scotland---day one

We made it!!!


We left yesterday evening after Steve got off of work. I drove for about 180 miles and then stopped for the evening--we saw a hotel and did not want to take a chance of not finding another one.


We loaded up the van and were back on the road at 8:00am. I drove the final 200 miles through fog, cloudy, gray skies, but arrived to beautiful blue skies in Helensburgh. We collected the keys for the townhouse we are renting, unloaded the van, and then when over to our friend's townhouse (they came up on Saturday) to see what the plan was for the day.


30 minutes after arriving, we loaded back into the vans--the guys in one with Emma and Mason and Stephanie in with me along with Michaela and Michael. We drove towards the Highlands to see the Falkirk Wheel--the world's only rotating boat lift. This engineering marvel was opened 6 years ago to link two canals that are at different levels so that canal travel could be completed between northern and southern Scotland. The engineering behind it is extraordinary.



Above the boat lift is a section of Roman defense wall, the Antonine Wall (same use as the Hadrian's Wall in England.)

The Antonine Wall, begun in AD 142 during the reign of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius , consisted of a turf rampart set on a stone foundation stretching 37 miles across central Scotland. A broad ditch was dug in front of the Wall as part of the overall defenses, and the fill from this ditch formed a low mound to the north.



Everyone is sleeping--resting for our adventure tomorow searching for Nessie at Loch Ness!!!!!!!

seriously...last post for today

This week was full of activities and crazy time juggling, but we have survived.

We are off to spend a week in Scotland. I guess I had better get packed so we can head down to Alconbury to spend the night with Steve and be closer to church in the morning. Emma is bursting at the seams to leave and wants to pack everything she sees. Michaela is making sure she has enough books for the time in the van. I wonder if either one of them thought to pack their toothbrushes:):):)

Look for posts with gorgeous scenery and hopefully a sighting of Nessie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

royal academy of dance examination

MESSAGE LEFT BY STEVE-HE WORKED TODAY

Today was Michaela's dance exam. She has been dreading this for many weeks now. The RAD requires the dancers to do the preparation and bar work, a ballet dance, and a character dance for a RAD examiner. The dancers are scored and move up to the next dance 'grade' if they score within the necessary range.

WARM UP

She has worried and worried about this and probably would have chickened out--if she thought I would let her. Of course, when I picked her up after the exam ( we were not allowed to wait here for her) she had a big grin on her face and came running up to the van. The examiner was nice (some of them are very stoic, serious British women) and Michaela felt confident in her performance. (which was why I made her do it). If only she would remember the good feelings she has after she does something she has feared--she would probably not fear the next thing quite as much. But.....what do I know:)

WARM UP

a 'wicked' night out.

Friday night, Holly, her sister Alison, Chris, Jeanne, and myself went to London to see the absolutely phenomenal show, WICKED. It was a great evening out.

We actually found a Mexican restaurant to eat at before the show. (that was actually Mexican--not an easy task in this country) The food was good--not Margarita's in Kentucky good, but good!

The show was excellent. Chris had seen it in New York and said it was a little different than this one. So now we are going to try and find out if it is a 'country' thing or if the show has been changed for variety. Ga-linda had me laughing during the show. What a great character to play!. The set was fabulous and the girl playing Elphi was brilliant. I am just glad it wasn't as boring and awful as the book!!

All in all a fantastic night out with my friends.

a moment to brag.....

I had Emma's first conference this week. Ms. Hirons went over the report with me of Emma's progress (This was the same day as Emma's birthday party, so Stephen got to take the 7 little girls up the hill and load them into our cars--lucky him!!!) She showed me the portfolio that had been kept since Emma began school in January of 2007--fun to see the changes in her language development and her drawings! She told me Emma was a joy to have in class, ( I was pleased to know that they NEVER saw Emma acting ugly or hard-headed...glad to know she saves that for us:) she was a great worker, and that she was well prepared for Kindergarten--she may actually be bored in 1/2 day Kindergarten. You go girl!!!!

