Over the River and Through the Woods!

We got up on Sunday morning and had a leisurely morning. Clare and May headed off to another swim competition. Since we had decided to leave mid morning, Clare went ahead with her plans to referee the swim meet. The kids had breakfast while I showered. Then Stuart, Scott and I took Millie to the park for a ride on the zip line. 

The dreaded zip line. 

These desert people are freezing. 

The plan was to head out around 9:30 or so to get to Grandma’s house at a decent time. Our journey was uneventful. We stopped at Blackbrooks, a garden center close to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, to get a gift voucher. Then we stopped at Sainsbury’s for my needed shop. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but Sainsbury’s supermarket is my favorite place to go when we arrive in England. 

Just as we got to Grandma’s it started to hail. We had seen that the weather wasn’t going to do us any favors while we were in England this year. Most days rain was in the forecast. We spent the afternoon lounging around and unpacking our stuff. We also opened all the ski equipment we had ordered from Amazon. It was like an early Christmas. Fortunately we had left a great deal of space in our luggage for the new gear. Stuart and the kids put some lights on the tree at the top of the garden, in the rain of course. 

Around 4 pm we headed to Westfield to see the beautiful, and somewhat tacky, Christmas lights, as well as have a drink in the pub. When we came back we had dinner and then sat around and chatted for the rest of evening. 

We woke up Monday morning and headed to get the Christmas tree. 

And the winner is?

It was a group effort to carry it to be wrapped. 

The completed product was beautiful!

Tuesday we headed to Grandad and Grandma’s. We stopped in Eastbourne to have lunch with Granny. We then took her to Sainsbury’s to do some shopping. 

We ate at a really nice Italian place. It may have been a bit too fancy for Jack and Millie. However, thankfully, they were very well behaved. 

We arrived at Grandma and Grandad’s just before 5 pm. It was completely dark outside. Coming back to England in the winter reminds me why I wouldn’t want to live in England. It’s cold, wet and dark by 4 pm. We got settled at Grandma and Grandad’s and then played a game of Scattagories. The kids then showered and had their dinner. Once the kids were in bed, we ate dinner and had a good catch up. 

Wednesday morning we got up and walked into the village so the kids could get some sweets for the pantomime we were heading to in Eastbourne. We ate a lunch of homemade sausage rolls. The kids got their nicer clothes on, with some griping from Jack, and we left for Eastbourne. In the car, Grandma played I Spy and other games with the kids. 

The pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, was silly, yet very funny! The traditional panto in England is typically a common tale where the lead boy is played by a girl and the Dame is played by a man. It was really cute and the kids played along and laughed a lot. 

After the panto we headed to a place called Ribs & Co.  in a place called Hailsham. We were a bit early for our booked table, but in the end it worked out well. As we had finished our delicious meal of ribs, and there were a lot of them, a party of 14 came in with some very loud children. We were glad to be leaving. 

Millie acted absolutely manic on the way home. This rain is keeping them cooped up and they have way too much energy that can’t be expelled. Therefore, this always ends in Millie losing the plot. Millie was immediately sent to bed when we got home. She yelled from her room and then finally fell asleep. Jack followed shortly, and the rest of us were not far behind. 

We got up on Thursday morning and while Grandma did something that was a secret with the kids, Grandad, Stuart and myself headed to the Costa coffee up the road for a roll and a coffee. When we returned we played some Scattagories before heading for a pub lunch. We had a light lunch and then headed to Hastings, first going by the fish shop to pick up some crab meat for Karen to be used in a Christmas dish. 

Once we were back at Karen and Barry’s we started a load of laundry, as we always do, and then the kids played on their iPads while I wrapped presents and Stuart did whatever Stuart does. When I came down with the presents I had wrapped from us, Karen informed me that the wrapping paper I had used was the paper she had purchased for all the Father Christmas gifts to be handed out on Christmas Eve night. Now what are the chances I would buy the exact paper? It was baffling. I think this proves that my mother in law and I think more alike than any of us would ever believe. Funny! 

We had ham, egg and chips for dinner and then the kids were ready for bed. They had showered before dinner, so putting them to bed is really no big deal after they’ve eaten. Typically we eat a bit later than normal, so by the time we are finished eating, they are generally tired and are easy to put to bed. The adults didn’t stay up much later than the kids, once again. 

Friday morning Stuart got up and took his mum to her doctor’s appointment. Then when she returned we headed to TK Maxx and Marks & Spencer to try to find something to wear for New Year’s in Arosa, Switzerland. I was not really born to be festive, but will attempt to be this year. After our successful

shopping trip, we headed back to the house only

to find Grandma and Grandpa had gone out for a bit. The kids ate lunch while Stuart and I played games on our phones. We are so lively! 

Stuart then went out and hung some more outdoor lights on a tree in the front. Then the kids and I sat down to watch A Dog’s Journey.......again. We had watched it earlier in the week and the kids wanted to watch it again. It’s a sweet, but sad film. The rest of the afternoon we relaxed and had some more down time, which is the important time around the holidays. 

We had ordered an Indian curry for dinner and Millie had fish fingers and broccoli because curry is not her bag. At the end of the evening we had talked about having a game of Oh Heck, but since the kids couldn’t keep it together, we canceled the game and they went to bed early. It was for the best because Stuart was getting up at 5 am to go collect Hope from Tipton. 

I got up just as he was driving away to drive for  three and a half hours to collect Hope. He was going to pick her up and go to Ikea as he and his mum and grandmother had decided to buy Hope a desk and chair for Christmas. His plan was to put it together before they headed back to Hastings. 

I went back to sleep until nearly 9 am. I got up and started getting blow up mattresses ready for the next lot of folks to come to the house. I put covers on the duvets and had Millie take the rest of our dirty clothes down to the laundry room. Jack helped with the beds and then I showered. The kids helped Grandma place presents around the tree. We then had a bite of lunch and played Oh Heck. Millie played with her toys while we played cards. Stuart and Hope arrived around 4:30 pm and chaos ensued. She brought loads of gifts that also had to go around the tree. The kids started playing Monopoly while Grandma and Stuart got dinner ready. 

I’m pretty sure Millie doesn’t know how to play, but she pretends well. Of course, it ended in tears, as these things do. They all ended up on their electronics until it was time to eat. We had sausages and vegetables for dinner. I took the kids up to their room and helped Hope unpack. Once she was unpacked, I read Barry the Fish with Fingers, upon Millie’s request. Millie then went to bed, Hope showered and Jack went downstairs for a bit. Everyone else sat in the living room for a bit before turning in as well. The week of a Christmas was upon us.