Steve and Kammie and the other ones too.: January 2012

Yesterday was the 2 week mark since Steven's been gone. Since he comes home on the 3rd, there's not quite 2 weeks until he comes home, so we're over halfway there.

Things without him have been okay. I'm handling it a lot better then I thought I would. The boys have actually been little angels for me. Gavin has taken a nap everyday that he's been gone, so he's not such a cranky little boy. Which is wonderful and Rhys has been such a huge help with his brother.

We've also been invited out to dinners, and family home evenings with friends and people in the Ward. It has really been amazing to feel so much love for our little family. We even received a batch of home-made cookies from the Missionaries here last night. Can't get much better then that. =) So far my favorite thing has been the Traditional Burns dinner we were invited to attend. We got to celebrate the birth of Robert Burns and hear some of his work read aloud. You also eat Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties. Which is just Haggis, Potatoes, and Turnips. It was surprisingly good and even Gavin loved it. Rhys was hesitant to try the Haggis, but he did eventually try it. I only got him to eat the one bite, but he was a good sport. He did however eat the rest of it, so I was proud of him. The best part of the evening was when they "served" the Haggis. A guy wearing full Kilt garb brought it in followed by a bagpipe player. Then there was a small "blessing" on the Haggis which was a poem read about it. There was a ceremonial cutting of the Haggis, and then they took it back to the kitchen with the bagpipes again. Everyone had to stand while it was entering and leaving, and it was just a fun atmosphere. I'm really happy I got to experience it, and Steven's a wee bit jealous that he wasn't able to come to. I did find out how to make it though, so I will have to make it for Steven sometime when he comes back.

Steven's been doing great. He is loving London and the Globe especially. He keeps telling me that he's so excited to show it to me. That's something I'm very excited for too. He misses us, but they've kept him so busy that he doesn't have a lot of time to think about it during the day. He says he's learning so much, and that's really all that I could ask for.

We found out that he got cast as Gloucester in the production of King Lear that they're putting on at the Globe. He's sharing the role with a fellow student, but he got the "more fun" half of the character. Its pretty much the role he was expecting, and while its a good role he's a little sad he won't be able to challenge himself a little more with something that's not quite so "him" but we're still excited for this great challenge that has been given to him. They have less then 2 weeks to put the show together, so it will be interesting to see how busy he will be.

I found out that our friends are going to be able to watch the boys for me, so I'll be able to go and see the show myself. It will be a quick trip.. I'm planning on just riding the train down that morning, seeing the show, and then coming back the next day. But I just couldn't miss Steven doing a performance on the Globe Theatre. =)

There's not much left to say, and I don't have any pictures. Steven took the camera so he could get some shots of London, so hopefully I can put up some of those when he comes home.

This has been the most relaxing, and also most boring, 2 weeks of my life. I have decided that while I can appreciate some time off, its always nice to feel productive! But we had the privilege of having 2 whole weeks with nothing to do. Both Rhys and Steven were out of school on Christmas break and it was really fun to have them home.

I had all sorts of big plans for these 2 weeks. We were going to get out, see so much of Scotland, and just enjoy being together as a family. Well, we got to do one of those things.

The weather here is just crazy. Almost everyday it was raining and extremely windy. In fact we had a Hurricane warning on one of those days and there was no way we were going to leave the house. Since we don't have a car, walking is our only option. And making a 5 year old walk in that kind of weather is torture. Especially since he starts complaining about his tired feet even when its nice outside. (Luckily I have that rain cover for Gavin's buggy, so taking him out in its not as big of a deal.) Maybe other 5 year olds would like it, but ours hates the rain. He would much rather be inside playing video games. I think he got that from his Daddy...

Since I'm the only one who cares about getting out, I would do the few grocery shopping runs that we needed. It was nice to get out for a bit, but I was always happy to get back to my family.

There were a few perks to being stuck inside though. I decided a while ago that I don't want my boys being completely addicted to video games. I don't think they're bad, in fact they really helped Rhys when he was learning to talk and everything, but I hear stories of families where the Dad comes home from work and starts playing Video games and does nothing else. I don't want my little boys to be like that. So I've been trying to come up with ways to break up the electronic fun.

Some of my favorite activities were Yahtzee Jr and Hide and Seek. Rhys was extremely good at both and I was very proud of him for being so patient with Gavin who was just learning. Gavin didn't understand the point of Yahtzee, but he loved to drop the dice out of the cup. We would let him do that 3 times and then he'd pass it along. He was really cute.

We almost had an incident when I won that game. Rhys is used to winning and so we've had to teach him that sometimes he will lose and that its okay. The point is that its fun to play the game. I hope that it stays with him.

Hide and Seek was SO much fun. Rhys would hide in the most ridiculous spots and then he'd giggle to himself while you "Looked" for him. The first time he hid under the covers of his bed and you could just see them shaking. He's just too cute for words sometimes. After that first time he would just hide in the spot that Steven or I had hid in the time before. He's not very original, but I loved to see him laugh. Plus every time you'd find him he would yell "aha, I got you."

Gavin wouldn't hide or count. He would stand in the middle of the room watching where everyone hid and then he'd follow the person who counted around and point to where people were hiding. Hopefully next time he'll be more involved in the actual game.

Yesterday was the first day in the entire 2 weeks that the sun was actually shining so we had to take advantage of it. We got the boys bundled up. Well, Rhys anyway. Gavin refuses to wear a hat or gloves most of the time, and we went outside to the play area we have here. It was a little chilly, but the boys were so happy to run around. I took a few pictures, but then my hands were cold so I had to stop. After about 2o minutes everyone was ready to come back in but Steven made us all Hot Chocolate and it ended up being a very fun day. Gavin was so cute drinking the Hot Chocolate. We let it cool down so it was just a little warm and then we put it in a sippy cup. He would take a sip, look shocked at the warmth, swallow, and then say "mmm." Then he'd do it all over again. I think he drank the entire thing like that. I'm just glad he enjoyed it. =)

Today's been a little sad because its our last official day off. Tomorrow Steven gets on a train for London to go study on the Globe Theatre for a month. We're going to miss him a lot, but I'm so excited for him to get this opportunity. He has always wanted to see the Globe and so getting to act on it is more then he could ask for. They will be performing Shakespeares King Lear, but we don't know what part he'll be playing yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that its a good part.

Rhys starts school again in 2 days and he's actually excited to go back. I'm so glad because I was worried he was enjoying his time off too much. But he misses his friends and he's always loved to read and write so he's excited to go back.

I'm worried about how Gavin will handle next week. He's gotten spoiled with everyone home and soon it will just be the two of us. I will try my best to keep him distracted. Wish me luck!

I look forward to posting more about the Globe and how this month goes without Steven here.

The boys running laps in the play area outside our flat.