Leaving the old, into the new.

So here's the latest :c)

We left the states after a wonderful dinner with our families at an English Pub (thought that worked out well) close to the airport. I think the most difficult part of saying goodbye was hearing Levi's little voice in a whimper calling for his grandparents as we left....broke our hearts. Of course, we were pretty heart broken as it is. I think the realization of it all will come crashing down one of these days when we're not as exhausted as we've been. But fortunately we have skype and so have been able to chat to the family already.

Here are some pictures of Levi at the airport. He was such a good traveler.

Levi and Mommy waiting for the plane to take off.

Levi still excited about the plane taking off....he actually fell asleep before the takeoff. Poor guy. We boarded about an hour before take off so he just watched the other planes through the window and then fell asleep moments before takeoff.

The flight overall went well. We had a poor family with a baby that screamed for 3 hours a row ahead of us and so that woke up Levi a few times, but he slept for probably 90% of the flight, with us waking him up to eat some breakfast/lunch before we landed. Greg and I however, couldn't really sleep through all that was going on...so we were more than happy to go to sleep that evening after we got to the base. The drive from the airport to the base took a bit longer than expected as we were stuck in traffic for a few hours on the M25 which is the loop around London (for those who know Atlanta...think I 285) :c) 

Here are a few photos of our drive down to the base. All I can say is it was a lot of countryside and not many houses, etc. I think it may be that the towns are off the main roads and so you don't actually see the towns but just some farms, etc. So we'll have to explore.

See how the sign shows that Lakenheath is off to the right...

We arrived at the base around 5pm local time and got squared away into a nice 2 bedroom suite. Levi of course was running around and immediately found the crib that was stashed in the closet saying "night, night" But before we went to bed we decided to walk around the base and just take a look around. Our sponsor and his family had been so gracious to (of course, pick us up at the airport) and bring us a basket full of goodies....so we were stocked up for several meals and snacks and didn't have to even think about what to do we just prepared it and ate it. It was fabulous.

Of course, me with the camera had to get a "first day in the UK" picture of Greg and Levi :c) This is on base and I was trying to get the plane in the background, but I think it's too small to see. Needless to say we've got some great planes for Levi to see here. We found out that they actually have a viewing area to watch the planes takeoff and land...Levi will love that I'm sure.

When we went to bed we were concerned that we'd all wake up in the middle of the night and think it was morning....no, not us. We all slept right through until about 8am. We finally woke Levi up at about 9am thinking we'd need to probably get him on UK time. Which he did wonderfully yesterday. He took his nap around our regular 1pm and we ended up getting back later than expected in the evening because we went out looking at houses, etc. But he did well last night....and is actually still sleeping so that's why I'm taking this moment to update the blog :c)

Here are Greg and Levi eating their first breakfast in the UK...Levi doing me the favour of a nice big smile....Greg wishing I'd stop taking pictures :c)

Only to be followed by Greg doing me the favour of smiling for the photo and Levi pointing and saying Mommy....his way of telling me I should be sitting down and having breakfast with them.

Of course, our super efficient nature had us at the bank opening accounts by 10am, at the post office picking up packages we had mailed to ourselves and of course letting Levi play on the playground all before lunch. :c) We've realized we will probably have to slow down our life pace a bit and learn to relax...we are looking forward to the change and excited about trying new things and a new way of life.

Levi loved this slide...and it's right behind our suite.

Aaaah yes....the infamous merry-go-round. Most dangerous playground equipment, but also one of the most fun. It was so great as I've never seen one in the states....Levi LOVED it, and it was all too hilarious to watch him try to walk after we stopped it. He stood there and then stumbled to the side as he tried to walk over to me. He never fell, but it certainly was funny to watch. Needless to say, he didn't really mind as he immediately said, "more, more"

After Levi's nap we headed out to look at houses with our sponsor. Who again graciously drove us around. The towns are quaint and have little town squares...it is going to be quite an experience that we are looking forward to. Here's the picture of the family after a great dinner at one of the restaurants in a town called Thetford. They had a wedding reception off to the right. We also learned that while in the US the bill comes usually before the last bite of food is consumed or pretty soon after you're finished. Here you have to ask for the bill because they're absolutely fine with you just sitting at the table for another 2 hours talking and drinking coffee after you've eaten. Again...we're going to have to slow down. :c)  Interestingly enough, unless there's a space for you to fill in a tip, you're not expected to leave one. There will be quite a few lessons for us to learn over the next few years. :c)

So that's where we are...in the UK, waiting to get a house (hopefully this week) and just learning to relax and take it in. We have a driving class on Wednesday that Greg and I will have to attend...and then we should be ready to go....of course it works out well that each town is not a bustling metropolis...so hopefully we can practice driving slowly. Just stick to the left..... :c)