Day 128 - Chef Ellis

I got up later than planned today but no hangover which was great.  👍I went out for my jog, which I did really quickly but skipped the JW as I'm still very tired all over but much better than the day before. 😅

Didn't really have any plans for today.  I thought I might take the boys up the yard or to the park, but then I think Oscar mentioned going to crazy golf which I thought was a good idea.  I happened to be speaking to Saskia at the time and I mentioned it to her and she was up for it too.  We agreed to meet at 11.👍

We got there on time and queued up waiting to start.  The boys were really good and pretty patient as it was quite busy but moved around well.  We had a lovely time and it was lots of fun.  Saskia, Oscar and Leo all got holes in one!  Amazing guys!

Saskia and Keira came back to ours for lunch which was really lovely.  It all felt rather normal for a change. 😊

Once they had left I kicked Leo and Oscar out then I changed my bed, had a shower, made a banana loaf, cleared up, sorted boys dinner, spoke to Mum, put some washing on, spent an hour on the phone to the doctor for my in-laws and finally got Ellis to start cooking his and Rob's dinner.  He wasn't pleased about it to start with as he was gaming with his friends (after being out on his bike all day) but he did do it, and eventually with a bit of encouragement, actually started to enjoy it!  He needed a lot of support but I'm sure in time he will get more confident with it.  Cutting veg is the biggest problem at the moment as he's a bit of a perfectionist so if it says 1cm cubes, that's what he wants to achieve.

He kept saying he wasn't going to like it but once he tried it, he actually surprised himself and nearly ate it all.  Cheeseburgers, slaw and wedges tomorrow. 👍

The boys spent their evening chilling and I spent my time trying to catch up with some of these blog entries!  I'm getting there though.  I just don't want it to become a chore, so thankfully at the moment I'm still enjoying it.  If I don't, I'll stop. 🤷

Now I'm going to give this a go but I might have to change it ever so slightly.  Below is Rob's travel diary that he originally posted on our travel website which has since been removed.  I might end up just writing a bit myself and including photos and videos of our trip.  This is day one, 24th July 2005, 7am leaving for the airport from my parents home.

Where They To?

They say that every good story starts with a cliché. Well, maybe they don't, but this one does. Every journey begins with a single step, and this is ours.

You'll have to excuse the groggy expressions and uncomfortable gait but it was 7AM and the first time we'd worn our fully laden rucksacks. No doubt over the coming months you see us become fine, toned, athletic examples of the human species. Having never been there before, I'm led to believe that American's lead a very wholesome outdoors lifestyle and generally have a balanced diet with sensible portions of food. I can almost feel the pounds dropping off as I type.

For those of you who don't know us or who don't know us well, let's get the introductions out of the way. We are Rob and Michelle (Mush to her friends). We are 29 and 26 respectively and hail from Bristol, England. We got married on August 2004, 9 years after a fairytale, whirlwind romance conducted over the deep-fat fryers at the local McDonalds where we met and worked together. 

When we were trying to decide what address to use for our website, we bounced various ideas about. www.iwonderwhererobandmushareandwhattheyvebeendoingforthelastfewweeks.com seemed a little longwinded and www.ilovebigboobs.com seemed a little inappropriate and, besides, somebody else is already using it, apparently. So we asked ourselves the following question: If someone who knows us was wondering where we are and what we're doing, what question would they ask themselves? The answer was obvious and, fortunately, www.wheretheyto.co.uk was still available. For those of you who originate from outside of Bristol, sorry, we couldn't really stretch to the expense of buying www.wherearethey.co.uk as well, and besides, what sort of language is that anyway?

If you're wondering where we're to as we write this first diary entry, we are at 36,000ft having just flown over some breathtaking icebergs and fjords on the coast of Greenland; a very stark reminder of why we've put our lives on hold to witness some of what the world has to offer. Sadly, the aeroplane windows didn't allow us to get a decent picture which must be a disappointment for you all as I know you were particularly looking forward to the Greenland fjords segment of the slideshow when we got home.

We were both a little nervous waiting to board the plane at Gatwick earlier today and I tried to reassure Mush by saying that it was just a case of going through the motions and that everything would be ok. Her reply was to tell me that her "motions are ok at the moment but I might have to go on the plane". I didn't have the heart to tell her.

I'll try to write a brief update once we reach our accommodation later. Apparently it's 26 Celsius and sunny so we're going to have a little wander around before getting an early night.