This summer is going to be all about trying new things for our family, so I've decided to start with blogging for the first time.  It seems like an easy way to keep everyone updated on our time in England, and I'm hoping it will be a nice way for us to remember our trip when we're home.  I've been inspired by reading my friend Alison's blog, "The Year of Magical Traveling," about her year in Peru.  I'll do my best not to be too "Dear Diary"-ish.  And I won't be offended if you skim through just to look at the pictures.

In trying to come up with a cute, England-inspired name, I settled on Howes End, after E.M. Forster's "Howards End." For those of you who haven't read it, Wikipedia summarizes it as follows: "Howards End is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, which tells a story of social and familial relations in turn-of-the-century England. The main subject matter comprises the difficulties and benefits of relationships between people of divergent outlook, gender, or class; a further concern of the book is the need to accept and link multiple outlooks on the world within a single self." Maybe this will be my version of social and family relations in slightly-post-turn-of-the-21st-century England.  Or maybe it will just be a place to show off cute pictures of my kids.  

After several months of preparing ourselves, our stuff, and the kids, we are finally here in Sunninghill, Berkshire.  Here's a brief recap of our journey.

12:30 PM EDT: Jessie drives us and our mountains of stuff to the airport.  The stroller is strapped to the roof, because we can't manage to cram it into the Subaru station wagon.

2:30 PM EDT: First flight leaves for Washington Dulles.  Here's a picture of our excited selves on the plane.

IND to IAD

4:30 PM EDT: Our business class tickets (thanks, Eli Lilly!) get us access to the United Club at Dulles.
The kids watch movies while Erik and I enjoy a cocktail.

How did we travel before iPads?

6:30 PM EDT: We board the plane for London after a 30-minute delay.  Having never flown business class internationally, the kids and I are amazed and thrilled by the amount of space we have. 

To make a long story short, the kids did great with the seven-hour flight, slept a little, barely fussed at all, and were complimented on their good behavior by other passengers.  Our only minor travel problem was having way too much stuff to fit into the car that was supposed to transport us from the airport to our flat (5 suitcases, 6 carry-ons, a car seat, a booster seat, and a double stroller), but the driver quickly called for another driver with a "paper carrier" (an SUV, we learned), and we were able to cram it all in and get to our place.  When we pulled up in front of our new home, Soren asked, "When are we going to be in England?"  He didn't believe us when we told him we were here.

After a quick look around the new apartment, we took a much-needed three-hour nap and then did a little exploring.  Here are some pictures of our new, temporary home, and our car, a Vauxhall Insignia.

Our building has 8 or 9 units. 

Common grounds make a nice race track/soccer field

Our flat is located between several small towns: Sunninghill, Sunningdale, Ascot, and Virginia Water.  We took a walk to the High Street in Sunninghill on our first afternoon in the UK, and we were pleased to find some cute shops and restaurants, though most are closed on Sundays.

Sunninghill

We ended the day with dinner at a pub called the Windmill.  We had some tasty fish and chips (mine were served with "mushy minted peas") and learned that you don't order beer, you ask for lager or ale or bitters or whatever variety of malted beverage you actually desire.  The kids have been a little surprised by how different the accents and some of the words are here, but this morning Malcolm said, "It's fun being in England."  Here's one last photo of our happy kids.