I'm Home!

Hi Everyone, I'm home. I got home on Monday 15th of December. The flight home seemed to take forever. It was 10.5 hours. It was supposed to be longer but the pilot changed the course so we could have a tailwind and land about 45 minutes early. I watched three movies and read my book on the way. I really wanted to sleep to help my body adjust to the time change, but I was just to excited to get my eyes shut. 

Just so everyone knows, I am NOT going back to London as planned. I really hated the University I was at in London. And more importantly I could not be away from Cody anymore. Being away from him for 85 days was the hardest thing I have ever done. The plan now is to graduate in June and start working (while taking a class a term from my masters degree).

On Wednesday Cody and I headed up to Mt. Hood for some alone time before the holidays. (we have 2 roommates). We were really worried that there would not be enough snow for good skiing, but the snow fell and we had a great time. We stayed in a cabin with a kitchen and fireplace. On Friday (the 19th) we headed back to Portland. We went through Hood River to get back home and the gorge was a mess. We had the chains on and didn't have a problem in the car, it just took forever to get home. 

When we got home on Friday we went to pick up my engagement/wedding ring. We had picked it out on Tuesday and they had to set the center stone. We went to the pickup counter and got the ring and Cody put it on my finger and asked me " will you marry me?". I will remember it forever. After graduation we will set a date for a wedding. 

Now (December 24) we are in The Dalles. We have sent some time with Thody grandparents and up at Dads house. We went sledding with Ashley in the Orchard. It was SOO fun. We got covered in snow each time down the hill. Some of the crashes were really comical. Tomorrow we are going to spend time with Cody's mom and then Cody's dad on Friday.

Catching Up....

Hi everyone,

I didn't realize that it has been three weeks since I blogged last. This post is going to be pretty long, but it will catch you up on what I have been up to. I have also updated Picasa with recent photos.

3 November Week

This week I had two papers due. So most of the week was spent trying my best to focus and get them done.

Saturday and Sunday (8 and 9 November)

This weekend I went to Wales with the University of Westminster Study Abroad Social Program. We started at school and took buses all over wales. On Saturday we had 3 stops.

The first was Roman barricades ruins. These were uncovered in the 80's but were from the time when the Romans were taking over the UK. There were foundations of the living quarters and a large amphitheatre. The living quarters had the first sewer systems that were seen in the UK. The would divert river water upstream and had channels that went through the barracks. The channels are where you did your business and the flow of the river water would take the nasty downstream in the channel where it would flow back into the river. It was really neat. There is a picture of me sitting on a stone bridge. There used to be a pathway here and a stone like the one I am sitting on would be where you would cross the sewage channel. There was also channels for freshwater. There was also a museum of the thing that have been dug up at the site. Bowls, armor, weapons and the like.

The next stop was Caerphilly Castle. It was in ruin as well but still really neat. From our tour guide we learned about the history of the castle and had time to explore the passageways and rooms that still remained.

The last stop of the day was an outdoor museum of Welsh life. The museum was created to preserve the history of the Welsh. Each time an important building had to be torn down the museum would go and get it and reconstruct it on the land owned by the museum. There were all types of building. There were also people in each building to tell you all about it.

Saturday night we spend in a hotel in a small town. It was nothing special but it had a real bathroom that I didn't have to share with 3 boys, so it was a treat. I roomed with a fun girl named Deborah.

Sunday the first stop was a coal mine. Wales was very prosperous at one time in history because of its coal mining. It was the place where the energy came from for the industrial revolution. It still has the highest quality of coal in the world. It is not being mined now because of bad management by Margret Thatcher. It is really sad because the unemployment rate is still huge. At the coal mine we got to wear hardhats with lights and go on a tour inside the mine. It was 30 m down into the earth. We were taught how the miners would get the coal out and how the technologies have changed over time. There was even a horse stable down there. The horses would pull the loads of coal through the tunnel to the lift to be brought out of the ground. The horses would live down there the hole lives without seeing light. Then, when they got to old or injured they would be killed for dog meat. What a terrible life. The center also had a museum above ground that we also visited.

The last stop was the Tintern Abby ruins. The ruins absolutely took my breath away. It was so tall and the building was huge. It was all done without machines. You have to look at the pictures, it is amazing. This was probably one of my favorite things I have seen in Europe.

