Pardon us.

I'm working on a new template. Doing a header with a track pad is such a pain. I can't wait to have my other computer back. Then this blog is really gonna be rockin'.

Hopefully you can fight through and read it even if it doesn't show up like it should. Hopefully we've got something worth reading, too!

As they always say at Disney when doing construction, "Please pardon our dust."

What we'll miss...

We knew this was coming since before we moved here, but I could not have expected how sad I would feel about it.

We're not even sure where we're going, we just know we have to leave. It's the worst. We've finally bought plane tickets back to the USA (something I put off for more than 2 months), and we'll be back in the homeland in late September. *Sigh* It's happy and it's sad. Allow me to explain.

I love being American. I want to go back home and see family and be surrounded with things I'm familiar with. Root beer, Denny's, driving on the right side of the road, sunshine--I've missed it all so much. But, since we've been here we've met lots of people that have made England feel like home and I feel like we're leaving our family behind. Let me introduce you! 

This is Evelyn. She was probably Atley and Holly's first friend after we moved here. Evelyn is very good about keeping Atley in line in primary and makes sure he sticks with the class by holding his hand. It is very adorable. Holly loves playing with her because they can play princesses. It's nice to have an older girl for Holly to look up to.

Charlotte, Ed, and Elijah are the rest of Evelyn's family. Her family was very welcoming and helpful in our first uncertain days and we've grown even closer since. A highlight was earlier this year when they visited Ian's parents in California while on a trip around the Western U.S. We've loved our park days and the odd dinner together. 

Phoebe is the other little girl in Atley's Primary class. She cracks me up. I don't think there is a time I have seen her when she hasn't given me a good reason to laugh. She has said things like "Atley, you're my husband so that means I need to be nice to you" or "My Mommy chooses the right when she buys me sweets!" After her trip to France for vacation she even made sure to check and make sure I missed her--of course we missed you Phoebe!

Next up are Holly and Katie. Both of these girls have been so helpful to my kids and are great playmates. We went to Holly's house for dinner and she was sure to clean up all the little pieces so they wouldn't choke. Then she drew them a picture of them with their favorite toys. Now it's hanging up in their room. She was also nice enough to give me a short lesson on water conservation in the car! How thoughtful, right?

Katie came home from church with us one Sunday and spent the afternoon. The kids LOVED having her here, but I think I loved it even more. I didn't see my kids for like 2 hours straight. It was the perfect break and even more so because I knew they were playing instead of just watching a movie and becoming zombies. I can always get my kids to put their shoes on if I tell them we're going to see Katie!

Tom likes to dazzle us with his knowledge of American culture and we love being dazzled! He's a big fan of Root beer and the NBA. Atley likes to call him Tommy which Tom doesn't seem to mind. I find it very cute that Atley has a special name for him. He is helpful with entertaining the kids and keeping them quiet when they need to be and teaching them to race when they have a bit of time to play. Anna puts on an American accent which I'm told can be quite the show. She has a big personality and is always willing to share her ponies and other toys with Holly. 

Atley has taken to calling them Grandma and Granddad, but they are less formally known as Pat and Liz! They have been kind enough to have us for dinner a couple of times, one of which included Pat's birthday a couple weeks ago. We can always count on him to organize a good basketball game. Liz plays the piano for us in primary and we don't go a week without a good laugh about something or another. While Ian and I always enjoy their bright smiles and wonderful family gatherings, it's especially nice that they don't mind that Atley thinks of them as Grandparents. I think it makes it easier for him to be so far away from his real Grandparents and to be familiar with what Grandmas and Grandpas do.

Emma is my chat buddy. She comes around when the boys play basketball ready to play if they need her and ready to chat with me when they don't! She always has good advice and a funny story to tell. What more can you ask? Well, thankfully she often brings along Richard, too! Ian appreciates Richard coming around so he isn't the only guy with us Moms. Richard doesn't say much, but I'm coming to learn when he does say something it's well worth the wait. Recently, they also introduced us to Indian food. I was afraid to try it, but now I have no idea why!

       

  

Helena and Elias (or Eli) are sure to be seen together. Eli was born shortly after we moved here so we can safely say we've known this little guy all his life! Atley and Holly have become surprisingly warm when it comes to Eli which gives me a little hope that he's getting them ready for another baby. His adorable smile and sweet disposition made me baby hungry from the first time I saw him! Helena is really good at getting Ian out of his comfort zone. She says just the right things and Ian turns bright red! She's super funny and positive, and we're always glad when she is around. Her husband Chris is another addition to our family of friends. He always seems to arrive after I've finished taking pictures though, so you'll just have to imagine what you think he looks like! 

