

Potatoes

This in not a picture of a potato.
It is a donut.
A homemade donut.
Made by yours truly.
The secret ingredient?
Mashed potatoes!
Seriously.

I found this donut recipe online and thought I just had to try it. I couldn't believe that the recipe really called for mashed potatoes. Sure enough, I re-read it several times and found where it explained that potatoes are the most important part of the recipe. So I tried it. They were really yummy when they were hot and fresh!

Here is the recipe for anyone who wants to be adventurous...
1. Microwave 1 cup of milk so it is warm (not hot) and add 5 t yeast and a pinch of sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes.
2. In a bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup warm mashed potatoes, 1/2 t salt, and 1/4 cup sugar.
3. Add milk mixture and 2 T oil to above.
4. Mix dough well for 3 minutes. Remove to a floured surface and knead a few times.
5. Spread out to 1/2 inch thickness with a rolling pin. Cut out donuts and place on a floured surface to rise for 10 minutes.
6. Pour 1/2 inch of oil into a frying pan and heat over medium heat. If the oil smokes, it is too hot. Test the oil with a small scrap of dough.
7. Cook donuts until golden brown on each side. Remove to a rack or paper towel to soak off excess oil.

I made a chocolate glaze for the top of the donuts...
1. In mug, microwave 1/2 cup milk and 1 t butter. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, mix 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 T cocoa, and 3 T milk mixture until smooth.
3. Put a slightly warm donut face down in the chocolate glaze, turn slightly then remove.

Next time I am going to try sugared donuts or maybe cream filled ones.

Volleyball and puppy dogs

Today we headed to the beach again. This time we went to Bridlington South Beach with the Wilkinsons, our friends from church. Jon and Mike spent the entire time playing volleyball in the sand. They had fun and got sunburned for their efforts.
Sammy chose to stay by me and play in the sand. She created a dog-shaped sand sculpture, and then she just sat and sifted the sand through her fingers. No sunburn for her, but lots of sandy fun.
I spent the day sitting on a soccer ball (we forgot to bring a chair) and chatting with Cheryl. No sunburn, but a very sore bottom by the end of the day. I do not recommend it!

Wish List

I wish I could wear pyjamas all day.
I wish I had already prepared my Relief Society lesson.
I wish I was skinny again.
I wish my things were here from the states.
I wish I was a fabulous cook.
I wish I had a list of great ideas to do with the kids on these long summer days.
I wish I could eat chocolate without gaining weight.
I wish I was a great typist - instead of hunt and peck.
I wish Mike didn't have to work such long hours.
I wish I could call my family and talk for hours.
I wish I was a better photographer.
I wish more of my clothes fit.
I wish I knew how to drive with confidence in this country.
I wish I was more outgoing.
I wish I was better at keeping in touch with friends.
I wish I never missed a photo opportunity.
I wish I had more family portraits.
I wish I had as much faith as Jonathan does.
I wish I was 25 again.
I wish I was happy with my life right now without wishing for anything more.

I'll keep working on that.

A garden party

Hats were required for admission to the party...
It was Nicola's 50th birthday celebration and Jen decided to throw a fancy garden party in her honor. Having just moved here a month ago, I didn't have a hat, so Eszter took me shopping and this is the one I ended up buying. Isn't it so much fun?
Unfortunately, because of traffic I arrived late to the party, but it was still in full swing when I got there. There were several yummy salads for lunch and a delicious array of desserts for afterwards. I wish I had a picture of the tables. It was such a pretty setting for an afternoon with a bunch of ladies from church.

All in all, there were 19 women there and almost everyone had on a fancy hat. I felt a little silly - like I was playing dress-up as a little girl - but it was so much fun! And for once, the crazy weather cooperated in this country and we had a sunny afternoon filled with good food and great company.

Beehive Camp

This week Sammy went to Beehive Camp...

And I went with.

It was really fun, actually.

We slept in tents, cooked our own food, went on a night hike, went canoeing, made several crafts, sang songs, did an agility course, and met new friends.

We didn't get much sleep, but Sammy had a great time.

