The final entry

So this is it. My last post for this blog.

Tomorrow the movers will come and pack up the computer, and Brad will give back his work computer, so this is my last chance.

There isn't much to say. We've been busy the past week with the usual moving activities - purging, packing, and saying good-bye. And coordinating with so many people all the minute details of our move. I'm sure I've forgotten something...

Tomorrow our house will be all but empty (just our bags for the plane will remain) and we will go to a hotel. We'll come back Wednesday to wrap things up, and leave Wednesday evening to stay at the airport hotel. Then fly out Thursday at noon.

So this is our last night in our lovely England house. There is too much to do to think much about that, which is a good thing.

We are all sad to leave England, but starting to look forward to the next adventure, and more importantly, to spending some time with family and friends in the States.

Good night.

Dear England...

Here are 10 things (in no particular order) that I'll miss about you:

1. Postcode system... Postcodes in the UK are very specific. Most postcodes seem to be shared by a dozen houses or less, so if you are trying to find a house or other location, just entering the post code in your GPS will get you very close.

2. Cool, rainy weather... I actually like rain, and I like being bundled up to stay warm. I have to admit I got a little frustrated with my chilly house over the winter, but I didn't mind so much if I could be wrapped in a blanket, sipping a cup of hot tea. Thinking of how hot its going to be in Texas makes me appreciate this English weather very much!

3. Green grass... that doesn't require an extensive, built-in sprinkler system. Looking out in my garden, all I see is green, with some colorful flowers here and there. Nice, natural green. Its beautiful.

4. Roundabouts... Its true that I don't drive much here unless I absolutely have to, but once you get to know a roundabout, it can be fun and easy to get through. Its amazing how far you can drive here without ever stopping for a red light.

5. Pedestrian-friendliness... I love that I can walk out my front door, walk on a nice footpath to town, go to the bank, the supermarket, and a variety of other shops, then walk back home. If I didn't have to drive to school I could probably go for days without getting into my car. From what I've heard, no one walks anywhere in Texas.

6. Wagamama... Its my favorite restaurant here... I just love it. I usually get the same thing, and its always really really good. I'm not a big fan of chain restaurants in general, but this is one big exception.

7. Other food and treats... The chocolate is certainly better here, and there are always lots of great baked goods available. The cookies are good. I like to eat and I love the food here!

8. Location, location, location... I'm sure Dallas is lovely, but compared to London? Not even close. I can walk to the train station, get on a train, and be in London in half an hour. Then there is no end to the exciting things I can do and see!

9. School hours... School here goes from 8:50 to 3:15. School in Texas (from my understanding) goes from 7:55 to 2:55. That is nearly one hour earlier in the morning. Do people really wear jammies to drop their kids at school?

10. School uniform... Its cheap. Its easy. Its the same (more or less) everyday. And they all look so sweet in their matching clothes!

Next week : (

I can't believe I am moving next week. When moving to Dallas became a possibility, I was very sad but it was still several months away. Then we didn't hear much about it for what seemed like ages and I was able to push the bad thoughts away for a while. But then reality reared its ugly head, and its almost time to leave.

We are in pre-move lots-to-do mode. We have many things to do every day... Arranging all our transportation between London, Philadelphia, and Dallas, arranging to leave our lovely rental home, temporary housing, giving cars back, getting new (and old) ones, oh, and coordinating the purchase of a house more than 6,000 miles away. Just a little busy.

It really started feeling real when we bought our tickets to Philly, officially gave up Ben's place in Reception, and found a "To Let" sign in front of our house.

Until the movers come and we get everything packed up, I am trying to keep the kids as busy as possible. This week they are going to a drama camp every morning, then playdates every afternoon. I am trying to sort through things and get organized in advance of the movers' arrival, but the kids keep digging into everything I've put away. Oh well, soon enough it will all be packed and we won't see it for weeks.

So, time for me to get back to doing something productive. Just as soon as I've had one more cup of tea!

Two-and-a-half weeks

We are still sorting out the details, but it looks like we will be moving in about 2.5 weeks.

I am suddenly very busy coordinating movers, getting the house ready for agents and potential buyers/renters to view, informing various parties about our move, and trying to eat as much good English food as I can.

This is the last week of school (finally!!). Next week the kids will go to a drama class every morning, and the next week we will pack up and leave.

We still don't know our exact plans for August, other than starting school on the 24th. We expect to buy a house early in the month (I can't wait to see it!) and travel back and forth between Texas and Pennsylvania, and Arkansas for Brad.

