Happy Halloween

Today was a beautiful fall day, so we carved our pumpkins in the back garden. A few of the neighbor kids came out to join us.

The main event of the day was Trick-or-Treating. We were a scene out of a video game. Michael--Luigi, Benjamin--Mario (of course), Mary--a princess, and Luke--a dragon.

Commissary visit

We drove 2 hours each way to a US military base with a friend today. It was so exciting to walk into the commissary and see all of the American goods priced in dollars. I never thought I'd be excited to see Mott's applesauce.

You can't tell from this picture, but Luke was unhappy about being in the car that long. He screamed for most of the drive home. When I got home and set out the goods, it didn't take him long to spot the cake mix though and he loved the applesauce.

The kids were thrilled about the cheez-its. (The orange cheez-it smile tells it all).

One of the reasons I went to the commissary was for Libby's canned pumpkin and they were all out. Luckily there were plenty of other exciting things to catch my eye. I can't wait to have popcorn with Lawry's salt and i'll think of my grandpa Miller while I eat it. Was it worth 4 hours in the car today? Absolutely.

Autumn in England

We woke up to foggy autumn windows this morning (top right picture).
The perfect morning for a bowl of hot porridge.
Autumn in England is spectacular.
I took the rest of these pictures today on the way home from Mary's school.
I can tell it's going to be the perfect evening for a bowl of hot soup and warm custard.

Meet Mario

That's right...he looks a lot like Benjamin doesn't he?

Our sweet Benjamin came home from school last Friday and told me that his name is too long to write (he writes Ben on most of his school papers anyway). Then he told me that we should have named him something shorter. When I asked him what he had in mind, he told me matter-of-factly, "Mario". I was stunned. Not that Mario is a bad name, it's just not one that had been on our list to consider when we were naming him. I'm not even sure where he came up with the name Mario for himself. We don't have a Nintendo, he doesn't have any friends at school with that name, and it's not a family name; but somehow he has really taken a liking to it.

Every so often when I call him Benjamin he reminds me that it should be "Mario". Saturday at Legoland after he told someone his name was Benjamin, he turned to me and said, "other people can call me Benjamin, but you can call me Mario." Sunday evening when I helped him write in his journal, he signed it "Mario". Today he asked me how you spell "Mario" again.

Well, what ever we call him, he's an awesome 5 year old and we adore him.

Legoland Windsor

The kids in front of Lego London.

We went to Legoland on Saturday and as you can see Michael had his map out and was our little tour guide the whole day (he wasn't thrilled about looking up for a picture but he managed a semi-smile).

The kids were most excited about driving their own cars at Legoland. To begin with, they went to driving school. Michael took his driving very seriously. He stopped at the traffic lights and everything. At the end of their driving experience they got their own Legoland drivers licence. Ah, if only it were that easy and fun in real life...

One of the best parts of the day was the food. Notice the BBQ sausage with onions...yum!

Some of our other favorite rides at Legoland:

Birthday girl

Our precious baby girl is 4 years old. She is such a joy to have in our family.

The other day when I was taking her to school our conversation went something like this:
Mary: Mom, I'm not going to be home for a while so can you take care of Luke for me?
Me: Sure. (with a small giggle)
Mary: Just take him in the play room and play with him if he wants to play.
Me: Okay. I'll do that.

Then, when I picked her up from school that day:
Mary: How was Luke? Did he scream while I was gone? Did you play with him?

She's such a little mom to her younger brother. She's rough and tough with her older brothers when she needs to be. But she's also dainty and cute while we paint nails, go shopping (she loves to try things on) and do hair together. Most of all, she's a daddy's girl. I love to see her sweet relationship with her daddy. She's definitely a well rounded girl.


Her favorite birthday gift was this pink dog that walks and barks. She's terrified of real dogs so I was surprised that she wanted this so badly, but she loves it!

