Visiting Peoria

On this trip back to the States we were lucky enough to get some time to make it back to Peoria to catch up with friends. The most important little person I needed to see was little Norah Westphalen, newly born daughter of my dear friend Amity. We picked the hottest day of the year to visit as we tried a walk down to the park but were threatened by a storm shower so we came back...as you can see Addison's little ringlets starting coming out with all the humidity. We got to spend our whole first day with Amity and Norah and it was so nice.

Day 2 we met up with my friend Tara and her kids to go to Dragonland, a water park in Pekin. It was quite a trek down there but the kids had a blast. Unfortunately a huge storm came up on us after only be there about an hour so we had to leave. I took the rest of the afternoon driving around the countryside looking for potential places to live someday. Wow, it was so weird doing that and all the flash backs that kept swirling in my mind.

Day 3 in Peoria brought us down to Bloomington where I got to meet up with some of my old work colleagues from Evergreen FS and GROWMARK. Again the flash backs of my previous life almost overwhelmed me as I drove into the Growmark parking lot and then into Evergreen's. It was so wonderful to see everyone though and introduce my kids to them all. Some of them had seen Addison when she was just a wee little thing but never met Harry. Oh how I missed them all and got an itch to get back to work...ha ha. It was so cute though that when we pulled up to Evergreen's offices...Addison said, "Mommy, your office is so beautiful." I promptly replied that my office is at home because that is where I work now. On our way back I stopped to get some fuel and my how things have changed. The stupid gas pump wanted to know my zip code???? Since I don't have one it got all flustered with me and I had to go inside the store against the whole purpose of my trying to pay at the pump. After that we went to a pizza party at our good friends the Bosely's who always open their house to events for the whole gang. What was so uncanny this time is that what went from a bunch of newly married couples 3 years ago was a room now full of little kids and babies. Time as flown by!!!

On Friday a dear friend who I met in England hosted a little ISE reunion at her house. We had a really nice lunch by the pool and then we all piled in the pool to cool down. Amy is an amazing hostess and it was so great to see her, Jenny, Marti, and Amber again. So surreal to see such good friends totally out of the place you knew them from. Lots of great conversations and good times....like no time at all had passed and we were back in the UK again (but with hot weather and a pool!!!)

That night good friends, Trent and Diana, hosted a BBQ at their house for us and few other friends to get a final night of good visiting in before we had to head back to IA and Kevin to catch his flight back to the UK. Trent, bless him, took the entire day off so that he could mow and clean up and get groceries.

Throughout the week our kiddos got to play with Wade and Tara's trio, Alli, Grace and Hudson. They really played well together and were instant friends.

I was so glad we got to get back to P-town to remind me about all the great things there are to come back to. Most likely we'll be moving back by next summer and I have no idea where the last 3 years have gone. Thanks everyone for making our visit back so wonderful!!!!

4th of July - 2010

Happy Birthday America!!!

We got the kids all psyched up for a big party we were going to have for America's birthday since we made it a point to be back in the States for the 4th of July. Unfortunately it decided to rain (hard) all day long in Western Iowa on the 4th. That didn't dampen our spirits though. Ryan, Lindsay, Emma and little Maggie (their dog) all made their way over to Mike and Sally's for the day and we had loads of fun playing inside.

After they all got used to each other the kids had fun playing with each other while coloring, playing with building blocks, and reading stories. We were all meant to go to a parade around 10 AM but of course with the rain that wasn't a go today.

Finally around 4:30 the rain subsided and we all got outside to play with the bubble blowing sticks that Grandma Sally got for the kids.

Everyone had an absolute ball whether they were blowing or chasing after bubbles.

Addison carefully tries to poke them.

Uncle Ryan coaches Harry on the art of waving the bubble wand.

Addison then zooms around on the little bicycle that Grandma got for her to ride. Look at those curls coming in her hair with all the humidity.

Emma wanted to join the fun and scooted around on the construction truck.

The kids help Grandpa work on fixing one of his patio chairs. I don't think he factored the helpers into this quick little project, but they had a blast helping him out.

Happy faces after a great visit home!!!

A Lazy Saturday on the Farm

This morning we headed over the Shelby to see the kid's Great Grandma Helen Dea. She is a lively ol' lady and such a wonderful lady. It's only been a few months since John had passed and she's looks to be doing quite well. Kevin's Aunt Trisha bought this huge old apartment house just a couple houses down which they were completely restoring and going to turn into a B&B. We got a sneak peak at the restoration. I would so love to do that some day.

We got a great picture of four generations of Dea's with Helen, Mike, Kevin and the kids!!!!

When we got back to Grandma Sally's house we found a fun little visitor waiting for us...a big old hop toad.