When we got home, Sammy took off her socks and we laughed about how dirty her legs were. Definitely a sign that she had some good "dirty" fun during the week.

Luckily she is washable.

Cheap thrills

All of our games and toys are on a ship on the ocean on their way to England.

So what do we do in the meantime to keep busy?

Play with balloons!

And this great pasttime is hardly limited to our own family. Tonight we had the Wilkinsons over for dinner and aferwards we spent at least a couple hours "playing balloon". Yeah, we're pretty exciting people, I know.

The record for number of hits is currently 98, but the goal is at least 100. So I suppose we will continue to play this game until we succeed...or until our stuff arrives.

A chilly trip to the beach

Today we headed up a bit north of where we are living to the coast. We hiked all around a beautiful cove. The rock formations were very pretty and it was a clear day - unusual, for England. Beautiful pictures. Some of the first ones I've taken since being here.

After walking around the cove, we headed to Bridlington North Beach and wandered up and down the promenade. The beach itself wasn't very busy as it was chilly and windy. I sure wish I had packed some jackets for us. But it was so nice to be out in the fresh air.

I hate it, I want to go home!

Confession time...
I have had a really bad attitude lately.
My mantra has truly been "I hate it, I want to go home!"

Everything feels so different here.
The apartment is ridiculously small. There are no closets. It rains almost every day. I miss my family and friends. I can't drive and with my poor sense of direction. I'm afraid to leave the apartment for fear that I'll get lost. So I feel trapped. I can't cook efficiently. Mike is working long hours so I'm lonely. The kids are bored and I have no idea what to do with them.

Worst of all, I can't seem to conquer the grocery store. I actually had a panic attack in Aldi because I couldn't find what I needed. Everything is located in unusual places. Or called something different. Or not available at all. It is all too overwhelming for me. Mike saved me the first time by taking over the shopping for the day, but eventually I will need to figure it out.

The truth is, I hate change. I am not very adaptable. I am not adventurous. I do not look forward to new experiences. I thrive on predictability and routine. And I don't have that right now. Eventually I will adjust...I hope. But for now, I've been pretty unhappy.

Now for the public goal:
I will begin to look at things in a more positive light.
I will start to be more cheerful.
I will leave the apartment and learn my way around.
I will try not to focus on how different everything is.
I will ask for help when I need it.
I will smile more often.
I will change my mantra to something less negative.

Free Range Eggs

“The waiter said, ‘All of our chicken is free-range.’ And I said, ‘He doesn’t look very free there on that plate.’” – Bob Joe Briggs, “We Are the Weird”

I baked Suzy Q's today.
Another adventure in baking.
But it was also mildly entertaining. Because when I opened up the carton of eggs, they were brown and were marked with a stamp identifying them as "free-range" eggs. I'll have to ask someone what makes these better than the eggs I am used to purchasing.

What I found even funnier was the egg carton's description of what makes their eggs better. I wish I had written it down. But "free-range” evokes a positive image of chickens living outdoors with plenty of fresh air, sunshine and open space to roam in. To me it also reminds me of the Bill Engvall bit where he talks about his wife buying "free-range" chicken.


A snippet from the comedy bit:
The other day my wife and I were at the store. She said, "Go get some chicken.” she's on this big chicken kick right now; she said it's healthier. Which, I grew up around chickens - it's not, trust me. They're yard birds, all right? I've seen chickens eat food out of their own poop. Tell me why that's good for me! But I ain't gonna win that argument, right? And so I get this package, grab a pack of chicken, throw it in the cart, and she goes "No, don't get that kind. Get free-range chicken." And I said, "What are you talking about?" And she goes, “You got cooped-up chicken.” And I said, “All chickens are cooped-up chickens. There's no such thing as a free-range chicken.” I said, "I studied history, I did real well in it. And I don't ever remember reading about the herds of chickens that used to roam this land. There was never the great chicken wars. Nobody hunts chickens - they're not wild."


So the whole time I'm making the Suzy Q's I'm picturing chickens running wild across the plains.
Good thing I was alone in the apartment as I was giggling to myself, which could have made me look silly, right?

