New Jersey Adventure Part 1

I took too many photos on our American Adventure, to see my brother and sister in law, even for me, to shoe horn into one blog post!

Here is Part 1. 

• A flight with just 2 Heaths (The other two got left behind and had to travel on the next flight - that's the downs of staff travel - the ups being Rich and Ollie travelled over in Business Class!) who had to race through Terminal 5, so fast I thought we would miss it. Sammy and I got our tickets with 10 minutes to get to the gate! As we boarded the plane the doors shut behind us and that was it! Air bound for America.
• A long queue at immigration and as we finally got to the front (with me carrying 3 bits of hand luggage) Sammy exclaimed "Mama, I need a wee!" Back to the end of an even longer queue...
• Being the last at the luggage carousel watching the empty belt with no sign of Sammy's car seat. Queue a long wait, a pink replacement for a couple of days, but an excuse to grab the first of many holiday donuts!

It was an eventful week and this is the beginning! 

As we waited for the rest of the Heath party to land safely and arrive in the hire car, Sammy took a yard sale tricycle out for a spin and made two little friends! They live in a picture perfect US cul de sac, complete with basketball hoops at the end of the driveways and cute mail boxes on sticks.  

This was the first time we had visited their new home and I couldn't get over the space. It is huge! I am so proud of my brother. For starting a life in America, buying an incredible house and making it into the home of their dreams.

The next two days looked liked this. 

Sunday was going swimmingly (quite literally) until this. 

A "forwards back flip" off the diving board, a shoulder bone sticking up and out in a contorted fashion, a 911 call and an ambulance ride for Rich, in a pair of flip flops and wet board shorts. 

Men.  

I had warned him it was silly, had mentioned he was getting on my nerves having kept splashing me every time he launched himself into the pool and warned him he was pushing his luck. 

Boys. 

The night before my birthday was a fraught affair. Text updates from hospital, worries about travel insurance and a one armed wonder coming through the door, tired, full of morphine and a 31 and 364 day old, feeling very unsympathetic. 

We saw this window display on our travels a few days later... it totally sums up the incident! 

Part 2 coming up... my birthday!