Susanna has a five week break between ending here and starting there and she will be very busy!

I'm trying to coordinate things in Texas now (particularly schools for both kids) and the time difference is a challenge - Texans don't even start their morning coffee until after lunch here. I am constantly looking at the clock to see if I can start calling yet. We have received two middle-of-the-night calls here already, but I'm hoping to avoid doing that to anyone there!

Back to work I go...

Last day out in London?

Fireman Ben

Ben is really into firemen right now, and everything that goes along with it. There is a show on the telly here called Fireman Sam, and Ben just loves to watch it.

Today all the preschool "leavers" (those moving on to primary school next year) had a trip to the local fire station. Ben put on his fire hat and was all ready to go! He was very interested in everything the firemen had to say, and shared several comments of his own!

The kids got to see the different parts of the truck, including the hoses, nozzles, fan and cutters. One of their teachers got to try on a fireman suit. The kids got a chance to hold the nozzles (very heavy) and later each child had a chance or two to spray some water.

There were no fire calls during our visit, but the kids got to hear the fire alert siren in the station as well as the sirens on the truck.

Ben is now one step closer to his dream of becoming a fire fighter!

How we spent the 4th

Since yesterday was the last 4th of July we expect to spend in England, we decided to have a regular day, and figure that next year we will celebrate the holiday American-style.

So we started out by going to the fete (remember, that's pronounced "fate") at Ben's school. The weather was perfect (except for a few raindrops) and there was plenty to do. They had the usual fete games - Lucky Dip and Tombola - and face painting, a raffle, and a barbecue. I won not one but two raffle prizes - something from a cosmetic store and a bottle of South African liqueur. At the end they had a little graduation ceremony. Each child got a ribbon to wear and a certificate. Ben's certificate says that he is "most curious and asks the most questions!" Ben's school has been great this year and he absolutely loves it. All the teachers are so kind and caring, and its just a happy place.

After the fete, I ran to the train to go to London. I met up with a friend to see the show Avenue Q. Great show! Its puppets and people, a bit like Sesame Street, but with adult themes. After the show, we met other friends for drinks at a bar on a boat on the Thames, then for a Mexican dinner.

While I was in London, Brad and the kids had fun at Susanna's friend's house.

After this weekend we have three weekends left! The only goal is to have as much fun as possible!

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, no one in England even acknowledges that the 4th of July is the day America gained independence from England. They just don't seem interested!

Happy 4th of July!

Summer is here

Summer has arrived in England! We have been having some lovely 80+ degree F weather this week. I think yesterday hit 90.

This might be considered reasonable weather if you could go outside to enjoy it for a bit, then retreat into your air-conditioned house. But with no air conditioning, I think it might be hotter inside my house than out.

At least the kids had their weekly swim lessons to cool them off. This week was parent observation week. The first time I really got to see what they've done all year (autumn term and summer term.)

Both kids are doing great! No trouble putting their faces in the water and getting across without touching the bottom.

The pool looked so nice and inviting, it was hard to sit and watch and not jump in.

Back in my English garden

We've been having some very nice weather lately - sunny and mid-eighties - hot enough for me! Tonight after dinner we spent some family time in the back garden, with Brad and the kids playing rugby, and all of us picking raspberries.

We have lots of new flowers since my last garden post, including lots of roses on a little arch.

Some of the raspberries have seen better days, but we still get a handful of good ones most days. Of course the best ones are out of reach unless maybe you get all suited up and trek through the prickers.
I think these are black currants. They smell like black currants. I tried one and it was okay. Black currants generally get treated with lots of sugar before anyone eats them.
Brad and the kids playing tackle rugby.
The back of our lovely English home.

Donkey Derby

Today the kids and I went to the summer fete* of one of the other primary schools in town. Every year this other school has a Donkey Derby.

Apparently this is a traditional English thing. Donkeys are brought in from a somewhat-local farm and made to participate in several races. I believe the donkeys are sponsored and they had riders, though I'm not sure how one would become a rider. They also took bets on them. Not sure how that works either - if its true gambling or what. I'm guessing that it is.**

The kids each had a bareback ride on a donkey. They also played a variety of games and won a variety of sweets and junky prizes. We ate hot dogs*** and bought cakes and squash.****

Now its 6:00, and the kids are fed and bathed and on the couch ready to watch a movie. Except Ben, who is already asleep. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

*that's pronounced "fate", by the way

**What school fete would be complete without booze and gambling??

***as far as I can tell, if they tell you its a "hot dog", its actually a sausage in a bun. Not sure if there is any other difference between these "hot dogs" and plain old sausages.

