So, the day of our trip, we woke up pretty early. 3 in the morning. We have to catch a bus at 5:15 that will take us to Heathrow airport. At 4, Gary called for a taxi. Unfortunately, the taxi driver said that he's booked up and he can swing by our room after 5. So, we walked towards the reception area and since it's been drizzling all evening the road was pretty wet. It took us about 15 minutes since we have a total of 6 luggages with us not including our hand-carried baggage. We checked out and walked again to the bus stop. We got there with 10 minutes to spare. Whew!

Unfortunately, the bus stops have been changed. So, we have to walk back to the reception area. One good thing, the times were changed, too. We have 25 minutes to get back to where we were in the first place.

5:30 rolled around and the bus showed up. We boarded the bus for a 2-hour ride to the airport. It was pretty uneventful until we got to M25. There was an accident and traffic was backed up. The 45-minute drive took about almost 2 hours. This one girl that was with us actually missed her flight. We were still OK, we still have an hour to check in, pass security, and get to the gate. When we got to the gate, they were about to close it.

We were on our way to Chicago. I just have one thing to say, do not, in any circumstance take American Air. O'Hare was set up in such a way that we have to collect our bags, go thru customs, re-check our bag, take the tram to domestic terminal, go thru security. They lost one of our luggage so by the time we got to customs, there was a long line. There was another long line waiting for us at security and finally, we got to our gate. And once again, they were about to close the gate on us.

Our airplane was really small, it was scary but it was only about an hour and a half flight so that was OK. The landing freaked me out a little bit though. We went to baggage claim and surprise-surprise, they lost our baggages. All five of them.

Finally, we were in Nebraska. It was a shock. We got here and it was 91 degrees outside.

Yipee! I'm online.

So much has happened since I last posted. We're finally here in Nebraska and we are pleasantly surprised! It's actually really nice here. Not what I expected but before I get into that I want to write about our last days in England.

First, our last week in our house, the weather was great! It was nice and warm. After school, Megan would do her homework and then she'd head out to play with the neighbors. She had fun. Our last Friday, Cayden's dad blew up their wading pool, Keely let Megan borrow one of her swimsuits so she can join in the fun. Then, the kids started a water fight. Pretty soon Gary and Cayden's dad were doing a full water battle involving the biggest pot they could find the kitchen.

Saturday, we had planned a going-away party for Megan. We rented a bouncy castle and that was a whole bunch of fun. Sunday, Mother's Day, we just chilled. Monday, we spent the whole day preparing for our final inspection. Then, it was time to check in to billeting (the base hotel). Man, that place was really nice. It's like a one-bedroom apartment and it was huge! Our neighbor said that they stayed in billeting for almost 3 months and they wouldn't mind staying there for 3 years and when I was the new billeting, I understood. We stayed there for 4 days. Friday, we got on the bus that will take us to the airport.

On our way, I tried to keep my eyes open even though it was 5 in the morning. I wanted that last look. At one point, I looked at Megan and saw how much she had grown from when we got here.

UK was definitely a good experience for us and we are very happy that we got a chance to live there.

Happy Mother's Day!

Meg's class had a spring performance a couple of days ago and here is one of the songs that they did. They're so cute! Enjoy.

Our stuff got packed and picked up yesterday.

We're still at the house, we loaned furnitures, the essentials. The house is so empty right now. It echoes. When you sneeze, it sneezes back at you. We have a week left at the house, after which we'll be staying at the hotel for 4 more days and then... we fly.

Right now, our form of entertainment is the laptop, music & playing cards. I've thought Megan and Gary games that we used to play back when I was a kid, like Unggoy-unggoy, bridge & I forgot the name of the other game. I've also taught G tong-its & pusoy dos.

I'm not sure exactly how I feel. I'm excited to go back to the states but I'm dreading living in Nebraska.

two more weeks!

Surprisingly, we're not stressed out. I even have a time to play a new game, Harvest Moon, A wonderful time. It's like living 2 lives.

