Just another week

This week was kind of hard....I almost didn't want to write, but I am practicing my attitude of gratitude....for some strange reason, I am really straggling with it.

Troy went across the country to test drive some cars and kids didn't want to come with, so naturally I staid with them at the hotel. There is nothing around this hotel in walking distance besides restaurant and huge succor field with a little park at the end. We sure have taken advantage of that, but it gets old very fast. The days Troy was gone we watched TV a lot...well, (we watch TV a lot regardless) Troy is set, not to buy TV once we are in the house, but everyone here says that once winter sets in, there are not much museums you will want to go and see....
Speaking of winter...prior of our move here we were told that it doesn't snow in here, so I didn't bring any winter footwear for us. Came to find out, it snows...they had 3ft of snow last winter. Oh, well....
Ryder got sick, poor baby. Nakole, you'll be happy to know, I used "On Guard" on him and sure enough, he was all better the next day. I actually used it on Brooklyn as well a few days ago, as she was coming with something, and same thing, all better the next morning. I also use some other oils for some aches and bruising and kids sure asking me this days if I have some magical oils for this or that. All of the sadden they are coming with all kinds of aches and pains. Silly kids!
Oh, yes, one great thing. We got the house and are good to move in on the 18th of July. So we are counting days and breaking hotel beds using it as trampoline. Quite entertaining. Drew even manages to do back flips on it.
Rylee is very excited about this house, for she gets to have her own room. She always wanted one to herself. She says now it will always be clean and no one is going to bother her while she wants to go to sleep. We'll see how true this is going to be. We know she is going to miss Brooklyn in her room. Drew and Brooklyn are excited because it has a tree house. That's going to be fun for them.
The house is only 2 min walk, if that, to the bus stop, that will take us to the train station, if we want to go to London while Troy is working. And School is about 5 min walk, so that's going to be wonderful, so I don't have to rely on Troy ether.
Town has new library and the pool in walking distance as well (about 20min UP the hill)otherwise it is a very short drive. So we are planning to take advantage of that. Anyway, moving in on the 18th!
Went to the same ward that we did last sunday and the one that we will attend. Their bishop quite young, but he comes as such a men of stature! He just has Ora about him. He has already asked us what callings we had....yes, we will be put to work!
Well, this is it!
Cheers!

TROY

SELFLESS,
COMPASSIONATE,
FORGIVING,
FUNNY,
CLEAVER,
INTELLIGENT,
LOYAL,
RELIABLE,
HONORABLE,
INTEGRIAS,
INTUITIVE,
RESPONSIBLE,
CHARITABLE,
SIMPLY AN AMAZING DAD!
HAPPY FATHERS DAY HONEY!
WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE YOU!

Our second week in England

So the second week went by....time really does fly. Not much has happen this week. Its been kind of boring actually. Sense our only focus has been on finding the house, we haven't done/seen anything, except last Sunday we saw castle and that was amazing. And of course all the country sites are beautiful!!!!

We have seen all that is available in housing our first week and so the second week we only saw about 4 more properties. However, we did find home in Biggin Hill and in Horshem. Both of them are about the same except one is a refurbish cottage home (they have 8 offers on that one) and the other is just nice home in the country side. We have put offers on both of them and it is going through referencing (that's what they do here, it is a process similar to buying house in the US) I guess it takes up to 6 weeks to do it. Hopefully, it wont take that long. Though, us not having any UK credit history makes a bit tricky.
If all goes well, and land lord accepts our offer and conditions then we can move in to the cottage on the 5th and to the house on the 18th. Hotel, sweet hotel!

Speaking of hotel. We have been fortunate enough, to have room across the biggest(and the only)room in the hotel. And so one day we saw it being cleaned and we have requested it. Though, it is for handicap people, they have given it to us. Thank goodness. Now we have 2 double beds and a sofa...Feels like luxury! Though it is still small, we are grateful for better accommodations. Our kids have become fans of Star Trek and are watching it religiously every day. We can't believe they actually love it. We have also found some great parks in here and we try going there to let kids get their wiggles out. Sense getting a bigger room we also got our suitcases with us, before that, they were at John's house, and we were just recycling a few outfits over and over again.It was kind of a pain.

