We're now back into the swing of life in Coshocton again ... having returned to the land where when you step off the plane you automatically drop a dress size, there are adverts on the BBC channel and someone else bag's your groceries!!!
Jenny and Abigail have had lots of fun in the kitchen baking flapjack (the English type ... out here it's a kind of pancake!!) ... and this years batch of mince pies! Last year we experimented with a recipe for mince pies as they're not a Christmas staple out here ... and it was so yummy and popular that we multiplied the ingredients by four ... and are going for mass production! Last year Jenny made them all ... this year she has a very willing helper who enjoys making a spectacular mess as well!
Holiday festivities began early in small town America! The Christmas parade was in mid-November ... marching bands, giant gingerbread men, Santa riding a fire engine ... the whole shebang!! We walked down to Main Street and met up with several MMS families to enjoy the parade ... we also bumped into other friends as we walked along ... very different from last year when we had only recently arrived and didn't know anyone!
Thanksgiving weekend was at the end of November ... a four day holiday weekend ... a chance to be thankful ... something we don't get as much of an opportunity to reflect on in the UK! We spent the Thursday with 9 other families ... 40 of us in total ... and a huge feast of food, different dishes provided by all of us ... we were spread out across 3 large tables at the Hengst's house (see below)!
It was also nice to have a few days to have fun together and discover some new places too! We went to Canton (about 1hr 10mins drive away) an alternative place to shop in the Thanksgiving weekend sales ... with a better selection of stores than our usual 45 min drive to Zanesville ... which is the closest place to shop from Coschocton!
Abigail's been getting up to her usual mischief ... 'colour-ling' is her favourite thing ... she would be drawing for several hours a day if we didn't have anything else to do. In mid-November she decided that she wanted to start writing too ... her first attempt to follow the lines is below ... believe us, it's a lot more accurate now!
Abigail's also taken to 'swimming like a fish', as she calls it, in the bath ... she loves to lay flat on her back and just float around for ages ... and then pops up with a big grin on her face shouting 'I did it'!! As you can see she's having a 'whale' of a time surrounded by bubbles!! She's always wanting to read and re-read her books too ... she usually has about 10 different books out of the library at any given time and loves going to get more ... the problem is getting her out of the library and into the car at the end of the visit!!
The Swanson family arrived safely a few weeks ago too ... you may remember we mentioned them earlier on in the year. They are another MAF UK family ... this time from near Glasgow and have arrived for Andy to begin his apprenticeship in the New Year. They seem to be settling in well, having already found a house and car and have been out and about exploring the local area as you can see from the photo below!! Our Abigail is enjoying having two new playmates in their two children another Abigail and Matthew ... and we're trying to answer any questions Andy and Heather have as they settle in, as are the rest of the MMSers!
These are just a few highlights of what we've been up to ... more to come soon!
sounds like Abi is as bright as a button and lots of fun - esp impressed with the colouring and writing!
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