First Indoor Soccer Game of the Season

  Another thing that went on in Sept was that soccer started!  Luke scored at his first game and was so excited.  He has been enjoying the practices and has some fun kids on his team!  Here are some pics from his first game.

 

Going Ape in Thetford Forest

Thetford Forest is just a few minutes away from us, and last month Jake and Luke did the Jr. "Go Ape" course.  We spent the afternoon walking the trails and playing at the parks.  Found some blackberry bushes there too... with ripe berries.  Yum!  That was fun until Luke swallowed something that scratched his throat.  Here are some pics of our little adventure.  I'd like to do the adult Go Ape course with Jake sometime.  The Jr. course was fun for them, but the bigger adult zip line looks really fun!

Luke was super excited to do the course.  We thought he was going to do it on his own, but once he was all suited up and ready to go he realized he needed his dad to go with him.  Looked a little too scary to do it alone! 

 

The course took them about an hour to complete, and then they ended with a big zip line.  I got a few pics when Luke was whizzing by.  Some of Jake too.  haha.  Those crotch harness things look sick! 

Ella, Callie, and I hung out at the playground while the boys climbed.  Funky shadows, but I liked this pic of Ella.

First Day(s) of School. 2012 Edition

  Mr. Luke!  He is in Ms. Santiago's first grade Spanish immersion class.  So far he likes it.  Most of the kids in his class are kids that were in Ms Morales's class with him last year.  Here he was on his first day of first grade.  The girls and I usually walk him to school. They are good walking buddies.  Ella is usually flying ahead of us on her scooter.  Scooter rides put her in a good mood, so it's a good start to our weekdays!

And Ella's first day in the Ladybirds class at preschool.  She was nervous about her new class and didn't want summer break to end.  Did not want to go that first day!  She is liking it now though.  Her cute buddies Amelia and Liberty are in her class.  If they are there too, she loves it.  Her teachers are Miss Leanne and Miss Katie.

Her first day...  not a happy camper that morning.

So, this little cutie and I spend Monday afternoons, and Tuesdays and Thursdays together while the other two are at school.  It's worked out nicely so far! 

Four!

Ella turned 4 last month! 
The Birthday Girl! Right as we were hopping in the car... trying not to be late for church. She picked out this "birthday dress" the day before. 

Favorites at 4. 
color: pInK and PuRple, food: sPaGheTti, treat: stARbuRsts, PoPsiCles, jeLlYbeAns, and NeRds, and ALL the treats in the whole wide world! drink:  gAtoRaDe and aPplE juIce, tv show/movie: sTraWbeRrY ShoRtcaKe aNd CoOkinG sHoWs (cAkE BosS), Book: PRiNcEss bOoKs, friend: LiBerTy, AmElia, and OliViA, fav thing to do: pLay doLLhoUse, fav thing at school: pAint, fav thing to wear: heLlo kitTy wEllies, song: WhEn I GroW uP  (from matilda) 

We had some of her close buddies over for cake and presents that evening. 

 

 

After her little friends left, she and Jake got busy putting together her new dollhouse.  Fun day!  At 4 you are sassy and cute, a great sister to Luke and Callie, and so fun to be around! Ella Morgan, I sure love you! 

♥mom  

Miss Callie Olivia at 2 Months! 9/6/12

I dressed Callie in the same outfit I took pictures of Ella in at 2 months.  Couldn't find that purple flower headband though, so we changed that up a bit!  Anyway, she has reminded me of Luke and Ella at 2 mo!  Just for fun, here they were at that age.
Miss Ella:

 Luke boy!

And for the record, at her 2 mo appt, she weighed 12 lbs 8 oz and was 22.5 inches long.

Visiting Downton

 I should be going to bed, but I'm up waiting for pumpkin muffins to finish baking.  There's a lot of complaining going on around here when it comes to breakfast lately.  EVERY morning, actually.  I'm hoping muffins will get us off to a better start tomorrow.  For a certain picky 6 year-old, eating something simple like cereal is nothing short of slow and painful torture.  Drives me nuts sometimes!  I don't get it.  Anyhow, while I wait for them to bake, I'll blog about our Labor Day visit to Highclere Castle... home of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon and the filming location for Downton Abbey.    The kitchen here has been updated since the Carnarvons still live here part of the year, so some of the rooms in the TV series are filmed at a studio location (the kitchen and servants quarters).

