Coming home...

My sweet niece Hazel.

Josh and I have been traveling quite a bit in the last few months, but no trip has made me as excited as going back home after being gone for five weeks.  The trip revolved around my little brother's wedding, set for 6 days after we landed in Springfield. 

I was bursting with excitement as our plane approached the Springfield airport.  I couldn't stop smiling!  Mom and dad came to pick us up, it was so nice to see their faces.  We loaded all our luggage into the car and headed home.  My parents had soup and bread waiting for us, so we ate, chatted a bit and then promptly crashed after our 16 hours of travel. 

The next day I borrowed mom's car while she, dad and Josh went to work.  I've never been so grateful for a car!  While I do like the ability to walk anywhere in London, I miss the freedom of cruising down the road with the radio on and my packages flung across the back seat, instead of having to kill my arms hauling stuff around until I get back to our flat!  My favorite shopping stop of the day was Hobby Lobby, where I stocked up on a few items I've been having trouble finding in London.  Oh, and I also enjoyed my stop at the FM Store, where I picked up some coordinating fabric to match the tartan we picked up in Scotland.  I have big plans for the fabric in our new flat!  I met my sister downtown for lunch, we had a nice talk, it was so good to see her!  Josh was able to make it to his old basketball time, he really misses playing every week.  I was lucky enough to be able to meet my friend Amanda for coffee/tea at Starbucks on Monday night, we had a great time catching up.  I miss stuff like that!

Sam being "Gaddafied" by me and Amanda with his fancy Air Force sword.

On Tuesday, I ran around helping the bride-to-be, Amanda, get some things done for the wedding.  I also got to enjoy some sweet Qdoba action for lunch...mmmmmmmm....Sam came home later on Tuesday and right away we got to playing with the swords he brought home for the wedding, super fun!  I finally got to see my cute niece Hazel on Tuesday night as well, I brought her a few books from England, "The Gruffalo" and "Freddie and the Fairy", she loved them! 

Hazel, practicing being a flower girl.

Hazel practiced being a flower girl for the first time.  It was so cute!  She would either walk and hold the basket, but forget to throw flowers, or she would stand still, throw flowers and then promptly pick them up!  So funny to watch her. 

Later on Tuesday night I went out to dinner with my good friends Marla and Sapphire, and Sapph's little guy Freddie.  We ate at a Mexican restaurant and then they took me to Target (yay!).  I miss places like Target, where anything you could want are all in the same place.  I found a few things I couldn't live without, like Carmex.  So much cheaper in the States than it is in England.  I stocked up.  After Target we went to a Springfield staple, Andy's frozen custard.  Yumminess in my tummy!  It is funny the things that you really miss when you are away from home.  Custard is definitely one of those things!

Me helping Miss Hazel with the flower girl basket.

That's all for now peeps...wedding stuff later this week!  Rachel