I saw a few friends do this, and loved the idea, so I decided to try to recap our year... so here it is:
2010!
January - Reid went through a horrible sleep schedule this month so I don't remember much. (Apparently, I didn't even blog) According to our calendar we did the usual church callings, family stuff, and I attended baby showers for friends.
February - Reid learned to crawl and got his first tooth! Girls' Camp prep was gearing up here for me, literally my calendar has meetings written all over it! Various family events pretty much filled up the rest of my time.
March - Got a new niece (who was born on the side of the road!). More camp, more baby showers, more family activities. Start thinking about trip to England. Started up New Nester's FHE. Thyroid ultrasound.
April - Girl's Camp Sleepover. Biopsy for my thyroid. Get taxes in (barely).
May - Finish up Girls' Camp Preparations. Attend an olympian's wedding reception (I just feel cool that I know someone who was in the Olympics!). Car break down on the way to the reception. A week later and $1500 later, our car works again. Visit with friends and family. Meet with thyroid surgeon and decide that surgery is a good option. Go swimming with Reid as much as possible before surgery.
June - Girls' Camp (yay!), post Girls's Camp meetings, etc; this also meant spending a WHOLE week away from Reid! It was hard but camp kept me busy and we had a wonderful week up there. Reid turned 1 the day I got home from camp, and we had a small family party. Square Dancing ward activity and surprisingly had a blast. Thyroid surgery: have more than half of my thyroid removed. Find out thyroid had cancer in it, so it was great that it was removed. Matt's job changed and is now based out of Austin, we start exploring the options of moving.
July - Spend 4th of July camping and fishing in the White Mountains with the in-laws (and I actually caught a couple fish!). Do lots of laundry! Whirlwind week long trip to England with a 1 year old, so great to see my parents! Thyroid check-up says that cancer should be completely cured, make no more plans to get the rest of it out. Starting swimming with Reid again (just no working out, cuz that stretches my neck).
August - Attend the temple and be the escort for a dear friend of ours. Spend 3 weeks recovering from the jet lag. Leann worked lots of extra over-time to cover for a co-worker. Get new renters, clean and paint our house.
September - Recover from the past 3 months. Start playing D&D with family. Baby shower, dinner with friends. Date night swap with Anderson's! (we went to Cheesecake Factory, yum!) Start making more decisive plans about moving to Austin.
October - Take a week off of work (due to August over-time). Celebrate Leann's birthday by spending time with my sister's family and then they took Reid for the night for us, while we got to go to Texas Roadhouse and then sleep in! Be in charge of ward Trunk or Treat. Spend a week and a half making Reid's Tow Mater costume (which we still don't have a picture of him wearing), but it was all in vain because Reid got a stomach bug for Halloween.
November - Craft Saturday, made these awesome wall hangings for our bedroom! Clothes shopping spree for me! A nice quiet Thanksgiving with the in-laws. Leann help out in nursery in church, so Reid got to go a month early!
December - Reid turn 18 months old! Leann set up plan with work to go on full leave of absence at the end of January. My grandmother's 90th birthday party. Reid get a fever the day before Christmas Eve. Reid then follow the fever by getting his molars on Christmas. Matt gets a mountain bike for Christmas, and we spent the rest of our Christmas break going on walk/rides (I push the stroller, he rides the bike, and we'd bring the dogs half the time). Matt's birthday dinner at Saffron. Gaslight with the family. Continue with plans to move to Austin.
I can't decide if I think my life is boring or not. It is what it is, I guess.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Happy Birthday to Me!
Today is my birthday. While trying to remember how old I am, I found out that I am 10% younger than my wife today. As our ages incease, the difference between our ages compared to the total age will decrease. We'll grow closer together as we get older.
Y = (HerAge - MyAge) / HerAge
Y = (HerAge - MyAge) / HerAge
Monday, December 20, 2010
18 months already!
Stats
Length: 32.5 50-57%
Weight: 25lbs 15oz 50%
Head: 47 25-50%
He took his shots like a champ! Didn't even flinch on the first one. After the second he didn't like it. Thank goodness for good nurses who do the third one fast... and she said it was the stinging one. So then he got mad after that... but really, do ya blame him?
He's 50% across the board and has been his whole life. B
ut to us, Reid is far from average. I am still told how smily he is. He is quick to love others (he will hug complete strangers). He has the ability to turn a terrible day around with his infectious personality. He is very social, but has started being shy for the first 10 minutes in a new environment, but quickly warms up. Just recently he's started smiling when people say "Cheese", and Saturday he actually posed for the camera.
He also has the best giggle! He runs across the room, gives you this teasing look... so I start to go for him, and he runs at you to "get you" too! He's to tease and loves to pretend to give you something and then run away with it. Or when he knows he's not supposed to have it, he takes off running down the hall. He runs everywhere. And he's actually fast. I have to try to catch him.