Friday 14 November-Tuesday 18 November

Prague, Czech Republic

I went to Prague with a group of friends. There was 14 of us total, in 4 different hostels. The hostel Erin and I stayed in was really clean (nice for a hostel). The screwed up on our room placement and we ended up having to move around two of the nights but it was OK. While in Prague we visited the castle complex, the St. Charles Bridge, went to a club, city squares and some really nice cafes. The castle complex had a really nice cathedral that had some really amazing stained glass and statues. The complex itself had lots of cute little shops that were really short. The castle itself was really not that impressive compared to the other houses that I have seen. It was just a large stone building with different rooms.

The St. Charles bridge is really long and has statues of people all along it. There were also vender's and street performers all along.

The club we went to is the largest one in Eastern Europe. It had 5 floors and there were tons of people there. We danced the night away, it was fun.

The city squares and cafes were really fun. The two major city squares are from different times in history, so they are extremely different. One is really old and one is very modern. There are also cafes from different times in history all over the place. We went to one that was a replica of one in the 1900's. It was fun.

This Week

This week I have been trying to do more London tourist things. I have been to the Natural History Museum, St. Pauls Cathedral, Tower of London and the Victoria and Albert Museum. This Saturday it was a friends birthday, so a large group went dancing, it was fun.

Next weekend I am going to Paris with my friend Emily. We are going to all the big sites, the sewer museum, and Christmas Markets. I am so excited...

I can't think of a title.

Since I have not blogged in a while I thought I would do a little update. I haven't gone anywhere since Scotland, so nothing really cool has happened.

THE TUBE

The tube was a real pain last week. There kept being fire alarms (people pull them, sometimes by mistake sometimes not), signaling, faulty trains and people under the train. Yes, I did say people under the train. It happens more often than you think. The recorded message goes like this: "Due to a person under a train the Victoria line has no service between "x" and "y". " I don't really know if the people die or if they just are under the train. When it happens people don't seem to be effected by it. With 4.5 million people riding the tube each day it just is apart of life for them.

MY HAIR

I don't know what the deal is, but I have been asked about 6 times in the past week if my hair is real. I am not sure if this is a complement or not. It just bugs me that everyone assumes it is fake.

SCHOOL

I really don't like going to school right now.

COOKING

I have decided that cooking for myself is not fun. I really love cooking at home because I get to see Cody eat it and get to enjoy the time we spend eating and cleaning up.

THE COMING WEEKS

I am doing a lot of traveling in the next few weeks. This is what the next 3 weekends will be: Wales, Prague, and Paris. Wales and Prague are for sure Paris is still being planned.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Mom said to make a post about Scotland. ;)

I went to Scotland.
It was really windy and rainy.
The two big attractions (castle and cathedral) were closed due to the wind.
The hostel was dirty, but they had warm water for showers.
I went on a haunted graveyard tour.
We went to a lot of pubs.
I rode on a train for a long time.



I put some pictures up on Picasa. The best ones were on one of the other girls camera, so I will post those later in the week when I get them from her.

I will edit this post later to have more detail, I just don't feel like it right now....

Hugs to everyone, miss you.

Woohoo... MAIL!

After a long day at school today I came home to the best surprise! I had mail! I mean real mail, not junk mail. My mail included my ballot to vote and ranch packets. I know, you might be wondering, ranch packets?!? This country does not have ranch. At restaurants or supermarkets, it is crazy. One of my favorite foods is ranch and frenchfries.

About two weeks ago I was telling my mom that they don't have ranch here, and how much I missed my ranch and frenchfries. So, without telling me until about a week later, mailed me ranch packets. I had a hard time finding a measuring device to make it (have not needed to buy any yet). I ended up using my camelback water bottle that Ashley gave me for Christmas. I ate my frenchfries and ranch... they were SOOO good.

Thanks Mom!

London Eye and Brighton

On Wednesday night 115 international students rode the London Eye and went on a pub walk. The London Eye is a giant faris wheel (450 feet tall) that towers over most of the London buildings. You can see all across the city when at the top. My camera did not take good pictures, but I did post some of them. Parliament was the most memorable to look at. The building is lite up at night to make it more spectacular than in the day. My pictures do not do it justice.

After riding the eye we went on a pub walk. I was really sick, and only went to the first pub (mainly for the free sandwiches). I was like any other pub, not really special.

