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.

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. =)

School!

So, today we took the boys for a short walk up the hill and checked out the local Primary School. Rhys yelled, "Look, kids." as soon as we were close enough to see them playing at Recess. He was so excited to see them all, and we really think that he is going to enjoy school.

When we told them we had just moved here and wanted to try and enroll Rhys they were excited to help us. They had plenty of room for him, but he was the first kid in 6 years that hasn't been from Scotland. So, he is definitely one of a kind. They were impressed with us because we had all the documents with us that they would need. His Passport, Visa, Birth certificate, proof of Residence, and the letter from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland saying Steven was accepted. We had to fill out some paperwork, and they had to send it in to the Scotland City Council to get it approved for him to start, but we heard back from them already and he gets to start on Monday.

We're so excited he gets to go, now we just need to go get his uniform. Some of the items we can buy from the school on Monday morning, like his Maroon sweatshirt with the school logo and a white polo and school tie as well. But the grey trousers (Not Pants over here) and white dress shirts we can get at a store cheaper. We'll also get him a maroon jacket to wear since its already colder here.

We also went to our local grocery store today and were pleasantly surprised by the cost of everything. Some things were more expensive, but on a whole it was all cheaper. Especially the Nappies (or diapers). The store brand ones weren't even a whole 2 pounds for 30 of them. I'll need to try them to see if there any good, but even the Huggies were 7 pounds for a big bag. Not too shabby.

We've also found a few pastry places we want to take anyone who comes and visits, and of course to the local Chippy. Its fish and chips and its DELICIOUS if you enjoy fish. =)

Anyway, I'll be sure to take pictures of Rhys at school on Monday. Until then have a good weekend.

We're in Scotland!

So, we're here, we made it! But it wasn't without its problems.

First, our Visa's didn't go through by the time we needed them to. We had bought plane tickets for the 30th of August, but the 29th came around and they still weren't here. Then, that morning we got an e-mail from the British Consulate telling us that they had just opened our application and it would take approximately 8 business days to process. Well, we were frustrated, but grateful we finally heard something.

This ended up making us push back our flight date to the 13th of September, just to be safe, and we were in San Diego for another 2 weeks. We were lucky and were able to request an address change from the Consulate so we didn't have to wait in Cedar City on people's couches while we waited. We were also very lucky to have parents who helped us out with planes and a place to stay. We couldn't have done it without either one of them!!

We finally got word that our Visa went through on Wednesday, so we had almost a whole week of relaxing before we were off! Oh, our last night in the U.S. we also had Mexican food. It's Steven and my favorite and we just don't know how good its going to be here, so we needed to get our fix in. =)

Packing for the trip was a little rough. I had originally gotten everything we were taking into 4 big suitcases and 5 carry-ons. But, when I called the airline to find out how many bags we would each get, I was told we'd each get 1 and it would be $55 to check an additional bag and it would be $55 if it was over 55 pounds. We were also told we would only get 1 carry on a piece and a personal item, but that a personal item was a laptop or purse. Since we had backpacks I wasn't sure they counted as a personal or a carry-on. We also weighed all 4 bags, and ALL but one were over 50. We figured it would be better to pay $55 once for an extra bag, then $55 three times for the three overweight. So, my parents gave us one of their extra suitcases and we put one of the 5 carry-ons we were going to carry in that suitcase. We got it all to fit just fine, but when we weighed them, 4 of them were under (well one was barely over 50, but it was fine) and one was 69 pounds. How that happened, I'll never know. But, anyway, we still figured one overweight extra bag was cheaper then 3. So, Tuesday morning when we got to the Airport they told us that it was $70 to check an extra bag, and $200 if its over 50. We were shocked! I told them that when I called, they didn't say that, but they don't know what happened. Luckily, the guy checking us in was SO nice and told us to go buy a cheap carry-on bag at the gift shop and we could get 19 pounds out of it and just carry it on the plane. When I told him I didn't think we could carry an extra carry on he told us he'd count one of the boys backpacks as a personal item and it would be okay. But, as I was buying the suitcase he ran back to tell me that when Steven opened the suitcase they found our huge DVD case and we could just carry that on as a carry on and not to buy the suitcase and save our money. So, we didn't have to buy an extra suitcase and we only had to pay to check the one extra bag. He was just SO nice and it makes me happy that there are great people in the world.

We also found out that we needed to take out our Playstation and Wii from the small carry-on suitcase they were in every time we went through security. We were stopped the first time we went through, but we were able to get a system for the next two. (Yes, we had to go through security at all three airports. It was a PAIN!)

The boys were AMAZING! They would get antsy and a little loud in the airport, but as soon as we'd get on the plane they would be little angels. Gavin sat next to me and Rhys was next to Steven on the way to Chicago. I don't know what Rhys and Steven did, but Gavin pretty much just sat next to me and held my hand. They played Pirates of the Caribbean 4 on the plane, but that was of no interest to Gavin.

