Now that we have returned from Italy, it's time to get back to our regular routine, the kids are back in school and swimming, gymnastics, choir and orchestra have resumed. On top of that we are meeting with moving companies, packing up the London house, Christmas shopping for the holidays in Connecticut and both Keith and I have a trip to Minnesota planned to do a housing search. Life is about to get busy!!
On November 12th, after attending glowing parent teacher conferences, the kids and I hopped on the train to Oxford Street to see the Christmas lights get turned on. The bonus was that Jessie J was going to be performing, Mandy was so excited! Of course we hit some glitches...but we eventually made it there, saw Jessie J on the big screen and saw the lights get turned on. Nothing like London at Christmas time!!!
Both Mandy and Ryan had sleep overs with their friends. Ryan went to Tom's house and Mandy went to Brooke's. Obviously from the smiles they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I had a nice, quiet night as well seeing as Keith was away in MN. Just Aiden and I hanging out together!
So Keith was away in Minnesota the week of the 11th for meetings as he transitions into his new position. While there he spent a day with a realtor looking at about 12-15 homes which we then narrowed down to four houses that I looked at on my trip the 20th-21st of the month. We made our decision and put in an offer. Here is a picture of the new house!
After leaving Minnesota, I made a quick 2 night stop in Connecticut to attend the Branford Sports Hall of Fame dinner ( and catch up with some family and friends!!). My 1990-1991 High School Swim Team was being inducted. What a fabulous night! It was so great to see everyone, catch up on life and reminisce about the "good ol' days". So glad I made the trip!!
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| Teammates able to attend and our three fabulous coaches! |
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| Sarah and I were two of the tri-captains our senior year |
With such different personalities, taking a Christmas card photo of the three kids can become a challenge. With a bit of bribing with Skittles, we were able to get some great shots, but with every great shot comes some goofy ones....
On the 27th, our final visitors arrived! Chris and Jenn came to spend four days with us and help us celebrate our final Thanksgiving in the UK. They were able to see Richmond and Kew, spend two days checking out the sites of the city and on their final day we went to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. It was a fun day filled with mulled wine, hot chocolate and lots of fun rides!!
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| Tubing in to Hyde Park |
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| Cheers! |
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| What a ham!! |
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| Mandy and Jenn braving the spinning ride, both were pretty dizzy when they got off! |
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| Ryan hitching a ride! |
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| This ride was insane! Thank goodness Uncle Chris was there to go on it!! |
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| Chris and Ryan on the bumper cars |
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| Aiden checking his email!! |
Now that we have hit December 1st, the 20 day countdown has begun until we move back to the States. It is so hard to believe that our time here is coming to an end so quickly. Here's to an amazing 20 days!
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