He loves his cousins and loves playing with them and is just one of the boys when they get together.
He also loves to share. Whenever he is eating, he wants to share his food with everyone. Sometimes it is nice because it helps other kids who want his snack, but other times it is problematic.
One hilarious thing he does is screams goodbye - and I mean screams. And the best part is that we say bye to Daddy almost every day, and instead of "Bye Daddy!" it has become "Dye" ... or if you think of the humor of him screaming the word "die! die! die!" You'll giggle as much as we do.
His favorite show right now is Little Einsteins and asks for it by patting his hands on his belly. (if you've seen the show, you know they do a lot of patting) He knows all the actions to help Rocket blast off.
Reid is my cuddler and I love it! Sometimes we'll be sitting on the couch and he come over to sit right next to me, and put his hand on me. Sometimes he'll actually crawl on me lap and snuggle in. He also loves to snuggle before bed, he wraps his arms around me and holds me. One of my favorite things is that if Daddy is sitting on a bench or couch, Reid will climb up next to him and sit just like him, same position and everything. Then he is very proud of himself.
He'll drive cars all over the house, and makes great noises for them too.
Books have become a huge interest, both being read to and looking at them himself. You can just tell he is taking it all in. However, we now cannot bring books with animals or cars to church anymore because he makes the sounds and all the rows around us, just burst into laughter.
Reid loves his baths! I mean LOVES. He'll lay down completely on his back, or sprawl out on his stomach and dip his face in repeatedly. He splashes and squirts water everywhere. He sits at the faucet as the water comes out just to feel the pressure. He'll enjoy his baths thoroughly and it is usually mom who ends the bath, not him.
He loves the dogs. He will go up to either of them and pucker his lips (and in Lightning's case, squat down) so they can give him a kiss. He is sweet and pets them gently. He also feeds them. He'll grab their food, run up to them, place it on the ground in front of them and step back. He's very sweet about it. Also, Cleo will fight us for the ball, but when Reid walks over she drops it out of her mouth and he picks it up and throws it for her to go get. They definitely love each other.
He also puckers for mom and dad kisses. His pucker is him pressing his lips together, with the bottom lip out a little bit more than the top. His kisses heal all my tears or wounds. I like to think that mine do the same.... sometimes when I kiss his owie, he really does stop crying.
Reid knows all the signs to the songs "Popcorn Popping" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and is learning "Once there was a snow man" and the "Book of Mormon Stories" chorus.
Words he can say
hot, hi, bye, hyrum (hiiiieee), daddy, mom, mommy, shoes, dog, train (choo-choo), strawberry (taw-be), please (pea), up please (dup-pe), fish, m&m (um minum minum), this, that, keys, cheese, cheez-its (cheese-sis).
If he really wants something, he knows not to scream at me, but to say please. So he says, "pea mom" with the inflection much lower on the mom part. It works almost every time. (I'm such a sucker for him)
Knows signs for wash hands, wash face, food, brush teeth, comb hair, more, and done (eating). Although he has starting using done for being done in the car seat and being done with bath as well.
Animal sounds he can do:
cow, dog, lion, pig, cat, owl, horse, duck, monkey, bird, frog, he just surprised me by learning donkey the other day
But above all right now, he LOVES to scribble! He literally colors through the whole hour of church!
At this time in my life, I am very grateful for my blessings. I am grateful for the blessing of being a mom. I know that blessing is a challenge for some, and it has been a long arduous road for me as well. But now is the time I need to sit back and say thanks for that opportunity.
Reid, we love you very much and are ecstatic to have you in our family!
Length: 32.5 50-57%
Weight: 25lbs 15oz 50%
Head: 47 25-50%
He took his shots like a champ! Didn't even flinch on the first one. After the second he didn't like it. Thank goodness for good nurses who do the third one fast... and she said it was the stinging one. So then he got mad after that... but really, do ya blame him?
He's 50% across the board and has been his whole life. B
ut to us, Reid is far from average. I am still told how smily he is. He is quick to love others (he will hug complete strangers). He has the ability to turn a terrible day around with his infectious personality. He is very social, but has started being shy for the first 10 minutes in a new environment, but quickly warms up. Just recently he's started smiling when people say "Cheese", and Saturday he actually posed for the camera.
He also has the best giggle! He runs across the room, gives you this teasing look... so I start to go for him, and he runs at you to "get you" too! He's to tease and loves to pretend to give you something and then run away with it. Or when he knows he's not supposed to have it, he takes off running down the hall. He runs everywhere. And he's actually fast. I have to try to catch him.
He loves his cousins and loves playing with them and is just one of the boys when they get together.
He also loves to share. Whenever he is eating, he wants to share his food with everyone. Sometimes it is nice because it helps other kids who want his snack, but other times it is problematic.
