2 months already!?!?

Well, as is customary when trying to start/maintain a blog while living in our busy household, I've already fallen behind two months since our last post. The fact that it was from Halloween, through Thanksgiving, on past an anniversary and Christmas might help justifiably explain the delay, but I guess it'd just be better to get on with it then make excuses.

October/Halloween
Though we picked up the keys to our house and had our household goods delivered the next day or two, we opted to stay in the TLFs a few more days while we unpacked bare essentials and set up most of the house. Of course it was beautiful weather that week (except for the day when the movers came when it rained on most of our stuff as they brought it in!)

We were kind of bummed that Halloween was on Sunday this year. Mildenhall had trick-or-treating on base on Sunday night, but Lakenheath had their trick-or-treating on Saturday night. We picked Saturday and it worked out great because the weather was great. It rained again that Sunday night. They just had to be Mario and Luigi this year. (Must have been inspired from their new Nintendo DS games they got for the long travels from Texas to Florida to Maryland to England in September.) Actually, I think this is the first year they coordinated their costumes. They wanted Cynthia and I to dress up (Princess Peach and Toad or Yoshi) but we couldn't find any costumes at the BX in time. Next year we'll dress up and hopefully be a little more ready for Halloween.
















November - Thanksgiving/London
The kids had been in school for nearly 2 months and Cynthia, in customary fashion, did a great job decorating our house. She painted the downstairs bathroom (without permission from the landlord... oh well) from a nasty, pasty green to a warm, mocha color. A definite improvement. However the rest of the house remains a bland off-white color. We definitely miss the freedom of home ownership. By Thanksgiving we were a little more unpacked. (In fact, we just finished unpacking when it was time to dig out all the Christmas decor!)

Thanksgiving was kind of surreal. Cynthia and I spent hours in the kitchen getting ready for the big meal for the four of us. She made some great pies. The turkey turned out a little dry (I blame the weird little British ovens we have to work with.) More disappointing was the way my rolls turned out... or rather didn't turn out. I've never had a problem making my dad's popular crescent rolls, but this year, the yeast rebelled and refused to rise. I threw 'em in the oven anyway and they came out like bricks. Oh well. It seemed like we spent all day in the kitchen, ate in about 15 minutes, and then had to do dishes for another 2 hours. Maybe we were missing our families a little too. =)

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we met up with some friends from my squadron to explore the sites in London. We got tickets for bus tours to take us around, but it was way too cold to be on top of an open bus for us and the small kids. We went to Buckingham Palace but got there too late to see the changing of the guard. We got to see Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey, and finally the Tower Bridge. I think the adults enjoyed the sight seeing but the kids were a little bored. Maybe they'd like the London Dungeon. Then again, they could be having nightmares until next Thanksgiving!
















Thanksgiving - Josh's face sums it up pretty well.
















Starting the London bus tour. Brrrrrr!
















Clark Griswold: Aw, there's Buckingham Palace, kids. That's where the Queen lives and works.
Audrey Griswold: She works? What does she do, Dad?
Clark Griswold: She queens... and she vacuums.
















"Hey look kids, there's Big Ben, and there's Parliament."
















Josh lost his front tooth a couple of days after London. His other front tooth is loose too. It's pretty funny watching him eat some things on the side of his mouth.

December pics and updates soon to follow!