An adventure in cooking

For the first few days in England, Mike was sweet enough to take us out to eat for each of our meals. This was not only sweet, but necessary as we had not done any grocery shopping. This luxury could not last forever, however, since eating out in England is pretty pricey. So I went shopping. I actually felt like I had a personal shopper with me because Mike arranged for Cheryl Wilkinson to take me to several stores to help me find what I needed. I was pretty proud of myself because I was able to get what I needed for two meals for about 10 pounds!

Fast forward to tonight.
The plan was to make baked chicken and mashed potatoes and rolls.
Well, the rolls turned out great (purchased for the store). The rest was less wonderful.

I got out the chicken and went to preheat the oven. Okay, it's in Celsius. Now what?
Jonathan was great. He remembered the formula for converting Fahrenheit to Celsius. Okay.
There were no words on the oven, only pictures. And I couldn't for the life of me decipher what they meant. So I called Mike. He didn't know either. Fine then, I'll fry up the chicken instead.

Time to make the potatoes. The instant, easy to make potatoes. Except that the directions were in liters, not cups or ounces! I had no idea how to convert that. I was close to calling it quits when I discovered that one of the pans I was using has liter markings inside of it! I was saved!

What an adventure. One I prefer not to repeat.
Who knew trying to cook dinner here would be my downfall?

A jump across the pond

Well, we're here.
In England. Finally.

We boarded the plane in Indianapolis, Indiana on Saturday, July 4. A little ironic that we flew out of the USA on the day our forefathers declared their independence from British rule. Hmmmmm. Something to think about.

Our first flight was short - only about an hour and a half - to Newark, New Jersey. Not out of the country yet. This airport was so huge (and kinda dirty). WE had a three hour layover so we found a place to get a bite to eat. Our last meal in the states. We did get to see some fireworks outside of the airport windows before leaving.

So that was our July 4th.

We boarded the plane around 10pm, already exhausted and ready for the trip to be over. The next flight was much longer - six and a half hours - although this was shorter than expected. Not because we fell into the ocean or had to make an emergency landing somewhere. We just made good time, I guess. No air traffic jams? It was actually kind of fun on the plane at first. We each had our own personal TV screen and headphones to watch whatever we wanted. Gone are the days of the whole plane watching the same movie together. We had "on demand" and choices galore. Sammy had fun watching Hannah Montana: The Movie. Jonathan listened to some Beetles music. We had food and snacks and drinks. Sammy used the airplane restroom - an experience, for sure. Finally Sammy was able to to get some sleep, although I don't think anyone else was successful in taking more than a short catnap.

We arrived in Manchester, England around 11am on Sunday morning. Mike had arranged for a gentleman from the ward to pick us up at the airport. I was surprised he was able to fit everything into the back of his little car. We had a ton of luggage. Everyone except Mike fell right to sleep in the car. Finally.

So we are indeed here.
In England.
Until further notice.

Moving Day

For the past two days, we have had movers in our house packing up our things. Everything. In fact, Sammy discovered on the first day that they packed her bubble gum too! She was not happy about that, I can assure you.

This morning, which also happens to be my birthday, the movers showed up with "reinforcements" and a HUGE moving truck. They took a quick tour through the house and got immediately to work.
I was amazed! They were so efficient...and strong!
One of the men tied a box to his back with heavy straps and then carried another one as he headed down the stairs. Using only a dolly, they were able to load our large pieces of furniture without any trouble. I kept telling them how surprised I was at how quick and easy it seemed to be for them. They just smiled and said, "That's because we know what we're doing."

I must admit that after this moving experience I would recommend anyone who is moving to use a moving service. What a lot of headaches and backaches they saved us by doing the heard work for us!

So, despite watching all of my belongings being loaded on the truck and feeling a little sad about that, it was a day where much was accomplished. And that was a blessing.

Waiting

You know what I hate?
Waiting.
For anything.

No one has ever accused me of being a patient person, I know. But this is getting ridiculous. I sit around my house for hours at a time waiting for something to happen.

