Crawling Out From Under a Rock

We have an Internet connection again. I feel like I can connect with the outside world. I must admit, I need my Internet. Especially right now, because we also have no TV. Now I know some of you might be thinking, Yeesh, this girl needs to get out, but I'm not ashamed. To quote the brilliant Kip Dynamite, "I love technology."
So, the pressure is back on to write witty posts every few days, in order to entertain the masses.
Our adventures continue, both afield and on the homefront. We have now been in our house for sixteen days with no furniture. Tomorrow is the day. The big truck full of crates will come and make everything better. If we had known it would take this long, we would have stayed in TLF. Oh, well, we learn a little more each time we move. I'll post pictures of the house as soon as I take some. The next few days will be spent unpacking.
Kyle began first grade on August 25th. He is loving it. If the backpack looks a little bit huge and girly, it's because it's mine. I felt awful sending him with that bag on his first day of school, but his other bag is packed up. Needless to say, we have since gone out and gotten him a new backpack. Each day Jake and I walk with Kyle down the street to the bus stop. The bus is a coach and it takes everyone from our area from Kindergarten age all the way up to high school to the schools on base. I think it makes Kyle feel pretty grown up to ride this bus.
Before school started, we decided to take the kids out for one last hurrah. We figured they are going to get dragged to a lot of things they might find a little boring over the next three years, so we chose a location more suited to their interests. From the first day we picked up tourist pamphlets here, they have been asking to go to Legoland, so the last Saturday before school started, we made the trip. It was a great excuse to get out of our empty house.
The boys had a great time. They're still young enough to think any amusement park is fun. I whole -heartedly admit to being a complete amusement park snob, and I am extremely partial to the Disney parks. They set a high standard. But Legoland had some cool points. I especially liked the mini world built out of legos. I am amazed at the creativity and patience of the people who build these sorts of things. I lose interest after about five or ten blocks on the boys' lego table. Mini world was my favorite, but I enjoyed looking at all the things made from legos, and there were lots. We were glad to have a beautiful day doing something the boys could enjoy. Jake was very excited to see this statue in the X-Box game zone.
The one thing about our trip to Legoland that made me feel like a real American schmuck was that off in the distance, I could see Windsor Castle dominating the landscape and here we were, passing it up for gross commercialism. But it was a day for the boys, no boring grown up stuff allowed.
We've had a few other outings. We're limited mostly to Saturdays, of course, but Brandon and Kyle did get the day off yesterday, and will pretty much have corresponding holiday schedules. I have not done much venturing out on my own yet, not because I'm afraid, but because Jake has not started pre-school yet. The following are some of our other adventures.

Ely

Kyle's first day of school was a family day, so Brandon got the day off. We personally would have preferred for him to have a day off when we could all be together, but you take what you get. We decided to venture up to Ely because it's not too far away.

Brandon and Jake outside the Oliver Cromwell museum, housed in Oliver Cromwell's former residence.
Ely Cathedral, a beautiful cathedral and filming location for two Tudor period movies recently released, The Other Boleyn Girl and Elizabeth the Golden Age.
The doors on all the buildings here are so tiny. Have we evolved in height so much?
And the houses are small, too. It's no wonder the rest of the world thinks Americans are extravagant. This house is as wide as the two dark brown gutters running down each side. Don't let the garden wall fool you.

London, Again

This past Saturday's adventure. We decided to take in one of the many free museums in London. We started with the Natural History Museum. We spent several hours and still didn't see everything. We were so busy looking at exhibits, that I didn't take one picture. After the museum, we strolled through a small corner of Hyde Park. This place is huge! We walked for what felt like miles, but barely skimmed the surface. Then, since we were taking the tube home anyway, we made one last magical stop. The boys climbing the Peter Pan statue in Hyde Park.


All aboard the Hogwart's Express! We passed through King's Cross Station on our way home to get a peek at Platform 9 3/4. A real treat for this moderate Potterphile.

Lavenham & Owl Sanctuary

Yesterday. Lavenham is a very old village, it's layout relatively unchanged since medieval times. And some of the buildings look like it. The writer of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star was from this quaint little village. It would have been a lovely visit if Jake hadn't shouted the entire time. The Owl Sanctuary was pretty cool. Kyle really enjoyed the flying demonstration. The church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Lavenham. They had the names of the rectors of this church dating back to the 1300's.
See what I mean about the old buildings? Someone lives there!
Another tiny door.
One of the Owls, and he's just a baby.

Well I hope this didn't go on too long. I've just fallen behind again with no connection. Cheers!