Windsor Castle

When you are a little girl growing up in Minnesota, a castle is something you see in books and movies. A castle is where Rapunzel is held captive or where the wicked stepmother plots her evil schemes. Now that I have been living here for just over a year, I have seen castles scattered about the countryside like.... raisins in Post Raisin Bran! (And we all know they add 'two scoops'!) :) he, he

Just around the corner from us is one of them~Windsor Castle. I finally got a chance to go there a few weeks ago. Wow. This is a serious castle. No joke. If I was an invading force, I would have worried about how to get past these walls.

In modern days, Windsor is the the weekend home for the Queen...
you know, the place she goes to get 'out of the city' for a few days.

Wrap-up of US trip

I know it has been way too long! I had such a wonderful time on my visit back to the states that I didn't have much time to post anything. Once I got home, Lenny and I have been making the most of the last warm summer days in London. I have a whole bunch of amazing photos and stories that I will try to post in the next few weeks.

After a great week in San Francisco, I felt reconnected our peeps back home. I really miss everyone, but it was wonderful to see people and feel that no time had passed. Of course it was difficult cutting our time short with loved ones. In the end, I boarded the plane thinking 'I am excited for the day we move back and we will be able to spend more time together'.

Minnesota.... the land of 10,000 lakes.... and my oldest and dearest friends. I was thrilled that both Lisa/Ryan and Heather/Mauricio were able to host me for part of my trip back home. It was really special to get time with each of them. Lisa and Ryan hosted a BBQ for the Eden Prairie girls, spouses, and... children! And, wow, were there ever children! It was such a blast! It is amazing to see my childhood friends as moms themselves. :) Congrats to all of you for being truly inspiring moms.

Speaking of inspiring moms.... right after Minnesota I was off to Disneyland with Monica, Aaron and Trystan. Aaron is absolutely the most incredible little person I have ever met! I am in awe of the job Monica and Jeff are doing to raise these two wonderful children. Aaron and I went exploring all over Disneyland. We got to ride the Dumbo ride, Teacups, explore Treasure Island, and Tarzan's tree! I have such strong memories of going to Disneyland when I was in California visiting my grandparents and aunt. Hearing Aaron say, "Auntie Maia, can we go on that that ride?" was the greatest thrill for me! We has such a wonderful time that we want to do it again next year with the Lenny and Jeff. :)

I finished off the wonderful trip with a week in Pauma Valley visiting my parents and aunt. The hugest thank you goes to my parents. I never eat better than when I am at home with them! I got to lay by the pool in the day, read under a tree, and eat amazing food all day long! What better vacation is there?

Amazing Friends

As I get older, I appreciate my friends sooooo much. I am blessed to have some really wonderful friends. Actually, Lenny and I both have wonderful friends. We love (and miss) our friends so much that we booked a whole holiday to come back to the states and visit our friends. I am overwhelmed by how wonderful it is to see everyone and how much love I feel.

Holidays start with finding a place for Chula to stay while we are gone. A friend from work graciously offered to watch Chula for the first week, and then Emily was going to take her for a few nights at the end. We didn't want to burden Emily and Jayme too much because they have a 4 month old baby to worry about~ and she keeps them busy enough! A few days ago, I emailed Emily to give her details about the switch off (which should have been days away) and she sent me back this picture....

Emily is one of the most amazing friends ever. Apparently Barbara called Emily early because she was allergic to Chula, Emily just said "bring her over!" I didn't even know about the problem and never worried a minute! People talk about friends you can count on in an emergency~Emily is definitely one of those. Thank you Emily!

We have tried to get together with people as much as possible during our visit to California. It has been very nice seeing everyone and staying with different people every night. Thank you to Dave/Tori, Jeremy/Rachel, Joey/Lisa, and Erik/Mia for hosting us while we are visitors in our former home city. Every night has been special. I won't go on and on, but I will mention Friday night when we had a Shabbat dinner at Dre and Josh's new home. It was a wonderful evening with friends and was a great reminder of the practices we want to establish in our home. We miss everyone and look forward to being back soon!

Another extra special treat was getting this blanket from Mia. After making quilts and gifts for other people, I have one for myself now! (Well.... it is actually a wedding present for Lenny and me. So, I guess I better share with him) I gave it a test run at Mia's house~ I LOVE it. I know it is going to keep us warm in our chilly London home. Thank you Mia!

Tomorrow I get to spend the day with Julie :) and Tuesday I head off to Minnesota. It is a wonderful, action packed trip!