Wind-tunnel experience for entire family

Do you remember for Kevin's 40th I bought him a tandem skydive? Well he has tried 4 different Saturdays to jump, but the weather has yet to cooperate. This past Saturday was no better, so instead he thought the entire family should take a turn in the wind tunnel. I was a little hesitant at first (of course I didn't let anyone think that) but in the end we ALL had a blast. Ms Lee was our instructor. She was Brittney's teacher last year, and you can tell she really enjoys her weekend job as well. She was all smiles with everyone & an excellent instructor. Kevin & Brittney had the most time in the wind tunnel ~ 4 turns approximately a minute each with me & Sophie having 2 turns. We were exhausted when we finished, and Ms Lee said that our time equalled between 4 to 6 jumps. WOW, not to bad for an old girl :-)

Ms Lee showed us what the proper form looked like. She did some flips, turns, and some knee flying. It was so cool!

Kevin was first to go, and he got some good air.

You can't skydive or wind-tunnel without funny faces being created. The video is even better, but it is 15 minutes long (too long to upload).

Brittney had natural form so Ms Lee was able to go 'no hands' quite a bit with Brittney

I'm not sure who was having more fun, Brittney or Ms Lee...

Look at all the air Brittney is getting...

Brittney's funny face :-)

Sophie walked right into the tunnel & got herself some air. She was so brave!

Here Sophie is all by herself ~ 'look mom, no hands from the instructor!'

Sophie never had any funny faces captured on film, but she had plenty of airborne pictures

Even I was able to get some air...

Not too bad for an old, out-of-shape girl :-)

Funny face by me...

When all is said & done, we had a blast and will probably do it again!

Visit to home in Peoria ~ August 2009

Our visit to Peoria in August 2009 was full of mixed blessings... At first we weren't planning on going but God provided some excellent cheap tickets that we could not pass up. Through-out our entire time home I felt this 'cloud' of sorts hanging over me (not necessarily a 'bad' cloud but a cloud is the best description)... we had just moved house in the UK & the transition was not completed before we headed home in August... all those loose ends were bugging me the entire time not to mention the fact that I still had plenty of unpacking to do once we returned to the UK. So let me apologize now for my absence mindedness while home & my constantly changing mood (I know that one is a full can of worms but I'll say it for you & apologize none the less).

When we arrived in Peoria I realized that we had left one suitcase behind - it was sitting at the top of the stairs waiting to come down & be loaded in the car. This suitcase included all of our shoes and Kevin's camera. The shoe thing we could deal with - just go shopping :-) but the camera meant not that many pictures on our trip. So again, I will apologize...this time for not that many pictures of the various events & visitors.

We arrived at our farm in the middle of the night after 24+ hours of travel. To say we were exhausted is an understatement. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Randy, our contractor, had set up the beds in the house so we quickly put those to good use. The next morning Kevin & the girls were up early, raring to go. After some coaxing, I got up as well & we headed off to The Flame for an American breakfast - yum, yum, yum!

The girls had tons of energy from the start so we decided to take them on to VBS at our church (originally I wasn't planning on them starting on Monday, I was going to give them a day of rest - boy was I wrong, they didn't need that). Them being at VBS gave Kevin & I a chance to make the infamous Walmart run so we could stock up on the necessities. VBS was excellent this year (as always) and I was so glad the girls got to be a part of it; it made the transition feel like home again. We enjoyed returning to our familiar friends at church.

Pappie was the first grandparent to visit. He took the girls to Chuck-e-Cheese (kind of like a casino for kids) where Brittney & Sophie stocked up on the winnings. Toys 'R Us was a must visit for more Barbie Pony stuff (we had to buy an extra suitcase just to bring home all the ponies purchased during our visit). Pappie cooked some good ole spaghetti & lasagna, and we were able to visit with our good friends Pam, David, Leah & Hannah who were on their home leave from Japan.

