Week One in the US by the numbers

So we arrived in the US last Wednesday.  The flight was not too bad, although Drew was very upset that they didn't have Planes fire and Rescue for him to watch, as we had seen on the American website!  Here are a few stats on our trip:

 1- ATM card eaten by the ATM.  apparently the ATM where I got cash didn't recognize the chip and pin.  I spent 40 minutes on the phone with my bank in London, who cancelled my card and sent a new one to my London address only to get a call from PNC 2 hours later to say that I could come and get my card....a little late for that.

2- rental vehicles driven. The great deal I found on Expedia UK for a minivan was only for foreign drivers licenses, which we don't have.  Oops.  So we returned that one and got a midsize SUV from enterprise off airport.  But we still have to purchase the insurance since we don't have auto insurance.  And I bought a car seat for Drew for the price to rent one for 4 days.

3- houses slept in: Carlsons, nana & papa, mum mum, and we will be on to Grandaddys next week!

4- days the girls worked on their performance " sweet sixteen."  We got to watch half of it, and they worked really hard!  Not only did they write a script but they also made tickets and programs but they also coreagraphed 5 dances!  And they got Ben, sarah and Gabe to participate!

5- hours it took of transportation other than flight time.  It took 2 hours to get to the airport in the taxi which was necessary because of the amount of luggage we had!  And then it took almost 3 hours to get the rental car that we had for one day.  We rented the van from Dollar which is obviously not a big rental company in Chicago, so they don't have shuttles coming back and forth like the national and budget ones that we saw 5!!  Apparently you have to call to let them know to pick you up, which Brad did.  And when the very small shuttle pulled up, there were so many other people wAiting that they all filled the shuttle up before we could get on.  So we had to wait for the shuttle to come back and then we got to the rental place and we waited for 1.5 hours to get the van that they had to get from hertz!  What a nightmare!!!

8- hours of flight time from London to ORD.  ( note only 3 hours more than the other transportation time.  By the time we got to Naperville, our journey took almost 17 hours!!!)

10- number of times we have listened to the Teen Beach 2 soundtrack that Lauren gave Alison for her birthday yesterday

The other thing I didn't consider was the cell phone.  Ian set me up with a pay as you go SIM card on his old iPhone 3.  It is like going back in time, but I have unlimited calls and texts with a local number!!

We have enjoyed seeing family and friends so far and are excited to see many more family and friends over the next few weeks!!

The U.S.!

Okay so the moment you are reading this I am probably on a plane getting ready to land in Chicago and see my cousins. I have five hours and eleven minutes until landing which is 2:43 Chicogo time. I can't wait to see my f&f (friends and family) anyways, most of you know that me and my #1 cousin, Annabelle, love doing plays. This time we are spending so much time together, and we are doing 2 plays! We have 1 scene of Annie to do and a really complicated song to sing, and we are doing a play with no songs but 3 intermissions. We are going to Justice and Claire's to get the perfect costumes and accessories. We have to make the backgrounds, the script, and even soud effects! If you think that that's difficult then comment '1098 difficulty' and an emoji that describes how we should feel to win a free ticket to our show! (Only if you can travel to Michigan) if you enter and DON'T win, feel free to order a tickert for $1.00 adult 00.50 child 00.10 toddler, baby free. To buy a snacker ticket, it's double the regular price. If you get a snackers ticket, you get a number code and you get free popcorn, drink, and candy. One last thing- the ticket can be up to 6 tickets, and the ticket is a snackers ticket. Hope to see you enter! XOX

                                                       LAUREN queen of emojis!! ❤️❤️❤️

School's out for summer!!!!

I realized today as we were walking home from school that Lauren has been in school for about 11 months because she started school in mid-August, and just got out of school in mid-July.  Lucky her! :)

The summer holiday is finally here and I am so ready for the break!!  After a VERY successful summer fair is over, I am looking forward to no PTA obligations for a few weeks.  And I am very excited to head back to the US to see family and friends and take part in all the celebrations that are happening!


Brad and I are SO very proud of the kids and their accomplishments in a new school this year.  Both of the girls received glowing reports, both from their teachers and from the head teacher, Mr. Croker. (I am amazed that he wrote on all 460 reports!)  And Drew's teacher said he did a fabulous job adjusting to school, and that he doesn't need to work on anything specific over the summer.  The most interesting thing she said about him is that sometimes he will be playing and another child will come up and try to play with him, and he says "Go away," which is just his way of saying that he needs some time to himself.  He is a very independent player at home, and it's great that he is so self-aware!!  He has made friends with a little boy Hugo and the 2 of them together are pretty funny!!  Drew's teacher said sometimes she has to separate them at carpet time because they "have so much fun together they can't stop talking."

Alison's teacher was complimentary of how well Alison adapted the to the class and really became more confident as the year progressed, and that she always gave 100%.  She was also very impressed with how well she mastered every area of PE, and her strength.  She is amazing at the monkey bars!  Alison's favorite parts of school are the beat that math test, and trying to get 10/10 on her spellings test (I love that she likes a challenge!!)

Lauren's teacher said that Lauren always tries her best and is a leader in the classroom and is able to get along with all different students in the class.  Lauren's favorite subject is literacy.  The hardest part of the adjustment to school was "getting used to Britich voices and wearing a uniform."

I hope that all three of the kids continue to love school as much as they do now!!  And always try their best.

To celebrate, we took the kids to see the Minions movie at the cinema tonight.  It was great fun, and Brad I were able to drink a bottle of wine while watching the movie, that's something you can't do in  America!!

The end of the year assembly yesterday was very emotional!!  There were 8 teachers that were leaving, and each one was called up individually and another staff member spoke about them, and then a few students said something to them, and it was apparent to me how much all the teachers care about the pupils and also each other.  And it just shows how much difference a teacher can make in the life of a child.  I feel so thankful for the teachers the kids had this year because it is so obvious to me how dedicated they are to the children.

And of course the hardest part was saying good-bye to Mr. Croker, who was just the interim headteacher, (the previous headteacher left for "personal reasons" last October), while they found a permanent headteacher.   He is truly a one of a kind person, who all the kids really respect.  He has that perfect balance of fun and sternness that just demands respect and admiration.  Something he said really resonated with me.  He said that when he walks through the halls of school, he always notices the children before he notices the adults, and that to me, says that he is doing exactly what he should be doing which is shaping the lives of young children.  He will be greatly missed, but the legacy that he left at Garfield in the 6.5 months he was at the school with not be forgotten.