Weekend Adventures

Here are a few photos from some of our recent weekend adventures in and around London.

  

This first one is for Joan – the first tree to show color this year.

 
Maple Road near dusk.

Prizes the girls won from a festival booth.
 

Amber in the tube station.

St. Pancras Station – where we ate crepes.
 

And for your entertainment – an accordionist by the river.

It's like Harry Potter...

I just found out today that Alexa's school has houses that each class is divided into from start to finish. Obviously they do not live there, but they are divided in each class into different houses and stay in that house as long as they are at the school. They also earn "house points" through good deeds and lose points for bad behavior.

I feel a little out of the loop on these things - but honestly - Alexa just doesn't tell us these things. I only found out today because she earned her house (Herons) two points today for informing the teacher of a stranger taking pictures of a group of girls on the playground. The Head Mistress even seems a bit like Dumbledore - she came into the Year 4 class and had Alexa and her group of friends involved stand up and expressed how sensible they acted and awarded them the points. Cool.

I just found out that Alexa also has a dance recital tomorrow afternoon. I have no idea of when it is - but she has apparently been preparing since school started. Too bad I will miss it, but I am sure Richard will video for me.

I will post some pictures soon of our recent weekend adventures. We have visited Richmond, seen the remnants of a regatta on the river, attended the Surbiton Festival and gone to see The Monument and St. Pancras station. I will show and tell all about them soon.

Time - where does it go?

I thought I would have so much more time when Richard and the girls got here - was I wrong! Don't get me wrong - I am not complaining AT ALL. I love that I get questions and requests from three separate people when I walk in the door - I know I am loved and missed all day.

I just thought that I would be able to get to bed at a decent hour every night since I would not need to stay up to talk with my family on Skype every night. Not the case. I guess it is just make up time for being apart for so long. Richard and I seem to be up until 11 PM or later every night and we cannot seem to figure out where the time goes.

It is all good though - I love it and would not trade it for anything. I am looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday though!

Happy Birthday to my sisters

How wonderful to be able to celebrate two birthdays in one day. Here's a big shout-out to Joan and Kelly - Happy Birthday! I hope you both have a wonderful day!

Joan - I am so glad you are my big sister! I used to think it would have been better of you were my little sister - but now I know it was meant to be this way. Thank you for Seventeen magazine when I was in high school, sharing your clothes with me sometimes, taking me to see Kenny G, including me in confirmation retreats and all the fun stuff we used to do. Thank for being not only a sister, but also a friend and a confidante and for staying in touch with me so well in this big move. I hope you have a wonderful year!

Kelly - I am so lucky to have acquired you as a sister - what a nice side benefit to marrying Richard. You are always so supportive and helpful. I miss car pooling with you and shopping with you and generally talking with you. I wish we had had more girl time together before we moved so far away. Thank you for all of your help and for watching out for my family while I was away from them. You are a true friend and sister! I hope this year is your best yet!

Here's to the birthday girls! Hip hip hooray!

Amber's first day

As I predicted, Amber had a great first day at school - after a shaky start. I tried to buy her a day pass for the bus the night before and the guy at the train station was trying to go home and not listening well to me. I ended up with round trip train tickets instead. So we left the house just a few minutes late, bought a bus pass at the convenience store and then she just missed the actual bus. We waited for the next one for about ten minutes when Amber said she was supposed to be early that day. Since she only had 10 minutes to get there - I bundled her into a taxi and sent her on her way. She made it just in time.

She went through her first few classes without a schedule, but everyone was very helpful. She spent her lunch break hanging out with the Guitar Club and learned how to play Spoons (the card game - not the instrument). She has made few friends and really likes it so far.

She has 10 different classes that she attends over the course of a two week schedule. She is required to take English, Math, Science, PE, Religious Education, Citizenship, and Information and Computer Technology. Then she chose to take History, Textiles and Graphics. She has only attended a few of these so far and has a LOT of homework. Over the weekend she has to read a book, write a 1300 word essay, start another paper on the book - all for English. Then she has to come up with a brand idea for her name for Graphics and draw ideas on the flow of water for Textiles. Hopefully this seems like a lot only because she missed the first 4 days of school.

In any case, she came home with a smile on her face and we now know how all the transportation works.

Amber is starting High School!

OK - so it's not American High School - but I think it still counts. She will be starting 10th year in the UK. She is really nervous - but I am sure she will have a great day.

With that said, I remember how nervous I was on my first day of high school and I totally feel for how she is feeling. Not only is she starting school in a foreign country, but she is also starting 5 days after the rest of the students started.

