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(I took this on the flight from Manchester to JFK.)
So I suppose it's about time I started to catch up!
Paula did indeed pick me and Ryan up Thursday, the night of the 7th. Ryan and Olivia ran around and played in the back yard, which Ryan loved! I think it was novel for him to get to play outside at night. Olivia has a slide, which was of course a huge hit with Ryan. (Slides are his favorite.) If I remember correctly (Paula, correct me if necessary!), Ryan went to sleep pretty easily. Olivia very kindly slept on a pallet on the floor in her room, and gave Ryan her bed. Ironically, later when we checked on the kids, Ryan was on the floor. I don't remember which night it was, but one of the nights, Ryan was sleeping kneeling next to the bed, in a position as if he'd fallen asleep while praying at the bedside! (I didn't take a picture as to not disturb the sleeping kiddos.) Since Ryan kept putting himself to sleep on the floor, one night I tried to put him to bed there. Of course the first thing he did then was crawl up onto the bed!
The next day we got off to a wonderfully leisurely start. After a while, we ran some errands, then I got to meet everyone Paula works with at Lowe's. That was fun, since I'd heard so much about everybody! Later that evening, Paula and I dropped Ryan and Olivia off at Paula's Mom's house, then went out on a date. :P We went to a wonderful café called Boston Gourmet. It's a cozy and informal coffee shop, with tasty food and drink, and friendly service at decent prices. From there we went to Clay Pigeons, a paint-your-own ceramics shop. The people there were so nice and helpful. I'm horrible at painting ceramics (well, anything really), but I find the activity to be extremely relaxing, almost zen-like. The whole evening was relaxing and fun, and I had a great time out with Paula. We went to pick up our kiddos, and found that Ryan had slept pretty much the whole time we were gone! I think Sandy (Paula's mom) was a bit disappointed! :)
Saturday was Paula's nephew, Chase's, birthday. Paula's brother, Del, and his family live in Jacksonville. Chase's party was at the Hands On Children's Museum. http://handsonchildrensmuseumjax.com/page2.html It was a neat place with lots to do, even for kids Ryan and Olivia's age. Ryan's favorites were of course the trains, and the big slide! :)
It was wonderful meeting Del, his wife Sherry, and of course Chase! After pizza and cake at the museum, we went back to their home for while. Paula's family is warm and friendly, and made me and Ryan feel so welcome! We had a really nice time visiting.
Later that night, I got an amazing treat. I got to see my very first live Space Shuttle launch! Having grown up near Edwards Air Force Base, I'd seen many a Shuttle land. However, I'd never gotten to see one take off. Even better, it was a night launch - the first in four years. We could see the launch from just outside Paula and Robert's house. We watched the Discovery take off on tv, then went outside. Once the Shuttle cleared the tree line (Paula and Robert live in a wooded area), we could see it. It was truly amazing. It looked like a huge, flaming, bright orange shooting star. As it climbed into the night sky, I could actually see the glowing outlines of the SRB's as they separated and fell away. We stayed and watched the Discovery until she looked like simply a bright, moving star. What really made the launch for me, was hearing cheers coming out of the darkness.
(More blog to come...)
Ryan and I arrived in Vegas this evening. I plan on doing some catching up while we're here. Really!
Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful New Year's!
Happy belated birthday, Molly!
Mike and Casey, hope you both had a wonderful anniversary today!
Love,
~Holly
Hello everyone. I just wanted to let everyone know that Ryan and I are almost over our colds. We've been having a pleasant, relaxing time at my parents'. I've been taking a break from blogging. However, I do plan at some point on catching up on our entire trip here. It may wind up being when I'm back in England, but it will happen!
I am pleased to say that our trip has been wonderful, and the days are going by all too quickly.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!
Ryan and I will be in Vegas from Saturday until probably the 3rd. Not sure what my computer access will be over those days! :) In case I don't get a chance to say it at the time, I hope everyone has a Happy New Year!
Hello. Ryan and I arrived in Palmdale today. The trip was smooth. Ryan slept most of the way. Unfortunately, Ryan seems to have come down with a bug of some sort. He spent most of the afternoon dozing on my parents' couch. Things have been pretty hectic since we left Harrogate. I'm thinking the trip has finally caught up with Ryan.
I realize I am criminally behind! I will remedy that... eventually! (I know better than to make any estimates on time. Whenever I do, I always wind up being much later than I originally promised!)
I hope everyone had a good weekend!
Happy 10th anniversary, Greg and Toya! Here's to many, many more!
Love,
~Holly, Larry, and Ryan
This is a quick note to let everyone know that Ryan and I are having a great time with Paula, Robert, and Olivia! The time is flying by, as I knew it would. We've managed a good balance between busy and relaxed. Ryan's adjusted well to all his new surroundings, and I (knock on wood) seem to have magically avoided jet lag! :) We're heading West on Tuesday. I hope to write before then though. Kate and Michelle, thank you for your comments! Kate, I liked the pomegranite frap, but it wasn't really remarkable actually. Michelle, I would love to go to Starbucks with you when I get back! I know what you mean about them closing so early. They close at 5pm on Sundays!
