They're home!

My adventurers have returned home! After a very long day of flying and driving, Brett and Ella returned from their adventure in the British Isles last night. When they drove up to our place, Ella was sleeping and then was in a bit of a funk when she woke up. She clung to her daddy for a good 5 minutes before she wanted to hug her mom! But, I was okay with that. I'm just happy to have them home safe and sound. I didn't get to hear too many of the stories but hopefully those will come over the next few days as the travelers become more well-rested. Right now, I'm off to clean the loads of laundry they brought home with them.

Tales from Afar

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to get a phone call from Brett. I was on my way out the door to go to the fabric store and ALMOST didn't answer the phone. Actually, at first I didn't answer it, but I did wait for the answering machine to go on and eagerly picked it up when I heard his voice.

They made it safely to London and then on to Dublin...and I think that it all transpired with few tantrums from either one of them. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing. Brett forgot the travel journal that I made for Ella on the plane, and she was none too happy about it! But, he asked me to email the pdf to him so he could print a copy there. If he was able to print it, I will just bind it when they get back. Losing a travel journal is much better than losing my kid so I'm not complaining.

In the brief 5-minute call, he was able to tell me about their memorable first night in Dublin. Apparently, Ella crashed for a nap at some point and he was not able to wake her up no matter how hard he tried. As a result, she was up and ready to go at about 12:30am when he was so desperate for sleep. She danced around, watched videos and told him repeatedly that she was ready for breakfast. I had to laugh because it reminded me of one stay at my sister Jamie's house when we tried in vain to get Ella to go to sleep when she was hopped up on pie that my dad gave her right before bed. Brett wasn't around for that trip so I think this is a little bit of new territory for him. But, I'm sure that he'll handle it all just fine.

So, today they were scheduled to cross the Irish Sea over to the beautiful Lake District in Great Britain. I've heard that it is just breathtakingly beautiful (see photo of Lake Windermere above). I'll just have to be satisfied with pictures until I make the trip myself one day. I'm not sure that I'll hear from them again until their return. I think Brett has one more 5-minute phone card left but I'm not sure when/if he'll be using it. Until then, I'm just keeping busy with my projects and enjoying Lucie being an only child for a week.

And they're off!

Ella & Daddy's Adventure in the British Isles has now begun! Yesterday was a whirlwind of searching for needed items, shopping, notarizing "authorization" paperwork and packing. I don't think that I stopped moving until they pulled out of the garage.

Ella was very cute when I showed her all of the things I had packed for her. I wrapped little gifts for her -- one for each day -- along with a little note from me. So, at least once a day she will remember me! There were two other things that she was very excited about. She loved this little leather coin pouch that I bought a decade ago in France (you can see it by her head in the photo above). In fact, she swiped it out of Brett's bag when we weren't looking and decided that SHE wanted to carry it. I think because it is full of coins she thinks that she can throw them in the fountains. I sincerely hope that Brett sorts out the valuable euro & pounds and just leaves the pennies for her to use. Otherwise, Ella is about to throw about $25 into fountains! She was also very excited to see her passport...and she swiped that out of Brett's money wallet too! We quickly told her that the passport stays with Daddy. Isn't her passport photo cute? She was only two when she got it for our Italy Trip in 2007.


Last night they left home and spent the night closer to the airport with Brett's parents. Then this morning, my sweet mother took them to the fly-away to LAX. Their flight left around noon today and I believe they are still in flight. Once they get to London, they have another flight over to Dublin before the real fun begins. Thanks to the cool iTouch we got for free when we bought our Mac, Brett should be able to access his email if he finds some free wi-fi spots along the way. So, starting tomorrow I just might start checking my email frequently.

I've made it through Day 1 of the separation...and I plan to keep busy for the other 9. I will be cleaning, organizing and doing the Girls' Room Makeover. I'm going to try to take a "Before" picture tomorrow before I start changing the room as Ella knows it. I really hope that it turns out to be a nice surprise for her when she returns. I've got lots of ideas floating around in my head and hope that my sister Jamie -- who is very artistic -- can help me realize them when she visits this weekend. If I have the time, I'll post pics as things progress!

Gettin' Ready

It's strange to think that in just one month's time, my "little" girl will be going on a European adventure without me. I'm excited for Brett and Ella and really hope that Ella is a trooper. I know enough about my daughter that if she is not happy, Daddy will not be happy. So, I'm doing my best so that we can keep her as happy as possible -- mainly keeping her warm, fed and rested throughout the rigorous schedule. This is what two of my favorite people have to look forward to:

• Day 1 - Overnight Flight to Dublin
• Day 2 - Arrive in Dublin, free time in the afternoon
• Day 3 - Sightsee in Dublin including St. Patrick's Cathedral, Kilmainham Gaol and the Temple Bar section.
• Day 4 - Cross the Irish Sea to Wales and travel through North Wales to the Lake District.
• Day 5 - Visit to the village of Grasmere and then travel on to Edinburgh, Scotland.
• Day 6 - Sightsee in Edinburgh including Edinburg Castle.
• Day 7 - Travel to Hadrian's Wall and continue on to York.
• Day 8 - Travel to London with a stop off at Windsor Castle
• Day 9 - Sightsee in London including St. Paul's Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Houses of Parliament & Buckingham Palace
• Day 10 - Return home

So, how am I going to ensure that she is warm, well-fed and rested while I'm an ocean away? Well, I guess that is really going to be up to her Daddy, but right now I'm in the process of getting all the provisions. She needs a warm jacket, waterproof shoes, gloves and lots of layers. Also, she is going to need some snacks and special treats (aka bribery) - who knows if she'll like the food there? (I know that my brother didn't care for it when he went to Dublin.) As for rest, well, I'm not sure about that one. The girl still loves her naps and those may be in short supply during the whirlwind trip. So, I'm contemplating getting a new stroller for the adventure -- one that is lightweight and easy for my tall husband to push around. I think I might look for an old model Maclaren Volo. I've read lots of good things about those. Plus, Maclarens are British so I would assume that they would work on the streets of London!

I'll have to get myself ready emotionally to be away from the two of them for so long. The longest I've been apart from Ella has been 2 1/2 days when I was in the hospital having Lucie. I'm sure there will be some difficult moments, but I pray that it works out alright for all of us. Hopefully, we'll all get to go on the trip to Greece next year!