It's time to share the guestbook!
We have been blessed with many guests while living here in this great city.
This causes us to take on a sort of stay-cation and enjoy the highlights and tourist attractions. After living here a while, we have abandoned many of the outings we did so frequently in our early days when we were so excited to explore London!
I must admit with each visit there is a different flavor. With gratitude to my Grandma Dorothy (my dad's mother) who loved having people at her house and seemed to always have visitors, hosting people in our home has become one of the greatest joys in my life. We are not fussy - there's nothing fancy here - but it's great fun to spend time together. In this busy world, sometimes it's difficult to even get together for a cup of coffee. When a guest comes to stay, you get more than the cup of coffee. You get some shared experiences, meals together and overlapping lives. So, this post is dedicated to those who have come to bless us with their presence!
April 2011
The Simonis family from Belgium! Our first visitors and the only ones to see our temporary housing!
May 2011
Our first US visitor was my cousin Stacey, a world traveler!
June 2011
Dave's brother Chris came to visit for a weekend while he was in Europe for a medical conference
October 2010
Our partners in this ex-pat life, having been sent to Switzerland about the same time we came to London: the Homan family!
November 2011
Julie and Mark Berg from New Prague - my college bestie and roommate (and a quick visit from Karen Kleindl and her husband too)
The Wohlfords from Edina, one of Jonah's besties Josh
MARCH 2012
Dave's brother Chris (2nd visit) along with Angie, Hannah and Leo!!
APRIL 2012
The Hage family came to visit - and they will be the only ones who stayed in both our first rental place and our second one (in fact, they were here during the move, and what troopers they were!)
MAY 2012
Kay and Mike!! Grandpa and Grandma Larson!!
After only one night in London, we whisked them across the Channel (well, under the Channel really) on the Eurostar to visit PARIS for the weekend!
End of May 2012
Michel and Valerie Royen-Quittre from Belgium
JUNE 2012
Homan ladies come for a mom's weekend with kids! and the sun did shine!
SEPTEMBER 2012
Glenn and Dorothy! GRANDPA AND GRANDMA VanAmber!
An ancestry search (yes, I really am part British!) and visiting the oldest historic site in England
End of October 2012
The Orban family from Brussels - my Belgian sister =)
March 2013
LADIES FROM MN!
Easter 2013 Homans from Switzerland. They've come to London several times, but they love the city so much that we are hard pressed to get to see them while they're here ;)
JUNE 2013
Bobbi & Ryne Prigge (my sister and niece)
December 20-24 2013
Morgan and Lisa Mellum
Dec 29, 2013 to Jan 5, 2012
Kay and Mike!
First a week in Italy =)
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| Trevi fountain, Rome |
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| The Vatican |
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| Florence |
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| Mike's favorite - David |
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| Gelato as much as possible! |
Dean, Kirsten and Kaitlyn from Eau Claire, WI
The March winds blew over some guests from the Midwest - my cousin Dean and his wife Kirsten along with her daughter Kaitlyn, who is a senior this year, and this trip was her senior year gift. Awesome! She's a fantastic golfer and part of their visit included a haul up to St Andrews. That destination has been on our list since arrival, and with their help we now have a visit scheduled in early June for Dave and Jonah.
Dean makes a mean Wild Rice Soup, and they won massive points with the kids by bringing a hoard of Annie's noodles with them!!
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| Happy Midwesterners atop Primrose Hill |
A brief visit from Dave's brother Chris, Angie, Hannah & Leo
They had already been in Europe basking in the Spanish sun. We were able to take them captive for only a couple of days, but in that time we had some great cousin relaxation time and took in a tour of the Chelsea stadium and a brand new show in the West End.
APRIL 2014
Becca and Dylan
Drum roll please....all the way from New Zealand! Yes folks, from the Southern Hemisphere! My sister and her delightful Dylan came to stay with us. Boy did they see London and beyond. They had an adventure every day, seeing so much.
They saw so much that you'll have to click and link to her blog to read all about it!!
http://mn2nz.wordpress.com/2014/05/03/england-overwhelming-but-totally-awesome/
We had a great time with them, enjoyed some board games, dinners together and an especially fun day trip to Warwick Castle. Becca made us vegetarian chili, they played games with the boys one night so Dave and I could take Ally to her swim practice and grab a quick dinner together, Becca had an egg bake prepared for the morning after we returned from Egypt, and they had nice bonding time with Snowy Victoria (the guinea pig) while we were away. Thank you Becca & Dylan!
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| Not enough time with my sis....too many miles between the continents! |
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| The kids didn't want them to leave! |
MAY 2014
Eric & Francine Hiertz from Chaineux Belgium, where I lived in 1989-1990 as an exchange student and have held close to my heart ever since. Wonderful, warm people...fun to explore London together. We had a lovely Mother's Day brunch at Chamomile Belsize Park!! Every day Eric, Francine and I went on an adventure and they usually spoiled my with lunch somewhere.
Je vous embrasse tous les deux....
Sadly, the London guest book is going to be closing soon =(
Next up...my parents will come to help us with our final days and return with the kids so we can wrap things up and bid adieu to this London life....
I hope we haven't forgotten anyone….
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