Durham 2014

I finally made the trek to England to see my dear friends, the Griggs Family. They are so special to me and I was thankful for the opportunity to visit them in Durham. I was a little nervous because it was the the farthest I had been from home by myself. But that nervousness was not enough to hold me back, so off I went last Wednesday night.

First I flew to Toronto, Canada then took the long flight over to London Heathrow. From there, I flew to Newcastle, which is about 30 minutes from Durham. Robbie was there to pick me up and I was very glad to see someone I knew. I was tired, but so glad to be there! We drove to pick up Jane Ellis at work and it was almost hard to believe I was there when she came out of her office. We hugged. And cried. Robbie took a picture, but I'll have to get them to send it to me:)

JE and I headed to get the boys after dropping Robbie back off to work. I have to say I was so flattered by Charlie, Peter and George. They were very glad to see me and I was oh so very glad to see them. We picked them up and were off to dinner and thankfully so, because I was starving. That night was a bit of a blur because I hadn't slept in a while, so after catching up a bit more, I was off to bed.

JE took off work on Friday, so we got the kids off to school and then stayed to watch their awards assembly for the term. Charlie got an award! I was so happy to be there to see it and to see all of them interact with their classes.

With the whole day in front of us, we went to Durham City Centre and started off with tea. I can't even describe how fantastic it was to have tea, with Jane Ellis, and talk about anything and everything we wanted, with no time limit. FANTASTIC.

After tea, we shopped and then headed up to the Durham Cathedral.

We toured the inside of the cathedral, but they do not allow photography. It was as beautiful as you can imagine and so real, if that makes any sense. Not super shiny like the cathedrals you see in London. Just real.

I took this picture for Nate - they were building the cathedral and all it's buildings with Lego. So fun!

On the bridge in Durham...after the cathedral, we went back to shop some more. Can I just say again that it felt so good to be with Jane Ellis and not have anywhere else to be!

This was at TK Maxx - like TJ Maxx for the UK. I love the hat!

On Saturday, we went to Newcastle and had lunch in the American Diner at Fennick's, which is a department store. I loved this experience and was able to get Nate & Lila several good souvenirs here.

On Sunday, we put on our wellies (thank goodness I brought them!) and went to the park in their neighborhood. George & Charlie getting ready to roll.

The view down their street - very picturesque! I think I used the word picturesque, oh, I don't know, 5,342 times while I was there. It's true.  And the little white dog? That's Wendy. She is loved by all of them. So much:)

Peter on his bike...

And off we go!

George and I definitely bonded while I was visiting. He is the sweetest little 4 year old I know. He started to say, "I love you Miss Abatha" and I just melted. Then he told me that he was really one of my kids too, and I got a tear in my eye. All of the boys were so sweet to me and made me feel very loved.

Also on Sunday, we went to a pub to have lunch. I decided to order fish and chips since that's what you do in England. Well, the fish was bigger than the plate and I barely made a dent in it!

After lunch, we were off to Raby Castle. Can I just say, I love a castle!?!

These two are my oldest and dearest friends. Many of you know that Jane Ellis and I have been very close since the beginning of time. But some of you may not know that Robbie and I were in the same class growing up (JE is a year younger), so I've known him my whole life too. Lifelong friendships are a treasure. I'm so lucky to have both of them in my life.

The castle was spectacular. I loved every minute of it. But I don't think I laughed harder the whole trip than when the Griggs boys went crazy over this gravel that was all around the castle - and Robbie said, "Boys, let's just walk regular and pretend like we've seen gravel before." Hilarious. And I can totally relate because my own kids have those same reactions some times to normal everyday things.

After visiting the castle, we walked over to the gardens. They were so sweet and inviting.

Sweet George, doing a little climbing.

On Monday, it was a bank holiday, so JE was off from work. We headed out to the Yorkshire Dales to hike and see some waterfalls. The views on the way there were beautiful and the little towns were lovely! I thoroughly enjoyed our country drive and our walk at the park. I do not know why the water is brown. I meant to look it up but haven't had a chance. Soon.

The Griggs 5! I love this family.

On one of the trails, I was watching out for bunny families since we had Wendy, and I happened upon this little bird. Teeny tiny, just sitting in the middle of the trail. Very sweet.

This was a sheep pasture, that we weren't supposed to be in, but I loved how this picture turned out. The little dots are the boys.

The Griggs brothers. In order. I told JE & Rob that Peter looks exactly like I did in the majority of the pictures from my childhood:)

It was a wonderful trip and one I will never forget. It was special to be able to just see Jane Ellis and her family since they are living in another country. But it was also special to spend time with her children, when my kids were not there, because I could totally devote my attention to them. And it was extra special to get to spend time with my friend, uninterrupted. We haven't gotten to do that in, I don't know, 15 years? Extra special for sure.

Cheers to the Griggs! Thanks for having me and for being you:)