One hilarious thing he does is screams goodbye - and I mean screams. And the best part is that we say bye to Daddy almost every day, and instead of "Bye Daddy!" it has become "Dye" ... or if you think of the humor of him screaming the word "die! die! die!" You'll giggle as much as we do.
His favorite show right now is Little Einsteins and asks for it by patting his hands on his belly. (if you've seen the show, you know they do a lot of patting) He knows all the actions to help Rocket blast off.
Reid is my cuddler and I love it! Sometimes we'll be sitting on the couch and he come over to sit right next to me, and put his hand on me. Sometimes he'll actually crawl on me lap and snuggle in. He also loves to snuggle before bed, he wraps his arms around me and holds me. One of my favorite things is that if Daddy is sitting on a bench or couch, Reid will climb up next to him and sit just like him, same position and everything. Then he is very proud of himself.
He'll drive cars all over the house, and makes great noises for them too.
Books have become a huge interest, both being read to and looking at them himself. You can just tell he is taking it all in. However, we now cannot bring books with animals or cars to church anymore because he makes the sounds and all the rows around us, just burst into laughter.
Reid loves his baths! I mean LOVES. He'll lay down completely on his back, or sprawl out on his stomach and dip his face in repeatedly. He splashes and squirts water everywhere. He sits at the faucet as the water comes out just to feel the pressure. He'll enjoy his baths thoroughly and it is usually mom who ends the bath, not him.
He loves the dogs. He will go up to either of them and pucker his lips (and in Lightning's case, squat down) so they can give him a kiss. He is sweet and pets them gently. He also feeds them. He'll grab their food, run up to them, place it on the ground in front of them and step back. He's very sweet about it. Also, Cleo will fight us for the ball, but when Reid walks over she drops it out of her mouth and he picks it up and throws it for her to go get. They definitely love each other.
He also puckers for mom and dad kisses. His pucker is him pressing his lips together, with the bottom lip out a little bit more than the top. His kisses heal all my tears or wounds. I like to think that mine do the same.... sometimes when I kiss his owie, he really does stop crying.
Reid knows all the signs to the songs "Popcorn Popping" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and is learning "Once there was a snow man" and the "Book of Mormon Stories" chorus.
Words he can say
hot, hi, bye, hyrum (hiiiieee), daddy, mom, mommy, shoes, dog, train (choo-choo), strawberry (taw-be), please (pea), up please (dup-pe), fish, m&m (um minum minum), this, that, keys, cheese, cheez-its (cheese-sis).
If he really wants something, he knows not to scream at me, but to say please. So he says, "pea mom" with the inflection much lower on the mom part. It works almost every time. (I'm such a sucker for him)
Knows signs for wash hands, wash face, food, brush teeth, comb hair, more, and done (eating). Although he has starting using done for being done in the car seat and being done with bath as well.
Animal sounds he can do:
cow, dog, lion, pig, cat, owl, horse, duck, monkey, bird, frog, he just surprised me by learning donkey the other day
But above all right now, he LOVES to scribble! He literally colors through the whole hour of church!
At this time in my life, I am very grateful for my blessings. I am grateful for the blessing of being a mom. I know that blessing is a challenge for some, and it has been a long arduous road for me as well. But now is the time I need to sit back and say thanks for that opportunity.
Reid, we love you very much and are ecstatic to have you in our family!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Tonight's Conversation
Matt: "You'll only hear us say this once a year."
Leann: "Let's go to Wal-mart."
Reid: "Uh-oh... uh-oh... uh-oh..."
What did we buy? Starcraft II and hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer? Yeah, we went to Wal-mart.
Leann: "Let's go to Wal-mart."
Reid: "Uh-oh... uh-oh... uh-oh..."
What did we buy? Starcraft II and hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer? Yeah, we went to Wal-mart.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Clothes only for Holidays
Growing up, there were 3 times in my life when I got new clothes: 1) My Birthday, 2) Christmas, 3) My sister's birthday. The first two probably make sense, third is purely because my birthday is in October and so my mom needed an excuse to give me summer clothes. So growing up I only thought that you can get clothes on those 3 occasions. If clothes were bought for me from June-October, it was saved for my birthday, after my birthday-December it was saved for Christmas. This was so far ingrained in me that when I went college and my roommates wore clothes the day after they bought them, I thought they were doing something wrong and should save them for the next holiday.
So now that this last birthday was the big 3-0! I'm feeling kind of old. And being a mom, I'm feeling kinda... well... frumpy. So my kind husband gave me an "allowance" of sorts for my birthday this year.
So I sent out on my shopping spree. First stop was the mall. I had received an adorable sweater from my mother-in-law but it was too small (and a gorgeous scarf that I LOVE), so I went to check out what else they had. And it just kills me. The average mall price is $20+ for a shirt and $30-50+ for pants. So we are talking $70 for 1 outfit.