****concentrated juice/sugar drink mixed with water.

Career goals

I try to talk to Ben a lot about different jobs that people do, and how most people we see when we are out and about are doing some type of job.

So he's been thinking about what kind of job he wants to have. First, he decided that he would just go to work with Daddy and they could even share clothes when Ben is big enough. Then he became very interested in firemen, and decided that he wants to be a fireman when he grows up. ("But I have to buy a firetruck first!")

Then he figured it out - he can do both! So now he will be an auditor with Daddy, and also a fireman. Yes, my boy, you can do it all!

Susanna, who has recently become very interested in dogs (peer pressure), has seen ads on the telly for "Dogs Trust", and decided that she will work there when she grows up. We're secretly hoping she takes it one step further and becomes a veterinarian, but no pressure...

Weekend report

I can officially count our remaining weekends (living in England) on one hand. So much to do, so little time...

I am doing my best to enjoy the little bit of time I have left here. On Saturday, I ended up going to London on my own. Brad and the kids were tired from work/school all week, but I was ready to get out.

With no plan whatsoever, I got on the train and had a think. I decided to see a show. Since there is only one show I really want to see and I am planning to see that one with a friend in a couple of weeks, I decided to see a new show I knew nothing about.

The show is called Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. I honestly wasn't expecting to love it, but I did! It was about drag queens making a road trip (in an old bus called Priscilla) from Sydney to Alice Springs. Lots of singing and dancing and fabulous costumes.

On Sunday, we went to Family Fun Day at Susanna's school. This is the annual PTA summer fundraiser and it was very fun! They had go carts, pony rides, bouncy slide, games, crafts, and food. Like last year, Ben played the "Bottle Stall" game and won a nice bottle of wine!

Now we're back to Monday, but I know the week will go fast. Only four more weeks of school...

Maths lesson

Today at school they had a maths* session for parents.  The idea being to show us how things are done these days so that we can actually help our young children with their homework.

Always on the look-out for some use for my brain, I signed up.  It turned out to be very worthwhile.  We learned how to add two numbers using a number line.  You can also use the number line to subtract.  We learned about the importance of understanding place value.  We looked at number squares and multiplication tables.  We even learned how "chunking" is used to do long division.

They plan to offer a longer course in the autumn, and I am disappointed that I probably won't get to participate.  But I'm hoping that the little bit I learned today continues to be useful when we go to school in Texas!

*Yes, that's right - maths.  With an S on the end.  That is how it is here.

Thoughts...

As crazy as things have been around here, I'm having a bit of trouble working up a good post for the blog!  So today I'll just unload a few thoughts and recent activities and see how it goes...

• We are still waiting for a final answer on the move.  It is definitely Dallas and definitely soon.  At this point we have decided on a leave date at the end of July, and assuming all approvals go through, that will be it.  Soon we will start talking to the movers, etc. about packing up our things.  We also need to give notice to the landlords (at this point it will be more like a month's notice rather than the usual two) and then comes my favorite part of moving - having my house constantly ready for prospective buyers or renters!

• We have six weekends left, according to what we think is the plan.  That means after this weekend we will be able to count our remaining weekends on one hand.  I don't even want to think about that any more right now.
  

• I need to start thinking about all the good-bye/thank you gifts I need to get.  Ben has nine teachers in his school, Susanna has one plus aides, then there is music, Rainbows, etc...  Any good teacher gift ideas would be appreciated!  

• We are actively looking for houses on the internet.  They're starting to all look the same...  Brad expects to be in Big D in a couple of weeks and hopes to get a good tour of the areas in which we are interested.
  

• Susanna and I went to see the Lion King in the West End on Saturday.  We went with her best friend, T, and her mum.  The girls seemed to really enjoy it.  The day out included lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and then a visit to Build-a-Bear - a great day by six-year-old standards!
  

• Ben and Brad went to Legoland with T's sister and dad.  They had a good time - sounds like a fun place.  I'm not sure if Susanna will get a chance to go there herself before we move, but we've promised a visit to Dutch Wonderland in August.
  

• The weather is getting a bit more summery again.  Its quite pleasant when the sun shines.  The only trouble is that when we open the windows to get a bit of fresh air, we also get lots of flies and bees.
  