On Saturday Erin and I went on a tour to Brighton. Brighton is a very popular 'get away' town on the south coast of England. There are lots of casinos, a large pier, great shopping and lots of hiking trails along the coast.

To get there we rode the overground. It took about 90 minutes to get there. We walked through the shopping districts and then went to the Royal Pavilion. The Royal Pavilion was built by Henry IV. He built the Pavilion with Asian architecture. He had never been to Asia, but built the entire thing by copying drawings that had been brought back to him by his explorers. It is known as the most unusual palace in the UK. It had many bright colors inside, dragons and snakes everywhere, and beautiful Asian themed furniture. We could not take pictures inside, but here is a website that has some, it is worth a look http://www.royalpavilion.org.uk/default.asp

Next we ate fish and chips on the pier. It was a beautiful day, so there were many people on the pier. We took some pictures and then headed off to a bus that would take us more east.

The bus took us to Seven Sisters. There are seven huge chalk cliffs right in a row, which is where it gets its name. We walked about 3 miles from the bus stop to the water. The beaches in Brighton and Seven Sisters were all big rocks. I found some really neat rocks that I will bring home. There are some pictures that show the size of the rocks on my Picasa.

Back at Brighton we had just enough time to grab some quick dinner before we went back to the train station. Erin and I had crapes with corn, ham and cheese. They were so good. I think savory crapes have become one of my favorite foods since I got here.

This weekend is Scotland, I will tell you about it next week!

Stonehenge and Bath

Yesterday I went on a tour of Stonehenge and Bath. The school organized the trip as apart of the International Student social program. There were 111 people in 3 coaches, each with their own tour guide.

Stonehenge was incredible. The stones were much larger than I had expected. We were not even allowed to get that close (due to vandalism problems), but they were huge. I have no idea how they would have moved them 300km. The wheel was not yet brought to the area, so it is a true mystery how they would have got the stones where they are today.

Bath was really beautiful. The buildings were completely different than the ones I have seen in London. The stone and design are completely different. They had a cathedral that was absolutely amazing. The detail and height they were able to achieve before modern machinery was really amazing.

The Roman baths were also interesting. There were remains of the old buildings that had once surrounded the baths. Again, I was amazed by the intricate stone carvings that were achieved without modern tools. They had a large number of stones that looked as if they were carved yesterday. They had been well protected for many years inside the old buildings. When the building collapsed the pieces were well preserved under the rubble. They also have found intricate mosaic tile flooring that has also been well preserve. A beautiful mosaic horse was my favorite piece of ancient flooring.

I will upload pictures on Monday or Tuesday. They are really amazing.

Walking Home from the Gym

On Wednesday I choose to walk home instead of using a bus or the tube. The pictures I took on the way are now on Picasa. Take a look!

Email Questions

Hi everyone,

I have been getting emails with questions that others may also have. I will be answering some of the questions that I have received in my blog. Here are some of the questions:


You mentioned in your blog about the other students you have met. Where are most of them from?

All the students from the CIEE group are from the USA. Students in my building are from the USA, UK and Spain. My classmates are from all over the world. In one of my seminar classes out of 20 students, 7 countries are represented.


Do you have all the same classes together?

Out of the CIEE group, I only have one class with someone from the group. All of us have different majors, interests and different classes that transfer to our home institutions.


Do you all live in the same area?

In the CIEE group, no, we live all over. The group of 18 was divided into 4 different buildings, all over London.


Are you scoping out areas in the outskirts?

Not yet.


Do you like to go to antique type places?

They are nice to look at. I have been to some markets and shops with antique shops, but I just like looking, I have not bought anything yet.


There is a place called Ardingly. It is an outside and inside flea market type place. That is where Sharon found a lot of her horse brasses. Does your mom have some of those also?

Yes, my mom does have some horse brasses. I have not herd of Ardingly, but will have to look it up to check it out.


What is the best part so far?

The first thing I can think of is my new cell phone. I can call Cody for 2p a minute. I miss him more than ever. I really wish he could be experiencing this with me. Other than that I like the architecture, the tube, and the people (from the UK and those I have met from the USA).


Do you have the same schedule of classes every day?

I go to class Tuesday and Thursday. Tuesday 10-2:30, 6-9. Thursday 1-5:30


Do you have holidays/breaks?

I have a 3.5 week Christmas break (which I am spending most of with Cody). I also have a 3 or 4 week Easter break (aka spring break).


