STRAWBERRIES!

I was looking for a Spring themed layout for the blog and came across these strawberries. I decided to use this one since PP and I are growing strawberries this spring....I'll let you know how that turns out!

Brighton

After our long day on Friday, we slept in on Saturday. Jo had several things planed for us to see while we were in Brighton. One was the Brighton Philharmonic which was on Sunday. We went Friday while we were in town to buy tickets. So that will be tomorrow. But today Mi, Jo, Cake, Alex and I went to Brighton Pier. The pier is the same as any other pier but the beach isn't. The sand isn't sand...its rocks. It reminds me of the beaches on the Cape a couple summers ago. As we walked onto the pier there was one of those things you stick your face in and take a picture. So naturally we stopped and Alex and Cake went first then Mi and Jo. I don't have any photos of Alex and Cake but here are the twins!We then preceded to waste money on some games. After a bit we continued down the pier. Jowanted doughnuts...shocker....so we stopped and they were soo good. Then we went to the rides. Cake and Alex wanted to ride the Ghost Train. We didn't so naturally I took pictures!

Mi and Jo scouted out the other rides. They found a roller coaster but Cake is a bid scared of roller coasters and Alex had a sore neck. So that left just us siblings. We had to wait until we had 8 people before they would start the ride so we recruited. The coaster was surprisingly fun.
After the rides we had noodles. They were so very yummy! We went inside the big game room/food court to eat because I was having trouble eating my noodles standing and it was FREEZING! Well naturally we had to play some more games after we ate. There was a wheel like the one from Price is Right and Mi loved that show when he was like three so we had to play. Jo went first and was crappy. Cake however was awesome and won a bunch of tickets. We naturally screamed for joy when she hit the 50 tickets and everyone turned and looked....oh well. At the prize counter they had the glow in the dark jewelry. Side story....Cake's 21st birthday was March 9 and they hadn't celebrated properly. Tonight was the night they were going out to Par-tay!....resume orginal story. So they had to have bracelets for the evening activities. We didn't quite have enough tickets. We went to this claw machine for little kids. It did not stop until you won and all the prized were eggs full of tickets. An hour later and many pounds we had enough tickets for three packs of bracelets.
On Sunday we went to the Philharmonic. It was really good. The only thing was we were in the front row so we pretty much just looked at their feet the whole time. You really don't have to see them to enjoy the music. After the performance, we ate dinner at an Italian restaurant called Pinnochio's. A few things I have realized. British people are not in a hurry when they eat. The servers are not attentive...they don't get tipped. The whole dang country is against ice. They seriously give you one or two cubes if you get any at all. The food was terific and not expensive. For the four of us to get three course it was 40 pounds which converts to about $65.
Monday we went to the Royal Pavillion. The Pavillion was the townhouse for George IV before he became king. After he became King he made the Pavillion what it is now. It is not big by palace standards but it is by mine. They don't let you take photos so I show you but it was really neat. Teh main hall had an asian theme to it. Apparently this was very popular in those times even though most people had never been to China. The dining room was so very impressive as was the music room. The kitchen had a table that they had pipes running under to keep the food warm and state of the art equipment for the time. In the kings chamber he had indoor plumbing. The water in the bathtub could be fresh or salt water. As I said the palace was not very big so after his death the other royals did not use it much as there was not enough room for children and their servants. Here is a picture of the Royal Paviliion at night. I didn't get one during the day but I will get Jo to send me one.

Catching up!

Ok...so I have been home for several weeks now but I don't ever seem to have time to update the blog. I have finally downloaded ALL of my pictures onto my computer. It took two hours...no lie! And I organized them into folders...yes I have issues... and I am now in the process of going through and posting to facebook. Now I will update the blog. I am going to post in sections so they are not so long and I will put pictures too. I hope everyone had a good Easter!

Hi from the UK

Hi! We made it! I have been vary nervous about the flight over the pond and let me tell you that is a HUGE pond. I also have a hard time flying because it is very painful to my ears. But the flight was not as bad as I thought in that way but it was horrible for sleeping. I went to my brother's on Wednesday night and I didn't sleep well and then I sleep horribly on the plane. The seats are so close to the ones in front that my knees hit is when I sat down. I could barely get my bag under the seat in front of me.

The flight seemed like it took three days. But we made it. We went through border patrol and customs with no incidents. We then proceeded to baggage claim. Mi and I both had two checked bags and a carry on then I had my purse. One of my checked bags was my suitcase but I needed another one just as big so I borrowed GBE's big suitcase. Guess what happened...the airline broke a wheel off of his bag. So that means he gets a new suitcase but I have to deal with the pain in the ass of doing it...isn't that great! The process of filing the claim went very well and I met two very funny airport workers who made the experience so much better. I didn't even get mad! That is an accomplishment for me.

The broken bag up close!

Surprisingly I have not been that cranky considering I do not deal well with no sleep.
We found the train to Brighton and then Falmer easily. The trouble came when we reached Falmer station which is where Jo's dorm is. The train drops you off on the other side of the tracks so you have to go up stairs across the tracks and then down stairs. That doesn't seem that bad right? Well when you have almost 200lbs of luggage, one fifty pound bag with only one wheel and a very tired (and out of shape) me and Mi it isn't easy peasy. That is my new British term I learned from the claims guy! It was horrible. But we made it. There are like 8000 stairs to get to Jo's dorm. I was sooooo tired and the bags were like 90 or 100 pounds combined that I had to carry up the stairs. But then Jo came and helped me so all I had was my carry on and purse and bag. It was still miserable though. We got here and got the beds blown up two hours later. Then we napped and went to see some of the town. I took a bunch of pictures to show you guys but, like the genius that I am, I left the cord at home (but I will add them later). We had dinner at a pub and people bring their kids. The kids were playing board games and the adults were drinking...so weird. Then Cake and I came home and Mi and Jo went to a party.

