Gone fishin'

We're back at my parents' house again today.  Along the way we stopped to buy fishing rods for the kids so that Brad could take them fishing.  Brad loves fishing (fly fishing, in particular) but has hardly had a chance to fish at all since Susanna was born.  Now that the kids are bigger, he's decided its time to teach them the basics.

We went down to the creek after dinner, with a can full of worms and grubs collected from my mom's garden.  Brad wanted me to help one kid while he helped the other, but really, I don't know much more than the kids about fishing!  So the kids ended up taking turns casting, waiting a bit, and reeling the line back in.  As it grew a bit darker, there seemed to be a bit more fish activity, though mostly little fish and minnows.  Finally, Susanna's line started wiggling a bit, and she reeled in a little fish!  It was only a few inches, of course, but still exciting for her first time fishing.  We took a few photos (to be posted at a later date...) and threw the poor little guy back.

Brad plans to take the kids back to the creek tomorrow for some good old-fashioned creek stomping, with the goal of filling their new bucket with an assortment of creek critters.  I'll be sitting in the meadow watching.

Dutch Wonderland

Today we took the kids to Dutch Wonderland, a local amusement park for the younger set. Last summer we had season passes and it was so nice to go more often for shorter visits. This year we had to shell out for one-day tickets and make the most of it. The kids did very well - we were there from open to close with a short rest/dinner break in the middle. We did all the "essential" rides, saw the Thomas and frog diving shows, and also spent some time in the water play area. I realized that there are quite a few rides at DW that none of us have ever been on - some of the ones geared to slightly older kids. We tried to get the kids to try the smaller roller coaster (tiny!) but they wouldn't do it.

As we were walking out at closing time, the Princess, Knight, and Duke the Dragon were there to say goodnight. The kids gave the Princess a quick hug, and then went to hug Duke, who was suddenly called to "bed". As Duke walked off to a fenced area just before Ben got to hug him, Ben started crying (perhaps a little loud, but it was 8:30.) Duke noticed, and you could almost see a bit of concern through his big purple costume, and he came back out for a quick hug from Ben. Ben told his dad that he would really miss Duke when we go back to England.

We've been having a great time here overall. We've seen a lot of friends, went to the pool, Susanna had her first sleepover with a friend, I got a night out with a few girlfriends, and we've had quite a lot of watermelon and corn. Now we're down to less than a week and it will be busy. We are going back to my parents' house for a night, we have a few restaurants we want to hit (most for a second or third time), and I still need to do some shopping, and then figure out how to get everything back home with me. If only I could find room for a washing machine in my suitcase...

American washing machines are huge!

Its been very good being back in the States. Its nice being around familiar people and places, spending time with both of our families and friends, too.

One thing that really surprised me is how big washers and dryers are here! I know its only been four months, but I have to say that these machines are much bigger than I remember. My washing machine is so small that I can only fit about three towels in it. Here, I can just keep adding and adding and it never seems full. How was I ever behind on laundry when I lived here??

The other thing we noticed is how much water is in the toilets here. In England, there is just a bit at the bottom, and here the bowl is half full. Funny how different things can be!

In other news, we took Susanna to the eye doctor today and got some bad news - no improvement in her bad eye. The eye doctor has suggested that we change from patching the good eye to putting a drop in it each day. The drop would dilate the eye and make the vision blurry, thus requiring the bad eye to do some work. I hope this helps! Susanna is still within the window of opportunity for improvement, which is generally from age 3 to 7, so there is still a good chance for her and her eye.

Time to put the kids to bed - they are worn out from today - fun at my parents, Hershey's Chocolate World, and doctor appointments. And there is plenty more fun to be had tomorrow!

Back in the USA

After living in England for four months, we're on our first holiday back to the States.  Brad's job allows one visit per year, so this is one of two possible trips back during our two-year stay.

We're spending most of our time in Lancaster, staying with Brad's parents.  We're also spending a few days in Chambersburg with my parents.  Brad plans to spend a few days working, in Harrisburg and Philadelphia, while the kids and I catch up with as many friends as we possibly can!  In the process, we plan to visit Hershey's Chocolate World, Dutch Wonderland, and perhaps a museum or two in Lancaster.

Besides seeing friends and family, our big priority is food!  Brad made a long list including American cheese, Lebanon Bologna, and Turkey Hill iced tea.  I'm looking forward to some Carvel ice cream cake.  We have already eaten at Oregon Dairy, the kids' favorite.  Brad and the kids had lunch today at Neato Burrito, and Brad is planning several more lunches there.

I also plan to do a bit of shopping, for things I can't get in England, or things that are just so much cheaper here and easy enough to pack.  When I'm in England I look at prices and see double, but here, I see half!  Everything (well, almost everything) seems like such a bargain!  I left plenty of room in our luggage, but I know I still have to plan carefully.

