Uncle E & Helena

Helena & Benjamin loved having people around that they knew!  It was particularly fun to have Uncle E here without his kids, as it meant that our kids wanted to interact with him rather than their cousins, and he was more available to interact with them!  Helena particularly took advantage by walking & talking with him wherever we went.  They even shared fish & chips at a restaurant!

Blenheim Palace

At the end of October, we had our first visitors and visited our first British tourist site.

As there's no direct bus route from our village to the palace, our day started off with a 25-minute walk on a public footpath.  

 

Helena was thrilled to be at a real-life palace. 

 The palace was built in the early 1700s.  The land and 240,000 pounds were given to the first Duke of Marlborough as a gift from Queen Anne, because he had led the victorious Battle of Blenheim.  By the time the seventh duke was in charge, all of the money was gone and it was hard to get more, as dukes were not allowed to work.  He sold all the books in the huge library. After the ninth Duke of Marlborough married a Consuelo Vanderbilt and thus her money, he bought books by the yard in order to refill the library.  Can you imagine buying books by the yard?

  

It was the most gorgeous day we've had in the U.K., so exploring the neighboring village and the Pleasure Gardens of the palace was most enjoyable!

The kids were thrilled to take a train to the gardens.  Here's Benjamin waiting for the train to start!

By the time we were walking back home on the public footpath, the fog was settling back in.

Livin' a British Life

Yes, you read that right.  We're livin' a British life because we are now in the United Kingdom.  This was not the plan when we drove away from Toronto.  We left thinking we'd be buying a house in St. Paul, Minnesota, John would be working, we'd be settling into our native country, and the kids and I would be home for one more year before school entered into our family's life.

The only thing that is true about our life now, 3 1/2 months later, is that John is working!  John was given a postdoc in Oxford, so our plans changed.  We are now enjoying life in a rented rowhouse, we're discovering new things every day about this country, and Helena is in school.

So the blog will continue - but now from Great Britain!

My Little Brother is Married!

So that's kind of old news - Rob has now been married for 3 months.  But the thought still surprises me.  How can my little brother be old enough to be married?

But he and Sarah just fit together in so many ways, and I'm so happy for both of them!

Helena & Benjamin were both in the wedding, and you couldn't have found a happier flowergirl!  Benjamin seemed to be doing well - until he noticed John wasn't walking down the aisle with him.  Then he was done.  Rob & Sarah had put ring pops on the ring bearers' pillows and in the flowergirls' baskets, and that kept Benjamin happy during the ceremony!

I just love family weddings.  And I love you, Rob & Sarah.

What a full summer we have had!

We left Toronto two and a half months ago now, and the summer has just flown by! 

 

John's brother allowed us to be introduced right back in American life by lending us his BIG truck for a few days.  A very fun yet funny re-introduction!

 

We celebrated the Fourth of July weekend with strawberries, and lots of backyard swimming! 

 

Then it was up to Bemidji to see everyone on my side and to celebrate my little brother's wedding.

There's just never enough play time with Uncle Rob!

We had our annual race around the track for a belated Father's day celebration.

Plus, we got to meet our new niece Avery and our new nephew Carson!

We stayed in Bemidji for a few weeks after everyone else had to go home, so there was time to ride bikes, 

cross the Mississippi River,

spend time with old friends,

make homemade ice cream, 

and swim in Lake Bemidji.

Then back down south for fun with John's fam!  We took walks with our babies,

had a lemonade and donut hole stand (1 donut hole = 5 dollars, 2 donut holes 25 cents!),

became good friends with cousin Mary Elise, 

read books,

spent a weekend at a cabin with Grandma and cousins,

cooked on campfires,

learned about hay bales

and farms,

 

acted like a good uncle should,

celebrated birthdays,

 

and painted.

 

Helena went down her first waterslide, 

and Benjamin had his first horse ride.

I also got to spend some extended time with my good friend Mandy - time with our families and without!

Then we've closed summer off by being back up in Bemidji, playing with a wubble, 

going on boat rides with friends, 

snuggling,

and meeting a real princess!

The summer definitely wasn't what we thought it was going to be, but it was great.  We were blessed to go on all kinds of boats - canoes, kayaks, a pontoon, a speedboat, a row boat, and a sailboat - and our kids really grew in confidence when swimming.  Benjamin's language development has grown by leaps and bounds this summer, and it was so fun to share that with the grandparents.  So much time with family was nice after being far away and then moving away again. It's been a summer that will definitely stick out in our memories.

Just being real here

We move in less than a month.  I am not feeling excited about this.

Toronto has been such a good place for us.  We like life here. 

  

We know how to do life here and how to do it well.  We have such good friends.

I'm not excited about navigating those waters again.  They are always rough for awhile.

I'm so proud of John, for all his work leading up to a job and now for getting a job.

But I don't want to move.   I don't want to leave home.

The bright side of things, however, is I get to move with these three.

We're in it together.

Without them, I'd never be home.