States Visit: Houston Family and Friends

Sorry about the bold font... I wrote this blog on the blogger app and can't figure out how to make it normal :(

Actual date of this event: 4,5,6 May

For the first weekend we were visiting the States, Luke and I wanted to see our friends. We had sent out an email months ago with a Save The Date, so we could all hang out on Saturday. Unfortunately, as we get older and families grow, only a few friends were available. It's okay though because we got to spend that time really catching up with them. 

Before the party, Luke and I went with Becca to the grocery store to get party food. But most importantly, Luke and I needed to stock up on some toiletries - specifically deodorant. [The deodorant in the UK is different and I'm hesitant to try it.] I enjoyed seeing the "differences" in US grocery stores! Haha! It's funny that I forgot about the tiny things that make life in the US easy. Like Target. Having a Starbucks at every corner. With a drive thru (although we went in most of the time because the drive thru line was so long). And being able to sit in your car at the same time as your gas is pumping. Easy!

When party time came around, our guests trickled in. The kids swam in the heated pool. That's right - In Houston, in May, the pool needed to be heated! [I guess I have failed to mention that the weather has been very kind to us during our visit.] We grilled on the BBQ pit, hung out, chatted up, and had a relaxing time. Luke and I thank y'all for setting the time aside to meet us during our visit!

Cooper says "Go Coogs!!"

Sunday was a beautiful day again! While Becca, Eric and the kids were at church, Luke and I discussed that we would like to go to Kemah. Since I grew up so close to it, I avoided the area for years as I never found it all that special. And Luke had never been, so it seemed like a great plan. When the family came home from church, Cooper said "We're going to Kemah for lunch!" The five year old totally stole our idea! Jk :)

We went to lunch at Salt Grass which has always been one of my favorite Houston restaurants - mainly for the bread and butter! Afterward, we walked around and let the kids play their games which are practically impossible to lose so that's nice. Even two year old Zoey won a prize!

We spent the rest of the day resting and playing with the kids. My dad was taking us the whole 3+ hours to Jennings the next day so we needed to prepare our loads of luggage for that. No need to say farewell though because we saw the Houston folks again at the tail end of our trip. 

-Debbie-

States Visit: Mexican Times Two

Actual date of this event: 3 May

Luke and I were in a bit of a dilemma upon our arrival to Houston. Of course we wanted Mexican food a.sap. And for every meal. But we felt bad that we would be forcing everyone else to eat it for every meal as well. We came to an agreement that Thursday night, we would get our BBQ fix, and Friday would be Mexican night!

On Thursday evening, we got Pappa's BBQ to go, so Luke and I could rest a bit. We didnt do too much resting since my parents and grandma came over to visit and, of course, resting doesn't exist when little ones are around. We enjoyed the company and were able to stay awake until about 10:30pm. Thankful we had the company to keep us awake!

On Friday morning, I got up for a jog around 7am since Luke and I had some errands to run. We went to the dentist to get our teeth cleaned and began figuring out our cell phone situation while visiting the States. Nothing came of that so... we decided that since we were so close to Pappasito's, we would have that for lunch!

Yummy in my tummy!! We ran a few more errands of cleaning my rings and shoe shopping! Luke and I headed back to my sisters house, so we could figure out the rest of the evening and night. 

We originally wanted to eat Lupe Tortilla for dinner in Houston (off 59) and then Luke, Becca, Eric and me would go get some drinks in town. Again, I felt bad making the whole family drive all the way into Houston, so we opted for staying near my sisters house and eat at Jimmy Changas. Literally, Luke and I just finished eating Mexican for lunch four hours before but we did not care! :)

After dinner, we all split up - the four young folks (ages 30 to 37 is young FYI) went to the city, mom & grandma went home, and dad & the kids went back for bed time. We decided to go for drinks at Flying Saucer which I had never been to before but it is full of beer taps and various beers from around the world so right up my alley!

If you buy and drink a certain number of beers, you get a plate with your name on it. While we were there, they presented someone with their award. I stuck to drinking Belgian beers, while Eric tried  flights and Becca stuck to ciders. Luke just drank! :)

Boddingtons!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Friends reference :) of course. 

We are so hip and cool and up for the party that we stayed out until 11pm!!!! Yeah. That's right! We had a fun night chatting and discussing their upcoming visit to London in July. Wooohooooo!!!

Luke and I enjoyed our Mexican food for lunch and dinner, but we needed to take a break for a few days. That's okay though because Luke reunited with his old pal the next day. 

Will be back for more 'Murica events!

-Debbie-

States Visit: Welcome to America

Luke and I have been back in the States for a week now. We have seen most of our immediate family so far and it has been great visiting and catching up.

Last Thursday when we arrived, my grandma (my mom's mom) also came in from Ohio for a visit. Luckily we arrived around the same time so my mom did one pick up at the airport. And super luckily, we arrived safe and sound even though a gunman made a few shots in Bush Intercontinental Airport in another terminal and we had no problems landing or getting off of the airplane.

We all went to my sister's house which is where Luke and I were staying while in Houston. My sister had texted saying she had antsy kids at home. When we pulled up to her house, she and the kids were waving American flags an wearing red white and blue as a welcome back to America. So cute! We missed those kids so much! 

More to come later...

