Day 6- A Little Bit Of Rest

Today was Day 6 here in England.  I woke up exhausted from all the stuff we had been doing and the kids felt the same way.  All I wanted to do was rest, rest, and rest more.  Mat wanted to run from the time we got up.  I refused to get dressed so he did the morning run to the Post Office and to the store.

We are breakfast, watched some TV, ate lunch, watched more TV.  We were able to video chat with Mom, Rob, and the girls for a bit but then Mat was ready to explore.  So we all got up, got dressed, and headed out to try to find what we could closer to the house.

First stop was to find the Tesco extra... more like a super Walmart.  But I think it is more the opposite. The food here is at the forefront while the extras are minimal.  This Tesco was like a mall though.  The store is 24 hours but when you walk into the front door there are several shops throughout.  There are clothing shops, shoe shops, little kiosks, and of course little things for the kids to ride on!  The place was crazy busy so we did not go to far from the front.  We were still on a search for cases for our new phones.  These are the hardest phones to fine cases for!  I think we might end up ordering them instead of continuing our search.

When we left Tesco we headed towards the house.  We wanted to see how far away it was from the BIG store.  It calculated about a 15 minute drive.  That is perfect for us who are used to driving twice that just to get to a walmart!  We did not make it to the house though since we wanted to check out a local swimming pool for Mat to train in. The pool is located right next to the school that Paige would be going to secondary school at, Abbey College.  It is a decent place and looked kinda like the YMCA we visited in Akron.  We are not sure if we want to spend what they want us to for swimming but if it helps him, then we will.  While driving, there were several rainbows we found.  We were in the middle of thunderstorms and rain storms throughout our drive.  Paige wanted to find the end of the rainbow but I had to explain to her how the rainbows are made and that we would never be able to be at the end of it.  I think she was a bit disappointed.

We headed back towards the base and decided to find something close to there to eat for dinner.  We decided on trying Frankie & Benny's.  What a great choice.  The good was delicious.  The only thing that was bothersome was a lady with her three children ( 2 girls - one younger and one older and one younger boy) sitting in one of the booths. The lady had her hands full and you could tell she was very overwhelmed being there.  The little boy kept hitting and kicking the little girl, so she kept screaming.  Then the little boy would take the toys from her hands and more screaming.  She tried to separate them and he would go under the table and do something else.  She got to the point that she was sitting there in tears.  A lady from another table got up from the table she was sitting at with her family and sat down next to the mother and chatted with the children.  Their mum kept wiping tears away as she sat there all dishevelled.  It helped for a while to get the children to calm down but then it was time for the lady to eat and so she headed back to her table.  Her lady's husband and two children wondered back to the table after they were finished eating to talk with the children.  I am not sure what was said but I am sure they had the same conversation that we have had many times with out children about respecting our siblings.  He probably used his two as an example of how they used to bicker and now they do not as much.  I felt bad for her because she was trying to take them out and have a nice dinner but they just would not cooperate!

After dinner we headed to B&Q - a home store, to check out what they had.  Mat is itching to get paint for the new house but I want to wait until we are into the house to purchase anything.  We have enough here in our TLF to crowd it up.  Paige picked out some paint chips while Mat and Mathew walked around and looked at faucets and other things.  We now know where we need to go for different items.

Day 5... Bees and Roadtrip

Today we woke around 8:30am.  We all took a while to get to sleep.  I think it is time for Melatonin to become a part of our bedtime routine for a little bit.  We need to get back on a schedule and into our new sleeping patterns here or we will be walking zombies!

Mat took the housing paperwork back to the housing office.  He ordered our appliances and some furniture to be delivered to the new house as soon as we check in on the 1st.  The one thing were were confused about was a condensor dryer or a vented dryer.  The owners of  the house recommended a condensor dryer even though they have a vent for the vented one.  After a bit of research, I found that the only reason many people use the condenser tumbler was because of the ability to place it anywhere in the house without needing a vent.  Well we have a utility room and a vent so to me the less work of having to empty the tray at the bottom and deal with the gunk that might build up in there was too much of a pain so we went with the vented.

