If you come to visit...

... we might drag you around the countryside the day you arrive so we can keep you awake until a decent bedtime. The time difference feels a little bit like torture. :)

... we might take you to church with us and ask you to help in the nursery when we don't have enough primary workers.

... we might take you to all of our favorite places in Oxford, but we won't be able to tour anything because it is Sunday afternoon and everything is closed. Oops.



... we might ride the train to London, see all the sights, tease you because you thought the Tower of London was actually a tower, and eat at a pub where it takes almost two hours to get our food and dessert, but we won't mind because we have so much to catch up on.




... I might be brave enough to drive you to Bath and spend a gorgeous day eating Cornish Pasties on the bank of the river, touring the roman baths, and then we can relax while taking our own baths at the rooftop spa.




... then you might head out on your own to visit Paris and Germany and have an incredible time and never want to go back to New York and/or Colorado and you'll just come and live in Bicester with us. :)

(most pictures taken from Rachel and Katie - thanks!!:)

Milestones

We've had some major milestones happen during the last couple of months!

Anna turned five at the beginning of August. We found some time to celebrate in between visitors and traveling to Utah. She is such a joy and is the happiest little thing. She is a little bit of everything, all squished in to one tiny body. You're never quite sure what to expect with Anna, and I love that about her!

Joseph's birthday was also in August, and we missed being with him! The kids wanted to bake a cake for him in Utah, but since that didn't really make sense, we made a very belated birthday cake for him when we got back. He is such a good sport. :)

We had our 10 year anniversary on August 4! We are looking forward to a trip to Paris in a few weeks, just the two of us, to celebrate! I can't believe how quickly it has gone, and I'm thankful for every single day we've had together. He is the best thing for me.

Matthew and Anna started school a couple of weeks ago - 2nd grade and Kindergarten. They are happy, so I am happy, although I miss them every minute!

We had our one-year anniversary of living in England on August 18. In some ways, this year has flown by. We loved it here from the start, and have been busy and grateful and happy. But in other ways, it feels like we must have lived here for ages for all that we have done and all that has happened to our little family this year. We have met some incredible people that we love dearly, had wonderful adventures, enjoyed special visitors, and thrived, even through some hard times.We are thankful to call England home right now.

We had quite the summer, and now life is slowing down a bit (but not really) and it is chilly in the mornings and we are looking forward to what the next year has to bring!

Utah Holiday

We went on "holiday" to see family in Utah for most of August. It was so wonderful to spend a few weeks of summer with all the people we love so much! We played with cousins, held babies, helped with projects, visited the temple, held more babies, visited Meg in Wyoming, had tea parties, went swimming, saw old friends, watched movies, and had a fabulous time!

















We missed Joseph, who had to stay behind and prepare for a base/clinic inspection. We made it back to England with just a few days to adjust before school started last week! We loved our visit, and being able to spend so much time with people that we are usually so far away from. It is always hard to say goodbye, but we are so grateful for the memories and the wonderful time we had together!