She's been telling us since her birthday that she's now the 'biggest girl in town'. Then today she asked me why we didn't invite 'everyone in town' over for her birthday. I'm not sure why she wants our whole town over but maybe next year ;)

The Battle of Hastings

On October 14 in the year 1066, a battle occurred - the Battle of Hastings - that changed the course of English history. William the Conqueror (a Norman) defeated King Harold Godwinson (an Anglo-Saxon) and became King of England. Following the battle, William the Conqueror built Battle Abbey--a penance ordered by the Pope for the loss of life incurred in the battle. Here are the remains of the Abbey:

The boys held their own mini-battles throughout the day. This battle was to save the princess (Mary). They took turns being the 'bad guy'.

The bad guy is down.

We went to the battle re-enactment in Hastings. Here are a few of our favorite pictures from the battle.

Our not so little baby

*holds his sisters hand in the car
*his arms and legs shake and he grunts with excitement when he sees food (and he's always hungry)
*takes things apart faster than I can clean up the last one
*carries on a conversation as if he has a large vocabulary
*hides his head in my shoulder when a stranger says 'hello'
*has the cutest laugh and loves to laugh at his brothers and sister
*smacks his lips together when I tell him I love him and when I put him to bed
*moves his head back and forth and snaps his fingers when the music is on in the car
*moves my hand if I try to feed him or help him steer his tricycle
*his cheeks jiggle when he walks
*understands every word we say and does what we ask him to (if he wants to do it)
*sleeps with his bum in the air
*cuddles his bankie and sucks his thumb
*points to his jacket and shoes when it's time to go
*has the sweetest dimple on his right cheek
*has the whole family wrapped around his little finger

Model village

The boys were out of school yesterday and today for parent-teacher conferences. So after we picked Mary up from school today, we went to a model village for the afternoon. The boys loved chasing the model trains and the two youngest loved the playground. I loved the phone booth fun on our way out of the park (next post).

Phone booth fun

Climbing trees

Our boys love to climb trees. When I walked outside yesterday, Benjamin was 3/4 of the way up this huge tree (it scared me to death). I told him that he had to come down now and that he was only allowed to go 1/2 way up this tree. He said, "Ah mom, that is so weak!" I don't know where he comes up with these sayings of his but he cracks me up.

I passed parts one and two...

Okay, so I'm trying not to get too excited yet, but I did pass parts one and two of the driving test on Wednesday morning. This was my second try. Last time around I passed the theory section but then I failed the hazard perception section, so I had to re-take both sections this time around.

I was nervous when I walked into the testing center on Wednesday morning. I overheard the birth date of the darling young girl in front of me... she was born in '91. I couldn't believe it! I've been driving since she was born and now we were both chewing our nails with nervousness in the same driving test?! C'mon!

The receptionist that checked me in asked if I was aware that the test had changed. I said, "Yes, in 2006 the hazard perception section was added. I just took this test a couple of months ago." She said, "No, we added another section on Monday." My heart went to my toes! I had studied so hard for this test and now they added something new? She continued, "We've added a case study section. It will be included after the multiple choice section and before the hazard perception part of the test."

When I walked into the testing room a blast of heat hit me. They had the heater cranked up to what felt like 100 degrees. The smell of BO and nicotine didn't help much either. I sat down at my assigned booth #2 and said another prayer.

Well, to make a long story short, the case study section didn't end up being too bad. It was like a long and dreadful story problem about a driver that can't find a parking place in the rain on a hill late at night, etc... Then at the end it asked a bunch of unrelated questions from the drivers handbook. Thankfully I managed okay.

At the end of the test when the computer said my results were being processed and that I could pick them up at the front desk, I honestly didn't have any idea how I did. When the receptionist handed me the letter I didn't look at it until I was out of the room and into the quiet hallway. As soon as I read, "Congratulations! You have passed the car driving theory test," I started to cry.

The next step is the hardest. The practical driving test is the one where someone will sit next to me with a clip board and make notes while I drive. Can you think of anything more nerve racking?! I'll let you know how that one goes as well.

Dream date

It's busy season again for Todd's work, but we managed to get a date in this week. On Tuesday night I met Todd in London after he finished work. We had dinner at an outdoor Italian restaurant in Covent Garden and then we walked around London at night sipping hazelnut hot chocolate (it's to die for).

Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves that we actually get to live here. It's an incredible experience.