Sarah's Big Day

Sarah wanted me to hurry and get these photos posted on the blog so all could see. For those of you would haven't heard, the day finally came....and here are the pics to prove it.

Yes, the tooth finally came out! The timing was a little off, so the Tooth Fairy and Santa were unable to car pool to the house on Christmas Eve, but the tooth is gone. Remember, it has been VERY loose and Eric told Sarah the Tooth Fairy was just going to come and pull it out in her sleep. She woke up and thought he was right. Sarah lost her tooth in her sleep! She woke up on Saturday morning and found the tooth in her bed. The Tooth Fairy came the next night and brought her British money (I guess she doesn't carry around different currencies).

Also on Saturday, my little Sarah got her ears pierced!! She has been wanting to do this for a few months. I told her it was her choice and that she had to take care of them. We talked alot about it, the procedure, the maintenance, etc and she was adamant about wanting it done. While we were in Newmarket on Saturday, we came across a Claire's bouquet. Knowing they were licensing and certified, I felt comfortable going in. Sarah was jumping up and down with excitement. I really thought she would back out when we got in the store, but she just hopped up in the purple chair. She picked out pink studs and sat very still during the whole procedure. She did not cry a bit. She has done a great job with me cleaning them and her turning them. The studs must stay in for 6 weeks before they can be changed out. Let's see...6 weeks would make it right around her birthday. I guess I know what she'll be asking for her gift.

Tony and Eric were both their for the big ear event. Eric was amazed at her bravery. Dad, on the other hand, had to leave the store. Eric said, "now she looks like a true princess." That made her smile (her new toothless smile).

Wii Wish You a Merry Christmas!

You'll be happy to know, Santa did find our new home here in Red Lodge. We have spent the last week busy with our newest toy, the Nintendo Wii. When the weather outside is frightful, we still have bowling, boxing, tennis and more to keep us entertained and active!

Most of you know, I am not a fan of video games. I would much rather have to kids outside, playing together, using their imagination, etc. But the Wii is pretty cool. Compared to other game systems, the Wii is much more interactive and gets you up and moving. I am still limiting their time and yesterday I forced an "electricity free afternoon." The kids did not know what to do! "What no TV, no video games, no computer, no DS, no batteries. What is left to do?" They did survive. It's still easier for Sarah to find something to do than Eric. Boys!!

Here are some pics from our Christmas morning. Sarah was excited to get her own pink DS. Now she's a gamer too!

Hope yours was full of joy and surprises too!

Christmas Eve in London

On Christmas Eve we took the kids to London for a day to remember. We rode the Underground to Oxford Circus and went to Hamley's Toy Store (http://www.hamleys.com/) Hamley's is, by far, the largest toy store we have ever been in. It is 8 floors of pure magic. There is a floor just for Lego's and building toys, a floor for stuffed animals, a boy floor, a girl floor...and the list goes on. We were there for two hours and saw demonstrations, Father Christmas, and more toys than we thought possible. There are people who walk around playing with toys and encourage the kids to play too. Fake snow was even coming off the roof, as to appear it was snowing outside! It was a cross between Big and Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. The kids got to pick out a gift (Sarah chose a new Build-A-Bear (there was a store within the store) and Eric chose Bakugans and a flying saucer.)

Afterwards, we walked to Hyde Park for Winter Wonderland (http://www.hydeparkwinterwonderland.com/) Winter Wonderland a German Christmas Market with lots of food, crafts and rides. There was an outdoor ice skating rink and Father Christmas. We tried German sandwiches called Brotchen and Sarah had a German waffle (like a funnel cake.) There were lots of carnival rides, but very expensive. We let the kids chose one and they both took me through the Fun House. We never thought we would spend Christmas Eve at a carnival! It was very crowded (you know how Tony loves crowds) but a fun and memorable day. We took the Underground back to our car and was home by 6 or so...just in time to get ready for Santa....oh, I mean Father Christmas. And to all a good night!

A Train Ride to Father Christmas

On Saturday, December 20th we journeyed north and took a vintage steam train ride. We rode the Poppy Line Express in North Norfolk from Sheringham Station to Santaland! Along the way we were entertained by clowns and others, given balloon animals and treated to sherry and mince pies for the adults and a biscuit and juice for the kids.

