Boys Here There and Everywhere!

It seems like forever since I've had a chance to simply sit down and work on the blog. Since school started I feel like I've done nothing but shuttle boys here there and everywhere! Right before school started flag football season was upon us and that meant two sets of practices and games as both Connor and Jackson are playing. I felt stretched a bit thin when Jeff was out of town and I had to try to watch both games! Connor had transformed into a pre-teen. He loves middle school.

I look back at September now that it's October and wonder where it all went? What did I do the entire month. Then I look at my calendar and realize that outside of running the boys I do alot of additional things with the squadron, the medical group and the officer spouses group to mention a few. I know that given this level of activity it will be Christmas before I know it! So what did we do in September? Alot of football was played.

I volunteered for a ton of stuff. I took a photography class with a friend's husband who is a professional and photographed Ely Cathedral. Now I have to learn photoshop to make the photos better.

We spent two days in London and we watched Colton progress from perfecting first baby steps to walking around the house chasing his brothers. He is such a curious boy. He concentrates so hard on everything and anything that is new to him. And then there was the Air Force Ball. We had a great time and I even got a photo of myself all dressed up holding this huge machine gun. Gotta remember to get a copy of that one!

And as always, the sound of freedom continues to sound quite loudly over my house. Colton now looks for the loud noise rather than just crying when he hears it! So I guess that's progress!

Kindergarten

Jackson's first day of kindergarten has now come and gone. We are actually into week three of kindergarten . It amazes me how fast these weeks have gone. Jackson was so excited the first day of school. Connor started school a week before he did, and I had to explain this to Jackson every single day for that week! Thank you DoDDS for that! We did get to meet his teacher and the teacher's aide in our home the week before school started. Jackson is in a class of about 18 children and his teacher's name is Ms. Hanson. She is an experienced teacher and has more energy than I do in her little toe I think. Jackson seems to really like her. The morning school started he woke up really early and bounced out of bed to put on the clothes he picked out the night before. Let me say that this is the only day he did this! He was bouncing around waiting for daddy to get home to make the walk to school. I am thrilled he was so excited about starting school and wishing that it would continue throughout the year. After we dropped him off at his class we went to the boo hoo breakfast. Alright, I admit it, I shed a tear or two.....I will miss having my Jack around all day.

The Race...is ON!

For five weeks Connor has been attending a Club Beyond (Christian Fellowship Group) program called The Race. Now when he brought the medical release form to be at the beginning I thought it was just a precaution. I watched from a distance once or twice during the weeks as they played all kinds of knock down, drag out games like rubber tire tug of war and gladiator ball. But it wasn't until the first day of school when the last Race of the program would determine the ultimate winner, red or blue. Well as you've probably guessed from the all blue Connor, he was on the blue team. The conversation which particularly tickles me is when Connor tells me he's going, he's been eager to start this Club Beyond for a year now but had to wait. He tells me they are having this program and these two other kids he doesn't really like are on the red team and he wants to be picked on the blue team because he wants to "crush them". So I'm thinking Wow, what magnificent Christian principles they are teaching my child. I voice this to Connor and his reply..."It's okay mom, really, we pray before the crushing begins!" So there you have it!

We took Colton and wore our blue to support the team. Colton even met a girl at the event. He shared his puffy snacks with her.

My Middle Schooler

Connor's first day of middle school, what can I say? I feel old now that my oldest is in 6th grade for I clearly remember lots of details about the 6th grade. Connor is completely confident and excited and ready for this year. He has seven classes and 7+ different teachers. Their schedule is crazy difficult to remember black days, gold days and each class is numbered. He's really going to have to rely on his agenda this year. He's in Jubilee house. There are two houses per grade and they are all named after London tube lines. His homebase teacher is Dr. Espinoza and he adores her. He has to ride the bus again as the middle school is not on Lakenheath. The funniest thing was we had to shop for just the right first day of school outfit. Had to fit in and look cool! All the kids are wearing the skinny jeans so we had to get some. Just need the converse shoes to complete the look. He came home after school and told me his favorite teacher was going to be Mrs. Reed, the science teacher because there is a chemical wash station and she likes to blow things up! It's going to be a fun year!

A Day With the Queen at Sandringham

Sandringham is the Queen's country estate and it happens to be only a 45-60 minute drive from our house. They only open the estate for visitors for two shorter periods of time, and we were fortunate to get a gorgeous weather day on our visit. We went on Sunday and it happened to be a market day so we bought some really nice fruit and cheese and had a little picnic. The boys both got to jump on the trampoline in harnesses which is one of their favorites. If the queue had not been so long, I would have gone too. Looks like so much fun!

