Little Things We Miss About London

It's been more than a year and a half since we left London. Not a day goes by I don't miss our time there and the city and the country and the life we built with friends in the neighborhood and church and school. Sometimes the homesickness is so strong I feel a physical ache in my heart. I would jump at the chance to return someday. However, I am trying to move forward and learn to enjoy now--only just!--I'm certainly taking my time at this! Davy reminded me the other day when I used the word 'rubbish' that we're not in London any more. (Imagine that in the tone a 10 year old is perfecting in preparation for the teen years.) True, we're not. But some parts will live on forever. Like the word 'rubbish'. I'll never let that one go. Ha!

Here are some other random bits we've reminisced about, thinking London does it better.

"I'll tell you for why"

The use of the word "whilst"

The yellow light as transition between both changes of traffic light

The words painted on the street reminding you which way to look for cars

Being asked, "Alright there, love?"

Could do

And here is a video I slopped together with some bits and bobs of clips I found while trying to organize our digital life. I don't promise this is the last--I think I've found another motherlode in the dark recesses of my backed-up files. In the meantime, I'll be watching this one repeatedly and weeping a little. ;)

The Moving Pieces

We arrived in to Salt Lake City late at night and utterly exhausted.  I was so relieved to be home.  And by home I mean my childhood home.  Almost--my parents are remodeling and so out of their home but in a neighbor's home while they serve a mission.  Lots of moving bits to keep track of.  Anyway, home is where the people are and I was so happy to be where my people are.  We spent a couple days relaxing and being with family--the Dollahites and also the Lambournes who were in the area.  We played with aunts and uncles and cousins, helped my mom with stuff for her house, took walks and talks in the morning, went for lunches and frozen yogurt.  We stayed extremely busy and yet it was relaxing in its way.

Night games at the park.  Those mountains!!  Sunset over those mountains!!!

Cousins and too much sun.  Ha!

Grandma sent Eliza her birthday card to Utah with instructions to find something that would make Eliza smile.  Liza chose sparkly, heel shoes that indeed made her smile.  We helped with yard work (I mean, a bit).

BYU and more frozen yogurt.  It feels strange to go back to a place that once seemed so huge and all-life-encompassing.  Things seem smaller after you've grown and changed.

Then Collin and I left the children with my family and went to try and sort things out in California.  We stayed with my sister and our friend and I'm so glad we had so much help this move!  It made things go ever so much more smoothly than they could have/have in previous moves.  For example, did you know that California requires you to get a CA state driver's license within 10 days of residence?  Which involves taking the written test again?!?!?  I didn't, until Camilla and Becky told us as we were sitting on their living room floor.  I mean, what?  I was super stressed out about it, taking practice tests so I could ace it the first time.  Anything to not deal with the DMV more than one must.  So we added the DMV to our list of must dos before we returned to UT to collect the children, the things my mom was giving us from her house purge, the things from my grandparents' estate, etc.  That list of to dos was crazy.  Getting a car, finding and signing a house, the drivers test, as many times at In-N-Out as we could stomach.  The list went on.  Couch, dining table, chairs, linens, stuff stuff stuff.

We had decided which towns we wanted to focus our search and we began setting up appointments.  We had tried to do as much as we could before, but really people just wanted us in person and so we made ourselves in person.  We went to a few open houses, a few realtor places, a few landlord appointments.  We found a car (a white van, so adventurous) and we found a couple places we were interested in.  It was really down to two or three, with one being the favorite if we could swing it.  What a relief when the landlord did choose us after all, so we signed and then we could do the next step and the next after that.  We chose a house close to a park and elementary school, a nice common area, a huge master bedroom (that wasn't on our must have list, but I'll tell you--getting off our own sides of the bed for almost the first time in our marriage has been huge.), and most importantly MORE THAN ONE TOILET.  This is the biggest deal ever.  I can never go back to one facility!

Besides the pull-your-hair-out frustrating moments, I enjoyed peeking inside lots of different houses and neighborhoods.  California is different than London and it was fun to see it with fresh eyes.

We got our new licenses early one morning (we both passed first try, phew) and drove to Utah the rest of that day with no stops besides gas.  We collected our children and the things in Utah (including bed frames, bookshelves, etc. etc.) and drove back toward Northern California.  We returned in two days, Collin driving a moving truck and me and the kids in the car.  With the kids and the truck we did take few more stops, including the salt flats.  Such a cool place.  So bright, even overcast!  It's good to stretch every few hours.  I like going kid speed as much as I appreciate going adult speed.  Both have their benefits!

And then we arrived to our new home.  An empty home is full of fun and possibilities.  I still remember when my family moved from North Carolina to Utah when I was eight and the feeling of that empty house.

(I think this was the last time Collin enjoyed the minimalism of bare walls and floors.  I filled them up in no time.)

