Welcome to Kenilworth!

After being apart for 5 weeks, our family is finally back together in England. The girls and I flew on the 10th, and amazingly, they were really good and slept most of the time. I almost lost Sophie's last pacifier, but miraculously, found it before boarding on the Chicago plane to London Heathrow. Levi picked us (and our 6 suitcases + double stroller) up in a rental car and we immediately drove to our new home, signed the contract and...went shopping for food and home essentials. We were absolutely exhausted, especially me, since I hadn't slept on the plane for fear that the girls would roll off their seats in their sleep, or worse, wonder off during mine. As soon as beds were made, we crashed and slept in until noon the next day.

The minute we drove into Kenilworth, I fell in love with it! It is a small historic village (not too small, it has a few grocery store, a couple post offices, and quite a few yummy restaurants) in the middle of Shakespeare country (20 min from Stratford-Upon-Avon, where the playwright was born) and the landscape looks like scenes taking out of Jane Austen movies...breathtaking.

Thankfully, we already knew a family who lived in town and gave us a few tips on settling down and getting started. They have been so helpful and kind, offering us rides to Ikea and the new Cosco. That definitely helped us break the ice and get to know other people in the area. It turns out that the husband was recently called as the President of our Branch of 60 members, so we also felt quite welcomed at church.

I am amazed at how quickly I felt at home here. I go running once in awhile and that helps me familiarize myself with the streets and admire the scenery. Here are a few shots of our little town:

Levi starts Med School in 2 weeks! It seems unreal that we are finally reaching our goals and moving forward. I am officially a Master of French Studies ;) but I am still waiting for my diploma to arrive in the mail, along with the bound copy of my thesis. Until then, I am still expecting to receive an email from BYU telling me that I failed to turn in some paperwork and therefore will have to wait until December to graduate! Hopefully, there won't be any cruel setbacks...

So, I know it is almost September, but nothing excuses the low temperatures and Fall-like weather we've been having over here...that's the only drawback so far...I miss the beautiful cloudless skies of Utah and the (Heaven forbid) oven-like heat of Provo.

Well, cheers for keeping up with us. See you lads (and lasses)!