First Trip to the Tesco (the Supermarket)

Well after we got a couple of hours of light sleep we needed to head off into town to find the local grocery store so that we could have food to eat. We were footing it because we didn't feel up to going to the car rental place to pick up the car. As we ventured on the streets (actually very narrow sidewalks) we tried to navigate our way to the local metro Tesco which is one of the major types supermarkets in the UK. Grocery shopping is hard enough when your are tired and the store is packed but when you don't know any of the brands or how different things taste it makes it a real gamble when you pick up that jar of sauce that looks like something you used to buy at home. We put our money on something they call white lasagna sauce which we assumed was like alfredo sauce. When we got home I looked at the label and the first few ingredients were water, oil, and eggs....no mention of cheese at all. Needless to say we both tried it, but my share was sparing and I am warning you all that white lasagna sauce is like pouring liquid mayo on your noodles...try it at your own risk. But we did find some other great foods. The fruits and vegetables are unbelieveably fresh and are equal in price or cheaper than the produce we get back home. Chicken breasts were about 5 British pounds for four breasts so it was about $10 for 4 chicken breasts...pretty pricey, but I think they go on sale sometime.

The Trip of a Life Time

Well we got up Friday morning and repacked our bags. We took care of a few things before heading to the airport like getting a new battery for my watch (I haven't worn it in 2 years, but today I decided it would be good to have something to tell time), Kevin ran into Hobby Lobby to buy some fabric to use as markers on our luggage, and we popped through the Arby's drive through to get lunch (what a great last meal to have in Peoria). We got to the airport just fine and as we unloaded our 7 huge suitcases on the curb a gentleman helped us and his wife had overheard we were moving to the UK...so he asked if Kevin worked for CAT and told us to look up someone he knew. Kevin and I were a bit nervous on how things would work bringing Addie through security and on the plane, but everything seemed to work out okay. Nothing softens up TSA agents than a little baby coming through security...I'm glad we did the security thing in Peoria verses Chicago, it could have been even more nerve wracking. Addie fell asleep as soon as the plane to Chicago took off (that was a good sign). We had a short layover in Chicago, just enough time to grab some airport pizza (yummy!). The flight took off at 7PM after being delayed about 45 minutes due to bad weather out east. We got to sit up in the front seats near the bulkhead because we had Addison, so we had awesome leg room. She ended up sleeping the whole way which was wonderful, but later we found that we should have woke her up for a while because she was wired for the rest of the day when we got tired and wanted to sleep. We arrived at 8:15 AM UK time (it felt like 2AM to us). We had a driver pick us up at the airport which was wonderful. It took some time to actually find him because he didn't have a sign and after Kevin made a $15 payphone call we got hooked up. I slept on the way to Peterborough and still felt this surreal feeling of where I was at. We stopped along the way for petro and a bottle of water and I was comforted by the bag of Twizzlers I had stashed in my back pack. I looked around me at the travel, at the landscape, and then at my family and new we were in for an adventure of a life time. As we took back off I fell asleep and day dreamed about our new life. We finally made it to our apartment at 11:30 and we were just happy to be at a home base. We wish we were actually going to be at our house but the apartment was fully furnished so it was nice...boy we were really tired...except for Addie.

UK or Bust - Getting Ready for the Big Move

Well the house got packed up after 5 days of packing with a visit over the weekend from Grandma Sue and Grandpa Jeff and Uncle Casey. It was great getting to see my folks and Case before we left. Dad helped Kevin mow the yard one last time and we ate out on the deck with the card table and chairs. We tried eating up as much of our extra food as possible. I also gave up all of my spices and aerosol cleaning supplies to mom and Casey. We ended up moving into a hotel Tuesday night because they wanted to pack up our beds. We got to stay on the Executive level floor at the Holiday Inn in downtown Peoria because of all the points Kevin and I had built up from traveling with our jobs. Free drinks and appetizers at night!!! Addie enjoyed taking baths in the hotel sink...we all had to adjust to not having any of our possessions except for what would fit in our 7 suitcases. We will have access to our air shipment when we get into our house in mid August but it is certainly scary to be completely liquid...no house, no cars, no furniture or anything. We still had fun together...Addie got to sleep between mom and dad so she got a little spoiled, but it goes to show you that worldly possessions don't bring you happiness. We had a lot of fun without them. Thursday night our friends had a going away party for us at the Bosely's and it was a blast.

Cousins Camping Weekend in MN

This week Grandpa Mike and Grandma Sally came over to Illinois to spend a few days with us before we all took off for our Annual Cousin's camping weekend. This year we headed up to Aitkin, MN near Lake Mille Lacs (that's way up north). On the way we stopped to see Great Grandma Rasmussen and got a great 4 generation picture. We also got to stop at one of my all time favorite restaraunts that we used to stop at on the way up to Wisconsin when I was a kid...the A & W drive thru at Spring Valley, MN. Grandma Sally let Addie try her first rootbeer and grandpa gave her her french frie to knaw on.We had a wonderful time with all of Kevin's mom's side of the family. Since we were "new" parents, we got to share the cabin for sleeping arrangements. Kevin caught a huge bass, a big walley (neither that he could keep) and lots of crappies and sunnies.

