Twickenham Fun- (Anniversaries, Family Do’s, Bowling, and VISAS!!)

August 14, 2014-September 3, 2014

14^th- Today we got up early and hung out with Larissa and Amelie. Then Larissa had to go to work so we went to the shops and to the park and back then hung out with Amelie some more. We gave her dinner a bath and put her to bed. Tim and Larissa came home and we had some wine and a chat before bed.

15^th- Today we had to stay home to wait for the letter to arrive from America. Becky (Larissa’s sister) and Chris (her bf) came and they went out the Tim, Larissa, and Amelie. We hung out and waited and waited and waited. Nothing showed up. Larissa and Becky came back and sent us off to the pub to meet up with Tim and Chris. We had a good chat and some drinks but when we came back still no letter! L

16^th- Today again we waited for the letter to arrive. We stayed home and relaxed. Tim and Larissa came home and we had pancakes for dinner and hung out before bed.

17^th- Happy One Year Wedding Anniversary!! Today we got up early and found out that Tim and Larissa had booked at table at the place they ate at for their wedding day for us! It was so lovely. Tim started the day by making us eggy bread (aka French toast). Then later on we went to Valentina’s restaurant for a lovely Italian meal. Heavens got pizza and I got a seafood pasta dish! YUM! Then Heavens got tiramisu and I got chocolate fondant for dessert. We each had a glass of wine and of course Amelie loved the olives so much we had to buy some for later. It was lovely. So nice of Tim and Larissa to treat us on our anniversary. Then we went back home and read our 1 year anniversary book that everyone at the wedding wrote in. It was cool to read back and remember our special day. We hung out and watched Good Will Hunting then skyped mom and went to bed. We really enjoyed our 1 year anniversary and even though it wasn’t in America we had a lovely day!

18^th- Today we waited again for our package and finally it came!!!! We played with Amelie and bit and called the Embassy to arrange a pick up for tomorrow. Then we went to the shops and took Amelie on her scooter before coming back eating dinner and watching Shawshank Redemption.

19^th- Today we were up early and hung out with Larissa and our package was picked up!! YAY!! Nothing more to do but wait for the visa!! We watched the Prestige and hung out then had dinner and went to bed.

20^th- Today we slept in and relaxed. We hung out and went to the shops and when Amelie got home we did puzzles, ate dinner, watched the Great British Bake Off before bed.

21^st- Today we got up early with Amelie and took her to the park. Then we went to the shops, did some puzzles, had a dance party with sunglasses! Ate dinner and watched impractical jokers before bed.

22^nd- Today we got up and got ready. After Tim and Larissa looked at some day cares they came back and we decided to go bowling. We got there early and Larissa and I played a game. Then we bowled. Tim beat me by one point...he will never let me live it down. Then we played again and Larissa beat all of us! We taught Amelie how to play and she was so cute! Then we went to pizza hut for dinner and back home we skyped mom and dad (he sorted a car out for us! YAY!!) then bed.

23^rd- Today we got up early with Amelie and played with her for a bit. We watched movies and did puzzles and built a princess fort! Tim and Larissa came home and we had dinner then watched The Notebook before bed.

24^th- Today we got up early and got ready to go into London for the Heavens Family Do. We met at Olympic Park with Mick, Dee, Sarah, Todd, Tammy, Olive, and Wilbur. Tim and Amelie came with us. We had a picnic with lots of food then we played catch for a bit until Tim came up with the bright idea of a trust ball game.  You throw the ball at someone’s head and the other person catches it before it hits you. Great idea until Tammy got distracted and Heavens got hit in the head with the ball. Very funny but left a mark! We played some soccer with the kids and ran around a bit. Then we decided to head to the park. We had some ice cream and rode the scooter then played with the kids in the sand.  After a while Mick wanted to see the Olympic Swimming pool so we made our way there. It was 2 pounds just to go in and look. No thanks! But Mick, Sarah, and Todd went. Then we said goodbye to Mick, Dee, and Sarah and went into Westfield to find some dinner. We attempted to eat at Jamie Oliver’s but they said it was too cold to be served outside so instead we went to Strada. We had pizza and pasta and chatted a bit. Then Amelie started to not feel very well. So we took her home and gave her some medicine. We watched a new film with Bruce Willis although he was only in it for ten minutes. Not such a good film. Then bed.

25^th- Today we were up early and played with Amelie. We made a princess fort and did puzzles. She still wasn’t very well so she slept a lot. Then we had dinner, watched tv and went to bed.

26^th- Today Larissa was off work. We got up early and hung out with Amelie then Becky came over and they went to get us some lunch. When they came back we all hung out eating a nice lunch and then played Monopoly Deal. Tim came home and we had fajita’s then later Tim and Larissa went out for a movie and we hung out.

