First Day at School

Today was Hilde's very first day at school. We had grand plans to put her into a private school here, but decided that logistically it made much more sense for her to attend a British Public School, Darley Primary School. We went and met with the headmistress on Friday and they enrolled her for today. We spent the weekend finding all of the components to her uniform. The hardest things to find were actually her PE clothes (plain white tee shirt, plain navy blue shorts, all black tennis shoes). Sunday night she laid out all of her clothes for the week. Here she has the red sweater and white dress shirt. She also has a navy blue sweater and a few white polo shirts. She had a lot of fun putting together all of the combinations. Apparently they are having a school contest to design a new logo for next year, so they told us to get everything generic. Next year her clothes will have the school logo on them as well. I already love uniforms, it was so much easier getting her dressed this morning.

We started off with a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats, one of her favorite cereals. Then we got her school bag ready with her lunch money, PE clothes, and all of the paperwork we had to fill out for her school. Then we all piled into the car and headed off. We dropped Enoch off at daycare along the way so it would be a special morning with us and Hilde. We parked a little ways from the school (there is no parking there) and walked the rest of the way to the school. We waited with the other parents and kids in the courtyard for the teachers to open the doors. Each class has a door that leads to the courtyard and when the teacher is ready they let the kids in.


Hilde could hardly stand the wait. While we were there, several parents introduced themselves and had their kids introduce themselves to Hilde. It was probably 50/50 US/Brits. Then the moment arrived.... and Mrs. Henry opened up the door to Hilde's class. Hilde started to sprint inside and I told her I wanted to get one more picture. She wasn't very excited about that - as you can see. She just wanted to be a part of the action, and from what we can tell, she was. Before we left we got some big hugs and kisses and huge smiles from a very excited little girl.

I picked her up at the end of the day and met with Mrs. Henry for about 40 minutes. She said Hilde had a great time, and fit right in. Hilde couldn't stop bouncing off the walls, she was so excited and happy. Mrs. Henry gave me her Homework Diary and her first homework assignment - draw a picture of your favorite toy. Each homework assignment is for the whole week, so she has all week to complete it. Hilde has decided she is going to draw a princess that twirls, like in her music box. Congratulations Hilde, you are a big girl now!!!

A few more pics from when I picked her up at the end of the day.

Cabin Fever

We have all caught a bad case of cabin fever, especially the kids. The small space doesn't leave a lot of room to play, so we often find the kids at the door, like in the picture left, begging to go out for a walk or go exploring, etc.

Last night we walked to a nearby Curry House for dinner (behind Hilde in the picture on the right). Jinnah was divine. There were water fountains and fun lights and a very nice atmosphere. Hilde had chicken fingers and fries, but tried a fair amount of our food, and Enoch ate a little bit of everything. Dave and I had the buffet and I really enjoyed everything we ate. For dessert we had some sweet Naan, delish. We both decided this will be a favorite take-out place on those nights we can't stand to be in the kitchen.

Enoch isn't in daycare until next week so he has to tag along with a parent everyday. Our typical day includes running around checking in to a million different offices, opening bank accounts, looking at houses, filling out paperwork, repeat. Not exactly fun for a 2 year old. For the most part he has been a trooper, but it is starting to really get to him. This morning he begged me to leave him with Hilde in her class at daycare. After three days of non-stop errands, he finally got a treat, two trips to the playground today. It was freezing cold and the wind was blowing pretty strongly, but he loved every minute of it.

Translation Please?

A few things we have picked up already are listed below and I'll add to this list over time. You probably already know a lot of them:

US = English equivalent

Rain Boots = Wellies
Sprite/7Up = Lemonade
Any type of dessert = Pudding
Couch = Settee
Chips = French Fries
Trashcan = Bin
Underwear = Pants
Pants = Trousers
Ketchup = Tomato Sauce (and it is much sweeter here)
Stroller = Pushchair
Cookies = Biscuits
Weed Wacker = Strimmer
Potato Chips = Crisps
Traffic Circle = Roundabout
Lollipop = Lolli
Popsicle = Iced Lolli
Sweater = Jumper
Sidewalk = Pavement
Exits (onramps & Offramps) = Sliproads
Shoulder of a road = Verge

Are we there yet?

