Thankful for Family and Friends

With all the major transitions that are happening for our family, it was good to spend some quality time with friends and extended family as we traveled.  We've made it safely to North Dakota, but these photos are from the days we spent reconnecting with friends and family along the way . . .

We got to stay with Ryan's brother and family for the first few days . . . this was round two of backyard pool fun!  

This photo pretty much sums it up: our kids were all about (and all over) anything Uncle Sean and Aunt Jessica were doing (and Bridgette is just a monkey!)

We had a Star Wars movie night, complete with light saber snacks and a new Star Wars t-shirt!

Sweet Phoebe put up with so much having her three boisterous cousins invade her space!  But it was great to get to know her better and we're glad she was asking where "the cousins" were after we'd left instead of throwing a party that we were gone!

The kids were big fans of the treats at church!

The splash pad was empty at 9:30am, but it was plenty warm to enjoy the water!

It had only been a week since we'd said goodbye to the Leach Family in England, but it sure was good to say hello again and get a hug from dear friends when we met up at Braums!  Our visits to family overlapped in the same city!

It had been a long time since I'd visited with Auburn!  We met in college, roomed together, and were bridesmaids in each others wedding.  It was wonderful to reconnect with her and get to meet her precious children.

We also hung out with the Campbell Crew!  What a wonderful blessing this family's friendship continues to be for us.

Ryan and I managed a little morning "date" at the Porter Peach Festival 5K run.  I said I'd do it if Ryan would run my pace, which he graciously did, and I actually enjoyed myself.  I ran the whole thing, without stopping, and - more importantly - without passing out.  Victory.

The family checking out our new van we have affectionately named Snowball.  This is how Ryan made it up to North Dakota!

Thanks for the lego help, Uncle Joe!

Speaking of Uncle Joe . . . he let Rooke take this sword home.  Oh my!  We've all agreed it will stay on the wall as decoration in his new room!

Uncle Sean outfitted our family with hyper-color Tulsa Tech glasses!

Brothers and sisters

Grammy Deb hosted a little tea party for the girls!

The Paynes!  It was great to be all together.

A Trip Down South

We took a little road trip to visit Ryan's grandparents while we are still in this part of the country.  Rooke was the only one of our children who'd had met his great grandparents, and this was the first time we'd been to their home of 50 years as a family.  It was a wonderful visit and I am grateful for the new memories that were formed in such a short time.

When we've Skyped in the past, Great Grandmother and Rooke always connected over cars.  She has quite the collection!  

I was honored to make pancakes for breakfast in Peggy Payne's kitchen.  The first time I made pancakes for Ryan and I after we were married, Ryan graciously encouraged me to learn how to make them like his grandmother used to make them!  The butter crust around the edge is the key.

Isaac Bonaparte Payne with his great grandson, Rooke Isaac.

Gretchen was showing off her ipad doll-dressing skills.

She let Great Grandmother take a turn!

The Paynes have a humongous fig tree in their backyard.  The figs are just starting to ripen, so the kids each took turns picking figs with Great Grandaddy.  I didn't get any photos of Rooke picking because he and Great Grandaddy were out together at 6:30am!

We had a delicious fried chicken dinner shared with extended family and friends.  Great Grandmother's niece, Laura, joined us.  It was wonderful to meet her after knowing she's been following us on this blog for several years!

Ryan's cousin, Bryan, made a stop on his route one morning.  The kids were super impressed and walked away with police badge stickers!

Thank you, Peggy and IB, for hosting us and loving on your great grandkids so well.  We are grateful for the time we spent together.

A Long Layover (on purpose)

Our flight from London to the states went really smooth.  Bridgette used her screen remote like a phone, Gretchen got to watch The Little Mermaid for the first time, and I taught Rooke how to play Battleship, which we played again and again and again . . . 

We are taking advantage of a long layover to spend time with Ryan's family.  Gretchen is embracing her Oklahoma roots!

A big family dinner at a Mexican restaurant was the perfect chance to introduce our kids to chips and queso.  Bridgette was a fan!

Grammy Deb educating Rooke on the ways of the sopapilla - lots of honey! 

Uncle Sean won Super Uncle award last week after he made pancakes for breakfast, set up the swimming pools, and played in the water with the kids for the morning while Ryan and I went out shopping for a car.  We haven't been in heat like this for a loooong time, so the pool is a great way to start the day!

The Last Week

We've said a lot of goodbyes this past week.  It never gets easier.  I carried my camera around with my everywhere we went, but only managed to take photos half of the time.  I was too busy hugging, or wiping tears away, or comforting my kids who are feeling the affects of our transition, or just enjoying last moments with people we've grown to really love on this side of the pond.  Life in England has been really good to us these past three years. 

The last Sunday of each month, our church had a "Bring and Share" lunch together.  It was my kids' favorite meal of the week!  Unlimited access to crisps and fruit and cold pizza and second helpings of treats if they behaved. =)  This last lunch, the kids were all especially great and sat together by themselves - even little Bridgette - while we got to chat with the adults!

Sweet preschool playmates

They asked for this photo.  We were about to walk through the village and had a few "goodbye" photos to hand out. 

The Boys on the last day of school for Rooke (everyone else still has three weeks left)

There is no lacking of noise, physical energy, smarts, or humor with this bunch!

Little sisters / Ballet friends - wanted their own jumping photo!

These two have a special brother/sister friendship.  I think it's the hair.

Gretchen's last day of preschool.  She loved her teacher, Miss Sallie.

 We spent the Fourth of July weekend with my parents.  Mom had a "special basket" full of fun activities for the kids to draw from throughout the weekend.  It made our last few days together extra special and fun.

This boy LOVES watermelon.  Always has . . .

. . .  when he was one-year-old!

Sparklers!

Bridgette wasn't so sure about her sparkler, but she was at least willing to hold it!

Turning over the keys and saying goodbye to our house.

It was chaos most of the morning!

Life in England these past three years has been wonderful.  The Lord has been so good to us.  

And now, we board the plane and move on to new adventures waiting for us in North Dakota!