Friday, October 28, 2011

Halloween Disco

One of the biggest questions I had when we first arrived for our friend Olivia was whether or not they celebrate Halloween here. Well, I guess the joke is on us because apparently Halloween is actually a Scottish Holiday that America kind of took over and commercialized a bit. I didn't know that. I'm sure other people did, but I think that's kind of fun.
So, traditionally the kids all dress up in costumes and things but it isn't as common here for the kids to go Trick-or-treating. It does happen, but just not a lot. So, trying to stay in the spirit of Halloween we still bought the boys Halloween Costumes. We took them to the store and let them pick. Well, we let Rhys pick. There was only one option for Gavin and I don't think he would have really cared anyway. Of the 5 or 6 choices we gave him Rhys wanted to be a skeleton. It was the plainest one there, but Rhys just loved the mask. I'm not complaining though. It was on sale for only 3 pounds... can't beat that. =)
Anyway, there is a tradition at the Cardonald Primary School where Rhys attends and that is the Halloween Disco that they have. I'm not sure why those chose the 27th to do it, but it was still fun. It cost a pound for a ticket and the kids had to buy them at School. Rhys was so excited to take his pound with him, but he was really scared he'd forget to buy the ticket. I was really happy to tell me that his ticket was in his back pack when I picked him up from school.
To make it easier on everyone they had 3 different discos with different grades going together for an hour each. Because they were the youngest they got the first spot at 5:45.
It was fun walking Rhys up the hill and seeing all of the kids dressed up walking up there. I was surprised how varied the costumes were because I really couldn't find that many different choices when we were at the stores. But, maybe I just wasn't going to the right stores.
Anyway, all the kids were waiting outside when they opened the door. All of the parents were walking their kids in with them, but there were stairs and I had Gavin in the buggy so I couldn't make it up there. I asked Rhys if he needed me to go with him and he said he would be alright. I saw him hand over his ticket and everything so I figured he'd be okay.
So Gavin and I walked home and as we passed the Train Station there was Daddy getting off the Train. Gavin was thrilled to see him and it was nice having someone to walk the rest of the way with. (He normally doesn't get off that early, so it was a nice surprise.)
As we were walking in the door my phone started to ring and it was the school telling me that Rhys was upset and wouldn't go into the gym with the other kids. They weren't sure if it was the decorations or the noise but they weren't sure what to do and so they had him in their office. Of course I ran right back over and found him coloring away in her office. When I asked him what was wrong he just said he missed me and he didn't know what to do. So I asked him if I stayed and watched against the wall if he would stay and dance. He said yes, so I asked them if I could stay. They were very nice and there were a few other moms that were hanging against the wall as well, so I wasn't the only one.
It took Rhys a minute to get into it. He just stood there for a while until a little girl came up and asked him who he was. He lifted up his mask, she said hi, and then she grabbed his hands and pulled him onto the dance floor. I tried to get my camera out in time, but I wasn't fast enough. They disappeared for a bit and then he was back by himself. But he was still dancing and it was cute to watch.
They had a dancing competition with the P1 and then the P2 dancing. Rhys went crazy trying to win, but I think he was standing too far against the side so they really couldn't see him. But, there was another little boy doing these crazy dance moves, so I don't know if he would have won even if he had been in the middle, but I was proud of him for trying so hard.
I think my favorite part of the night was when "Thriller" started playing and all the kids screamed and then started freaking out. It was so funny. I will forever have the image of little kids jumping up and down to "Thriller" in my head.
When we left we were actually escorted through the halls to a different door and we got to pass Rhys' classroom. There were things hanging in the hall that the kids did and it was fun to get to see some of them. Rhys had fun pointing out the stuff he did to me and it made me happy to get a visual of where he is everyday since I didn't actually go to his classroom on that first day.
All in all it was a really fun time and Rhys ended up having a blast. Still not sure what we're doing on Halloween day, but I'm sure it will be fun!

Rhys waiting to head to the school.
When he was still just standing by himself.
After he made his friend he was a dancing fiend.
He was so stinking cute.
Taking a breather.

