Family Fun Day

Well the event at the boys' school was a great success and I think everyone had a great time. The weather this morning was a bit scary as it was raining but it soon ended and the weather ended up being just fine.

Tim was a great help and worked the entire day from set up to clean up. The company we hired did most of the work so we could enjoy the event with our families ~ it was SO nice to actually be able to enjoy the day!!

Isn't the bug bouncy castle ADORABLE? I must admit it was my favorite. We also had an activity called the pillow bash where two people sat on a pole and tried to know the other person off. The highlight was the headteacher and the school bursar attempting to get on the pole, let alone knock each other off. Not to be outdone, the athletic director and the history teacher had a round on the activity as well and had a great time.

I've made it back to the UK and am back into the swing of things. Upon my arrival yesterday morning I made cupcakes for an event at Maggie's school this afternoon. I had forgotten that I needed to make them until I saw my reminder note on the message board ~ oops!! Today, I am at the boys' school getting ready for the family fun day on Saturday. Myself and another mom are the event organizers so we will be busy.

Tim and the kids did fine while I was away. I prepared meals before I left so all that needed to be done was defrost and reheat!! I know they all missed me :-} However, Christopher told me he didn't miss me asking him to pick up his stuff around the house.

A Beautiful Service

Today was the funeral service for Diana's mom and it was very nice. The words spoken about her mom were touching, special and funny. She was so full of life it was not surprising to hear so many fond memories. I cry at commercials, so I knew I would shed tears, but I was doing OK until Tyler started sobbing and then the tears really started to flow. I know it was a difficult day for the entire family but I do think they find peace in the fact Mary is no longer in pain and is looking over them all.

The weather here is HOT (91 and sunny). I think I have been away too long as I actually complained about the heat....hello, I LOVE hot and sunny days. There is something very wrong with me....I think I need to move back to the US...I am starting to forget what hot weather is like :-}

Away For A While....

I am off to the states so I will not be blogging for few days. While the reason for my trip is sad I will be happy to finally be able to offer support to Diana in person rather than 4000 miles away. Tim and the kids are all set to live on 'their own' for a week and I know they will do fine. I have a couple of friends who will be helping with school time pick up so that is a great help.

Please remember Diana and her family in this most difficult time. I know her mom is in a better place and without pain but it is still very hard.

In Memory:

A thousand times we needed you.

A thousand times we cried.

If love alone could have saved you;

you never would have died.

A heart of gold stopped beating.

Two twinkling eyes closed to rest.

God broke our hearts to prove he only took the best.

Never will a day go by that you’re not in our hearts and our souls.

adapted poem by K. Chastain

I received the sad news this morning that Diana's mom has passed away. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year. Please keep the entire family in your prayers in this difficult time.

Happy Birthday Andrew!!

This cute little boy is celebrating his birthday today! Yep, Andrew is 14!! Where has the time gone? A couple of years ago he was excitedly looking forward to being a teenager...now he is looking forward to driving {Oh my}

He has selected one of his favorite meals for dinner tonight {lasagna}, the cake is made and his gifts are wrapped and all ready for him. I asked him if he wanted to do anything else special and in typical teen boy conversation replied "No, not really".

He sure is a boy of many words.

Sweet Victory ~ Go Browns!!

The Cleveland Browns Vs. Cincinnati Bengals rivalry is old and great! Since the Browns rejoined the NFL they had yet to beat the Bengals until NOW! {51 - 45} The game on Sunday was amazing ~ who would have thought that Browns could not only score 51 points in a game but manage to win it as well. {Sorry Diana and Ryan, your team was not as good today} This was the eighth highest scoring game in NFL history. When the two teams played each other in 2004 , the 58-48 final score was the second highest with Cinci winning that one.

New starting quarterback Derek Anderson, proved why he was the starter with an amazing show of skill and patience - 5 touchdowns and 326 yards of passing.

They looked like the Browns of old and lets hope they hold on and win some more games this season in such fashion. The Cleveland fans have supported the team year after year....maybe the team will start to give a little back.


