What a lovely week

Well, it's all quiet at home now the girls have gone back to Scotland. We had a fab time with them and I will miss them all very much.
Friday night we went round to Ray & Kate's to celebrate his birthday with a few friends and some of his family who were also visiting from Britain. On Saturday we just lounged around the pool. Sunday we got up early(ish) and drove down to Destin for a day at the beach. I was so tired that night that when Tom & Lily went to bed at around 8pm so did I. We got up early on Monday and went out for breakfast before checking out of our rooms and returning to the beach for a last bit of sandcastling and sunburning - Angela!!
Once home, we were straight back out again to take the girls to their first baseball game. Unfortunately it started to rain half way through the game so it was delayed for about an hour, being keen to watch the game we decided to wait it out and were one of only a few people left in the stadium to watch the rest of the game when they resumed play. Luckily this meant that both Daisy & Amber got a ball thrown to them that had been used in play and then we were able to get them autographed. We also finally got one for Lily.
We had a quiet Tuesday and went to Miyako's for dinner and then drove up to Atlanta on Wednesday for a bit of retail therapy before going to the airport to say goodbye. See you in less than a year.
Daisy, Amber & Angela awaiting the start of the ball game.

Dinner in Destin

Master hole diggers, Amber & Tom.

Two happy flowers, Daisy & Lily.

Fun in the Sun

Nick got home on Saturday and we were all very pleased to see him. Sunday, Lily went to her birthday party and then when we got back from that the Arnolds came round for a barbecue. It was nice to catch up with them. I have had no personal training this week as Wendy has a bad back but I have managed to get out a couple of times for a run.

On Wednesday I drove up to Atlanta airport to pick up Angela, Amber and Daisy. It was wonderful that they had finally managed to organise a holiday out to see us and I got a bit teary eyed when I saw them at the airport. That was a bit embarrassing but hey ho, what can I say? I was so pleased to see them. You don't realise how much you miss people and how much they mean to you until you see them again after a long absence.

We have been mostly lounging by the pool but we did manage a water fight today.

Honest, it is a water balloon he's got in his hands!

Just Chillin' Out

Since getting home we haven't been up to much. Nick returned to work last Wednesday and is in Portland, Oregon this week at a conference. Tom disappeared into his bedroom to play with his lego and didn't emerge for a couple of days and Lily is just Lily.
Last Friday we went out to Miyako's for dinner with the Frantz's to thank them for doing such a great job looking after the house and pool while we were away. Then on Saturday night we went bowling with them to celebrate Tim's birthday.
Lily went to a birthday party last Sunday and has another one to go to this Sunday and Tom had a friend round to play on Monday and Johnathon & Matthew are coming round today after lunch.
I got out running 3 times last week but with Nick away haven't managed out at all this week, so I have been drinking wine instead!!

Home again

After we finished looking round Boston we had a day of relaxing before setting off on our travels again. Dan & Philippa Storr arrived at the cottages we were staying at on the Saturday so we had a couple of drinks with them and caught up with all their news before they return to Britain after spending this last year in the US. It was great to see familiar faces again, we miss all our friends and family so much.
After Massachusetts it was off to Rhode Island for lunch in Newport (a lovely little town) and then overnight in Connecticut. Monday saw us arrive in New York and get upgraded to a suite at the Hampton Inn on Staten Island. We had a very busy day in NYC, the photo above is taken on top of the Rockefeller Centre, thanks to Phil & Dan for telling us to go there instead of the Empire State Building. We also had time for a walk through Central Park, a walk across Brooklyn Bridge, a visit to the big space & science museum and for Nick to get on a subway without us...this left the children in tears and very distraught however I managed to keep my head and met up with Nick safely about 15 minutes later (Nick had not only got on the subway without us, he got on the wrong subway without us, doh!)

A beach on Cape Cod.

The beach outside our cottage in Massachusetts on a rare sunny day!

Next stop or state was Pennsylvania, we had lunch in Philly (no cheese steaks, though) and then overnight in a lovely old hotel in Abbotstown before arriving at Gettysburg for a very interesting and moving piece of history. After that we were back in the car and on to Maryland for a cup of coffee before heading into Virginia where we visited many colonial sites. I am afraid to see that Tom, Lily and I had lost interest in all things colonial and historic by this time and left Nick to get on with it himself. Sorry Nick.

We were finally coming to the last week of our holiday, a week at the beach in North Carolina where the sun shone every day and we did nothing more onerous than build sandcastles and sunbathe. Nick & Tom visited a big battleship and Lily & I went for a potter around the shops one morning and then we drove home today.

So we started out in Alabama then drove through Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York State, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and then back to finally back to Sweet Home Alabama.