Jeb turns TWO!

Hard to believe that our baby is now two! I know, it sounds cliche, but it goes way too fast - especially when it's your last!

His birthday was a bit uneventful thanks to busy schedules of everyone in the house, but the following day is when the fun began! We had our usual playgroup over to our house for a little cake and a lot of fun. I think we had 10 two year olds running around, eating food, throwing balloons into the rose bushes and spilling bubbles everywhere. Sounds a bit chaotic, but it was great weather, so we hardly noticed since we were outside (Thank goodness!!). Jeb did a great job of blowing the candles out on his cupcake and proceeded to eat the frosting off two cupcakes, leaving the cake for the bin. I can't tell you how much these 10 kiddos and their moms mean to us - they are our family here in England!

Daddy came home early and the festivities began here. Jeb had his fair share of presents to open both from the morning's party and some that showed up through the post over the week. We learned something - Jeb loves to open one gift and then play with it for a bit before proceeding to another. This was killing Jacob and Aiden. They tormented Jeb, trying to convince him to forget the new toy and open another present. I hope the boys had a good time because Tom and I were exhausted by the last present from the constant reminding patience!
Jeb begins the opening

Who's present is this???

Jeb, of course, loved the gifts and the evening was quiet as all the boys played. Pizza and cake followed. Two years old...should be an interesting year. Jeb is still a sweetie, but I'm beginning to see a naughty gleam in his eyes. Stay tuned. Happy birthday baby.

Jumping out of an airplane at 13,000 ft

Yes, that is what I did on Friday. Some of you will remember that I had participated in an office fund raiser last year - skydiving for charity. Well due to our UK Visa issues and our unplanned trip back to the States last September I missed the jump. However, the charity I raised the money for was kind enough to reserve a spot for me in this year's charity jump.

So at 8:15 am Friday morning I took an extra long time saying goodbye to Joy and the boys telling each of them that loved them very much and that I'd see them after I'd jumped out of an airplane.

During the ride to the airfield I was seriously thinking if this was really a smart thing to do and maybe I should play it safe and let the charity retain my jump fees. I decided against bailing out as my pride was at stake and if one were to skydive you couldn't ask for a more beautiful day to do so in England.

I arrived at Hinton Airfield near Oxford with 7 other PwC colleagues and we proceeded to take the initial skydiving beginners course. We were all briefed on the do's and don'ts and the correct positions during the jump and we were all told the repercussions if we did do the don'ts - broken bones and possibly worse. We were all going be performing tandem jumps with veteran skydivers and we'd each have our separate videographers to record our jump - great at least if anything goes wrong on the airfield's part there will be a record of it.

It was time for the jump - we all loaded on the airplane and proceeded to fly to 13,000 feet. Our jump partners told each of us to put on our helmets and goggles and all of a sudden the side door of the plane opened and people started jumping out - I'm nuts! What was I thinking! I screamed to myself. My turn - since I was attached to the front of my jump partner I was hanging out the side of the airplane until it was clear to jump 3 2 1 .........

Words can't describe the feeling free falling at 130 mph from 13,000ft to 5,000ft in matter of 30 seconds - at first it was complete terror, then exhilaration and a surreal feeling that you've lost all perspective of what's around you. In those 30 seconds I've never felt more alive - it was truly unbelievable!

Would I do it again? Probably not but I'm glad I did it and it probably will be the biggest adrenaline rush that I'll ever experience.

A New Definition, by Aiden

Aiden is the commentator of our house. I honestly don't think that Jacob did this, but if he did, he didn't do it quite like Aiden. No matter where you are in the house, you know what Aiden is doing because he is talking about it. In fact, no one needs to be around and he is commentating on what he is doing. The other day, it sent both Tom and I into fits of laughter.

