Thousand Oaks, CA Summer 2011

We also visited Luke's other Uncle's family in Thousand Oaks.

Fun times!



Huntington Beach, California Summer 2011

After one night in Vegas, our first stop for the summer was Huntington Beach, California.  Where Luke's Uncle, Aunt and Cousin live.  Just looking at these pictures brings back warm memories.  On top of having an extremely enjoyable visit with family, the weather was heavenly!!!!!

 When you live in English weather for almost 2.5 years you may find the sun, clear blue skies and ocean to be unforgettable!

Luke and his uncle :)

The first thing that was taken care of upon arriving at his Uncles house...



We had a really good time visiting!!!





Flying Back to USA

Back in the end of July we flew into Las Vegas.  We met Luke's mom there and we did a fun road trip and drove to southern California to visit family and then up to Southern Oregon where we stayed for the month of August.  I always get a little nervous for the plane ride with the little ones.  I stocked up on a lot of new toys for Brooke.  (The boys can play their DS and watch movies, which is nice now at their age).  I brought her a little backpack that was hers to put her toys in.  I kept pulling new toys out along the whole flight and it worked really well.  It wasn't exactly cheap, but it was money well spent to keep her occupied and happy.  It was nice watching her have fun too.  The kids were really good on the flight, which is always nice!  The top picture is at LHR, London Heathrow.

School Performances

At the end of the school year (in July), each class at the primary school always does a class performance and the kids dress up for it.  It is always really fun and entertaining to go watch.  The boys did a great job :)



July

Our English 4th of July was spent at the Alconbury American base with the Lines family as well as several families based in the U.K. There were many fair-style rides and games to play and lots of good food to eat, leading up to the fireworks which don't start till around 11pm when it finally gets dark.  By that time it is always cold and the kids are wiped out from a day of hard play, but it's always fun!     

 Kyle and his homie Carson

 Brooke and Ali

 We also made it to a British barbeque celebrating the 4th and had a great time grilling steak and ribs while hanging with the Williams clan. 



Zac Brown Band

We went to a Zac Brown Band concert in London at the O2 Arena, Shepherd's Bush, way back in June! The concert was attended by only a few hundred people including four of our good friends as well as Andy Roddick (He was knocked out of Wimbledon earlier that day).  One of the highlights of the night for me was some of the lyrics in one of the songs.  I can never emphasize or thank those who serve our country enough.  They can never be overthanked or overappreciated:

"I thank god for my life

And for the stars and stripes

May freedom forever fly, let it ring.

Salute the ones who died

The ones that give their lives so we don't have to sacrifice

All the things we love...."



Little Birdy

This little bird flew into our home (that we don't live in anymore) last May.  It came in and just made itself at home.  I mostly wanted to post the picture of Luke, not the bird.  The bird was just an added bonus.  If you look closely he is wearing a Will and Kate shirt.  It was around the time of the royal wedding.  As they say in England, bless him!

Do Your Best and Forget the Rest!

Okay, so it's been a while.

Here's a quick summary:

In July we moved into a different house...still in jolly old England.  The "new" house was in desperate need of new... EVERYTHING.  Just take my word on that!  Been living in chaos, just a little, or a LOT.  Just after we moved, we hightailed it to the west coast of the USA for the entire month of August.  Visited Luke's family, and my brother's family.

Been back from USA for over a month, almost 2. Where does the time GO!  Our "new" home is still not in order... :(  I'm a freak and can't relax until it's in order...  My muscles are extremely sore from not relaxing for 3 months :)  ...I'm joking people (about the sore muscles), or maybe I'm not?!

Things are beginning to settle a little more. The following is just a piece of our temporary normal:

No dishwasher for 6 people.

No washing machine or dryer

for 6 people.

1 Toilet for 4.5 toilet users.

Let's just stop there

because this is probably

a little boring.
Let's be honest, we've got nothing to complain about, just spending more time on tasks that used to take less time... Which leaves a lot of other tasks neglected, which then leads to a bit of chaos.

You don't realize how efficient life has become with modern technology and conveniences until they are taken away!

Am I behind on blogging?

YES

Here's the dealio, we must learn to embrace what a dear friend of mine always says,

"Do your best

and forget the rest!"

-Tony Horton

Okay, Tony has no idea who I am!  But I've been seeing him on my TV screen for almost 2 weeks now, everyday.  I feel like I kind of know him.  So, what kind of relationship is that called?
P90X has started in our home...

We are looking onward and upward to getting back into the swing of life after having a few things up in the air...

DO YOUR

BEST AND

FORGET THE REST!

It's catch up time on the blog...

Let's do it!

Cinnamon Rolls

http://likethelanguage.mu.nu/archives/066712.php

This is by far one of my

favorite things to make.
I've just finished making
a fresh batch.

I can taste them in
the air.  The house
has been overtaken with this
sweet, delicious,
heavenly,
I want to eat you
all up, aroma. 

I must give credit

where credit is due.

The link above has the

recipe to these

delectable treats!



Tenerife, Spain (Canary Islands)

Next Stop...

A nice gift for

Mother's Day

from my fabulous

~understatement~

husband!!

He took care of the

kids, while a

friend and I

went to Spain.
He did a spectacular
job with the kids.
The house was
even kept in order,
which is very
hard to do with
the little ones
running around!
He did look pretty
excited to go to work
this morning though,
haha!
I hope he comes home
today  : D
Confession:
It kind
of makes you
feel validated
that yes, we do
a lot when
we stay home with
our kids.
I love them
to pieces!

It was a blast

sharing the
weekend with
my good friend
from England, Sophie!

Spain RoCkS!!!



 View from our Balcony.

Tenerife??
YES,
JUST
DO
IT!!

Easter

Easter rolls around again.

Dawn's first Easter!
She is 3 months now,
it's going by waaay
too quickly!
***note, she is 2 months in this picture***





Mini Trip

In April our family took

a mini road trip in the UK.

First we went to a beautiful

beach in the UK.

Sandbanks (near Bournemouth)...

Next stop,

Stonehenge...

Final stop for the weekend,

Longleat Safari Park...

http://www.longleat.co.uk/





As you drive through

the monkey area,

they are free to roam

and climb on your car.

We were so excited

when a monkey climbed

on top of our van

and we could see it

through the sun roof.

Very fun safari park.

Our good friends

came along with us

for the trip.







My Little Monkeys

"Mom, Kyle thinks he's stronger then me." -LJ

"I aaam. I eat bananas all the time!" -Kyle





London

Luke and I

popped down

to London

together

for the afternoon.

We went for

a quick trip,

just the two

of us.

It has

given me

more courage

to possibly

go away for a

little longer

with just Luke.

Thanks to our

good friends

for watching

all of our kids : D

Family Walk

Good weather in England!

When the weather

is nice here,

you HAVE

to take advantage

of it!

It may be

gone before you

know it,

for a long time.

We thought this

was really funny!

Then our friend

told us tipping

actually means littering

in England.

Legoland!

The family

went to Legoland

for the boys

birthday's.

We went with some

good friends

here :)