We're back

Sorry we haven't updated the diary for a couple of weeks. We ended up going back to the UK for a week for an impromptu visit to attend Annalie's Gran's funeral. Obviously very sad circumstances but it was nice to see everyone all the same.

Since we last wrote, Annalie has also been to Indianapolis to attend a training course at the Rolls-Royce site there. It is only a couple of hours' flight away but at least it was still on the same time zone. She got back at about 11pm on the Wednesday night and then we left for Manchester the following lunchtime.

While we were in Manchester, we decided to make a quick trip to Leeds so that Annalie could check out the library at uni and get prepared for her next assignment for her Masters. I'm sure she's starting to regret having so much to do outside of work when there's so much going on at work alone. It will be worth it in the end.

Annalie had her hair cut at her old hairdressers. Some might say that it was an awfully long way to go to get a hair cut, but she's not had the chance to organise a hair dooo since arriving out here.

We also went on the search for a Wii Fit, but as you might predict, it was a pretty futile effort. We thought we'd cracked it when we found a website saying they'd have some more to issue on the Friday we returned to the States. Then we received an email saying there had been a huge mistake (surprise surprise) and that they didn't have a clue when they'd have some more in stock. So we've tried to look in the US as well. Although the Wii is region-specific and we aren't able to play games from the US, we've found some software called Freeloader that claims to get past this. However the situation here seems to be pretty much the same as everywhere else - Wii Fit is just too much in demand so our search goes on.

Annalie also took Ian to Heaton Park for the first time. He was quite suprised by the size of it and even Annalie had forgotten what a nice place it can actually be.

The trip was timed just right from a point of view of getting 'our girls' to the vets to have their yearly booster jabs. We still get to be the bad guys while Annalie's mum can remain the nice cop for a while longer. Bodie remains as laid back as ever but Doyle got totally freaked when the suitcases came out and it was time for us to leave. Luckily it seems like she's calmed down again now though.

It was also good timing for Annalie to watch the Champions League Final. With the time difference, if we'd been here it would have been during the afternoon while she would have been at work, but as it was, she could watch the game and see the mighty Reds conquer cheating Chelsea .

On the flight back from Manchester to JFK, we managed to wangle an upgrade to business class nice! We were booked to travel in Premium Economy and the flight was packed, although the IAE travel agent may have put in a good word or two in the right ear. We got a great view of Manhattan as we landed so there are some more pics that we've added to the New York section.

There's a lot to come up for us over the next week. Annalie is off back to Europe for various meetings and Ian is set to drive down to Florida to watch a shuttle launch. Well, hopefully. Providing it all stays on time! It's due to lift off at around 5pm (our time) on Saturday 31st May so he'll be gone by the time Annalie gets back from her European trip on Friday night. He's bought a big camera lens for the occasion so it had better be worth it!

Last but not least, we have to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Ian's Dad. We won't tell everyone you're a pensioner now