Daddy's Home!

He's here!  He's really here!   I went to the airport Sunday morning to get Ryan.  While waiting, I watched plenty of other family reunions and, being so emotional, found myself crying with them, too.  The tears didn't stop when I saw my handsome man walk through the doors.  We grabbed a cup of coffee, got on the Tube, and had a nice hour-long ride back to my parents' house together.  The kids were just as excited to see him!  Rooke ran faster, so he got the first set of hugs.  Gretchen couldn't get enough cuddles.  It feels so good to be back together.  

Ryan brought all of us a fun gift.  The kids got some new trains and accessories.

My Man

For the past four weeks, Ryan has been working hard with limited sleep at his Commissioned Officer's Training at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.  The kids and I have missed him desperately.  This weekend was the graduation celebration.  His dad was there to cheer him on and they sent me these pictures today:

Is he not the most handsome JAG attorney you've ever seen?!  Don't answer that.  He's mine.  And I get to pick him up from the airport on Sunday!!!!  It will have been one month and two days of being apart.  Did I mention the kids and I have missed him like crazy?!  A lot has happened for all of us in the past four weeks.  We are ready to be together again and settle in to our new normal.  

Sunny Days

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here the past couple of days!  I'm so grateful for the chance to be outside, enjoying park adventures in the morning and backyard adventures in the afternoon.  Today was spent at an animal rescue shelter with one of my mom's friends and then bubbles and golf balls in the backyard after naps. 

These are the faces of two precious kids who are ready to see their daddy soon!!

The Parks

The weather has been beautiful since being here, which has helped the family morale immensely (namely Mommy's!).  The kids and I have ventured out to a park almost every day.  All have been beautiful with fantastic play structures and plenty of space to run and burn some energy.

We always stop at this "climbing log" on our way to/from the neighborhood park.

Riding on the top deck of a "tall London bus" to check out another park.

She's fearless when it comes to navigating new playgrounds.  I'm a nervous wreck trying to keep up with her and making sure she doesn't kill herself.  It's only because my mom was with us on this occasion that I was able to take a picture!

Rooke had as much fun pushing Gretchen as he did riding the tractor himself.  It was the perfect match.

Why play on a sprawling toy structure when you can push your sister around on a tractor?!

Settling In

I don't have too many pictures to share yet.  We've been a bit more focused on figuring out when to sleep and how long we need to sleep when we do.  Gretchen's got the hang of it (along with a yucky cold), but Rooke is what I like to call "high sensory" and is still taking it all in.  Why sleep when you can verbally process all the new things around us?!  He keeps asking me why we're in London and not in England (since England is our new home and London is where KayeK and Big Daddy live).  It's only a "London Bus" if it's double-decker.  And he loves turning the bathroom lights on and off (you pull a string).  

We're staying at my parents' house right now.  They went right to work as grandparents before they had to leave on a business trip.

Rooke requested a picnic on Sunday afternoon.  The weather was perfect!

Saying Goodbye

I haven't had many goodbyes in life that were easy.  Leaving Seattle was no exception.  Just when I thought I couldn't shed another tear, I had to say goodbye again.  Some of our last days were spent saying goodbye to:

my MOPS table, including mentor mom, Jean, and co-leader, Jessie.  What a blessing this group of women have been to me.

lifelong friends we were able to cross paths with again

special buddies

like-minded, dear families

neighbors who quickly became friends

the Mondays-get-together gang

treasured friends from community group

faithful Sunday School teachers

one last cousin half-way play

we gave lots of hugs

and did lots of playing

and now it's time to sleep and rest for a while.

We're here.  In England.  Our new home.

The Digger Park

We took one last trip to the Digger Park this week.  It was a beautiful morning and couldn't have been a more perfect last trip to one of our absolute favorite parks.

She's fearless!