I wait for friends to call.
I wait for the mail.
I wait for Mike to email.
I wait for Sammy to get ready.
I wait for Jon's martial arts class to end.
I wait for my Bed, Bath & Beyond gift cards to arrive.
I wait for the UPS truck to arrive with our approved (hopefully) visas.
I wait for the movers to come.

I'm tired of all this waiting.

Street Signs

Pop quiz...
Do you know what this street sign means?
The other day we were driving and Sammy pointed out the window at this sign and asked, "Mommy, does that mean you can't go pee there?" I laughed so hard! Now it has become a family joke. I love her interpretation of the world. Always uniquely Sammy.

Access denied

Bad news.
Our visas were denied today.
This means we have to reapply.
This involves...
(1) getting our fingerprints scanned in Indianapolis again
(2) collecting the appropriate documents
(3) sending everything via UPS
(4) paying another $1200
(5) waiting to be approved (hopefully)
How frustrating.
I keep telling myself that there must be some reason that our applications were denied. Like perhaps someone is ready to buy our house and I need to be here to take care of that. Who knows? All I know is that we won't be leaving for England as planned.
It's just a waiting game now.

T-shirt Quilt

A sneak peek for Dad of the quilt I created for him out of old Harley Davidson t-shirts.
Can you believe how many shirts he had that he was willing to part with? and he still had another 15 or so in the closet!
I love how it turned out.
Warm and memorable...
The perfect combination.

They make me smile...

I love these plates.

They make me smile when I serve meals using them.

They are so cheerful and fun.

I am so excited that I own them.

Although purchasing an entire set for 8 was more challenging that you might think...

I ended up buying pieces at five different stores across the country.

I bought 8 dinner plates, 6 salad plates and 4 bowls in Woodbridge, Virginia.

I bought 2 salad plates and 2 bowls in Richmond, Virginia.

I bought 2 bowls at a random mall in Ohio.

I bought 6 mugs in Greenwood, Indiana.

And finally, I bought 2 mugs in Bloomington, Indiana.

You might think this was a lot to go through to buy a set of dishes.

It was.

But I love them and they make me smile, so it was worth the effort!

Hair today, gone tomorrow...

Many years ago, gosh I can't remember how long ago, my brother, Paul, decided to grow his hair into dredlocks. I looked everywhere for a good picture of his hair, but this was the best I had. And it's mostly covered up with the bandana.

Over the years they got longer and longer and kind of became his signature look. When dad called me and told me that Paul had cut his hair, I couldn't picture his new look. What fun it was getting to see him (and his new haircut) when we visited in Virginia this week. Check out his new look.

I love this photo of the kids with their Uncle Paul. We had such a great time hanging out and being silly. He was a regular riot and the kids loved every bit of it. Thanks, Paul, for teaching my kids to goof-off in public...

Motorcycle rides

It's been a tradition for as long as I can remember.
Grandpa takes the kids for rides on his Harley when we come to visit.
This visit was no different. Despite the extreme heat and blazing sun, he humored the kids and took them for motorcycle rides today.
When they were younger, Dad would just take them around the block a couple times. Now that the kids are older, they could be taken all over town. Sammy had so much fun that she said, "I think we should have motorcycle rides every day!"

Fantasy Park

When the kids were little we used to spend hours at the park playing on the equipment. One of our favorite parks is Fantasy Park in Virginia, so when we went to visit we took a trip to the park to play.

Something occurred to me today while we were at the park.

Things have changed.

Most of the kids at the park were under two feet tall.

Most of the kids there were toddlers with their parents.

Most of the kids there were still in diapers.

My kids walked into the park looking like giants. They didn't run all over the place playing on the equipment like they used to. Sammy found a shady spot and started sorting out "pretty rocks" off the ground. Jonathan posed for some pictures for me and climbed on top of the playground. He's such a monkey. We only lasted about 30 minutes.

Things sure have changed.

Saying goodbye

I love my Civic.

I think it's because I was the one who researched the car, made all of the decisions and most of the payments. So I have a greater attachment to it.

I know it's silly, but I really love my Civic.

So today was a sad day for me.

Today was the day that someone bought my Civic.

I am going to miss how easy it was to park.

I am going to miss the sunroof.

