I can't wait to go back to Minnesota and say 'Trousers'.

The boys and I did our house hunting tour yesterday. We have narrowed it down to the following two: Queen Victoria & Goldstone Way. (Please feel free to weigh in with your opinion!) We will go see them again tomorrow, this time with Jeremy, before we make our final decision.

At the first stop we made, it was raining and while we were exploring the green space for the boys, we got a bit wet. At the second house, while we were waiting for the showing agent, I commented in the car that my pants were wet. The agent said to the boys "Be sure you don't say pants in school, you need to say trousers" as it turns out, pants are underwear here.

Today at lunch we were talking about all the funny names for things here and Walter said "I can't wait to go back to Minnesota and say 'Trousers' to my friends" He thinks he will really trick them with that one!

Here are a few photos from our final MN good-bye...good bye to Sunny Hollow & to Grandma Joanne, Uncle Moogs & Auntie Kindi.

And here is Walter signing his passport at the airport to make it official!

Double-Decker!

Well, we are here! We arrived at Heathrow Saturday at noon, after flying through the night. The boys did wonderfully on the flight; Walter fell asleep 2 minutes after take off, Owen after a couple of cartoons, and they both slept until I woke them up for landing. We were met at the airport by Jer and lots of hugs and kisses. It was wonderful.

Saturday we spent the day exploring Crawley. Sunday, we trained down to Hove to see The Montessori Place (the boy's new school!) and explore the city and sea. The whole day as we walked around, Walter would yell "Double-Decker!" whenever he'd see a double decker bus.

Sunday we went down to Haywards Heath to a co-worker's home for a BBQ. The boys had a blast playing with some other children and running around the garden.

Monday we spent the day in London, where we focused our efforts on London Bridge and the Olympic Park. While we were there, there was not one mention of a double decker bus...the novelty has already worn off!

Tomorrow the boys and I are being picked up and taken to Hove to see some house options. Fingers crossed for a great option that is available soon...I'm not sure how much longer they will let us stay at this hotel when things like this are happening in our room:

I ran so fast it dropped out of my brain.

Walter came running up to me the other day excited to tell me something. When he got to me and I asked what it was that he wanted to tell me, this was his response.

We are down to two days. We leave Friday evening - I think 9pm is our scheduled time of take off! It has been a few weeks of good byes... Here are scenes from a few:

Good-bye to the MN Twins with Grandpa & Uncle!

Good-bye to best buddies!

Good-bye to da U.P., eh!

Good-bye to Grandma & Grandpa Harala

We have a few more good-byes to say, but we are so ready to say hello to this man...

and yes, it does feel like its been since Christmas since we last saw him! We're coming, Jerry!!!

How many more days until London?

The countdown is on. Jeremy left 3 weeks ago tomorrow and we are missing him dearly. Yes, we are busy prepping, packing and saying our good-byes, but we can't stop missing Jeremy. This is a question asked daily around here and today's answer is 12!

The day Jer left, we took the boys out of school at noon so we could have lunch together and an afternoon of fun. We played baseball, went on bike rides, and went fishing at Lake Nokomis one last time. It was a perfect way to end our time together before this stint apart. We leave Friday, June 1st to start our adventure in Europe. We will start it off celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee...which means a four day weekend for Jeremy! Perfect after all this time apart. Pretty soon we will be counting down the hours...

Mat

Walter surprised me this afternoon and read me his first book, Mat. He then read 3 other books! His teacher told me he was on the cusp of reading and he was home sick today so I thought I'd pull out the beginner reader books to see where he was. He blew me away and made me one proud mama.


Owen had his first coach pitch baseball game last night and loved it. He loved hitting, running the bases, playing first & in the outfield, but the best part about it all was playing catcher. He beams when he talks about it. Unfortunately I didn't get to go as Walter was sick, but luckily Grandma Joanne & Uncle Moogs stepped in and were his number 1 fans. I'm anxious so see him in action next week.

We are busy prepping for our move to the UK. Jeremy has been there over two weeks now and has already taken a trip to Spain for work. It sounds like the sun of Spain was a welcome change from rainy England...no wonder he already booked our 10 year anniversary trip to our honeymoon spot of Capri! Last week I was questioning my dream and what in the world I was doing to our family, but I am again so confident this will be so great for our family. I'm really counting down the days...we leave two weeks from tomorrow!

We all live in a Yellow Submarine

As a kid, my cousins and I would listen to this song on my grandma's record player chest over and over again. The chest was in her dining room and we'd parade around the table singing and waving our arms up and down. Owen has discovered the Beatles and now plays this song over and over on his new CD player in his bedroom. He and Walter sing and dance and wave their arms up and down...and sometimes I join in. It is fabulous.

Our family has some simply amazing news, fitting to this song; we are temporarily moving to Crawley, England! This is my biggest dream come true! We are still in the early stages of planning and there is a small chance it may not happen, but I am confident it is happening. Jeremy is being temporarily relocated for work. We have committed to two years, but one never knows, and our plan is to move over in mid-June. Jer will begin traveling in March and will be able to stake out neighborhoods and schools for us. More to come, until then, Cheerio!

