We left one of the most exciting things till the end of our trip--spending a few days with friends in Alconbury, our old stomping grounds.
It was a drive down the memory lane as we turned off A-14 (completely renovated) towards Huntingdon...
We were staying with our fantastic friends, the Grovers who now live in Wyton. On the first evening there, we all headed to RAF Alconbury base for the 4th of July Celebration.
Robert took the opportunity to get a picture with the dental clinic where he used to work. Still looking great!
Alex, Carson, Katya and Mark--ready for FREE entertainment! The base puts on the best Independence Day celebrations!
It was actually chilly in the evening, especially for our North Carolinians warm blood now.
Mark and Carson went on some crazy rides and did not get sick. And Mark's Dunlop sweatshirt is traveling the world with him-hahaha.
The school is still here--this is where Katya went to school for 5th, 6th and 7th grade. She ran into a couple of people she went to school with who are STILL living here in Alconbury as their parents are still stationed there.
The fireworks show was second to London New Year's Fireworks-hahaha. They were fantastic!
The following morning we had another cool thing planned--I had arranged for Mark to hit with one of the coaches at Huntingdon Tennis Centre, the place where it ALL began nine years prior. This is where I took my first lessons and this is where Mark decided to try tennis...and the rest is history.
This is Mark and his first coach Dave. He is the one who, after a few weeks of Mark taking group lessons saw that Mark is "getting it" faster than other kids and is loving it. He gave him an opportunity to play in a smaller group of four boys who were a little more advanced. Mark was six and seven years old at the time but already showing his determination, athleticism and love for the game! This extra training prepared him to jump right into the Cary Tennis Park group sessions once we moved to the US.
And this is my coach Julian and I. He was my group coach for three years. I was never so great, especially not with my serves, but I my forehand was pretty awesome and my flat backhand was pretty powerful when it wasn't out-hahaha. I also love playing at the net and am pretty fearless with poaching. Apparently, my hand eye coordination were not so bad at all!
Later in the day, Mallory organized a fun get together for all our friends who remembered us!!! It was SO wonderful to see so many of our British friends show up!
The kids had grown up so much and it was hard to recognize a few of them!
The Conways, Malachowskis, Lillies, Cryers, and a few more.
So grateful for Mallory for setting it all up!
And on Sunday we all went to church and saw many of the familiar faces! The kids remembered the building and all the memories from there--like Alex getting baptized, Nativity performances and choir rehearsals.
We also got a picture with the sister missionaries who were excited to hear that Katya was heading to Romania in a couple of months.
Katya and her babysitter, Jordan Collings!
Robert and Ben Conway.
Andy Collings and Robert.
Tami and Mallory and I.
And Emma and I.
After Sacrament, we drove over to Mrs. Eldred's house! Mrs. Eldred was our kids piano teacher for all four years we were in England. She came to our house weekly, unless she was in Spain on vacation, which she was quite a bit-hahaha. We love her and are so grateful for everything she has given them! Thanks to her Katya can play, Alex can play whatever he wants, and Mark can play if he is forced to-hahaha.
We snapped this picture on the drive back to the Grovers. THIS is why English scenery is simply outstanding... I am looking at this picture and missing this place so much! It was kind of magical to live there...
Beautiful!
After dinner, we all decided to go for walk around the farm--that's where the Grovers live, right next to the farm.
The farm is owned by the church, and they own the house that the Grovers live in.
Looong summer days in early July. I am pretty sure this is after 9 pm.
The following morning, Robert and Alex and Mark went to the base. Alex and Robert stopped by the commissary--kind of crazy to think about always shopping here (and Tesco).
And Kurt and Mark played a bit of tennis as the base has tennis courts.
For lunch, we headed to Ramsey! We lived in Bury, near Ramsey, when we first moved to the UK. We absolutely loved this one place in Ramsey called The Sandwich Bar. So we decided to meet my good friend, Liz, at this cafe.
We had to get The Hector sandwich which is still my favorite and the biggest sandwich of all time with chicken, mushrooms and cheese and a special sauce.
And here is Mark and Liz. She remembers Mark when he was just a tiny 3 year old, going to Bury preschool. Sadly, her kids were in school and couldn't meet us. Hannah, her daughter, was Mark's friend and he sort of remembers her mostly through my blog posts.
The kids and Robert stayed and ate the Sandwich Bar while Liz and I went to chat by the Abbey.
While we were getting updates on each other lives, the kid had fun running around and doing somersaults on the green.
And making silly faces too...
Who knows... I am just happy to see them spending time with each other.
And here is a real show...
Alex was showing off his jumping skills!
That's Liz and I, after years of friendship. Liz has been through a lot and is continuing to make the best of what life is throwing at her.
Oh yes, we had to drive by our original British house! The house with a huge one acre yard that our kids remember well!
Finally, after Bury, we drove to Brampton to our favorite street ever!!! Our Rectory Close.
This our cul de sac, with the basketball hoop still there.
And here it is! Rectory Close 8. What a humble looking home compared to how people live in our area! But to us it was simply majestic when we moved there! We had PLENTY of room, and we didn't expect anything more. Because we came from a 1300 sq ft home in Japan, this was perfect and we felt absolutely blessed to have this 1500 sq ft house, not a townhome AND with a garage for storage. It's so helpful to sometimes think back with gratitude for our blessings and remind ourselves how happy we can be with less. This house brought us all a ton of memories, Mark's first memories and kids' English memories.
We didn't look creepy at all taking pictures and staring at the house. We thought any minute security forces car would stop by to check in with us.
Best memories of playing here for hours with all the neighboring kids!!!
And then we drove over to Brampton Primary School!!! We arranged to see a few of Alex's teachers and our principal. They all were SO excited to see our boys who went to school here for three years.
This is where Mark went to his first school discos and learned that "sofa" is a couch and not "sulfur".
Some things are exactly the way they were six years prior!!!
This is Mr. Allen and the boys. Mr. Allen is the headteacher of the school. When we first moved to England and Katya and Alex were at Bury Primary School, he was their headteacher as well. It's a bit crazy that a year after we moved to Brampton and Alex transferred here, Mr. Allen also got a new position here! He was always so supportive of our traveling and helping us work out all the excused and unexcused absences for the boys.
Our visit was winding down as we were finishing our last minute shopping of mostly treats. So here is a random picture of gummy candies that the kids love. We bought a bunch of Matesers, Curly Wurlies and Cadbury chocolate.
We are so grateful for these life long friends! And we appreciated their hospitality for a few nights! Always the best time with the Grovers!
And that, my friends, is the end! Our epic family trip to the UK is done! We are super grateful for the opportunity that we were able to make it happen. The only regret was a lot of driving, but that was the best we could do with the amount of places we wanted to see.