I am positive she will be accepted well and that everyone will be helpful though. She is so likeable - who wouldn't want to be her friend? I will let you know how it all goes this weekend.

SURPRISE!

Richard flew into London today to stay! He ended his employment with Deloitte as of Friday the 4th and flew over last night. The girls were so surprised and we are all so happy! Videos to come soon of how we surprised the girls.

Alexa's first day of school

Alexa's first day of school in the UK was today. We arrived to the school early to drop off all of her paperwork and meet her teacher. Then we went out to the playground to wait for school to start and mingle with the other parents and students. The mingling was minimal, but the Head Mistress did rustle up another Year 4 girl to help Alexa to her classroom. As she introduced Alexa to Maxine, about 4 other girls ran up to us to see the new girl. Alexa acted shy. Then the bell rang and she was led by Maxine into school, looking back only once. She said she was pretty much over her shyness as soon as I left.

When we picked her up from school this afternoon, she was all smiles.

Unfortunately we received very little information from her aside from the fact that she really liked the school. She talked with Grandma on Skype and a little more at dinner and here is what we have pieced together:

- Assembly is every morning and they sing hymns and have some sort of worship (It is a Church of England school)
- There are three break times (recess), one in the morning, one with lunch and one in the afternoon. This seems to have really impressed Alexa.
- They eat their lunch outside and then play.
- The "Big Field" is only open once a day and when it is, everyone runs with their hands in the air to get there.
- Alexa is teaching some of the girls a new tag game that involves sharks, fish, minnows, octopus and rock/paper/scissors
- She played American Idol in the first break with some girls and went first with a dance routine.
- She played America's Got Talent in the second break and also found the secret club of some of the other Year 4 girls.
- She played Britain's Got Talent in the third break.
- In the first and second breaks, some Year 6 girls kept following her around and asking her to say something. So she said, "Hi." Then they would ask her to say something else and she said, "Bye." Then she and her friends ran away.
- There is homework only once a week (we will see about that)
- She will be learning French on Mondays
- In class, she had to introduce herself and tell where she is from. She told them she was from America, from Texas and from Houston. All of the kids had a collective intake of breath after each announcement.
- During one of the breaks, Alexa and her friends were seeing how far out they could pull their skin by their hairline when one of the girls noticed that Alexa had a red bump on her forehead. No one seems to know where it came from, but Alexa had to go to the office and put ice on it.
- Alexa is trying out for Football (Soccer) tomorrow, but it is really only for boys. She is trying out anyway - but not gonna be on the team.
-Although she has made 5 friends, she only knows Lily's name.

Nineteen years

Nineteen years ago today, my dad left this world for a new one. You would think that after that much time I wouldn't miss him so much. I think with all of the changes we have gone through and are going through that I almost miss him more.

Here is an essay I wrote a year after his death. I like to read it sometimes to remind myself that he is still with me.

As a child, laughing and playing, I remember my father, seemingly in the background, as a strong silent image evoking kindness and reassurance. He was always there when I needed a hand to hold. He always kept me in line and pointed me in the right direction.

As I grew older and made my way through school, I must have asked my father thousands of questions. I'm sure that most of them were serious and that a good share were just silly. Still, no matter how trivial the questions may have been, he never denied me an answer.

I began to watch my father, how he worked and studied; how he interacted with the people around him. I learned through his example that observation is one of the most important tools in gaining knowledge. I also discovered that honesty and hard work are the only true pathways to respect and success.

Even after my father's death in this world, I continued to learn from the man and his example. I learned that life goes on, even through pain and sorrow. I learned that my life must go on as well. Still, I have only recently realized what I believe to be the most valuable knowledge my father ever imparted to me. Even though one may lose a person to God, the love and support of that person remains. I still have the strong silent image of my father, his kindness and reassurance. Most of all, I still have his love.

Thank you, Dad.

I miss Richard

The girls have been here a little over a month and I absolutely LOVE having them here. It is wonderful to have their hugs and snuggles, conversations and laughter, and even to be able to settle their disputes and dry their tears. Still, there is a big hole in our household. We all miss Richard so much!

I miss his jokes and how he helps me to not take myself so seriously. I miss his smile and his laughter and the way he teases and cares for the girls. I miss having someone who always knows what I am thinking. I like that we can have disjointed conversations with incomplete sentences and know exactly what we are talking about - no explanations necessary.

I miss having timeless nothings with Richard, where we just sit on the back porch and watch the clouds blow by. I miss the way we work together in taking care of household stuff - like solving a mouse problem or hanging massive pictures or trimming the hedges.

I miss walks together, watching TV together - really doing anything together. Eight months is way too long to be apart from the love of your life...