Day 10: Orford Castle and the Ispwich Docks

On Thursday, Patricia's sister Carol had a half day off of work, so she agreed to drive us to Orford to see the castle. I was really excited about this because, it just so happens that one of my direct ancestors, Robert Le Blount (Blunt), was the Lord of Orford Castle. I though it was really awesome to be able to walk around the exact grounds where he lived so many hundreds of years ago.
We took the audio tour, and braved alot of really steep narrow steps - but it was very much worth it when we ended up on the roof with some absolutely amazing views of the village below and the surrounding countryside!

Orford Castle

After touring Orford Castle, we drove to Snape Maltings. The weather couldn't have been more perfect! Coming from Las Vegas, where temperatures were still in the hundreds and the sky is always blue, I really wasn't used to the daily rain. So, I was very appreciative of the warm weather and clear skies! We walked along the river, just enjoying the scenery and soaking in the sunshine. After a while, we found a cute little cafe and had lunch outside. I had the most yummiest goat cheese and red onion panini - it was so good. It also came with a small salad, and this is when I learned that the English have something against proper salad dressing.

I know it's annoyingly American, but I LOVE my ranch dressing. I am pretty sure that there is nothing that ranch doesn't taste fabulous on! But finding ranch in England is impossible. Finding ANY salad dressing is impossible. Instead, they have Salad Cream, which is quite possibly the worst invention ever. It tastes like light mayonnaise. Not good. Blech. I even brought home a bunch of packets for Brian to try, and he agreed with me.

Snape Maltings and the River Alde

After lunch, Carol needed to head back to work. Patricia and I weren't quite ready to go back to the house yet, so we had her drop us off by the docks in Ipswich. All the of the old mills, and warehouses next to the docks have been fixed up and converted into restaurants and nightclubs. It was really fun to just stroll around and see all the neat old buildings and the boats.

The Ipswich Docks

Days 8 & 9: Grocery Store and More Shopping!

Holiday Fun

I really don't know what is wrong with me. Apparently, I have lost the blogging spirit. I haven't even finish writing about my England trip yet. Ugh. But I am making a half-hearted attempt to get this blog somewhat updated, today.

Holidays...
We were suppose to go to Phoenix and spend Thanksgiving with Mike and Misty. We ended up not going. Maren was coming home for Christmas, so we had decided to spend some of Christmas break in Utah. Between that expense, and buying Christmas for six kids, we just decided a Phoenix trip was just an added expense that we didn't really need at this point. I was sad, because we were really looking forward to seeing Mike and Misty and kids.
We did have a fun Thanksgiving with our friends Jim and Kim and their kids Justin, Kayla, and Jordan. We were grateful that they invited us to their home, and to have someone to spend the holiday with.

A couple of weeks later, Reed and Josie were in town for the National Finals Rodeo. We were able to go out to breakfast with them. The kids LOVE that. In fact, they look forward to it every year! Afterwards, we decided to head over to the Bass Pro Shop to see Santa and visit the Mermaid Cafe.
On the way there, we had to drive by the airport. We discovered a pull off spot, next to the road, where you can sit and watch the planes take off and land. The girls were completely fascinated. It was a job to pull them away from the planes, so that we could get back on the road.
We waited in line for a million years at the Bass Pro Shop to see Santa. Once we got to the front, Ady started to get a little shy about sitting on Santa's lap. She told me she is getting a little bit big for the whole Santa thing. It was a little sad. She is ten already, where has all the time gone? I convinced her, to enjoy one last year. She can be to big for Santa next year. It didn't take a whole lot of convincing. :)
Afterwards, we headed to the Mermaid Cafe. While we were waiting for the Mermaid to make her appearance, we ran into my cousin Jeremy and his wife and kids. I haven't seen them for years! It was really nice to sit back and catch up on what is going on with our families and such. My girls are about the same age as their girls, so they had alot of fun getting to know each other. They were sad to go home.
Maybe I am getting old, or maybe I am just boring. But that was about all the excitement I could handle for one day. So we came home and Brian and I took a nap while the kids proceeded to tear up the house.

The girls had alot of time of this year for Christmas break. They were off the whole week before Christmas. My sister Maren, and her hubby Matt made the journey from Kansas and were going to be staying at my moms for the entire week before Christmas. So, the girls and I decided to head to Gunnison on Monday December 20th. We wanted to beat the storm that was suppose to come later in the week.
All was well on the roads, until we hit Richfield - 40 minutes away from Gunnison - and it started to snow. The roads were slick and icy, there were cars slid off the road everywhere, and we could only drive about 25 miles an hour on the freeway. To make it even more fun, my defrost had decided to go out, so the car was freezing cold and the windows kept fogging up. Then the windshield wiper went out. Good times! But we made it in one piece, and I was reminded of how much I REALLY love my Vegas winters!
It snowed about 16 inches that first night. The girls were thrilled. Me... not so much. They were suppose to go to school with my mom that morning, but Sanpete County School District called a snow day. A snow day? I don't think that I ever had one of those growing up. So they spent the day playing in the snow, and I spent the day watching them from the window!

