Anna's picture page updated, again...

I know this happened last time too, updating it then updating it again right afterward, but I added even more pictures to her picture page...so if your interested, take a peak!

We are getting closer and closer...

So our house is pretty much finished and on its way to the market (I say pretty much being their might be a water issue, but we are going to probably just put it up as is.  It has been a long road!  I will be very excited whenever it sells, which I realize might take a long long time especially with the ecomomy.  But, we will pray extra hard.  It was on the market for a long time when we bought it and that was in the booming market.  So heres hoping!  I must say we are VERY greatful to our friends, the wheelers.  They really were an amazing blessing to us in this whole process.  Alyssa was especially helpful, she is great at getting things done, after a few months of slow going on the work, Alyssa was able to get things wrapped up in like 2 weeks!!!  She was sick and has a baby on top of all that!  We are very blessed to have such great friends!

Anna's Picture Page Updated

Hardcastle Crags

Hardcastle Crags is another property owned by the national trust.  We went there this weekend.  It was beautiful!!!  It has 18 miles of trails through the woods.  There are streams and it is just gorgeous.  The weather was fabulous too (last weekend it was a bit grey but nice) This trip it was all sun and warm!  It was fabulous!!!  We put Anna in the baby bjorn and were off.   We ended up walking on the trail for 5 miles 2.5 in and 2.5 out to an old mill. We took a tour of the mill.  It was a great day!  I have felt great after the last two weekends.  Going to these places involves a lot of walking and it feels great to get that kind of exercise.

Joining the National trust and Brimham rocks

A week ago Saturday we decided to spend some good family time together.  We went to a place not far outside of town.  Brimham rocks is a really neat place, it kind of reminds me of great falls back home, except without the water (strange comparrison I know).  Very large rock formations.  Very neat.  This is where we discovered that Anna seems to be afraid of either heights or open spaces.  Anna got scared 3 times on outlooks.  Anyway, We had a fabulous day.  Brimham rocks is owned by an organization called the national trust.  Drew and I bought a membership so we can go to any of there 300 properties for free!  We made a plan to go as a family to a national trust place every weekend.

After we got finished at Brimham rocks (it only took a couple hours, its not far from here) we ended up having a date.  We bought a pizza and then ate it in the park.

Day 6 Hanging out in Harrogate and saying goodbye

Day 6 was mainly spent hanging out in Harrogate.  We took a nap and relaxed.  We went out for lunch.  We just had a good time relaxing.  At the end of the day we had to say goodbye.  I was very sad to see them go.  But we will get to see them again in December.  Not being around my family is really the one thing I miss by being here.

Day 5 Harewood house

Monday Drew took the day off and we went to an estate house "Harewood House"  It is this beautiful house with amazing gardens and several miles of trails.  They have a zoo like area for birds, including penguins.  It was here that my my got to enter the enclosure with the penguins and feed them.  They only allow one person per day to do that.  She had a great time!  We all did.  Afterward we went back to the Mudgett's house to enjoy a great Lasagna dinner (made by my mom).  She made Lasagna, spinach salad, and an English trifle for dessert.  It was great!

Day 4, church and dinner at the Mudgetts

We went to church and after sacrament meeting my dad took Anna for a walk while we went to the last 2 hours of church.  It was really nice to be able to pay attention to the meetings without having to focus on taking care of the baby.  After church we went to the Mudgetts' house and I made bacon, brie, and raspberry grilled sandwiches on ciabatta bread.  We stayed for dinner and had some delicious homemade pizza courtesy of Joan!

Day 3, Dan leaves, We head to York

So, Dan left early on this morning to fly back to Iraq.  We on the other hand headed to York, one of my favorite cities in all of England (at least of the cities I have been to).  Anyway, at first we had talked about taking a train but later decided to take our car, which was nice.  We got to York and walked around the town a bit.  We ate lunch at a place recommended by my neighbors which they refer to as "the baby restaurant" It has a play area and my oh my were there a lot of babies!  It was a cafeteria style place and if I had to do it over, it would not be a place I would take visitors, the food was ok, but not great.  That being said, it was in an old church that had been converted to sell food so the ambiance was kind of neat.