I had been wanting to visit this place since Jake and I finished the first season of Downton last spring.  Kristen recommended the series to help get my mind off of some weird ultrasound findings (turned out to be a false alarm... I'll have to blog about that another time) and Jake and I were hooked.  Visiting this place is a little tricky, though.  The days that tickets were available were few and far between.  We bought tickets for one of the last days it was open this year- Labor Day.

It was fun seeing so many familiar rooms and staircases from the TV series.  Inside, there are people that tell you the real history of the rooms and of the house.  There are signs posted to let you know which areas are used in Downton Abbey.  Most rooms looked pretty much just like they do in the show.  No pictures were allowed inside, but we took a lot outside on the grounds!      

 

 

 

 

 

A LiTtle oF AuGUsT

August flew by.  It was kind of a blur!  Between dealing with a colicky newborn and missing some sleep, keeping everyone fed and clothed (most of the time), doctors appointments, and running kiddos to summer camps and play dates, the days were busy and seemed to run together.  Jake was in TX at the beginning of the month.  While he was away I learned that being a single parent to three littles isn't always fun, but we survived. 
We never asked, but amazing neighbors and friends stepped up to help throughout the month with our fussy little newborn.  Some stopped by to hold my crying baby while I did chores around the house or took a nap, others brought dinners, mowed our lawn, and entertained the older kiddos for us.  At church and at social gatherings there were always angels wanting to hold my screaming cutie.  Living away from family can sometimes be a challenge, but we've really been blessed by close friendships here in England.  Callie would start out happy in the morning and get progressively fussier throughout most days.  Poor baby would usually scream in the evenings until she went to sleep.  It feels awful not being able to do anything to help her.  With some help from Zantac for her reflux and my elimination of dairy, she is a happier baby lately.  She still has rough days here and there but for the most part she's a happier camper. 
Oh, and we had the Olympics to watch this summer, which was fab!  Callie and I watched all the swimming and gymnastics.  The kids and I met Carly Patterson, and saw the US Paralympians around base throughout the month.   They stayed on base and trained here at RAF Lakenheath while getting ready for the games.  It was fun watching them practice on the track and spotting them at the BX.   Here are some highlights from August.  Some pics are from my phone and not the best quality, but the phone is more convenient :)

These two convinced Jake to buy a BIG sprinkler.  They spent a lot of time jumping on the tramp with it underneath.  Brought back memories for me.  I loved that as a kid!  They had fun.  Callie got to hang out in her swimsuit, too.  Thanks Grandma Nan for the cute suit!

Looked out the sliding doors one day to see naked  Ella soaking Luke.  Don't mess with a little sister!  haha.

 This little guy had a great time at football camp.  Soccer camp, too.  He claims to like soccer best, so he's on an indoor team for fall.

My kids are all good snugglers in the mornings.  I love it.  Luke and Ella both like to snuggle Callie too. 

Ella learned to be a lot more independent this summer.  She has really grown up.  One day she was a little impatient waiting for me to make her lunch, so she made her first pb&j sandwich.  All by herself.  She was so cutie and proud of herself.  She is a pro now!

Back to wonderful people helping out, Jake was working late one day and my amazing neighbor and friend, Katrina, showed up with dinner and insisted on taking Callie for a little while.  The plate looked too pretty not to take a picture.  She's a fabulous cook.  We have lucked out having the Listellos as neighbors.

Callie grew and grew over the month.  She's definitely our baby.  Chunking out exactly like her brother and sister did.  I love to kiss these cheeks!

 She turned into a smiler toward the end of Aug :)

 
A picture from when we met Carly Patterson.  I was the one excited to meet her.  The 6 year-old wannabeolympicgymnast is still inside of me I guess.  haha.  Gymnastics has always been my favorite sport to watch.  She gave the kiddos cute autographed cards.

I left the room for a minute one night and came back to a bunch of sleepers and a reader. Productive FHE :)

Rocking my snoozing girls one afternoon.  We did a lot of napping in Aug.

Jake's sweet coworker,  Dr. Issargrill, had us over to watch the World Endurance Championships race since the course went by her house.   It's like a marathon for horses.  They ride the horses 160 km, stopping to give them water and tending to whatever else they need.  Crazy to see so many pampered horses from so many countries.  It was fun to see Dr IG's house, too.  It's a 300 year-old school house full of antiques she has purchased while being stationed here.  (Mom, you would have loved to see it!)  I should have taken a picture of her cool house.

 

cutie got to watch from the stroller.

And one more random August phone picture, just because Callie was wearing one of my favorite baby outfits.  I loved it when Ella wore this little Juicy outfit, too.  So snuggly. 

Ok, next post.. on to Sept!  :)