Ahoy Sailors!!

Brady always makes fun of me for going to sailing camp when I was younger (I have never denied what a big dork I was am)...so when Brady and I saw a sailing trip on the auction list at the Cricket Ball a couple of months ago, we couldn't wait to bid on it (I'm pretty sure we were actually bidding against each other, but that's another story).  We finally we able to go this last saturday.  Our host, Andrew, helped us navigate the broads on his boat.  We had a great time and learned a lot.  However, I have to admit that sailing may not be the best activity for a 2 year-old.  It was a pretty confined space and of course P wasn't supposed to touch anything so he was a little bored (though he did love yelling, "ahoy sailors" as we passed other boats).  He was not afraid to tell us either...when we asked if he liked sailing he said no...shoot.

weekend review

Despite failing my driving test (tear), we had a pretty great weekend!  Here are a few of the highlights...

Our friends Kat and Tom brought over curry on Friday night...this was Brady and I's first experience and it was delicious!!  People here talk about getting 'a curry' like we talk about getting a burger or a sandwich so this was long overdue.

I bought a jar of Fluff from a nearby confectionary shop and found a recipe for marshmallow brownies that was amazing...even better was the Fluff dip I made for them...yummm...

Parker got a scooter...we went to buy a bike with training wheels but his little legs are still too short so we came home with this...

We had an awesome Saturday morning trip to the park...with Woody...

Parker went to his first birthday party...cried because he wanted to go home...went home and took a three hour nap...said he was ready to go to the party...shoot...

We watched the mayor's royal processional...

...then got a balloon sword...

...and saw a couple of fake gorillas who were pretty impressive (so much so I couldn't get P to get close enough to take his picture)...

And Sunday evening Matt and Mandy watched Parker while we went to a nearby village and had dinner at a pub that was built in the 1300's...awesome...

olympic torch

 We spent the 4th of July celebrating the UK and following the Olympic torch...I know, it was kind of a weird way to spend Independence Day, but (substituting US flags for UK) it was a pretty great way to spend the afternoon.  I love when everyone is out in the city centre and excited.  I especially love all of the street performers (both planned and not) who line the streets.  We had a great time!  Parker and I even went out early the next morning to watch it leave the city...so fun!!

Just some pictures of some of the performers and Parker waiting for the torch to come.

He actually slept for the first hour that we waited...oh and yes, that is a USA shirt he had on...we had to represent!

 Below are some pictures of the crowd and parts of the parade...oh and the torch...as you can see I waited for an hour and then almost missed it with my camera...I'm an idiot...

We were really lucky the next morning because it passed right through the Cathedral Close which is right next to our home.  P and I went to watch it again...so glad we did!

Parker wore his Team GB shirt this time...oh and he picked out his green pants.

We had such a great couple of days...and nice weather too!!

fail

Today I failed my driving test...no, I am not kidding.  To some of you, this might not come as a surprise...however, I have to tell you that I failed because I caused another driver to slow down behind me when I turned onto a road.  I thought I had plenty of time...nope.  I can't lie...I'm really embarrassed, super sad and overall kind of mad.  I am not the first to fail and I won't be the last...they actually have a television show here all about people who have failed their tests multiple times...most of them are older than me.  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have failed for the same reason in the US, but I don't feel like I can say anything until I do some research on accident statistics between the two countries.  Maybe their cautiousness results in better drivers...hmmm something to ponder.  Anyway, I can take it again in 10 days.  Wish me luck!

Animal Show

This last week was the annual Royal Norfolk Show.  It is basically just the state fair of Norfolk county. Almost everyone I know was going so I decided to take P and see what the fuss was all about.  We had so much fun.  I thought we would only stay for around an hour or so but we were there for four hours...we spent most of our time going back and forth between the tractors (thank goodness for a dealership will to let him get on) and the animals.

We got in a lot of tractors...

We hung out with some goats...

We finally went down a big pink slide (he stayed at the top for 15 minutes before the worker helped him come down)...

We jumped on some lily pads...

 We rode a ride...

 and played in some sand...

It was an awesome day!