The Colts won as well, but everyone expects them to win. The Browns victory was an upset as NO ONE expected them to win.
**Photo by David Maxwell / Getty Images**

Say Cheese....

Yesterday we ventured over to Wensleydale Creamery to see the cheese being made and to have a simple day out. The drive over was through windy roads and Maggie was bit car sick upon our arrival but she was soon feeling better. We went into the viewing area to watch the cheese making process ~ it was small but fun none the less. We had a great lunch in the restaurant and the view from our table was spectacular.

On our drive home we saw a field full of sunflowers so Tim stopped so I could hop out and take a photo.We also made a quick stop at Theakston and Black Sheep brewerys in North Yorkshire to pick up a few things for himself and couple gifts.
.

JACKPOT!!!

Ok, I am SOOOOOOO excited to be posting this. Remember when I talked about the NFL tickets {HERE}?? Well the tickets went on sale this morning and I sat here at the computer all ready to go.....I kept refreshing the page waiting for the ticket sales to go live. When it did.....I was off, I entered 4 tickets best available and guess what?? I GOT TICKETS!!!!

To say I am excited is an understatement. To see a NFL game here in the UK and at Wembley stadium is such a once in a lifetime opportunity and now we can take they boys and share in the excitement with them. Maggie will be with friends as she isn't interested in football at all.

The best part is the location of our seats. We are on about the 25 yard line in row 12!! I am shocked at how lucky I was. According to the UK NLF website the tickets sold out in a little over 5 minutes this morning. Here is the seat chart of the stadium. I put a star where our seats are located. So, if you watch the game on October 28th keep an eye out for us :-}

The only bad thing about the game is that the teams {Miami V. NY Giants} are not the teams we support but I don't care......We're going to Wembley!! We do get to see Eli Manning in action, not as good as Peyton but he will do! And to think last night I was debating whether or not to even try for the tickets.

Guess I should get a lottery ticket today too!!

Day of Remembrance

It has been 6 years since the attacks in the US and the events of that day are still fresh in my mind as I am sure many others around the world. Do you remember where you were when you first heard of the Trade Center attack? Who were you with? What did you do?

Take time today to remember those who lost their lives, their families and friends and most importantly ~ remember those who are special in your life.



** I did not create this video I found it on YouTube...gotta love that site.

Blackberries

The blackberries are out in full force in our yard and once again this year will have plenty for baking. I am even going to try to make jam ~ I'm not sure how that will go but we will see. Here is the recipe that I used last year and everyone seemed to like it so no need to change it.

Blackberry Crumble

4 c. fresh blackberries

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. quick cooking oats

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 c. butter

Place blackberries in large bowl. Sprinkle with sugar; mix well. Let stand for several minutes. Combine oats, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in bowl; mix well. Cut in butter until crumbly. Spoon blackberries into buttered baking dish. Sprinkle oats mixture over top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

Say Cheese.....

While at the grocery store {yes, the actual store and not online shopping} I was looking in the cheese department and decided I should try something new. I was tired of always getting chedder, swiss etc. SO, I was brave and bought Wensleydale & Cranberry cheese. This cheese is from an area not too far away from us and it always good to support local manufacturers. I must say it is now my favorite cheese! I never would have thought I'd like fruit in cheese but it is a really good combination. I can't wait to go the to store this week to get more ~ sad I know, excited about cheese.

Outdoor Adventure

Today we took advantage of the beautiful weather and traveled to Keswick in the Lake District. It is approximately about a 1.5 hour drive away but it is SO worth it.



We have been before, but to a different part of the area. We brought the dog along with us so she could enjoy the outdoors with us as well. The day started with a boat ride over to the other side of the lake where we took a 2 mile hike. The hardest part of the hike was at the beginning as it was a steep climb. The views were spectacular everywhere you looked. Maggie was in charge of being our guide and she did a great job.

Take note of the photo titled putt putt golf. Yes that is what they called putt putt there ~ it was more like a shortened version of a par 3 course. We did not do this as we had Millie with us or we would have.

What Kind of Traveler Are You??

Saw this fun activity on a blog today and thought I'd share it! Let me know what kind of traveler you are.

