November Catch Up

6 December 2014

    Wow, it's the first part of December and I'm just now getting around to updating the blog from November. We had three Thanksgiving celebrations this year. One was dinner and an art auction at Bradyn's school-daycare on base.  Darren and I arrived there a little late, so we didn't get to eat, but Bradyn was once again shoveling it in! While I was snapping photos, Darren bid 30 cans on some art work B helped create. Unfortunately, someone wanted it a little more than he did. 

Thanksgiving 1 & 2

 Using a fork properly this year....tear.

  The best celebration took place in Edinburgh, Scotland. Finally they have a quick Ryanair flight!  Only 100 pounds round trip for the three of us.  Friends Joe and Brandon (Uncle Joe and Uncle Morey) flew with us from London Stansted to Edinburgh for three days.

   We took a bus from the airport to the city center. As we walked to our apartment, we saw Santa and his reindeer and a few sketchy looking elves and stopped to take some pictures. I had to sit in Santa's sleigh too.  

   We stayed in a large four bedroom apartment just behind Edinburgh Castle.  No traditional turkey and fixings for us this year. We made beef stew and it was delicious! 

Joe-Edinburgh Castle Gardens

  Most of the time was spent walking around and enjoying the festivities at the Edinburgh Christmas Market. Loved those hot toddies! There was a train and of course Bradyn's favorite, a Lightning McQueen ride!
  

Morey and B -Race-O-Rama

See more pics here on my Insta.
 

The return flight home was not as much fun. There was a security breech and we had to deplane, walk back through the airport, and wait outside in the cold for a couple hours. We spent another two hours in line at security again. 
We finally arrived at Stansted 5 hours later.


Overall it was an unforgettable trip and we made some great memories! Morey snapped some great shots of us, including this one, at the Edinburgh Castle Gardens.

Visit my Dropbox for more photos.

Happy Halloween!

31 October 2014

Happy Halloween!


 Bradyn's Halloween and third Halloween pics below. 

Darren was in charge of costumes this year. He relived a childhood memory by being He-man. I went along with the theme and was She-Ra. We looked all over for an Orko costume for Bradyn. I even bought a couple superhero costumes so we would sort of match, but in the end I bought this Minion hoodie and hat from Target so he could be a "Mini".  I love his little language. Right now he's saying, "Amy" and then proceeds to say, "Not Amy, Mommy." He was very well-mannered while he walked around for candy too. Politely saying thank you and only taking one piece. He's also looking at this picture right now and wants his "mini shirt", which is his minion shirt. Well, it's dirty and in the wash. 

Tantrum begins.

 P.S.-We're so excited to announce we will be moving to Ellsworth AFB, SD in May 2015! So happy to be closer to family and friends again in the good 'ole USA.

Football and Fast Cars

2 October 2014

   It's that time again! Football Season!  Darren and I took a trip down to London's Wembley Stadium with a couple friends to watch the NFL Raiders get stomped by the Dolphins. Unfortunately it was a terrible game and the Raiders lost, but we enjoyed the opening act, Def Lep!  "Pour some sugar on me!"

  The next day Darren powered up the truck and took B for a spin in his ride. He's finally big enough to know how to operate and isn't afraid at all! He's also talking more and more every day.  Full sentences. My hearts melts when I see him at the end of the day and he says, "Hi, Mommy!"  He loves his Lightning McQueen car and because I have to confiscate it every morning before school, the first thing he asks for is his "Queen car". He squeals with delight and runs to Darren and says, "Daddy, I got my Queen car!" Adorbs.Can we say spoiled?

Sunday and Sunshine

7 September 2014

  You would never guess by looking at these pictures that Bradyn isn't feeling very well. He's been coughing and sneezing snot the past couple of days. Seriously, where does he get all of his energy? He's finally napping now, or as Darren says, refueling. The B-Boy definitely keeps me on my toes. He forgot he is only two earlier today and climbed up the largest piece of equipment at the playground. He took a tumble. Luckily nothing serious and he was all about trying to climb up again.