Your mom mentioned that she and Ashley were anticipating coming over, in the spring?

Mom and Ashley are coming in the spring, probably most of my spring break. We are planning on going to Paris and Germany for part of the time and spending the rest in London.

Afroslam

Yes, the title is correct. Afroslam. It is the title of the fitness class I took part in today. It is a combination of fArican Dance and aerobics. It was a HARD class and the most unusual aerobics class I have ever taken. I feel like I just went to my first basketball practice of the season.

Classes began on Tuesday. So far I only have classes on Tuesday and Thursday. The upside is that I can travel for a long weekend. The downside is that I am in class for 9 hours on Tuesday and 4.5 hours on Thursday. I am currently enrolled in: Introduction to Information and Communication Technology, Accounting, Theory and Practice of Business, and the role of the Manager.

Information and communication technology is mostly going to be a joke. We are going to learn how to use word, excel and PowerPoint. My academic life at home is this.

1. Do lab and use excel to enter and evaluate data.
2. Make a PowerPoint to present experiment and data.
3. Use word to write the formal scientific paper.

So, we will see how much I learn from that aspect of class.

The Role of the Manager will be really good for me. It teaches you how to problem solve, delegate tasks and evaluate performance from a management point of view. I think I will learn a lot from this class.

The other two are just 'there.' Nothing to special, just part of having a business minor I suppose.

Other than going to the gym and class I have not been doing that much. I have been sick, so sleeping and laying down in my dorm reading has been a priority. This Saturday we are going to Bath and Stonehenge. I have to leave my dorm at 7am, which is a drag on a Saturday, but I am sure it will be well worth it when I get to go see the sites.

Well, today is absolutely beautiful outside, so I am going to go do some walking around. (I am talking 68 degrees, and no clouds, so nice)

Cheers

The Last 3 Days

Hi everyone! Here is what has been going on in the past couple of days.

TUESDAY

I meet with my study abroad adviser to register for classes. All the classes I registered for will transfer to PSU straight across. I am taking Accounting, Management, Information and Communication Technology, and Theory and Practice of Business. Other students were talking about problems they had registering, and how their classes would not transfer to their home school. I was very relieved to know I had classes that would count toward my minor.

WEDNESDAY

RUGBY!! Yep, that's right, I went to a rugby game. Three or four study abroad groups met at the CIEE office last night to catch a coach to a big rugby match. The coach was a luxury double decker. We drove through the countryside for a little less than two hours. It was nice to see grass, horses and fruit trees.

The rugby match was really fun. We had chips (frenchfries) and drinks. My stomach was upset so I had Sprite, but everyone else had a beer. The players tackel eachother just like American football, but with no padding. I am suprised they have teeth at all. On the way home everyone else was freaking out because they had to go to the bathroom since they drank a beer or two. The coach was supposed to unlock the toilet room for our trip, but didn't. I don't know what they were thinking putting 50 college kids in a bus for 2 hours without a toilet. Everything was closed when we got back to London so the pay-to-use toliet had about 25 students all lined up at 12am. It was funny, I wish I would have had a camera.

THURSDAY

Today I went to the grocery store. I got steak, potatoes, mushrooms, and salad stuff. Erin (the other girl from PSU) made a tastey steak dinner. It was really good. We are really starting to develope a friendship. It makes me happy.

I also did some shopping for my dorm today. The most exciting thing I got was a plant. :) It is a tropical looking tree thing. I was, and still are, very exited about it. It makes my room feel like someone actually lives here. I also got thumbtacks and hung up my calendar Ashley made me. I also got a plastic shower caddy and laundry hamper. I am starting to feel like my room is more "me".


Picture issues...

My internet here is extremly slow. Therefore, uploading pictures takes forever. With that said, I will not be uploading pictures as often as I thought, sorry Ash. I will upload some when I get time between classes next week.

I am busy, busy

Hi everyone. So I have not written in the past couple of days, so here is the latest update.

After finding the motel on Thursday a bunch of other people started showing up. I introduced myself and we all started to get to know one another. When we got there our rooms were not ready so we went for a walk in Hyde Park. It was a really nice day. There were a lot of people out enjoying the sun. There were lots of elementary aged kids out with there classes playing games. They all wear uniforms here, and some of them look a little silly. (like uniforms from the movie "Madeline")

There are 18 people in my program, from all over the US. We all went to dinner that night at an Asian noodle place. It was pretty average food, nothing to special.

