Neverending Story

The kids have been out of school since December 19th. They were supposed to go back to school today. They didn't because school was closed. They should have school tomorrow. They don't because school is closed. Grumble, grumble, grumble...

Suh-NOW!

Whoever told me it never snows in England is just plain wrong, wrong, WRONG! Yesterday and last night, we probably have gotten at least six inches of snowbally snow and it is still snowing! Needless to say, Owen is loving it. Unfortunately, school was supposed to (finally) begin tomorrow, but it's not because they have the day off. This means my celebratory pedicure which was scheduled about a month ago is cancelled. BOO! There is now at least nine inches of snow in our back garden, probably deeper in the park behind our house. Craig and I walked to the corner shop and then down to the Bath Rd. to get some supplies. The shelves were pretty much bare, but we got what we needed.

The kids "sledging".

HAPPY NEW YEAR

We had a great New Year's Eve celebrating with our newish friends. All of the kids had a movie night and the adults had great conversation and friendly yet competitive card game (no, I didn't win - dang it!). We witnessed an abundance of fireworks and paper lanterns flying through the clear night sky. Now as I sit in bed, I am hearing the young Cheltonians yell their good-byes to friends as they part ways after a party. Welcome 2010 and happy new year to everyone!

A Visit & All's Well That Ends Well

Yesterday, my British friend from America, Jane, came to visit us. Her family lives nearby and she, her husband and kids are visiting the UK for the holidays. It was so great to see her! It was a miserable day so we took a car tour of the town and sat at home chatting. Craig took a half-day and called midway home to say that his bike had exploded and that he was at the bike shop trying to get it fixed. Well, fixing a 10+ year old bike would have been just as expensive as buying a new one. I guess this was Santa's way of telling Craig he needed a new bike. Craig bought a bike and we hopped into the car to pick him up and go to lunch. We spent the entire rest of the day talking until it was time for Jane to go.

It is another miserable day today so I decided to take the kids to the RAF base to shop, eat, do some laundry in the industrial-sized washers and bowl a game or two. We went to the gas station first. I got gas, asked the kids if they wanted to come in to pick out a treat, paid and returned to the car which was LOCKED with the keys in the ignition. My ever-cautious and conscientious eldest son locked the door for me as a favor. How wonderful. I ask the gas station guy if he thinks we can jimmy it and he was doubtful. I was extra doubtful when he said he'd have to take the door moulding off around the window so I opted out and decided to call Craig at work from the gas station phone as mine is locked in the car - no answer. I call the office part of his work and get a friend on the line (TY Danielle!) who says she will try to find Craig. I then call home in the off chance that Craig actually was home because Owen said he thought Craig was taking a half-day and lo and behold... Craig answers the phone!!!! Long story short - the kids and I walk to the bowling alley (a very long walk in the rain), Craig meets us there, we all eat and the kids and Craig bowl while I shop for groceries.

Three good things: 1. Usually, I just go in with just a credit card to pay for gas. This time, I had my entire wallet with me which was a good thing because all of our military ID's were in it and we needed them to cross over to the other side of the base where the bowling alley is and I had cash, an ATM card, etc. 2. Finn never wears a coat in the car. Today, he had the good sense to grab his coat from the car as we were going to the gas station because it was raining. Otherwise, we would not have been able to go anywhere while waiting for Craig to rescue us. 3. Evan has learned to leave the locking of the doors to the driver.

Christmas 2009

We had a very relaxing Christmas Day. I was allowed to sleep in until at least 8 am which, in the McCarter Christmas tradition, is very late. Owen and Finn showed great restraint waiting for Evan and I to awaken. The kids opened their gifts in record time and immediately went to work putting them together. We thank everyone for their generosity! Here are some snaps from the day:

We had a delicious free-range chicken for dinner that was as big as a turkey. Craig had saved the wishbone after carving the bird and let the wishbone dry for a couple of days before the kids wished upon it. After dinner tonight, Finn and Owen made a wish and counted to three and pulled simultaneously. This was the result:

We are not sure if this means that both of their wishes will come true or neither wish will come true. We are sure that we have never seen a wishbone break so evenly.