Hope everyone has a good week!

So this is... June?

I think our English summer has ended.  Gone are the warm, sunny days.  Back again are the cool, rainy ones.  

Just as soon as we packed away some winter clothes and took the warm duvet off the bed, the weather went back to March.  As usual when its a bit cold outside, its colder inside my house.  

But the kids are still in school (28 more days!) so its just as well.  And if its cold and rainy, I save time on sun cream in the morning.

Truthfully I don't really mind this cool weather, and after about a week in Texas, I'll be really missing it!

Sunrise: Follow-up

In response to a query from a loyal reader, I am following up on my last post.  

While the sunrise continues to hover around 4:45 in the morning, our kind son lets us sleep until 5:30 at least.  Maybe that is the time that the sun really gets going and makes enough light to wake him.

So no, haven't seen the sunrise yet!  

But there are still many early sunrises to come...

Sunrise

Brad heard on the radio this morning that sunrise tomorrow morning is scheduled for 4:48.  

Guess who will be looking for his breakfast by 5?

Wish us luck!

Have a nice summer!

As most of our American friends are preparing for the end of the school year and a nice, long, hot summer, I just felt compelled to write a little blog about how we still have 7 weeks of school left.  That is 7 full weeks, not one day off.  Our "summer" doesn't start until 2:00 on the 17th of July.

Of course we live in England, and even though we've been having some beautiful weather the past few days (around 70 F), we can't count on it staying this way until September.  So even if we were out of school, its not as if we'd be relaxing by the pool everyday or anything like that.  

Fortunately my kids are little enough to think that school is fun, and they don't realize that it could all be over much sooner.  And of course I don't mind having the few hours a day to myself... : )

Hope everyone on the other side of the pond has a great end to the school year and a great start to summer!

The smart way to store your weapon when you sleep

Britain's got (big) spiders

We get lots of spiders in our house here.  Usually they are of the Daddy-Long-Legs variety, or the smaller-slightly-meaty-but-hey-they-eat-bugs-so-I'll-ignore-it variety.

Tonight, we saw this meatball scurrying across the living room floor:

I realize its hard to show how huge he is with a photo on the floor.  The most standard thing I could quickly grab was this [old fashioned] Ipod Shuffle.  But I can assure you that he was both big AND meaty.  Too big and meaty for me to ignore.

He quickly took cover under the couch, which we then moved around different ways until he came back out.  After our little photo shoot, Brad went for him with a paper towel, but he sprinted for Ben's quilt.  Brad grabbed the quilt, went out the door, and assured me that he saw the spider take off for the footpath next to our house.  

I suppose this spider in my house is nothing, really, compared to scorpions and rattlesnakes...

House shopping

So we are still waiting for details on our impending move to Texas.  In the meantime, however, Brad has been scouring Realtor.com for his dream house.

In England, when you are looking at houses, there are certain things you may be used to but cannot take for granted: mixer taps, closets, hook-up for a vented clothes dryer...

In Texas, we've found, there are other things that you may be used to that you cannot take for granted, like green grass.

Amsterdam

We have just returned from a four-day trip to Amsterdam.

Neither of us had ever been there before, and though we now have children and couldn't properly "enjoy" the city, we were still keen to check it out.  (Not like we'd want to do any of that stuff, anyway...)

We stayed in a holiday apartment very close to the centre of the city.  The apartment was nice and comfortable.  Its always nice to have a separate bedroom for the kids and a kitchen where they can eat, since that is their favorite holiday activity (and it starts at 6 a.m.)

Once we figured out some of the local transportation, we were on our way through the city.  We spent a bit of time traveling by boat through the canals.  Entertainment, relaxation, and transporation all wrapped up in one nice package.  

We also did a bit of walking.  On the first day we walked to the flower market, which Susanna enjoyed (while Ben napped on a bench nearby.)  On the second day we visited the Van Gogh museum.  We managed to get through the whole thing, but it didn't take long.  We followed some good museum advice: buy a few postcards at the shop when you get there, and then go looking for those paintings.  Susanna did well with the game and found most of her pictures.  Not sure what happened to the rest...  Susanna and I also visited the Anne Frank house and talked a little bit about what happened there.

On Tuesday, our last full day, we went to the science museum, called NEMO.  It was nice to be in a place where the kids could touch everything and explore at their pace.  They managed to stay interested for a few hours.