Naturally this had drawn me to the 2nd hand stores like TJ Maxx and ROSS (Dress for Less), which is wonderful and I do love them. But we're still talking $7-15+ for a shirt and $15-25+ for pants. So we're looking at ~ $30 for 1 outfit. Which is half the price, but still... $30 for 1 outfit.
Now I don't know about you, but when I go shopping, I'd like to get 2 or 3 outfits or mixtures of some kind. So now I'm talking $100 a shopping trip. Which frankly, if each person in my house were to go shopping that'd be $300 a pop.
So let's do the math. If I am trying to stay trendy and keep clothes that fit (ha! Like that happens in your baby making years), then how often do you go shopping? Just those 3 times a year? Yeah, I'd be 2 different sizes in between each "clothing holiday." So I'd like to go shopping more. But let's say I go every other month. We're still talking $100 x 6 months = $600/year... and that's just for ME. No one else in the house. Since I live with boys, let's say they only need $400/year. Now we are talking $1000/year JUST FOR CLOTHES! Seriously?
So my question is how do you shop? How do you manage a budget for clothes? Do you plan on getting gift money for clothes? Or do you have a monthly budget? What's a reasonable amount? Are there coupons for clothes? Do you know about some discount that I do not? How do you stay trendy without breaking the bank? Please give me your tricks.. I need them!
So now that this last birthday was the big 3-0! I'm feeling kind of old. And being a mom, I'm feeling kinda... well... frumpy. So my kind husband gave me an "allowance" of sorts for my birthday this year.
So I sent out on my shopping spree. First stop was the mall. I had received an adorable sweater from my mother-in-law but it was too small (and a gorgeous scarf that I LOVE), so I went to check out what else they had. And it just kills me. The average mall price is $20+ for a shirt and $30-50+ for pants. So we are talking $70 for 1 outfit.
Naturally this had drawn me to the 2nd hand stores like TJ Maxx and ROSS (Dress for Less), which is wonderful and I do love them. But we're still talking $7-15+ for a shirt and $15-25+ for pants. So we're looking at ~ $30 for 1 outfit. Which is half the price, but still... $30 for 1 outfit.
Now I don't know about you, but when I go shopping, I'd like to get 2 or 3 outfits or mixtures of some kind. So now I'm talking $100 a shopping trip. Which frankly, if each person in my house were to go shopping that'd be $300 a pop.
So let's do the math. If I am trying to stay trendy and keep clothes that fit (ha! Like that happens in your baby making years), then how often do you go shopping? Just those 3 times a year? Yeah, I'd be 2 different sizes in between each "clothing holiday." So I'd like to go shopping more. But let's say I go every other month. We're still talking $100 x 6 months = $600/year... and that's just for ME. No one else in the house. Since I live with boys, let's say they only need $400/year. Now we are talking $1000/year JUST FOR CLOTHES! Seriously?
So my question is how do you shop? How do you manage a budget for clothes? Do you plan on getting gift money for clothes? Or do you have a monthly budget? What's a reasonable amount? Are there coupons for clothes? Do you know about some discount that I do not? How do you stay trendy without breaking the bank? Please give me your tricks.. I need them!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
The surprise the TP-ers didn't expect
A few weeks ago, I was driving home about 8:30 pm after playing soccer at the church building with some guys from the ward. As I looked down the street, I could see the usual cars parked along the curb. As I neared our house, there was a new-looking sedan parked along the right hand side, with the dome light on inside. I could see a young guy sitting inside in the dim light as I passed.
Just as I pulled up to the driveway, my headlights illuminated two girls. One of them was carring a huge wal-mart size package of toilet paper. The other girl had a few exposed rolls, and had dropped one or two which she was kicking down the street. As she kicked it down the street, it unrolled leaving a toilet paper trail across the driveway.
As my headlights fell on them, the girls broke into a run. Well, they thought they were running. They weren't making much speed because of all the toilet paper, and the fact that I had just blinded them with my 1000 candlewatt halogens. In an effort to escape to their get-away car, they dropped all their toilet paper in my front yard. At this point, I threw the truck into park and jumped out in persuit. They soon realized they wouldn't make it to the car before I would and slowed to a walk.
I then told them that I didn't care if they toilet-papered the house down the street. I just didn't want them to drop it all in my yard as they ran away. As I walked back toward the house and my truck parked in the street, the girls jumped in the car and sped away... leaving the toilet paper still sitting in my driveway.
So, now what do I do with 50 rolls of wal-mart quality toilet paper? And I'm not particularly in need of cheap ammo for my toilet-papering rampages lately.
Just as I pulled up to the driveway, my headlights illuminated two girls. One of them was carring a huge wal-mart size package of toilet paper. The other girl had a few exposed rolls, and had dropped one or two which she was kicking down the street. As she kicked it down the street, it unrolled leaving a toilet paper trail across the driveway.