There was a great nature walk around the grounds and we had so much fun exploring. We found the grave sites of all the royal dogs. One of them in particular was a companion of the Duke of Edinburgh and two of the Queen.

The house itself was beautiful and we got some neat shots of the grounds and building's features. After the house we went to the garages. It was pretty cool because you could see the actual cars the royals have used since the early 1900's. It is a working garage during the family time at the estate complete with a working gas pump! We found several different models of hunting cars and carriages used on the grounds and then went through the room with all of the hunting trophies. Let's just say those cars are WELL used.

After tea and snacks we walked around the other side of the house and found lakes. There is also a beautiful old church on site.

As always, the details down to the crowns on the tops of the lamp posts and the royal crests on the flowerpots are fun to spot everywhere. We had a great day and I'm hopeful we can go back again as I particularly enjoyed the little gift shops! I purchased a few cute gifts along with some of the pressed apple juice from the royal orchards. They allow you to pick apples in the royal orchards in the fall as well. I think the boys might enjoy that!

Look What Crawled Into My Bed!

Even as my boys get older, on the weekends I still end up with at least one boy in bed snuggling with me. For some reason, I got lucky one morning and got all three of my snuggle bugs to cuddle with. They were so cute all stacked up, but by the time I grabbed the camera to snap a picture of them, Colton had decided to move away and watch the other two wrestle. Then he quickly decided he needed to be part of the action. As you can clearly see, he's the boss as he holds Jackson down and pulls Connor's hair. I hope they never outgrow their want to snuggle a bit with mom as long as they let me out of the way of their wrestling match!

Horse Trekking in Wales

It always amazes me that every new place I visit quickly becomes my new favorite. People that just have moved here ask me where to go and what to see all the time. I never know what to tell them! Well, this past weekend was Wales with the girls. It was FABULOUS! The OCSC put on this little shin dig and 8 women went. We loaded up in a van with our trusty driver/guide Dave and headed out to northern Wales. We had magnificient weather which was apparently unheard of for 3 consecutive days. I was nervous about going on this trip and leaving Colton at home with daddy. Not so much for Colton as I knew he would survive it, but for Jeff's sanity. It was well worth it to have the break from life to relax and share some fun evenings with friends. You know it is a good weekend when you have to restock the wine supply half way through the trip!












So we arrived in Betsw-y-coed on Friday evening and enjoyed a stroll through town and dinner at a pub.

After dinner we headed to our cottage in the mountains. Our cottage was actually a royal navy bunkhouse and it was camping by my standards. If you need sleeping bags it is camping! Plus, we had to share a bathroom, again, camping in my book! All eight of us were able to get into one bunkroom. This was good as apparently our cottage was haunted by pegleg!

The next morning after a full English breakfast at a little local place we headed back into Betsw-y-coed for a bit of retail therapy. Had a blast at all the cute shops and, of course, Kathy Higgins and I had to stop for tea and scones. Found some great tins with Welsh writing on the side. Added a couple to my collection of things I don't need but unique things I love!

Then it was onto our first two hours of horseback riding. The ride was beautiful and my horse Remy gave me a great ride! He was a big boy at 16 1/2 hands. We rode along the tops of some ridges with great views. By about half way through the ride I was ready to be done quite honestly. I forgot how painful riding can quickly become.

A group of exhausted gals showed up at the tin-y-coed for dinner. This is one of the most famous pubs in the region and I was introduced to my first pint of pear cider, my new favorite. We had a delicious dinner, best lamb I've ever had. Then back to the cottage for another fun filled evening of girl talk.

The next morning we again enjoyed french pressed coffee in our camping kitchen and then onto a full English again. Our ride today was a bit different, more on the sides of the mountains, moss covered trails, lots of little waterfalls embedded in the rock. I didn't take my camera as it seemed like it might rain on us. It ended up misting slightly for about five minutes so wishing I had taken my camera after all. I got Remy again to ride. We were able to actually do a bit of faster riding which I enjoyed. Then it was back on the bus to find a pub for lunch and a quick stop at Starbucks! Got the Wales mug! I was happy to get home to my bed and motrin! And there were three boys delighted to see their mom when I got home. I was equally as delighted despite the fun time.