The highlight of the trip was the pancakes.  We found a good pancake restaurant on Sunday and went back on Monday and Tuesday.  They had lots of toppings and combinations of toppings and every one that we tried was excellent.  The kids' pancakes came with really good prizes - Ben ordered a Fireman pancake and got a fireman's hat... Susanna ordered an Animal pancake and got a stuffed monkey.  Good stuff.

Here are a few photo highlights:

We ended up lunching at Hard Rock Cafe on the first day.  They had free face painting, and that made eating there totally worthwhile.

Riding the boat through the canal.  
We visited this replica of the Amsterdam near the science museum.  They loved exploring the ship.
Walking (running) along a pedestrian bridge towards the centre.
A little love by the canals after our last meal at the Pancake Bakery.

Ready for Texas

We still have no idea about when we might be moving, but Ben is ready to go thanks to this outfit his Grammy and Grandpa sent!  It goes perfectly with his new cowboy hat...  Now all he needs is the boots!

Noodles

On Saturday, the kids and I had a day out in London with Susanna's best friend, T, and her mum and sister.  

After spending the whole train ride to London eating the snacks we packed, we headed to Wagamama for lunch.  Ben ordered his usual - "spicy" soup (which isn't spicy at all) with chicken, noodles, and veggies.  He takes his time with food, but he eventually emptied the bowl, and was the only child in our group to do so.  I just can't get over his enthusiasm for this food!

Here he is getting the last drops.

And his empty bowl.
After lunch we walked to a small theatre that was doing a children's production.  It was a 45 minute play called "Theodore and Margarida".  Theodore was a bee and Margarida, a flower, was his best friend.  The kids really enjoyed it...  they got to sit right in front of the actors in little chairs and sofas, and were able to participate throughout the show.  After the show the actors held a little drama workshop where the kids learned, of course, to be bees and flowers.  

Then it was back to the train, where we had more snacks, and a walk back home.  Overall it was a very fun day!

Fiesta

On Saturday afternoon, we had some friends over for a little fiesta...  This is what Ben looked like by the end of the evening!

The next adventure

When we signed up to come to England for two years, we knew it would go fast.

Now we are finding that it might be going faster then we thought...  We have recently learned what our next destination is:

Texas!

Specifically, the Dallas area.

We are still waiting to find out exactly when we will have to move, but quite possibly it will be sooner rather than later.

So now that we've been in England for a full year and are finally starting to feel settled here, it time to start thinking about packing up and doing it all over again.  Deciding where to live, figuring out where the best schools are, packing up our stuff, and, oh yeah, dragging two little kids away from their home and friends.  

We are sad to leave here, but happy about going to Texas.  We always knew we wouldn't be going back to Lancaster and quite possibly not Philadelphia.  But Texas will be almost as different for us as England was... and the adventure continues!

Peanut butter and jelly

Peanut butter and jelly is something that every kid loves.  Or at least every American kid.  (Except the ones who are allergic, of course.)  

Mention a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in England, however, and you will most definitely get some funny looks.

First of all, what they refer to as "jelly" is what we call "Jell-o" (or gelatin if you are avoiding brand names.)  What we call jelly, they call jam.  Peanut butter is the same here, if not better.  But putting them together?  That's just crazy!

Sandwiches here tend to be simple - take two pieces of bread, butter both, and put something in the middle.  Cheese or ham or jam or something.  Usually just one thing, but gourmet sandwiches are available.

So I'm not really sure what they do with their peanut butter here.  There is plenty available at the supermarket, so somebody must like it.

But don't even think about combining it with their chocolate!

House without a name?

From what I can see, pretty much every house around here has a name.  Or at least it seems that way.

Most houses also have a number, but they didn't always have them and some still don't.  So you'd have a house name and a road, and you'd still get your post.  I suppose the detailed post codes help with this.

Most houses have nice little plaques out front with the names on them.  When we moved into our first house I noticed the absence of such a plaque.  I wondered what its name was, if it had one at all.  After getting a few pieces of mail with the word "Trevose" on it, I figured it out - that was the name!

Then we moved to another house with no name plaque.  Since I didn't notice anything that looked like a house name on our post, I queried the owner.  As far as he knows, the house has never been named.  I have to admit that I'm a touch disappointed that I live in a no-name house!

I'm not really sure what the history of house-naming is.  I don't know who gets the honor of naming houses.  Or if they can ever be changed.  But I think its a neat tradition and its great that it still goes on in this modern age.

3 day weekend

Its 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, and we are all up and ready for our three day weekend.  Monday is a bank holiday (May Day) so that means no school, and no work (well, for most people.)