Michaela brought her report home this week also. The grading system is nothing like the States, but she did very well in everything-scoring at National level or above in everything. Her lowest score was in Gym??? The teachers all typed a paragraph or two about her and her progress. The consensus...she is an excellent worker who puts a lot of time and thought into her work. She had so many teachers--18 in total!!!!, crazy schedules, and classes in two different school sites (they walked through town to the lower site for various classes--the trick was getting back to upper site on time if you were let out late from your class!!!!!) I am sure she will be able to handle Grey Middle School when we return.

I wanted to share the comments made about Michaela by Ms. Teager, Michaela's Form Tutor (i.e. home room teacher) and English teacher:

Michaela is an outstanding student in every respect, in the effort that she puts into all her work, in the determination that she possesses to always produce her best whatever the task, the quality of the work she produces in all areas of the curriculum. She is intelligent, thoughtful, and articulate. Needless-to-say, she is an excellent team player because she is willing to share ideas, to realise the ideas of others, to be supportive, and being sensitive to the needs of others, is willing to lead or to be lead. She is an absolute pleasure to teach. I have really enjoyed Michaela's company this year, especially her sense of humour and gentle "teasing". I will be very sorry when she has to return to America: it will not only be a loss to our form but also to our school.

Could this be about the same young lady who was petrified that she would not fit in in British school and that she would be the 'oddball'? I am so proud of you!

last day of school

Friday was the last day of school for Michaela and Emma Shea. We pulled them out a week and a half early because (a.) I am soooooo tired of school days (and I am sure they are too.) and (b.) we are leaving Sunday evening for a week in Scotland.


Emma was ready. She brought in an ice cream cake to share. She said good-bye, gave hugs, and never looked back. She is very excited about coming back to the States. Steve and I find this very odd since she remembers no other life besides the one in England, and only has a memory of three weeks she spent in the States last year.
Emma Shea with her teachers, Ms. Reynolds and Ms. Hirons


Michaela on the other hand...is very sad about leaving and would easily stay for many more years. This is the same child who for the first three month we were here cried that she wanted to go back to Kentucky. They announced in assembly yesterday that it was her last day at school and to give her a big hug. Of course, she cried, her friends cried, I cried when she told me about it. I am positive these are the beginning of many more tears to flow!


The uniforms have been given away--or will be burned in Michaela's case ( I am actually not sure if her pants will burn. I think they will probably just melt into a pile of goo!!!!). The lunch boxes packed. SCHOOL IS FINALLY OUT FOR THE SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 years ago today......

well I was still miserably pregnant.... but tonight Emma Shea celebrated her 5th birthday!!!!

Because we will be moving back from England a few days before her actual 5th birthday, we decided to have her party now so she could celebrate with her friends.
The theme was butterflies. Of course!!!!! Alison, who is visiting from Texas, made the great butterfly cake for the party!!!! It was YUMMY!!!!!! Thank you Alison!

We rented a tent, table, and chairs and set up in the backyard (it has been raining for days, so the tent was a necessity!!) There were butterflies everywhere! Katy, from Pottering About, brought bowls and butterflies for the guest to paint. She will take them back to the shop to glaze and put them in the kiln. All the pieces will be returned next week!!! I cannot wait to see them--there were so many interesting color combinations being used:)
We played statue in the living room--because of course, the weather was gorgeous all day while the girls were in school and began raining as soon as the party started--so the bouncy castle had to be put on hold! When the rain lessened to a drizzle, we set up the bouncy castle. 13 children on a bouncy castle=Total mayhem!

Next was dinner, cake, and present opening, and a game of Pass the Parcel until parents arrived at 6:30.

The party is complete--clean-up is next. But we survived the 3 hours with ten 4 to 5 year old girls and 3 boys (I was babysitting this week, so the boys crashed the party), and after the hug and kiss and thank you I just got from Emma, it was worth it!!!

