Parlez-vous francais?

I can't believe we are actually doing this, but we are heading to Paris next Thursday to celebrate our 10th anniversary! We've booked tickets on a speed train to get there, and have put in a reservation for an apartment not too far from the Eiffel Tower. The one catch is that we are bringing the kids. It's not ideal, but (1)we really want them to see Paris, and (2) we aren't willing to lose any of our new friends here yet by having them watch our kids for the weekend. So, we'll make the best of it.

So, now I'm looking for some help from my readers. Has anyone ever been to Paris before? What do you consider to be the "Must-sees"? Do you have any tips for eating, shopping, getting around there? Has anyone been there with kids? Any suggestions of things to do with them? (And no, we're not planning on doing Euro-Disney!).

I have a few books out from the library, and I've been doing some internet searches, but it's always helpful to hear from people who've been there or heard any great ideas. Please leave a comment or email me!

Fair Days

This past weekend was just beautiful! The weather was actually hot, so we spent as much time outside as we could. Two local villages (Birstwith and Markington) were having their annual fairs this weekend, so we thought it would be fun to check them out!

We didn't know what to expect of these fairs, or how they would compare to American ones, but as it turns out, they aren't that different. For the kids, there was face painting, games, races, entertainment, and bouncy castles and slides (and at 1 pound 50 pence a shot =$3, the prices reminded us of American fairs too!). Here are Tim and Maddie on the bouncy slide, and here is Maddie playing a game where she is trying to "milk" the cow.
The Birstwith Show had competitions similar to a state/county fair; contests for best vegetables, preserves, flowers, scones, bread, photographs, etc. There were also a lot of booths for local businesses, crafts, etc. and plenty of fair food. The food was similar to American fair food...hot dogs and hamburgers. But there was also a tent for afternoon tea, and of course both fairs had their Beer Tents with good ole' English ale.
Ethan was a happy camper.
What interested us most of course, were the things that you wouldn't find at American fairs. For example, for just 50p, you could try out "Crockery Smashing", which basically meant you could spend a buck to throw 3 balls at pieces of broken tea cups and dishes. I didn't really see the point, but when Ethan saw it, he said, "That is AWESOME!"..... boys.
The kids and Ethan also gave a go at "Welly Wanging." Wellies are what they call rain boots around here, and the "wanging" meant seeing how far you could throw them. It was funny watching people try this, because the unbalanced weight of the wellies didn't seem to be what the throwers expected. There were wellies flying everywhere! I think the most successful were those who threw it like a discus. Here's a picture of Ethan wanging his welly. :)
The kids both enjoyed doing a soccer, uh.. excuse me...a football obstacle course. A volunteer coached them through the course telling them what to do where. Tim completed it in 55 seconds, and Maddie finished it in 3 minutes 50 seconds. The volunteer gave Maddie a medal for perseverance! :)

We also enjoyed watching sheepdog demonstrations. Sheepdogs are VERY common around here, for the obvious reason that there are sheep everywhere. Anyway, the dogs were showing how they could control a flock of geese & ducks. The dogs would weave back and forth trying to keep the geese together, but they would also find ways of getting between them to separate them as instructed. It was really neat, and it reminded me of the competitions that you see at the end of the movie "Babe." Here is a picture of the sheepdog keeping those geese in line,
And here you can see that the dog even got these ducks to go through a tunnel. At the finish line... the geese are being corralled into their pen.
All in all, it was a great weekend, and a lot of fun learning what British fairs are all about!

Finally!... Tim's done with school

It has been a long and unusual school year for our Timothy, but it's finally over. It's amazing to think that his school year began last August as a Kindergartener at Joppatowne Elementary back in Maryland. (picture is of Tim's first day of school) And his year finished in JULY as a Year One student at a small English village school called Bishop Thornton. (Tim with his class during a visit by a fire truck) Tim did so well in both schools and we are so proud of him.

I'm glad that we were here for the last week of school. Last Tuesday afternoon, Tim got to participate in Sports Day along with the students from two other area schools. It was just like the sports days we would have as kids, complete with 3-legged races, potato sack races, etc. Then, last Wednesday, Tim's class had a field trip to the coastal town of Scarborough (as in the song, "Scarborough Fair"). He got to wade in the water, play in the sand, AND ride the train to get there and back. I'm so glad that he went. Also, I gave him some money to buy something from a gift shop there, and he came home with a candy necklace that is no less that 5 feet long!

