Back from the states....our trip, the first two weeks.

We have been back from America for about a week, and it's good to be back but we really miss our family and friends.  I am so very thankful for all the time we had with so many special people!!!  Since we have been back, I realized there is something else I miss other than my family and friends and that is water pressure!!!!  The showers here are rubbish compared to all the showers in the US.  I think iPad just gotten accustomed to it and I am sure I will again soon.....

And this week has been so cold and rainy, it's unbelievable!!  It rained ALL day Monday and it has been raining ALL day today as well,  I don't get it.  It hasn't rained this much in the entire time we have been here; this weather is what people imagine when they picture London and up until now, it has not been.....

Here are the highlights of our trip:

Waiting for the Uber to get to the airport

Alison was worn out!!

The flight was not so bad, although they didn't have the movies they promised and we had quite an issue with the rental car, so we were very happy once we arrived at the Carlson's house!

The first week, we spent in Chicago and Michigan.  We arrived in Chicago on Wednesday, and Brad left for Vegas on Thursday morning for a guy's weekend.  Lauren and Annabelle immediately disappeared into Annabelle's room as soon as we arrived, and Alison and Drew just followed (tortured) Pixie!  Alison was so excited for the "playground" in the backyard.  They haven't had a swingset since we lived in KY, and Alison couldn't get enough of it.

On Friday, Alison, Drew and I drove up to Wisconsin to visit the Skindziers.  Brendan just turned 4 and I was finally able to meet him!!  We had a great visit; the kids had a great time playing outside.  It was cute to see Alison as the big girl that Abby was following around;

usually that falls to Lauren!  And Drew and Brendan had a great time playing trucks.  And Tracie and I had a great time catching up!!

Good thing for Sarah's big car!

The kids and I along with Sarah and the Carlson kids went to Michigan on Saturday.  The girls were pretty much completely wrapped up in working on their play "Sweet Sixteen" from the time we arrived in Naperville on Wednesday until the time the presented it to us on Tuesday afternoon!

 It was quite an elaborate undertaking this time with programs, a script, snacks and dances.  The tag line for the show was " Girls who want to be a kid again."  They were even able to get the boys involved.  Ben played the part of a fictional celebrity Bufalafa.

Papa took all 6 grandkids to see "the minions."  It was a successful outing I think!

Wednesday, the kids and I headed south to Louisville.  Brad stayed in Michigan for a couple extra days.  The ride was not too bad, although all three kids sitting in a line was different than each of them having their own space in the van.  And no DVD player, although we did have the Teen Beach 2 soundtrack to pass the time.

Thursday was the beginning of the wedding celebrations for Christian and Andi!

The Mauzy's hosted a pool party for the family and the friends, catered my Christian's favorite place Qdoba.  YUM!!  The kids, even Drew, had a GREAT time in the pool!  They were all three in the pool for almost 2 hours straight; Lauren was the last one out of the pool.  It was great to see Elijah, Katie and Rebecca as well.  I love how Elijah calls Rebecca "Aunty."

Friday, we picked Brad up from the airport and then headed to the Creekside spray ground to meet up with some friends and cool off.

 Then, we went back and relaxed for a bit and got to see David, Blair and Jackson.  Alison was SO excited to finally get to see him!!!

 It was perfect!!  Granddaddy came over to stay with Drew and Jackson while the rest of us went to the rehearsal dinner.  The girls were great, Lauren even got up to say a couple words to Christian and Andi; I was very impressed by her confidence to be able to do that.  Afterwards, we met up with Rebecca and her boyfriend Nick to have a couple drinks at the 21C Hotel.  Dad even dropped us off; it was like being in high school again.

Saturday was the wedding!!

So much fun: a beautiful day, a sweet ceremony and a beautiful reception!!  The girls were tasked with the job of handing out the bubbles for the send off at the end of the ceremony.  Lauren took her job very seriously.  Drew was not too happy with us because we made him wear a "handsome" shirt.  The best part was watching Drew and Elijah dance, they both have some pretty sweet moves.  I think Drew was just happy not to have to sit anymore.

Sunday was our 12th wedding anniversary!  The kids had a great time picking flowers in Mum Mum's garden, like they picked about 12 vases full of flowers!  I wish we had a huge amount of flowers in our back garden, it would keep them occupied for hours!!  I went to lunch with my good friend Kristen, which was fabulous!  Lauren went over to her friend Hannah's house for a sleepover and it was great to visit with her mom for a bit.  Brad and I went to dinner at one of our favorite Louisiville restaurants Seviche and it did not disappoint!!  Brad was very proud of himself because he had a gift for my birthday as well as a card for my birthday and another card for our anniversary and I had..... a card that I had purchased that was still unsigned in the bag at my mom's house.  I was very impressed because it was totally unexpected.  The gift was a beautiful necklace!!!

Monday, we celebrated Alison's birthday because it was Brad's last full day in America.

We started the day with pancakes topped with whipped cream (thank you Uncle David!), then opened presents.  She received a bow and arrow set that she calls "bolt and arrow," which the kids are better with than me.  Then we went to the park and had a Chick-Fil-A picnic and went over to Anne and Charlie's to swim.  We were cheering them up because the newlyweds were off to school and then off to their honeymoon that morning.  Dinner was at Red Robin of course followed by ice cream at DQ!  All in all, a good birthday celebration.

Tuesday, Mum Mum took Lauren out to do some shopping and lunch at Culver's.  Brad and I took Alison and Drew to Target.  Then we took Brad to the airport to fly back to London.  As a distraction, I took the kids to our old neighborhood to swim and we were able to see some friends!  It was just like old times, and the kids were so happy to see our old house, even though we couldn't go inside.  Drew's friend Ryan came and they were so cute together!  They had the best time playing the baby pool!  Alison was able to see her friend Abby S.  We played on the playground for a bit after the pool, but we really should have done that and then go in the pool, it was so HOT!!!!!

Wednesday, Lauren and I went up to Cincinnati to Tammy's house for the day.  Shannon and her girls came down from Columbus and Stacy and her kids came over for a bit as well.  It was super fun to see them, and I am so glad we could hang out all day!!!  It was great to see Emma again and meet little Libby!!  Lauren and Megan did a bit of the "Teen Beach 2" songs for us.

I love that Lauren and Megan have known each other since they were babies, and they haven't seen each other for almost 2 years, but they had the best time!  The last thing they did was sing karaoke, which was pretty funny to listen to.  I realised that Tammy and I have known each other for almost 20 years!!  That's more than half my life.  I am so thankful we were able to spend the day together.