The Perfect Storm

While all of our Maryland family and friends are enjoying a blizzard, we are enjoying the absence of snow here. However, we are not enjoying the absolutely frigid weather and whopping six inches or less of snowfall in Kent and Dover which caused a) four Eurostar trains to malfunction INSIDE the Chunnel with over 2000 passengers aboard and b) the Dover Port to completely shut down overnight into this afternoon. Hmmm, I think I am jumping ahead of myself.
This morning, we left the house before 8:30 to catch the ferry to Calais, France for a 12:30 crossing. On the way down, we heard that four Eurostar trains malfunctioned inside the Chunnel. It seems that when the trains left the frigid outside weather in France and entered into the warmer Chunnel, they malfunctioned and stopped. I can't believe that this happened but also that this has never happened before, but then again it is REALLY cold here. I am sooo happy we did not decide to take the Eurostar on thie trip. So, we went a different way to Dover (the Eurostar leaves from nearby Folkestone on the way to Dover) and were going to be so on time. But lo and behold, there was a traffic jam from here to eternity about four miles out from the port. There were more 18-wheelers lined up and parked ON the highway than in the movie Convoy! As it turns out, the entire port of Dover was CLOSED last night and through noontime. Yes, closed. It seems that there was such bad weather in France and then ALL of the snow (> 6 inches mind you) closed the port on both sides. So, here we are, sat in the car for oh, two hours. We would move five feet when a car left the queue to leave and then sit for 15 minutes, move another 10 feet and sit... You get the picture.

Luckily, smart mommy had packed a good-sized cooler with snacks and drinks and smart daddy had purchased chocolate croissants just before we left so we were not lacking for nourishment. The kids took a pitstop in the bushes and threw some snow around which was a slight distraction however, we realized we were not getting anywhere and it was 2:00 pm. Therefore, taking into account the time it would take to actually reach the port, secure a spot on another ferry, drive to Belgium and successfully find our hotel, we decided to leave.
We then quickly stopped at a (luckily) nearby Tesco Extra (think Wal-mart + Giant combined in one space) for a proper lunch and potty break and took off for home. After a detour for gas - we have to use Texaco stations to get cheaper gas - with another chance for a snowball fight and a missed exit off the motorway and a mini detour through London, we arrived back at the house by 6:00 pm. Craig managed to cancel two of the three hotel reservations but our ferry passage and the hotel in Luxembourg are still up in the air as I type. Craig is very dejected that this trip is not happening mainly because he spent a lot of time researching and finding good lodging. I am dejected because this country just has no idea how to manage snow.
On the bright side, we managed to take almost every M motorway from here to Dover and back that we possibly could, the kids got a taster of snowball fighting, and we had minimal temper tantrums from anyone (including me) during the entire day. Oh and we didn't have to drive in snow and/or ice or whatever was in store for us in France. Finally, we are all safe.
I wasn't going to add this, but I have decided to do it. As I think you know, traveling is one of my favorite things to do. Well, I woke up this morning and my first thought was, "I don't want to go on this trip" - no lie. Eerie premonition if you ask me!

Sleeping Beauty

We thoroughly enjoyed the panto of Sleeping Beauty. It was just about the goofiest thing we have ever experienced, but it was so funny. The panto basically followed the entire story of Disney's Sleeping Beauty, but instead of the three fairies as her guardians, Briar Rose was adopted by Nanny Nicehands who also had a son, Muddles. There was a huge amount of audience participation: singing, boo-hissing at the wicked witch, general yelling, and answering back to the characters. There are stock classic lines which I am assuming are characteristic to every panto. It was very colorful and the comic team of Nanny (an old man dressed as a woman) and Muddles was very funny. In one scene, they were making a cake for Briar Rose's 18th birthday and ingredients were all over the place. They were throwing eggs to one another and one "slipped" into the audience and Craig caught it! It turned out to be an empty eggshell, but very funny. I think one of my favorite parts was a song sung by the witch about how no one likes a 40-year-old fairy. The words were so funny.