We then took a trip to Molesworth which is very well secured base.  As you pull up you see super tall fences with the barbed wire tops.  It is interesting when you pull up to the gate because there are two lanes, one for US Spec cars and the other for UK Spec cars.  We were wondering how we were going to be able to get through the gate easily with Mat's truck.   The Security guard at the gate looked at us like we were crazy when we asked if she could point us to Pass and Registration.  We needed to go there in order to get a customs form for Mat's truck.  Without the customs form, they will not release the truck so we needed to do that ASAP.  We followed the directions she tried to give to us and ended up not finding it.  Mat saw a couple girls that were Navy and asked them where to find the building. They pointed us in the right direction and we made it there.

After that we headed back to Alconbury and straight to the post office.  We first stopped at the American one to check on our mail and packages.  The three boxes I had shipped had arrived and a letter from Nana to Paige had come.  Mathew was a bit sad that his had not because he has been waiting ALL summer for a letter and had not received one.  I told Paige she needed wait until he received his before she could open hers.  It is only fair.  We headed over to the UK post office and were able to see one of their big red mailboxes.  Mat went in while we waited.  We then headed back to TLF.

Mathew was sitting at the table patiently waiting for me to warm his lunch while Paige was busy doing things and Mat was making his lunch and all of a sudden he screamed.  He looked at me with tears in his eyes and the kids of look he gave me when he got his shots, the helpless one.  We asked him what happened and automatically I knew he had gotten stung by a bee.  The bees have been staying close to our TLF doors and I thought I had seen one slip in before we had left.  I had forgotten about it until then and I am still not sure if it was a bee that had came in then or one that might have followed him in when we arrived back to TLF.  Tears welled up in his eyes and I could tell he was trying to  be strong but it hurt.  Mat pulled the stinger from his head and I gave him a cool rag to place on it.  I watched him closely for signs of an allergic reaction since Mat and Paige both do not get along with bees.  He had a small localized reaction to the area but nothing more.  Thank goodness!  One child that I might never have to worry about with bees!

One of the families we had become friends with while stationed in Tucson,AZ is stationed in Lakenheath.  They have 2 kids about the same age as ours and they called to ask if we wanted to come that way for a visit.  When we moved to NJ they moved to Italy.  We had kept in touch through pictures but had not seen each other since the boys were very little!  It was going to be good to get the kids together and allow them to play with someone else other than each other again.

On the way to their house in Brandon, we stopped at Homestore.  The home store has a lot of things like Home Depot or Lowes.  I did not see building material but it says it has it.  We also stopped at an Argos  which was really interesting.  The store had a few items there but most of the items you could purchase were done so through a catalog and a computer.  Once your order was placed and paid for through the computer, they would all you up to the desk in order to pick it up.  The final store we visited was an Auto store.  We had been searching for a GPS holder for car and had not been able to find one.  There we finally found one that hooked to the window and had two arms off of it.. one to hold the GPS  and the other to hold a phone.

We headed that way missing a turn that took us a bit longer to get to the A14.  We had to navigate through part of a town which had me clenching and closing my eyes.  I am never going to be used to sitting in the passenger seat going anywhere.  I feel like I am either on the curb or scraping by some one else's car!  One we made it to the A14 we were ok.  The traffic was constant like we had been told but we were moving.  We got off the A14 and headed through Thetford forest.  It is a very dense forest.  There were signs for animals throughout and we were just waiting to see one.  There was a bit of traffic that we had to wait through due to a bit of construction but we finally made it out of the forest and to his street.  His house number was not on the house so we were up and down the road a couple times and when we tried to call, our cell phone told us we were not in network. UGHHHH!  We were sitting outside what we though was his house and Ross's head popped up.  We made it!