After lunch we walked a bit further and found the viking museam, after a quick stop at Starbucks so Anna could enjoy  her lunch, we headed to the museam.  She was ok at first but ended up not really liking the place.  I wasn't that impressed either, it seemed more like a ride at Disney than a Museam.  I would definitely say it wasn't worth the money, but my opinion might also be influenced by trying to calm an unhappy baby in a dark tunnel on a ride.  Not ideal.

After the Viking Museam we walked around town a bit more.  We found an open air market and I bought some strawberries and a few other things.  Then we walked a bit more.  My mom found a fudge shop and got some tasty fudge.  Then, we headed back home.

That night we got Thai food (take out) and ate at the house.  It gave Anna a breather.  She really was a trooper the whole trip, we certainly took her a lot of places for being so little!

Day 2 Anna's Blessing day

Lets see, most of the day was spent getting things ready for Anna's blessing.  She was blessed at Joan and Fred's house on Friday night instead of on Sunday because Dan was leaving Saturday and wanted to be there for the blessing.  Alyssa Wheeler made a beautiful blessing gown for Anna and a gorgeous headband.  Anna looked adorable.  My mom made a spinach Salad, and some English Triffle, and Joan made some chicken and rice.  Drew blessed Anna and it was very spiritual.  It was just the family and 2 members of the bishopric present.  It was a very intimate way of doing a blessing.  See how beautiful she looked!

Day 1, meeting Anna

We went to pick up my parents at the airport.  Anna wore her Dinosaur outfit but didn't roar at all when she met them.  They were all very happy to meet one another.  I was very excited to have them here!!!  The trip home is when my parents got their first taste of driving "on the wrong side of the road" :)  I don't think they will want to try it on their own anytime soon!

After they settled down for a long autumn nap, we went to base to pick up Drew from work and then went out to eat with Joan and Fred, and Dan.  We ate dinner at a local pub (the Claro Beagle).  It took 45 minutes just to get the food - longest it has ever taken!  It probably happened because the men folk were trying to catch the 8 pm showing of batman.  They made it there at 8:30, so we figured they had plenty of time.  That's right, they literally have 30-40 minutes of previews and comericals before movies.  In actuality they missed the first 4 minutes of the movie, but they still found a way to enjoy it.

Meanwhile, the Ladies went out to a place called Betty's tea room.  It is, in my opinion, very Jane Austin.  The waitresses wear very old fashion high neck uniforms and have ivory medallions on their necks.  There is a piano player, and they have all kinds of yummy treats.  It was a lot of fun.  Anna and I spend a lot of time hanging out outside as the noise was a little overwhelming for her.  But we enjoyed our time outside, and once she drifted off, I was able to go back in and enjoy my hot chocolate and lemon lime cake!

Its been Far too long...

So My parents came over to England and we had a very busy and exciting week.  Its been 2 weekish since my last post and so much has happened.  So, I am going to make an entry for Each of the noteworthy things we did while my parents were in town.  But here I want to mention a few things that won't make their own Entries.

1.  I, Kimberly Ann Knowles Mudgett, am now the official holder of a chip card.  I was added to Drew's British bank account while I was in town with my parents.

2.  We went to a great cheese store, they stock over 200 kinds of cheese, right in our very own town.  Talk about a fun way to waste money!

3.   Drew and I went out for the first time on a date by ourselves without Anna when all of her Grandparents watched her.  We had done things while Anna was being watched by Joan before but never together on a date kind of thing.  (OK really we were just taking Dan to hang out with his friends, but it counts)

4.  Anna had formula for the first time because I ate some VERY spicy food and realized it was really hurting her, so she had formula.  She liked it, and so did I (see #3)

5.  My parents luggage arrived safely (they just didn't leave on time, but they were still able to make their connection). Oh, and contrary to what some might say, like the customer service agent my dad talked with on the phone, their flight was not cancelled.

6.  We had to say goodbye to Uncle Dan as he went back to Iraq to finish his deployment.  We love you Dan!

As for the rest of the trip see the individual entries.