This is what I do for fun

Living out in the country is great because of all the wildlife that is around. We have a big, bay window in our family room and we have hung bird feeders right outside the window. We have lots of birds that come visit and we always enjoy watching them. When I walked into the room today I saw a squirrel hanging from the feeder. My pictures aren't great since they are through the window, but you will get the idea anyway.

The best part came when the squirrel got tired. He wrapped his paws around the pole and slid down like a fireman. Then he decided he needed to get back up. The pole is about 6 feet tall. He got a running start, jumped up the pole and got almost to the feeder before he slid back down. He tried two or three more times, but just couldn't make it to the top. It was great for a laugh.

Update on Kenny's family

Kenny and Rachel sent me their latest family pictures and I couldn't resist putting them on the blog. Isn't he such a cute little guy!

Jeffrey at the MTC

Chile, here he comes!

Jeffrey left today for his mission to the Chile Concepcion South Mission. We had an incredible meeting last night with the Stake President who set him apart. That really helped to set the tone for today and made things so much easier. We are so excited for him and can't wait to hear all about his adventures.

Christmas traditions

One of the traditions here is "Christmas crackers. I got my pictures out of order a bit, but if you scroll down you can see what they look like. They range from shiny and decorative to childlike. When the "cracker" is pulled, it makes a popping sound and then it opens and has prizes inside. The kids were good sports and let me take a picture of them modeling the tissue paper hats that came as a prize. Other prizes included jokes and little toys or games.

When in Rome....

We try to participate as much as possible in village life so the kids get the whole English experience. Most villages in England have a big church, even if the village is small. It is kind of odd since the British people as a whole don't seem to be terribly religious. Our village is very small, but has a good sized church that dates back to the 14th century. We were curious to see what it looked like on the inside, so when we got a notice through our door that they were having a Christmas Eve service, we decided to give it a try.

It turned out to be a Church of England, candlelit, Eucharist service. It was an interesting service - quite different from our own. Afterwards they served mince pie (a sweet pie served at Christmas and New Years made from a preserve of apples and raisins) and sherry or juice for the children. We chose the juice option :) I don't know if we will go again next year, but it was an interesting experience.

Winter weather

Okay, this does not feel like England anymore. It has been snowing all day with big, huge snowflakes. These aren't very good pictures, but you will get the idea :) The kids are playing out in the front yard. The snow has not slowed down the village at all though. The villagers, including us, are still walking into town, doing everything they usually do. We walked to town, went to the card shop and the post office, got a steak and kidney pie from the butcher and then stopped by the nice pub down from our house to warm up and get a hot dessert.

Snow Day

Snow is pretty rare in this part of the country, so when it does snow it is a big deal. We only had about three inches, but everything shuts down. Ken didn't have to go to work and they closed all the schools in the area. The kids are ecstatic to have Christmas break start a day early instead of having tests today.

Thanksgiving

Long story, but we had quite the crowd for Thanksgiving. We ended up having 23 people including ourselves - way more than I've ever hosted before. We had wall to wall people. We even had Brittany and her friends sitting in the back entrance. We had an interesting mix of people. We had friends from California, Arizona, Tennessee, Texas and Oregon as well as England, Scotland, New Zealand (Maori) and our friend who is a Native American from the Hopi tribe.

Mission call

We had an exciting Thanksgiving this year. Just before we got ready to sit down to eat dinner we got a call from Jeffrey in Utah. He had the family gathered together there and was getting ready to open his call. I don't know how he managed to wait to open it. He found it in the mail the night before, but waited till everyone was together before opening it.

He had a phone held up to each ear - a three way call with us and Ken's parents and a call to Kenny in Pullman in the other ear. He is going to the Chile Concepcion South mission and will be entering the Provo MTC on February 10th. I was so excited that I just wanted to tell our guests that Thanksgiving was cancelled. We had more important things to think about :)

ROTC competition

We went to an interesting event last weekend. Stuart is participating in the ROTC drill team and color guard this year and they had a competition with another DoDEA (Department of Defense something something) school. There were several different events where they had to march in formation, do routines with rifles etc. It reminded me a bit of District III marching band, without the music.