Monday, October 24, 2011

The Kelvingrove Art Gallery

One of the things that I have discovered that I love about Scotland is that all their Museums and Art Gallery's are free to enter. Sometimes they have some "seasonal" type displays which cost money, but on a whole it is all free. I've been meaning to go to one for a while now. I saw this one advertised in a magazine and I was hoping to get a chance to go with the boys, so I was really excited when my friend Larissa texted me to ask if we wanted to go with her and her daughter. Her daughter is a year younger then Gavin and they get along quite nicely so of course I said yes.
We chose today to go because it was Rhys' last day of his "harvest break" before going back to school tomorrow and we figured he'd probably enjoy it more then the wee ones. Since we have car seats our friends had given us when we arrived Larissa was able to come and pick us up and drive us over there.
The building itself was just beautiful. I only got a shot of it from the back and from the side because I was just too close when we were at the front, but it was just gorgeous. When we walked in the very first thing the boys saw was this gigantic stuffed elephant just standing in the doorway. That immediately grabbed their attention and from then on it was all we could do to stop the kids from running away from us. I was nice and let Gavin walk around because he was actually listening when I told him to stop or come back. (I'm so happy he's finally to the age where he listens pretty well.) Anyway, they both ran around just excited about everything. Gavin loved the animals the most, especially the birds. He's obsessed with saying "birds." There was also a pterodactyl skeleton hanging from the ceiling that he really liked.
Rhys was cute and would walk around saying things like "Wow, look at all these paintings Mom." Or "wow, this room is amazing." He especially liked the room with the knights.
Since we were going with the whole "free" thing we decided to pack our own lunch and we took the boys out to the front steps to eat it. The whole thing was so enjoyable. It was fun to see the different aspects of Scottish Culture, to get out of the flat, and to have good company at the same time. Hopefully we'll be able to get out again soon. =)

*I tried adding pictures, but its not letting me. You'll just have to see them on Facebook.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

SO happy!

So, I am absolutely in love with Scotland. The last few days were kind of hard because the boys were sick and we couldn't go anywhere. But, today they were both so much better that we decided to take a much needed trip to the grocery store. It was the first time that I've gone with Gavin and Rhys by myself since Rhys is usually in school when I go but this week he has the week off. He was such a good boy though and held on to the buggy the entire way so I didn't have to worry about him running off without me.
Its a relatively short walk to the Grocery store. Its a place called Morrison's and it takes about 10 minutes to get there. Its faster if you go through the neighborhoods, but its more scenic to go on the busy streets. Then you pass the Library, the Chippy, the bakery, a Subway sandiwch shop.
One of my favorite things about the shops here are the Trolley carts. Ours are locked up together and the only way to get one out is to put a pound in and it releases it. The nice thing is, you get the pound back when you return the cart. But, I also love that they have 2 seats so both boys can sit in it while I push and all 4 wheels turn. I wouldn't have thought that it would matter that much, but I love being able to easily move around people. Sometimes all you can do is move to the side and there's no room to back up, but all you have to do is push to the left. I swear, the States really should pick that up and do that to their carts.
We've got a pretty good routine down. We like to pick up one or two new things to try, but we also make sure that we get stuff we already know we do. Last week we got these fried Cod fillets that were just amazing. This week I went with a sweet and bought a pack of candy bars to try. They're made by the same people who make Kinder eggs and Happy Hippos, so we'll see how they are.
So, the other thing about Scotland shops that I love is that the people at the registers all have stools so they don't have to stand up. You see some of the men work there standing, but on a whole everyone is sitting. From someone who once worked 9 months standing at a cash register I think this is a brilliant idea. I don't see why you need to stand. That's also something we should steal over in the states. =)
Let's see, some of our new favorite foods over here are the Scottish pies, the Sausage rolls, the Rolls that they make. If you put some lunch meat and coleslaw on one, its an amazing sandwich. We have also fallen in love with some Crisps here (chips) they are these light cheese curl things and all of us love them. Including Gavin.
Oh, on a side note, its not something that you get from the Grocery store but there's this little fast food type place right next to us that has some amazing food. They make what is called a "Munchie box" and its just a pizza box filled with different types of Indian food. It is SO good and is now one of Steven and my favorite places to go to when we are in the mood to eat out. We like the Munchie box because its good, but its also one of the cheapest things on the menu. So, anyone who comes and visits us, unless you are extremely opposed to Indian food you must try a Munchie box with us. =)
Anyway, when we were walking home from the store today I had to use our "Buggy Rain cover" that we had to buy once we got over here. We were lucky and were given a Buggy by our friends when we showed up, but we soon found out that if you were going to survive walking here you needed a cover too. Its this little clear thing you put on the Buggy that goes over it like a tent to keep the kids clear of the rain. It will also be nice when its freezing outside because it will keep the wind off of Gavin's face. It was definitely the best money that we have spent since we got over here. I took a picture of it, so people can get more of an idea of what I'm talking about. Gavin hated it at first until he saw all the rain hitting it, now he has just accepted it. I was really worried about him just sitting there when it gets really cold. Normally you keep yourself kind of warm by moving your legs when you walk, but when you're in the buggy you have no circulation to keep the cold away. So, this made me very happy.
Well, tomorrow I'm hoping to take the boys into the City to have lunch with Steven and meet some more of his classmates so hopefully I'll have more stuff to report soon. Until then, enjoy some pictures!
The Buggy Cover
Rhys pushing the very full buggy home.
This is Morrison's. Rhys really wanted to be in the picture.
These are some houses across the street from the store. I love them! They make me think of Disneyland.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Gavin Running

Okay, so Gavin has always loved to run. I'm sure he will make an excellent athlete someday because he loves it so much. When we lived in Cedar City we had this tiny little hall that he would run down. I kept telling Steven that I hoped we found a flat with a hall because otherwise I would miss it. Well we found one, and sure enough Gavin loves to run down it. Last Sunday Steven and I were talking in our room when we noticed Gavin running back and forth in front of the door. We thought it was so funny, we had to make a movie of it. So, for anyone who is interested, here is our little man doing his laps in our hall.