Being in the hotel this long has it's privileges. The stuff, really gets to know you and they are super nice. The manager told us we can do our laundry here(which is supper good, for we did elsewhere once and it cost us 24 pounds/$35 for two loads, that would of cost us a lot to do it weekly.) And some one else is doing it for us.(hotel policy) which is totally fine with me. We get all the extra towels,pillows,blankets and we get to keep our iron unit (which is fantastic for me, if you know me)The stuff has really got to know us, and they are really nice to us.

In the main time Troy has been looking to a 7 seats car to buy. It's not going to be anything fancy, just to get us from point a to point b without putting us over board financially. And then we will have to completely furnish our home. Dishes, pots, beds/bedding, curtains....you name it, we will need it. Which sounds like it should be fun (especially for a girl) but I am NOT excited about it (limited budget, and for temporal use) I have been looking at IKEA, and second hand stores on line, and some other household goods store, that someone told us about, that is kind of like IKEA. I hope we can do it within reasonable amount and make it look cute and homey.
Well that's about it! I know, not exciting. But, I think once our house situation is figured out, we will start taking advantage of England (in the good way). It cost 10 pound each time you drive to London, so we haven't been. And even if you take train/bus by the time you add up 6 of us it cost about the same. But we will have to go soon, for my immigration crud. I can't wait! For London, that is!
Talk to you all soon.

Yes, we are in Europe

Ok, I must blog about this.

We are for sure in Europe!

Hair: age doesn't matter, they are in love with RED. shirt, crazy cuts longer to the side, messy or spiky.

Shoes: high hills. As the matter of fact,after being here for just 2 days, Brooklyn woke up one morning and said that she is going to walk like a "lady" She end up walking on her tip-toes all day. Crazy girl! ( I have posted picture of her doing it in my last post)

Dress: extremely short skirts, and lacy leggings. My poor kids(Troy included) had their heads turned. School is still in, in here and so we see a lots of kids in uniforms. Though I kind of dig it, I have to say I WILL have problem if Rylee is to wear it. Their skirts are barely covering their bums. It's sad, really. We have a girl flashing Troy the other day. That was exciting ! We were grateful that somehow our kids missed that. Let's just say we had many modesty talks.

Words of Wisdom: What is that? Again, many talks on that subject

TV: Did you think it was bad in the US....no, it is nothing compare to the UK television. Troy and I were just browsing through the channels after kids fell asleep and boy, we got a lot more then we bargain for. I see, why Troy doesn't want us to get television here.

Anyway, I just had to write it down, before I will get used to this craziness. BTW, I am no longer wife here, it is partner. I don't know...I think I'd rather be a girlfriend.

Our first week in pictures

England

So, here we are...England!!!