The kids were amazed by it and wanted to touch it but wouldn't go near it. Addison got Grandma Sally talked into letting her take a picture of it with her camera.

Then Grandpa gave the kids rides on his brand new lawn mower...it's HUGE!!!!

Grandma Sally had loaded up on lots of fun toys for the kids to play with, but one of their favorite things to do was mess up grandpa's cement slab in the back with chalk drawings. The loved laying down on the cement and letting someone trace all around them.

Having Fun On the Dea Farm

Last night Kevin picked us up in Marengo on his way back from Peoria and we headed straight off for the home farm in Minden, Iowa. It had been a long time since we'd both been there but it was really great to get back to Kevin's home town and to the farm. Mike doesn't farm anymore but Tony, who farms most of Mike's ground, let us play around at his place this morning. The kids got to ride in the big tractor.

We all got to ride on 4-wheelers around the farm and up to the hay grounds where Tony was raking. Addie was quite smitten with Tony and got a ride in the nice air conditioned cab of the Tony's tractor as they raked some hay. We also got to play with some tadpoles that had hatched in a water whole left in one of the terraces from all the rain. It was great getting to see Tony and get out on all the machinery.

Back at Mike and Sally's everyone went down for nap but then after that grandpa had to watch out as the kids demonstrated one of our wrestling matches with him.

Grandma had something even better than a sand pit to play in...her garden!!! Sally and the kids dug up loads of dirt, picked raspberries and sour cherries and checked out the three sunflowers that Sally planted for her three grand kiddos.

That night Weston and Lynn, Kyle and Jill, and all their kids came over for a BBQ at Mike and Sally's. Here are the three guys that I met one day at ISU and found myself inseparable from for the next 4 years...now here we are all with kids of our own hanging out together again.

Here are all of our kids - Harrison (ours), Kellan and Kendall (Jill and Kyle's), Addison (ours), and the littlest one is Reese (Wes and Lynn's). What a cute little bunch they are!!!

All Around the Mulberry Tree

My dad has been taking the kids on almost daily "buggy" rides and after their little ride over to dad's oats field they make a quick stop at the mulberry tree. The kids essentially eat them as fast as we can pick them and I'm surprised they haven't had icky tummies from the yet. Today we got a few more and put them in buckets to eat when they got back to the house. After some time I decided it was better to feed them one at a time than let them have free reign. Check out their little faces after a few berries....my messy mulberry mosters!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to me!!! For the first time in years I am celebrating my birthday with my parents which is a nice trade off since Kevin had to make his way back to Peoria for the week. Eventhough my dad feels bad that I did it, I worked most of the day to prepare a nice homemade Chinese meal for my birthday party (with my sister's help of course). We made homemade spring rolls, beef and pea pods, orange chicken and fried rice.

We also constructed a 4 layered chocolate cake (used 2 boxes)!!! It was awesome to make and fabulous to have my sister help me make my own cake. She actually bought two cake pans the day before at Kohl's just for the occasion (plus her hubby's b-day was in a couple of weeks).

My grandma Lynn, Aunt Barb, mom, dad, sister Crystal, brother-in-law Heath, nephew Bo, and my kiddos joined me for my birthday party that night and it was wonderful. We had loads of great food and the cake was phenomenal. Addison helped me blow out my candles and no we didn't load it up with 32 candles.

Look at those layers!!!

My dad pulled out 4 different tubs of ice cream (yes, it was insane). He let the kids pick out whatever they wanted at the grocery store the night we got picked up from the airport, how silly. Harrison quite liked the Butter Pecan with his chocolate cake. I stuck with vanilla myself. I had a most wonderful birthday with my family but missed having my hubby there...first birthday we hadn't been together in almost 12 years.

Tots Group Goes to Moor Farms

Today our tots group made a trip out out Moor Farms near Newborough. It was a great visit and totally different to our visits to places like Sacrewell Farms. This was a real working farm that catered to children's groups. We were to all wear wellies because we did a big walk around through a sheep paddock.

The children got asked a question by our hostess about what the little lambs were doing with the mummy lambs and Addison piped right up and said "Getting milk". So then our little star got asked another question about what it took to grow the grass that the sheep were eating and she answered "water and sunshine." I was such a proud mummy as the lady was astonished that she knew that.

We also got a very rare treat to see some live baby barn owls. There are not many left due to the current nature of how farmers have to close off their grain storage barns now so to preserve them some farmers create owl boxes. There happened to be a gentleman at the farm that day who was certified to track these birds and he discovered that their were babies in the nest and he got them down for us to see along with the momma.

Next the kids got to scoop up feed and drop it in the cow's trough. With only two scoops and about 15 toddlers there was a mad dash for the feed and few scuffles.

