Fourth of July

The Fourth of July came and went without much fanfare here - except our celebratory breakfast.  I'd like to say I was feeling extremely patriotic about being an American - but I really just missed being at BBQs with friends and watching the fireworks with the kids.

On the fourth, I realized that we have crossed over the six month mark since our arrival.  If you look back to my "making our house a home" post from a few weeks ago, I'm happy to report that I got through my "to do" list and am pretty much feeling done with things here.  Now on to more travel planning!

"Mum"

Ryan made this sign for us.  I guess am officially "mum" now!

Father's Day Weekend

It was a fun, relaxing Father's Day weekend around here (since John is a fan of relaxing, it worked out well)!  We kicked off the weekend with movie night, then John took the kids to football on Saturday morning.  Ryan got the "Player of the Day" award and he was so proud!  On Saturday, I got the energetic boy out of the house so that John and Lane (who was feeling under the weather) could just hang out and watch movies.  After our Sunday waffles (John's gift was a waffle iron) and church, John and I headed to London on a double date with the Fletchers (who were in town).  A trip into the city is so different without the kids...  It was a beautiful evening and even felt a bit like summer, so we walked the mile or so from Paddingington Station to the restaurant.  As we getting ready to leave London, we saw our train on the platform and made a run for it, hopping on unsure if we were even on the right train!  We LOVE our children, but I also love when our dates feel like we are dating again!  ;)  

Player of the Day

Mmmm.... Waffles!

Playing with a new photo app while we wait for the train...

Dinner with the Fletchers in London

The Post Office

 

The local Post Offices are a little different around here.  They are more like small convenience stores - with a counter at the back where you can send mail.  I love our Post Office (and the couple of stores right next door to it - a butcher and another small grocery store).  Apparently, it is "award winning."  Today, with the kids back in school and the rain coming down, I was finishing up my "making our house a home" projects and needed green thread to hem my diningroom curtains.  So, I threw on my wellies and walked over to the Post Office.  And, there it was... the exact shade of green thread that I needed.  I was just telling John last night... the location of our house - in this quiet village, with lovely neighbors, a big backyard, a little green right on our cul-de-sac and small pubs & shops - is one of my favorite things about living here.

Making Our House a Home

It's hard to believe, but we are coming up on six months here in the UK.  The plan is to only be here 2-3 years, which means time is flying!  So, by July 3, it is my goal to be done "settling in" here at the house.  I've painted my kitchen wall (yea!), have all of the furniture that we need (and finished painting the corner unit I got on freecycle - see the photo below!), and am about done with the decorating.  Still left to go on the list...

- Find curtains for our kitchen.  (Our kitchen IS our pantry, with all of our dry goods out on shelves for the world to see... need to get a curtain rod and some curtains.)

- Replace curtains in the diningroom.  (These are already purchased... I just need to hem & iron them and get them up!)  

- Replace curtains in Ryan's room.  (You'd think I'd have this done by now, but finding something simple and navy blue - trying to keep it dark as possible - has been easier said than done!)

- Hang/display photos.  We have just one box still sitting in our conservatory to be unpacked.  It's mostly photos and I just need to walk around the house with hammer and nails!  

Corner Unit in Our Diningroom - Before & After

Kitchen Wall - Before

Kitchen Wall - After

Edinburgh

Last weekend was the beginning of the half-term break (and also the Queen's Jubilee Celebration), so we took advantage of John's extra days off and drove up to Edinburgh.  The kids loved the double decker tour bus and taking audio tours of the sites.  We had nice, relatively-clear days (better than the rain they had in London!) and beautiful scenery along our drives.  We do, however, note that these excursions are "family trips" - not "vacations."  (The days were busy and full!) 

Walking the city walls of York

Edinburgh Bus Tour
(our main way of getting around town)

Lane & Ryan in jail at Edinburgh Castle
(note audio tour headphones, again)

Ryan and "William Wallace"

Royal Yacht Britannia

King Arthur's Seat

Holyrood Palace
(yep, audio tour again)

View of Edinburgh Castle from King Arthur's Seat

Falkirk Wheel

Falkirk Wheel

Long car rides aren't so bad...

Things we miss...

John just got home from a week in the States and brought back a bag (literally - a duffle bag) full of loot.  These are some of the random little things that we miss!

- Dawn Dishwashing Liquid (so that I can concoct my favorite homemade stain remover)
- Reduced Fat Skippy (Lane has rejected all of the other peanut butters we've tried!)
- Catalina Dressing (to make Taco Salad & Cranberry Chicken)
- Stove Top Stuffing (for one of John's favorite chicken recipes)
- Jiffy cornbread mix (for Chili Pie)
- Wheat Thins (there is NOTHING like them here)
- TJ's peanut butter pretzels & turkey jerkey!

Seaside Day

Last week was Seaside Day at Ryan's School.  It was really a fantastic all-day presentation for the Year 1 classes where they "went to the seaside" from the comfort of the school auditorium.  These were Ryan's souvenirs...

Carter's Steam Fair

Today, the carnival came to Maidenhead!  It's an old-fashioned steam-carnival.  (Before you get too caught up in how sweet and kitchy and cool that sounds... make sure you take note of the "old" part.  I thought I might lose my life - or at least a few vertabrae - when I went on the bumper cars.  But I digress...)

 Lane had a playdate this afternoon, so Ryan and I went to check out the carnival.   We had a great time and look forward to when the Carter's Steam Fair comes to Holyport in September!

Girls Overnight

Every Spring, Lanie and I go for an overnight away by ourselves.... it's special mommy/daughter time and a tradition that I hope will last, well, for a lifetime.  This year, we made a trip into London and went to see Wicked.  She loved it!  We stayed near the Tower of London and visited there today.  The Beefeater's tour was a bit too much information, so we wandered off by ourselves for the self-guided family tour.  I think that the highlight for both of us was going to see the crown jewels, where they had a video loop of Elizabeth II's coronation for viewing before going to see the actual crown - very cool since we are celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee (commemorating her 60 years of reign) in June.

Off to London!

Wicked

We could see the Tower of London from our hotel.

Jack the Ripper

Beefeater

Ending with ice cream - it didn't matter how chilly it was!