Yes, it's been quite a year for our Timothy, and we have been so blessed to see how much he has learned and grown. What fun it was for us to watch him learn to read and write this year!!! We also know that he grew a lot as a person, and that it took a lot of courage for him to move across the ocean and go to a new school. He is quite a kid!

So now Tim has 6 weeks off until school starts again... and this time he'll have his sister in his class. Oh boy!

US Holiday- Part 2

For the second part of our trip to the State, we visited Ethan's parents and brother in upstate New York.

Here are a few highlights from our time with them:

• Fireworks on the 4th of July! (It was fun, although Tim scraped his cheek playing tag, and Maddie and I had to sit in the car because she was afraid of the noise!)
• A beautiful hike at Robert Treman State Park.
• Finding the house that I lived in when I was very young.
• A wonderful time at a local Science Center. It was hard to drag the kids (and Ethan) away.
• A quick swim in Cayuga Lake.
• A short visit to Taughannock Falls. Believe it or not, it is the highest free-falling waterfall in the northeastern United States... even taller than Niagara Falls.
• A trip to the Museum of the Earth, where the kids enjoyed digging for dinosaur eggs!
• Dinner and time with Great-Grandma Phelps.
  

I also enjoyed some "mommy time" while I was there. I went shopping at Kohl's and Walmart, and bought a lot of everyday needed items that are more expensive in the UK. I also got my hair done, which I've been putting off because of UK prices, too.

We left there last Thursday, and returned to my parents' house again. We enjoyed that afternoon in the pool, and had another gorgeous day at the ocean on Friday. My mom sent us off well that night with a kitchen clambake, containing lobster, clams, mussels, etc.

Saturday was departure day. But before we headed to the airport, we were able to stop by at a birthday party for my cousin's son, and see my aunt, uncle, and cousins from my Mom's side of the family. We try to get together every summer, so it meant so much to see them before I left.

We flew out of JFK that night, and besides a little delay in taking off (one hour on the runway with a very tired, hungry, and restless Maddie), everything else went off without a hitch.

It feels weird being back, to tell you the truth. We just spent 2 1/2 weeks with our families, in places that are so familiar to us, and all that time, England felt so far away. I can't say that I'm glad to be back, but I guess that's how everyone is supposed to feel after a vacation. I suppose that being back also reminds me of how much I miss my family. I was especially sad to leave my sister. She is due in about a month with her first baby... my first niece or nephew, and I'm going to miss it! As my baby is due just a month and a half after that, it's hard to know when we'll see each other or when the cousins will meet. Tim and Maddie will have a week off next February, so I'm hoping that we can go visit my parents and sister in Florida then. We'll see...

US Holiday

Sorry for the lapse in posts everyone, but we've been very busy enjoying our time here in the States!

We flew out of Manchester last Wednesday, and arrived at JFK about 8 hours later. Our flight over was much easier than the one going to England, because there was no pressure to make the kids sleep. We were fed every 2 hours it seemed, and we had an abundance of movies/TV shows/etc. to watch. As far as 8 hour-plane-rides go with 2 kids, we can't complain!

We spent not even a day at my parents' before we drove down to Maryland to visit friends and family there. We stayed with my Aunt Nancy's family, and were so glad to have time to catch up with them. We also had lunch with a group of Ethan's co-workers at Red Robin (our favorite burger joint), and a picnic lunch with a bunch of friends from Harford County at Mariner Point Park (Thanks for coming, everybody!). It meant so much to see and catch up with loved ones.

We then drove back up to Long Island and spent a few wonderful days with my family. We did it all: two glorious days at the ocean... plenty of fun time in the pool... a nice visit with my Granny, and we even got to meet her boyfriend, Mr. Jim...

a beautiful boat ride on Papa's boat... Ethan and I actually had a date night where we got to be grown-ups and go out for dinner and a movie...

a bivowac (cookout on the beach) with a gorgeous sunset...
AND, my mom gave my sister and I a gift certificate, so I could get a Mama massage and she got a facial. We packed so much into those four days. It was a blast!

Then, two days ago, we left Long Island and headed for Ethan's parents' house in Ithaca. On the way, we stopped at our good friends' the Gillens, for some lunch, slip-n-slide, and water balloon fun! Needless to say, our trip has been fun-filled and wonderful so far. I will post more about our visit with Mom and Dad Stryker in a few days.

Summer Solstice

Happy Summer Solstice everyone!!

I don't think I've mentioned this before in the blog, but the days have been getting really long here. We are at 54 degrees latitude in our part of England, which is considerably more north than what we're used to. As a result, we have an early sunrise and a late sunset.