So for months we have been planning, planning and planning for the big move. And then all of a sudden it was here. With movers, and final goodbyes, and last minute errands, and harried evenings just trying to get things done. And now we find ourselves in Harrogate, England. We are in a two bedroom flat at the South End of town, and boy am I glad to be done traveling.

Thursday started with a trip to Ihop with the in-laws for a final breakfast there with the kiddoes who are big fans. Enoch got the "healthy" funny face pancake and Hilde got the "unhealthy" one. Which means that Enoch's had fruit on top while Hilde's was filled with chocolate chips. Both were in heaven. Then we ran errands, did final packing and loaded up our Accord and the Younce's Toyota 4Runner with 8 suitcases and 4 carry-ons. We had a couple of hours to kill so we spent a great afternoon at Frying Pan Park. Enoch and Hilde loved looking at the animals and then wore themselves out on the playground. It was a nice respite prior to LONG hours of traveling. And, it came with a bonus. Proof that we are still good parents. We found a lost kid who was crying for his mom. I took him around the park, and when we finally found her she had NO IDEA her son was lost. She actually told me, "I can't believe I forgot him." So we did our good deed for the day and headed to the airport.

We checked in at Dulles and that started a whirlwind of carrying kids, bags and standing in lines. Over and over and over again. Our flight to London Heathrow was pretty uneventful. Enoch got about 4 hours of sleep, Hilde maybe 2-3, Me about 1 and Dave none. When we got to London it was 6 AM Local (1AM EST). Then we had a layover for 3 hours before our last flight to Leeds. During our layover we tried my favorite new drink, Cloudy Lemonade. It was 7 calories of deliciousness in a 20 oz. (?) bottle. When we got to Leeds at 9:30 AM our sponsor Dave picked us up and took us to our Flat. He had treats for the kids, which were a big hit.

So, our flat.... Well, it isn't what anyone in their right mind would call spacious. We are on the second floor of an old building in a row of townhouses. On the main level is the kitchen and the bathroom. Complete with a shower with a half door. The glass does not go all the way around the tub so no matter what you do, you end up with some water on the floor...NICE. Then upstairs is a bedroom with a double bed and a twin bed. Then a small TV room with a couch, two chairs, and a TV. It is pretty small. Then their is a third bedroom with another double bed. The room is so small, and the ceiling so low, that it is claustrophobic. There is no room for anything in there. We originally gave the kids the room with two beds, but after two nights, Dave just switched us and Enoch. He gets the little room, it won't bother him. We do have internet and satellite TV, so things are pretty good.

Now, the town. It is awesome. Hilde and I go on an exploring walk everyday and usually the whole family goes on one at another time too. You basically walk everywhere. Right next to us are several good restaurants, we have already tried out a good fish and chips place and a fantastic sandwich shop. There is a small (4 aisle) grocery store and lots and lots of shops. On Saturday Hilde and I went for a walk and then sat on a bench in the green space and just people watched. Very fun. We broke down and bought an umbrella style stroller, although a little nicer. With all the walking, it got old carrying Enoch. (At least to us, he thought it was great).

Sunday we walked to church in the pouring rain, for about a half an hour. We quickly decided NOT to do that again. Then when we got there, they did everything through Sacrament and then flipped on the Sunday afternoon session of General Conference. If we had known, we probably wouldn't have walked through the rain. As it was, we needed to find someone to watch Enoch tomorrow since daycare told us when we got here that they can't take him next week and both Dave and I have to be in-processed tomorrow. And a family offered to drive us home (they saw us walking there), and then offered to watch Enoch tomorrow as well. So, a very generous ward so far. It is a small church, but there were chairs in the overflow and it was fairly well packed. So a decent sized ward. Then we had dinner tonight with our Sponsor and his family, including two girls 6 and 8. Hilde was in girl heaven and Enoch loved all the attention. Hilde had a small breakdown tonight when she just wanted to go home. She misses her friends and her family, but hey, we all do.

More to come.