The kids hit it off.  Mathew and William became quick friends and Paige and Alice were besties.  They played great together with no arguments that made life nice!  Mathew and William played outside and jumped on the trampoline while Paige and Alice played up in Alice's room.  We chatted on the couch a bit before we headed out to dinner at a local pub called Flintknappers.  The food was good but something to get used to is drinking beverages without ice.  Mat said his beer was even warm.  Not sure he will drink much here since he is used to seeing the blue mountains on his bottles.  We headed back to the house and the boys ran back and forth.  Mathew scared the girls several times on the walk by jumping out at them.  We made it back and the kids went back to playing while the adults chatted.  It was getting late and we had an hour drive back so we said our goodbyes and headed to the car.  The kids were heartbroken to have to leave.  Little Alice's face made my heart break.  She so badly wanted Paige to stay the night.  We had told them that we would plan ahead for days that they could do that.  I think both sets of kids just miss having their friends with them.

We left the drive of the house and headed down the street and what do we find... a little Muntjac Deer eating on the side of the road.  He was such a cute little guy.  The drive home was not that bad but there isn't any lighting on the roads on the highway.  You can however find some YELLOW lights that look like the bug lights in parts of the towns.  They are a bit distracting to the eyes.

We made it back and the kids quickly fell asleep in the beds.  It had been another busy but fun day!

BEEP BEEP BEEP... Wake UP!! Day 4

Day 4 started early... Alarms sounded and we were all up at 7:30am and started our day.  The kids were not happy with me at all.  They wanted to stay in bed but today was the day to start our early mornings and hopefully easy bedtimes!

We all had breakfast together.  Then Mat ran over to housing to get the paperwork for the house.  He arrived back home soon after that because housing does not open until 8:30am.  He made it back there soon after it opened and was able to get the paperwork that we needed so that we could meet with the landlords.  There were two forms that needed to be filled out.  They needed to approve us to bring in other appliances that will be loaned to us during our stay as well as confirming the rent and if we were allowed to have pets.  No Pets Here so to us it did not matter!!!

We sat on the computer and investigated some vehicles, planned our HHG and Unaccompanied Baggage deliveries.  Found out that Mat needed to fill out a customs for and send it off to Brandon UK so they could clear it before they would release it to us.  So we will be doing that but that means a trip to Molesworth.

We needed to be on the road and headed to the house by 3:45pm. We made it out and to the house with a half hour to spare.  So we headed out again to check out the town that was near us called Ramsey.  We were bound to find the Tesco that we had been told about.

Well it was very close and very easy to get to.  It is a nice store with a lot of groceries as well as some toys and household items.  The kids drifted to the toys.  They had many of the same toys we have in the states so the kids were begging to get something.  But mean mom and dad said we needed to wait until we secured the house and they had a room to place the toy in.  We left the store with a more secure feeling of being able to run to the grocery to pick up something if we needed to living in the house we were planning on living for the next 3-4 years.

We arrived back to the house and parked the rental in the drive.  This rental is one fabulous car... NOT! But it drives and that is all we can ask for right now!

We waited a few minutes for the landlords to show up.

We were able to meet Mrs. Maddie's husband who was just as pleasant as his wife and went into the house.  He showed us a few more things about the house that Maddie had not shown us and we chatted for a bit. They are going to leave us their pool table as well as a couch for the conservatory and wardrobes and dressers for the kids.  Blue for Mathew and Pink for Paige.  She also said that her daughter would watch the kids if we needed to do some running and needed a sitter for a bit.  Woo Hoo.  I can not say enough about the friendliness of these people. They told us they expect some things to need to be replaced after we move due to wear and tear and that they are very easy going with that.  They expect the carpets to get dirty since we have kids and that is just something that happens. They just asked us to treat the house as if it were our own and decorate as we see fit to make it that way.  There definitely is some painting we will have to do because they had pictures up and have spackled the holes in the wall so we will probably be shopping for paint colours and painting the first few weeks. We left with another good feeling in our heart and mind!

When we left we wanted to time the drive from the house to the base.  We followed the GPS the way it told us to go and it was pretty fast.  It is a 14 miles drive.  We were stopped by a couple trains on the way home that added about 6 minutes to our trip but if they decide to stay away or we figure out the daily train schedule we would only have a drive of about 17 minutes to base.  Not too bad since we are used to driving twice the distance to places in NJ.

