Nothing to See Here . . .

Hello, Blog Fans.  Not every weekend is postcard ready.  This was one of those.  Here's a mini-update for those that are addicted . . .

Friday

We had a very enjoyable evening in saying farewell to the Seppanens who came over for one last "curry" (take away, mind you).  They are excited to be heading home.  We are excited for them but also sad to see them go.  Our time will come.  We aren't ready mentally or physically/logistically just yet.  I'm sure it will be with mixed emotions when the time comes.

Won't be the same without you guys.  Best of luck on your repatriation.

Saturday

The forecast for the weekend wasn't the best for either day.  Saturday was notionally better but not by much.  At any rate, it wasn't enough to juggle things around as some chores can only be done on Saturday.

How's this for excitement:

dentist X 4
haircut X 2
grocery shopping
Costco run

Yippee.  All that and the weather turned out to be half-way decent.  Grrr.

I did make some good progress on planning our upcoming Switzerland trip at least.  Ready to go now . . . 

The family dentist trip was a last-minute reschedule.  We hadn't rebooked since our last one was cancelled when the dentist was "sick".  They were fortunately able to take us straightaway. I say "sick" because it just so happened to be on one of the nicest days of the year.  Case of the blue skies if you ask me . . .

Our dentist is a nice enough guy and he has some newer equipment than our one back in Indy.  However, he did all four of us in 40 minutes (one by one) which is how long 1 adult takes back in Indy.  Probably not getting the same level of care.  Oh well -- it's not as bad as the stereotypes.

Sunday

Kuk left for Bristol for a major review on Monday.  She worked all day yesterday from home as well.  The weather was pretty poor and it rained most of the morning.  Combined with the fact that I hadn't actually planned a new walk, we decided to have a low key family day (sans Kuk).

First up, we went to see Despicable Me 2.  Now I'm sure I had my expectations properly set, but we all thought it was a hoot.  Very enjoyable.

In the afternoon, we played Alex's Brain Box London game (a birthday gift).  It has different "cards" of London that you get to stare at for 10 seconds and then try to answer a question about it.  Harder than it looks!

Continuing the theme of using gifts, we made ice cream in Alex's ice cream soccer ball.  It looks like this.  You get the ice, rock salt and ice cream ingredients and then the kids pass the ball around until it is ready.   Sounds fun.  The downside is the cleanup and the cost (2x more than Ben & Jerry's).  Our chocolate chip ice cream turned out pretty well but we certainly weren't perfect.  Maybe next time!

Finally, we continued the "togetherness" by cooking dinner together (or at least Nicole and I did).  Nicole gave me some coupons at Christmas so I cashed one in to have her cook dinner.  I chose a slightly more complicated meal than what she has done in the past so I helped her some.  The lamb & pasta stew turned out well.  Good job Nicole!

I thought I should give her a little more time/practice in the kitchen with me and a lazy Sunday afternoon was the perfect time.

The kids have 2 more weeks of school (which is early over here).  They both have "Activity Week" at school this week and ironically they will be going to London separately but at the same time.  Alex will be spending the night and Nicole will come back very late one night.  Both will see musicals (Nicole will see 2) and take in other sites.  Alex has a Peak District walk as well while Nicole be going to Alton Towers and the Tamworth Snow Dome.  (Tough week, eh kids?).

With Switzerland essentially planned, I should have no excuses for finding a new walk for next weekend.  Maybe I'll even have some pictures!