Next to visit was Papa & Nana Couey. The girls were able to enjoy some cooking time with Nana Couey making Chicken & Dumplings. Papa & Kevin enjoyed lots of fishing time but at Brittney's request, they did do the 'catch & release' program :-)

Nana & Grandpa Jim took the girls for a little adventure away from Peoria :-). They used the one-bedroom apartment in Champaign as their 'home base' and travelled with the girls to Chicago one day. While there, they were able to see the Harry Potter exhibit (way cool & mom is very jealous). They also went sailing another day at Clinton Lake. Everyone had a blast.

The girls & I spent quite a few days swimming at the Metamora Pool and one day, thanks to Nana Downs, we went to Splashdown. Wow, am I feeling old when I say, Splashdown seemed way too crowded & over priced for me. We only stayed about 3 hours so we left before the big crowds came, but even the girls preferred the Metamora Pool over Splashdown. We had hoped to swim a few days in our lake, but the weather was not warm enough & the lake was not clean enough... oh well, we had plenty of fun otherwise.

The last grandparent to visit was Granny. She is always such a huge help keeping up with the laundry & closing the house down before returning to the UK. We enjoyed shopping (the girls maybe not as much as we had hoped), cooking, and visiting with Granny. We went to the zoo one day and had some friends over to play with Brittney.

Whitney visited with me & the girls many, many times, but it is never enough if the truth be told - I just wish I could put her in a suitcase & bring her back with me. Whitney has been such a blessing to our family. She helps us so much & her presence is always a sweet experience. The girls stayed one night with Whitney & Micah at their new home. Brittney asked me if she was going to babysit Whitney's children when we moved back to Peoria in 2 years. Hmmmm, I'm hoping so.

We also got to spend a few days with Randee. It was Randee's family that introduced us to NeeNee almost 10 years ago. It has been really cool to see her grow up & turn into a girl that makes all of us proud - but NeeNee would be the proudest I'm sure :-)

Randee & Sophie

Brittney & Randee

Can't go to Peoria during ice-cream season and not visit Emo's

Also during Granny's stay we visited the Peoria Zoo. It has recently been refurbished to include an Africa section. It is now an excellent place to visit in Peoria...
This guy is the first thing when you enter the zoo. He was constantly posing for pictures & if he didn't feel like he was getting enough attention he would stand up & start barking. He is a little pre-madona who is perfect for the entrance...

Brittney was practicing with her new camera that Pappie got her. She was so excited to be able to use it...

Sophie is always anxious to read a map & give instructions. She kept us in line while at the zoo.

This guy reminded us of 'Dum-Dum want Gum-Gum' from Night at the Museum...

Well, as I said at the beginning of this blog, we forgot the main camera so I warned you that there wouldn't be lots of pictures... sorry about that. There were lots of memories about our home leave that I haven't blogged about, but I think the most interesting thing about this home leave was just how anxious we girls were to get back to England. I find it ironic that the UK has become such an important place to us. We have awesome friends here, the girls love school, we have a great house, and we have horse riding. Please do not feel like we don't want to see our family, we would just like for you to come visit us over here...

St Ives, Cornwall UK ~ July 2009

I can remember my granny asking me this riddle when I was a little girl; I was constantly trying to keep up with number of '7s' in my head so I could give the right answer...

As I was on my way to St Ives,
I met a man with seven wives.
Seven wives had seven sacks.
Seven sacks had seven cats.
Seven cats had seven kittens.
So, kittens, cats, sacks, and wives...
How many were going to St Ives?

Well, this summer I finally went to St Ives myself, and let me tell you, it is not an easy place to get to. St Ives is near Lands End of Cornwall, and there is one road in and one road out, sooo that can make for a long ride. The girls passed the time on the road yelling hello to all the cars we came across, singing at the top of their lungs, and counting all the sheep on this 355 mile, 8+ hour journey.

We went the week after school finished with our good friends Claire, Grandma Linda, Hannah, and Emily. They go every year and sometimes multiple times a year. They were the perfect tourist advisers, but unfortunately I wasn't in the exploring mood. The roads are the narrowest & busiest I have experienced since moving over seas, it rained every day, and the girls just wanted to play at the beach.