All of these people and many more have helped to make our time here very special. They have served us and loved us, and it's hard to imagine how our lives will continue without them. I'm really hoping that soon they will want to come visit us in the good 'ol USA! Sheffield family reunion 2013 anyone?

July the Fourth

I'm sure you've been very curious to hear about how we celebrated the 4th of July surrounded by the "enemy." Well, thankfully 236 years has really lessened the pain of loss for the British and they were very pleasant to celebrate with!

We started the week at church, as usual. I have the blessing of playing the piano in Sacrament Meeting and I joked about slipping in the Star Spangled Banner for prelude wondering if anyone would notice. Honestly I didn't really have the guts for it and I didn't want people thinking I was crazy or annoying--I was afraid someone might not get the joke. Thankfully we arrived to church before a lot of other people and I got a chance to bang it out. One other English person was there with us and we caught him humming it! We giggled to ourselves but decided he probably didn't realize what he was humming and just took it as a familiar tune. Still, we got one!

 In preparation for the Holiday we like to watch this little baby!

It's actually not little at all and we got started to late this year, we didn't make it through the whole thing! But, we got just the right amount to reinvigorate our patriotism. When I say "we" I mean Ian and I. Atley is a different story. While we were watching a dramatization of the Boston Tea Party, he noticed the Americans climbing aboard the ships to toss the tea overboard. We then had the following conversation:

              Atley: Look Mom, I think they're pirates!

              Me: No Atley! They aren't pirates. They're Americans.

              Atley: No, I think they're pirates!

              Me: What side are you on? Are you American, or are you British?

              Atley: I'm British!

Wow. Well, I guess I can let it slide by assuming that he was looking critically at history. In fact, during the Boston Tea Party the Declaration of Independence hadn't been written (or really even thought about) so they probably would still identify themselves as British citizens. Since they weren't technically Americans yet, they probably were more like pirates. One way or another, it gave us a good laugh!

Ian and I really want our children to develop a love for the USA and all the good things it stands for no matter where we live. With that in mind we had been talking to Atley in particular about Independence Day and tried to explain it in a 3 year-old way. On the morning of the 4th, we sent Atley off to school. It did feel kind of weird making him go to school on a holiday, but he likes it so much we thought it was an okay thing to do. As soon as he walked in and saw his teacher he said "It's Independence Day!" She was so great! She smiled a happily agreed. 

We planned out our menu for our big holiday; home made hamburgers, french fries, and red white and blue strawberries! Everything was delicious! Thankfully for us the British just finished celebrating the Queen's Jubilee so there was plenty of red, white, and blue leftovers for our celebration. We just ignored the fact that the sprinkles for our strawberries said they were British!

Source

Our camera is broken, so I lifted this picture from another site. Ours didn't turn out quite this nice, but if you want the recipe, you can check it out from the source!

Once things were rolling with dinner I went to pick Atley up from school. This is where my most memorable moment comes in. While at school, Atley's teachers had helped him to paint an American flag to bring home. They even attached it it to a stick so he could wave it around. It was a small gesture and they probably didn't even know that it meant anything to me, but it lessened the pain of homesickness. To think that someone would care enough about our background to help us share our culture with our children was such a blessing!

We had always planned to celebrate quietly especially since the legality of fireworks was never settled. I'm not really sure if our neighbors would appreciate the noise anyway. We did think it would be nice to get our Canadian neighbors to join us and combine our celebration with Canada Day, but alas, a quiet celebration prevailed.

Far away from home and missing all the parades and fireworks, we found a glimmer of kindness. Our holiday was fantastic and we loved celebrating how things are with the British instead of how things were. Here's hoping you found something more to celebrate with your holiday, too!

The Olympics

This month we get to enjoy all the Olympic celebrations. We kicked it off by watching the Olympic torch run right near our house!

We started the evening off at a local pub (the family friendly kind) with a BBQ. 

We enjoyed the hamburgers and live music and then set off to find a good place to watch.

