Thanks for your visit, Annie

Annie is here visiting us for 3 weeks and we are making the most of it. What a great excuse for us to be tourists instead of just England residents. Annie and Lexi have been friends since Kindergarten and we are so lucky that she was able to fly out here and spend time with us and share our experiences as Americans living in England.

Our 3rd anniversary of moving to England was last week. When we first moved here, it seemed like we  were eager to go out and take it all in. We attended plays in the West End, did a day trip to Cambridge, a weekend in Edinburgh for the Military Tatoo. We had Ryan here with us for just a short time before he headed off to college in the States so we wanted to enjoy our time together and the newness of being here.

Then Ryan left, school started, and we got in the rhythm of day to day existence. I finally learned my way around without using the GPS (or Sat Nav) all the time. Chris got busy with work. I got comfortable finding what we needed at the local grocery store for meals. Lexi met friends at school and got absorbed into studies, sports, and socializing. In short, we "settled in". Sure, we've taken amazing trips when Lexi has a break from school or is off on a sports tournament. But it's been fun just being tourists again while staying at home.

Annie and Lexi on one of the many train trips into London

We want to let Annie experience as much as she can while here and that gives us the excuse to break away from our routines and recall that feeling of being in a foreign country and wanting to take advantage of living abroad. Here are some of the activities we've shared with Annie that we might not otherwise have made ourselves get out and do:

• Afternoon Tea in London
• Tour Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
• Walk to the local pub and eat a meal outside watching the swans on the Thames River
• Wander through Harrod's (while our eyes bulge at the prices)
• Relax on the grassy bank of the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park on a rare sunny day and people-watch
• Take in the musical "Chicago" then eat shredded duck pancakes in China Town
• Tour the newly opened Warner Brothers "Making of Harry Potter" studios
• Take the Eurostar train to Paris for the weekend

Paris

Afternoon Tea at the Kensington Hotel

One day we had to choose between watching the Olympic Torch pass through a town nearby or watching the celebs arrive at the "Magic Mike" premier in London. Moms did the Olympic thing, girls chose to get up-close with Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey. All were pleased.

It was perfect that Annie went with us on the tour of the Harry Potter movie studios as Lexi and Annie had shared the joy of reading the books together so many years ago.

Getting ready to board train at our local station

So thanks, Annie, for reminding us to not take our temporary life here for granted.