The flight over here was really long. We had to take 2 planes, flying from SLC to JFK and then JFK to Surrey England. All of our kids did very well and surprisingly enough they staid up the whole trip. Ryder, however was miserable! Poor little guy, and poor passengers. For those of you who doesn't know this, Ryder doesn't cry, he just screams! Happy, sad, hungry, poopy all equals SCREAM! So, yes, airplane ride wasn't that fun for most of us.
The older kiddos just LOVED the big airplane. They had their own tv with movies, and games,and tv shows that they could pick and watch/play. Then bringing of the food and snacks and drinks made it really fun for them. Drews face was absolutely priceless, when he lifted window covering and saw sunrise. He couldn't believe that he staid up the whole night (his words) When Rylee saw her first Double-Decker bus she got the biggest grin on her face. We can't wait to ride it while we are here.
We were greeted by a man name John Burns. Troy's company had hired him here in UK, finding him through LDS job services (yes, he is LDS) isn't that great!
Thank goodness to John, we were able to load up his car with all of our luggage and we drove bus to the car rental place. We were lucky to find car that will fit all of us. However, non of our luggage!People here are not used to having so many kids. We are daily reminded of that by stair at us and smiles and commons such as: " You two have been really bissy.....Yes, bissy in deed!"
Friday was pretty much gone, us sleeping!!! Saturday and Sunday felt like we were in twilight zone. Time change isn't fun. We drove to the beach and had diner somewhere in the park. On Sunday we went to church and were greeted by a very friendly people! It was fantastic to be at church and felt like we were kind of at home. After church John had invited us over for diner and so, we had BQ at his house. It was lovely (can you tell, I'm already speaking with English accent ;)
House hunting here is a whole different animal then in the states. Gush where to begin....
All Monday we spent driving from town to town to Renting Agencies (they call it Lettings here) You have to register with an agent and he/she will have listing for you for that city. Then we go to the next city and do it all over again. Now, most agents won't show you any property that same day, so you have to wait till they can ;( Also, they ask the most interesting questions. Like, so, you have 4 kids and you are looking for 3 bedroom home, how are you going to sleep your children? Seriously? What biz is it of yours? Then they do crazy back ground check on you,(they say it takes like up to 6weeks) and us being from the US, I don't know how it's going to work out. We hope that Troy's employer can back us up on this and secure our "rent-worthy" on their side....and will allow us to get a house in less then 6 weeks from now.
Though, we can look for the house pretty much anywhere we'd like, because of John(guy that Troy's company had hired)Troy felt it had to be with in descent travel distance for him. Country itself isn't that big, but for Brits 20 min travel seems like 2 hrs for us.
So we have been mostly looking for homes in the South East of London. Kind of around London Temple it is in Surrey area. It is mostly made of small towns and darling villages. There isn't a doubt about that the villages are so, so cute. Unfortunately, not very much for rent there, and what is for rent isn't very cute. Apart from the fact that the England is very old country and so houses are old and I'm talking like 1930 old or older. Places that are for rent usually kind of scary!
Few days ago we found what we felt was a perfect home for us, and as we were "falling in love" with the house, other people wrote a deposit check to the Realtor, and our "love" was gone just like that. We found ourselves speechless, and felt kind of rubbed.
At the main time the best we have come up with is two houses in the middle of NOWHERE ! We have put an offer on one of them and are waiting to hear from the owners if they will accept it. (it's kind of like buying it here) Oh, and also, we are going to be responsible for paying taxes on the house here. Crazy, right?!
So the house is old, but kind of charming. It has 3 bedrooms (one of which in in the attic and the only way to get there is by this crazy ladder. There is no way I am putting kids sleeping there (they will fall off from there at night if they ever would get up to come to see me or go to the bathroom, which they do on the regular bassis. But I think it's going to be a fun place for the kids to play. We will take the smaller 2nd bedroom and put all the kiddos in the master bedroom. We really like the kitchen (though it's old) at list it's big, and I guess, that's what we like the most is the openness of the house(most houses here are very small and narrow)
This country home has great yard, or what they call it here garden. We feel it's going to be great for the kiddos. The down fall, is that there is NOTHING around at all. The closest store is like 6 miles away. I told Troy, I need TV, Computer with Internet,and Sawing machine. And, though, I am resisting, I will have to learn how to drive here. For which I am not excited. People drive here like crazy maniacs, and roads are sooo very narrow. You can't have two way traffic. When you come face to face with upcoming car, you just have to back up till you can find a space to get to the side of the road. It's crazy. If our offer on the house is excepted I will post some pictures of the house.
This Sunday, sense we couldn't look for the house, we have decided to go find a castle. And castle did we find. It was AWESOME!!! Here are some pictures.
So, that's what we did our first week in England! We miss you all.

It's that time of the year again!

SUMMER! DO I NEED TO SAY MORE!

Happy Birthday!

