LONDON

after our incredible road trip poor nick had to head back to work whilst i flew to london for a week. this was my first trip back home since arriving in nyc 9 months previously. nick had been back with work in march and so i was excited to see friends, family and babies that i had not met yet as well as babies that had turned into toddlers! 

i was pretty excited about returning to the uk and nervous that i wouldn't want to come back...so it was a good thing nick was back in new york! i thought that there would be a mild culture shock period, that everything would feel strange and british, but it wasn't like that at all. in fact it felt like i hadn't even been away, i slipped back into place all too easy. i was so shocked at how..normal everything felt! the only thing that took me by surprise was the green man on the crossings...he was tiny...and green! 

so here goes, my trip back home in pictures..... 

*every single one of you that i had the privilege of spending time with whilst home made my trip so special and you guys are the reason why my heart remains in the uk. i'd love to pay tribute to you and our friendship by writing reams and reams on each one of you featured, but i must curb my enthusiasm in this instance! and to those i didnt get to see this time round, i'm sorry, it was a whirlwind trip, but i look forward to seeing you soon!

priorities. first stop, chocolate! this is probably the only thing i have consistantly craved since moving to nyc and it did not disappoint.  

my first real life view of the shard. reminded me of home, nyc home.

after months of waiting in anticipation to meet this handsome fella i finally got to have real life cuddles. isn't he just perfection? he was such a smiley happy chap that i had to fight the urge of sneaking him in my suitcase. mama goad and auntie hannah, you wouldn't have fit in the suitcase, but were just as smiley and happy chaplings! 

and then there were these guys. they're a hoot. obviously it wasn't the same without nick, but these guys made me feel so loved and treated me like royalty...literally! we had very special champagne and plenty of giggles.

blurry giggles 

i even got the privilege of doing the 'school (work) pick up' to my old university campus to pick up this lovely lady who gave me a grand tour!

then i hopped on the train up to liverpool for the wedding of the year! i love how weddings express the married couples personality. this one was no exception. there was so much fun and laughter, and a lot of jokes! also, don't you just love this walking down the aisle photo? those smiles, it makes me well up just looking at it! 

friends re-united.com

we played this great game where we named a genre of music and aaron had to freeze frame for the album cover. this was my favourite, can you guess the music genre?! we also played a 'see how many chins you can make' game, but i wont be showing you those pictures, they had to be duuuhleted!

writing heartfelt notes to the bride and groom!

speeches. one word. hilarious. best yet.

end of night madness! we're just so wild!

i was so thankful that i got to see my brother and sister in law, even if it was just for one evening, it was so worth it.

last stop was with my sister and brother in law and this gorgeous lady, who when we moved out to nyc was only a baby. but now look at her she's a real life girl and this is her 'photo face'! it was so surreal seeing little beatrice again, she has real personality and is such a chatterbox! we had some early morning play times together, watched a lot of peppa pig and just hung out. she calls me 'sissy' which just melts my heart.

she looks so grown up when she sits at her desk and draws. this is her writing her name, its like hieroglyphics, so cute!

gosh, venturing into town with this little ball of energy is so much fun! in the shops she gets her little hands on everything and anything! in one shop she was hanging around the souvenirs that have your name on and came to hand us the one she had chosen. before we saw what name she had picked out my sister said 'whatever name she picks out thats what we're going to call our next baby'. she'd chosen rebecca, the name of her mama...the little genius!

it was also great to hang out with my sister again. we used to live really close to each other and so its hard living so far away. but we made sure we caught up on all the sisterly things....watching bridesmaids whilst beatrice slept, eating popcorn under the duvet cover...bliss.

we went fruit picking and beatrice insisted on carrying her little peppa pig with her in her fruit basket. so adorable seeing her care for that little piggy.

after two days, and just before my flight home, she did this to me whilst i was carrying her to the car. it  made goodbyes even harder.

all of you guys, the ones i got to spend time with and the ones i didn't, are what makes living away so difficult....but it makes the times that we do spend together so much more precious....thank you for your friendship.