Claire, Gma Linda, and I took 1 hour shifts huddled up on the beach with our rain gear on, layers-upon-layers of clothing, umbrella, and blankets while the girls played in the water. We should receive an award for braving the weather in the name of our children. You may ask how the kiddos stayed warm...well I'm not really sure they were warm but they would have never admitted otherwise, but never fear, (remember we are going for Mother of the Year Award here...) they had wet suits on.

Sophie didn't like hers too much because she felt like it was choking her. We tried to explain it had to be tight so the cold water wouldn't get into it. There were several times we had to bring Sophie back to the room because she was turning blue in the water (I'm guessing there went my Mother of the Year Award). We would shower her off and then let her take a warm bath...she was singing the entire time with a huge grin on her face...even if her face was a little on the blue side :-)

Brittney & Emily were unstoppable when it came to the water. They were fearless in the waves and loved every minute of the holiday.

On the last day we finally had sunshine. Gma Linda went out real early to stake our claim on the beach. We were in the back, up against the wall with our wind guard marking our territory. It was kinda ironic, within a few hours we were sweating hot. We tried to brave the cold water, but without a wetsuit (& who wants that image of me in a wet suit) there was no way.

The girls on the other hand, loved it...

Regardless of how cold the Atlantic Water was, sun or no sun, the girls were like fish. There were several different beaches the girls could swim at, and the waves were different based on which beach we were at ~ some waves were surfing size, almost all waves were body surfing size, and there was plenty of splashing for all.A couple of afternoons the girls went crabbing on the dock. It is a tradition on the island and people line up with their pails of crabs. First you go to the bait shop and ask for the leftover fish (another way of asking for old, stinky fish guts), then you fill a small bag with the bait, dangle it in the water, and catch some crabs. You don't kill the crabs; you just put them in your pail to see how many you can get ~ kinda like a catch & release mentality.

Brittney, tired of catching crabs, decided it would be fun to catch a sea gull. She threw her line out and a sea gull thought about eating it, instead he found himself entangled in the line. We weren't sure how to get him off because he was trying to fly away while screaming at the top of his lungs and the girls were screaming on the dock. Claire tried to drown him in the water but his 'Fight or Flight' syndrome kicked in and he was able to free himself from the line.

Two different times when we were out on the docks a seal came up to the girls. They were able to feed him some of their fish guts and watch him do a few twists and turns in the water. Everyone was squealing for joy (even us adults). Unfortunately we didn't have our camera with us due to the rain and the water.

We finished the days off with ice cream from Kelly's. We would walk around the shops and spend Daddy's hard earned money.

Sophie's Pony Birthday Party

Sophie's birthday was in July but I am very behind on posting... so just pretend the date is right :-)

Is it just me, or is every little girls dream birthday party a pony party... Sophie kept asking so after talking with the riding center we decided to take the plunge...


do you see Sophie's cheesy smile (middle girl in purple hat)? She had a blast & kept telling me it was the best day of her life...


Hats & Boots - check... cheesy smile continues with Sophie (see her in the purple hat)

Big sister helped with lead reign

Everyone receiving instructions for the various games, as well as a few quick horse riding tips

Sometimes we need help to mount these ponies :-)

But in the end, we will succeed

Nina is mounted & ready to go

Sophie rode Rupert - her favorite pony

First group of riders is ready to go

Smiles all around

Smiles from the birthday girl

Birthday girl is in the lead ~ thanks Charlotte for your help!

Brittney is learning just how difficult lead reign can be...

...and sometimes it takes more than one person to a lead a horse

everyone loves Rupert the pony

saying goodbye to Misty

Ponies are in their stables so they can have a rest

When the day was done, everyone still had smiles & lots of stories to tell their parents.

Sophie, you are my little princess who brought 'grace' into my life. I will always cherish you and these fabulous memories we are making. I love your smile, your giggles, and your non-stop cuddles. You have brought many blessings to our family, and I can't believe how big you have gotten...