Once at our stop, we met Father Christmas and the kids received a gift. We looked around the station, re boarded and headed back to Sheringham Station. We even saw the The Wash (North Sea) from the train. We had hoped the train ride would be longer and the bus ride to get their shorter, but it was still a fun day full of British holiday treats! You can read more about our adventure at: http://www.nnrailway.co.uk/santas.htm

Afternoon at the Abbey

Last weekend, we decided to take the kids out for some fresh air and exercise. Although it was still rather the cool, it was not raining so we decided to make the best of it. We drove to the town of Bury St. Edmunds for a day at the park.

Bury was once called "a handsome little town" by a frequent visitor, Charles Dickens. In the middle of town stands the remains of an old monastery built in 1020AD. The church in the photo below is St Mary's church, which was built in the 15th century and where Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII is buried. A park is built around the remains and the church. Although very old and historic, the kids are welcome to run and climb among the ruins. Our kids loved it!

You can read more about the town at: http://www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk/sebc/visit/BuryStEdmunds.cfm

The kids climbed among the ruins, ran around and had a great time. Sarah enjoyed feeding (and chasing) the ducks. The kids asked me to take the final picture and send it to their Memaw. They thought it looked like a giant chicken and teapot. It was a fun day at a very unique park.

The Tale of 3 Trees

As many of you know, we did not bring any of our seasonal decorations to England. Knowing we would be short on space and storage, we chose to put all of our decorations, including Christmas, into permanent storage until we return to the states. Therefore, decorating our house for Christmas this year was going to be a challenge. We knew we would either buy a new tree or purchase a real one. Luckily, we did neither!

While up in the attic one day, Tony noticed a Christmas tree box. The owner of the house had left several things behind and told us to use whatever we needed. Did he mean the Christmas tree too? Surely he wouldn't mind. So, a few days after Thanksgiving, we got the box down. Inside, we were pleased to find not one, but three Christmas trees. OK, one had a broken stand and was about the size of Sarah and another seemed to be missing something too, but we were determined to make it work. Since no one could agree on lights, etc, I decided everyone could have a tree of their own.

Sarah put hers upstairs and chose colored lights, purple balls and fuchsia garland. Eric's went in the dining room and had white lights and gold balls. (The balls were purchased at a clearance store and were very affordable) The main tree went in the living room. It was decorated in red and white with a few British ornaments. There was even a tree shirt in the box!

The kids did get to pick out new stockings. We were excited to have a mantle to hang them on this year! We used the decorations the kids made at school and Sarah made a wreath to hang over the fireplace. By the end of the day, our house was ready for the holidays and it finally started to feel like Christmas. Fa la la la la..la la la la.

Hope you had fun decking your halls too!

Our Day at Dover

Here are some more photos from our day at Dover with the Henderson's. The weather was quite cold and rainy, so we did not get the chance to take too many pictures. Cameras were not allowed at all inside the secret war tunnels (which was my favorite part!) It was still a great day, with great company, in a place full of history.

Waiting for Santa

Hurry up Santa! Sarah's tooth won't hang on much longer.

Sarah's top left tooth is very very loose. The poor thing has been ready to come out for about a week now. However, Sarah has refused to allow anyone to touch it and will not pull it herself. It has became hard to eat and hard to brush her teeth. Why not pull it? Because she is patiently waiting for tomorrow. She has had it all planned out for awhile now. Why tomorrow? Because she decided it was a perfect day. Santa and the Tooth Fairy here on the same night!!

I'll let you know if her plan works out....

Thanksgiving in London

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sorry I am a bit behind in my postings. I've been a little busy getting all the cards and packages wrapped and mailed in time for the holidays. Yesterday was my last trip (I think) to the base post office and everything should be headed west. I will try to do a better job keeping you up-to-date via this blogsite and TRY to post every Friday.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. We did! We had our first guests in our home and had a wonderful visit. Our dear friends, the Henderson's, came for a 5 day trip. We met the Henderson's in Utah and attended Southside Church of Christ with them. Danny is a civilian employee currently stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. They arrived Tuesday night and we had a fun and busy weekend with them.

On Wednesday, we just spent time around the house, took them to the base(s), thrift stores and around the area. We spent lots of time talking, laughing and catching up.