Now we have finished dinner and we are having our night time quiet time before the kids head off to bed.  They have their popcorn and a movie while Mat and I sit on our computers doing our thing.  I am sure tomorrow will be another busy day.

Day 2 Work Day #1/ Day 3 On the Hunt

Yesterday was our first full day in England. The day started out rough but ended on a great note with a delicious dinner Mat made for us.

The first night did not go so well with the time change for Mat or Paige.  Mathew and I on the other had slept well.  We placed the kids in bed around 8:30pm.  Mat went to check on the kids and found them watching a movie on Paige's IPod in her bed.  At about 9:30, Mat and I headed to bed for the night.  I was falling asleep on the couch and he was tired as well.  I went to tuck both kids in and found Mathew in his bed uncovered and Paige still awake.  She had moved him to his bed so that he would sleep.  I told her it was time for lights out and headed off to bed with a kiss.  Once I laid down in my bed, Mat was wide awake.  He had went from tired to wide awake with things running through his mind.  Tomorrow was going to be his first day at work and he was a bit nervous because of the unknown as well as everything that needed to be done the next day and weeks to come.  I quickly fell asleep but was awoken by Paige who needed help finding the light to the bathroom.  She looked as if she had not slept yet and so I crawled in bed with her until she fell asleep.  Once she was asleep I slipped quietly out of her room and into my bed.  But guess who was still WIDE AWAKE.  Mat!  He was trying to ask me questions and talk to me about the week to come and what we needed to do as well as things that he needed to get done.  OH MY GOODNESS... all I wanted to do was sleep.  I did not want to think about the plans for the next day.  I knew that we had a lot to do and most of the things fell on his shoulders but how were we going to accomplish anything without sleep?  I kept telling him... shut off your brain and go to sleep... but it was hard for him.  Finally he did.

I felt like we had been asleep for five minutes and his alarm goes off.  Sleeping through it, he turned it off and fell back to sleep... suddenly I felt him jump up... he looked at the clock and it was after 8:30.  He was supposed to be at work by 9am and had to walk there due to us not having a car to drive yet.  We were scouring around looking for socks and his belt.  He was ready in 15 minutes but it was a rush and not the way he wanted to start out his time here!  While he was gone, I searched for houses to visit and areas around here.  We made what we could for lunch since we had not been able to go to the grocery store yet.

Once Mat arrived home from work, he had cell phones for us to use during out time here! WOO HOO! The only problem is that I do not know many people here in England so who am I going to need to call?  Our Data plan is 1 GB per month so Mobile Data is turned off on both of the phones so that we do not go over that.  But other than that we have the new Galaxy IIIS phones with unlimited talk and text.  Now to get a case and cover for it so it stays pretty!

The next goal was to set out on foot to the commissary.  We needed to get something so we could eat dinner breakfast and lunch for the next few days. We arrived at the commissary after a 5-10 minute walk and walked inside.  HOLLYYYY GUACAMOLE!  The commissary was very small with not so many choices.  Luckily most of our favourites are there but not all and when you find things you like, they are more expensive.  BRING ON THE COUPONS!  Steaks are not cheap at all.  Many things in there were frosted. And finding things again is not easy!  But it is quiet with not some many people around base which is nice and we did not have to wait in a line.  But the other kicker is that they close at 6pm!  We were kicked out of there before we could get everything we needed.  Luckily we had most of the items we did need.

Mat cooked us a delicious meal starting with cut tomatoes with Feta cheese on top.  The main course was spaghetti with Mushrooms and Italian sausage.  After not having much to eat the last few days, that hit the spot!

Bed time was not as great as the first night as I think our bodies have adjusted now.  The kids did not go to bed until after 10 and Mat and I finally made it to bed around 12. This is normal for me but not for him.  Luckily we did not have to be up super early in the morning so we could sleep in a bit.  Mathew woke up first and then Mat and I got up before Paige was awake.  We ate our breakfast and got started on our missions for the day.  Get a Car and Find a House!

Mat contacted the rental car guy and came home with a stinky dinged up little car... LOL. I am not sure who or what was in it last but it stunk like wet dog and dirty people.  But it drove and that is all that mattered at the moment.  Goal one done!