The next morning we went to a 3 hour orientation lecture. They went over how college is different here, etc.

We then went on the "Big Bus Tour". It basically is a double deck bus that drives you around the city to see the big sites. It is a "jump-on jump-off" tour. You get on and off the bus as you like. We did not take advantage of this the way I would if I were alone, so I was a bit disappointed. It did include a boat trip up the river. It was a point of view on the city that I will probably not see again. There are pictures on Picasa.

We then went to dinner at a nice sit down, full service pizza restaurant. I had a pizza that had anchovies on it. I was being adventurous. There were 4 on my pizza that were about 4 inches long each. the first 3 I ate were not bad at all, but the last one was terrible.

To finish the day we went to the theater. We watched 'Spamalot', which is a comedy based on the stories of King Arthur. It was really funny.

SATURDAY

Saturday morning a coach (aka bus) picked us up from the motel at 11 am. They drove us across town to our housing. We checked in and then ditched our luggage in our rooms, so we could go shopping for linens. We went to a department store and got sheets and towels. I thought the duvets and duvet covers there were far to expensive. We went back to the dorms and I looked up duvets and covers from a place called Argos. Argos is an online budget department store. Once you make an order they give you an order number. You then go to the location and give your number, pay and the order is brought to the front for you to pickup. Everyone that bought their stuff at the other department store was upset when the asked how much my duvet and cover was (since it was 1/4 the price of theirs). That night Erin and I went to the pub across the street from where I now live. Erin is from Spokane and goes to PSU, we have been doing a lot of stuff together. At the pub I had mussels. They came in a HUGE pot. There were so many. I ate until I had no room in my stomach and still only got about half way. They were really good.

SUNDAY

On Sunday we went to Buckingham Palace. The queens estate rooms are only open for about 5 weeks in the summer when the queen is not home. It was a walking audio tour. Everything was absolutly over the top (I guess what you would expect in a palace). But it was still jaw dropping.

Later that night the group went out again. This time to Italian. Wow, it was amazing. For starters we had great bread and an antipasti plate. The plate had amazing meats, very mild anchovies, a special type of bluecheese, a goat cheese and a paper thin cracker. It was so, so good. I will post pictures of my meal in the next day or two. I had a seafood dish made of fried squid, prauns, and a king shrimp. All were fried. It came with some sauces that were amazing.

We then went to a comedy club. It was called "The Comedy Store." It is the founder of the show "Whos line is it anyways." The show was completely improv and audience inspired. We laughed so hard. It is even funnier when it is live.

MONDAY

Today we had international student orientation. It was like freshman orientation, no big deal. It was over at 1:00pm. I just came home and relaxed. It is now 10:18 pm and I am heading toward bed. Tomorrow I have an appointment to get classes set up with my advisor.

Good night

9:00 AM Thursday

Thursday morning I woke up to the noisy streets of London. I was very thankful for my earplugs last night. For breakfast I went to an English bakery. I had the “breakfast offer.” It was a dry mini loaf of bread with bacon in the middle. The bacon here is not what it is back home. It was more like the ham we eat for the holidays. It also came with tea or coffee. I choose tea, hoping that it would be gentler on my stomach. It was very good breakfast, but like I said, a bit dry.

In a few minutes I will check out of my hostel and walk to the hotel where I will be staying for 2 nights. CIEE is hosting a dinner tonight, so I will get to meet all of the other students from the USA. There will also be lectures about living in London.

Something I have noticed about London is the craziness in the streets. There are a lot of motorcycles and mopeds. They just weave in and out of the cars and trucks and do not even stop for the red lights. In just the past day of watching the cars and trucks I have seen at least 10 near crashes. Bicycles are also everywhere, but they stay out of the way of all the motorized vehicles.

10:30 AM

I found the hotel! The walk was 0.9 miles. That is a long ways with a 60 pound bag and heavy backpack. I look forward to getting into my room that I will stay in for the year. I really want to unpack and get everything out of my bags.

Tonight we meet the CIEE coordinator at 5:00 pm for dinner....

I made it to London

I made it to London. Right now I sit at the womens hostel near the
Earl's Court Tube Station. The flight from Philadelphia to London was
awesome! I got an isle seat, and the seat next to me was empty! I was
able to use the two seats to curl up and sleep almost 4 hours of the 6
hour flight. There was a downside though, since I was sitting in the
middle rows I was unable to see London during landing.