Thursday morning we woke up early to get ready for our big day in London. We drove to the Northern most station of the underground subway, called the Underground or the Tube, parked are rode into the city. We got off at St. Paul's cathedral to attend a special Thanksgiving service for Americans. The cathedral was amazing and the service was really neat. I can't believe we were in the same church Princess Diana was married in! After the service, we hopped on a double-decker open top bus for a tour of the city. Traffic was a little heavy and the bus didn't go very far at times, although we did ride across the famous London Bridge. We opted to get off and take the included river cruise down the Thames River. Over the course of the day, we also rode the London Eye, saw Big Ben, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and more. It was amazing to see things we had seen in movies. That evening we ate at a pub and took the hot and crowded subway back to Epping, where our car was parked. We even stopped for ice cream at McDonalds on the way home. Now that's a treat!

Saturday was also busy and adventure filled. We rented an 8 passenger van so we all could ride in the same vehicle (otherwise I would have to drive :O( and headed for the city of Dover. After about a two hour drive, we arrived at Dover Castle. Although the weather was cold, windy and rainy, we still had a great time. The castle was amazing sitting on top of the white cliffs. I've heard on a clear day you can see France (we did not!) We toured the castle (some parts built in 1200 AD) and saw both the amazing grounds and underground tunnels. The highlight was touring the underground war tunnels built into the white cliffs and used during World War II. Amazing! That night we ate fish and chips at a local diner. After a wrong turn and LOTS of London traffic, we finally arrived home four hours later. A long day, but very worth it.

Saturday was spent at the house cooking, eating and visiting. Julie made the turkey and it just barely fit into our small British oven. All the food was good and the company even better. That evening the girls went into Newmarket shopping, while the guys stayed home and watched football. It doesn't get more American that that!

What a fun weekend. Thank you Henderson family for coming to our home and spending another holiday together. I think this makes 3 Thanksgivings in a row! Thanks for the fun memories and the gift of friendship. We love you!!

AFN Comes to the Bomar House!

After a long and wonderful month (in my opinion), without television service, the kids and Tony have overruled me and we, once again, are a part of the real world. The TV is back!!

Since we only have an American TV, we are unable to get British stations in our home (not that we are missing anything.) Eric has a TV in his room hooked up to the the PS2. The kids can play video games and watch movies in there. In the living room, we now have AFN!!

For those not familiar with it, you can read more at http://www.afneurope.net. I call it "Pot Luck TV" because you never know what you are going to get!! In theory, it's a great idea. We have approx. 8 stations. There is an AFN Sports channel. On it, could be anytime of sports program, including football (college or professional - any team), NASCAR, basketball, ESPN, etc. There is a AFN movie channel. This could be any movie, old or new, and any rating (but mostly family friendly.) There is a family channel (kids favorite one.) This will show any type of kid-friendly show. There could be Blue's Clues, Sesame Street, Sponge Bob or Hannah Montana. You get the point! There are no commercials (only military information, PR stuff, etc) and no syndication (it doesn't matter what network the shows normally air on.) The Prime channel could be any program that normally airs in prime time. Good Morning America is followed by the Today Show!

Now remember, we are quite a few hours ahead of you. Therefore we are usually watching shows from the day before (such as the late shows, Jay Leno, etc) or watching the morning shows in the afternoon/evening. We wake up with Letterman and spend the evening with Matt Lauer.

This past Sunday, the Cowboys played the late game. Therefore in England, it's the "wee hours of the morning game." The game started at 1:30 AM and, of course, Tony had to watch it. He came to bed at 4:30AM and the alarm went off at 6!! (Glad they won!) I laughed when I turned the TV on the next day and it was being replayed!!

It's nice to know what is going on in the states, it's nice to watch football again, and the kids love it!! For those wondering, there is no charge for the service. You buy the decoder box and satellite dish (we bought ours from someone on base) and have someone come out and install it. You must register, as only military are authorized to have it, but after that you can watch for free. That's better than cable!!

And as Al says, we're glad to know "..what's happening in your neck of the woods!"

Cheers!

*Funny side note, since there is only 1 box/decoder we can only pick up one station at a time. Therefore, if we connect the TV in our room, the person upstairs has to watch the same thing the person downstairs is. So much for channel surfing! :O)

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