Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!! A big shout-out to my mom (Mary Jane) and my aunt (Dorothy) who left yesterday, after a two week visit with us in the old country. I am so happy that they got a glimpse of our life in Claygate, in addition to exploring London and the english countryside. Not to mention being able to spend Christmas together - what a bonus for us and the girls!

The "grannies" as my friend Lisa affectionately began calling them, arrived the Friday before Christmas, and got an immediate tour of Claygate, walking Caroline to school her last day before Christmas break. We spent Friday recovering from jet-lag, before hitting the London tourist scene on Saturday. On Sunday my mom attended church with us, a place she's heard a ton about. Then, that evening we had a true English experience - the English pantomime. If you're not familiar, the "panto" is an adapted version of a classic children's story, sprinkled with adult humour, and typically men dressed as women! The panto we saw was Cinderella, where the stepsisters, were played by hysterical male actors. Laugh out loud funny, is the best way to describe it, and if you ever have the chance you must see one!

Christmas Eve was filled with a trip to church for the Christingle children's service, followed-by another english experience - a trip to the pub! Then, on Christmas day we awoke to find that Father Christmas had spoilt everyone with loads and loads of Christmas goodies - including new dolls and buggies for Caroline and Sadie, a Hannah Montana guitar for Caroline, and the latest and greatest talking Elmo for Sadie from Grammy. We don't get Sesame Street here, but Sadie took an immediate liking to Elmo - who is quite funny - in small doses. We stuffed ourselves with a traditional English Christmas Feast, complete with a Nigella Lawson (celebrity english chef) style turkey! It was my first turkey, and it turned out pretty well! On Boxing Day (the day after Christmas), we took another walk back to the pub where we had another true english experience - watching the Morris Dancers! Apparently back in the 1700s most villages had their own set of gentleman dancers (all ages), and the tradition is still alive and well in Claygate today! Very entertaining stuff...

After Christmas illness plagued me and the girls, but that didn't stop us from spending a couple of days in the Cotswold region of England, known for it's limestone architecture and picturesque villages. We also did a brief tour of Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare's birthplace), Stonehenge, and Salisbury. The countryside in the Cotswolds was the prettiest I've seen in England and we had a fab couple days away.

On New Year's Eve, the grannies babysat while Chris and I spent 24 whole hours in London sans kids! We had a fantastic lunch at Nobu, stayed in the beautiful Mayfair section of London, and went to see Wicked in the West End. (If you haven't seen Wicked and have the opportunity - go! It is such a clever story about the witches from the Wizard of Oz, with absolutely beautiful music...) Chris and I came back to Claygate for a fabulous pork and sauerkraut meal prepared by the grannies, and having just purchased the North American Sports Network, watched some American football bowl games. What a great way to start 2009!

The grannies rounded out their stay with another full-day in London to see the landmarks, and an evening at the Ritz for tea along with myself and Lisa. Thanks again Mom and Aunt Dorothy for making the journey to visit us in Claygate. It was wonderful having you here, for both us and the girls. (And, the Claygate shopkeepers are all sad to see you've gone...) We will see you back in Ohio in a few weeks!