Stuart's team did very well, taking top honors thoughout. The most exciting part came at the end though. Both teams were out on the floor and a sergeant was calling out commands. None of this had been rehearsed, and they had to execute each command perfectly. There were several judges walking among them and as soon as anyone made the smallest mistake they were tapped out and asked to leave the floor. The kids got eliminated pretty quickly and soon there were only four left, then three. These were kids who had been in for three or four years and and had done a fabulous job in the other competitions. We were so excited to see that Stuart was still out on the floor, one of the three. The three eventually became two: a third year student (who had trained Stuart) and Stuart, the first year cadet. Then there was one ......... STUART!!!!! We were so excited that we forgot to take pictures at the end :) What a way to make a name for yourself at a new school :)

Roasting Chestnuts

Everyone has heard the Christmas story about chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Well, Sunday we are watching conference on the internet. I had picked up some chestnuts while out walking earlier and thought I might try roasting them. In my mind, which operates at a somewhat simple level, I figure you just toss them in the oven for little bit and they pop like popcorn or something. So I have them in the oven and we are in the other room watching conference and I hear a thud that came from the kitchen. I figure that must have been a chestnut popping open. So off to the kitchen I go. Before I get there I hear some more substantial bangs. I open the oven and chestnut is everywhere.

After further research I find that you are suppose to puncture them like potatoes or they explode, just like potatoes. Needless to say I had to clean out the oven. Julie thought it was funny after she found out she didn't have to clean up the mess. After all that I find out chestnuts aren't really all that good.
-Ken

RAF Duxford Airshow

We traveled to RAF Duxford for the Flying Legends Airshow. Duxford was a RAF base that was used by the Americans during the war. Now it is part of the Imperial War Museum. It has a large collection of American planes as well as other types of aircraft and museum stuff.

This is a B-17G which would have operated from nearby airfields like RAF Molesworth and RAF Kimbolton.

F-86 Sabre of Korean War fame.




This would have been a familiar site at RAF Duxford during the later part of World War 2. A P-51 taking off from Duxford.

A Supermarine Spitfire landing at RAF Duxford.

The Spitfire doing a flyby.

A Hawker Hurricane. This was the most numerous fighter involved in the Battle of Britain. It shot down more German aircraft then all other means combined. It is a interesting plane in the fact that the rear of the fuselage is frame covered in fabric. This made the explosive shells used by the German fighters somewhat useless since they would pass through with out exploding.

The Battle of Britain Memorial flight. A Lancaster bomber and a Hurricane fighter.

This is Stuarts favorite plane. The new Eurofighter Typhoon. This is just going into service with the RAF and is due to rotate to Persian gulf in a few months.

Enjoying a ice lolly (Popsicle).

Ward Bike Ride

The ward had a bike ride around Grafham Water. It's about 10 miles around the lake on good trails. Everyone made it including Brittany.

Steve

Our house came with a very large hedge named Steve. We thought that Steve was looking a little ragged and he needed a hair cut.Steve is so large that Stuart had to stand on top of him to give him a trim. Funny thing is that Steve apparently thought Stuart might taste good. So about half way down the hedge, Steve swallowed Stuart. One minute Stuarts was there and the next he was gone. You could here him screaming though. Must have upset Steve because he spit him back out.

Stuart's ROTC class

Stuart is taking an ROTC class this year at the suggestion of his counselor. The curriculum is aerospace science, which is perfect since he wants to be an aerospace engineer for NASA. He has gotten very involved and is having a great time with it. He is part of the ROTC drill team and color guard and is also in the rocket club. Today he is doing the flag ceremony for the football game and is part of the ceremony at a wedding.

Newsflash

We are Grandparents! Benjamin Nathan was born on September 12, 2009 to Kenny and Rachel. He was born at 7:04, weighed in at 7 lbs 4 oz and is 20" tall. This is one grandma that is really wishing she was in Pullman, Washington right now holding that little guy.

School has started

The kids started at their new schools this week - Brittany at the Elementary school and Madison and Stuart next door at the Middle/High school. They are finding it different from what they are used to, but seem to be settling in. They all ride the same bus - a charter bus - or coach as they call it here. The bus stop is at the end of the village next to us, so we have to drive them and pick them up every day. We don't mind however, since the base is a half hour drive from our house.

The schools are much smaller than what they are used to. There is about one class for each grade at the elementary school and the middle/high school is very small. I don't know how many students are in the middle school part, but the high school has about 400 students total. Last year's graduating class had 25 :) That being said though, we are finding some very positive things that come with being in a small school.

They have a good offering of honors/AP classes and since the classes tend to be smaller, the students don't get lost in the crowd. The teachers can adapt to each student's needs and pay attention if they aren't doing their best work. When we met with the school counselor to set up schedules, she ended up spending an hour!! with us to try to work out the best schedule for Stuart. The principal even took the time to come in for a few minutes. The counselor and principal had some excellent suggestions to help Stuart get ready for a career as an aerospace engineer at NASA. They suggested some classes we hadn't considered before that would be helpful in getting a scholarship. All in all we were very pleased.

