Final week in England

Back to stay at George’s, forcing him out once again. He does go willingly, very generous of him to have given up his house for 2 weeks while we were visiting.

Once again, after school each day, we saw Debbie and Jasmine, another trip to the pool with them, a visit to the library, soccer for Jake with Jonny and his friend, completion of the papier mache plates – they came out brilliantly, we were very impressed. The week went quickly.

Our evenings were also quite packed. We had fish and chips (visits to England tend not to be remembered for their high amounts of healthy eating, just for us to be able to have things we can’t usually get, you know, like delicious, creamy, Cadbury’s chocolate!) at Debbie and Jonny’s along with Jonny’s family. Dave stayed to babysit for Jasmine so they were able to go to a movie. Debbie kindly babysat for our four on Friday night so we actually went out together, had a pint in the pub, dinner and saw Couples Retreat at The Trafford Center – funny movie, would recommend it for a light-hearted, predictable, comedy.

We spent Thursday evening with Ben and Liz, these are the times when owning a Wii really come into their own, unlimited entertainment for Jake! The younger kids sat and watched a movie quietly after their dinner and we were able to sit and chat – we have such great friends here. I wish there was a way to more easily travel between the UK and US: faster and cheaper would certainly be better!

We headed out to Warrington on Saturday to have lunch with Kaz and Steve in their new house. They have a gorgeous new abode, part of a converted manor house, it’s wonderful. Their garden joins an enormous field, potentially hours of fun for kids who love to run; unfortunately the day started out raining and didn’t clear up until we had to leave. We did get outside briefly for a game of tag, but had to leave in order to return the rental car in time.