{England}

{Day 1: Thursday-Friday}

Addy and I packed our bags and headed to the airport! The part I had been dreading had finally arrived . . . the plane flight. My sister and I had booked our plane flights so that we could meet up in Atlanta and be together for the 7 hour flight, but unfortunately her plane was delayed causing her to miss her connection :( After a minor break down (by me) I pulled it together, said lot's and lot's of prayers, and boarded our second plane of the day. Thankfully I was able to get an extra seat and Addy was able to sleep for about 5 out of the 7 hours. Addy was such a good girl for her mama despite a very long day of traveling (13 hours)! I seriously could not have asked her to be any better and I was so thankful for my sweet little girl!



After 13 hours of traveling we finally got to see my parents which was unbelievable! I have missed them so, so much! They took us to their "flat" a.k.a. apartment and we crashed for the rest of the day.

{Day 2: Saturday}

My parents figured we would be pretty tuckered out from traveling and the 6 hour time change so they planned something low key. We drove about 15 minutes away to an estate near by called Tatton Park. We spent a few hours touring around the 150 acre GORGEOUS gardens. I soon realized that my pictures could not do this place justice. It was so pretty.








There was a random GIANT wooden rocking horse in the middle of the gardens we thought was interesting

After strolling through the gardens we had a picnic lunch and then Grandma Ginny took Addy for a ride on the carousel. She had been very excited to do this and it was so fun to watch them go around.



Next Grandma and Grandpa took off with the kids and Stephanie and I went on a tour of the mansion. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but it was quite spectacular.

{Day 3-Sunday}

We attended church with my parents. It always amazes me that no matter where you go in the world our church is always the same (minus the kiss on the cheek I received from the door greater, haha). My parents are in a wonderful ward and it was so good to see how loved and welcomed they are by the people of England.

In the evening we went for a little walk to a nearby park and swung on the swings. I couldn't get over the fact that I was swinging in my pajamas, bare foot and pregnant, in ENGLAND! There was just something very relaxing about this :)

{Day 4-Monday}

Somehow my dad managed to pull my mom away from us and hauled her into work. I think they felt bad leaving us by ourselves in their little apartment, but we actually had a very fun and relaxing day. My sister and I were able to do what sisters always do, talk, laugh, and be silly. Addy was kept entertained by the princess pool my mom bought for her.





I think people walking by thought we were crazy for letting her swim in 65 degree weather, but she was lovin' it! We had filled it with hot water so it was pretty much like a bath anyway.



We even got creative and were able to keep Ammon entertained by hanging him some toys from one of the kitchen chairs :)

{Day 5-Tuesday}

We had been doing a six hour Pride and Prejudice marathon in preparation for this day! My parents were able to take the day off and we spent it visiting the Chatsworth Mansion. Some of the scenes from the newer Pride and Prejudice were filmed here.



I'm not usually one to get car sick, but about ten minutes into the drive I started felling very queasy. My mom and I switched seats so I could sit in the front hoping this would help. I had never been on such narrow windy roads in my entire life!



I took these pictures to prove to you just how turny the roads were! All of these pictures are of separate turns taken over a 30 second time frame . . . ugh!

The mansion was breath taking and definitely very big. Every room had murals on the walls and ceiling. The artwork was so intricate. We also spent a couple of hours walking the grounds.










We thought these rocks looked like the scene from The Lion King so we decided to re-enact it ;)



Once again, my pictures can not do this place justice.


A day of touring can be exhausting

{Day 6- Wednesday}

My parents had to go back to work, but we were able to go out to lunch with them and also do a little shopping. In the afternoon I summoned Stephanie to help me crochet some beanies and Addy went swimming again.


And to think my mom was worried Addy would be bored out of her mind. She was plenty entertained by the curtains ;)

That night we ate at a cute English Pub. The food in England is definitely more bland than here in America, but I was very impressed with the Thai Chicken I ordered.

{Day 7-Thursday}

We were spoiled and my parents took off another day of work. This time we took a much less windy journey to Carnaerfon Castle.





I have always wanted to visit a castle so I was very excited about this! We spent the day touring the insides and learning about it's history.





My dad, Addy, and I climbed to very highest tower which I must say was a little scary! The staircase was so narrow and windy, but it was really beautiful when we got to the top.



While we were there Addy found herself a little hiding place tucked back in a corner. She loved peering out through the archer slits. A couple of times I turned around to see she had gone missing, but I always knew right where she was, in her little hiding place, looking out over the ocean :)


Goodness, it seems like it was yesterday Addy was sitting in a car seat like this :(

{Day 8- Friday}

Mom and Dad went back to work, but today we got to go with them! We met them for lunch and they introduced us to the office missionaries and to the mission president. We got go see a little bit of what they do and it was so comforting to see they were in good hands. The mission president went on and on about how much he enjoyed having them their and the wonderful example they were setting for their grandchildren by being their. Even though it is hard being away from them I know my parents are doing a wonderful thing and I am thankful for their example.

{Day 9-Saturday}

What's a Saturday without a trip to COSTCO?!?!



When I heard England had a Costco we had to go. Ryan would have killed me if I didn't! Surprisingly it looked like every other Costco, but the samples definitely weren't . . . the best. haha. We also went to Azda which is England's Walmart. While we were there we ate lunch at good ole' McDonalds, which you would think would be the same everywhere, but it too was just a little different.

