Off to Market

Yesterday I went to a farm. Super fun! It was great to spend more time with my future nieces and nefews. They are so so cute! They already call me 'Auntie Megan'. Mind you, they say it in an accent. It is so adorable I could die.

I was also given the opportunity to eat off a cheese tray. I liked the brie and some other not smelly cheese. I disliked anything with a super strong smell like blue cheese and camembert.

Today we went to Birmingham again. I love taking the train. It's really quick and doesn't make me sick because it goes in a straight line unlike many modes of transportation here. We went to look for fabric for the tables at our reception. There is a market that had fabric for cheap. We were instructed to find fabric in our colo(u)rs for one £ a meter. It was pretty tricky. We only found one place selling fabric we liked for that price and it didn't have enough so we only bought some. We are going to try and find more the next time the market is there.

So far I have really enjoyed England. It is so beautiful and green. I have seen so much that I thought looks like old England would. It is such a neat area that you know is full of interesting history. It is so fun to see everything. I am really excited we get to start off our marriage here... well, we will really only be here for two nights til we head to the rest of Europe. Hooray!

Food and shopping

The topic of food was a request from my mother so here goes...
I have been able to enjoy a good amount of different food whilst here. Friday night we ate fish and chips! So yummy! The chips were bought from a place called 'The Sea Spray'. They came all wrapped up in brown paper and had to be served with a spatula because they were all stuck together. (P.S.- There can be some confusion here so... (English) chips = (American) fries-kind of but not really, and (American) chips = (English) crisps, just so you know) I think fish and chips is my favorite meal I have had so far.

Nath and I took a train to Birmingham Friday night. It was my first train ride. Like! We walked around town and said "cheers" to a nice native. We then sat in front of this big screen they had set up in the middle of the city to watch the olympics opening ceremony. Everyone was cheering like mad at the start and I was even forced to stand during the singing of 'God Save the Queen.' It was really fun overall.

Saturday we woke up about 11:30, because we stayed up so late Friday. After breakfast we left for Solihull town center and walked about. We ate at Greggs and had sausage rolls and a chicken bake. I liked the chicken bake better, it tasted like chicken roll up. Sausage rolls are a sausage in a pasty or pastry.

I found my wedding shoes at the mall! For £8. That's like $12! They are cute and flat and purple. I also found a belt at the same store (H&M) for £3. Bargain! We went and walked around a park that was so beautiful. I love the landscape here. It is so green and gorgeous. very unlike anywhere I have lived. We ate curry that night. It's a big thing over here, I guess. I ate the more tame sauce they made for the children. I am just not a huge fan of curry. Too bad, I know.

And so it begins

Today is our first full day in England. I am writing this at 1:27pm England time and 6:27am America time. That's right. SEVEN hours time difference. That's not all that is different. Ever since I got off the plane I have been counting all the things that are different. I got to 14 by the airport parking lot and gave up because it became too overwhelming.

I met a copious amount of future family yesterday. They were all so kind, they didn't even tease me about being American very much. My favorite part was listening to the little girls accents. They sound so precious.

We (Nathan, his sister-Rachel, her boys-Logan and Jacob, Ashley-the baby, and I) left the SLC airport at about 5pm a.t. (America time) we flew until about 3am a.t. all the way to Paris. Of which we slept none of the way. I loved looking out the window as we flew into Paris. There were lots of rivers and bridges. There were little towns randomly with lots of curvy roads, so different from the perfect grid system of Salt Lake. The best part: I could see the Eiffle Tower from the window!!!! It was so amazing to see it all in real life. It was surreal. I can't wait to go back to France for the honeymoon and see it all up close!

We left Paris at about 5:00am a.t. for Birmingham and landed about 7:00am a.t. so it was about 2pm e.t. My goodness, what a long day and we slept for none of it! After we arrived we were kept awake against our will until a decent time for sleeping here in England to get rid of the jet lag as soon as possible. We stayed up until about 8pm here. Success! I was out cold all night but the others were not so lucky. Nathan had a very restless sleep, where he dreamed about making things all night. Rachel's boys were up from 12am-3am wondering why Auntie Marie was depriving them of breakfast until they fell asleep again, and Ashely was up all night meaning so was Rachel.

This morning Nath woke up not feeling so well. Finally I had someone on my side telling him to go to the doctor... his MUM! She made him an appointment for the low, low price of nothing! Something about a National Health System... Anyway, he should be fine. We think he is suffering from malnutrition and lack of sleep.

We went for a walk around his sisters neighborhood. The houses are all brick and fabulous. They look just like I thought classic England would. It is still pretty overwhelming because everywhere I look there is something very English looking back at me. The houses, roads, cars, people, and even the wall sockets. I look at these people and think, they should talk like me... but they don't.

Though the differences are many, the similarities out weigh. In the end, everyone is just living life and doing the best they can. I find it best to keep an eternal perspective.We are all connected through our Heavenly Father. There are families who love, talk, and EAT. (Fish and chips tonight!) Life is good, fun, and full of twist, turns, and surprises that we all just have to roll with. Same as anywhere on this place we call Earth.