We had alot of fun during our week visit. We were able to go to my mom's school and play in the gym on some roller things (I have no idea what to call them), eat at El Mexicano TWICE (the best food EVER), and I even braved the snow to go sledding with the kids.

Brian joined us Friday, the 24th. We drove to Steve and Tina's house in Manti that night to have the Roberts' family party. It was so fun for us all to get together. The kids had an awesome time playing with their cousins!
Christmas morning was so much fun with my whole family all together! The kids all got what they wanted, and we scored some pretty awesome stuff too!

I was really not thrilled about the whole idea of spending Christmas away from home. I usually like a nice relaxing Christmas in my own house. But I am really glad that went outside of my comfort zone and went!
Everyone left the day after Christmas. It was really hard to let my little sis go, not knowing when I will see her again since they are moving to Hawaii in a couple of months. But I am glad that we got to spend the time we had together!
We picked the boys up on the way home, and had Christmas round 2 at our house. They got to spend the week with us, and it was nice to have everyone home!

New Years Eve, we did the same as we always do and had a party at home for the kids. My friend Krystina and her two little girls, as well as Kim and Jim and their kids, and Patricia all came over. The kids had alot of fun and EVERYONE, including myself, was able to stay awake until midnight to bang pots and pans outside! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends!
I can't believe that we are now starting a new decade! Brian and I were talking about everything that has happened in the last 10 years. It was the most eventful decade of my life! Marriage, kids, moves...ect. It's hard to believe how much life can change in a a decade. It's also scary to think that at the end of this decade, our oldest (Austin) will be 25 and Brylee, the youngest, will be 15! Crazy!!!!

Day 7: Christchurch Park and Mansion

We woke up early Monday morning and headed out to downtown Ipswich to go to Christchurch Park and Mansion.

The morning was a little cold, but it wasn't raining, and I was really happy to be able to soak up a little Vitamin D. We spent quite a while wandering around the huge, beautiful park taking in the scenery. Patrica told me about how when she was a kid, she we would go to the park and collect the horse chestnuts. The would drill holes in them, put a string through it and make "clonkers". After a long walk, we found a little concession stand where we sat and had a cup of tea. Just as we were finishing our drinks, it started to get windy and rainy, so we headed to the mansion.

The mansion was HUGE, and amazing beautiful. It was completely restored to fit what it would have been like during the Victorian era.
In the back part of the mansion, they had a gallery of Constable and Gaines (famous, local Suffolk artists) work. I could have spent hours in the gallery. It was amazing!

Christchurch Park and Mansion

Afterwards, we caught the bus into town, and had a light dinner at a local pub. I had the cheese chips (fries). I don't think I could ever get enough of the English cheddar!!!

brolly (underbrella) holder inside the pub

Inside the pub

Day 6: Sunday Dinner With Brian and Karen

I'm actually skipping this day for right now. My camera died, so I wasn't able to take and pictures. So, I need to get copies of the pictures that Patricia took.

Day 5: A day in the English countryside

On Saturday, Patricia's sister Carol, took us for a drive in her car to see the countryside. It was rainy (surprise!) and cold, so we very much appreciated Carol taking time out of her day, to drive us around in her warm, dry car.

The whole driving on the opposite side of the road thing (although I did not actually drive - there is no way I would attempt that!!! The roads are so narrow, crowded, and chaotic there!) was alot easier to get used to than I thought it would be. Whether the driver drives on the left, or the right side of the road, they are still sitting next to the middle of the road and the passenger, nearest to the shoulder. However, it was a little nerve-wracking every time we had to make a right hand turn. And I will always think that roundabouts are just crazy. But I thought that before I went to England.

I only tried to get in on the wrong side of the car (the drivers side) about half a dozen times that day. Every time, Patricia and Carol thought it was hilarious.

First, we dropped by to meet Carol's beautiful daughter-in-law, Wendy, and two adorable grandsons. Jack, the two year old, was just the cutest thing ever. He had to show Patricia and I every one of his cars, and make us some soup in his play kitchen. It was so fun to listen to him talk, with his English accent. It was also fun to see that even with distance, cultural differences, etc. families are the same everywhere. Spending that little amount of time with Jack really made me miss my kids, my husband and my home.