As my headlights fell on them, the girls broke into a run. Well, they thought they were running. They weren't making much speed because of all the toilet paper, and the fact that I had just blinded them with my 1000 candlewatt halogens. In an effort to escape to their get-away car, they dropped all their toilet paper in my front yard. At this point, I threw the truck into park and jumped out in persuit. They soon realized they wouldn't make it to the car before I would and slowed to a walk.
I then told them that I didn't care if they toilet-papered the house down the street. I just didn't want them to drop it all in my yard as they ran away. As I walked back toward the house and my truck parked in the street, the girls jumped in the car and sped away... leaving the toilet paper still sitting in my driveway.
So, now what do I do with 50 rolls of wal-mart quality toilet paper? And I'm not particularly in need of cheap ammo for my toilet-papering rampages lately.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
England: Day 6-8
DAY 6
Mom and Dad got the next two days off from their mission office work. So we got to go sight seeing with them! Dad had emailed us some places we could chose from, and one that sounded cool was York. Here's the description I had:
It sounds fun, right?
We were slow moving this morning, because well, we were all exhausted.... Mom and Dad had been working hard in the office, and Matt and I were recovering from London. (let alone the 8 hour time change) Well, we finally headed to York.
When we got there, Dad showed us the wall. It was interesting as we went to each place, that every time there was a wall around a city or a fortress, or a castle or something, it was because it was up on a hill and naturally had the advantage for war. Now, I know that this is common sense.... but living in America we don't have structures, built purposefully for battle. I mean, the foothills are where the rich people live because it is a good view, NOT because they want to have a good tactical advantage on attacking armies? Could you imagine how different America would have been built if that were the case?
Anyways, so the walled part of the city is 2 mile circumference but there is lots of city outside the wall, now. So we went in the city and parked, and headed to the center of the city. It was classic with cobble stone roads and un-matched buildings built right next to each other.
I found this adorable candy shop where I bought my sister 2 of the 8 flavors of toffee they had available. And then we kept walking, deciding we were hungry. We asked around and found an Indian Restaurant. I've heard good things about Indian food in England, so I was excited. Mom and Dad aren't spicy food people, and neither is Reid, so we all picked mild dishes. (I got my well missed Saag! Oh how I had missed that flavor!) The other 3 dishes were creamy based, and all tasted different but delicious! We were all thrilled how yummy the food was. Even Reid partook quite a bit and seemed to like it.
Now that we had strength, we headed to York Minster Cathedral (the largest medieval church in North Europe). And wow, it is HUGE!!!
4 pictures to cover the whole thing!
1 2
3 4
(still haven't figured out the art of blogger's picture set up)
The history of this place is unreal. Basically it has had a church built in that location since the 600's A.D. And in the 11oo's people tore it down buried the foundation and built a church a little higher up. Then again in the 1200's, and ever since then, people buit wings and courtyards, etc. on it to make it what it is today. The stained glass windows are AMAZING, and they even have their original glass in them still.
The cool part is that they had to redo the floor of the cathedral flooring in the 1960's. So as the restoration team worked on the floors during the day, the archaeologists would work to dig out the floors at night. Then the restoration team would put up supports, so that today you can go down and see the previous church foundations. It might sound boring, but it really was very very very cool. I was enthralled the whole time. Not to mention the pure enormity of the cathedral itself... it was stunning.
We simply do not have anything with that kind of history or detail here in the states.
After York Minster, we walked around on the city wall. It was an enjoyable walk, but I was grateful when the construction permitted us from walking the whole 2 miles, and we had to go through this cool entrance to get back in.
After that we wondered through some jewelry shops that were B-E-A-U-TIFUL! but way out of our price range. Then we got some yummy ice cream and headed out.
Then we made a quick stop in Harrogate at this GORGEOUS park! We walked through the park, and it was so amazing! There was some band playing, and Reid kept dancing everytime they started up. The sun started going down, and it was a might bit chilly, so we headed home for the night.
DAY 7
This day Mom and Dad had met a PhD student at Durham University, so we met with her, and she showed us around. We started with a tour of Durham Castle. Again, they built the castle in his location because of elevated ground, which gave an advantage to them over attackers. (As you can see this is one of many streets leading UP to Durham Castle.
They had a chapel, guest rooms, kitchen, etc. It was interesting because it is a dorm now for the "well to do" students. The scariest part was the leaning spiral staircase. It was made from oak or some other heavy wood and is no longer level.
After that we took a short walk through Durham Cathedral. (You know that scene in Harry Potter, in McGonagall's classroom is this huge long room. Yeah, that was taped in the nave of Durham Cathedral.) And here are some shots you might find familiar as well.
Then she tooks us along the river to enjoy the nature and tell us of her days of being the caller on the rowing team for her college. (College - meaning her department, they just call them colleges there) She told us lots of stories about what's its like being in England long term after growing up in good ol' Provo, UT. And some of the experiences how people view her or how history is perceived a little differently. It was a great time, and we are so grateful she took time out of her busy day to show us around!