365

At the end of today, we will have lived in England for 365 days.  It has been a long, hard and amazing year.  I have learned a lot about myself, my marriage, and British culture.  I still stick my foot in my mouth more than I would like to admit, but we are learning as we go.  Here is a brief summary...

Favorite thing of living in the UK...walking to do all of my errands...seriously, I dread moving back and having to get in and out of the car...

Least favorite thing (besides missing family and friends)....the customer service...

Pantry staple I miss most...Rotel, or Velveeta, ooh, or ranch...people here really don't know what they are missing...

Something I buy here that I didn't at home...cheese scones...just wow...

Favorite restaurant in Norwich...Zizzi's...we are there often enough that the waitress recognizes when we get hair cuts...

Restaurant I miss most in Wichita...Bella Luna...

Fashion look I really don't understand here...shorts with panty hose...no, not tights or winter shorts...jean shorts (usually with the pockets sticking out the bottom)...with panty hose...

Parker and I's favorite weekday spot...hands-down, the library...

Our favorite coffee shop...Costa...is it sad that I catch P trying to order a 'skimmy cappucino' everywhere we go?

Favorite fish and chips pub in Norwich...Wig 'N Pen

Number of small kitchen appliances I've ruined trying to use the converter...3...I know you're thinking how I got past one, but two of them worked for a while before burning out...

Number of frequent flyer miles in the last year...69,390

And now some changes for Parker...

Number of months he's been potty-trained (big-boy underwear only during the day)...almost 9 exactly

Number of months we haven't had to buy diapers at all (big boy underwear at bedtime too)...4

Number of words he was using in a sentence when we left...6 or 7

Number of words in a sentence now...I admit, I've lost count and now I get excited when he puts multiple sentences together...

Favorite song when we left...Baby, Oh!

Favorite song now...Firework or 'I'm sexy and I know it' (shoot)

Bed he sleeps in now...queen

Favorite item of clothing before...socks...usually as mittens

Favorite item of clothing now...K-State jersey

Here are a few now and then photos...oh how things change!!

and then...

Jubilee weekend

 We have had an amazing Jubilee weekend.  Everywhere we go, people have been bubbling with excitement.  I love it!  Plus, Brady got Monday and Tuesday off...wahoo!  We spent Saturday at the beach in Southwold, Sunday at church and then a bbq with Matt and Mandy and their girls, Monday at the church block party, and today just relaxing around town.  Unfortunately, I only took pictures on Saturday in Southwold...shoot.

I love watching P at the beach...let's be clear, it was like 50 degrees here (beach weather in the UK:), but we still had a great time!

P with our sandcastle!  It was much more impressive in person...;)

Brady bought a kite and it was a perfect day to fly it!

Seriously, red, white and blue was everywhere! 

This was my favorite picture...Parker loves Katie and you can totally see it in his face here...precious!

Oh, and my favorite part of the day...Brady was pulled out the crowd to participate in the street show...hilarious...I thought I was going to pee my pants...seriously...

B's family in London!!

We are so blessed.  Brady's mom, aunt, and brother came into town last week and we had a great time. We packed as much as we could into the time they were here...it was great, and exhausting.  They literally took planes, trains and automobiles to come and see us...long story short...beware of American Airlines vouchers when your plane gets detoured (and subsequently cancelled in Moline, IL).

Here are a few highlights...

P peed in a McDonalds cup at Buckingham Palace...seriously...more specifically it was next to the wall in Green Park...London should really have more public restrooms in public parks...

Janae, Cortney and Deb randomly ended up in a car to Chicago with a man from Bristol...they felt like they knew him so well after their travel ordeal, that I heard, "I feel like Greg should be here" more than once:)

I accidentally dropped P's 'big cow' on the train tracks...and cried...luckily a maintenence man rescued it...I cried again...

Janae and Cortney made it to Norwich's famous club-lined street, Prince of Wales Road, and made lots of fun new friends. (yeah, Brady and I are pansies)

We ate sticky toffee pudding three times for dessert...if you have never had this...you should...

Janae and I ate fish and chips for two meals in a row...what?  When in England...:)

A man on the London Eye kept taking pictures of Parker with London in the background...then he asked if P could take a picture with him...I'm trying not to worry about this...

I know there are more that I am forgetting, but in short (ha), we had a wonderful time and I am so glad they came!!