I am going to miss the great gas mileage it got.

I am going to miss everything about my car.

I just hope the new owner loves it as much as I have.

Things we will miss

Things we will miss about Bloomington...

(1) The beautiful fall colors.

(2) Our friends from school and church.

(3) The location - not too far from family.

(4) The small town feel but with the conveniences of a big city.

(5) Our home, when it sells.

(6) The kids' teachers.

(7) Our backyard and the wildlife we see there.

(8) Target - nope, they have no Target in England.

(9) The proximity to State Parks - we love to go exploring.

(10) Clear Creek Trail.

The end of an era

Sammy graduated from 6th grade today.

It was an emotional day.

Sammy did a great job and was so excited to be moving on to the next great thing, but I couldn't help but be sad. It's hard to have Sammy grow up. She's my baby (although she hates when I say that). It's hard to believe that time has passed so quickly. Also, I am really going to miss her fabulous elementary teachers, Mr. Gallagher and Ms. Reinier.

They are truly the best teachers that I have ever met. They are 100% committed to helping children develop a love of learning. They support students throughout the many stages of their lives. They have helped to raise my kids during the seven years they have taught them. I can't express enough how grateful I am to have known them and benefited from their dedication. Just one more thing we will miss when we move.

A quick visit

It was great to have Mom and Stan come down from Rockford for a quick visit. We are really going to miss them when we move to England! We tried so hard to get a good picture of them with the kids before they left today, but the sun was really bright. Jonathan's eyes were closed in every picture except this one, and Sammy was not cooperating for this shot (so I cropped her out - thank you very much, Photoshop).

Campus Photo Shoot

Over the years we have conducted many a photo shoot on the IU campus.
Today was a pretty day, so I thought we would take advantage of the unique buildings around town and get a few pictures of the kids. Most turned out okay, but this was my favorite. I love the old door in the background and Jonathan's peaceful expression. It looks great in black and white too!

Happy Mother's Day

I have had a headache since last Wednesday and a stomachache since yesterday. I woke up this morning and decided that I was too sick to make it to church. Jonathan went to church with the Andersons (thank you very much) and Sammy decided to stay home and "take care of" me. (translation: watch TV and play on the computer while mom slept)

After church, Jonathan informed me that he got to help pass out candy to all the mothers.
It figures...
Every other year it's flowers that I promptly kill (without meaning to) and the one year I miss church they decided to give out chocolate!

Sometimes life isn't fair.

Feeling sick.
Feeling grumpy.
Feeling sorry for myself.
But also feeling grateful for my two wonderful children who spent the afternoon entertaining themselves so that I could rest and try to feel better in time for school tomorrow.

This is not a paid advertisement

Jonathan is pretty creative.
This quality was always appreciated and supported when he was in the Gallagher/Reinier multiage classroom for elementary school. Since being in middle school has been such a huge change (with different teachers and expectations) Jonathan has not had many chances to truly display his most creative work. He felt sort of "stuck" as he completed various read and respond assignments.

When he was given an assignment to create an advertisement for a health product, he saw it as his chance to do something more out of the ordinary (similar to the focus study presentations he had done in elementary school). Together we started brainstorming ideas, and by the end of the night he had written a script, come up with a product name, and recorded a short commercial. (see below)



Because they had been learning about how people are influenced and the types of media messages often used, Jonathan was required to include at least three advertising methods. It really turned out cute - especially considering we got it done in two days (writing, filming, and editing included).

In case you missed some of the more subtle "jokes" in the film...
(1) Take a closer look at the names of each of the experts - obviously all the same doctor.
(2) Listen to the great offer at the end - to double your bottle size AND your pill size.
(3) The medication is called "i.b.quiet" (similar to ibuprofen but pronounced "I BE QUIET").
(4) The medicine quiets the voices in your head - did you see the phone number?
(5) An excellent price, but how about that shipping and handling!?!
(6) What's that song playing in the background of the video? It was chosen for its lyrics.

The latest pictures of the kids

I haven't done a great photo shoot of the kids in a while. I guess I've just been lazy. Or busy. Or unmotivated. But Sunday they were both in cooperative moods and it was lovely outside so I tried it. Here are a couple of the best shots...