Just before we left, we stopped in a little convenience store (English style) and bought lunch. We decided to be adventurous and try the pasties. We got a cheese and onion one, and a chicken one. They were really good. Not as filling as we would have liked, especially since Reid ate almost half of one himself. So we also got 2 pastries, a chocolate eclair and an apple turnover. They were from the section "fresh cream," and I figured that couldn't be bad. The apple turnover was SOOOO good. I mean, truly heavenly. It was sad that the chocolate eclair was delicious but a let down after the amazing apple turnover. America doesn't do pastries justice. They are so much better in Europe! (yeah, my expertise in this area is from my knowledgeable 4 day whirlwind business trip to Germany, oh well, I'm convinced.) Anyways, it was so good.
We headed to Alnwick Castle (pronouced a-nick, short A), where the Duke and Dutchess of Northumberland actually live! (with their 4 children)
Through touring we learned that Alnwick is really a large area of land, they have the castle and gardens, and flocks of animals, and lots of other stuff; that the Duke and Dutchess and their family live there 4 months of the year (the winter months) and the rest of the time they live about a mile away (still on their land). We got to see their China collection, their chapel (in their house), there "family" room or lounge as they called it, their library, and all sorts of other things. Matt really enjoyed seeing the ledger from hundreds of years ago for the family, about how they had to sell off this business or that land to keep the family from losing the land and castle.
It was just unreal to imagine living their in a house so huge, with silk wall paper and life-size portraits of your ancestors on the wall. Really crazy. But we also pictures of their family and they look totally normal. So it was neat to see. In fact the Duke and Dutchess were at the castle while we were, simply because they care about their public and wanted to make sure everything was going well for the day.
This was also another Harry Potter film location. Especially the flying scene in the first movie, they even put a poster up for you to get your picture moment.
We enjoyed the view and let Reid run around a lot. After that, it was ice cream and head home. On the way home, we got our first REAL rain. I mean sure, we had gotten sprinkled on the whole week, but nothing that didn't dry within 5 minutes. This was a full blown rain. Poor Dad was driving in the rain, the only one awake. (that brought back lots of memories of growing up)
Once we got back to Leeds we realized we were hungry and went back to Murgatroyd's. It was a enjoyable relaxing meal after a long day.
When we got home, it was straight to bed for all of us.
DAY 8
We had to get up early to head to the airport to catch our flight. On the way, we got to ride on the highest freeway in England. It was funny to see that the highest elevated roadway, was still just on a hill (no mountains).
I tried to soak in all the beautiful green surroundings that I could, before coming back to the desert. We got the airport, checked in, and then it was time to say goodbye. It was harder than I thought. I don't think I realized how great it was to spend time with my mom and dad. I loved sharing Reid with them, and letting him get to know his grandparents... he especially loved Grandma on this trip, he took right to her. But finally, we went through security and did our last wave.
As Reid looked out the window, I silently said goodbye to England... thanks for a great time!
Well, of course our flight was booked, and so we squeezed into our seat with Reid. We got the NICEST man to sit next to us. He always offered to get up when Reid cried and picked up toys with no complaints. I am so so so grateful to him! Reid did really well, he slept for about 3 hours in the middle of the flight and played and bounced between Matt and I the rest of the time. Not bad at all.
When we flew into JFK (New York), we couldn't believe how brown it was. We did the whole customs thing (so much easier when you are on your way back into YOUR country). And got to the security line. Matt went and asked the lady if it mattered which line and she said no. So we picked the left one. Well, we got to the front of that line, and another lady told us that families and strollers couldn't go through this one, and we needed to be in the other line. Thank goodness the lady Matt talked to overheard this, she had us cut into the line on the right. And of course we cut in front of our fellow passenger on the previous flight. By this time we were joking and chatting with him. He was headed the same way we were, so we had an enjoyable walk to our gate.
Matt took Reid for a walk. Reid found the arcade games and it was all over. Matt said he'd take Reid down the terminal and he'd run to the arcade games, specifically the car ones. He just sit there and drive. He loved it. I loved it too, because Reid slept almost the ENTIRE next flight. We stopped in Dallas, and swapped planes again. We bought some good old McD's and took turns eating and chasing Reid. He then slept almost the whole flight again! Bless you child!
We arrived in Phoenix around 9:30pm. Matt's aunt graciously picked us up about 9:45pm, took us back to our car. Then we got in our car for the 2 hour drive home. We arrived home about 12:30am. I calculated it and we were travelling for 25 hours! Reid went to sleep in his crib great, and we crashed.
We woke up at 7am wide awake, so we decided to head to church.
---------------------
And there we were, done with our vacation. It was so much fun, and we had a great time, even with the trials of a 1 year old. But really, he did wonderful. We are so blessed to have been able to go visit a wonderful place and spend time with my parents. We loved our first international family vacation!