When we got to Chicago we had to take the train to get from Terminal 1 to Terminal 5. It took FOREVER and then adding on the Security check we had about 2 minutes before they started boarding. I literally changed Gavin's diaper and then we were boarding. We had to get in line twice, since we didn't get our passport checked before trying to get on the plane (they didn't tell us we needed to do that) but people were nice and let us cut in front of them since we had kids. Its a good thing we had to change flight plans, because last time we only had 45 minutes to change planes and I just don't think we would have made it. We had an hour and a half this time and we were still cutting it close. We were also lucky and had a plane with a screen. Both Rhys and Gavin loved it. Gavin watched Toy Story 3 twice while he waited for dinner. He wouldn't wear the head phones but it didn't seem to bother him that he couldn't hear the movie. Rhys watched Kung Fu Panda 2 and then just played games. We actually had to force him to stop playing so he could sleep. He wasn't happy about that, but he fell asleep really fast.

The boys LOVED their airplane dinner. They got some chicken strips, tater tots, a roll, cheese, crackers, and a brownie. I was worried Gavin wouldn't eat, but he ended up eating almost everything. I was SO proud of him. After he ate, I changed his diaper on the plane (there was surprisingly a good amount of room to do so on the plane) and then he fell right to sleep. He looked really comfortable with his pillow and blanket.

Steven and I weren't as lucky about sleeping. We couldn't get comfortable. Steven slept longer then me, but only about an hour. I just kept going in and out of sleep for a little bit. I probably got about 30 minutes total. I was the only one awake when they gave us breakfast, but they gave me 3 plates for the boys for when they woke up. That flight ended up only being 6 and a half hours, so it really wasn't bad.

We landed in Dublin 30 minutes early, which was good because we had to go through customs before we could board our next plane. We ended up having about 15 minutes before we boarded. This plane was small and we actually took a bus from the gate to the plane. Rhys actually loved the bus and made lots of friends with the adults he was standing by. (He wanted to hold onto the pole.) The last flight was really short and since we had already gone through customs we just got to leave. The baggage claim area was inside security so we had to get our luggage ourselves, but we were lucky and they had the little luggage carts that we were able to get. Steven and I both had to push one, so I was really glad for the leash that we had Gavin on so he couldn't run away. I felt a little bad about it, but in the end it was worth having.

I think the hardest part of the whole trip was having 2 of our carry-ons break while we were traveling. The handle of our DVD case broke in Chicago and we actually had to throw it away because it had its nails hanging out of it and it wouldn't have gotten through security like that. So, we had to just carry it in our hands. And that thing is HEAVY! We did lean it on the little suitcase that rolled, but you had to hold on to it while you were rolling it, which hurt your hands. It was a pain. Then one of the boys backpacks had the zipper bust off when we were in Dublin. It was an older backpack, so it wasn't a total loss, but we ended up having to hold it closed while we carried it. So, Steven would have the rolling suitcase with the DVD case, the lap top holder, the Iron Man backpack and his jacket. I had my backpack with the other DVD case and our important file folder that has all the important paperwork we have in it, and my purse, Gavin's Precious, and Gavin in my arms. We tried having him walk, but he couldn't walk fast enough and he kept wanting to walk away from us. So, by the end of the trip both Steven and my arms felt like they were going to fall off. But, it was worth it to get all of our stuff over here. Hopefully on the way back Rhys and Gavin will both be big enough to walk and carry their own carry-ons. =)

Our friends Ben and Olivia came and picked us up from the airport, along with Olivia's Sister Larissa since we have so much stuff. They were able to get some car seats from a friend so Gavin and Rhys were safe. We went back to their place while Steven and Ben went to go get the contract signed and keys for the flat. Then it was time to see it.

We LOVE the flat. Its in a nice neighborhood with tons of kids. We saw a lot of them walking home from school and a lot were playing in this little play area we have right outside. Rhys really wanted to go play too, I was just way too tired to watch him properly, so he'll have to go another time. We have 3 locks on our door, so I will feel extra safe when Steven is studying in London for the month of January. It also has a T.V. and DVD player. We can't use the DVD player for our movies, but they have some at the library we'll be able to check out and watch. We did bring our playstation so we'll still be able to watch ours and its nice that we won't have to rent a T.V. to have to use.