Find a house.  We started by calling around trying to see if the houses were available that we saw on the internet.  Many had not been taken off the rental list but were indeed rented.  Strange!  The first house we visited was an old English house... it was in a great location with the town close by.  It looked at though the house was more in the country than it really was.  The trees and bushes were terribly overgrown and needed to be trimmed back.  We waited for the neighbour to arrive to show us the house.  When she came down the gravel path, she greeted us with a warm smile and a great English hello.  I love the accent here!  She opened the door and allowed us to tour the house on our own.  The smell was of an older house that had sat empty for quite a while.  Rooms were dark and small downstairs with many confusing little areas.  There was no spot for the refrigerator so it was placed in the area the washer and dryer would be. There was no room for our furniture in the downstairs.  We would have had to get all new living room furniture in order to accommodate these rooms.  The upstairs was decent with good size bedrooms and a bathroom.  There was a room Mathew loved that had a little room hooked to it that would have been a great room for his toys.  The outside was nice with many places for the kids to explore.  There was an area that looked like an old pond had been and several trellises that had vines that had been climbing over them.  The grass was really tall  and probably had not been cut in weeks.  Overall it was a bit run down and a bit more upkeep than what we wanted for our home.

We called around to find another house in the area and many of the houses we had on our list had already rented! Finally we found one that had not rented and so we headed there.  We had to drive through some of the little towns in order to get there and that was scary!  I did not like that drive at all.  We have to yield to many people who had parked on the road and the cars in the other lane.  The towns are cute but I would rather walk to them than drive through them.

The second house we looked at we LOVED!( The Listing , Better Photos ) The only downfall is that it does not have land.  But the house is unreal.  It is a 5 bedroom house with 2 bathrooms.  It has 4 bedrooms upstairs and one bedroom downstairs.  The four bedrooms upstairs are a decent size for the kids rooms.  One has a bathroom attached while the other 3 do not.  The 5th bedroom downstairs has lots of closet space for our things with built in cupboards.   It also has a winding staircase in the room that goes up to the first floor where there is a private bathroom and closet!  The living room is huge.  Plenty of space for our couch to fit in there as well as many other furniture pieces.  Our couch might even look small in that room!  It also has a gas fireplace which will make it more cozy during the winter months. There is also an office space as well as a dinning room connected to the kitchen and not in another room that we would have to carry food to all the time.  That is a plus!  There is a lot of natural sunlight coming through the windows and skylights on the upper level.  It feels very open with the very tall ceilings on the main level and first floor.  The backward is a deck that they recently powerwashed that will look great with our grill and some seating outside.  There is an apple tree that is comes right up to the back patio that would be great to harvest and snack on.  There are also some berry bushes that line the property as well.  There is also a conservatory that would make a great place for gathering.  Now onto another part of this property, the annex. The annex is currently being used by an older gentleman, but it contains a living space, a full kitchen, a bathroom and bedroom.  The Landlord has said that she has told him that he may have to move out if a tenant decides they want to rent the house.  I would be okay with him there if I knew anything about him but with the kids there, we do not feel safe.  We do not know him from anyone and if we are sharing such a close residence then I would not be comfortable with him there.  The lady that owns it is great!! A nice English lady that has a 13 yr old that has a horse... she told Paige that she would take her up there sometime to visit the horse for a free ride.  This could work!  It has 5 bedrooms and 2 baths.  It used to be an old hall that was  converted into a house so it is pretty open with lots of natural light.  Not a great amount of land but I think the house makes up for it.  She was ok with us making it our own and putting some paint on the walls, pulling some of the flower bushes from the front (They were full of bees and you know how my family is with bee allergies!)

The Journey from the USA to England

This is the beginning of our new adventure.  Not everything can run smoothly in life as many of us have found out at one point or another but in the end we hope that everything turns out for the best and know that life will not hand us more than we can handle.  And if it tries to, we have family to lean on and help out where needed.