	Your travel type: Party Animal The Party Animal always wears sunglasses during his vacation. He likes a good hotel, with a swimming pool and room service. A couple of drinks at night, maybe see a show, maybe roll the dice, that's the way to spend the evening. Culture? A museum? The others can go while the Party Animal stays in bed. You'll find him by the side of the pool when you get back with a martini to get rid of the hangover.
	top destinations: Las Vegas New York Paris	stay away from: Hampi Ciudad Perdida Darien Gap

get your own travel profile <----- click the link on the left to see how you do

American Football

Earlier this year it was announced that 1 regular season NFL game will be played in London's Wembley Stadium this fall. I registered my interest and was told further emails will be sent. What they have done is quite simple, for each round of ticket sales those who registered and interest were put into a lottery and then were sent passwords to buy the tickets when they were released. You could not get tickets without the unique password. Two rounds of ticket sales have come and gone and I heard NOTHING....until today! I was sent the email with the password informing me I could purchase up to 4 tickets. The game is Miami V. Buffalo but I don't care....to say I went to a NFL game here in the UK would be AWESOME!! I must say that although I was sent the password does not guarantee I will get tickets...more passwords than tickets were sent out. Maggie would stay home with friends as she could care less about it. The tickets go on sale next Tuesday so stay tuned.

PS....according to the NFL UK 500,000 people registered an interest in going to the game. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket.

Sleepy

I just had to take this photo...Christopher came home from school and this is what he did ~ fell asleep on the sofa.

Back To School....

The kids went back to school today and they were ready. All three were up bright and early and ready to start the day. I even made pancakes for breakfast!!

Maggie was a bit nervous as she is in a new part of the school but was very excited to see her friends. They were all showing her their shoes. I kid you not when I say 50% of her class {there are only 12} had the same shoes. They are called YoToys and are made by Clarks. The heels of the shoes have these toys in them - cars for boys and dolls for girls. They are located in the heel ~ one half in each shoe then snap together to make one toy. You can see them in the heel and they do come out so you can play with them. They are not cheap either £32 ($64) and I guess they are the 'must have' shoe of the season. Well Maggie is not going to have a pair of these as I think they are foolish. Yes I know, mean mom.

Anyway, here is a photo marking their first day of school. It is amazing how much they have changed over the year. I wanted to take the boys in for haircuts earlier this week but they refused as they said only dorks go to school with fresh haircuts. SO, they are going in a couple of weeks ~ I don't see what a difference a few weeks makes is but to it matters to them .

Here is last years photo for comparison.

Britains Finest??

I have posted in the past that I am a HUGE reality TV junkie and the X Factor has resumed here in the UK. It is like American Idol but with a twist....I actually prefer X Factor. Anyway, I am digressing. Here is a clip of a girl who was in the audition show last week...her attitude is awful and she really thinks she is good ~ in fact, better than Madonna.


I guess she did make for good TV!

Diana had this quiz posted on her blog so I thought I'd give it a try.....not surprised with what it came up with as I have only lived in the regions specified {not counting the UK of course}. What American accent do you have? Neutral You're not Northern, Southern, or Western, you're just plain -American-. Your national identity is more important than your local identity, because you don't really have a local identity. You might be from the region in that map, which is defined by this kind of accent, but you could easily not be. Or maybe you just moved around a lot growing up.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Date Night

Just a quick photo of us from our night out with friends :-} It was so nice to go out for a meal with no kids! I think the kids were excited to have us out of the house as well...we went to a new restaurant about 10 minutes from the house in a 'trendy' area of eateries and bars. Who would have thought...us trendy :-}

What Do You Think??

I don't know if Britney's new song is the big buzz where you are but that is ALL we are hearing about at the moment here. I will admit I sing along to her on the radio but I am not sure about this one.....maybe it will be one that the more you hear it the more you like it.


Let me say that I DID NOT create this video...found it on YouTube.

Hope you are having a great Saturday....the weather here was perfect and we went to the beach. Tonight it is adult night ~ we are going out with another couple for dinner and drinks!