The sun has been rising in the 4am hour (this morning, it was 4:33). Fortunately, we have thick curtains in all of our bedrooms, which helps block out the sunlight. The only problem we've had is that Maddie occasionally wakes up earlier than usual. Besides that, it's actually not too bad. At the very least, it helps get me out of bed in the morning.

The sun has been setting in the 9pm hour (last night, it set at 9:42), and we still have twilight well into the 10 o'clock hour. It's been really bizarre putting the kids to bed, and then looking outside to sunshine. Here is a picture I took of our house at 9:00 last night.
(Don't you just love the climbing rose bushes?)

And here's one that I took at 10:00.
Around 10:20 last night, Ethan drove down the road to take these shots.
So, what did we do today, on the first official day of summer? We put on our sweats and jackets and played in a family-fun baseball game to conclude Tim's t-ball season. Although we have had some beautiful, warm days, they are few and far between. It's been in the 60s everyday this week, with rain, wind, sun, and clouds on a repeating basis. It's making me very anxious to go visit the States next week. We will be flying into JFK on Wednesday 6/25, and will return on 7/12. I'm hoping that we will have a nice mini-summer while we're there.

Anyway, it has been a neat experience having these long days. The problem is that in the winter time, it will be the exact opposite-- very short days and a lot of darkness. I can't say that I'm looking forward to that.

Volunteering at Bishop Thornton

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of volunteering at Tim's school for the morning. (Yes, Tim's school is still in session, and the last day isn't until July 22nd!! Isn't that crazy??!! The schools here have more week-long "holidays" throughout the year, which I suppose accounts for the late school year). Maddie's preschool on base ended last week, so she came along with me. We both really enjoyed ourselves.

Tim's class is made up of three grades, Reception (ages 4-5), Year 1 (Tim), and Year 2 (ages 6-7), and is taught by a wonderfully enthusiastic and expressive, Mrs. Ward. There are only 8 students in the whole class! I was able to watch the students participate in a whole-group phonics lesson that challenged each of the students at their level, and I then helped some of the older children who were writing their first book report. I also watched a maths (yes, they call it "maths") lesson, where Mrs. Ward again challenged each at their level during a whole-group activity, and then split them up to do different activities according to their abilities.

I know I mentioned this before, but the classroom is really wonderful. It is filled with everything you would want in a classroom for your kid: educational toys everywhere, reading center, building center, art center, Smartboard and computers. One of the corners of the room is designated as a rotating center, where it changes as the class theme changes. For example, last half-term the class studied houses, so there was a house corner with a play kitchen, etc. Their theme now is "The Sea," so the corner has a pirate boat, sea artwork, and (magnetic) fishing poles made by the children, along with a treasure chest, maps, and Brucey and Jaws, the class's two new pet fish. The outside play area is also like an extension of the classroom with scooters, water and sand tables... there was even a small tub filled with green spaghetti!! I just love it. The whole atmosphere just peaks a child's curiosity and sense of adventure. I really am so fortunate to have my kids begin their school careers here.

It was really a treat being in the class, and seeing what could be done with only 8 students. Each of the students received a lot of personal attention from the teacher and the teacher's assistant. There was also a neat sense of comradery in the classroom.... the children were almost family-like in how they all got along with each other. Actually, knowing how my kids get along, this was more like "heaven-like."

Mrs. Ward made a special point of including Maddie in all of the activities, and Maddie just loved it... so much so, that she didn't want to leave at lunch time. I don't know if I've mentioned this in the blog before, but Maddie will actually be attending Bishop Thornton this Fall. She has been visiting the school occasionally during their preparatory "drop-in" sessions, and every time, she asks me to leave! She already knows all the kids in the class (such a social girl), and is fully prepared to leave me all alone at home to go off to school. I didn't think I was ready for my 4 year-old to be away from me all day already, but with the baby coming at the end of September, it's starting to sound ideal.

Anyway, I thought I would leave you with a few British words/phrases that Tim has learned at school:

• The letter "Z" is actually pronounced "zed" here. When they sing the ABC song, it ends with "....W, X, Y and Zed." I don't know if they sing the last line or not, because zed certainly doesn't rhyme with "me."
• They play "Monkey in the Middle" but they call it "Piggy in the Middle", and "Tag" is called "Tig."
• All the time, Tim is saying how he has "loads" of something, instead of "lots."
• When beginning a race, it's not "Ready, set, go!," it's "Ready, steady, go!"

So cute!