****She will be starting Kindergarten in Kentucky on her actual birthday--She is already talking about the cupcakes she is going to take in!!!!****

happy independence day

After waking Emma Shea up at 11:30 (she was wiped out from the fireworks the previous night) we made cupcakes and a cake for Emma's school carnival--with no better theme--America!!!! There were American flags all over the school grounds and the children wore red, white, and blue (No uniforms--Mufti Day). After school we headed down to the events. Emma had a great time on the 75 foot bouncy castle, getting her face painted, and riding the teacups! Our cake was a hit and the dozen cupcakes we made sold in about 25 seconds--nothing better than American store bought frosting and cake mixes--they LOVE them here!!!!

Yes, I know it is one stripe short!!!!

After school, Michaela spent the night with a friend, so Steve, Emma and I went to a block party with some of our friends without her. There was lots of food; lots of music; lots of fun!

Our last UK 4th of July was filled with happy times with friends, with the shadow of sadness knowing that we will not be here next year celebrating with them:(

then and now

Our first UK 4th --2005

Our final UK 4th--2008

happy 'almost' 4th of July

***This post was actually done on July 3rd, but due to an awful internet connection it did not post until the 4th***
The base had the annual 4th of July celebration tonight, July 3rd.
It was fun to spend the evening with friends, but bittersweet knowing that this was our 4th and final 4th of July in England.

We did the normal...rides, bull riding (Michaela did anyways), jousting, and of course, FIREWORKS. What could be better than songs like 'Sweet Home Alabama', 'I'm proud to be an American, ' Wide, blue Yonder'...being blared across loud speakers with fireworks exploding in the air for the neighboring British families to share in the celebration with us!!! Oh yeah, and we bundled up in our coats and blankets to watch the fireworks...because after all, it is July!!!!! Gotta love the British summer.

emma' shopping list

Emma was writing her shopping list last night on her white board. She wanted me to share it with you. pen--she wants a thin-tipped dry erase marker for her ABC sheets
batteries--for her camera
drink--because she had just gone into the kitchen to get a fruit water
swimming--because Michaela was at the Brackley Pool (indoor) swimming and Emma was not allowed to go!!

what????????????????????????

We had a survey done last week to see how much shipping our antiques back to Kentucky was going to cost.

We had inquired two years ago before I began buying and was unofficially quoted L800.00 for half a crate. We were estimating around $2000.00 for the 13 or so pieces we have and a few boxes of china and Polish pottery. So needless to say, when I opened the quote and saw L3382.00 ($7000.00) I was SLIGHTLY shocked.

What does this mean....it means I will be mailing the china and pottery and the antiques will be going into storage until one of our friends PCSes back to Washington DC next year.

How depressing:(:(

mac and mom night

Last Thursday, Michaela and I drove up to RAF Mildenhall for a mom and daughter evening out. We had a great time weaving a basket together. Michaela did most of the weaving--letting me do the more difficult beginning and ending!

Emma and Steve had a bowling 'date' while we were out. Emma was very excited because she did not use the slide to bowl!

***My friend Holly has had my camera, so not much to post. More soon!!!!

a royal anniversary...

June 14th was Stephen and my 17th wedding anniversary--WOW!!! Because our anniversary fell on Steve's weekend to work , we decided to celebrate it this weekend.

Friday morning, we got Michaela off to school and dropped Emma Shea off with Ms. Holly. Once we were children-less, we headed north to Walworth Castle Hotel in Darlington.

The Walworth Castle

We had a great time stopping along the way when we saw an interesting 'tourist' sign, eating at a historical pub----without the usual "parent" talk!!!!, driving three hours without hearing, "I have to go potty." and talking without hundreds of interruptions:):) And of course, we LOVED our hotel suite. We stayed in the King James suite--he stayed in what was our lounge (living room) in the 1600's. Our bedroom was in the tower--2nd window up.

And while I usually do not take pictures of the hotels we stay in....I have added some because I usually do not stay in a castle from 1066!!

Our royal chamber

The fabulous jacuzzi

Our lounge--King James stayed here (without the plasma tv of course:))

This morning we woke up and went horse back riding--that is what we did on our first date. Can I just say, English saddles are not comfortable and riding a horse was alot less painful 21 years ago! We then headed back to pick up the girls with a few sightseeing stops in the rain on the way home.

This is how you keep them in line!!!!