Aiden had to use the toilet (again, he told us this as he entered the bathroom) and as usual he left the door wide open. This time, instead of seeing his little butt cheeks, I got a nice view of him on the pot. Except he wouldn't let me just walk by. "Mommy," he said. "You know that I'm going number 3." I was a little confused, thinking there was only number 1 and 2. So, I asked him what he meant. "Well, this one is really, really stinky, so it's a number 3."

So, if you start to hear children mentioning #3 when they need to use the bathroom, remember that it all started here!

School Days!

It's been a week since starting school and I think that this week is feeling a little long for everyone involved! Very tired boys and an even more tired mummy! I'll take you back to the beginning...

Last Thursday Jacob started school - we were all so excited! He got to see his friends and begin Year 2. This Monday Aiden started. Tom got him dressed and I couldn't believe what I saw when he walked out. A little blond boy in a much too mature uniform. I can't believe it still. Being a bit more shy, I wondered if he would enjoy it. He walked straight in like he'd been doing it for ages. His teacher is a friend of mine, so I think that may have helped.

So, here we are at the end of a long week waiting for Friday. I'm also wondering how our summer went so fast! Such good times with my boys. Waterparks (in the rain), boatrides (in the drizzle), and a trip into London (in the sun!). Weather just doesn't matter - we are all best friends. I'll miss them during the day. Well...a break is nice every once in awhile.

To the Devon Coast!

It was a holiday weekend last week, so we took advantage and went to the seaside. After the long four hour drive (thanks for the screaming, Jeb!) we were at the coast and surprisingly, the sun was out!

The weekend was filled with exploring different areas of the Devon coast. Funny enough, the beaches are completely different even though they were only miles apart. Long sandy beaches, followed by slate beaches, and then rocky beaches. The rocky and slate were the favorite of the boys. Lots of rock pools to explore in when the tide was out, never finding the sought after crabs, but we did luck out with some minnows. It was such a great time racing the waves and most of the time they won. Aiden even had the pleasure of tripping as the wave rushed around him and flipped him over - fully clothed. A good lesson on the power of the ocean. Sandy beaches were the best for this, but Aiden just couldn't seem to keep the sand out of his eyes, causing some pretty massive screaming - at one point I wondered if the entire beach could here. The verdict - rocky beaches are the best for young kids - less to clean for tired moms too!

The weekend also brought around Tom's birthday. A somewhat big one this year, so I wanted to do something memorable. So, we drove out to the airfield and Tom got to experience a glider ride. He said it was pretty amazing being up there with no engines, but also a little nerve-wracking since he had to do a lot with the instructor to stay afloat! The boys had a blast watching (minus a sleeping Jeb), so it was a fun afternoon for all!

Despite the typical English weather -sometimes sunny, sometimes rainy, it was a really good trip. A last chance before school starts to spend some quality time together and relax. It makes you realize that it's the little things that matter. Collecting rocks, running from the waves, and tide pools... If only these moments lasted forever.

Happy Birthday Tom!!

Last Day was cold - out came the wet suits!

A Three Hour Tour...A Three Hour Tour...

Cruisin'. Many think this is something reserved for when they get old. Ok, we thought that too, but we decided to take a risk and take three little boys for 7 nights. Would we love it at the end or would we need another vacation? The verdict: we loved it. Having said that, there were a few things worth noting...

1. Prior to boarding, I pulled Aiden (our shy one) aside and explained that a lot of people would be wanting to talk to him. All he had to do was smile and say hi. He looked at me with his big blue eyes and said, "I'll try, but sometimes my heart says I just can't do it." By the end of the trip he was actually telling people his name - huge for him!

2. "Three Boys?" We heard this so much. The kids got a lot of attention - especially Jeb. Every Grandma that was missing her grandkids wanted to hold him. And he ate it up! The waiters were the same. As a result, Jeb went from laidback boy to cheeky monkey in less than a week.

3. Kids club! The best invention ever! There were a few other families on board and they all seemed to have boys. When I dropped the boys off they were so excited. Then, the hosts told me that you have to be 5 to stay. I've begged like I've never begged before! And, they accepted Aiden.