-Debbie-

#TBT: Volleyball Forever

Currently, I am flying over the Atlantic Ocean making my way from London to Houston!!! Hopefully, I will see some of you folks over the next two weeks. If not, hopefully next time I am in the States.

Volleyball Forever!

freshmen year of high school at a three day club tournament in possibly Indianapolis??

During one of my jogs this week, I took a pass through Wimbledon Park and came upon some sand volleyball courts. This got me PUMPED! And also reminded me that years and years ago, I lived for volleyball.

I started playing volleyball for fun in 5th grade when my sister joined the school team in 7th grade. That was when I knew I would always be better than my sister at everything. Just kidding, Becca! (man, I was such a brat... okay, okay, I am still a brat.) I fell in love with the sport! I began drawing volleyballs on everything. Literally. Do I know anything about the civil war or photosynthesis or the names of the planets? No, but I can draw a darn perfect volleyball (just kidding, I know the planets)! I began playing on a team in 7th grade at school, and in 8th grade, I joined a club team that would have me playing year-round. It was so much fun as we got to travel to different cities for three day tournaments quite often. So fun! A big thank you to my parents for being so supportive and paying for all of that travel! And thanks to my sister for coming along, too :-)

Unfortunately, I did not continue playing in college. During my senior year of high school, I was feeling like a total old lady. All of that year-round playing had me icing my shoulder, my ankles, and my knees daily after every practice and every game. I didn't feel that my body could manage through the university level. As much as I wanted to, I think I would have had multiple surgeries by this point in my life if I had continued playing. I miss it so much though!

After seeing the courts this week, I have decided that I will sign up for the Wimbledon league that begins in June and runs for about 8-10 weeks. My shoulder will probably kill me for it, but I miss it so much. Plus, I need some friends. Cuz I ain't got any. It's sad. Wish me luck and pray that my body manages a few matches!!!

RANDOM FACT:
Volleyball was first played in 1895 in Massachusetts, and joined the Olympics in 1964.

-Debbie-

Our First Visitors in London

Sorry for going completely out of order with these posts from the past few events. I can't explain why I am going in this order, so just go with it, okay? :-)

Actual date of this event: 19 & 20 April

Continuing with the events of the London Marathon weekend.... Luke and I expected our first visitors to our new flat that weekend. We received our shipment the night of Thursday, April 18. We had A LOT to do before the flat was in a livable condition. Luckily, we have understanding friends, and they didn't mind the mess too much. Plus, we weren't going to be at the flat very much over the weekend, so no big deal.

A group of friends from Aberdeen were coming to London for the weekend. Nary & Gerald and Nary's friends Christine were coming to London to see the Book of Mormom and watch the Marathon. They were staying in a hotel in the city, so Friday night it was still just Luke and me at our flat. Instead of continuing with organizing the flat, we headed into the city around 6pm to meet Nary, Gerald and Christine for dinner. It takes anywhere from 30-60 minutes to get into the city depending on where you are going. It seems like a long time, but it goes by pretty fast, especially when you have someone with you and you are changing trains and tube lines. Luke and I met our friends for dinner at Burger & Lobster. It is a pretty fun place, although expensive. You have a choice of a lobster for £20, a burger for £20, or a lobster roll for £20. Those are the only food choices, and they each come with skinny fries and salad. It was a fun environment since everyone is debating on what to order. Who knew that such a small menu would make it difficult to order? I ended up ordering ordering the lobster while Luke and Gerald each ordered a burger and then split a lobster. So that means in the end, I ate half a lobster and half a burger. Luke ate a whole lobster and half a burger. And Gerald ate a whole burger and half a lobster. Simple enough, right? Haha

After dinner, we walked through Soho and went into a bar called Lab. It specialized in cocktails. We literally had to read a book to figure out what drink we wanted. It took FOREVER to receive our drinks. Probably 20 minutes from the time we ordered until the time we were given all six, and this was while standing at the bar not by ordering from a waitress. They were yummy, but took forever! And of course, they were pricey. We all took a Passion Fruit shot which was oh my so so good! If you have never before had passion fruit, the actual fruit, you MUST try it. It is probably the best thing in the world!

The next day, Saturday, Luke and I woke up and did some more work in the flat. At around 2pm, we headed in to the city so we could meet Kristin and Jill since they were arriving to London. The three of us met at a pub, Garrick Arms, near Leicester Square station for a drink. We had plans for a pizza dinner in Soho again, so we ventured in that direction. We stopped at another pub, which was pretty difficult to do because most of the pubs and bars are not for... the... heterosexual. I think one time when I went into a pub, I walked right back out and said I was the only girl in there and the bouncer guy said "it's a gay bar." Oops! We found two places to have a drink before heading to Soho Joe for pizza. After dinner, we wandered toward Neal's Yard which is a super colorful little courtyard. Great for pictures, as Nary would put it. Luckily we got there when it was still somewhat light outside, so we could get a few pictures. 

Lastly, we ended up at the Crown & Anchor for a drink. We didn't stay long since the rockstar runner, Jill, was in need of an early night... and maybe I wanted an early night as well. Luke, Jill, Kristin and I all headed back to our messy flat in Wimbledon. It was a fun weekend, and Luke and I were so glad that we met our friends and so glad we still live so close to them! 

RANDOM FACT:

The names Soho London and SoHo New York City have nothing to do with each. Soho London refers to a hunting cry and SoHo NYC refers to South of Houston (a street name).

-Debbie-