New Blog address for you

Got into the habit of blogging and realised I was missing it too much so started a new one, check it out at www.sarahwifelife.blogspot.com

The Final Post

We got safely moved into Staybridge Suites and I promptly managed to lose my room key (subsequently found it in a pocket of my jacket on my return to Britain). We had a last few days of frenzied activity getting the furniture uplifted, the house cleaned and returning keys to the landlord mixed in with saying goodbye to friends. Tom & Lily both got days out with their friends and both went to different water parks with close friends as well as trips to the cinema, meals out at Miyakos (our favourite restaurant in Montgomery) and wash out bbqs at the Goodalls (again)!!!
Finally, it was off to the airport and onwards to Washington D.C.
While Nick had to go to the British Embassy on the Monday morning, Tom, Lily & I went out for a bit of sightseeing. We saw the White House and then planned to go and visit a couple of art galleries but upon arriving at said galleries discovered they didn't open until 11am so that put paid to those plans.

We mooched about some more and then caught the metro back to the hotel for a bite to eat , shower and freshen up before heading to the airport to conclude the final leg of our USA adventure.

After an overnight flight back to the UK we got picked up by Les & Les and driven back to Butleigh with all our luggage (thankfully none of it went missing on the journey). Nick got reunited with his beloved Triumph TR5

as well as all the family.

The weather was perfect for sitting out in the garden on the Wednesday and we all had a lovely time (watching the England football game/gossipping in the garden).

My new car was delivered on the Wednesday as well and I am still getting used to the size of the car and the narrowness (is that a word?) of the British roads. Parking in carparks is a particular challenge compared to the US.

Thursday 24th June saw us drive up to Hawick to visit with Ruth & Philip for a few days, Lily was in her element surrounded by dogs and horses. Saturday was of course our anniversary and mum and dad came down for the night.

Ruth & Lily baked a (not very) surprise cake for Nick & I.

Then we went up to the top of the farm to cut the cake and have some champagne, how perfectly delightful.

Then it was back down to the house for more champagne, dinner and entertainment supplied by Tom singing and Lily playing the piano. Good fun.

After a lovely big brunch on Sunday it was back in the car for a couple of days in Lenzie. We thought we might get away with a barbecue but it started to rain while Dad was cooking so we ended up eating inside.

Nick and I popped into Glasgow on the Monday and got sorted out with new mobile phones and got some banking sorted out then it was off to Wormit on Tuesday to stay with Angela until our house was available.

On Thursday we took the children to school and left them there for the day while we got the keys back for our house and sorted out more stuff and then on Friday we got our furniture delivered along with a big pile of crap that we had put in storage! Most of it is sorted now and all there is to do is wait on all our shipping stuff to arrive and we can be surrounded by boxes again. Now I think it's time for a walk along the beach. Goodbye.

One Week To Go

Tim & Deanna came over last Saturday to celebrate Willa's 7th birthday at our house. So they arrived with 2 birthday cakes (we were belatedly celebrating Ethan's 10th as well), food, plates, napkins, a table and some chairs since all our stuff has been shipped already! We had a lovely afternoon by the pool with the obligatory boy's cricket match.

Then it was time for cake so we all went indoors as the cakes were ice cream cakes made by Deanna!

Yum yum, very tasty.

Monday was the ACSC graduation ceremony and Nick got an award for best International Teacher.

Tom, Sian and the boys came round afterwards for lunch and to say goodbye. Then on Wednesday we went to see our final Biscuits baseball game.

Then on Thursday disaster struck. As the temperature rose outside they rose inside too because the air con broke, aargh. 48 hot and sweaty hours later it was thankfully fixed. In the intervening time we spent Thursday night at Dorothy's to say goodbye and have a meal together and on Friday Tom managed to escape out for the day with Josh and Lily had a sleepover at Claire's house, lucky thing as it was 90F inside when we went to bed. Yuck.

Once the air con had been fixed on Saturday it was off to the Frantz's to watch the England v USA footie match which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Yesterday, Lily got to see Emily for the last time and today we all went out for lunch with Mary to say goodbye to her. Tonight we have our last night in the house as we move into a hotel tomorrow so the furniture can get packed up and the house can be cleaned without our stuff in it.

More Wyoming & South Dakota

With our visit to Yellowstone over it was back into the car for a very long drive to Devils Tower, we set off at 7.30am and after a stop for lunch somewhere en route we finally saw Devils Tower in the distance at around 4pm.
So we parked up and had a nice walk around the whole of the base of the tower which took around 50 minutes before jumping back in the car to find somewhere to stay for the night.