First, a huge happy birthday to Sarah! I hope you're having a wonderful day! Lots of hugs and love from me and Ryan!
Monday I did my usual thing and wasn't done packing until half past midnight! :P In the morning Natasha called and asked if Ryan and I wanted to go to Winky's with her and her daughters. I thought it would be good to let Ryan run around and have fun, since he was about to be cooped up on a plane for a long stretch. (And of course I always like to get together with friends!) Honestly though, even if we hadn't gone to Winky's, I'm sure I would have been up late packing. For whatever reason, it's unavoidable for me! :)
I got up at five the next morning, to be sure to have plenty of time to get ready to go. Around 6:30am, Susan came and picked me and Ryan up to take us to the airport. My flight was at 10:30am. We were supposed to get there three hours prior to allow time for security, etc. It normally takes about an hour and forty-five minutes to get to Manchester airport from Harrogate. Between Susan and me, we've been to the airport probably at least a dozen times, so we're familiar with traffic, etc. For no apparent reason, traffic was so bad it took us over three hours to get there! We pulled up to the passenger drop off zone at around 9:50am! I really thought there was no earthly way we'd be allowed on the flight. Much to my shock and relief, somehow Ryan and I were on the plane and ready to go by 10:25am! We weren't even the last people on the plane (but almost!). I have to say that the people on the Delta staff both at the check in and on both flights we took were fabulous! They were extremely helpful and friendly and helped make it a very good experience.
We had seats in the back of the plane, but because the flight wasn't even half full, we got moved up to practically the front. There was no one sitting in front of, behind, or in the whole row next to us. That was great, because I didn't have to worry about Ryan's feet banging the seat in front of him, and once out of his seat, he had lots of room to move around and play. Every now and then I would take Ryan for walks around the plane. He did really well. We got a video iPod so Ryan could watch videos. He wound up only watching it for about ten minutes, but I'm still glad we have it! Mostly Ryan was entertained by a couple of toy trains, and coloring! Unfortunately, he threw some serious fits when I tried to put him back in his car seat. It was pretty bad. Also, he only slept for about an hour of the seven hour and twenty minute flight from Manchester to JFK. Oh well! Other than that, he did really well. There was also a really nice woman my age sitting near us who was nice to chat with, and great about Ryan when he was throwing his fits!
When we got to JFK, we had to get the stroller at baggage claim. That made things a little more difficult than usual, but there were kind people who offered to help us out. I have found that every time I travel alone with Ryan, people are really wonderful about helping us. It's so nice! (And much needed!)
After we got all our stuff rechecked and got through customs, the first thing I did was go to Starbucks! :) They don't have pomegranite frappachino's in Harrogate, so I tried one. I went across the food court to a bagel place, and got an asiago cheese bagel. Yum! They just don't do food in the UK like they do in the States! :)
The flight from JFK to Orlando went really well. I thought the flight out from Manchester went really quickly, compared to flying to LA! After our first flight, the three hour second flight seemed to go by in a blink! We got moved from the back of the plane to the front - by the bulkhead! SCORE!!! :) I love those seats - they have so much more leg room! Again, the flight was less than half full, so there was lots of room. I discovered what Ryan's problem with being in his car seat was. He just wanted to sit in a regular seat like everyone else. He sat in my seat and pretty much stayed put almost the whole way. I sat in the seat across the aisle. I'm tempted to just check the car seat and let Ryan sit in a seat without it. A flight attendant told me that after the age of two, car seats aren't mandatory anymore. It would be one less thing to schlep around, and Ryan would be happier! I'll have to think about it. I've also heard there are harnesses you can buy for kids Ryan's size to make sitting in plane seats safer. They're expensive ($80!) but it would be worth it, with all the traveling we do.
Larry's uncle Terry picked us up in Orlando. It was great to see him, and his wife Carol. I put Ryan to bed around 8:30pm. He slept until 4am, but was up the whole rest of the day! I went to bed around 9:30pm, and would have been fine, but I kept waking up every hour, so I didn't feel rested. Ryan just would NOT nap all day. Around 4pm he finally passed out. I tried to wake him up around 6pm, but nothin' doin'. Ryan slept through until 4am! Luckily, I went to bed early again, so I don't feel too tired right now.
It's been nice and relaxing here. The weather's great! Warm and sunny! Carol watches her grandson, Dallas, who's three. He and Ryan played all day. That was nice for both of them. Carol has a sand box for Dallas to play in. Ryan and Dallas got in there, and Ryan got himself covered head to toe in sand!
This evening Paula is picking me and Ryan up, and we'll be staying with her and Robert and Olivia until the 12th. I'm really excited!
(I would like to acknowledge Pearl Harbor Day, today.)
ps - I don't have iSpell on the computer I am using right now, so please excuse any typos!