A really fun activities was that all the older kids got to feed a baby lamb from a bottle (actually looked like Coke bottles fitted with a nipple). The kids really enjoyed that bit and Harrison let me help him out.

Addison was pretty good on her own and ended up feeding 2 sheep on her own and did a third one with two of her little friends who were really into it as well.

Finally they got to climb up into the cab of a tractor and Addison got to ride with her dear friend Robyn.

Robyn, Addison, and Harry stand together by the tractor's wheel.

A special privilege passed on to different children throughout the day was getting to hold the lead of the farm's dog. Of course Addison was pretty protective of her go at it, but poor Harry just wanted to try as well. Little Ned Pilsworth is just hanging out while his sister Robyn is wondering why Addie and Harry are fighting over a silly dog lead.

Our day ended with a picnic in the garden next to the farm house. It was a really nice space and had a few little ride on cars and tractors for the kids, a play house, a play milking cow and a couple picnic tables. Addison sat next to her friends Robyn and Ella Gerrard. We had a great day at the farm but had to make sure we got our feet, hands and push chair all cleaned up before we left to prevent the spread of E.coli...very responsible of them all.

East of England Show

For Father's Day we made our way the the East of England show out at the showgrounds. We had talked about going in year's past but hadn't due to icky weather, but this year was very nice. It was a bit chilly at times but still a great day out. The East of England show is really like a big fair with dog shows, horse shows, farm animals, antique tractors, vendors, big sandwiches, ice cream, rides and more....and we did it all. Our first stop was the dog show...we all loved watching the dogs jump fences, run through tunnels and balance on see saws...it was especially funny to see all the different ways the trainers get the dogs to do things.

Different from our local American county fairs, actual farmers are the ones showing the animals and they wear white lab coat looking things. This was quite a large bull and later on we watched how they would show a class of 5 mixed cows/calves/bull/heifers combinations. Very interesting to us farm kids to see things done in such different ways.

Showing sheep....Addison and Harrison kept yelling out "BAAAA" and "I wanna touch them mummy!"

They also had a blacksmith/ferrier competition to make and fit a set of horseshoes. It was very interesting to see them all in such "American" looking duds since this is what most people looked like in the Block and Bridle club at ISU....we felt like we were at home.

Lots of food vendors were there and one of my favorites was the Jordan's booth. Harrison and I crave the Jordan's Strawberry Clusters Oatmeal that they make and we snarl it up with a bit heaping scoop of yoghurt on top. Here they were giving way taster samples of different granolas and such. Also if you bought 10 GBP worth of cereal you could get a nifty Jordan's burlap bag. I am kicking myself for not snatching up one of those.

I love fair food but this was one of the most amazing sandwiches I've ever had at any fair...even beats a big ol' tenderloin at the Iowa State Fair. It was a pork and apple burger with English back bacon and huge chucks of English cheddar melting on top....yum meeeee!!!

It wouldn't be summer in England without strawberries and cream so we got a cup full to share amongst us all.

Next we were off to watch the wagon team pulling competition. Essentially there were about 6-7 teams of horses pulling open wagons with 3 people riding on them. Then one older looking chap standing out in the middle of the ring just watching them all walk the horses around. He didn't write anything down or do much other than watch. Then after about 25 minutes they announced the winners. We learned from someone that they get judged on how well the team of horses move together, if the reigns are all even, and some other things. Very confusing but pretty interesting. The people who won have actually been winning every competition for the past few months as we were told.

Next we had to grab and ice cream of course. Probably some of the worst ice cream we've had so far but the kids didn't seem to mind. Then off to the horse jumping competitions which are Addison's favorite.

In this competition it looked like boys and girls around 14-16 years old who have to jump fences with their horses and then at a point they hop off of their horse and then onto a mountain bike and weave in and out of the red cones and throw some water and back to the finish. It was crazy!!! One kid got caught with a bad bike that someone had gotten the gears all screwed up...don't know how they reconcile that one.

We walked through all the commercial vendors and I loved this mobile post office in the back of a van.

Kevin really like the old steam engines. There was also a really cool old calliope that played fun little songs through it's whistles and organs and other instruments and we all danced along.

There was also a parade of antique tractors. We saw tractors from all over including ones from Charles City, Iowa and an old CAT tractor (in this picture).

Of course no fair would be complete without going on at least one ride. Addison kept begging to ride on the big carrousel and we promised she could and when it came time to go, she actually said the carrousel she wanted to ride was the little swing one which was perfect for her and Harry to go onto together.

Before we headed home we did a walk through of the all the animals so we looked at the pigs, the sheep and cow barns.

It was a great day certainly a wonderful Father's Day!!!! It was really nice because it was great to be where we were and with all the animals, tractors and such there was a real reminiscence of home.