It is always interesting to see inside of other people's homes. In general, houses in England are not as big as houses in the States. But are still very similar. I was happy to see that every house I had the pleasure of going into, had the washer and dryer in the kitchen. It's a way of not wasting space. The house Brian and I owned in Centerfield, had the washer and dryer in the kitchen. Everyone thought that was so weird! So, maybe it wasn't that weird after all!

Next we set out on the freeway, towards Wickham Market. I think this is where I really fell in love with England. The countryside is soooo beautiful. There is such a random mixture of farms and forests and everything is so green. I loved the big, old country estates. I could really see myself living there. Well, maybe in my next life, when I am rich.

Wickham Market was everything I had ever imagined a small village in the English countryside to be. It was just beautiful! We stopped there for lunch and tea at a cute little cafe. There was a little antique store next to the cafe, that Patricia and I really enjoyed. I think that I probably could have bought the whole store, but I settled on a lovely, blue, Wedgwood vase. And it was only eight pounds! I was quite proud of my bargain shopping skills!

Next we headed Aldeburgh, to see the The Scallop - a sculpture that sits on the beach dedicated to Benjamin Britten. The sculpture and the seaside were beautiful. I would have loved to spend more time there, but it was just way to cold and rainy.

Afterwards, we went to a little village called Thorpness. Here we found another antique shop, to look around in. Then, we had tea in the adjoining cafe.

The cafe set next to a little man made lake. The lake has islands scattered throughout it. Each island is themed after a character in Peter Pan (Crocodile island, Wendy island, etc.). Carol and Patricia told me that when they were younger, their parents would bring them to Thorpness during a nice day in the summer, and let them explore the islands.

We also got to the see the "house in the clouds" in Thorpness. It is a house, that is built to look, almost as if it is floating in the clouds!

Wickham Market, Aldeburgh, Thorpness

After spending the day driving around and sightseeing, we went to eat dinner at the home of Patricia and Carol's sister, Leslie.

Like the rest of Patricia's family (Brian and Karen, Carol, & Grace), Leslie and her partner, Gordon, were very kind and welcoming. They made me feel right at home.

Over dinner (which was wonderful - Leslie is a very good cook!), Leslie and Gordon told us about their recent holiday to Sri Lanka. Afterwards, Gordon, who is a photographer, showed us some of his latest work. He's very talented!

I also got to spend some time wandering around their gorgeous back garden.

Gordon and Leslie's garden

Day 4: Lazy day!

On Friday, it was really rainy and gloomy. We were hoping to be able to make it to Christchurch Park... but the weather just wasn't very cooperative. So we decided to have a more relaxing day.

First, we went downtown for a little bit. Patricia wanted to do a little more shopping at Marks and Spencers (a department store). We had also decided to leave Ipswich a day earlier than planned, and spend two nights in London before we left, since we didn't get to tour London when we landed. So we needed to go to the tourist information center, to find out about train schedules and hotel rooms.

After we got back, we went for a walk to the post office, and the co-op. Patrica owns a house in England, which she rents out. We got to walk by that too. As well as the church she was married in, and the school her children went to. It was really fun to see more of the life Patricia left in England.

We were home early that night, and after dinner we sat outside in the conservatory enjoying a cup of tea. As we sat talking, we heard someone yelling outside. Patricia and I assumed it was a couple of drunks being loud and annoying, and just waited for them to leave. The yelling continued, and we wouldn't be able to go to bed until they left, so I told Patricia that I was going to walk to the front sidewalk and as them if they wanted me to call a cab. When I got to the sidewalk, I noticed that it was one man, and he was lying in a rain puddle, in the middle of the road, at a three way intersection, calling for help. I ran back inside and told Patricia to call the cops, and I went back out to see what was wrong and make sure that he didn't get hit by a car.

Luckily, a couple of people had stopped, so I wasn't by myself, and got him moved to the sidewalk. He had blacked out at this point, so I checked his vitals, which where there, but pretty erratic, and tried to get him awake. He was going into shock, so the neighbors and I kept asking him questions, trying get him talking and keep him awake and conscious until the ambulance arrived. He was shivering and really cold (it was raining), so I put my coat over him, while Patricia went to get a blanket. Luckily a neighbor had an umbrella, that he held over the two of us while I knelt next to the man. It couldn't have been long, but it seemed like forever until the ambulance got there.

The ambulance workers loaded him up, and took him to the hospital. I was more than happy to get inside and into some dry clothes! I was more than soaked after kneeling in a puddle in the rain!

So much for our lazy, boring day in. That was a little to much excitement for me!

Walking past the terrace houses to the co-op.

Patricia's terrace house.

Mailbox!

The church Patricia was married in.