I learned how to play the "golf" card game and Addie got to meet all of the family along with her third cousin MacKenzie who is only three weeks older. They had a ball playing together. It was tough saying good bye to everyone. We took a detour through Rice Lake, Wisconsin to see my Grandma and Grandpa Roux and some other of my relatives.

Auntie Crystal and Uncle Heath's Wedding

This weekend was Crystal and Heath's wedding. I think they picked the hottest day of the year to get married with an outdoor wedding but after everything was said and done, it was such a beautiful wedding and I've never seen my sister look so beautiful on the inside and out. They are such a happy looking couple and they are going to have great looking kids (hopefully soon). Addison was a junior flower girl, but didn't make it down the aisle because she fell asleep for about 20 minutes as the ceremony went on so Kevin had to hold her in the air conditioned winery. Kevin was one of the ushers and looked great in his taupe suit tux...all the guys looked great! I was the Matron of Honor and was so proud of my sister and got pretty emotional during my speech. For any of you who ever make it to Marengo, Iowa I truly recommend the Fireside Winery to make a visit too. They have the best wine I've ever had and I asked if they would export to the UK...no such luck. I would recommend the Firefly and the Blu...they are my favorite.

America the Beautiful - Addie's First Fourth of July

Today we celebrated our nation's independence...isn't ironic on how we are moving to the country to which we kicked butt against a couple hundred year's ago. This morning we went looking for new bedroom furniture. Our new house doesn't have built in closets so we needed some extra storage. We then went over to Amy and Jason Bloms' house for a great BBQ...it was super hot but we had a wonderful time. We skipped out on the big fireworks because Addie didn't take a nap in the afternoon and after our fit with her last Friday night we felt it was best to head home. We watched the Washington DC fireworks on TV and the Nathan's hotdog eating competition.

First Time Eating Cereal

Today we tried feeding Addison her first rice cereal. She had been spitting up really bad over the past several days and we wondered if some cereal would stay down a little bit better. What they suggested to mix up for her first batch was really soupy and was an utter riot to feed her. Her little tongue kept sticking in and out...we didn't know if she didn't like it but then she would lunge forward to eat more and more.

25 days and Counting...

It's July 2nd and we are going to be taking off in a plane to live in the UK in 25 days. Wow...where did the time go. Addison turns 5 months old tomorrow. Today Kevin and I went to CAT health services to start our medical visits in order to get checked out and start our series' of immunizations. Eventhough the UK is pretty safe in terms of diseases and such they have different strains of things and they don't immunize for a lot of the things we do here in the States. It was quite ironic that Addie was there to lend moral support for her parents this time when we got our shots. I almost forgot how much I hate needles until today. Kevin and I are also on the look out for new bedroom furniture. Since our new house does not have any built in closets we have to find an armour and dresser to hold our digs. We also had a gentleman from Allied movers come today to do a moving survey on our home to see how much stuff we have and if it will fit in the container we are allowed. Right now we only have 1/2 of our 40' sea shipment container and 1/2 of our airshipment container accounted for...so this means we have more room to send over more of Addie's stuff earlier and plenty of room to buy lots more things in the UK before we come back....woo hoo!!! It looks like we'll be living in a furnished apartment for the first two weeks since our house won't be ready until August 14th, so hopefully by the time we get in our house our air shipment will make it to us and then a couple weeks later all of our stuff will be moved into our new home. Don't worry...CAT is helping us out by stocking the apartment and/or house will all the basic necessities for us to function day to day...essentially we need to bring our clothes and other special must have things until our big stuff gets there. I'm just hoping our ship doesn't hit an ice berg on the way over...hee hee. Also we know there are some scary things happening in the UK right now, so please put us in your constant prayers and know that we'll be okay!!!

Big Birthday Weekend

Lots of fun things went on this weekend. Addie's Uncle Ryan and Aunt Lindsay came to visit us Friday night and got here just in time for Mommy's birthday party. Lots of good friends came to wish me well on my Golden Birthday...I turned 29 on the 29th. I can't believe I'm 29 already...less than a year until I'm 30. Anyway...on Saturday we went to the lake with friends from Kevin's work and had a wonderful and relaxing time. Kevin got to go out and ski his one time this year...we really miss our boat.

Our New Home!!!