Our last stop of the trip was to the Trafford Center Mall. It was really big and the food court was incredible! They built it to look like you were on a cruise ship. Very cool.


Where's Waldo? This is a picture of Stephanie and I on the entrance stairway to the food court. If you look very closely you can see us ;)

{Day 10-Sunday}

We attended church again and Adalee went to nursery all by herself for the first time! Since Ryan and I were called to be in nursery we have always been with her, but today her and I were both brave and she went all by her little self. I was so proud of her! The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent packing and taking advantage of every last second we had with my parents.

{Day 11-Monday}

It was time to say good-bye to my parents for another 8 months :( My dad told us girls that we were only allowed to cry . . . at night . . . in our sleep. haha!





I think this can go in my book as one of the top ten worst days of my life. I was of course so sad to say good-bye to my parents, but sadly that wasn't the worst part.
I thought about not documenting this, but I decided it was something I wanted to document in hopes that maybe someday I will look back on it and laugh. This is a very detailed and long run down of our horrible 18 hour trip home. I won't feel bad if you won't want to read it. It is simply so I can reflect back on it.

Flight from Manchester to JFK- The plane was completely full which meant Addy had to sit on my lap for the entire 7 1/2 hour flight. My sister and I were unable to sit close to each other and the flight attendants were very rude (I will spare you all the details). Addy had a few minor break downs, but she was not my major proble.

Flight from JFK to Minneapolis- Upon arriving to JFK we had to go through customs, do the whole passport thing, and go through security again. All of these stops we had to make had ridiculously long lines and NO air conditioning. I was hot, tired, and oh yeah . . . still pregnant. I thought my next flight was only an hour and a half, but through talking to Ryan and I was informed it was 3 hours. This started my first major melt down of the day. I didn't know how I was going to entertain Addy for another 3 hours and have her sit on my lap for that long. Thankfully my sister was with me at this point. She wiped my tears, fanned me so I would cool off, and was very supportive the whole time. I don't know what I would have done with out her.

We had a two hour lay over, but by the time all was said and done we were both running to our gates to catch our planes. When I arrived at my gate it said the flight was scheduled to depart in 15 minutes. I ran to the bathroom and when I came back the flight had been delayed for and hour and a half. This might not have been a big deal except for that my next lay over was only an hour. I realized I was going to miss my connection and once again began to bawl.

I talked with a flight attendant and told her my situation. She told me there was another plane leaving Minneapolis and going to Des Moines at 9:40 p.m. and that it had plenty of seats. This was still less than ideal since I was originally supposed to be home at 8:00 p.m., but it was better than nothing. She told me when I got there I would have plenty of time to have them print me off another ticket which would have been true had we not sat on the airplane for TWO hours before ever taking off!!! Addy of course fell asleep shortly after getting on the plane and stayed asleep the entire 2 hours we were sitting there, but woke up just in time to take off. I was very upset at this point.

Flight from Minneapolis to Des Moines- I arrived at the Minneapolis airport at 9:20 p.m. That left me with 20 minutes before my other flight was supposed to leave and I didn't even have a ticket. I'm sure it was quite a sight to see a 30 week pregnant woman running through the airport pushing her 19 month old daughter in her car seat. I was sure I was going to go into labor or collapse from exhaustion at this point. When I made it to the gate Addy was bawling and I was huffing and puffing so hard I could hardly speak to the flight attendant. I explained the situation and she informed me that my name was not on this flight, that it was full, and that they had me scheduled to fly out the next morning. This led to bawling meltdown number three of the day (by me). I begged and pleaded to PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let me on this flight. We had been traveling for 17 hours. Addy was going on two and a half hours of sleep and I was going on thirty minutes. We were EXHAUSTED and there was no way I was sleeping in the airport. We just wanted to go home!

A young man had been listening near by and was watching me fall to pieces. He asked the flight attendant what time my flight was going to leave in the morning and then he so generously offered to switch flights with me. He was offering his FIRST CLASS seat to me so I could go home! I wanted to hug him to pieces. Unfortunately the flight attendant was very rude and ignored him even though he asked THREE different times if he could do this. She took her dear sweet time trying to figure things out mean while I was left wondering if I was going to get on this flight. It was like she didn't want him to help me. Finally she informed me she was going to go on the plane and see if there happened to be any open seats.

She came back a few minutes later to inform me there was indeed an open seat and that I could go home! Even though this young man didn't end up having to give his seat up I am eternally thankful for his generosity in even considering it. I will never forget it. As soon as we got on the plane big crocodile tears started streaming down Addy's face and all she could say was "No, no, no Mama." I felt so bad for her, but I told her this flight was only 38 minutes and that we could do it! 38 minutes and then we could see Daddy! She then quieted down, curled up on my lap, and fell asleep.

Stinky, sweaty, exhausted, and with ankles double the size they were when I left we arrived home!!! I don't think I have ever been so happy to see Ryan in my life. I wanted to cry. We waited for our bags, which never came because the airline lost them (they delivered them the next day), but at this point I didn't even care. I was home and all I wanted to do was take a shower and to go to bed. We had survived!

Now, I can't end this blog about our trip to England on a bad note because it was the opportunity of a lifetime and Miss Addy and I don't regret our decision to go one bit! I am so glad Adalee and I were able to spend time with my parents. They did so much for us while we were there and really made our stay enjoyable. We are missing them so much already, but are again so grateful for their examples and the blessings we experience from it everyday. We love you!