The trip

Not sure where August went.  Our trip to the UK is almost a distant memory now.  We had a great time in Dublin, London, Oxford, and Edinburgh.  Of course, the boys posed some challenges for us.  Our flat in Oxford was a cool mile away from the college where we ate.  With only one stroller and a baby-backpack, that got old quickly, especially after it warmed up and I stopped putting Aidan in the backpack.  Our walks consisted of trying to figure out a way to distract Connor to avoid the endless whining about how tired his legs were or how he couldn't walk another step and had to rest.  Funny how, when he had an ice cream cone in his hands, his legs worked just fine. 

Sleeping, which was a huge dread for me with the boys, really worked out fine.  The jet-lag worked in our favor there--they were exhausted and usually slept beautifully.  Except for Oxford, the whole family slept in the same room.  In our Oxford flat, the boys had there own room.  It was sweet to wake up to their voices down the hallway greeting the day with each others' company.  Many times, I was able to creep close enough to peer in and see that Connor had climbed into Aidan's pack 'n play and watch them playing. 
We were really limited about toys, obviously, so the ones that we had were treasured (interesting, huh?).  Aidan fed his obsession with matchbox and hotwheel cars, and, Connor rediscovered how cool clubhouses could be using bedsheets and chairs. 

Also, books were a great source of joy for them.  Connor had memorized almost all the ones we had and would "read" them to Aidan while Aidan looked on so seriously and attentively. 



I was pleased that the two of them teamed up so well while we were away--I guess lack of any other options forced them into it.  Loud doesn't even begin to describe there play.  I was constantly telling them to keep it down--our walls seemed like paper and I was so afraid to to be known as the 'loud Americans' and since our family was the only one in our group with kids, I was

I loved moments like this.

especially sensitive to there volume whenever we were with the group.
The students seemed to either really love them or not really notice them.  We had two students who even babysat twice for us during our 5 weeks. 
Our days were mostly spent finding parks, museums, and gardens.  There were some really great playgrounds there.  The boys were able to make a few 'friends' with other kids while climbing up and down on the equipment and in the sandboxes.  This was really neat to me because, even the kids who spoke different languages, played exactly the same and didn't seem insecure about their differences--not sure what I expected, but I loved it.

At Blenheim Castle

Regrets from the trip:  definitely myself.  I worried about everything, were the boys going to sleep?, would there be anything that they would eat?, how would we get from point A to point B?, are the other professors annoyed by the kids presence on the trip?, how long could I keep the boys occupied at formal dinner before they started embarrassing us?, what were expectations there for children's behavior?, why are there so many 'do not walk on the grass' areas?, when is it okay for the boys to be boys?, what's too loud?, ....see what I mean?  Most days, I just tried to get the boys out to play and avoided the group for fear of disaster.  Finally, by the end, I really wanted to
go to college for supper, and the boys ended up under the tables and making sculptures out of three or four different place settings worth of silverware--much to the dismay of this severe, stern kitchen bosslady, who came by sometimes and just took all the silverware away from them without a word to me.  Supper was...stressful, to say the least.  I tried not to care and just roll with it some nights, but usually I left hall in a sweaty, stiff mess and just dared Richard to linger longer than I thought that he should--I was ready at that point for the kids to go.to.sleep.  And, with the mile-long walk back, our journey back to the flat didn't mark the end of the headache that had started back in the dining hall.  Before we'd even left the college grounds,
Connor would start in on how he couldn't possibly walk all.the.way.back. 
And, usually it would end in crying, yelling, or a combo of both.

Christ Church College--built in the 1500's.  Amazing!

 But, as I said before, my response to all that stress was a regret.  I think that if we are ever blessed to go again, I'll be much more prepared and adaptable--hopefully.

they loved hiding in the mazes

punting

Big Whitey

All in all, a great trip with great memories.  Some of the highlights:  riding in a double-decker bus for Connor, see double-decker buses for Aidan, playing in the botanical gardens' rose garden maze, walking in the Christ Church meadow, being inside Christ Church college (beautiful!), letting Connor and Aidan say 'hello' every.single.day to the large fish in the fountain (their favorite, a white carp they named Big Whitey), navigating the subway, Blenheim Palace playground, Meadow Lane adventure playground (gigantic sandbox for Aidan and an awesome zip-line ride for Connor), Indian food, cool air most of the time, inpromptu rain showers, amazing flowers, real life castles, taking a ride in a punting boat, getting to watch Richard be a great teacher close up, paninis (it was the little things that made our days), and seeing the excitement and adaptablity of Connor and Aidan in all the unfamiliar made me stop and enjoy too.

in the Botanical gardens--that tree was huge!

so sweet--I was so proud of Connor here.

Just climbed 3/4 of the way up Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh (carrying Aidan in the baby backpack!).  Richard and Connor went ahead to the very top while Aidan and I watched from this landing.  Great view!