When I got home I called PP because when I spoke to her earlier she didn't sound right and had been running a fever the night before. Apparently she continued to run a fever this morning and got sick to her stomach so Mimi had to take her to the doctor. She was so sweet and said she was fine and for me not to worry but I hate that she is sick and I am 4000 miles away. I know she is being taken care of its just hard being so far away.

We are hanging out here for the weekend then going to London on Tuesday and Wednesday and then Ireland for Thursday to Saturday then back home on Sunday. I just wanted to say hi and tell you whats been going on. I will update you as I can while I am here and I will fill you in on everything else when I get home!

Sweet Gifts

I have a friend from college, who was actually my roommate freshman year, who has had a rough bout of life recently. She and her husband, who we (meaning Kim and I) think is just so perfect for her, have a blog (noahandjulieroberts.blogspot.com) that tells the story of their first precious miracle, Magdalena Grace. I received a text this morning, which I should have gotten last night but didn't, so I got up and turned the computer on. The blog post said JULIE AND NOAH ARE PREGNANT!!!!! I am so happy for them! Pray for them in this emotional time.

Soccer Star

PP and her friend decided they wanted to play soccer this year. When we lived in Lucedale, PP "played" soccer. She has barely turned four and basically stood on the field which was about an eighth of the size of a normal soccer field. So we don't really count that experience as cute as it was! So when we moved here I found out that you had to be six before you can play soccer. I can't say I was all that upset and neither was PP. It didn't help when a woman at the bank told me that her daughter played and it was rainy and cold almost the whole season. Oh I forgot.... the soccer season is in the winter which is REALLY cold here. Well, the next year PP said she wanted to play. I have managed to convince her for two years that she really didn't want to play. But of course this year I gave in. Last week was the first practice. It was freezing! I quickly decided I shouldn't have given in. But she really enjoyed it so I guess I can suck up the cold. The team, the diamonds, practiced four times last week and had the first game tonight. I should mention that our team is a totally new team, none of the players have played before.
Ok. The game.
For our first game we played the second best team from last year....great. The game started out a little shaky. The girls were very intimidated by the other team. But as the game went on the girls got better. PP is one of the fastest girls on the team so she was stationed in the mid field (I am new at all this soccer stuff so pardon the terms). The plan was for her to get the ball and run. She did really well. And that is not just a doting mother, several of the other parents said so too. Anyways, the poor thing ran up and down the field all game. Soccer is a very physical game and our girls weren't ready for the contact. They tended to back away when the other team pushed a little, PP included. She ended up tripping a girl from the other team by accident. Later in the game the girl pushed her down. PP says that the girl pushed her on purpose but she tripped her on accident. Then she said that she pushed her so hard that she flew in the air and hit the ground and then bounced and hit the ground again. Can you say dramatic? She did hit the ground pretty hard but not like that. She sat out for a few minutes. The coach and I proceeded to tell her to not let those other girls push her around. Oh I forgot the important part. She scored the only goal! That was before the pushing and tripping. She got the ball and ran it past the defenders and scored. She was proud and so was I. Needless to say she went to bed early tonight. We have another game tomorrow which will hopefully go better.
PS-I forgot the camera so I will take some tomorrow and post them.

Traveling Sisters

Today is the day that my sister, Jo, and GBE's sister, Jes, are leaving for thier study abroad experiences to England and South Africa, respectively. Pray for safe trips as they will both be on LONG plane rides over large bodies of water. Although I guess water is safer than land as far as crashing goes, since all the people on the Hudson River plane survived. O yeah...they both are supposed to start blogs for those of us stuck in the US to live vicariously through, but Jes is the only one who did. Shocker! It is on my blog list if you care to read. She is a great writer (journalism major) and photographer so I am expecting some good entries!
I am so excited for them. I had hopes years ago (more than I care to admit) about going to London for a semester. But, obviously I didn't make it. Our lives don't alway happen as we plan...a lesson I am continually learning. Anyways...I hope our sisters have a great time and bring me home something really cool!
PS- My brother Mi and I are going to England over Spring Break to visit! I am super excited for March!

Reading Fair Drama

I am sad to announce PP did not make it to the Regional Reading Fair. She did come in second place in the district Reading Fair (yay!!). This has caused many tears today. The principal at her school announced the winners at the end of the day. She was SOOOO excited! She jumped in the car beaming and said, "I AM GOING TO REGIONALS!". I said, "Really?". She said, " Yea...I got second" to which I replied, "O....". I knew only the first place winner from each category would be able to go to regionals but she didn't. And of course they didn't explain this to her at school. So here came the tears for the first time. Bless her heart nothing went right for the rest of the day. We had about four more breakdowns before bedtime. If this is seven I can't imagine seventeen!

Sympathy

Please remember the Johnson and Roberts families in your prayers. They are both friends of mine who have suffered the loss of a child this week. Pray for the happy repose of Libby Kate Johnson and Magdalena Grace Roberts.