As quick as we could we filled it.  We put big things in their places, found a couch and a piano while we still had the truck.  I'm tired just remembering all that we did those few first days in California.

We had some fun, too.  Collin's dad and brother and sister came up to help us move in!  That was so nice, so helpful.  We enjoyed the pool at the hotel and eating out.  I can very quickly get used the idea--and reality!--of family close enough to be able to help.

I saddled myself with several projects--some quite large, actually.  I was proud of myself for seeing them through.  Mostly because Collin was there all day every day to keep me honest.  And do a lot of the work himself besides.  Ha!  We painted a shelf for the kids' play room, stripped and refinished a Mid-century dresser my mom loaned us, reupholstered a couple chairs and bench, etc.  I have pictures of some of the before and after/in the middle that maybe someday I'll post to stroke our DIY egos.

We got a Costco membership and were there every other day stocking up.  The kids got bikes from hand-me-downs and Craigslist and we got them riding asap.  Another post someday on that, maybe???

A half dozen trips to the home improvement store later and we were mostly set up with all the random things.  Luckily the store is right next to an In-n-Out so they were happy errands!

What an adventure moving house is!  Even moving across the street is a big deal.  We moved ourselves from across the country and world.  It was huge.  I'm writing this five months later and I still feel like I'm coming down from the adrenaline rush of moving.  The kids were troopers.  Collin and I made a good team, doing the parts of the job that we like/are best at.  I'm so grateful we are doing life together.  And have so many people helping in so many ways.

Stopover in Boston

We had planned to return to Boston after two years of being abroad.  It's funny how life changes as you go along.  We have to make plans, to have a direction to head but simultaneously learn not to be too set in our path.  We stayed another year in London, in the meantime we felt more urges toward being closer to family (and away from a New England winter--I'll be honest, the feelings were about as strong between family bonds and moderate climate!).  When it came time to decide finally where we would go there was a place in San Francisco that was interested in what Collin could offer.  So we decided to return to the states to a new place.

All our things were in Boston--two small storage units full.  We'd pared down quite a bit, leaving just the sentimental and special in Boston and going to England with only suitcases.  I'm sure there were several ways we could have acquired the stuff but what we decided to do was return ourselves.  Sort out the things into pods that could be shipped across the country, say hello and goodbye (again) to dear friends, and enjoy the best of Boston.  Seeing my friends in Belmont was harder than I'd anticipated.  Those friends are family to us, after seven years and babies and a fire and all the other day to day interactions.  I'm not sure I weighted them properly in the equation of pros and cons of leaving Boston for good.  I mean, I'm still pretty sure we made a good decision for us now.  I miss my Belmont friends a great deal.

And cannoli.  I miss cannoli.

Our blitz through Boston was great!  It was hot--especially after England and then Iceland!--but just what we needed.  We ate our way through with a passion.  Pizza, gelato, cannoli, more ice cream, Dunkin Donuts.

Swan boats are a classic.  The last time we had ridden them Eliza was a couple days old.  I know for all of this I was more excited than the kids, but they were kind to humor me.

Forever trying to get a keeper shot of the ducks.  Gotta go on a rainy early morning if you want them to yourself!  But we don't mind sharing, really.  That's the magic of the ducks.  They are for everyone.

Pizza and Mike's. Brave the queue and be rewarded!  We were stuffed to the point of being sick but really, you can always squeeze in one more bite of cannoli.

Then it was time to actually do the work we were in Boston to do.  We got the stuff out of storage, arranged it into the travel pods and sent them on their way.  The kids enjoyed the freight elevator and dolly system to move the boxes.

The view over the Charles from the red line always gets me.

The books the school kids at Abacus made were treasured from the moment they were received.  The boys enjoyed quiet moments reading the notes their friends wrote.

Wild turkeys in the Belmont hills.  I forgot how funny it is to be driving around the neighborhoods and see a turkey saunter across the road.

AMERICAN FOOD!!  The ice cream aisle at the grocery store was like a mirage in the desert.  So beautiful.

We stayed at our friends' home (while they were visiting London, ironically!) and it was so pleasant to have an Airbnb-esque place, complete with trampoline, to start and end each busy day.

Now I'm in a random order of pictures and too lazy to fix it.  Anyway, more favorite food.  Mainly treats.

One of the places with the best memories is the Old North Bridge.  Our family enjoyed it, but more than that we went with many friends and visitors.  I was able to practice taking portraits here several times in different seasons.  We saw the reenactment soldiers march along the path a couple times to send off the shot that was heard round the world.

We attended church in our home ward before we left for the airport and our next leg of the journey.  It was the strangest feeling, feeling home but passing through.  The Belmont ward is the most family outside of family I've ever experienced.  Part of that was us making an effort to be involved and active in the social life of the ward, but mostly it was the amazing people who wouldn't have let us fade into the background even if we'd tried.  I love those people.