God be with you till we meet again..

My grandma passed away this morning, its bitter sweet, she's in a better place, I know I'll see her again because I believe in this. I'm glad I took the time and went when I did. God be with you till we meet again...

Need a laugh

If you need a laugh check this out - Stavros Flatly:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gHvATmUsSg

Weather

I think I am definitely a season preferring type of gal, the weather here in So. Cal is really funny, last Monday I think was about 95-100 degrees, by Wednesday we were miserably hot and bought this fun sprinkler. Thurs it cooled off and today the high is supposed to be 65?!

I am probably in the minority here, I love this cooler weather, I was almost panicking that summer was here, in the heat I feel lethargic but in this type of weather I have my energy, can get things done around the house and I think this week we may head out for a bike ride.

Cool pics

Kate is always bouncing about, cartwheeling about, doing some crazy trick or another, I got some good shots of her cartwheels..

And I can't leave out my little Sara, here is her rolly-polly as we say in England or for you Americans - I present the somersault:-

Proudly Presenting...

All I can say is TA!DA!

If you didn't already know this, I have owned this frame for about 4 years and have yet to place a picture in it, it has moved with us and always been on display but with the pictures that came with the frame, those of some handsome couple enjoying Venice. In December Eric and I had our pictures taken by our good friends the Coopers, we got some great shots and I finally about a week ago printed some and filled the frame, I should probably have had some big unveiling party but this will have to do, check out the slideshow below for some of my faves, Clark and Becky were super fun and amazing with the girls, if you want to update your family pictures you can check out Rebecca's work at http://bakstudio.smokebrush.com/.

American perspective

Apparently I don't know how to schedule a post, I'll have to work on that. I'm home, safe and sound and with my beautiful family again, and in some small way already missing England... this was supposed to go up yesterday:-

I'm not sure I will be able to put into words my exact feelings but I will try, I've scheduled this post to go up as I fly home. This has been a good trip for me, I grew up here in England and its a place that I love, the last ten years I have spend in the US married to my wonderful Eric have been great but I think I have always struggled with not really feeling like I belong in a place, in LA I am a world away from my home, family and close friends in England, when I come back to England things are different (or maybe its me), it could be that I have lived away from home so long that its hard to fit back in at my dads house and I don't 100% feel like I belong here either. Americans in general, (whether they mean for it to come across this way or not) always seem to have an attitude that America is bigger and better and I've never really understood it, I have to admit that I have even let myself get slightly offended by it, after all, England is a fully developed country. This visit however, things seem different to me, I'm used to the shops being open all the time, I used to come over here and couldn't wait to have all the things I'd missed like proper fish n chips, Chinese curry, kebab, sausage rolls, yummy chocolate but this time I am indulging less, I think I have found things in LA that I am used to now and like just as much. Maybe I have been gone too long, I am seeing things from a different angle, I used to think that England was actually superior and maybe I didn't really believe that but just defensively I did. The truth is neither is better, they are just different, yes most British people have a washing machine (for clothes) in their kitchen but its just how it is, different. The truth really is, that when I got on the plane in LA and I left my Eric and girls behind I felt like I was leaving my life behind, my life now belongs with them, wherever they are and no place is better than another unless I am with them. I am on a plane now, this trip has offered me some closure, I am heading home and I can't wait to get back.

Posting from accross the pond

Reason for my visit - Happy Easter Grandma

My grandma has been in the hospital since Jan 26th, she was really sick back in Feb, sick enough that the doctors had the talk with my dad that at her age (94) if anything happened they would not try to resuscitate her, I almost came then but something held me back, I guess she wasn't conscious most of the time then. Recently I have been feeling that I should come and visit so Tues morning I got online, found a cheap fare and booked it to leave on Friday, and here I am. I am so glad I came, I have very fond memories of my paternal grandmother, I used to spend a week at her house each summer growing up and she would come to our house every Thursday. She has always been strong and up until January lived by herself in her own home, this has been a bad episode for her, she has lost a lot of weight and her energy is very low, its hard to see the change. It has been such a long way to come and I am only here for four days but its been worth it, I have so few family members left on this earth, my grandma, dad and 2 brothers, (no aunts, no uncles) that I feel its important to make the effort for. Hope your all having a great Easter weekend, the Brits get Friday and Monday off as "bank holidays" and most stores are closed Easter Sunday, its weird, I guess I am just so used to everything being open all of the time!

Easter traditions

Beware, my pictures are a bit crap, I think I may need a photography lesson!

Now you've read the disclaimer onto my actual post, Easter Traditions. Eric and I don't have too many traditions yet, not that we don't want them we just haven't found what works for us. What does everyone else do for Easter? It wasn't a huge thing in my house growing up, we'd get a big chocolate egg and I remember one year doing a treasure hunt to find the egg but it was no where as big as it is here, listening to what everyone else did for their kids for Easter I thought I'd get a little more festive and so two years ago I did Easter baskets but I felt totally ripped off, giving my girls a basket filled with gifts, how in the world does this symbolise Easter? lets not get me started on the whole bunny thing, I don't mean to be a scrooge but since when do rabbits lay eggs? how does this tie in with our Saviour being scourged and crucified? Needless to say I did the baskets once and realised it wasn't for me, and last year, nothing, this year however I think I may have found something that works for me, we are going to do a little Easter egg hunt but the eggs will not be left by an Easter bunny, they will simply be left by mummy and daddy. Growing up I always believed that the egg symbolized the stone that covered and was rolled away from the tomb the Saviour's body was laid in, (I can't actually find anything to back this up just that the egg symbolizes re-birth) that is why I can get behind the egg thing. Anyway, I found some cute stuff to put into the girls eggs, little nail polish, lip balm, lip gloss rings, money and of course some candy. I also labeled the eggs with K's and S's so one of them doesn't get two nail polishes and the other none. I put it all together tonight as I'm actually going to be gone this weekend and Eric is in charge of the hunt, I hope he gets some cute pictures, I'll keep you posted! Maybe I am just weird, what are your Easter traditions and do you care if there is actual significance behind them?