27^th- Today we hung out while Amelie was at Christina’s. Then later we went to meet Clare in London at Brixton Market. We went for a really nice and really cheap pizza then we walked around the market a bit. We tried to find a place to go for ice cream but couldn’t find anywhere nice so we went to the store and got some ice cream lol. Then we walked around a bit more and found a nice little place for drinks and had a drink before heading back to Tim and Larissa’s. There we watched the rest of the Great British Bake Off before bed.

28^th- Today we stayed in with Larissa all day as we were waiting for Heaven’s passport to arrive and it did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So we changed our flights for the 4^th of September, in one week!!! Tim and Larissa came home and we had dinner and some wine to celebrate!!

29^th- Today Tim and Larissa both began their vacation so they were home! We helped them pack up their house and went through some stuff with them. Then we hung out and relaxed all day.

30^th- Today we went into Richmond with the intent to go to London to meet Tammy but because there were problems with the trains they couldn’t get to London. So we hung out in Richmond doing some bits then went to Whole Foods for some Sushi and smoothies. Then we went home and relaxed and hung out. Later that night Tim and Larissa went to dinner with Amelie’s babysitter- Christina. So Heavens and I had fish and chips and watched some tv before bed.

31^st- Today Tim went out to see William and Larissa, Amelie, Heavens, and I went into town to Snakes and Ladders to meet up with Christina and the other children she watches for a goodbye party for Amelie. They all played together in the soft area and we hung out. Gwilym showed up later and we arranged to go out later in the week. Then we went home and had dinner and relaxed.

1^st- Today we helped Tim and Larissa pack their things. We found a Disney puzzle of 1000 pieces! Of course we wanted to do it, so did Amelie. So we literally spent all day doing it! But we finished!! YAY! Then we skyped Mama USA, our final skype before arriving in AMERICA!!! Tim and Larissa cooked a lovely Roast Dinner for us with some wine and we even ate with Amelie. It was a lovely meal and a great way to spend time together. Later we had dessert of Apple Crumble with Custard and we hung out watching tv before bed.

2^nd- Today we helped pack some more of the house and hung out a bit. Then we went into town with Tim and Larissa and Amelie to do some shopping and had a small picnic on the green. Then we came back and hung out then had dinner and then Tim, Heavens and I went into Richmond to meet up with Gwilym at his house. We had a few beers and chatted then went to the pub for a few drinks. It was a great night!

3^rd- Today is our last day in England. We spent most of the day hanging out with Tim, Larissa, and Amelie. Then we skyped Heavens Mum and Dad. We packed our bags and got our stuff ready for our flight tomorrow. Later we had fish N Chips for dinner and watched the Great British Bake Off together. It is going to be a hard but exciting day tomorrow.

These past 7 weeks have been wonderful spending them in England with our English Family and even though we are really excited to be going to America it is going to be hard leaving our family and friends here. Until next time (next time being in AMERICA),

¬D¬

INTERVIEW!!!

August 13, 2014

Happy Birthday Matt!! First I want to say a special happy birthday to my brother Matt! Next I want to explain how the day went when we FINALLY got our interview!

We got up super, super early to make our way into London. We had to get up early because we needed to find somewhere who could print our visa appointment letter. Luckily after asking around we finally found this really nice hotel London Mariott Hotel Marble Arch who were amazing! They let us print our paper, and even offered to let us store our bag there while we went to the interview! We went and got in line and then found out that I couldn’t go with Heavens, she had to go alone. So I sent her on her way and went back and picked up the bag then went to Starbucks to wait in agony wondering what would happen....Finally two hours later she appeared with good news and bad news. Good news was that we have a visa as long as we (bad news now) fill in another form and have it sent from America then send it to the embassy. YAY!!!!!! She said the interview wasn’t really an interview after all, more like just checking our paperwork and because we had one wrong form (not clearly stated online) we had to fix it before she could get a visa. So we skyped mom to tell her what to do and then we went back to Tim and Larissa’s to sleep as it had been a very stressful morning. Later that night we ordered pizza and hung out, being very excited about what the day had brought!

Until next time,

¬D¬

Croyde Holiday

August 9^th-12^th, 2014

9^th- Today we got up early and got ready then Vic (Larissa’s step-dad) drove us to the station and we took the train to Barnstaple. We waited in Costa for Tammy to pick us up then we went to Tesco’s to pick up a few things. Tammy took us back to the camp to see our holiday home and we had dinner with Todd, Olive, and Wilbur. Then we had a chat before bed.

10^th- Today we got up early and had breakfast and hung out. Then we got ready and went to the beach. It was very, very windy so the sand was being blown everywhere. I made a heart in the sand and then Heavens and Tammy attempted to fly a kite but because it was sooo windy it didn’t work very well although I did get some pretty funny videos! The kite kept wipping around and hit Heavens and almost hit a couple walking by. Tammy finally got it flying then it broke. Heavens tried but it broke and Tammy had to chase my poncho along the beach which was so funny! We decided to go back and eat lunch then we went to the park with Olive and played catch and Todd and Heavens did the obstacle course. Then we went back and watched the Jungle Book with Olive and Wilbur and after dinner played cards before bed.