I do have to say though, that I'm finding the adjustment back into military life a bit interesting. The first day of school it was MANDATORY that both Ken and I be there most of the day (it was like a back to school night). That is something I always go to anyway, but somehow being told that it is mandatory brings out the rebellious side in me :) Everywhere we go, something is mandatory. I'm getting really tired of that word.

Enough complaining. Life is good. We are enjoying it here. We like our ward and are making friends. We miss our friends back home terribly, but know we are supposed to be here, for whatever reason.

Trip to Wales in August

Well, I'm back again. Sorry, the pictures are in reverse order. But I'm probably the only one that knew that. So in August we went to North Wales. The kids wanted to see castles. And they had to be big castles and not the pretty little things they had seen so far. So off to Wales we went.



This is Harlech Castle. It was made famous in the song "Men of Harlech". I bet Tom is the only one to know that.







North Wales has some pretty scenery. This is a waterfall we found in the south part of Snowdonia.



On the path up to the waterfall we found some caves and a few mine shafts. Most had flooded but this one wasn't to bad.



This is a World War II crash site. The plane was a P-47 that was on a training mission to RAF Valley in 1943. The pilot was caught in low cloud and flew into the mountain and was killed. The site is rather remote so the wreckage was not recovered.

This is the mountain above the bunkhouse we stayed at. Mid Wales is very different from the north. It has hedges and no stone walls. Apparently they just started getting TV reception in the 1980's.

This is the village of Beddgelert. It is the site of the grave of Gelert the dog. If you don't know then Wikipedia. It is a very pretty village. You can guess what the next stop is...

This is the bridge in Beddgelert. The hotel on the other side has a meteor inside that crashed through the roof in 1949. No one was hurt but I might think twice about staying there.

No one in a castle was ever in a hurry. If they were they would break their necks running down these stairs.

The inside of Caernarfon Castle. Most of the large castles in Wales were built by Edward I(Longshanks) to subdue the Welsh. This is where the Prince of Wales is invested so the castle is in pretty good shape. This is to follow the tradition of Edward I making sure his son was born here so the Welsh would have a prince.

This is outside Caernarfon Castle in the town. See the signs, they are all in Welsh and English. Most people in North Wales speak Welsh as their primary language. You will hear it everywhere you go. This is amazing considering not too long ago it was almost lost like the Cornish language.

Love those bakeries. Unfortunately in Northamptonshire we don't seem to have too many good bakeries. But Wales has some wonderful places to get your sugar fix.

Some of the scenery on the south side of Mount Snowdon.

Stuart hoping he's going to get to drive down this little road.

Some wonderful scenery in North Wales. It's no wonder it has so many legends like
King Arthur and Branwen, Daughter of Llyr.

This is on the Isle of Anglesey at South Stack. These flowers went as far as you could see.

These are flowers that came from South Africa called crocosmia. They grow all over Wales and Cornwall. We tried growing them in Idaho and got blooms one year but that was it. They grow wild on the sides of the roads here.

This is South Stack Lighthouse or in Welsh Ynys Lawd. The light house was completed in 1809. Not far from here was a Roman sentry station and and a iron age settlement.

Us at South Stack.

Lots of pretty flowers.

In Conwy we found this shop selling armour and swords among other things. So if you decide to go on crusade or go viking, after you stop at the "Ole Trip to Jerusalem" pub you need to talk to this guy. He can kit you out in anything you need from early greek to late medieval.

Here we are down at the harbour in Conwy. Lots of boats here. We saw a bunch of kids trying to catch crabs on the side of the dock.

OK, try to figure this out. The average size of a house in England is about the size of your shed back home. (and you think I'm kidding) So what do we have, some morbid competition to be the smallest of the small. I know of at least two other "Smallest House in Britian" houses. Of course the other end of the spectrum is equally as entertaining. Most large houses would be larger than a warehouse. But what the heck are you going to see in the smallest house? "Here is the bedroom, and if you just squeeze past the Loo you will pop out the backdoor".

Don't get me going on the water pressure.

Stuart on the dock on Conwy

No, not a troll or a gremlin. It's Madison at one of the doors to the towers at the city walls around Conwy. Conwy has most of its city wall still in place. The only thing I can figure out is that this part of Wales has enough rocks on the ground that no one felt inclined to pull down the walls to build their house.

Us on the city wall at Conwy. You can see Conwy castle behind us.