I dreamed I lost my pillow pet.

Walter woke me up in the middle of the night a few nights ago to tell me he was very scared. I asked why and he told me he had a very scary dream. I asked what his dream was about and he told me "I dreamed I lost my pillow pet."

If you asked Walter his favorite Christmas present he received, he would either answer his Pokemon set from Santa or his pillow pet, who he named Squirtle, from his uncle Moogs. If you asked Owen what his favorite gift was, it would be his Ninjago Lego set from his uncle Moogs. Jer says its because Moogs never grew up. Anyway you look at it, uncle Moogs scored some major points from the boys this holiday season!

Here are some photos from our time in Dallas with Joanne's family. Its funny even with such a mild winter how lovely it was to walk outside in t-shirts and jeans! Its freeing to walk outside without bundling up first, that's for sure. The boys had a great time playing with their cousins they don't get to see much. The wedding was beautiful and all the food was delicious. Nothing was spared, it was true Texas style if you ask me!

Besides the wedding activities and hanging out with all the family, a big highlight was New Years Eve day at Six Flags. Jer's cousin Dylan joined us and was such a treat to have with. He was entertaining in the lines and offering piggy back rides left and right in between. We all had a ball and Owen proved he is so, so, so much more brave than his mother. Walter pretty much is, too. The first ride of the day was the Titan. Here's a video clip of someone riding it (not Owen & Jer). Walter sat back with me and got into a sword fight with Porky Pig. By the end of the day, Walter was ready to hit the rails, however, and made me go on the Judge Roy Scream with him. You can ask Jer, I was so nervous I wasn't talking.

Look - sleigh marks & reindeer footprints!

We woke up Christmas morning to two very exited boys. Santa had made the special trip to Grandma & Grandpa Harala's and left them all sorts of goodies. Later that day, we went out on the ice to skate, play broom ball, ice fish & sled and Owen called us all over. He had found sleigh marks and reindeer footprints on the ice, as well as some giant footprints that had to be Santa's from getting out and back into his sleigh.

We had such a wonderful holiday season, starting with a winter concert at Sunny Hollow, followed by many family gatherings in MN and the U.P., and ending with a family road trip to Dallas, TX! We are filled with all sorts of joy from the end of 2011 and are so excited to have it spill into 2012!

Here are a few photos from Christmas at Grandma & Grandpa's...there will be more from the other events to follow:

I'm a leader now.

In a Montessori classroom there are children ranging in a 3 year age span. In Walter's classroom, that range is 3 year olds through 6 year olds. The children in their kindergarten year are called 'leaders'. As you know, Walter is 4. He came home last week as proud as can be, saying his teacher told him he is a leader now. I questioned this, saying that a traditional leader is a kindergartener. He said yes, however, he is the oldest of the half day children and is thus a leader. He said he now helps the younger children get ready to go outside and go home, as well as other things in the classroom. He is taking his new role and responsibility to heart...and what a kind, gentle heart he has.

Jer's mom, Joanne, turned 60 this weekend and we all had a great time celebrating. Jeremy's grandmother surprised her with the best gift a mother could ask for, she flew Jer's brother, Jon, home from NJ for the celebration. Joanne's surprised face was priceless and the smile from it lasted all weekend!

On Sunday, Owen decided he wanted to participate in his first wrestling meet of the year. I was concerned that he hasn't had practice wrestling other children his age, but he proved me wrong! He placed 2nd, tech falling his first opponent (this means he won by over 15 points!), losing in a close second match, and pinning his final opponent. Jer was certainly a proud coach!

Can you imagine a year without snow?

With the recent arrival of winter, Owen is over the moon. He can't wait to get out on Lake Nokomis and ice fish and play hockey. He runs out to sled whenever he can (including on the way to school in the morning) and just doesn't seem to ever get cold. We were driving by the lake one day and he asked me this. I told him, yes, I can and would like to...to which he said "WHAT?!"

A very special day has come and past, leaving Jeremy and me with a seven year old. Yes, our sweet Owen is officially seven. We had a wonderful day celebrating this big event. It began with presents and a breakfast of his choice (a fresh sprinkled donut, sausage & OJ), midday included a party with friends climbing at Vertical Endeavors, and ended with a family party with pizza, cake & more presents. He was spoiled and completely deserved it. He is a kind, big hearted, smart boy with a serious competitive streak and makes us so happy and proud.

Gyros!

My mom arrived Wednesday after a month in Kauai with my Grandma. Its always a party when Grandma is in town...we tend to get spoiled and this time was no different. A highlight of it all was dinner out at Christo's (the Greek restaurant that catered our wedding!) followed by the Wizard of Oz at the CTC. So fun! Owen was quite excited to have Gyro's for dinner, he even experienced his first cramp after stuffing his belly to the rim and trying to race Jer to the theatre.