11^th- Today we got up early and had breakfast with storytelling then we went with Tammy and Wilbur to Tescos while Olive and Todd went surfing. When we got back after Heavens dropped a box of beer on her foot we had lunch then we all went to the park and played catch while Todd slept. We bought 2 pound kites and realized why they were 2 pounds. The only one that really worked was Heavens but we continued to try for a while. Mine only spun in circles lol. We went back and watched Kung Fu Panda then had dinner. Heavens put Wilbur to bed and then Heavens and I walked on the beach to see the sun set. The water was actually quite warm so we rolled up our pants although they got soaked anyways and put our feet in. Then we sat on the beach for a while although it was still windy so sand was going everywhere. We watched the sun setting and took some really cool photos. Then we walked back and saw the sun set behind the clouds which made the sky look beautiful. Once back we played cards again before bed.

12^th- Today we got up early and had breakfast and hung out a bit. Then we decided to walk to Baggy Point. It was beautiful. The walk along the water was so pretty and once there even though the rain was coming and it was super windy it was really pretty. Heavens and I took Olive to a cafe for lunch while Tammy and Toddy took Wilbur home as it was rainy and cold. Then we walked back and watched Avatar. We then got Olive ready for a fancy dress competition and did a last minute home-made outfit which in turn made her win! She was a bird. We ate dinner then took her to the clubhouse to watch the kids show before the competition. While there we checked our email and thank god we did because we found out we have an interview tomorrow morning at 8am. Now it is 8pm at the minute and we need to get back to London some 5 hours away! We packed the quickest ever and got in the car with Todd and Wilbur since we thought we were only going to Barnstaple. However along the way we found out there were no more trains and only one train from another stop but it was fully booked. Thank goodness for Todd and Tim who each drove halfway to meet up and bring us back to London at 1 am. We got everything ready for the interview and then went to bed, although we didn’t get much sleep.

It was a great few days in Croyde, unfortunately we couldn’t stay the whole time but the interview is what we have been waiting for! 

Until next time,

¬D¬

Back to the Bros

August 3^rd-8^th, 2014

August 3^rd- Today we got up early and had breakfast with Wilbur, Olive, and Todd and we played Bingo before saying goodbye and heading on the Train to London. We went to Trafalgar Square where Clare met us! YAY! We walked to Chinatown and went to a Chinese restaurant for Dim Sum and Igor met us. We had a nice chat and ate good food then walked to a cake shop for dessert. We talked some more, catching up and talking about the baby!! Then we went to Baby Gap AWWW lol. She is having a boy, so excited! Then we said our goodbyes and made our way back to Tim’s house. We waited for Larissa to get home and then we had dinner and Tim, Heavens and I drank loads and stayed up chatting until 3am!

August 4^th- Happy Birthday Larissa!! Unfortunately Larissa had to work today. So we just had a very lazy day as we were all very hung over. Then we went out and got some things to decorate the flat so when Larissa got home we surprised her. We danced a bit then played Pass the Parcel then Amelie went to bed and we had dinner and birthday cake and chatted a bit before bed.

August 5^th- Happy 3 year Anniversary to Us! We got up and watched Maleficent with Larissa then we took Amelie to the park and blew bubbles which she loved! Then we went home and Tim was there so we ordered pizza and hung out. Then we watched The Box (rubbish film) and went to bed.

August 6^th- Today we got up and relaxed all day just hanging out. When Tim got home we found out Amelie had eaten a coin at her babysitters so they had to go to the hospital. We had to stay in to change our flights and we decided to go to Croyde next week with Tammy. They came back and Amelie was okay! Then we ate dinner and watched the Great British bake off before bed.  

August 7^th- Today we got up early and Tim and Larissa went to the docs and got a scan of their new baby!!! YAY!!! Then they both had to go to work. We relaxed then Tim came home and took us into town for Burgers and Shakes. Amazing! We had a nice chat then went home and Tim picked up Amelie and then Larissa came home and we hung out before bed.

August 8^th- Today we got up early and got ready then took the train into London with Tim, Larissa, and Amelie. It was a surprise for Larissa so she didn’t know where we were going. We stopped at Notting Hill Gate and took her to Portebello Road/Market. She had never been before. She was really surprised. We spent the day looking around at all the little stands and then got some smoothies and stopped at a Spanish restaurant for lunch/dinner. We had some Paella and Tapas and wine. We also saw a street performer doing the Limbo and we gave Amelie money to put in his hat but she decided to take the hat lol. So then she wanted to do the Limbo so she went over and did it. Then we walked back and Larissa got a bracelet for her birthday. Then we went to visit her friend who works at a shop near David Beckham’s house and he regularly goes to this shop. Then we got the tube home and I tried out the new poncho going to the shops in the rain. We made crepes and watched the IT Crowd before bed.

Overall it was a great time spent with the family.

Until next time,

¬D¬