Back from the UK.

Sorry, loyal readers, that I haven't posted in a while (and Jed's no good for posting anymore, so don't count on him...LOL). Anyway, we've been back from England and Portugal for nearly a week. We had a great time; I can't even explain how much I loved it! Jed's family was awesome. They all fell immediately in love with Cole (and who wouldn't?), and made me feel very much at home. We spent a few nights in Manchester with his sister, Sabina, and met Sabrina and her boys. Went to the pub several times, and everyone was great. Weird, though, to be the one with an "accent." For some reason, they kept making me say, "Ten til Ten." They way they say it sounds more like, "ten el ten." Yeah, and I even conformed to the English way of drinking half pints, which really makes very little sense to me. I'm like, "Uh, but I'm thirsty, so why don't I just get a WHOLE pint?" But apparently, that's very unladylike, so I succumbed to peer pressure. By the by, everyone neglected to tell me that Strongbow, which is the hard cider I LIVED on over there, is what all the homeless alcohlics drink. Thanks, guys. :)

We also went to Wales to meet Josie (another sister, yeah, a lot to keep up with), and her boyfriend, Ashley. They, too, were lovely, as was the scenery. You guys wouldn't believe it. It was like being immersed in a Tolkein book, seriously. You can understand where Grimm's fairy tales, and stories about Middle Earth came from after seeing this place. Unbelievable.

In Blackpool, we met Pauline, a close friend of Jed's, and her daughter, Sonara (and HER daugher, Mia. Impressed that I remember everyone? Yeah, it was a LOT!). Oh, and Pauline's other children, Lewis and Pearl. They, of course, were also great. We went to the pier (think of an English version of Myrtle Beach), and took a carriage ride with Cole. He ADORED it.

He slept the entire way to and from Manchester. Yeah, some old mean lady had to eat her words. We get on and are settling into our LOVELY business class seats, and this old witch behind us (Cole’s a little fussy at this point, but gimme a break; we were delayed two hours and he was tired and hungry) says to Jed, “He’s [Cole] trying to tell you that he’s too young to travel?” Uh, excuse me? No, what I think he said is that you’re a hateful, old, wretched person that’s too ancient to fly. Ack. But, he completely proved her wrong. So there, Nurse Wretched.

I promise to post pictures today, if I can get them downloaded, and I’ll write more. Am contemplating an entry entitled, “Great differences between England and Greenville.” We shall see.

But again, sorry for the delay…We also want to send a HUGE thank you to all that hosted us and were so very kind on our trip. They are, in no particular order: Sabina, Sabrina (and “Bones” and Damian), Jarrod, Lisa, Josie, Ashley, Pauline, Sonara (and Mia), Lewis, Pearl, Dave, John, Janet, Tiffany, Luke, Bernie, the whole crew at St. Mike’s, those “Welsh Bastards,” karaoke nuts at the Saloon. We appreciate your hospitality SO much, and miss you already!