Thanksgiving Canadian Style

Canadian thanksgiving is an October holiday I love to share with friends.  We usually invite a small group of people over and have a big dinner.  This year is our last in England so we wanted to go out with a bang.  We had no furniture left in the house so I booked the Bob Hope Community Center, sent out a big invitation for the people who made our England tour fun and we had Thanksgiving together. There was Canadian trivia match cards where one person had a Canadian "Noun" and another had the "definition" then they had to find each other and stick them up on the wall.  I made a  family traditional dish of Cabbage Rolls, and the kids got to play in the playground, color pictures and write what they were thankful for on the pretend plates drawn on the table paper.  Not everyone could make it but I'm grateful to the ones who could, there were kids everywhere!  I was having so much fun that when people began to leave I realized I hadn't' taken any pictures.  So I quickly ran around and took shots of everyone left.

Jerome and Angela Barrett

Erica Draney and Alexis Meeker

Matt Meeker

Melyni Powell and Stefani Dean

 Stacy Smith and Camry Eager

and of course US!

 Sorry you missed getting your picture taken: Kim and Shawn Hatch

Mr Fips Traveling Circus

Mr. Fips traveling Circus came to Barton Mills (right next to Mildenhall Village) We don't have a whole lot to keep us busy at home anymore since we shipped everything a few days ago, so we literally jumped at the chance for a little entertainment. The show started at 7:30, kinda late for the little ones but we put Owen in his Pjs and ventured out into the cold.

Ava trying to stay warm while waiting for the doors to open. Mr stilts was nice and tall!

Of course we had to spend money money money...on treats, drinks and glow sticks.  It's all in good fun and the prices really weren't too bad, except for the fact that it was pounds we were spending and not dollars.

The show started out with Mr Fips himself getting dressed up in his clown costume

He was a true hoot!  He even gave Ava a free spinning plate trick during intermission.  Thanks Mr Fips

The Ring Master

These girls were amazing

Acrobats

This had to be my favorite part...The 2 clowns did a shaving foam act.  They even brought it out into the audience and some poor chap got it as well. I laughed out loud which doesn't usually happen to me.

Still having a great time during intermission

Refilling on sugar

Warming up by the heat tubes

and Owen is done.  It just got too late for him. All in all the circus was so much fun.  It was a small tent and we had front row seats.  Truly a great memory for all of us as we prepare to leave England.

When it's time to go, you gotta pack!

We knew it was coming but the sound of a letting agent hammering the "To Let" sign into our front lawn was heart wrenching.  It's time to get packing, movers come Oct 1, 2012.  This has got to be the most stress I have had in a long time.  PURGING, ORGANIZING, SELLING, CLEANING, PACKING all mixed with daily routines of school, work and church duties. 

These guys are quick and efficient.  They pack like lightning and if you leave anything out, well it's in a box covered with a mile of tape.

 Be sure to keep everything "do not pack" in one place, safe from anyone touching it!  Our place happened to be the master bath.  We were literally throwing things in at the last minute.  I love how this picture shows the vast amount of space we have in our "master en suite"

By the end of the day all your stuff is in brown paper and sitting on your driveway waiting to be stacked like tetras pieces into as few wooden crates as possible.  There is no "this side up" signs.  No one cares...but YOU!

In total, Staff Sergeant Miller had 8 wooden crates....that's 2 more then we came with 3 years ago, but we did add 1 more kid to the mix.

Now there's not much left but military loaner furniture, some pots and pans, bed sheets, blankets and one lonely box of saved toys.

So we make our own fun

which takes a lot more creativity, and patients.

We sent our house hold goods almost 45 days early.  You never know sometimes how long it will take to ship it back over seas.  When we are back in the USA there is no loaner furniture so we need to take advantage of OCONUS perks while we still have them. The trouble is now we have to keep busy with almost nothing but suitcases.  Albuquerque here we come!

September is going so fast

I have been over weight my whole life and unfortunately I REALLY started to put it on after we pcs'd to England.  I fell into a depression and didn't want to live here, be here, have friends, workout, or even be seen.  I reached a scary high of 215 pounds and I wasn't even pregnant.  In fact I think my sky rocketing weight was preventing us from becoming pregnant. Although I am quick to erase any non flattering pictures of myself, I was able to find a few between 2009-2010.  Then after Owen was born I tried really hard to loose weight.  I ate better, moved more and my gall stones helped me shed the last 15 extremely quickly.  Once I had my laparoscopic Gall Bladder surgery I reached a new personal (adult life) low of 167! Lets hope I can live better, eat better, keep my blood pressure and cholesterol down for the rest of my life.  I'm not naive, I have an eating addiction and I know I will bounce up and down, I just hope to keep myself in line.

After a 6 week holiday, Ava started school again.  She is old enough to be registered in British Reception but since we leave in only 10 weeks I thought it was best to just keep her in Pre School.  Ava is now the oldest in the class and now the "big helper."  

We surprised Miss Emma with a secret note, announcing our new military base in Albuquerque New Mexico!

Owen just keeps growing and learning.  He is so adorable and has begun to crawl all over the place.  He is very quick.

Both kids enjoy bathing and Owen has started to play and splash more.  He can't keep the water in the tub.

Cute picture Ava took of Jessie.

While weed whacking in the back yard Dave accidentally hit a small pebble and it flew into the sliding patio door. CRAP right before we move!  The glass cracked for hours...Good thing the lock on the door was broken and we had notified our landlord years ago.  Now he has to replace it at no cost to us.

 Wish we had the swing doors... they are so much nicer and light weight.