YES!

I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but a couple of weeks ago, Brady passed his driving theory test...he didn't miss a single question, and if you have ever driven in the UK, you know what a feat that is.  Well, this week he had his driving practical test (for the record, Brady and I just argued a little about this, I say practicum, he says practical...if practical is wrong, blame him; if it is right...it was my idea, ha:).  Anyway, he passed!!  We decided to celebrate by enjoying the beautiful weather and pub-hopping.  To be fair, we didn't intentionally pub hop (with a toddler).  We had simply already ordered a Scottish egg (just say no) and a drink when we realized the first place didn't have any outdoor seating left so we went to another pub/restaurant nearby to enjoy the weather (and some chedder and mushroom french fries)...ummm, amazing (yep, both the weather and the fries).

Parker also had his 'first real owie' (I made the mistake of calling it that and now we haven't heard the end of it).  There was kind of a lot of blood for a skinned knee, but we solved it with a 'Cars' plaster (bandaid) and some weird pink cream (they don't sell Neosporin here...seriously).   

I am so proud of Brady and can only hope that I can pass as well...I'm preparing myself to retake it, ha:)

to london we go!

a trip to london on our own

plus

navigating the buses

plus

walking through the National Gallery

plus

chasing the birds in Trafalgar Square

plus

having lunch with one of my oldest friends

plus

dinner out with daddy so mommy doesn't have to cook or do dishes

equals 

a truly spectacular day

Thanks for hanging out with us Kara!!

Rugby

We don't have football (well American football anyway), so we have been trying to go to more rugby games.  Amateur rugby is a big deal here and fortunately, our friend Tom plays for a rugby club nearby.  I'm not going to lie...I have no idea what is going on during the game.  At first I thought it would be similar enough to football to follow, but I just can't seem to make sense of the game (working on this).  Parker loves to go to the games...mainly because they let the kids play on the field after the game.   He spent most of the first half going, "can I go under the fence and play rugby?"  It got so bad that he and I spent the second half in the clubhouse.  

I took about a million pictures of him playing, but I promise I'll only put a few on here.  There is just something about the pure look of joy on his face that made me continue to snap.  Oh, and yes, I was that mom chasing my son around with a camera like a huge dork...hey, not knowing anyone has it's perks.

There was a lot of this...

And this...

And lots of wipes because P doesn't like to be dirty...

So happy...:)

And home...we had to hold on to his vest because he kept trying to go back under the fence...great day!

Lincoln

Brady had training up in Lincolnshire this week and, because he can't drive, P and I had to take him.  Driving is not my strong suit (I apologize if you know this from first-hand experience), and driving in England is definitely not a strength.  Needless to say, driving two and a half hours was an experience for all of us, but we made it.  I am actually so glad that we went with him.  Lincoln is a charming city (it has a cathedral therefore it is a city), and Parker and I found enough to keep us occupied.  One of the best parts of our adventure north was that we were close enough to meet my dad's cousin and his wife and kids for dinner.  With work schedules and everything else, it has been hard to find time to meet them, but this was a great excuse!  

After pushing a stroller uphill for a mile, in the snow (ha, just kidding, but not really), P and I toured the Lincoln Castle.  Much of the tour was actual a victorian-era jail, but it did have one of the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta which was pretty awesome (I am such a nerd...I know).  

Here are a few pictures...not very good ones...we were cold!

Here's hoping that this is the only time I see P in a jail cell!

I know you are probably wondering what these pictures are...it is the jail chapel and they had dummies in the seats with masks over their heads...pretty creepy...I can't believe I took P.  I also can't believe I actually tried to explain to him what he was seeing. 

 The Cathedral is beautiful here, but we were too cold to make it there.  It's on our list for the next trip.

Yes, I am an idiot and took P up to walk along the walkway of the castle wall...while carrying the camera case and P's backpack...stupid, stupid, stupid.

 P was pretty cold.

Even dumber...we walked up four flights of foot-wide spiral steps to get to the top of the observation tower.  We were both so scared that this is the only picture I took.  Don't even get me started on how we got back down...:)

I'm so happy we had to tag along, but I am even happier to finally be home for a few days!!