Well it has been a very eventful few months. We actually had all six daughters in England for Jessica's wedding to Jonny Pearce on 7th July. The run up was less stressful than anticipated, though the last week or so with a houseful of family all on top of each other did get a bit much.... and Amy and Jon and their two little ones, Hayley and Austin, decamped to the Peter and Honor Mason for a couple of nights. Great to have good friends like Peter and Honor! The wedding day was wonderful - it rained, but only when we were inside, and Jess and Jonny were able to have the photographs taken outside both at the chapel and at the temple. It was a truly lovely day, with lots of laughter, surrounded by dear friends. Jonny and Jess are now living in Reading - the only daughter to be living close to us, and that is a joy.
In August Leilani turned 8 and was baptised by her daddy, Adam, in Auckland New Zealand. We were unable to be there but participated via Skype getting up at 3am to be a part of it. It was lovely to feel the spirit of another happy family day.
In September, Tim and I set off on our first ever holiday without family, and not going to visit family. Tim turned 60 in October, and this was an early birthday trip to visit NASA in Houston, Texas. He has always been interested in the space program, and for two days we toured NASA and had a fabulous, interesting and fun time. Tim was able to ask as many questions as he wanted and was like a small boy - very excited. He was able to sit in the Appollo mission controller's seat - that was a highlight.
We stayed with our dear friends Kurt and Kathi Nielson in Houston, and went to the beach at Galveston, also to a little town called Spring, which was so nice - real old time stores! We visited the boardwalk at Kemah, and also had dinner there the night before we came home. We also went to visit the San Jocinta Monument and had a tour - leanred much about the history of Texas - again very interesting. And I discovered there that everything is bigger in Texas includng the mosquitos.... Kurt and Kathi took a side trip with us to Louisiana which was a blast. It was beautiful, we visited New Orleans, visited Rosedown plantation and went on a swamp tour which was the highlight of the trip for me. Amazing wildlife and so beautiful! We saw alligators, big and little, anhinga, blue-winged teal, kingfisher, coot, grebe, herons and more, wonderful lotus flowers and water primroses, tiny frogs called cricket frogs. The swamp tour guide was extrememly knowledgeable and very interesting to listen to. We passed on his invitation to stop off for a gruffalo wee break .... he stepped out and went to pee, as he came back to the boat and pushed off he said 'this is just the kind of area the female alligators chose to nest!' I was so pleased I didn't need the loo!
Later while having luchng in the nearby small town of Henderson, an alligator swam past the the restaurant - amazing! We also ate lots of wonderful food - including alligator, crab, oysters, catfish, and when we returned to Texas - Texas barbecue and a wonderful steak on our last night. The whole trip and most especially the Louisiana part felt like one long progressive dinner! In Louisiana we stayed with John and Nayda, wonderfully hospitable friends of Kurt and Kathi and now ours too. On the way home we visited Tim's auntie Vi, sister of his mum, in New Iberia. She was an absolute hoot - really funny. Aunty Vi talked non-stop, and at one point she said ' enough about me tell me about yourselfves' and then withoug so much as drawing breath carried on talking. When we were leaving and taking photos on the first shot she said 'Cheese', on the second shot she said 'Cheese - I could have said sex but I didn't!'. We spent a wonderful couple of hours with her.
We also went to both the Houston and Baton Rouge temples, and watched general conference.
We came home the week before Tim's birthday, and Amy, Jon, and family and Caitlin came down from Yorkshire to spend the weekend of his birthday with us. We had a winter picnic with hotdogs at the Rainforest Centre near Newbury - I think! It seemed a very twisty turny drive to the middle of nowhere.
It was wonderful for Tim and I to be alone together, to spend time doing things selfishly for just the two of us, and we had a great time - we will holiday alone together again.
And now we are home... life goes on - sometimes very happy as this summer has been, and sometimes sad, and difficult, all of it for our good and too many blessings to count, not the least of which are wonderful memories of this summer.
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