4. Average Age. This was probably about 70. But, we loved these people! Tom went out one night and shared some scotch with a few. The disco ball lit up at midnight, the canes and walkers were thrown aside and the dancefloor was packed. Good to know that you can have fun when you are old! I sat with a woman one night who told me about raising her three boys (now in their 50s). Her eyes filled with tears as she told me to cherish every moment. Great advice.

5. Sickness. I was a bit nervous about being on the ship with swine flu going around so much here. But, before we got on the ship we were given antibacterial gel and there were bottles everywhere on the ship. Impossible to get sick right? Well, not for us. I took Jacob to lunch one day and he sat down and said, "I need the toilet!" We ran from the restaurant outside to the rubbish bins. Then I saw that they opened from the side not the top! For a split second I thought about shoving J's head through the opening, but it was too late. 24 hour bug. Poor guy.

6. Small space. The room was sufficient, but not huge. One bathroom, 5 people. The boys figured out how to make that work better. Yep, we caught Aiden going #2, while Jacob went #1 between A's legs. Only our boys. Urgh!

Many more things happened, but overall, it was the perfect way to see what we saw. I was so proud of the boys when people would stop us to tell us how well behaved they were. (good thing they didn't see them when they got home!) But the best part was...I didn't cook or clean!!

Top Bunk watching a movie

Aiden showing off the boat (nevermind his face!)

British night (I know, we are traitors! But he was so cute!)

Country Night

Jeb's favorite night spot - the piano bar. Dancing to a song dedicated to him

The Fjords of Norway

Norway, a place I never really thought of visiting, but am sooo glad that we did! It was a pretty intense trip taking us from Bergen, up to the middle of Norway (Olden), then to the deepest fjord in the world, and last to the Eidfjord. The weather was typical for Norway, a bit damp, but it seemed to stop when we were on our excursions. It was endlessly beautiful, like nothing we've seen before.
We'll start at Bergen, once the capital of the viking world. A walk through the fishmarket was the highlight of the morning for the boys. Oh, the fun of looking at lobsters!! Then up the funicular to view Bergen from above and see all the surrounding fjords - islands dotting the sea.


The next day we were in Olden. I awoke early to watch us cruise though the fjords on to the port. Mountains rising out of the sea - wow! This was a day we were a bit nervous about. We booked to go up to Briksdel Glacier, a 1 1/2 mile walk to get there. Oooh, will Aiden make it? Yes, after a sucker and some "magic gum" (just Orbitz, but what does he know??). The walk was amazing! We walked though the mist of a huge waterfall and were surrounded by mountains with small waterfalls all around. It all ended by a blue lake at the foot of a glacier. The boys found chunks of glacier ice and we all held some. 6000 years old! So very cool! It rained when we got back down for tea and continued the rest of the day, but we lived on the high of the glacier all day!

Wednesday, Flam. Up early again with Jacob this time. We watched the boat cruise through a lower fjord. Much different looking. These mountains go straight up and it is so narrow that I wondered if we would make it through! Today we booked "Norway in a Nutshell" a train and coach trip through some of the best scenery of Norway. The train ride was great - green lush mountains and cascading waterfalls. Kind of hard to concentrate with three boys who could care less! We reached the midpoint and had lunch. Jacob said, "that sure was a long way to go just for lunch!" Again, they just don't get what they are seeing!! The coach took us to a viewpoint like no other. A valley cut out by a glacier millions of years ago. Unbelievably gorgeous! Then at our last stop we were at a lake fed by the sea. Icing on the cake as I watched seals frolic in the water. Wow, it was a stunning day!

Thursday, Tom woke early to watch us dock. Only we weren't there yet due to engine failure in the night. So, we arrived at noon. Lunch and a walk to a glacier lake to build stone castles (beach was full of rocks). Jeb napped in the backpack and we relaxed and took it all in. This was one amazing trip that exceeded every expectation. So glad that we went!