Ben was up and down not feeling well all week, and yesterday evening around 6 the doctor confirmed he has an ear infection.  He also has a goopy nose, an icky-sounding cough, and a bit of a fever.  And some sort of skin infection on his leg.  

So our main activity for the weekend will be administering an assortment of medications to Ben.

Susanna has been better but woke up this morning with a cough.  So now I have two sick kids...

And Brad isn't even here!  He was summoned back to the States for a few days, which inconveniently coincide with this holiday weekend.  Its not a holiday in the States of course, so he will be working Monday.  And hopefully flying home Monday night. 

So it looks like I'm in for a fun holiday weekend!

(Okay, I'll stop complaining now...)

Summer term

The kids are now back in school for the summer term.

After a two week break, we were all ready for back to school.  The break was nice...  we didn't do much of anything, apart from playdates and park visits.  I enjoyed the relaxing mornings, not having to hurry to get myself and the kids ready for the school run.  And I think the kids were ready for the break and a chance to get refreshed.

Susanna returned to the classroom with her third new teacher of the year.  This is the actual Year 1 teacher who was out on maternity leave.  The teacher who was meant to be there until now left at Christmas, so there was a different teacher for the Spring term.  (There is no "winter" term.)  She doesn't seem too bothered by all the change...  with 30 kids, I think there are a lot of people coming in and out anyway, helping in the classroom.  So there are still plenty of familiar faces.

Ben just loves his preschool and is always a bit disappointed on Wednesdays when he doesn't get to go.  He has a few really good buddies there and generally seems be friends with just about everyone.  There is one little boy with whom he tends to clash, but Ben still considers this boy his friend and invited him to his party.  Ben loves to talk and gets along with anyone who is willing to listen!

Both kids started swimming lessons again this week.  Ben is still doing football but we have stopped Tumble Tots as he was quite a bit older than the other children in the class.  Susanna is still in Rainbows and is starting a drama course after school.  So that gives us one free afternoon a week!

Its been staying light here until after 8 at night which has been really nice, but it makes it harder for the kids to get settled in bed.  The good thing is that I have plenty of time to go walking after they do go to bed, which has been very nice.  We've been having some nice weather and I have to take advantage while I can - you never know when it will go back to being cold and rainy!

Happy 4th Birthday, Benjamin!

Today my baby boy turned 4!  Where has the time gone?  I can't believe how much he's grown.  He is such a big boy now and I am so proud of him!

Here he is at one day old...

And at 4 years old...
Happy birthday, Benny!

4th birthday party!

Today we had Ben's birthday party at a place called Cheeky Charlie's.  Its an indoor playground that you can hire on Sundays for private parties.  Ben invited a bunch of friends from preschool (most of the boys and some of the girls...) and had a wonderful time.  He'd been to a few other parties there recently and was happy to be the person of honor today!

After playing for a while, Cheeky Charlie himself made an appearance.  Ben got a gift (a lunch bag) and lots of hugs.  

I didn't even think much about making a cake and opted to let Ben select one at the grocery store.  Spiderman won.  I didn't taste it myself, but I could guess how it was....  (and I'm still waiting for Carvel to open a shop here!)
Ben getting ready to tear into his gifts.
Ben started with the gift from his favorite girl friend, Ruby, and it turned out to be his favorite gift.

Easter on the farm

On Easter day, we decided to go on an outing.  We thought it would be a good day to go out because everyone would be home or with their families.  

We decided to visit an open farm about half an hour away.  There is one near our house, but so far the ones further away have been better!  And we discovered that plenty of people go out to do fun stuff on Easter as it was quite busy, but not unpleasantly so.

Its a great time to visit the farms as its baby lamb season.  We saw lots of babies (some born that day!) and lots of expecting mummies, but we didn't get to see any lambs being born.  Still it was fun to see the tiny animals - Susanna could have watched them for hours!

There was plenty to see and do.  Susanna spend quite a bit of time jumping on a trampoline and feeding the animals.

The big event for the day was the Pig Race - they let the hungry pigs out of the pen and they run (eventually) around the enclosure to the food at the other end.  The pigs all have funny names and people get excited and shout for them.
Some of the slightly bigger baby lambs.
Both kids got a pony ride.
Ben almost missed this because he didn't want to wait, but ended up wanting to go at the last minute.
Overall we had a lovely Easter at the farm!