 He loves to push the stroller. Too bad don't fit inside!

Holiday Shopping

1 September 2014

   It's Labor Day and I have the day off. Bradyn is asleep on the couch and Darren is in Italy for 2 more weeks. So what is a girl to do? Well, when I have down time I tend to online shop-a lot. It's not a secret. I'm currently looking at the hundreds of shoes on the Free People website. Swoon. Seriously, I would love for any one pair to make their way to my door step.  Sadly they are a little out of my price range, but I have managed time find some items that I can afford. These are a few of the Ahh-mazing deals I snagged up this holiday weekend.

For Me:

LifeTrak Core Tracking Watch $49.99

 American Eagle Buckle 
Strap Booties
$45.00 with coupon code 952367P1















For B:
The kid is OBSESSED with Cars. He's going to squeal when he sees this hoodie.

And it's the first day of September, which means I begin my search for the perfect gift for Darren's birthday. That boy has everything and if he doesn't have something he wants, he buys it. It's annoying.

Goodbye Summer

25 August 2014

Goodbye Summer

Goodbye long hot days at the playground
Goodbye carnivals and Minis
Goodbye trips to the beach and digging in the sand

Hello Fall
Hello chilly mornings
Hello pumpkin growing in our backyard
Hello dark nights and cool evenings spent cuddled inside

The Last 2 Weeks

26 July 2014


  We just returned from our Southwest England holiday.  Our goal was to get to the bottom tip of Cornwall and see the coastline there, but we didn't quite make it. I sound like a broken record when I say traveling in England is not like the states. It takes twice as long as you think it is going to take to get to your final destination, especially when you drive down roads like these....

We were holding our breath the whole time, hoping no one was coming from the other direction! Seriously, horses barely fit on this road. 

 Luckily not all of the roads were this narrow and we were able to see the coastline in North Devon. Needless to say, we were not disappointed!

 

Ilfracombe Harbor

Verity Statue in the harbor-click

 The weather was gorgeous and we actually found a sandy beach nearby to make us feel like we were in the states again, however Bradyn did not want any part of the beach.  It took us a few tries to convince him flinging sand and getting wet wasn't so bad. The top to pictures are in Ilfracombe the first day and then the Woolacombe Beach the second day. Bradyn willingly got in the water at Woolacombe after about 30 minutes of whining and then he didn't want to leave!

  We stayed four days in Ilfracombe in a caravan Darren found using Groupon for half price. We felt like we were retirees living in Florida and decided that life wasn't so bad. 

  Our next stop was Cornwall and our hobbit house in the trees. Since it is prime time for summer travel, this place was pretty much the cheapest place to stay in this county.  We thought it was a great place for Bradyn to experience country life with sheep, cows, chickens and horses just wandering around freely.

  We stayed near the city of Plymouth, so of course it became part of Darren's "must see" places during our trip. We drove about 20 miles south and entered a new county, Dorset. We hung out for the day and took many pictures of things that said, Plymouth. These are a couple of the pictures we captured.

 

 Since Darren had booked every hotel since our trip began, it was my turn to decide where to go next. I spent the afternoon while in Plymouth finding a last minute deal for a hotel. I came up with the Britannia in Bournemouth.  It was nothing fancy, we just needed a place to crash.  Before arriving in Bournemouth we took a small detour to Weymouth. I had hear great things about this city, but was a little disappointed. Darren decided this was the place he was going to take a "dip", but other than that, nothing special happened here. :)




  So on to Bournemouth and to our surprise we had a hotel 2 minutes walk from the beach! What a deal. We were in awe of the sandy beaches and view. We didn't think it even existed in England and we were pleasantly surprised by what we experienced.

 After many attempts of getting Bradyn to like the beach, we didn't have to do too much persuading here. He jumped in the water, but I had to hold him.

I can't believe after all of the pictures we took, this was the only really good one of the three of us. Next time we bring a better camera!