The nearest town was Hulett and we managed to get into a very nice motel for the night, again with single beds for Tom & Lily (thank goodness as they were getting fed up having to share while we were in Yellowstone) and a lovely view across a nice lawn down to a river, across from the river were some horses grazing. All very bucolic. After a tasty breakfast at the nearby cafe the next morning it was back in the car for the Black Hills of South Dakota and Mount Rushmore by way of a Dinosaur Museum for Tom.

The Black Hills are very pretty and a welcome change from the rolling plains we had been driving through, Mount Rushmore was interesting.

Then more driving through one of the twistiest, windiest roads I have ever driven on which was through Custer State Park and had bridges called Pigtail Bridges because they were so tight and twisty.

Our final day was to be our adventure into the Badlands and what an adventure it was (for Lily anyway).

We did a few walks out and around including one called Notch Walk which we were advised was 'strenuous' and included a ladder. Not to be daunted, we set off and came up to the ladder

The ladder is held together by metal cables so it moves when you and others are on it....this is not a good thing for Lily. Once we got her to the top we congratulated her, calmed her down and told her it was all over and not to worry about it anymore.

We made it to the end of the walk to discover that no, it wasn't a loop walk it was an out and back walk. This was not good news for Lily as she had to face the ladder again, this time to go down it...well to say she was terrified is probably an understatement, but with much screaming from Lily and coaxing and guiding from Nick she finally managed to get back down again to much applause from everyone. We always seem to manage to terrify Lily at some point on vacation, poor thing. Once we got back we noticed this sign which advises sturdy boots. I think you can

probably see that Lily is not looking best pleased with the situation. With that ordeal behind us we were able to enjoy the rest of the day and ended up visiting the town of Wall to see what all the hype about Wall Drug was about. On our drive out to the Badlands we had passed approximately 70 adverts along an 80 mile stretch of road for Wall Drug, touristy? yes, but had to be done. We had a look around the store and had ice creams and the children got to pan for gemstones while Nick was entertained by a rather strange man. He got very excited when he heard Nick speak, 'Do you know Monty Python?' says he, Yes says Nick and then the man launches into a Monty Python Silly Walk..It was truly weird. Then to top it off, he discovers that not only is Nick English and yes, we do say words like 'super' but he is also in the RAF..Oh god, thinks Nick, Oh yes, thinks the strange man who then proceeds to quiz Nick about jets. Needless to say Nick was pleased when it was time to go. A great way to end the holiday, me thinks.

Yellowstone & Grand Tetons, Wyoming

Day 1 in Yellowstone, we arrived at Old Faithful just in time to see it erupt and have a bite to eat before walking around all the other geysers in the area. We were very lucky because we also got to see Beehive erupt...
and Beehive (above) only erupts every 12 hours or so.

One of many photographs of bison (slightly out of sequence from the narrative! Sorry.)

And this is Old Faithful erupting for a second time just as we finished our walk. After all that walking it was about time to check into our hotel for the night, it was well timed as it started to snow shortly after arriving at the hotel. This is what we woke up to on the 29th May - not what

I normally have to do on my summer hols! We drove down to Grand Tetons for the day and boy, was it cold. We rode a small boat across Jenny Lake and then walked back to the car via Hidden Falls, the children had great fun playing in the snow on the way back.

Tom had been a bit under the weather since the start of the holiday and his cough had gradually been getting worse and now conjunctivitus had reared its ugly head so we headed to the medical centre in Grand Tetons after we had finished the walk. $168 later we had a small bottle of eye drops to clear up the infection ($28 for the eyedrops, $140 for the consult - long live the NHS). The annoying thing was the conjunctivitus looked like it was already getting better before the consult, but as it's so contagious I felt obliged to go and cough up for the drops before we all ended up with it.
Over the next couple of days we did lots of driving around the park and walking and took loads of photographs, a decent selection are now posted on my Facebook page. We were lucky enough to see this little fellow just ambling through the park minding his own business...

Minnesota and Montana in May

So our flight left Atlanta on time and we arrived at Minneapolis Airport to catch our connection to Rapid City. I stopped myself from buying a Minnesota postcard but I did take this photo to prove we have visited the state. I am not allowing myself to say we bagged it though as we didn't get outside of the airport, which, incidentally, is very nice and has some good shops.
Okay, we got to Rapid City and collected our luggage and hire car and then we were off into the wild blue yonder for our adventure. We got as far as Sundance, Wyoming and called it a day and managed to find a nice motel with a 3 bedded room for us which kept Tom & Lily happy as they didn't need to share.

After breakfast the next day it was back to driving through some very boring countryside until we ended up in Montana to visit the battlefield site at Little Big Horn which is where, as I'm sure you all know, General Custer met his demise.

After a nice walk around and stretch of the legs it was back in the car for the final bit of driving for Thursday to reach our B & B for the night. We had a lovely view of Emigrant Mountain from our room and were the only guests staying there.

