Milestones

Joshua won man of the match today at football.  He scored his team's only goal and they were actually one up at halftime.  Unfortunately, they went on to lose but they have been playing with much less of a deficit the last few games.  Uncle Simon had gone to watch so he got a great photo of Josh.

man of the match

how cute!

This evening we celebrated Steve's 40th birthday with a shared meal of jacket potatoes and fillings and then line and barn dancing.  It was fun.  Our kids are getting really good at dancing with all the practice they've gained over the years.
It's funny to think I have known Steve for 20 years.  20 years ago, 40 seemed a long way off and old! Now it's here.  I have been privileged to have been part of Steve's life and it is so cool to see the ways he has grown and matured through this time. 

Steve's present from his mum

I'm Back

I left Detroit on the 4 p.m. flight (9 p.m. GMT) and arrived in Amsterdam at 5:20 a.m. (4:20 GMT).  I tried to sleep on the flight but had little success.  The breakfast on the 'plane was not to my taste so the first thing I wanted to do was find food when I landed.  There was no gate number for my flight to Birmingham and a lot of flights were cancelled on the board but my numb brain didn't really care right then.  I found an open coffee shop (I think I was on one of the first flights of the day as the airport was still shut) and got a coffee and croissant.

After reading for a while I decided I had better find out what was going on with my flight so I went to the transfer desk and discovered my flight was cancelled due to fog and, at that point, they weren't sure there would be a flight that day.

I called Steve (forgetting the one hour difference!) as I didn't want him to have left to get me.  That cost an arm and a leg as I had to use my card.  Then I had to wait for my number to come up to organise a new flight.

Thankfully, I was able to get on a 10:15 flight. That meant I arrived at 10:30 but Steve didn't arrive till 11:30 as he knew it was an hour's flight but we both forgot the 1 hour difference.  

Rose was at home when we got back as school had asked for her to be collected as she wasn't feeling well.  I suspect it was because mummy was getting back.  She wanted to put her new pyjamas that I had bought for her on straight away.

She helped keep me awake till the other two got home.  Josh didn't really want to say hello all that much but when I showed him what I had got for him (lego) he was very excited. Naomi loved her pyjamas too.

I managed to stave off bed till 8, after a lovely bath.

Family Thanksgiving

Today I had the privilege of experiencing a real American Thanksgiving.  I have really appreciated the hospitality of Bonnie and her family over my time here.  And I am so thankful for our friendship and the love her family have extended to me.

The Culmination

As the wedding didn't take place till 4, we were able to have a relaxed morning.  Bonnie's dad brought bagels for breakfast and we ended up at Bonnie's parents' house so that Kate could do the bridesmaid's hair.  (I took the opportunity to walk around the block and take photos).
Then Kate, Liz and I went off to get ready and meet the others at the church for photos at 1ish.  I forgot to take the map Bonnie's dad made for me but, thankfully, he had mentioned each of the roads so we only made one slight mistake and figured out fairly quickly we were driving in the right direction.
We helped put out all the truffles on the tables then took off to decorate the apartment in the only window of time we had.
Sharon was feeling really rough too but was amazingly stoic and managed to do all the photos.  Thankfully, she felt much better for the actual ceremony and dinner.
The wedding was lovely and Bonnie looked radiant - as every bride should!

You can see the rest of my wedding photos here.

Rehearsal

For lunch we had a special high tea.  Unfortunately, the English Breakfast was slightly weak. Fortunately, I had extra teabags I have been carrying around with me, so I added one to the pot.  Much better!  We had soup?!, sandwiches, cakes and pastries and "scones" - which were really more like shortbread.  The cream had lemon in it too.

But - strange elements aside - it was lovely.  Bonnie's sister and family had driven through the night to join us.
This afternoon was dominated by the rehearsal and then dinner together.

After dinner we had a little fun with Bonnie - bowling and video.

Let it snow!

Bonnie had the day off school today so we went over to Daniel's apartment - where they will be living - and helped unpack some of the boxes we had packed.  We had lunch and bought a couple of drawer sets to help with the unpacking and as we left the shop, it was snowing!  (My kids will be jealous!)
Our friend Kate arrived tonight. The momentum is building.

A bit of this, a bit of that

Sarah and I dropped Bonnie off at work so we could use her car and, armed with a map, we proceeded to spend a busy day doing jobs to help Bonnie out.  Plus a couple of special errands of our own - decorating materials for a mini hen night and the new apartment.