(p.s. please forgive typos... I just needed to write this down before I forget it all)
Mom and Dad got the next two days off from their mission office work. So we got to go sight seeing with them! Dad had emailed us some places we could chose from, and one that sounded cool was York. Here's the description I had:
Drive to York (about an hour away) and see the York Minster (cathedral that is the largest medieval church in northern Europe) and the walls that encircle the city of York (the finest of their kind anywhere in Britain), along with the other sights in that city. Then drive back by way of Harrogate, a great strolling town in central Yorkshire with an abundance of Victorian architecture, and see some of the Yorkshire Dales on the way home. We could leave late morning or early afternoon and spend as little or as much time as you want. We could eat at Betty’s Tea Room, a world renown restaurant
It sounds fun, right?
We were slow moving this morning, because well, we were all exhausted.... Mom and Dad had been working hard in the office, and Matt and I were recovering from London. (let alone the 8 hour time change) Well, we finally headed to York.
When we got there, Dad showed us the wall. It was interesting as we went to each place, that every time there was a wall around a city or a fortress, or a castle or something, it was because it was up on a hill and naturally had the advantage for war. Now, I know that this is common sense.... but living in America we don't have structures, built purposefully for battle. I mean, the foothills are where the rich people live because it is a good view, NOT because they want to have a good tactical advantage on attacking armies? Could you imagine how different America would have been built if that were the case?
Anyways, so the walled part of the city is 2 mile circumference but there is lots of city outside the wall, now. So we went in the city and parked, and headed to the center of the city. It was classic with cobble stone roads and un-matched buildings built right next to each other.
View of the street in York.
I found this adorable candy shop where I bought my sister 2 of the 8 flavors of toffee they had available. And then we kept walking, deciding we were hungry. We asked around and found an Indian Restaurant. I've heard good things about Indian food in England, so I was excited. Mom and Dad aren't spicy food people, and neither is Reid, so we all picked mild dishes. (I got my well missed Saag! Oh how I had missed that flavor!) The other 3 dishes were creamy based, and all tasted different but delicious! We were all thrilled how yummy the food was. Even Reid partook quite a bit and seemed to like it.
Now that we had strength, we headed to York Minster Cathedral (the largest medieval church in North Europe). And wow, it is HUGE!!!
4 pictures to cover the whole thing!
1 2
3 4(still haven't figured out the art of blogger's picture set up)
The history of this place is unreal. Basically it has had a church built in that location since the 600's A.D. And in the 11oo's people tore it down buried the foundation and built a church a little higher up. Then again in the 1200's, and ever since then, people buit wings and courtyards, etc. on it to make it what it is today. The stained glass windows are AMAZING, and they even have their original glass in them still.
The cool part is that they had to redo the floor of the cathedral flooring in the 1960's. So as the restoration team worked on the floors during the day, the archaeologists would work to dig out the floors at night. Then the restoration team would put up supports, so that today you can go down and see the previous church foundations. It might sound boring, but it really was very very very cool. I was enthralled the whole time. Not to mention the pure enormity of the cathedral itself... it was stunning.
We simply do not have anything with that kind of history or detail here in the states.
After York Minster, we walked around on the city wall. It was an enjoyable walk, but I was grateful when the construction permitted us from walking the whole 2 miles, and we had to go through this cool entrance to get back in.
After that we wondered through some jewelry shops that were B-E-A-U-TIFUL! but way out of our price range. Then we got some yummy ice cream and headed out.
Then we made a quick stop in Harrogate at this GORGEOUS park! We walked through the park, and it was so amazing! There was some band playing, and Reid kept dancing everytime they started up. The sun started going down, and it was a might bit chilly, so we headed home for the night.
DAY 7
This day Mom and Dad had met a PhD student at Durham University, so we met with her, and she showed us around. We started with a tour of Durham Castle. Again, they built the castle in his location because of elevated ground, which gave an advantage to them over attackers. (As you can see this is one of many streets leading UP to Durham Castle.
(come up on the left, and keep going up on the right)
They had a chapel, guest rooms, kitchen, etc. It was interesting because it is a dorm now for the "well to do" students. The scariest part was the leaning spiral staircase. It was made from oak or some other heavy wood and is no longer level.
After that we took a short walk through Durham Cathedral. (You know that scene in Harry Potter, in McGonagall's classroom is this huge long room. Yeah, that was taped in the nave of Durham Cathedral.) And here are some shots you might find familiar as well.
Then she tooks us along the river to enjoy the nature and tell us of her days of being the caller on the rowing team for her college. (College - meaning her department, they just call them colleges there) She told us lots of stories about what's its like being in England long term after growing up in good ol' Provo, UT. And some of the experiences how people view her or how history is perceived a little differently. It was a great time, and we are so grateful she took time out of her busy day to show us around!
