Arrived safe and sound

We arrived safe and sound in England yesterday after a good journey over (flying Philadelphia to Manchester). We left home at 5.30pm. Lucy was so excited and loved the whole journey, from the limo ride to Philly airport, to the wait in the airport lounge and especially the flight itself.

We luckily got tickets on first class with US Airways (cashing in the mainly air miles that Joe has collected over the past few years). So we had two really spacious, comfy seats with loads of leg room which was especially useful for Lucy to play in! She was a little bit hyper for the first few hours of the flight, which considering we took off at about 9pm, was pretty impressive as she is normally a 7pm to bed girl! She did sleep for most of the remaining 4 1/2 hours of the flight though, on Joe's chest which was a special treat for him not experienced since she was a newborn :)

Brenda and Tony collected us from the airport and we had a smooth drive back to their house which took about 2 hours (apart from a little stop on the hard shoulder after Lucy brought up her fig rolls all over her clothes and the car seat!).

Lucy and I have colds so got through the rest of the day from one nose-blowing to the next. a very early night was had by all! We all slept well last night - Lucy made it through the night with only one wake up which was so fabulous! I was expecting more than that.

Today was a lovely day and we spent it relaxing at home and had a couple of trips to the village playground on the village green. I'll explain more about Joe's 'hometown' (small village really) in another blog when I have more energy. Needless to say though, Lucy approves of the Yorkshire playgrounds and loved every minute, especially climbing the rope wall and sliding down the slide.

Brenda and I took a ride out to Northallerton, a nearby shopping town, and went to Tesco (the UK's biggest supermarket chain) to top up on warmer clothes for Lucy. I spent weeks planning what to bring, and now we're here I realise that I have forgotten how much cooler summers are here, so the thin dresses and lack of sweaters needed to be adjusted! I love the kids clothes here though, and in Tesco they are cheaper than anything I can get in America for the same quality anyhow. You can't fault a shop that sells good children's clothes AND pork pies can you? (I will explain to you Americans what a pork pie is another day).

Tomorrow we'll spend more time enjoying the beautiful countryside around here and no doubt eat some famous pork pie. Maybe some fish and chips too if we are feeling particularly gluttonous!