Thank you Chuck and Holly for watching the girls for us!!!!!

let's go fly a kite....

Finally....a windy day. (We had the air conditioner in our van worked on yesterday, so of course it was grey, windy and cold today:)

Steve walked in from work and asked who wanted to go outside with him to fly a kite. (which is why he is in uniform still). Emma, who had been playing dress-up, jumped up and down and said, "I do! I do!" She ran to the garage to get her kite and headed to the field--with Steve and Michaela trailing behind.

Emma thought flying the kite was fun, but she was still in her dress up clothes so she was COLD!!! When it began sprinkling, she climbed into the van and sat until it cleared up.

The princess staying dry

Michaela enjoyed getting her box kite up..and even had both kites for awhile.

Of course Steve had to get in on the fun

The real fun was when the string flew out of Emma's hand and the kite flew away!!!! Steve ran for 1/2 mile before the kite finally came down---on the street next to our house. That is some kite!!!!!

Daddy saved the day--he brought the kite back AND a fleece to wear!!!!!!


***I actually flew the kite also. I was the only one to get it stuck in a tree!!!

emma's new joys

Today after lunch at Taco Bell (our treat after church each week!) we walked through the BX and Emma found a pink baseball mitt that she 'needed'. (She wants to play T-ball, but the base requires you to be 5 years old--silly rule). So Steve bought it. We also bought two kites because I have been promising Emma a kite flying day.

She and Steve had a good time throwing the ball back and forth to each other!

I found it hysterical that Emma kept coming in to wipe out the hand opening of her mitt because it was sweaty!! What a girly girl :)

After about an hour of tossing the ball, Emma came in and asked if we could fly the kite. We tried to explain that there had to be a good wind for the kite to fly... but she wasn't accepting that until she saw for herself. (Wouldn't you know the day we buy kites in England is a sunny, beautiful summer day with NO wind!)

We took the kite out to the field and what do you know--Mommy was right (the pic of Emma looking sad is when she realized I was right.) There has to be wind to fly a kite!!!!

should we be worried!!!

On our drive home from London last night, I asked the girls what their favorite part of the trip was. Michaela said, "Walking up the steps, the mosaics of the dome, the chocolate from Harrod's..." Emma thought for awhile finally said, "Swinging on the pole in the Tube!" (We were the only one's left on the Tube when she was doing this.)

SHOULD WE BE WORRIED?

final farewell to london

St. Paul's Cathedral

Yesterday, despite the forecast for rain, we loaded in the car after Michaela's dance practice and headed to the tube station for our final trip to London. We had only two things on our agenda--St. Paul's Cathedral and Harrod's Department Store!

Our favorite seats on the Tube!!

St. Paul's was beautiful. We climbed the 500+ steps to the top of the dome and got a great view of London. (And you can tell school is out in the States because there were Americans everywhere!)

View of Shakespeare's Globe theatre across the river

After St. Paul's, we headed back to the tube station to visit Harrod's. We went two years ago on Boxing Day--and so had 3/4 of the UK--so we headed back to walk through with a few less people! We loved walking through the food shops--Emma was repulsed by the seafood shop that had SNAILS for sell. She sees those all over the place while we are outside, so she was appalled that people eat them!!!! Both girls LOVED the chocolate cafe and I was quite taken with the jewelry departments:)! We bought some chocolates and a Harrod's tote bag--last of the big spenders!!!! Michaela did see a large glass ball she wanted. I told her I had not brought enough pounds to pay for it, but to ask her daddy if he had a spare L20,000 ($40,000.00) he could spare!!!!!! HAHAHA

Emma reminding us it is important to stop and smell the roses And then of course we had to head to the original Hard Rock Cafe for one last time. We decided to walk the two miles to the restaurant. There are 124 HRCs around the globe--Steve has decided we should visit them all! (If he gets the State Department job, we can eat at a good bit of them!

Orange smiles after too much food at HRC St. Paul's has been crossed off the list of places we have to go to before we leave. Unfortunately, the list is longer than the time we have left allows--but we will make the most of every minute we have!!!!!

***No photography is allowed in the cathedral***