Listicles

I have discovered Listicles. I know, I am not always at the forefront of blogging, but I am excited about Listicles. If you are as behind as I am, I will explain. Listicles are "Lists" made into "articles." I don't read magazines anymore (for the most part) for many reasons, which I could "List."  (i.e., I realized that fashion magazines just make me feel 1. poor, 2. fat, and 3. ugly) however, Listicles are always my favorite part of magazines. Things like "Ten things to do this summer" or "12 favorite kid foods." I'd like to start my own Listicle series. It fits me because I love list making! It is such a tidy way to organize my life and blog posts!
My first official Listicle: 10 Things That Make Me Happy (no particular order):
1. Emmett Logic. 
"I have many parts to my stomach. The part that holds my healthy food is all full, but the part that holds my treats still has room."
"There should be 2 school days followed by 2 stay-home days. There are too many school days in a row!"
2. The beach. I could sit on a beach all day. I love to watch the kids play and explore. I love to find hex-stones.The beach makes me think of relaxing, my mother, and donuts!
3. Hanging out with friends. We have some great friends. We usually get together at least weekly and talk, laugh, and eat.
4. Augi's wonderful imagination. I love it when I can hear Augi muttering to herself in the other room, lost in some world of fantasy.
5. Lambs and Piglets. Springtime in this part of England is FULL of lambs and piglets. Every morning I drive to work and have to remind myself to keep my eyes on the road. I pass by field after field of prancing, jumping, and sleeping babies. Just last night our friend Carrie took us on a walk to see piglets. They are so stinking cute. I love the way they jump around and follow their big fat mommy to nurse at every chance. It feels very familiar.
6. The sound of the birds in the evening and morning. I should qualify this by saying that in the spring and summer, the birds will often wake Em at 4:30, therefore I am awake at 4:30. This I DO NOT love. However, I find it really peaceful to lie in bed and hear the birds outside singing to welcome the day. Phiz and I walk most nights of the week. Our 2 mile route takes us through an area where there is a canopy/tunnel of trees. The birds are so noisy that they block out the sounds from the street. It is eerie, yet calm and soothing.
7. One spot at the end of the road where the wind always blows. For several months after my mom died, several times each week, I would go for a run and think and cry, all at once. I am sure I looked ridiculous lopping along bawling, but it was amazing how much better I felt afterwards. Towards the end of my run I would come to a "T" in the road with a huge field in front of me. The wind ALWAYS blows there. It makes me think of the poem my Tia Lydia read at my mom's funeral about the wind bringing love and comfort from my mom. I actually can't remember the name of the poem. I'll have to ask her about it...
8. Christian laughing. Chris doesn't laugh often. Once in a while he will laugh out loud and I love to hear it. I especially like when I make him laugh. I am most often annoying to him, so it pleases me to know that once in a while he finds me funny.
9. Lying in bed reading a book all alone in the house. Don't get me wrong. I don't want to live alone. I spent a great deal of my childhood completely alone. Being alone for a few hours is comforting to me. Being alone for too long is scary.
10. Planning themed parties. I LOVE to plan, buy, think about, and create for birthday parties. I miss having our annual luau back home. It was stressful, but always great in the end.

For the end of this Listicle, here are some photos from April. I know that's the real reason you come here anyway.

A Day at the Beach

We are just a 45 minute drive from the sea. It is so rare to find a good weather day to hang on the beach in England, but the temperature recently "spiked" (note the coats in the pics...) so we joined the rest of England at Felixstowe Beach. 

Goodbye Harold. Hellllloooo William!

Sooooo, our travels have been really really really subdued lately. I told you that my children have gained a love of staying at home since living as expats. For the first three years here we visited 5 countries each year. We are now 4 months into our fifth and where have we gone? Nowhere. Seriously. This has got to end. We are captive again, thanks to the UK Border Agency, but they can't keep us from exploring this island. 
I called our favorite travel companions, the R's (now 5 instead of 4...welcome Baby Eileen)+ Bubba (grandma equivalent for us...)and planned a quick overnight to Hastings. Where is Hastings and why is it significant, you might ask. 

From wiki: Hastings (pron.: /ˈheɪstɪŋz/) is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located 24 mi (39 km) east of the county town of Lewes and 53 mi (85 km) south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900.

MMMMMKay. That's boring. Here is the exciting bit. Just outside of Hastings is the town of Battle. Battle is the site of the famous fight between the Saxon King Harold and William the Conqueror. Guess what? William Conquered. Yay, Normans! (Hey, always side with the winner.)
The battle sight is actually just a hill and field. On the site an abbey was built by Will the C. to show off how awesome he is.

Highlights from the trip:

• Em jumping into the sea. Fully clothed. Wellies full of water. 

• Augi saying: "Aaaaw. Is this THE King Harold we are talking about? The one who conquered the vikings? The one who lost to the Normans? Gawd. Why do we always have to go places that I already learned about in school."

• Finn notifying other patrons that "There are no wales in there." [it was just a WELL]

• Eileen has a word, at just 3 weeks. It's "Waa." She actually says "Waa" when she cries.

• Free admission to the pirate caves thanks to the friendly ticket counter boy and my vexing stare. Then Chris throwing his $800 camera lense across the cave. So, a once free cave trip became a very expensive cave trip.  

First stop: The Abbey in Battle

 It is always important to stop for some clotted cream on a scone...mmmmm.

 Battle reenactment

 Soooo...this is where the "Battle" was. You come here often?

 Finn: "There's a whale down there?!" Evan: "No Finn, it's a well." Finn: "That's what I said! A whale is down there!"

 Em: "Ya, we saw the whale. It was huge." Finn: "How big was it?"

 Like all good parents, we let Emmett buy a spear for a souvenir.

 I could hold babies all. day. long.

 And I often convince Em that he is still my baby.

Second stop: Smuggler's Caves in Hastings

 Don't they make a cute couple? Watch your hand, dude.

 Add some purple and green lights to anything and it'll look spooky.

And last but not least: The Royal Pavilion in Brighton

Do you know about King George the IV? He liked to spend money, party, entertain the ladies, and eat! Some say he was mentally "instable". Meh. I say he was rich and wanted to live it up! If you don't want people to spend all your country's money, people, don't have a freakin' monarchy.

 In the tradition of all good tourist spots, no photography was allowed inside, there were swarms of tourists outside, and a fence in front of the building. Here is the outside of the magnificent palace:

And a drawing of George the Cooky.

What a fun time it was!