March of 2012, we found out that we had orders to Alconbury, England.  This was a shock to all of us.  We  were in Ohio for the birth of the Twins when we received the call from Mat. I had so many questions and so did he.

ALCONBURY??  WHERE IS THAT?  WHAT CAN WE TAKE?  WHO GOES THERE? DO THEY DEPLOY? WHAT ABOUT OUR HOUSE IN THE STATES? OUR CARS? WHERE WILL WE LIVE? WHAT ABOUT SCHOOLS? DO WE CHOOSE ON BASE SCHOOLS OR BRITISH SCHOOLS? WHAT IS THE BEST FOR OUR FAMILY?

First was to inform the family who were all supportive yet saddened by the fact that we would be moving further away than a car ride.  We had done it before but there was always an option to drive if needed. This time was different.  With the kids getting older, it was hard to tell them they were moving further away from their Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Friends.  They did not quite understand why.  Even after we told  them that is where Dad's new job was going to be they still did not know why they had to go.  They had never had to go overseas when he did.  Why now?  We explained this was a family move just like when we moved to Arizona and again to New Jersey. They were excited for an adventure but knew that they would miss everyone.

Arrangements were soon made.  First, we had to place the house on the market.  This was not an easy process.  We had to find someone that specialized in Short Sales.  Even though we loved the house and the house was upgraded during the time we were there, we knew we would not be able to sell it for what we owed on it.  The market was just not there.  Luckily we were able to place it on the market and a buyer came soon after!  There were many appointments that needed to take care of so we could clear everyone to fly.  There were dental appointments and doctors appointments.  I had to schedule appointments with the teachers to get all there paperwork so they could attend school in England.  Mat had many appointments to clear everything he needed to do for us and himself.  We scheduled our household goods pick up as well as a vehicle drop off day.  We made plans to go back to Ohio to visit family and friends for the month and a half before we were to fly.

All of the above happened, just not all so smoothly.  The house sold fast but the closing has been delayed a few times due to the bank not wanting to push things through and our realtor having twins.  We left with the house still not settled by the bank but in the hands of our realtor.  We easily cleared Medical though they gave us issues with Paige having breathing treatments in the past to clear a bad cough that she had for several weeks and me with forgetting to take my vitals during my appointment.  Dental was OK for the kiddos but for me I needed some work done before they would clear me.  I guess that is just how life works. School was painless for Paige.  We just had to wait until the end of the year to pick up all her records to transfer.  Mathew's Preschool did not know exactly what they needed to do.  Since Preschool is not mandatory they do not really need the paperwork that the elementary kids do. Our HHGs were picked up in June and the vehicle was shipped in July.  All of these arrived before we flew into England.  Our HHGs had some issues in customs with the BB guns that had been packed by the movers.  They informed us the would be fine to pack but then once customs got a hold of everything, they questioned much of it.  They also wanted to know everything about any knives that might be in the boxes as well as the animal fur and antlers.  It was a bit touch and go at that point and everyone was uneasy since many of the items were custom made and irreplaceable. Luckily almost everything cleared.  The only item they kept was the Gammo Pellet gun that I had purchased for Mat for his Birthday last year.  They seized it and the only thing we can do is fight their decision.  The vehicle also arrived before we flew into England.  We spent a great month and a half with family and friends.  We had a lot of visiting to do so we could see everyone and enjoy family time.  We were very lucky to have my mom keep us for such a long time.  We had many over nights with cousins and some over nights with friends.

On August 18th after a tearful morning, we flew back to Philadelphia. We had a few more visits to take care of before we could head across the pond.  Our plans though changed as our flight from Detroit to Philadelphia was delayed and we did not make it to Philadelphia until after 3:30pm.  We did a quick tour of the US Mint and when I say short, I mean short!  They were closing at 4:30 and we arrived at the mint 15 minutes before closing.  We were pushed through the tour by a security guard wanting to move people through and out of the building FAST! I wish we could have arrived there earlier but Delta had other plans.  We then went to Dave and Busters to visit with Megan and some friends.  It was great to see Megan, Chris, Chris's parents, Phil and his Girlfriend Megan, the Tourvilles and the Privitts for the night.  Dave and Busters set up a great location for us and the kids to be so we could have time to talk and enjoy everyones company.    The night ended with tears again as we had to leave some of our greatest friends from NJ and Megan.  It is never easy moving away and Megan took the plunge to move to NJ to better her life and there we were leaving her.  I know she will be ok but I still feel like I was abandoning her there without family.  I am blessed she has some good friends that promise to look out for her like she was their sister.