What have we been up to? Posted new photos in flickr from Easter Egg Hunt (which wasn't much of an egg hunt. The youth center hosted the event and they had 4,000 eggs thrown around the playground. Megan had fun with the bouncy castle and the slide, though. When she got back from the egg hunt, her and the neighbor's kids, did their own egg hunt.)

Megan had her field trip at the Butterfly Park. They had some other animals, they had snakes and a tarantula. Megan was scared and me, too. I hate snakes!

Megan, American Idol Season 30!

I'm so restless.

It's the anxiety that comes with moving. I've been slowly going thru our stuff (what needs to be thrown away or donated) & cleaning the house. We had our pre-inspection a couple of days ago and fortunately for us, the inspector was happy with the condition of the house. I have heard so many nightmarish story about pre- & final inspection that I expected this guy to give us such a hard time, instead, he just said we can pretty much move out now and we'd pass the final inspection.

I need some sort of a project to keep me occupied. I keep checking our calendar making sure that I am not forgetting anything. I'm trying to make this move as stress-free as possible. I can't read right now. I keep re-reading a paragraph. My mind is somewhere else.

I just want this over and done with.

Finally!

I finished Monte Cristo! Grabe Mone, super-kapal. The last time I read a book that thick was probably back in high school pa. Now, I understand why you want the book's ending. And I also rented Gankotsuou, Episode 1. We'll watch it tonight.

So, aside from Monte Cristo got the 2nd quilt done. It's now in Megan's bedroom and I finally hung the canopy/net. Now, Megan has that princess bedroom that she has always wanted. Although, we just have a month left here. Exactly a month.

I've been busy, getting rid of stuff that we don't use na or stuff that we just hang on to just because. We seem to have a lot. Nah! We're still not looking forward to moving to Nebraska but we are welcoming the change. Megan borrowed a book about Nebraska and we were reading it last night. It stated that during spring, there are tornadoes and thunderstorms!

She started crying, she doesn't want to move to Nebraska anymore. She's such a scaredy cat. She doesn't want to learn how to ride her bike without training wheels cause she's afraid to fall and same with roller skating. Luckily, we've managed to ease her fears about tornadoes. She'll try and borrow a book about tornadoes, so we'll know what makes a tornado and what to do when there's one.

She's so -- I don't know the word I'm looking for -- overprotective? She insists that I watch the pot when I'm cooking cause "You're not supposed to leave your cooking, Mama.", things like that.

We were watching this movie, forgot the title, but at one point, someone caught fire and Megan was yelling at the TV, "Stop, drop and roll! Stop, drop and roll!" I just have to laugh. She's so weird.

Gary & Megan have a new favorite.

Beef Caldereta. I tried chicken but they prefer the beef. It's really very simple, as long as you have the "Mama Sita caldereta mix". I know, cheater! I don't know how to make it from scratch but it's really good. I used tri-tip roast beef, it doesn't take long for the meat to get tender, then add cubed potatoes. When meat is tender enough, add cubed carrots. Gary doesn't like his carrots all mushed so after a few minutes I add the green peas, red bell pepper & the caldereta mix. Bring to a simmer. After a few more minutes, the sauce will thicken. Oh, it's so good!

*sigh*

We have a flydate: May 19. May 8 & 9 will be packing of our stuff. May 15 or 16 will be our last day in the house. From that date until we find a new house, we'll be living in hotels.

quilt v.2
Originally uploaded by m3nch13.

Awww!

I don't know how to properly use a thimble. I know you're supposed to put it on your finger or thumb but it's too bulky (I think that's the word I'm looking for). It makes my finger movement awkward so I don't use it. And I'm poking myself with needles & pins everywhere. I'm typing with 8 fingers. I pricked my left & right middle fingers. Last week, it was my right thumb.

quilt v.1
Originally uploaded by m3nch13.

Almost done with the second quilt. I have enough left-over fabric to make 3 throw pillows. Yes, I'm going quilt-crazy. I promised myself that after these are done, that's it for quilting. I enjoy doing it. I just don't want my house full of quilts. Maybe I can make a baby quilt for my niece or nephew. I wonder when that will be. =)