Easter egg trail

Yesterday we went to Cliveden, a National Trust property not far from home, and participated in a typical English Easter activity - an Easter egg trail.  These seem to be going on everywhere at the moment.

Rather than hunting for and collecting eggs, the Easter egg trail, or at least this particular one, involves looking for posted pictures of eggs and answering questions.  The eggs were in plain sight and there were signs pointing the way, so this wasn't a very challenging hunt.  We had a list of questions about different birds, and each egg had an information sheet where you could find an answer.  

I suppose I could have taken this opportunity to educate my children about various birds of prey, including the red kite and the peregrine, but it was busy and lots of people were trying to read the signs to find the answer.

And it was raining, so I didn't feel like standing around any longer than needed to win the prize.

The prize, once you got all the answers, was a chocolate Easter egg.  

Tonight we are getting ready for the Easter Bunny to visit.  The kids need to get to bed so the Bunny has time to stop in England before heading to the States to visit all our friends there.

Happy Easter!

Licensed to drive

I just got back from my driving test.

I passed!

Brad actually passed the test a month ago (I let him go first to check things out...) so now we are both legal to drive in this country.  

Its been going well so far...  Hopefully we can make it another year or so with no trouble!

Little luxuries

Shortly after we arrived and got settled into our new (first) house, I started this list of things I missed from before the move.  I thought it would be fun to revisit it now that we've been here for a year.

1.  Mixer taps - I still miss these terribly - the hot tap is very hot and the cold tap is of course cold...  even in the bathtub where they come out of one tap, the hot and cold are still separate, so you can't tell from putting your hand under it whether you have the right mix.

2.  Automatic garage doors (keypads are a bonus!) - I'm pretty much used to this, and since the garages aren't big enough to actually put a car in them, its not something I deal with very often anyway.

3.  Napkins readily available at grocery store - I've found some - they are either very inexpensive and almost worthless, or a bit pricey and something you would use at a party, not for everyday.  We make do.

4.  Commercial-free television for kids - I think we've found one channel like this - CBeebies - which the kids love.  Otherwise, they have sort of gotten past wanting everything they see on the telly.

5.  Large and efficient washers and dryers - I miss this terribly still, and its one thing I'll be very excited about when we move back!

6.  Garbage disposals - I'm used to this now and have no trouble scraping the plates, etc. into the bin, but they are certainly nice to have.

7.  Heated bathrooms (okay, maybe its just my house, but the bathroom I will have to shower in feels like a frig) - Moving helped with this - all three bathrooms have radiators, as they should.  We still have to open the windows when we bathe or shower as there are no fans.

8.  Closets - Again, moving to a new house helped with this, and they're wonderful!

9.  Window screens (to let the air in while keeping the bugs out) - These would be nice, especially with the warmer weather we are now having.  Screens just don't seem to exist here.  Have to be extra careful with upstairs windows and kids, though.

Overall we've become accustomed to the way things are here - it really doesn't take long.  We'll just appreciate these things so much more when we move back!

One year!

Today is the one year anniversary of our arrival in England!

Where did the year go?  I can't beleive its been that long already.  

I suppose we've been quite busy in that year...  We moved from temp living into our house, and then moved again to a different house...  We learned to drive (like being 16 all over again!)...  We took a few trips (Belgium, Denmark, and Switzerland)...  We entertained some houseguests (Brad's parents, my parents twice, and Tamineh)...  And we just enjoyed living near London, which is really pretty amazing.

As fast as this past year has gone, I know that the next one will go much faster!

The Easter Bunny

At the park after school today (enjoying the lovely weather), I queried a friend about Easter traditions.  I was thinking they must be a bit different since the shops here are not full of Easter baskets, Easter grass, Easter egg dying kits, etc.

Then it occurred to me that there doesn't seem to be an Easter Bunny!  And I learned that, in fact, the children here do not receive baskets full of treats from the Easter Bunny (they traditionally receive Easter eggs, but not from the bunny.)  And kids here don't dye Easter eggs.  I think some kids have egg hunts (and I've seen a few advertised) but again, not the standard.

Instead, they make Easter bonnets, eat hot cross buns, and enjoy chocolate eggs.

I better get in touch with the Easter Bunny soon to make sure he makes a special trip to England to see us!

And hopefully the kids won't compare notes with their friends...

Easter bonnet

Susanna is modelling the Easter bonnet she made for a school assignment.  It was fun to see everyone's bonnets as they wore them into school.  I have to admit that a lot were better than Susanna's, but we were going for the "I made it myself" look.