Thursday, October 13, 2011

We're surviving well!

Shockingly, I am adjusting to this new Country surprisingly well. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge family person. I didn't even handle moving to Utah from Seattle very well because I moved so far away from my Mom. So, I'm assuming this is just a HUGE blessing from Heavenly Father because I'm really fine. I LOVE it here. There are definitely things that I miss, especially getting to tell my Mom all about it other then through e-mail (for a bit there I felt like I was on my mission again, but this is so much better.) But, now that we have Internet and I have access to people now there's nothing for me to not like about it here. =)
Scotland is just beautiful. Its not just that its green. Oregon and Washington were green too, but this is different. There's just a feel in the air I guess. Plus, the architecture of the buildings is just amazing. Even walking through the neighborhoods feels kind of magical. There's this row of houses right by our grocery store that remind me Fantasyland in Disneyland. I keep wanting there to be lines for us to get on rides. =)
I'm also fascinated by the cars. Not just that they steering wheel is on the right, but also the size and shape. They're all just so small. I saw a VW bug the other day and it looked HUGE, but it was the same size as the ones we have in the states. All the other cars have just shrunk. I actually saw a non- British car the other day and I couldn't figure out why it looked different. It was that the Steering wheel was on the left. It totally threw me. I still don't think I could drive a car here, but I'm getting more used to it. Its second nature to look to the right before crossing the street now. =)
I also laugh at myself for being scared of the money being in pounds. Its so not a big deal. I can go to the store like a pro now. I actually prefer the cash, its more fun that way. =)
We have also realized that we are in the PERFECT location for us. We are in a nice calm neighborhood, so no busy streets. We live literally right next to the train station. (Its the quietest train ever!) We also live next to a Grocery store, Bank, Library, Post Office, Medical office, Dental office, and Eye doctor. Oh, and of course Rhys' school. There's also a nice bakery and some good fast food places close by, including a Subway. Although we haven't tried it yet because we'd always rather go to a more "Scottish" place if we're going out. =)
So, we really couldn't have planned this location better. We really are being looked after.
Oh other news, Rhys is doing really well in School. His teacher told me that he tries really hard to be the best in his class, and the only thing they could even say bad about him was his little tender feelings. I told her we were working on that. He has made lots of friends at school and yesterday they had an assembly that I was invited to attend. I can't believe how well behaved these kids are. They always walk in a single file line, they sat still the entire assembly (Including Rhys) They all addressed the teacher by saying "Good morning Mr. Beacham" when he said it to them. (Although Rhys told me that he likes doing Show and tell because he has to address the class by saying "Good afternoon boys and girls" and they all say "Good afternoon Rhys." and he really likes that. It has just really impressed me and I'm glad that Rhys is a good boy and listens so well. I could have seen him being the child that won't stand in line and was always rowdy. But, he's catching on. =)
Gavin had a hard time once Steven and Rhys were both in School. He got really attached to me and wouldn't want me to leave the room without him. But, he's finally getting over that which is good. He was just so used to having them around he didn't know what to think about it. The poor thing. But every afternoon when I tell him its time to go get Rhys he always runs to the door, so I know he still loves his brother. =)
Oh, for the record I want to write down all the things that I do miss (mainly food wise) so I can see if I still miss them once we've been here longer. Or in case anyone gets up the desire to send us a care package. ;) hehe, just kidding.
Things I miss, in no particular order:
Peanut butter Captain Crunch Cereal, Instant Oatmeal (strawberries and creme mainly), Swedish fish and chewy sweetarts. (the chocolate is amazing, but I prefer our fruity candy), cheese (specifically string cheese, they don't have it here), Maple syrup (we finally found some, but its expensive), Oh and something non-food related is deodorant. They have all these weird sprays and roll ons but to get a stick is hard to find and its expensive as well. That's something I really didn't think about before we came.
There are also things I love here, like the pastries, chocolate, fish, the Indian food! So much great stuff, I;m sure I'll miss some of it when we leave.
Anyway, this is getting long, so I'll end here. I'll keep everyone posted more later. =)