Maybe it's the braids, but I love that Sammy still looks "younger" in this picture. I'm adjusting to Jonathan getting older, but it's harder for me to let go of Sammy. Perhaps because she's the youngest?

Sad faces

This picture was Sammy's idea.

She decided that we needed to take a "sad picture" to send to Mike since we missed him so much. Cute idea. Cute picture. Cute kids.

Mowing blues

There is a reason that I never learned how to use this riding mower.
Actually several reasons.
First, it's Mike's toy...not mine.
Second, it just didn't interest me that much. I can drive a car, why learn to drive a riding mower?
Third (and most importantly) I figured that if I never learned to drive the thing, I would never have to mow the grass!

Unfortunately, there was a flaw in my logic.
Mike moved to England.
Now what?
Although Jonathan has driven the mower before, he never got it all started on his own.
The grass really needed to be mowed and we are having an open house tomorrow. I needed to get the lawn looking presentable. And Jonathan was at an all day Academic Superbowl Competition anyway.

So...
I decided that I would try to do it myself.
Not an easy task as it turns out.

I read the directions that were conveniently printed right on the mower. I followed each direction. I got the mower started and even managed to drive it in a relatively straight line without hitting anything. But when I stopped and looked behind me, I realized that it wasn't actually cutting the grass!

New plan.
I stopped the mower and tried fiddling with some buttons and rereading the instructions. Then I tried to start the mower again. It wouldn't start! Had I already broken it?

Long story short...it was out of gas.
Luckily we had a bit of gasoline in the garage (enough to get the mower to start).
But I was still confused as to why it wasn't actually cutting the grass.
I decided to give up and use the push mower - which I was unable to get started after priming it over and over again.
So I put that one back in the garage and tried the riding mower again.

Another long story short...
Eventually I discovered the little yellow button on the riding mower that apparently released the blades so they could cut the grass. It sounds so easy, but this took me about a half hour to figure out.

I had to be very careful as I was mowing the yard because I was scared to death that I would run into the mailbox or the house or the car or Sammy. Plus I still hadn't gotten used to how touchy the controls are. So I didn't mow very close to anything. This left me with a problem when I was finished - how to do the trim. Since I still couldn't get the push mower started, I opted for the next most logical thing (at least in my mind). Scissors. Yes, that's right! I trimmed the grass with utility scissors. Hey, I wanted to get the job done.

I'm just glad Mike wasn't there to make fun of me as I crouched down on the ground and cut blades of grass with my scissors. Of course, if Mike had been here, I wouldn't have been in this ridiculous situation at all!

Cheap Thrills

The airport.
An obvious place to take your kids for some cheap entertainment, right?
For the Bunton family it works!

The Indianapolis Airport has been rebuilt recently. This spring we have had the chance to go to pick Mike up at the airport and drop him off three times. Each time, we have to use the moving walkway to get from the parking garage to the terminal.

That in and of itself is a fun time...but the kids love the fact that there are lights up above that change color and light up when you walk beneath them. The kids call it the "disco room" and love it when we have to go to the airport. It's the highlight of our trip.

Saying Goodbye

Well, it's official.

Mike is off to England.

After many hurdles and hoops he had to jump through, his visa was approved yesterday and we took him to the airport today. It was a bittersweet farewell. We were glad that he was able to start his new job finally, but we are really going to miss him.

Real rollercoasters

It used to be a family tradition...

Going to King's Island theme park every summer on "Navistar Day".

Mike's whole family (parents, sisters, nieces, nephew, aunts, grandma) would head over to King's Island for the day. It was so much fun. We would ride rides all day and go home sunburned and exhausted.

Since Mike and his dad no longer work for Navistar, we haven't gone to King's Island. We tried Holiday World a couple years ago, but it just wasn;t the same. So, knowing that we would be heading overseas and likely not have the opportunity to go to the theme park again, we decided to take the kids one last time.

We had a blast!

Sammy even rode some of the bigger rides (although not many).

We spent the whole day there and headed home...sunburned and exhausted.