Our Friends: The Swales Family!

Hello Everyone! I couldn't resist sharing some fun photos of our friends Jon & Sarah Swales and their two adorable children Rebecca & Benjamin! They adopted us the moment we arrived here...and have blessed us so much! We enjoy "Swales Cinema" on Saturday evenings where we've watched Amazing Grace and The Mission on their projector screen and often have great discussions and share lots of laughs! Here are a couple of photos of their family!

Jon & Sarah in their home!

Here's little Rebecca in her princess outfit! Whenever she sees me at the College, she often greets me with a big ol' hug!!

Here's little Benjamin after eating dinner!! Ohh my! He's already showing talent in the art of painting! Ha.Ha.

AJ at his finest!

A View of Bristol

AJ and I spent a couple of hours exploring downtown Bristol last weekend. What we found was quite a treasure!...a tower built in 1497 in honor of explorer John Cabot. Wow, what a view!

Here's AJ and I at the very top...boy it was kind of scary up there!

Here's the plaque outside the tower.

A view from the first observation deck.

A lovely view from the top deck.

Denmark is THAT way! Neat!

That way to the United States!!

A Passion for Sports!

I'm so excited!! Last night I joined a running club...a true, crazy bunch of running enthusiasts who love running just as much (or more!) than I do! They meet Monday and Wednesday nights either for long runs or speed work-outs and there are competitions almost weekly, between half marathons, 5k's and 10k's, and cross country races. I think AJ would like to join in, too...as long as it doesn't interfere with his fly-fishing meetings! We noticed that there is a 1/2 marathon in Cardiff (Wales) next month, which is only 45 minutes away by train. We'll have to look into it!

Also, AJ has joined the Trinity College football (a.k.a. soccer) and rugby enthusiasts on Wednesday afternoons. A group of guys get together to play nearby the college, which is super fun to watch. I asked folks if AJ was qualified to play by simply watching the Rugby World Cup these past 2 weeks. AJ must have learned something along the way...he scored a "try" (our version of a touchdown)!

Have blessed day everyone!

P.S. It's my 30th Birthday today!! Wahoo!

Our First Trip to ASDA (Wal-Mart)!!

It was an exciting Tuesday night adventure!! Our friend Becky invited us along to ASDA...little did she know that her would-be 15 minute errand turned into an hour of fun!

Welcome to ASDA! Even Wal-Mart has made it's impression in the UK!

AJ's new discovery...Foamy Fruits! Believe me, these nasty little things leave you feeling icky for hours! It's perfect for AJ's sugar-demanding appetite!

Is this a regularly sized can of beer? Oh my!

Fisherman's Pie flavored food for babies? Only in England...

Prawn Cocktail, Chicken Dinner, and Steak & Onions are just a few flavors of chips (or "crisps" as they say here) you may find! Interesting...

AJ discovered the Halloween aisle!!

Egg Balancing on the Autumnal Egguinox!

It's that time of the year again! Egg Balancing! Wahoo! Twice each year you're able to balance eggs...a strange phenomenon, indeed! This go-round, AJ and I tried convincing our new UK friends that it's actually possible to do such a thing! Becky claimed that it was really just a "dodgy American theory"...until she actually did it herself (a story paralleling "Doubting Thomas", I think!)! I took a dozen photos of the event...many took it upon themselves to try...but I'll just post a couple for your viewing enjoyment!

Here's John, giving it a try!

Here's Becky, Phillipa, and Tom...way to go Becky!

Until next spring!

I Did It!

I can't believe it, but it's true. I, Andrea, made myself a cup of tea this morning...and I actually liked it. I never thought it possible... Ha.Ha.

We're Contact-able!!

Hello Friends and Family!

How are you all?! We hope you're having a blessed day!! AJ and I are pleased to announce that we're now contact-able! We finally took the plunge and got our first ever cell phone (called "mobiles" here), so now we're hip and available. Okay, so maybe we're not so hip. Ha.Ha. Also, we have made some major changes in our plans here and have decided to relocate to the beautiful city of Bristol, where AJ's college is. We're currently reliving our undergraduate years by living in student housing...and it's been an absolute BLAST! We love sitting in the common room chatting, laughing at each others' accents, and squabbling over who has the cooler "football". I don't think we have too many sympathizers for American football. Ahhh well, they're missing out!! Ha.Ha. GO PACKERS!!

Our Cell Number:
011-44-7942-448971
(011 is the international code, 44 is UK's country code)

Our Address (as of October 1st):
30 Blenheim Road
Westbury Park
Bristol BS6 7JP
UK

We intend to update the blog more regularly...unfortunately the internet was down again for a while!

Pictures of England

The River Avon, overlooked from the Clifton Downs. In the distance the Avon flows into the sea.


A nice little pub, aptly named, here in Bristol.


Trinity College itself, in all its sunless beauty.


Me at the college on the first day. Notice the little Hobbit knob, set lowly on the door.

UK Arrival

Despite rumors otherwise, we are alive and well and have arrived in the UK. Things went along without a hitch and, in fact, went so quickly that we ended up spending lots of time at O'Hare watching other BA planes dock and leave with funny-talking peoples.

Once in country, we spent the first day finding Trinity College and dropping off some things. On our way back to the hotel, we had ourselves a truly English experience. We walked through an enormous park called Clifton Downs, which borders the River Avon in Avon Gorge, and continued down along olden streets laden with bright little pubs. English indeed.

Since then we've added the experiences of watching a soccer match (including beer and wine) and taking a pub trip, both of which were organized through Trinity College! Apparently we've got one of the newer schools around, with its contruction being completed right around 1699. This reminds me of a joke: The primary difference between an American and an Englishman is that the American thinks 100 years is a long time and the Englishman thinks 100 miles is a long way!

Anywho, we do need to 'pop' out, as the English say. We'll include some pictures when wireless is again up and running.

Cheers,