Adventure Days

I love adventure days with my family!  And the older the kids get, the more fun we have!  Ryan didn't have to work on President's Day, so we headed to London to see my parents and check out a couple museums.  

We started at the Science Museum.  The kids favorite part was the bubble show.  It was pretty cool when the bubble explainer gave a girl her own carbon dioxide bubble to hold!  

I also wanted to make sure Rooke got to see the train pictured below.  His class had been learning about steam engines and talked extensively about Stephenson's Rocket, so it was fun to show him the real thing!

After lunch, we walked to the Victoria & Albert Museum.  I'll admit that design and sculpture museums don't usually peak my interest, but this place was worth our visit.  Especially with the kid activities they had going on and the activity backpacks available.  

Rooke was working on his hero/villain card they handed out to kids.  He turned the elevator into a bad guy!

Rooke and Gretchen picked the activity backpack that took us to the glass room.  Thankfully, everything was safely displayed away from our littlest explorer.  Kaye K and the kids worked their way through the activities and had a great time.  

A couple days later, we celebrated my birthday with another family adventure.  Ryan was able to come home after lunch and we headed to Cambridge.  First stop, a whole foods store to stock up on some whole grains and dried goods.  Banana chips for everyone!

Cambridge had a free family event on that evening with several museums participating.  We parked and walked a mile to the Botanical Gardens for our first stop, but were too early for the event, so we ended up just enjoying the gardens.  Again - great backpack activities for the kids!  And we were thankful for nice weather.

Several unusual plants were highlighted through the greenhouse rooms.  The rainforest room was our favorite.

We had hoped to explore the Polar Museum before dinner, but the line was way too long.  So we walked on to dinner.  Rooke was in the mood to chat.  Walking with him was one of my favorite things about my birthday.

We ate at a hole-in-the-wall Chinese place I'd picked out.  There were two ladies making dumplings behind the counter and most people were speaking Chinese.  I was so excited!  And the dumplings did not disappoint.  I closed my eyes and imagined we were back in China at our favorite jiaozi joint.  Yum!  The kids loved the steamed bread buns and wanted more of my bubble milk tea.  

Bridgette went straight to bed when we got home, but the rest of us enjoyed a special dessert.  It was a wonderful way to spend my birthday!

Playing in the Sun

The girls and I took advantage of a beautiful sunny day!  We had to say goodbye to a dear neighbor family this week, so I was feeling nostalgic about this playground and grabbed my camera on our way out.

Handing out Valentine's

Handing out Valentine's at school is not common practice here in England.  The kids here have a similar tradition, but at Christmas time, giving all the kids in the class small Christmas cards.  But I love holidays and finding ways to celebrate, so instead of cards, my kids took heart-shaped sugar cookies to school for their class because what kid doesn't love a cookie made with love?!

I baked all the cookies by myself at night then let Gretchen decorate hers the following afternoon while Rooke was at school and Bridgette was napping.  It was a great activity for she and I to do together.  Gretchen got more creative as we went along!

  

Mental note - when making sugar cookies, store them in stacks so they don't crack and break.  It actually wasn't a big deal because it meant more for us to eat!

The cross cookie was to remind us of the source of love:  

We love because He first loved us.  1 John 4:19

Cute as she is, this girl has THE hardest time keeping the decorating utensils (fingers included) out of her mouth.  There was a lot of washing going on in between cookies.

Busted.  If you ever get a batch of cookies from us, you've been warned. =)

  

She was very proud to take her trays of cookies to school the next day!

Almost Two

Bridgette is just a month away from turning two.  She is busy most of the time, but has recently slowed down long enough to learn how to enjoy books and focus on talking.  It's been fun to watch her vocabulary take off this last month.  She tries to mimic what other people say.  Most of her speech is still in that only-Mommy-knows-what-I'm-saying phase, but if you have context and listen closely, you can pick up a lot of what she is communicating.  When you acknowledge what she says, she happily affirms, "yep!".  

Bridgette really likes her siblings and Gretchen proudly told Rooke this week that "Bridgette tries to do everything I do".  It's true.  Earlier this week, I caught her sitting on the window ledge like Gretchen does, which means she had to climb from the play kitchen to the radiator up onto the ledge.  

She is determined not to be left out.

Bridgette is constantly trying to do things by herself, already testing out that need for independence.  When she's found success, she will proudly announce, "I DID IT!", even if she has her coat on backwards and upside down.

She's a great sleeper, as long as she's not sick.  She needs mousie, blankie, and prefers to also have "blankie 2", and her "Kaye K blankie".  But we're done with the pacifier.  Ryan put her to bed one night and they couldn't find her pacifier.  He convinced her she didn't need it.  Have I mentioned I'm married to an attorney?!  So the next day I tried out a nap without her paci.  Golden.  That night, Ryan was with her again and she actually found her paci, but he easily distracted her from it and they agreed together she didn't want it anymore.  I never thought it'd be that simple!

A rare moment of stillness in the beginning days of getting a bad cold.  Yes, I realize she is on the kitchen floor.  She did this herself.  I couldn't interrupt.  I had mopped recently.  Does that count?!

Talking about one of her favorite people . . .



I love how she's getting worked up at the beginning of this clip and then is completely distracted by a squirrel outside.  Isn't there an animated character who does that in a movie or something?

Daddy Daughter Dance

Recently, a group on base hosted a daddy/daughter masquerade dance.  When Ryan asked Gretchen if she would go with him, that's all she could talk about for the days leading up to their date!  She tried on dresses and talked about accessories and how she wanted her hair done and how she was going to dance with Daddy . . . it was a hot topic for our little girl.  And rightfully so!  A date with her incredible daddy is always special, and it's not every day a handsome daddy-king takes his precious daughter-princess to a ball!  We worked on her mask the day of the dance.  She helped Ryan pick out his suit and tie (purple!) and then it was time to go!  Ryan said they had a great time together and he brought her home just before her clock struck midnight.  =)  

Bridgette wanted to be in their photos.

Rooke Turns Six!

Rooke turned SIX in January!  He is such a special boy.  His current likes are lego, playing games (Sleeping Queens is his favorite), reading, playing with Gretchen (most of the time!) and wrestling with Daddy (or anyone else who is willing to take him on).  He's still topping the growth charts and is one of the biggest in his Year One class of 30 kids.  Rooke enjoys school, excels at reading and math, and has a great time with his buddies during their outdoor play times.  Rooke has always been a thinker and is still asking great questions.      

Instead of a big birthday party, this year we took three of his friends for pizza and bowling after school.  Getting the boys from school, home, and into the car felt a bit like herding cattle, but everyone (including me) enjoyed themselves and, most importantly, the birthday boy had a great time!

Kaye K and Big Daddy drove up for his actual birthday, arriving in time for the biggest breakfast I've made in a while.  Food is Rooke's love language, so we ate well for his special day!  After breakfast, he got to open his gifts . . . 

Thank you, Grammy Deb and G-Daddy!  Uncle Sean and Aunt Jessica also sent a great lego set.  We had to occasionally pry Rooke away from the table we set up especially for lego building!  I got him to give up legos for a little bit to go on an ice cream/game playing date with me.  

Several months ago, Rooke got the idea that he wanted his OWN meat pie for his birthday.  We always buy a large one for the family, but the butcher sells small ones as well, so Rooke got his birthday wish and had his very own meat pie for dinner!

Happy Birthday to our favorite boy!  We love you!