I got off the airplane, went through the boarder control things, and
went to get my luggage. It was almost the last piece to come out, which
is nerve racking. I went to an ATM (aka cash machine) and got my first
amount of pounds. The money is so different. Down to the tube station I
went, I purchased a ticket. The attendant handed me my change through
the window and said "There you are, love, 17 pounds." I had to hold my
giggle. The accent and phrases are going to take some time to get used
to. On the Tube I went, got off at Earls Court, and arrived at my
hostel. I checked in and realized how hungry I was. On the 3 block walk
I saw a Pasty bakery. Amy (a friend from college) said it needed to be
one of my first meals, so I gave it a shot. I choose the chicken pasty.
It was like a dry, enlarged pizza pocket, filled with corn, potatoes and
chicken. I would not call it bad, just very plain.

After lunch I took a shower. The hot water is only available for certian
time periods of the day so it was a very tepid shower. I then took a nap
with the sounds of the London streets coming through my window. I don't
know what I will do next, but back outside I go.

Check out my pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/shannon.bye

Thoughts from Philadelphia International Airport

This morning was very emotional. Lots of crying, waving goodbye and struggling to stay on my side of the security dividers. I will miss him. I love him so much. Knowing that I will be away from him has been very difficult to deal with. The hardest part is done, I am now on my way, following a dream.

Once in the air, I noticed things were definitely different. I was in an airplane, but not going to Palm Springs or Disneyland. I was going to a far away and completely different place. The changes started right after take off. We flew east. Up the gorge, passing Cory & Karen's house, and Marleen & Lorens. As the flight continued I saw the Rocky Mountains of Montana (they look a lot different from the air). Then there was the dry gross of the plains and then the Great Lakes (Michigan and Erie). Then is was the decent into Philadelphia.

Just in case anyone was wondering... The east is REALLY flat. I have been told this, looked at topo maps, heard people joke about it. But it is really shocking to see land that is that flat with such a huge amount of urban sprawl.

Getting off the plane was exactly like I imagined. People all talking different languages. My favorite is the New Yorker type accent. (Geez, I can't imagine what people are going to think of the crazy way that I talk) I found some lunch and then decided to go to my gate and get on my computer until I wanted some dinner. Well after walking 25 minutes and getting my computer out, there was no Internet. So, I asked someone where I could actually get Internet. They basically told me to go back where I came from. After walking back the 25 minutes, I finally got Internet.

I checked my email, called some people and wrote this blog. Now I am going to get some dinner... I will blog again as soon as I find some Internet in London.

My little meow meow

Pixie has just a few places where she curls up and won't move for a few hours. On top or under the chair in the living room, at my feet on our bed, on the floor at Cody's desk, or on the window sill in our room. In the past few days I think that she has figured out that something is up. Colton, our new roommate started moving in, and a bunch of my clothes ended up in a suitcase... With the new smells and sites in our house she has been very 'investigative'. This morning she expressed her feelings about where she fits in during all these changes. For over an hour she sat on my "to bring" list next to my luggage. Apparently she wanted to tell me that she was also going where ever I was going... here are the pictures of her telling me what her opinion was...

Ribs and Goodbyes

On Wednesday night Mom and Ashley came to spend the night. We ate a HUGE rack of ribs. Ashley got so messy! Mom brought the best corn on the cob from her garden, it was yummy. On Friday I ate 2 pieces of apple pie mom brought. Thursday we spent the day hanging out, going to Costco and eating pizza. It was good spend time with mom and ash before I fly away on Tuesday.

Thanksgiving in September

Cody, Ashlee, Marleen, and, uh, Ashley again

Cody with the turkey... Patty got a little cut off...

"The Family"

On Sept. 14 we had Thanksgiving! Since I will not be with the family this year for Thanksgiving, Patty and Aunt Marleen cooked Thanksgiving. It was such a great dinner and I really appreciate the time and effort they took to decorate and cook. They even made spritzers, my favorite holiday cookie! It was really nice to spend time with Cody's side of the family before I left to London. I will miss them so much. Ashley even got to go! She was able to spend time with my other side of the family. I think it was her first extended amout of time with my other side of the family and I think she had fun and enjoyed the food. I hope that everything works out with coming home for Christmas and I can see both sides of the family.