Fall Photos

So, once again, the challenges of being a full-time working mom have interfered with my best intentions, and nearly a month has passed since my last blog post. But tonight, I will take a stand against the role of overburdened woman in a foreign land, and painfully extract a bazillion photos from my assorted flash cards for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy these snippets of our first fall season living in the English countryside! OK, so I just counted, and the "snippets" amounted to 67 pictures--oops!

Nowton Park










Ickworth House










Flag Football:




Pumpkin patch & pumpkin carving








Keller's 9th birthday party which was really wild (corny joke, I know). Yes, Marley was present and did actually touch some animals, she just did it so quickly that I didn't get any clear pics. And yes, there were lots of other kids there, but they are new friends and I'm not sure how their parents would feel about me plastering their kids' faces all over the internet ;)














Warwick Castle--part of Keller's birthday gift was a trip to the haunted castle with Dave, Casey, and some new friends







Halloween (Ash Ketchum, Princess Peach, and a Mad Scientist!)





High Lodge Forest Centre at Thetford Forest--I took the kids there today for the first time and can't believe we've never explored there before. The Brits really know how to put together a playground!













I've been flying solo with the kids since Thursday while Dave attempted to recreate scenes from the Hangover with his brother's bachelor party crew in NYC. In strict accordance with Murphy's Law, the following unexpected events happened: the babysitter who was supposed to watch the boys on Friday while I had a teacher work day came down with a stomach virus and I was stuck bringing the boys to school with me for the entire day while I tried to work on progress reports; Keller came down with a stomach bug on Friday night and christened the new carpeting in his bedroom; Marley came down with the aforementioned stomach bug on Saturday and christened the carpet in her bedroom. It's been a long and tiring weekend, and so, I'll leave you with a few random shots that brought a smile to this exhausted mama's face tonight:

We knew Keller was due for a hair cut when we realized it would fit into a nice pony tail.


After--the shortest hair cut he has had in a couple of years. He looks so handsome and mature, it breaks my heart a little.


First sign Marley might be coming down with the 'ick' that Keller had--this is how I found her laying in the hallway after her bath. Of course I also videotaped the snoring that accompanied the scene!


And finally, meet Tommy, the cutest ugly pup we've ever had the pleasure of dogsitting. He belongs to some friends I know from work and CrossFit, and we kept him while they went hiking in Wales last weekend. It was like having some kind of snorting goblin in the house ;)

Our new 'hood

For those who are curious about what the local scene is like here in the happenin' village of Barton Mills, we took a little walk-about last weekend and snapped some pictures. There is a really beautiful trail that follows the River Lark beginning in our neighborhood and ending in the village center in Mildenhall. So, check your maps and follow along for a tour:

your tour guide and maps (note the important locations listed on the map key, gotta love those Brits and their pubs):




the historic homes on our street:





the churches . . .



the pubs:



along the River Lark:


the next one is the backyard of our across-the-street neighbors. we were feeling pretty good about our big front and back 'gardens' until we saw what the neighbors have ;)



the park in Mildenhall (the kids love the way the playgrounds are so different here, although the risk of motion sickness is higher with every thing spinning in circles!):





the phone booth:


a local kid with stereotypical British teeth:


and finally, our house (and my Subaru, which may just be the best thing I brought from the States! Dave has been demoted to UK mini-van driver, although he does not seem to mind the crazy right side steering wheel):


We moved in two weeks ago, and are enjoying stretching out and exploring our new 'home.' It's been a crazy 4 months since I first interviewed for my job, but we've held it together amazingly well. Other than some pangs of homesickness, especially for poor Casey, the adjustment has gone strangely smooth. So many changes for all of us, and we've just sort of huddled together and weathered all of them together. I've got a million more pictures to post and at least that many thoughts rolling around in my head that I'd love to share, so hopefully as we settle into the new 'normal,' I'll find more time and energy to put it all on here more often.

Until then . . . Cheers, and pop over for a brilliant spot of tea any time ;)