This is what we have been up to

I really want to document all the English food we are eating because I always hear jokes about how mediocre English food is and so I want to get a taste of it for myself so I can make my own opinion and so far...SO GOOD! Of course I am not that harsh of a critic and I haven't had much yet. Here we are eating cornish pasties. 

 

 Sausage and Mash

That's right we went to Cadbury World, where we learned about Cadbury Chocolate and saw parts of the factory where it's made, we also of course ate lots of chocolate!!! so good!!

 

 This is the "seaside" in ChristChurch, a little village near on the coast. 

Here is the church. Cool uh?

Here we are at Stonehenge. It was freezing because of the wind. Hank and I wanted to enjoy the audio guide they gave us but gave up half-way through because Sam was screaming and we both were freezing. I don't feel like I missed much because the guide would repeat over and over how mysterious the whole structure is and how no one really knows anything about it. The thing I find interesting is that this was an ancient site even before the Romans invaded. No wonder nobody knows anything.

Salisbury Cathedral. It's a bit mind boggling.

This is the first ancient Cathdral I have ever been in, it sorta took my breath away.

Anyway, more updates to come!

Sam's Birthday and other fun stuff

 

Sam's birthday isn't until April 6th but since we left for England on Tuesday I wanted to have it early so my whole family could be there.Here is Bethany, Kelsy and Summer preparing for the party. It was a dinosaur party and so we had all kinds of treats.

This is a dinosaur landscape made with all sorts of fun stuff.

Dinosaur deviled eggs

Dinosaur cake! So fun to make.

After a game of "animal" but dinosaur style and a show put on by Avery (my niece) we opened presents. Sam took this very seriously as you can tell.

He made out!

We then watched a video/slideshow I made about his first year of life. Thinking about this past year with him made me really emotional. I can't believe how fast it all goes by. Makes you just want to apreciate what time you do have. After the video the famous cake eating!

Not much survived. Sam is showing off with his signature heads tilt move.

In other news my sister and her family came down to visit and be with my brother who just got back from his mission. We had so much fun this last weekend making Brazilian food, watching movies, going for walks, parks and just being together. Sam's expressions tells all.

Such a nice family, do you think?

We left for England the next day. It felt pretty long but Sam did so well. The only problem was the long flight from Chicago to Copenhagen. Sam had a few meltdowns and would only sleep in my arms. I was so uncomfortable and well as you can tell I didn't sleep at all. He was amazing though. He slept on all our other flights just fine. What a boy! I am just glad we are finally here.

Here we are in Birminghim where Leah (Hank's sister) and her family lives. We traveled around the city today and really had a nice time. So all is well and we are loving our vacation and are happy to see Leah, Martin, Oliver and Katya!

My Brother is Home!!!

My brother is back from his mission. He served for two years in the Sao Paulo East Mission. I can't believe he is back! We all missed him so much! Here is my family waiting for him.

We were all so excited when he arrived; screaming, crying, hugging and laughing. It was neat. Sam got a little scared during the big group hug. Isn't my brother just so handsome?

First moments with Sam. I can tell they are going to be close friends.

We headed over to my grandpa's house. My brother lived with my grandpa before he left for his mission as he was going to school and he is going to move back in soon. So he got to see him roommate again!

During lunch my brother told us all sorts of mission stories. He is such a good storyteller. He has been speaking only Portuguese for basically two years so he often will throw in Portuguese words without realizing it. He also has a different inflection in his voice as well. It's really entertaining to watch.

After grandpa's we headed over to my other grandparent's house and surprised them. So much love for my brother, that's the way it should be. Later on we webcamed with my older sister who will be here next week. I will have to keep posting when that happens. It's just so fun to have him back! I love him so much1