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!

4th of July Weekend Recap

8 July 2014

   We enjoyed a nice long four day weekend together starting with a early celebratory parade at Bradyn's daycare. The little ones all dressed in their red, white and blue t-shirts and hats. Even little babies in cribs made an appearance as they were rolled down the block. 

 Then on the fourth we decided to take the shuttle bus to Feltwell for the tri-base celebration. Unfortunately we were one seat short, so we jumped in the car and strategically took the path less traveled to avoid traffic. Just as we neared closer we could see jets swooping down above us. They were streaming red, white and blue behind them. It was glorious. Darren let Bradyn poke his head through the sunroof to get a better look. What a view! 

  Later that night we met up with friends Ryan and Lisa with their two boys, Tyler (known as "Yaya" to Bradyn) and Casey. Later Jo and her boyfriend Aaron joined us. We enjoyed rides, fair food, fireworks, minion buying (notice I said buying, not winning) and despite the fact we sat and waiting to exit the parking lot for over an hour, we had a wonderful night.

Playground Hopping

29 June 2014

  Summer to us means spending more time outside and finding ways to make playing outside more fun.  So occasionally Bradyn calls the shots and pulls my arm in the direction of the playground on the corner and then looks at me and says, "No, not that one." Then he leads me in the direction of a different playground where we happily play long enough for a "Wheee" down the slide, or a "Whoa, Mommy" on the swings.  Bradyn especially likes the tea cup that spins.  After that it's on to the "Blue One."  Yes, the playground is all blue. B is only allowed to go down the slide there because everything is way too difficult for him, even though he attempts to be a stunt man from time to time. Then our playground hopping stops because usually this is where we call it quits and go find Daddy and his red Jeep. He loves that Jeep.

Playground Pictures

Another Weekend in London Town

15 June 2014

 This past weekend we took two of our newly wed friends,  Adam and Taylor to London. We stayed at our favorite spot, Staycity Apartments, which has easy access into London Paddington station.  We walked through Hyde Park (below) and took a long walking tour to the middle of London. (Darren was navigating.) The boys looked for FIFA World Cup Football garb, while Taylor and I did a little of our own retail therapy on Oxford Street.  It was a wonderful weekend with amazing friends!

London Paddington Station-yes the same one from the Paddington Bear stories

We tried a few times to get Bradyn to sit by this sign. Those underground trains come and go pretty fast and he loved every minute!

Oxford Street-had to!

Tiny 4-story pub we walked by

Bradyn in Hyde Park

I Must Not Forget to Document This

2 June 2014


The following is a bunch of mommy jargon so we will look back and remember what this particular phase was like.

  Every day it seems like Bradyn does or says something new.  This week he kept saying, "No, Daddy! Stop it, Daddy" because Darren likes to chase after him with big bear arms and in his deepest voice growls, "Brrraaadynnnn", which starts to scare him.  This goes on and on for a while until the both of us can't take it anymore. Then it's over to the neighbor's house where he has two new friends around his age, Tyler and Casey. They play, they fight over toys, Bradyn doesn't like to share, repeat. 

Minutes before they started running around and Bradyn bumped into little Casey,who is now missing a front tooth!

Tyler and Bradyn at the "Dragon" playground by our houses

 

Helping with the car-Tyler showing off

   We've had our share of bumps and bruises too. Last week Bradyn fell off his tricycle at the CDC and had a big fat lip, which healed in a day. Last night he fell off the bed at our hotel room in Brighton and banged his ear on the side of the bed table and now has a big purple ear to show for it. He gives me a heart attack at least 3 times a day with all his jumping and running around. Boys will be boys I guess. I can hardly keep up!


Currently Bradyn is 38" inches tall this week at 2 years 5 months-how and when did that happen? He weighs 37 lbs. Size 3T clothes 8.5 shoe.

Favorite Movies: Thomas the Train and Cars 1

Famous Phrases:

I want "Choo-Choos" and then points to Firefox on the desk top so I will bring up videos of trains on YouTube.

"I want that one!"

 Like most days, I pick him up from the CDC and he points in the direction he wants me to drive. I ask,  "This way? and he replies, "Yeah" with a big grin on his face. If I don't drive out the back gate, which is on our way home, he cries. This kid loves to ride around in the car, especially off base. Can't say I blame him!

When we ask him where something or someone is, he says, "Don't know."

Favorite Food- applesauce-especially when he gets to eat with a Thomas the Train or Cars spoon!   Pizza comes in a close second.

Favorite Toy-Lightning McQueen car-he calls it, "Queen"

Busy Month!

26 May 2014

    No posts from me lately. We've been very busy since Darren's been home from is 4 months in Lithuania. He had 3 weeks off from work and goes back tomorrow night, working swing shift.  We of course took a couple trips in those 3 weeks. We rode the trainto Nottingham for a day then on to York where we visited the famous York Minster and ancient Roman walls.

On the train-Mother's Day

Every time we visit Nottingham we have to play in this fountain.

 These pics were taken in York. Bradyn wanted to run and I told him to walk. :)

York Minster

   Memorial Day weekend was spent in Brighton at the Pebble Beach and Pier. This was our third time visiting Brighton and we had perfect weather.  We took Bradyn on a train up and down the beach, but he didn't understand the waiting in line bit when the train was full.  Good thing a round trip was only 15 minutes! 

    

Bradyn didn't want to stay on the carousel. He sat happily until it moved and this is Darren going to grab him!  Next time we sit with him.

 

We loved the seaside (as it's called over here.) 
Maybe one day we will settle down near the ocean.