Food

I am sitting here having a little snack and thought I would try blogging about it!  I like food so this is always a good topic for me.

I chose a mini Mars bar and a mini Milky Way for my snack.  The Mars bar is like a Milky Way in the States, and the Milky Way is just like a 3 Muskateers.  I think they have Snickers here and that they're the same as in the States.  There are a lot of different candy bars - different in both name and style.  Just various combinations of wafers/crispys/caramel/etc.  I don't think there is much (if anything) involving peanut butter (I don't think PB&J sandwiches are so popular either.)  There is a lot of thin or bubby chocolate.  Kit Kats are made by Nestle here and therefore are much better.  There are several flavours and my favorite is orange.  My absolute favorite candy bar here is Kinder Bueno - crispy wafers filled with hazelnut creme, covered with chocolate.  So yummy!

Potato chips are called crisps and they come in lots of different flavors.  Of course there are plain ones and salt n' vinegar, but then there are all sorts of meaty flavors.  Chicken, beef, bacon, seafood...  whatever taste you crave, you can find it in a packet of crisps!

Cookies are called biscuits, and while you can find a chocolate chip cookie if you really want one, I don't think they're quite as popular.  In the supermarket, there are a lot of varieties of crunchy round biscuits, either plain, or half (one side) covered in chocolate.  One of our favorites is Jaffa cakes - a soft sponge cookie with a bit of orange jelly on top, covered by chocolate.  Of course you can get things like Oreos and other basics, but you have to look closer to find what you want.  There is less variety of crackers as well.  They don't have Goldfish of course, but we have found something similar.

Its been a lot of fun trying the different snacks here.  Even if we can't find certain favorites, there is usually something just as good, and lots of new fun things to try.  

Cooler weather

Well July is over, and with it has gone the nice warm, summery weather.  For the past few days, its been cool and rainy, and that is the forecast for this entire week.  Quite honestly, I don't mind at all...  we'll be back in the States for a visit next week and I'm not looking forward to the hot, humid weather I've been hearing about.  At least packing will be easy - shorts, tank tops and swimsuits are all we'll need!

We had a good weekend here with Brad's parents.  Saturday we stayed close to home as Susanna had a birthday party to attend.  While she was at the party, the rest of us went to a local pub for lunch.  This pub is very old (900 years, I believe) and very traditional in terms of food and decor.  We all enjoyed our lunch, though Ben was a tad disappointed that chicken nuggets are not considered "traditional pub fare" and therefore were not on the menu.  Neither were baked beans, his other pub favorite.  But he did just fine with his ham and chips.

On Sunday, we took a short drive to the town of Windsor, to see Windsor Castle, of course.  We went as early as we could and avoided the worst crowds which made for a nice visit.  We toured the State Apartments with the kids and they both were a little interested (as much as could be expected!) in all the old furniture and paintings.  The guards around the castle are always fun to watch as well.

After the castle we had lunch (McDonalds - nicest one I've ever seen - for kids; Wagamama for adults), then took a short boat tour on the Thames.  We also spent a bit of time perusing the shops, and I think Ben hit pretty much every public toilet in town!  All in all a nice, relaxing Sunday, and it was so nice to be so close to home when we were ready to leave Windsor.

Cotswolds

Today we took a drive to an area of England known as the Cotswolds.  Its a rural area comprising many old villages and pretty countryside.  One of its big attractions is the Cotswold Farm Park, and we headed there.

Susanna wasn't too sure at first about going to a different farm park.  She likes the one in our town, but of course its the only one she'd been to so far.  We assured her that this farm park would be just as fun, and it was, if not even better.  

Her favorite part was bottle feeding the lambs and baby goats.  Each child got a bottle half-filled with drink and fed it to an animal.  The animals slurped it down in less than a minute. Susanna and Ben each got to feed two animals.

This is a "jumping pillow" - just a big thing to jump on!
This young goat found his way out of the pen, but then decided he just wanted to go back.  He eventually found his way back in through some broken fencing.
Ben always loves to sit on a tractor!
Feeding some young sheep.
Ben was ready to ride a John Deere in his John Deere shirt!
Susanna also loves holding baby chicks - so soft!
This bunny was nice to hold as well, but just a bit too squirmy...

After a couple of hours at the farm park, we headed to a village called Bibury, which has a nice trout stream (Brad liked this!) and a trout farm.  We had a quick visit to the trout farm to feed the trout (just cups full of small pellets.)  We then headed towards home and stopped at a pub for a good dinner.

I hope the kids sleep well tonight - they had a long day!