The most interesting thing was us trying to figure out all the electric stuff. All of the outlets have switches next to them and so they don't work if you don't flip the switch. We also have an all electric flat, so even our Water heater is electric. I had wanted to take a shower last night, but we forgot to turn the heater on when we first got there, and there was no hot water when we tried. But, we were able to figure it out long enough for me to have a quick (extremely quick) bath. We both kind of laughed at ourselves. We're still figuring out the heaters, but its not too cold yet, so we've got a little bit of time. We might have to have Ben and Olivia come over and try and help us figure it out. =)

So, we were able to keep Rhys and Gavin from sleeping until a little after 7. They normally go to bed at 7:30 so we thought 7:15 was pretty good. Gavin was already asleep when I left the room and Rhys was quick to follow. Steven and I had planned on staying awake until at least 10, but we both were so tired we ended up going to sleep around 8:30. We set the alarm for 8 the next morning, but Steven kept hitting snooze. It was a little after 9 when we finally woke up. We ended up waking the boys up too. It was nice getting about 13 hours of sleep and much needed. Its amazing how tired I still am. I'm fine while we're doing things, but as soon as we sit down I have the desire to close my eyes. Hopefully that goes away soon.

I think we probably would have slept longer, but we had plans to have breakfast with Ben and Olivia. Then they've been helping us today to get things set up. Its been a little frustrating because we tried to set up a bank account, but they need us to bring in a Bill to prove that we live there. Then we tried to get internet, but they can't set up internet without a bank account because they only do direct pay. Then we tried to get phones, but we can't get a phone plan because we don't have any credit in the UK and there's a 95% chance we'd fail the credit check, which would then make our Credit look worse. So, we ended up getting some cheap Pay as you Go plans because we need to be able to call each other. Steven went out for dinner last night and it took him an hour. I was a little panicked knowing there was no way for me to get in contact with anyone if something had happened, so I really need a phone. Even if I don't use it. We figure that we can try for a plan in a few months if we decide we need something more. But who knows, maybe the pay as you go will be fine.

We had to buy our own sheets, pillows, and towels, but other then that everything we would need was already in the flat. That was a huge blessing! Oh, I do have a huge need to clean the flat before we really start to unpack things, but everything is in excellent condition. I just need to know that everything is good. It is a strange feeling going through all stuff in our flat because I keep feeling like someones going to walk in on me and get mad. I can't wait until the flat feels like ours and I'm not just going through strangers things. =)

I'm really excited about our new adventure. Its so crazy and fun and I hope that we can get everything figured out soon so that we can feel like we're getting our life back to normal.

I love you all and I hope that my LONG shpeel didn't bore you all to death. I'll keep you all up to date with the happenings of what's going on and hopefully I'll be posting pictures soon. =)

Gavin's Birthday pictures!

Gavin with his favorite Toy Story toy, Rex!

Gavin eating some of his yummy cake.

Gavin at the fountain with Kaitlin.

Naked boy on the way home. Its a good thing it was warm in the car.

Gavin just opened his present and was anxious for us to open it.

I just love that Kaitlin is obviously having so much fun.

Gavin with some of his mini Dinosaurs. He was actually roaring.

He was so cute playing with them.

Happy Birthday my cute boy!!!

Gavin's 2nd Birthday!

So I'm having a hard time getting the pictures on here, so I'll just have to add those later.
For Gavin's 2nd Birthday this year we celebrated on his actual Birthday even though it was in the middle of the week. Steven was working at the Utah Shakespeare Festival 6 days a week in the evenings, so no matter what his party was going to be earlier in the day anyway. So why not celebrate it on his actual Birthday!
Since we were right in the middle of getting ready for our Yard Sale and figuring out Visa's and things for Scotland I didn't have time to do a whole lot. We pretty much invited all of Gavin's "Big" friends (basically all of our Theatre friends) over for some cake and to watch Gavin open his presents. He only had 2, one from us and a tiny one from my Mom since we're moving to Scotland soon. He will be getting Giftcards to buy something over there when we get there. But the present we got him was a Toy Story gift box set. There were 7 figures in it, all of them about 6 inches. It came with Woody, Buzz, Jesse, Bullseye, Rex, Ham, and an Alien. Gavin is a HUGE Toy Story fan and it was so cute to see him getting so excited to open them. He had seen the box at the store months earlier and had tried to open it then so Steven and I had to get it for him. Its fun to finally let them open something when you've had something for months. =)
My Mom also got him a little container of 14 Dinosaurs. He has recently really gotten into Dinosaurs. He holds them up to people and roars. Its quite cute and really enjoys his little dinosaurs. I just hope that we don't lose any before we make it to Scotland.
My Sister Kati and her husband Blake also gave Gavin money to buy a Tart at the Greenshow that night, so we also took Gavin to that. He was being weird and actually didn't eat the tart, but Rhys was really excited to eat it for him. However, he loved the Greenshow and running around the Courtyard. Since our friend Kaitlin came with me, I was able to chase Gavin around which he loved and so Kaitlin could stay with Rhys.
It was a fun day, but honestly I think Gavin's favorite part of the day was that night. After the Greenshow we took him to the fountain at the front of the Festival and Kaitlin held him up so he could play in the waterfall the fountain made. He LOVED it and of course got completely soaked in the process. I felt bad for poor Kaitlin who also got pretty wet, but she said it was worth it for Gavin. He was so wet we had to get him in his diaper for the car ride home and his shoes didn't dry out for 2 days, but he loved it. I think its the fastest he has ever fallen asleep. I put him down, left for about a minute and then Rhys came out to get some water. Gavin was already asleep. It was a very fun but exhaustive day.
I can't believe my little baby is 2 already.. the time is just going by way too fast. How do I stop it? =)

San Diego Trip!