We had a nice walk around the garden and went and said hello to the horses who seemed very pleased to see us, I'm guessing they don't get paid much attention. Then it was back inside for something to eat before bed and the start of a new day.

Celebrations, Farewells & Holidays

I forgot to mention that I was at the school's Award Ceremony on the 19th May to watch Tom collect a certificate for being an A grade student for the whole year. Proud Mama moment. Well done Tom.
On the Saturday 22 May Lily went to a farewell party for her and Nina (she was returning to Greece) and then it was a quick stop off at home to grab Nick & Tom and we were off round to Craig & Bernice's for a barbecue and to say farewell to them. It was a very busy weekend because on Sunday after sorting out the rest of what we had to get packed and shipped we dashed off to Tom & Sian's to celebrate Tom turning 40.

The children all ended up having a massive water fight to keep cool and much fun was had by all.

Finally, it was Monday and the packers arrived bright and early so I went out and got them some breakfast and then let them get on with the packing until it was lunchtime and I went out and got them some lunch too, then gave them a hefty tip and now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that all our stuff arrives home safe and sound, undamaged and not missing! A few extra things got packed by mistake but no major incidents occurred this end. Now all that is left to do is make sure what we kept back fits into our luggage for the final journey home...but of course we have one final holiday to fit in before we leave the US for good.

So on Wednesday 26th we got up early and jumped in the car (Nick's Ford Taurus as mine has been sold already) and drove up to Atlanta to catch a flight to Rapid City, South Dakota. Above is one of the sculptures that are on display along the walkways at the airport, so if you always take the transit train you miss these pieces of African artwork.

Stress Levels Rising

Nick and I went to the theatre last Friday to see 'All's Well That Ends Well' and then spent the rest of the weekend at home relaxing by the pool. Nick & Tom went golfing on Sunday afternoon and I had Krissy & Dorothy round for a glass or two of Pimms which was a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.
We went round to Mary's for dinner on Wednesday night and then Tom had a ball game on Thursday which was quite exciting due to the weather more than anything else. A thunderstorm was brewing up in the distance and as the boys play with metal bats and we sit on metal bleachers we were wondering when the game was going to be called off as we listened to the thunder and watched the lightning flashes getting closer and closer. Eventually the parents just got up and started calling their children off the field and someone finally called the game to a close, then it was a mad dash back to the relative safety of our cars for the drive home as the storm raged around us. Scary stuff.
Tom had an end of year class party at the skating rink on Friday and seemed to enjoy himself, Dorothy and I certainly did, we sat chatting and giggling like schoolgirls for the whole afternoon, very funny.
Nick was home when we got back from school so we started some more sorting of clothes/toys/stuff into piles for packing. This was when my stress levels started rising. So we did that for a couple of hours then Emily came round to spend the night and come and watch Lily at her baton twirling recital, so we had a reprieve from the packing.
The girls did very well at the recital and they all looked like they had fun, afterwards it was a quick trip to Burger King to get some dinner for the kids and then home to a glass of wine/beer for the adults. Unfortunately Emily decided she wanted to go home, so after a quick call to Colleen I put my wine back in the fridge and drove halfway to Union Springs to meet up with her and hand over Emily.
Today, more sorting of stuff beckons and then we have a couple of farewell parties to go to.

Home in 6 weeks

Tom's team lost their game last Thursday, but won on Monday night and now have 10 baseball free days before the next game, joy.
One of our sitters, Jessica, graduated from college last week and invited us to her graduation ceremony on Friday night, so off we went to that and then we popped across the road to Leks for a Thai meal before home to bed.
On Saturday we just puttered around the house and then Nick & I were off to Ray & Kate's dressed up as 'Noemi Dooyou' - a french resistance fighter and 'Gee I Joe' - an American serviceman for an evening of murder, mystery and mayhem.

Amy 'Nurse D Gently', Kate 'Frau Nalott', Barbara 'Mimi D'anjou', Marie 'Julie Noted', Sian 'Liza Witheni' Sarah 'Noemi Dooyou'.

The chef 'Frank le offal' is Nik our other usual sitter, seen here along with Pete 'Herr Flick' , Tom 'Gerry Basher', Nick 'Gee I Joe', Ray 'Phil Le Girth'/sausage man' and Shaun 'Luc Overlair'. What a fun evening that was with crazy french, american and german accents and plenty double entendres, mostly relating to sausages, thank you Ray!

On Sunday we had a more genteel meal out at Tim & Deanna's. Tim cooked up the most delicious steak, along with baked potatoes and salad - just perfect. To round it off, Deanna had made her famous Strawberry Pie and proceeded to cut the most enormous slices for everyone. Well, it would have been rude not to clear my plate, needless to say I didn't eat anything else the rest of the day. Got home full up, tired but happy. A great weekend.