On August 19th, we woke up in our hotel... we ate some breakfast and then headed to the pool to burn off some kid energy.  We had lunch and then met up with Christine and the Boys at the Please Touch Museum.  It was their second birthday and I could not believe how big they had gotten in just a month and a half!  I got my last kisses in the states from the boys and we headed back to the hotel to pack up and head to the Airport.  Everything went smoothly there. We made it through security with no issues and headed to get food.  Mathew had to have one more Sushi Roll before leaving the states so we headed to the Japanese restaurant close to our gate. Once we were finished eating we set off to the gate and started calling everyone to say goodbye.  We loaded the plane and set off on our journey over the ocean.

Once on the plane we settled into our seats and prepared for take off. The kids did great and before I knew it, Mathew was asleep.  I knew it would not take long with a full belly and the time of night we were flying.  Paige took a bit longer.  Dinner came and she was still awake to eat a little bit of it.  She settled in with a movie on and about an hour into the movie she had fallen asleep.  Mat watched 21 Jump Street and was laughing out loud at it.  I settled in with The Descendants.  I was not a fan of the whole cheating aspect of the movie since that seems to be the topic of many movies these days but a big fan of George Clooney. :) Halfway through the flight Mathew became uncomfortable and started thrashing around and crying.  It took a lot to get him back to sleep quietly.  I kept waiting for him to wake up again but luckily he did not.  Once at the airport we went through customs quickly... thank you Olympics for having all your workers there to handle the influx of people.  We had arrived a bit early but had expected to have someone there waiting for us or at least soon after we landed but the person picking us up was not there and after 30 minutes of waiting Mat was doing laps searching for someone that looked like he was supposed to be picking us up.  He talked with the Taxis to try to get us a ride to Alconbury and none of the Taxi drivers had a clue where Alconbury was... GREAT!  Finally on the final lap before I think Mat went crazy... an hour or so of waiting, he found our guy.  He had left to head to the airport at 7:30 and just arrived around 11:00 to pick us up.  There had been a couple accidents which left traffic at a standstill and had detoured around them.  Lucky for us he knew how to get there a different way!  It took us a few hours to drive to Alconbury on this detour.  The drive was scary... not that the driver was bad but the traffic was ridiculous and the roundabouts are all over the place in the cities. ( And I thought Jersey was bad!)  As we got closer to Alconbury, traffic was not as bad and all around us was farm land.   This is a very small base compared to JBMDL.  I do not mind it one bit.  It feels like everything moves at a slower, calmer pace.

Once we checked into TLF, we took a walk around the base.  We were from our TLF to the far side of base in less than 10 minutes.  The kids played on the playground for a bit and then we headed back to see the other places around.  I'm not sold on living on base.  I enjoy the quiet of it, but the houses are small.  I do not think our things would fit into a house like this.  The school on base is right next to housing just like at Fort Dix which would be nice but I want to be sure what is right for our family.  We will start searching soon to see if indeed we can find a house we would like to rent outside of base.

So far I am looking forward to our adventures.  We are all exhausted and in need of naps but I know in the end that will just hurt us in our transition to this time zone.

Some of our new adjustment are...

Chips = Crisps
Cereal the same brand is called something very different in England.  I am sure this will be the same for many things.

Most things are closed on Monday...that means no errands for us at the beginning of the week.
AFN TV- no fighting over which channel to watch kids shows on since there is only 1!
Toilets have very little water in them and sometimes it takes two flushes just to flush toilet paper...
At about 4pm it gets stufffy in the house.. but by bed time it has cooled off enough to be comfortable.
EVERYTHING in England is more expensive than the states even at a smaller size!