Monopoly Moneybags

A fairly quiet week, we went to Neil & Dorothy's for dinner last Saturday and just relaxed at home the rest of the weekend. This week I have been out running 3 times and played golf with Bernice on Thursday. Just remembered, we all 4 of us played golf last Sunday, Tom was pretty good and now has a set of his own clubs. He is meant to be playing today with Nick, Tim & Ethan but the weather doesn't look too great so they may not get out. I am finally back into my running and am enjoying it immensely. Thank goodness, as it has taken a long time to get back into it.
Last night we had our first family game of Monopoly and Lily wiped the floor with us all. We had to continue the game this morning as it was getting late and Lily needed to go to bed. So today she ended up owning all the property and having £1840 while she managed to bankrupt everyone else. Nice one Lily.

Both Tom & Lily are sniffing away and seem to have a mild cold so I reckon I will have to keep them off school tomorrow due to the swine flu that is currently rampaging its way through the school. Bummer.

The hardest part of my blog seems to be thinking up a title each week

We had a boozy Saturday night last weekend when Ray, Kate, Barb, Greg & Briony came round for dinner along with Pete & Barbara. We were able to sit outside, eat, drink and generally be very noisy. I don't think we disturbed the neighbours as I don't think anyone else was outside. Anyway, that was a late night and so the next day I had a bit of a lie in and didn't get up until about midday. Then it was a fry up and a shower and I felt like new again. Ray & Kate were going up to the lake so Tom, Lily and I joined them for the afternoon.

In between rain showers Tom & Lily had a great time out on the lake. The water was so warm, definitely a very different experience from water skiing/ragging about a lake or loch back home. No wetsuits required here.

On Tuesday this week we had a couple of Nick's colleagues round for dinner, thankfully a more subdued affair than our Saturday bash, however I was still a bit rough around the edges on Wednesday and so missed out on my run and just lounged about all day and watched telly. Brilliant.

Back to school and routine at last.

It's been two weeks since my last blog and I'm trying to think what we have been doing. Gosh, that sounds like a confession or something.
Deanna took us on a visit to the bamboo forest out in Prattville, Tom didn't want to go because it would be 'boring' but as you can see he thoroughly enjoyed himself and managed to get filthy in the process. Then on Saturday we had Deanna and family round for the afternoon and evening along with Olivier, Aurelie and their 3 children and another Olivier, his wife Amelie and their 2 children. Not surprisingly, Sunday was a restful day.

Monday dawned and it was my birthday, I got 'Gone with the Wind' which I have seen in part many times on the tv but never in its entirety. I have to say I am enjoying reading the book very much so far. I also got a book token from Nick as well and I am really looking forward to going to browse the book store for some new books.

Tom and Lily bought me a jigsaw and I got 2 lovely tops and a scarf from Nick's mum & dad. I am wearing one in the picture, it goes perfectly with a couple of my skirts, "nice one Lesley, they were great choices and definitely me."

Wednesday finally arrived and the children went back to school, yay!! Boy, it's been another long summer. They both seem happy with their classes and teachers and now just need to get used to the early mornings again, I had to wake both of them this morning, I hate doing that. Hopefully they will have a lie in tomorrow morning.

I went running on Wednesday and again this morning and today was very hard, I ended up having to power walk as I was so tired after yesterdays session with the personal trainer (lots of squats and lunges = very tired legs today). Also it was hot, sunny and very humid. Not a nice combination, give me a cool British day instead please.

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.