Here it is...our soon to be English home away from home. After two long days of looking at some very interesting homes in the Peterborough, UK, we found this quaint 4 bedroom two-story home in Glinton. Glinton is a small village on the northern side of Peterborough (it is one of the few villages around that haven't been swallowed up by Peterborough). The town itself has a nice pub called the Blue Bell, a church, a fish store, post office, town hall and primary school. We are very excited about our new place. We got to meet a lot of other Caterpillar people and some very cool British folks that we hope to become friends with. Interesting features about the house are the conservatory and the refridgerator which is seriously the size of my old dorm fridge. We are hoping to buy a washer and dryer - they'll roughly be 1/3 the size of our American sized ones. Also we'll try to buy a fridge/freezer which could be about 2/3 the size of a regular fridge in the US. We'll be buying two cars when we get over there...the Passat we have right now is a large car compared to the average sized vehicle over there. The big question is to try and figure out what stuff we want to bring over and if it will all fit in our new house. The other cool things are that the house is about 15 minutes from Kevin's office, 15 minutes from downtown Peterborough shopping and 3 minutes to the closest McDonald's...also there are some other very nice ISE mom's and kids who live near by as well.

A Week at Grandma & Grandpa Schafbuch's

This week Addison stayed with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Jeff while Mommy and Daddy went to look for the family's new home in England. Not only did Addie enjoy the time with them but I think the Grandparents were just as excited to have our little munchkin invade their space. Addie learned how to do lots of new things that week. Before we left she was just getting comfortable kind of rolling over. After we got back she was rolling over like a champ and now holding up herself on her arms with her head looking all over the place. She also got broadcasted across the internet to see us via web cast through Skype which we have found to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. It is going to be a great way to stay in contact with family and friends. The greatest thing is that it's free and it has video...tough thing is coordinating the conversations for each party during decent times of the day with a 6 hour time difference.

Auntie Crystal's Bridal Shower

We went back to Iowa this weekend to go to Auntie Crystal's bridal shower. She got lots of really cool stuff, but Addie got pretty tired. Only a month until the big day.

Beautiful Spring Day

Today was a beautiful day and I got to play out in Mommy's garden. The lilac bush was so pretty and smelled so good. I also got to wear this super cute new outfit mommy bought for me...see the little monkey. My little shorts say "Cutie Pie" on the bottom. Today we also went to Best Buy so Daddy could buy Mommy a new camcorder for Mother's Day. She was so excited because now she'll be able to make home movies of me to send to my Grandma and Grandpa's as I grow up. The funny thing is that while at Best Buy we met a gentleman who is also going overseas with Caterpiller in their Geneva, Switzerland office. We exchanged emails so that we can meet up with them some day when we move over there. Tomorrow Daddy leaves for two weeks to visit his new job. Mommy and I are going to Grandma and Grandpa Schafbuch's house for a week. We are really going to miss him, but we'll be instant messaging and emailing a lot.

We Sold the Boat :-(

Mom and Dad had a tough time tonight because they sold their Crownline boat tonight from a couple who came all the way from Kansas City to buy it. They really loved going boating and felt pretty bad that they weren't able to bring me out on a ride on it before they sold it. They tell me that we'll most likely get another boat when we get back from England...in the mean time, I'll keep them busy this summer and maybe they won't miss it so much.

We're Selling Our House

As you all know we are moving to England in two months for Daddy's new job. Today our house went up on the market. Mommy and Daddy have been working really hard to get the house all cleaned up...it gets a little tough to keep things clean with all my stuff around the place.

Uncle Casey's Graduation at ISU

Today I made my first trip to Ames to attend my uncle Casey's college graduation from Iowa State University. He's going to be a construction engineer...I'm not sure what that is, but he's pretty smart. We went to Uncle Joe and Aunt Brenda's house afterwards and I got to play with all of my second cousins. We had so much fun and ate lots of good food!

Sleepy Time

I got so tired this morning. After a full tummy and a little time hanging out with Daddy and Mommy, I got tuckered out.

Me and My Jumparoo

My tried getting me to play in my jumparoo a few weeks ago and I didn't like it very much but now it's one of my most favorite toys. I get to play in exersaucers at daycare, but I get to rock and roll in this bad boy at night when I'm home with mom and dad. It lights up and plays music. My little toes just barely touch the ground, but I giggle and laugh as I bounce. The thing is that I can only handle about 7-9 minutes of the bouncing before my little body gets tired.

Hanging Out with Auntie Crystal Jo

This weekend we went back to Iowa so that Daddy could see his old Ag Engineering buddies from Iowa State. Addison and Mommy hung out at Grandma and Grandpa Schafbuch's house so that we could get Auntie Crystal's wedding invitations assembled. Since it got up to 80 degrees, Addie got to wear her new outfit from Grammie Sally. Doesn't she look super cute with pink cow on her bib which comes in handy now days, since Addie is really starting to drool up a storm. Since it was so bright out as well, Auntie Crystal let Addison borrow her sunglasses.

New Suit and Lots of Smiles

This week Daddy finished up his finaly week of Black Belt training. Addison got to get her picture taken with Kevin on the day of his graduation. Last Saturday we helped him pick out this new suit and boy does he look goooood! Addison thought his looked so handsome that she couldn't help but smile ear to ear.