A Long Time Coming

It has been a long time since I’ve last blogged.  An embarrassingly long time.  And a lot has changed in the past month and a half. I could write novel explaining what we’ve been doing, but I’ll start with just a few quick points, and get into some of the details later.  

THE LAKE DISTRICT GOT ONE FINAL GOOD BYE

Our first “big trip" in the UK was to the Lake District, so we thought that it would be fitting to return for our last English hurrah.  This time we went with our friends Kate and Ollie.  

We had a great time (despite the fact that I was feeling pretty sick the whole time). 

WE WENT TO BELGIUM

My Mom and Granny were in town, which gave us one more excuse to head over to the land of beer, waffles, and chocolate for our last visit.  

I will truly miss all the family time that we got to have over this past year.  It was such a blessing having Rob and Linds so close and being able to watch the kiddos grow up.  At least we have Skype!   

I GOT MY FIRST EVER DISNEY EXPERIENCE

Now, my mother would contest this statement.  She thinks that our family going to Disney while I was still in the womb counts as me going, but I’m fairly confident that it doesn’t.  

Naturally, we managed to forget to take a photo with the whole group.  This was as close as we got. (Seriously, what is wrong with us?  In the past year, with all the family travels, we have one- no joke, ONE- of everyone together.)

WE LANDED OUR FIRST EVER EUROPEAN PARKING TICKET

In Luxembourg of all places.  Word of advice- just because everyone else on the street is parked there, doesn’t mean it is legal.  We were one of about 7 cars to get a pink slip on our window. Whoopsie daisies.

GRANDMA GARTNER GOT A VISIT

She lives in Germany, which officially makes her cool.  Also, she gave us a tour of the Weinstrasse (translation: wine road, or, more accurately, the wine region).  If you are ever in the area you should check it out, it’s beautiful.

A NEW GARTNER RECORD WAS SET

We hit 5 countries in one day.  Not gonna lie, I was pretty impressed with us.  In a 12 hour period we managed to hit Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, France, and England.  Praise God for autobahns and high speed trains- without which we never could have swung it.  

WE MOVED, AND I CRIED

We will forever treasure our memories from our time in the UK.  It was such a sweet year for Glenn and I and, though there were several bumps along the road, a ridiculously fun time. I am incredibly thankful for this past year, and excited to see what the Lord has in store for us next.  

Goodbye, Studio Apartment- thanks for being so good to us!

AND NOW: for lack of a better term, WE’RE BOPPING

We spent a few days in Alabama and are now living out of our suitcases in a hotel in south (and I mean SOUTH) Louisiana.  We may be spending some time in Brownsville, Texas.  Or we might be going to Pennsylvania.  I may be taking an extended trip to Nebraska.  But we might also be moving to Cajun Country, Louisiana for a couple years.  Honestly- I think the plan changes every fourth day.  But that’s ok, because we’re still having fun and trying to get to know the area here.  We went to the Tabasco factory last weekend.  You’ll get an update on that once I get completely caught up.

Home Sweet Hotel.  (photo courtesy of Wingate)

Continue reading →

Dancing with her Prince

One day another Charming will come along, but until then, I think this one is going to cherish each and every song…

Continue reading →

Visitors! Wahoo!

August and September have been very fun months for Glenn and I.  One of the main highlights was having my brother’s family and our good friend Tom Varno come out to England to visit us.  Apparently the last week in August was a good time for not only the Air Force, but also the airlines, for bringing people our way: we ended up having them all show up at the same time.  And I loved it.  

Here are a few highlights of the trip:

(I went a little light on the photos and place descriptions, but, if you want to hear more about the various locations, I’ve included links to our past trips there)

OXFORD

click here to see photos of our trip in November

My brother and I are big Lewis and Tolkien fans, so I thought it would be fun to spend our first day meandering around the streets of Oxford.

WARWICK CASTLE

click here to see photos of our trip in February

The next day we headed to to the nearby Warwick Castle.  I was really excited to take Allie and Jake here because there are so many hands on things at the place.  The kiddos weren’t too sure about the wax figurines, but other then that I think they had a fun time. 

Tom at the castle

Jousting tournament/battle reenactment 

It was important that Allie be dressed appropriately to meet the princess at the castle, so I made her a little tutu.  The Princess was very impressed, she said so herself.

LONDON

Click here for photos of our last trip

The last few days we spent meandering about London.  

Not to be confused with London Bridge, which is very modern and, dare I say it, kind of boring.

Trafalgar Square

Funny story: Like any 3 1/2 year old little girl, Allie is obsessed with all things princess. Unfortunately, she’s been spoiled by the magic that is Disney.  Upon hearing that Buckingham Palace is where “the Queen lives" she takes one look at the place, scrunches up her nose, arches a brow, and promptly declares “well, it’s not very pretty." 

This pretty much sums up how Linds and I were feeling the whole trip :)

Continue reading →

Round about we go

Riding on a Carousel, face towards the wind

Going ‘round in circles, coming back again.

Grabbing for the brass ring, just when it’s in sight

Lights are shining all around…maybe some too bright.

—writer unknown

Continue reading →

Just a little something to make you laugh this morning…

Continue reading →

Cultural differences- one bite at a time

Every Thursday evening Glenn and I get together for dinner with the Tresnickys, another American couple.  Luke works with G, and Austin plays around Leamington with me. (I do love it when I rhyme) 

A little while ago, we decided to indulge in a little homemade American comfort food.  

That’s right.  We made wings.  They were glorious, if you have to ask.  

The end result was kinda disgusting.  We ate, well, an embarrassing amount of wings.

And things got kinda messy.  But it was a glorious, all american evening.  

Fast forward to a Sunday afternoon when our good friends and neighbors, Kate and Ollie, invited us over for some traditional English food.  To be more exact, we had been invited over for Sunday dinner.   

And here’s what it looks like (don’t judge the iPhone camera).  A traditional Sunday Roast usually includes either a roasted chicken or beef (garnished with your choice of hot mustard, mint sauce, horseradish, or jam), roasted potatoes, stuffing, brussel sprouts, other veg, and yorkshire pudding.

This is yorkshire pudding.  It is mostly made out of eggs and flour, and served on top of the meal.  You then fill the bad boy up with gravy and go to town on it.  It’s light, it’s yummy, it’s an edible bowl of goodness.  

Cheers!  We’re about to devour a proper Sunday Roast, the queen will be ever so proud (I speak, of course, of my mother).

Continue reading →