Across the Pond

We made it!

We're in Harrogate, England where we will call home for the next 3 years.

Here's my attempt at a recap of the last month (and please feel free to skip it all) which felt like a whirlwind, so here it goes...


We packed up and moved out just before Christmas and then flew to Salt Lake City and spent Christmas with my grandma, parents, brother and his family. We may have overloaded my grandma's house...but it was fun to spend Christmas in the house I have so many childhood Christmas memories in.

This is Clara and Jonas with cousins Tara and Marie.


And Jonas with his uncle Matt...a favorite playmate while we were in Utah.


Next we went to Idaho to spend time with our Osterhout family. Seeing everyone was wonderful, it meant a lot to us to have the whole family there...we know it took plenty of rearranging for everyone to be there at the same time and we are so grateful. Burley included some awesome bowling, I am pretty sure nobody scored lower than me...not even Clara. It was also fun to play games and relax. Then there was the never ending Nintendo Rock Band. Clara did great on vocals and drums but nothing could beat the moment my sister in law Melissa asked me if there was a cat dying on TV in the other room. I went to investigate only to find Devin singing along with Judas Priest. I'm not sure whose score was the lowest...my bowling or Devin's singing.

Here's Clara and her cousin Sadee having fun with makeup. One pink eye and one blue eye. Cute.



Before we left Burley, we were able to see the Walnums and then the Prices in Utah. It was so much fun to see them, we wish it was much more often!

Next came California. Southern first to visit Wendy and her family. We had a great time relaxing and enjoying the 70 degree sunshine. Lovely. Just what I needed to mentally prepare for rainy England. We had fun with everyone and are so excited to be in England at the same time as Allyson...can't wait to meet up in London.


The only down side to the trip was that we all got sick and I ended up with strep throat and was unable to visit Steve in northern California. We were so sad to not see him and instead spent a day at my parent's trying to feel better before our flight back to Maryland. One of the worst flights of my life and shockingly it had nothing to do with my kids.

The last few days in Maryland were busier than we expected and ended with Clara coming down with a bad cough and Jonas with a staph infection that they are still not completely over. Great. I got to visit the pediatrician and Costco pharmacy (who have long known me by name) just hours before boarding our flight.

It was so hard for us to say goodbye to our amazing friends who have been such a support to us. As we drove back from saying goodbye our last night, Clara cried in the backseat and exclaimed that she didn't want to move. It broke my heart. So with a cry-induced headache, we boarded our flight...barely. We got hung up at the airport since they did not have seats for us and then finally made it to security to realize we left the laptop in the van Clint was driving. Thankfully he realized it and circled the airport as Devin sprinted faster than I've ever seen him run to catch up and retrieve the precious laptop. Needless to say, with Clara pushing Jonas in a wheelchair, Devin and I carrying tooooo many bags, we made the flight to Philadelphia and then on to Manchester, UK but not without being a complete spectacle.

So here we are in England and while the first day was incredibly gray and snowy, it has been much better since. The DeGiulio's have been beyond helpful and I can't imagine these first few days without being able to rely on them - they are great and we are happy to live near them. The bonus was that Rijen was able to come up from a work trip and see us this weekend. It is always hard to move - even when it is what you want - and this was no exception, so it was great to see a familiar face so soon after moving here.

Harrogate is a beautiful town and we have loved the food and the people are all so nice. Now I just need to study up on driving so I can pass my test soon...I am very nervous. We are getting settled and trying to find a house, doctor, school, etc. The list goes on but we look forward to getting back into a routine.

Please come visit, we'd love it!!!!! You'd love it to, I am finding lots of yummy food and soon will find fun places to see. You know, I have my priorities. :) Anyway, pictures of England to follow. Apparently I just destroyed some recent pics on my camera...that stinks.