A nearly election free zone

Thought I would update the blog whilst I listen to the election results, the pundits are now changing from forecasting a hung parliament to a Conservative win, doesn't look like it to me but enough for now, on with the blog.
Tom won his ball game last Monday but lost the Thursday game, then on Friday it was his school play about Alabama history. It was great fun to watch with characters ranging from Creek Indians to Hank Williams, Rosa Parks to Mia Hamm. Tom played the part of Alexander McGillivray - son of a Scottish Trader and Creek Indian Princess, Sehoy. He was very good and projected his voice well and read his lines slowly and clearly.

Indian boy, Alexander McGillivray, Pushmataha, W.C. Handy & Jesse Owens!

Lily was off on a sleepover on Friday night but came home early Saturday morning with a slight fever and a sore throat, so she was off to bed and pretty much stayed there the rest of the day. In the evening we had a nice steak for dinner and then watched the new Dr Who. On Sunday Lily felt much better which was good as we were having guests for lunch. The lizard was an uninvited guest who hung around in the sun room, here he is on our flyscreen.

Whilst Sian enjoyed a quick weekend up at Niagara Falls we entertained Tom and the boys along with another couple, Justin & Amy. After Justin & Amy left the boys all went outside for a quick game of cricket before having a splash in the pool.

After tidying up and having a quick bite to eat it was off to bed before a new week began. Up early on Monday for boot camp and then onto the Master Gardeners Helpline to work for the morning (a requirement to complete the course). I can't say I enjoyed that very much but I have another shift to do this coming Monday :( The weather was bad so the phone lines were quite quiet, it also meant Tom's ball game was cancelled that evening.

I had my final morning volunteering at Lanark on Wednesday which was bittersweet, I have enjoyed it very much and shall especially miss Marie & Anne. It was the first time I had gone there without my camera and the girls held an impromptu party for me which included a delicious cake with 'Farewell Sarah' inscribed on it and Janet had made pineapple punch which was very welcome as it was a very hot day and we were all very thirsty. We borrowed a camera and did get some photos, now I am just awaiting on them being emailed to me, Marie if you are reading this please remember to send them to me. After that it was off out for lunch with Margaret to Hamburger King where I had a fabulous cheeseburger.

Today I had to take my car to get fixed as the aircon was refusing to work, when it's 90F outside the aircon is pretty important. Talking of temperatures I thoroughly depressed myself by looking at the 10 day forecast for St Andrews. A high of 55F to look forward to, checking out later in the month the average high for the end of May reaches the balmy heights of 62F - this is our current overnight low. Ho Hum. Note to self - do not focus on the weather, think of all the things you are looking forward to...family, friends, Fisher & Donaldson Bakery, The Vine Leaf Restaurant, Bovril, fish & chips, bacon butties, decent sausages, curry...mmmm yum yum, and not forgetting my garden and greenhouse, the Lade Braes, the beautiful (if slightly chilly) beach at West Sands and the noise of the jets from RAF Leuchars.

Happy 8th Birthday Lily

Well, we've been quite busy with baseball the last couple of weeks, the team play well but unfortunately manage to lose more often than they win, they scored 10 runs in the 1st innings of a game last week but still ended up losing 19 -17 which was very disappointing for everyone.

I finished my gardening course last week although we are meeting again this Thursday to visit a
very well run greenhouse, should be interesting, and I am still going out to Lanark to help out there on Wednesday mornings. On Friday we went down to Destin for our final family floridian frolic however the weather was against us so it was slightly more of a flop than a frolic. That said, we did have fun and no one got sunburnt! Dorothy and her kids came with us so Friday night was spent catching up and drinking wine until around 1130pm with Saturday night being a more subdued affair (I think we all called it a night by 930pm). Paige & Lily found and adopted 2 hermit crabs which they named Bobby & Sally. They were very keen to bring them home but we finally persuaded them to put them back in the sea.

After a long day at the beach being buffeted by the wind and the excitement of the hermit crabs it was time for the kids to wind down with some munchies and the tv.

On Sunday we went out for breakfast and then drove home, Nick went into work for a few hours while I took Tom to a baseball practice. Then it was home for dinner and to let Lily open her presents a day early as we won't have time to do it on Monday because of school, baton and baseball. Lily gets to stay home this evening and have Nik look after her while I take Tom to another late ball game with team photos first. Our Nick will turn up later and then I have to work the concession stand for the evening so don't even get to watch the game. Hopefully we will be home and have Tom in bed by 10pm.

So poor Lily doesn't get much of a birthday celebration, I did manage to buy a cake today, havent had time to bake a birthday snack for her classmates though, that will be a job for tomorrow.