Just before we left, we stopped in a little convenience store (English style) and bought lunch. We decided to be adventurous and try the pasties. We got a cheese and onion one, and a chicken one. They were really good. Not as filling as we would have liked, especially since Reid ate almost half of one himself. So we also got 2 pastries, a chocolate eclair and an apple turnover. They were from the section "fresh cream," and I figured that couldn't be bad. The apple turnover was SOOOO good. I mean, truly heavenly. It was sad that the chocolate eclair was delicious but a let down after the amazing apple turnover. America doesn't do pastries justice. They are so much better in Europe! (yeah, my expertise in this area is from my knowledgeable 4 day whirlwind business trip to Germany, oh well, I'm convinced.) Anyways, it was so good.
We headed to Alnwick Castle (pronouced a-nick, short A), where the Duke and Dutchess of Northumberland actually live! (with their 4 children)
Through touring we learned that Alnwick is really a large area of land, they have the castle and gardens, and flocks of animals, and lots of other stuff; that the Duke and Dutchess and their family live there 4 months of the year (the winter months) and the rest of the time they live about a mile away (still on their land). We got to see their China collection, their chapel (in their house), there "family" room or lounge as they called it, their library, and all sorts of other things. Matt really enjoyed seeing the ledger from hundreds of years ago for the family, about how they had to sell off this business or that land to keep the family from losing the land and castle.
It was just unreal to imagine living their in a house so huge, with silk wall paper and life-size portraits of your ancestors on the wall. Really crazy. But we also pictures of their family and they look totally normal. So it was neat to see. In fact the Duke and Dutchess were at the castle while we were, simply because they care about their public and wanted to make sure everything was going well for the day.
Here is their backyard
This was also another Harry Potter film location. Especially the flying scene in the first movie, they even put a poster up for you to get your picture moment.
We enjoyed the view and let Reid run around a lot. After that, it was ice cream and head home. On the way home, we got our first REAL rain. I mean sure, we had gotten sprinkled on the whole week, but nothing that didn't dry within 5 minutes. This was a full blown rain. Poor Dad was driving in the rain, the only one awake. (that brought back lots of memories of growing up)
Once we got back to Leeds we realized we were hungry and went back to Murgatroyd's. It was a enjoyable relaxing meal after a long day.
When we got home, it was straight to bed for all of us.
DAY 8
We had to get up early to head to the airport to catch our flight. On the way, we got to ride on the highest freeway in England. It was funny to see that the highest elevated roadway, was still just on a hill (no mountains).
I tried to soak in all the beautiful green surroundings that I could, before coming back to the desert. We got the airport, checked in, and then it was time to say goodbye. It was harder than I thought. I don't think I realized how great it was to spend time with my mom and dad. I loved sharing Reid with them, and letting him get to know his grandparents... he especially loved Grandma on this trip, he took right to her. But finally, we went through security and did our last wave.
As Reid looked out the window, I silently said goodbye to England... thanks for a great time!
Well, of course our flight was booked, and so we squeezed into our seat with Reid. We got the NICEST man to sit next to us. He always offered to get up when Reid cried and picked up toys with no complaints. I am so so so grateful to him! Reid did really well, he slept for about 3 hours in the middle of the flight and played and bounced between Matt and I the rest of the time. Not bad at all.
When we flew into JFK (New York), we couldn't believe how brown it was. We did the whole customs thing (so much easier when you are on your way back into YOUR country). And got to the security line. Matt went and asked the lady if it mattered which line and she said no. So we picked the left one. Well, we got to the front of that line, and another lady told us that families and strollers couldn't go through this one, and we needed to be in the other line. Thank goodness the lady Matt talked to overheard this, she had us cut into the line on the right. And of course we cut in front of our fellow passenger on the previous flight. By this time we were joking and chatting with him. He was headed the same way we were, so we had an enjoyable walk to our gate.
Matt took Reid for a walk. Reid found the arcade games and it was all over. Matt said he'd take Reid down the terminal and he'd run to the arcade games, specifically the car ones. He just sit there and drive. He loved it. I loved it too, because Reid slept almost the ENTIRE next flight. We stopped in Dallas, and swapped planes again. We bought some good old McD's and took turns eating and chasing Reid. He then slept almost the whole flight again! Bless you child!
We arrived in Phoenix around 9:30pm. Matt's aunt graciously picked us up about 9:45pm, took us back to our car. Then we got in our car for the 2 hour drive home. We arrived home about 12:30am. I calculated it and we were travelling for 25 hours! Reid went to sleep in his crib great, and we crashed.
We woke up at 7am wide awake, so we decided to head to church.
---------------------
And there we were, done with our vacation. It was so much fun, and we had a great time, even with the trials of a 1 year old. But really, he did wonderful. We are so blessed to have been able to go visit a wonderful place and spend time with my parents. We loved our first international family vacation!
(p.s. please forgive typos... I just needed to write this down before I forget it all)
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