Before China

Well, we did warn you that we had a whirlwind coming up and we've neglected the blog a little in that time. Anyway, to make things easier, we thought we'd split the blog into pre and post-China!


So, before we headed out to the Far East, Annalie had resumed her footballing days of old and she's been getting plenty of action on the pitch! In her last two games she's scored and has been setting up her fellow team members as well. The rules about the guys not being able to tackle the girls helps somewhat, but that doesn't stop some of them getting a bit physical at times. But anyone who's seen Annalie play will know full well that she can hold her own on that side of things! With Beijing and New Zealand though, she's missing most of the session, which lasts about 8 weeks - so she's only getting to play about half of it.


We also had a flying visit back to the UK to be at TC and James' wedding - we wouldn't have missed it for the world. It was a great weekend catching up with old friends and seeing two of our favourite people get married. The wearing of hats had been requested, but because of the additional complication of travelling, Annalie decided that a "fascinator" might be the more transportable option. However, upon embarking on a quest to find one before departing the States, she soon realised that they aren't particularly fashionable over here. The last resort was one of the most expensive department stores in the US - Nordstrom. And as she suspected, here is where they could be found. And the first one she picked up turned out to be an almost perfect match for her dress, as evidenced by this photo.

As for the wedding itself, after the crappy summer that the UK has had, the happy couple could not have asked for better weather. It was a stunning day and the bride and groom looked blissfully happy. And they scrubbed up pretty good too ;o) See the photo album for proof. They were particularly pleased with the wedding present we provided them with - several bags of Cheetos! At special request of course!


Ian has got his head together with a couple of the ladies out here and they are now aiming to run the New York Marathon next year! If they can get in of course. So training has started just to start building up some miles and fitness. Ian has worked on the training plan, Vicky is looking up diet and nutrition, and Wendu has her action as well. Annalie is sure that Ian is just using this as an excuse to buy some new trainers ;o) It does mean that his Nike+ application is getting used in anger finally. He's bought himself an iTouch so that links up with the device in his trainer to record distance and time, plus minutes per mile, and keeps a training log for him. he's already seeing some improvements in his times.


It also means Maddy is getting a bit more exercise too. Although for some reason she doesn't seem to be losing much weight. Part of that might be the treats we have to give her as part of her own training regime. Ian did use the Nike+ on some of our regular walks with Maddy and we're averaging around 2 miles on some of our favoured local routes. Ian has also been taking her out on his bike so he's forcing her to run more, because she can be a lazy pooch at times! Her recall is getting better though, but as she's a beagle, it's definitely better when there's food involved.


And finally we thought we'd share some great pics of the Glastonbury area from a different perspective. Ian took a camera up on one of his flying lessons so you can see how green the surrounding area is, and how big some of the houses are! For those of you who have visited, you might just about recognise this place...