Springtime in my garden

We've been enjoying some mild weather lately, and as a result, have seen lots of pretty flowers popping up in our garden!  Its fun to see what we get, since we haven't yet planted anything of our own.  

In addition to lots of daffodils, we have seen...

Based on my own experience, I think that no English garden is complete without an old, rusty wheelbarrow thrown in the hedges!  (Our other house had one too.)
The house behind us is coming along nicely, from what we can see.  As you can see, the house is right up against the hedge.  But we can only see the roof, so no peeking in eachother's windows.

Playtime

Its fun to see the differences in children's play here... or at least what I think are differences!

For example, instead of playing "house", the kids here play "mummies and daddies".  Instead of "cops and robbers", they play "goodies and baddies".  Ben is always dressing up as a "goodie", all ready to "fight the baddies"!  

Ben is currently into every kind of boy-themed play, including Power Rangers, Batman, Spiderman and knights.  Ben has one buddy who is particulary skilled with a sword, and they love to play knights together.  As you can see from our castle photos, he is more prepared than ever to play a good game of knights!

As the weather warms and playtime moves outside, it will be time to play sports in the garden, including rugby and cricket.  Ben still goes to football classes and enjoys them very much.  Susanna has recently started going to football on some Saturday mornings... unfortunately its mostly boys so she isn't as excited about it as she would be if there were more girls.

We are looking forward to lots of play time in the next two weeks as both kids will be off from school.

Warwick Castle

On Saturday, we all (my parents, too) took the train to Warwick to see Warwick Castle.  The train ride was just over an hour from our town, and once we got there, it was a short walk through the town of Warwick to the castle.

As far as castles go, this is a good one.  There is quite a bit open to the public.  To start our tour, Brad and I took the kids through the towers and ramparts.  This involved 500 steps up and down, starting with the tower in this photo.

Everyone made it to the top of the tower.
Susanna brought along Barnaby Bear, who is currently part of her class at school.  Barnaby likes to travel to new places.
Ben loves playing knights and was excited to find some good knight accessories in the gift shop to go along with his hat and cape.
After the castle tour, Ben got more knight attire.  Watch out - he is getting good with his sword!

Getting ready for Easter

As Easter and the spring school holiday are quickly approaching, I've had some important things to do.

The first thing was helping Susanna to make an Easter Bonnet.  These will be worn in a parade at school and then put on display.  Having no idea where to start on something like this, I asked around a bit, and then went to the 99p shop (like the dollar store!)  I found, for 99p, a simple Easter Bonnet, just a plain girly hat.  Then I bought some fluffy chicks (availabe at every shop at the moment) and a packet of shredded tissue paper, and some plastic egg ornaments.  Susanna used these things to decorate the hat, and presto, Easter Bonnet!  (Photos to come at a later date.)

The next thing was making Crispy Chocolate Easter Nests.  Since they don't eat peanut butter eggs in this country, these nests are the homemade treat of choice.  The PTA will be selling them after school tomorrow and asked for volunteers to make them.  I got the recipe from the PTA president herself, and I'm sure its a good one, but I'm not sure mine came out right.  If anyone can screw up chocolate and cereal mixed together, its me.  I think I'll stick to marshmallows and rice crispies (but I don't share those!)

Other than that, I've been looking around at the Easter offerings at the shops, which are a bit more limited than those at, say, Target.  I've only seen fillable plastic Easter eggs at one shop and they were rather expensive.  I think I've only seen Easter grass at one shop as well.  And rather than endless chocolate bunnies, they have chocolate eggs - hollow chocolate with some kind of candy inside.  Lots of options on the chocolate eggs, but if  you really want a bunny, I've seen a few.

Of course the Cadbury eggs are widely available, and since they're made in this country, they're better than those sold in the U.S. (which are imported.)  They've never been my favorite, but the freshness definitely helps!

Spider Bear

Today I took my mom shopping at a shopping center in the next town, and Ben had no choice but to join us.  We had already planned a lunch at one of his favorite eateries, Wagamama.  But when we passed Build-a-Bear, he reminded me that he'd never been there, and I decided to indulge him (as an early birthday gift).

The lady working there was very nice to Ben, showing him how it all works and helping him through.  Ben picked a plain brown bear, added the birthday song, and when he spotted the Spiderman outfit (hanging right at three-year-old eye level) he decided he wanted that too.

His bear is officially named "Spider Ben"!