The Week (in pseudo order)

Laura H and I went to Croydon to do the Costco/Ikea trip. We ended up going to a chinese market, Wing Yip, where I found yummy dumplings that were almost as good as the ones we had in Highlands.

On Saturday morning Neil taught Mike how to make eggs and soldiers. It comprises a 5 minute egg and peices of liberally buttered toast strips that you dip in the gooey egg. He loved it.

Saturday we went to Brighton and had lunch with Rod and Ianne at Frank and Bennies at the Marina. I had my first taste of Cod and it was delicious. I liked it enough that it has made up for the very nasty Haddock experience I had with the first fish and chips I ate here. So, just in case you ever come here..go for the COD at the fish and chips shops! Michael is showing off his favorite game with Uncle Rod...the forehead game. We don't quite understand what it is all about but it sure is funny! It was very nice to meet Ianne, and she will be seeing us all next thursday as we have signed on with her for our dental work.

I know...I know...don't laugh at me. The things you do for kids! Once upon a time I used to be quite the soccer player, but times they have changed! Still, a fun Saturday afternoon kicking the ball around with Michael and later being joined by his friend and classmate. Neil and I played pretty regulary with Michael, and Rod managed to play TWO games. One with us, and another game with to young boys that looked quite competitive. This field and playground is across the street from us.

After the soocer (football) and playground time, we invited Michael's friend over for some play time and Neil and Rod went to pick up some food for a cook out. While we waited for the food to finish we did a little (tiny little) bit of gardening and then Mike and Rod went scooter riding. Our dinner was tasty and followed by trifle for desert and some Shrek watching.

Sunday we went to Goodwood Car show. This was primarily for Neil's and Iain's work, but we tagged along to have a family day out as well. We saw some fantastic cars! Including a 66 Buick, a Mercury, some camper vans and beetles. We also got the chance to take a tractor ride around the racetrack and watch the bi-planes take off and land.

On the trip back from Goodwood we went to Brighton, stopped at the Lego store to make Mike's legoman. This time he mad "Dr. Prosthetic" who has an amazing 3 heads! Mike and I had some fish and chips at the "best" fish and chips shop (according to Rod, and he was right). Neil and Rod had sandwiches, and then Mike scootered around some more.

Michael started swimming lessons on Monday. He is doing quite well! We go to the K2 Fitness center at 10am for his lessons, then we spend another hour or so swimming in the pool. The pool had two fabulous slides and Michael has become brave and slides down them all by himself!

Monday afternoon we spent at Tilgate park, which has a beautiful pond and a petting zoo (minus the petting). We had a nice walk, ice creams, and some time on the playground.

The maze at Tilgate

Mint cone

Finally, this morning, during Mike's swimming lesson, and while Neil swam laps, I finished one sleeve of the sweater I am crocheting. I only have one more sleeve and the collar now!

As of this morning, we have loads of beets (yuk), brussel sprouts, and sunflowers, and even a tiny sweet corn! Yay! We also have an arborist coming to take down the tree in the back yard sometime next week.

Til next time! :)

Past four days

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our neighbors. Originally, we were going to my Aunts house, but as luck would have it my car broke down on Wednesday night. The lower ball joint cracked, making it undrivable. So that made our plans much more localized and that was okay, because the Al, Karen, Daniel and their gang are really fun people. We had Turkey, ham, stuffing, little onions, green beans and SO MUCH MORE! Neil was delighted with his very first taste of Key Lime pie. Key Limes are specific to the Florida Keys, they are very tasty and make a great pie. We played Killer Bunnies and Ticket to ride before heading home with a crying, tired little boy.

On Friday, we had Batman day. Batman day started with a letter from Batman Himself and a few presents! Mike read the letter from Batman and then opened the presents. Mike got two Batman lego sets and a Batman watch and Bat signal. He was very very pleased with his Batman gifts. It was the best day of his life!

On Saturday, we took a walk to Laura's pancake house and had some late breakfast, stopped at the fishmarket and grabbed some lobster for dinner. We went to the mall on Sunday and did several laps around it. We played some Monty Python Fluxx, Uno, Carcassonne, and Guess Who over the weekend as well.

Beaches and Batman

On Saturday Neil arrived. It happened to be the coldest day of the year so far, with temperatures below freezing and a biting wind. Needless to say, we were very excited to finally see him!

I have been anticipating with great excitement Neil's first taste of pumpkin pie, and he has decided that he quite likes it. He was also very happy with my banana bread, which is a great thing because I like making it a lot.

On Sunday we took a walk in the morning. We walked down Bay Avenue and stopped at Veterans Park for Michael to play while we sat and had coffee/hot chocolate. It is a nice little park, and the weather was much milder on Sunday. Afterwards we did a bit of shopping, on the neverending quest to find Lego Batman sets. No luck. We stopped at Amy's Restaurant for lunch, had burgers, (Mike had chicken) and headed home before going to Al and Karen's, house for a dinner of chinese dumplings and a night of Faces and Rock Band. We had a great time singing and playing and rushed home to get Mike's bath in before bedtime.

Monday Mike was back at school, so Neil and I spent the day together before collecting him at 1pm. We went to Target and got a great deal on some shoes and a pair of Batman pajama's for Neil. At 2:15 we had a parent teacher conference, and Michael is doing quite well in school. Afterwards we picked up Daniel and went down to the beach for some outdoor playtime (Brrrr!!!!!) They had fun writing in the sand with sticks, running, jumping and skipping rocks.

Today we dropped Mike at school, went shopping again! FOUND Lego Batman sets!!! Checked out the comic store, had a diner breakfast, did our shopping and collected Mike.