I had never seen the Olympic torch before. In fact the closest I've ever lived to an Olympic event is now--and we still live 2+ hours away! Well, we did a little research to share with you. Firstly, the torch is a real thing! It's not just a symbol, though the real thing has a symbolic meaning. It stands for peace, unity, and friendship--all virtues of the Olympic Games. Secondly, they actually run the torch...by foot! The route through England is visiting more than 1,000 towns and cities in England. England isn't a very big country, but the route isn't a straight line either. The relay will last 70 days and be carried by 8,000 different torch bearers. It passed our way on June 25th and it's still going! If you're curious to track the torch, you can see live video feed and pictures here.

Below is a picture of this year's Olympic torch.

I know for sure they have more than one made because I saw more than one pass by us. One being carried by a runner and another being carried ahead by the next runner in line. For more information on the history and design of this year's torch and to see pictures of torches in years past, check out this link.

So we waited patiently on our little patch of grass to see this little golden torch. To keep the kids interest, I told them we were watching for the fire! They liked that idea. Considering what's happening with fires and heat waves across the U.S., maybe it's not the nicest thing to read though! The helicopters were buzzing over head and while we waited, we counted them about 10 times! There were 3 (just in case you wondered).

Finally, after a mini parade the torch came by!

Can you see it? Okay, not the best picture. The preview screen on our camera is broken so we just snapped a picture and hoped for the best. If you look to the upper left corner of the photo you can see the torch bearer and the torch (it's the one on fire!)

The torch came and went and so did the people. As soon as it passed by everyone split ways and went from one crowd with one purpose, back to being individuals. It united us for about 30 minutes, physically, but the symbolism will stay with us until after the games have gone--especially when the U.S.A makes out like bandits with all the gold medals! :-)

What event are you most looking forward to during the Olympics?

The Sorensen European Extravaganza 2012

We decided to give our vacation a name--it was that much a part of our lives. I can't say I'd been planning it forever because I really only had about a month to put it all together, but the idea has been in our heads and hearts since we got married 4 1/2 years ago. What? You want to know where we went? I'll give you a hint...

Oh, not good with geography? Another hint then...

Not flags either? Alright, here's comes the big hint then...

Yes my friends, finally wonderful, fabulous, clean (minus all the people smoking) FRANCE! I have to say this vacation topped a lot of my superlative lists. It was the most tiring vacation I've ever been on, but we absolutely loved it!

Ian's parents came for their turn visiting with the Grandkids and we decided to make use of Ian's french skills and have a run at France. But, it was much more than just France! Why else would the title be the Sorensen European Extravaganza? Here's a list of what we did.

Train to London
Big Ben
London Bridge
Borough Market
Bus Tour
British Museum
Pictures on Abbey Road
Natural History Museum
Pointless taping
Singing in the Rain
Train to Dover
Ferry to Calais
Boulogne-ser-mer including:
Beach
Castle
Ian's old missionary apartment
Church (and meeting people he used to know!)
Train to Paris
The Louvre
L'arch de triomphe
Eiffel Tower
Paris Opera House
Barber of Seville
Bus Tour
Rental Car to Normandy
Mont St Michel
Plane to Edinburgh
Edinburgh Castle
Taste of Scotland Dinner Show
Train back to Sheffield

If you tried to say that list in one breath, I think you'd probably pass out. We almost passed out doing it all too! Our itinerary was so varied, but I think on our trip there was something for everyone. Ian's highlight was the museums, mine was the taping of Pointless and speaking french, Ian's Mom's was Singing in the Rain (she even got wet!) and the Opera (not to mention all the quality time with her Grandkids), Ian's Dad's highlight was Mont St Michel and being able to do his exercise around such exciting new landmarks. The kids favorite thing was, well probably coming home if I'm being honest. They had little highlights here and there, but nothing compared to how well they slept in their own bed!

Pictures? Of course we have pictures. More than 1000 pictures! The hard thing is finding the 100 that are allowed on a slideshow. Well, here are the 100 greatest picture hits from our trip! Enjoy!

Now, there are a couple video highlights--if you have the stamina for it after all those pictures!

We taught Holly how to bisous!

After our brisk walk (or run) up the 668+ steps to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. I may not sound winded, but my legs were on fire!

Ian trying his first Haggas!

Our trip was fantastic. Everything we could of hoped for with 2 small children and a limited budget! Hopefully someday we'll get back to France to do everything we missed the first time. In fact, I wouldn't mind living there for a while even! Who knows?!