My sweet little baby has turned 9 years old !!!!!
How fast time is flying by....I was holding her hand today and saw tiny little birth mark on one of the fingers....I remember her being new born and seeing it....it's still there....I don't know why but it made me look back at that great and tender day, when she came into my life. I am so grateful for the joy that Rylee has been to me ever sense. She always does her best in whatever she chooses to do. I have never, and I mean, never heard anyone saying anything negative of her. ALL of her teachers has always adored her and she has done nothing but the best in her academics. She is very sensitive and could be dramatic (ya!) but she is learning wonderfully how to master those two and use her emotions in a positive way. She is very outspoken in the house,(she gets it from Troy for sure)at times she leaves me speechless with her honesty and openness and frankly boldness, and I am learning how to help her to channel this gift so it will serve her in life well. She LOVES to write notes! Troy and I often are present with letters from her where she expresses her feelings of joy or sadness. She has even wrote a note on one of her math tests, to her teacher, letting her know that it was a hard test :) Troy and I just greened when her teacher told us, for it is so Rylee! I often find her reading scriptures by herself and she is saying her own personal prayers everyday (sorry to admit, but we didn't teach her that) She has the kindness of hearts! When she sees some one straggle, she seeks to help. Like taking her $5 she saved and giving it to a homeless person that she saw on the conner of the Wall-mart parking lot. She seriously worries about needy and afflicted that she becomes aware of. I was talking to her about humanitarian missions in the world and she was so fascinated by it. I SO see her becoming part of something like that one day. I love her so very much and am so grateful to have her as my daughter!

OK, so this is soooo behind, but I just saw this on my computer and had to post it for the records....
St.Patrick's day baby!!! Do I need to say more.

My Big Boy!

Our little Ryder turn 6 months on the 30th of March. He is growing up beautifully and sure is joy to us all. He is a very happy baby. Much loved by all. Gets LOTS of attention. He is almost ready to sit by himself without us have to catch him timber.
He is a great eater and sure loud one to let you know he wants something. Actually he likes to scream. Happy, sad, hungry, excited it all just blends into scream!!! We love when he grabs our faces and slobber it all over with his sweet open mouth kisses.(Only parents can find joy in that) And last but not the list he weighs a whooping 19.4 lbs. That's right, he is only 6 months. :)
He is a great baby and we feel very lucky having him in our life.

There is SO much has been happening in my life lately...or should I say my whole life has been a big happening! I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing, but I'm learning to find happiness in the mist of it all. I do believe that Heavenly Father loves me and my life lessons are for my good(though I don't always enjoy it)
I have been procrastinating of writing down mine and my family history. Though, I do feel extremely intimidated of putting my feelings and my experiences on the paper (computer). I feel like Moses who felt he was bad at speech, and so the Lord has given him Aaron. May be Troy can be my "Aaron" I don't know, we will see. As of today I am committing to all of you readers and mostly to my kids to write my story.
I'm considering just starting a whole new blog, where I can catch you all on me coming out of Russia and joining the church, finding my darling husband and bringing you up to date of me being on the verge of being deported, to moving to London.

Stay tune!

Rylee's First Book Club

Rylee got invited to her very own book club. Seeing her mom, me that is, having so much fun at my book club,she was soooo excited to get together with the girls. How fun is that!!! Check out this link to see her first day book club experience. Thanks Heidi for doing it!

Canning the Udalls: Another Book Club

Night out as a Fam

This Monday we went to see Harlem Globetrotters. It was a lots of fun for the kids. I wish I could say the same for me. I was happy, I was with my favorite people, but disappointed, for it was SO loud that Ryder was screaming every-time I walked into the gym. Dang it! O well, I got good work out going up and down the stairs in the hallways!
I love those two! They are so handsome!
Well, for those of you who doesn't know our Brooklyn....THIS.... is pretty much sums her up!
See what I mean!

My Creative Husband

My good friend saw this idea on line and dare to share it at the book club....little did she know that I will be stilling it for my kids valentine. Thanks Nakole for not getting mad at me.
After telling what I wanted for our kids to bring to school this year, my very creative husband went to work and seriously spent hours coming up with what you see here.
Thank you Troy for the hard work, it turn out really cute!

He is 4 months today!

My sweet little guy is 4 months today! He is the sweetest little baby. He loves to gargle-talk. Loves to nib on his fist. Loves his brother and sisters. So easy to smile. Ticklish when we change his clothes. Just rolled over last night. He loves to eat and get so excited when he sees his babba.
We love you sweet pea! Happy 4 mo. birthday!