Woburn Safari Park

In August, we took a day trip to Woburn Safari Park. We had heard great things about it and being only an hour a way we decided to give it a try. As you can see, it certainly lived up to the hype. We entered and saw rhinos, elephants, giraffes, and so much more. Then we drove into the monkey area and they everywhere, jumping from car to car, swinging from trees, fighting in the grass, you name it. The kids just went crazy over it. Lucky for us, we have a storage/bike rack on the top of the car, so the monkeys especially liked riding on top of our car. Made for lots of squeels and gasps :) The park also had paddle boats, a train that rode us around the perimeter of the park, a huge indoor play area, bouncy castles, and exhibits with animals from all over the world. They even had the elephants parading down the road for us to watch. We had a great family adventure day together.

Quality Time with Nana and Grandpa

Nana and Grandpa came and stayed with us for two weeks in September. Daniel is still patting his 'bald head' like Grandpa's and he still calls out for Nana when I do something that makes him mad. :)

These are some pictures of Molly and Daniel spending some great quality time with Nana and Grandpa during their visit. It means so much having family visit us over in England. I know it is a long and expensive flight which is why we are not able to come home any more than we do but having visits from family really helps us maintain sanity and helps the kids know that somewhere a long airplane flight away are people who love them and miss them. So thanks to everyone for your emails, care packages, visits and support.

Molly's 3rd birthday party

We celebrated Molly's 3rd birthday this year at the Cheeky Monkey playbarn. It was fantastic because we didn't have to do anything except bring the cake and treat bags!!! The kids played in the indoor play area and afterwards, we went to a special party hut for lunch, cake and presents. We had the party a few weeks early so that my parents could be here which made it soooo special for Molly and all of us. It is hard to believe my baby girl is 3. She is a sweet, sensitive, bright young lady and we are so proud of her. :)

Daniel's first haircut

Few from recently

Daniel doing what Daniel does. He will play 'baseball' until you force him to stop. For 30 minutes straight he will hit the ball, retrieve it, put it back on the tee and hit it again. Over and over with such consternation and determination. Best purchase ever.

Such a difference between Molly and Daniel at this age. Molly didn't like her feet on the grass and Daniel practically breaks the door down everyday to play outside.
Bryon's dad visited us in May. We went for a day trip to Stonehenge and had a great time!

On the way home from Stonehenge, we stopped in Oxford. What a beautiful college town! Can't wait to go back and really check it out.

My favorite picture of Daniel, ever.. love this little man!

Rainy summer days

Molly is completely obsessed with her boots and umbrella. Took this picture after church on Sunday. Even if it isn't raining, you'll most likely see Molly walking around outside looking just like this.

More fun at Daniel's party

Opening presents. Nana, Mawmaw and Grandpa Mushrush all came to celebrate Daniel's first birthday. We were so touched and thankful to have so many family members here to celebrate with us. One thing I've really come to appreciate since living so far away from home is how blessed we are to have a family who supports us unconditionally. We love you all!

Break from the madness for some sandbox time with Grandpa


Kids everywhere!
Daniel's first look at the bouncy castle.

It's a hit!

Daniel's first birthday, part 1

Here are a few pictures from Daniel's party. Uploading just these few pictures took over an hour, so I'm not sure when I will get more on the site. Hopefully we will get our computer connection issues resolved so I can resume my blogging. I'll post a written update here soon.

Thomas the train cake with four boxcars. Daniel had his own boxcar which he devoured.

Um, I'm not sure about this.

Why have you people been holding out on me the past year! Get in my belly!!

Final product. Tada!

Playing with my new toys!

After a long day, Daniel couldn't make it to his bed for a nap. He fell asleep while Grandpa Mushrush was swinging him in the swing.

Our Easter Card to you!

Happy Easter from England!!
We pray you all have a blessed Easter.

We love you all,
Bryon, Haley, Molly and Daniel

I'm alive!

Hello everyone!!

I know it has been AGES since I've been on my blog, sorry!!! It will probably be a bit longer until I'm officially back but I just thought a brief update was in order.

We've been crazy busy the past couple of months. As most of you know, Bryon works for AFRICOM, a name you have probably been seeing in the news lately with the Libya crisis. Well, my hubby is in the mess of it all. He was supposed to deploy to the Congo but was taken off the deployment to be on the US Libya Crisis Response Team. It has been a very trying time for us all but thankfully, Bryon's mom came and stayed with us the past 6 weeks and has been a GODSEND! She has now returned to the States and I'm back to normal life.

We also went on a week long trip to Scotland with Nini (Bryon's mom). When I say we, I mean Nini, me and the kiddos.. oh yes, we are crazy. We hopped in the car and drove to Edinburgh and up through the highlands. I remember several times thinking how thankful I was for my CRV. I've had that car since 2003 and have not had one problem, ever!!! When your driving through the Scottish Glens and around the lochs, sometimes not seeing civilization for an hour, you pray hard for your vehicle, lol.. I'll post more on the trip once I get the pictures loaded.

In the mist of the insanity, our only computer went kaput, so Bryon is working on repairing it. We here recently bought a netbook which is what I'm posting on now. Not sure how much capacity I'll have using it for pictures but I will soon see. Hopefully our computer will be up and running soon.

Sorry again for the silence. I'll be back to my normal here soon!

Love to all!
Haley