So, for months now we have been looking forward to our San Diego trip. Since my parents moved there, we've obviously been there a few times, but THIS time we were going for Steven's family! Steven's Poppy was turning 80 and wanted the whole family there to attend his 80th Birthday Party. So, we all got to come. (Except for Braden who is still serving his mission in Alaska until next month. He was missed, but we are all very proud of him.)

Our little family ended up leaving on Wed. the 27th at 7:00 at night and driving through the night. We arrived at my parents house, (where we were staying since Grandy and Poppy's house was already so full) at around 1:00 in the morning. Not too bad of drive, and the boys did great.
Thursday, the 28th, we all got together at Grandy and Poppy's house and decided to go on a picnic. It was crazy, there were 19 Grawrocks all hanging out in a park. Definitely my way of hanging out. =) Grandy and Poppy also treated us all to dinner, which was amazing of them. We went to the Soup Plantation, which was delicious. I've also decided that the best way to eat with a lot of kids is at a Buffet. Then they don't have to wait impatiently for the food.

Friday was DISNEYLAND! Since we wanted to make the most of our time there, we had to leave at 6 in the morning to get there by 8. Well, since we were staying with my parents, we actually left their house at 5:40 in order to get there, so we were extremely tired. But, it was SO worth it.

Rhys and Gavin were absolutely amazing at Disneyland. Rhys had done it before when he was almost 3, so we figured he would do well again, but this was Gavin's first time. He figured out the lines, was patient with us, and even took a nap. We're very proud of him. Rhys went on all the big rides he could, including Space Mountain, Star Tours, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder. He was our Daredevil and would go on anything everyone else was going on. The only one he wasn't tall enough for was Indiana Jones, so maybe next time.

Rhys also got to meet Rapunzel and Flynn from Tangled. We had to wait a little bit, but they were such good characters. They played with Rhys, and Rapunzel even tried to get Gavin involved (He was just too shy) At one point Flynn crouched down and asked Rhys to give him a high five. Rhys did, but Flynn told him he could do it harder then that, and to really dig into it. Rhys did, and Flynn fell over backwards. He told Rhys to warn a guy that he was so strong, he wasn't expecting that. Rhys' reply, "Yeah, I am strong." Everyone in the room thought it was hysterical... that's our Rhys for you. =)

Gavin's favorite ride was either the Teacups or Dumbo. We tried to spend as much time in Fantasyland as we could so that Gavin would get to have fun as well. I think it was a successful trip, and we can't wait to take the boys back there again.

Saturday was Poppy's party, and it was a lot of fun. We got to meet all of Poppy's friends and enjoy a delicious dinner. Grandy and Poppy were kind enough to invite my parents as well, so it was fun to get to have them at our table. It was fun hearing some of the stories Steven's Dad had to tell about Poppy and it just made me love him all the more. I'm extremely honored to get to be a part of the Grawrock family.

Saturday night was probably the most memorable moment for us since we went to put the boys to bed at my parents and then just went back to Grandy and Poppy's house to visit. Just the two of us. All of the Grawrock's were there, except obviously Braden, and we just spent the evening reminiscing about old stories. It was fun because there were a few things that I actually remembered. Its kind of fun being a small part of the family for such a long time. =)

The hardest part was leaving that night because we had to say good-bye to everyone for who knows how long. We're not sure when we'll be back from Scotland, and we don't know when and if any of them will be able to come to us. I'm just really glad that we got to see everyone one more time before we left. I've also decided that going on big family vacations is a wonderful bonding experience and when Rhys and Gavin get married I hope to take all of us on one. Who knows if it will actually happen, but its the plan for now.

On Sunday since all the Grawrock's were gone, we just hung out with my family. They have a brand new back yard, so we barbecued and played some lawn games. Rhys LOVED Bocci ball. He was pretty good, although he did cheat a little. Gavin's favorite thing to do was throw the white ball, but keeping him away from all the other balls was a challenge. We also played Crochet. Rhys needed help with his mallet, but he at least got the concept. Gavin liked to "Help" Daddy on his turns. It was pretty cute.

Monday we ran a few errands with my Mom and then drove home.

It was such a fun trip, and we were really sad when it came to an end. But, at least we know we have even more fun things in store for us.