One Year

Yesterday was the anniversary of our arrival in the UK. It really has been a whirlwind at times, and seems like it has been much longer than one year. Here are some highlights (and some not so fun parts).

-Moving around 6 times in 6 weeks before we found our apartment.

-Having the kids start school a couple of weeks after we got here. Not knowing the unspoken details on uniforms (although the school was very forgiving), and just the huge transition for the kids starting school in a different country.

-I heard from another expat about moving to England from the US, that you're in a place where everything is just slightly different. That's spot on for me. Things are largely the same, but it is an adjustment. Converting measurements and temperatures, different words and phrases, and trying to find your regular ingredients at the grocery store, just to name a few.

- First holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Bonfire Night, Christmas, etc. Learning new customs (especially from the kids) and trying new things.

- Adjusting to not having as many visitors as we had in Colorado. Matt's mom visited in the fall, and we currently have visitors (yay!), but that's it so far. I think it's been rough on all of us to be so far away from friends and family.

- The beginnings of travel. So our only big trip so far has been Barcelona, but we actually have a couple more trips booked, so there will be more coming soon.

- Starting to make friends here. As an introvert, it's easier for me to stay in and do nothing, but I have worked on pushing myself. I'm taking it slowly, but it's coming along.

There's so so much more that has happened than just those things, but I wanted to keep it brief. It has been incredibly difficult at times, but if I knew then what we would have to go through, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'm so grateful for the opportunity we have here, and am so glad that we can share this with the kids. Now let's see where this next year takes us!

Bradfield Brewery

When we went to Whitby, Matt had a delicious Farmer Stout from Bradfield Brewery. The shops near us don't sell that type of beer, so we made a day of driving to the brewery to buy some, and to see what else they had.

We thought we would visit the brewery shop, walk around the town a little, and then eat in a pub Matt found online. It didn't exactly go as planned.

The drive down was pretty uneventful. Clara slept most of the way, and Miles and Lily played I spy and generally got along. (Side note: Matt asked if we should bring the DVD player. I had said no, because it wasn't a super long drive. I lived to regret that statement.)

We arrived at the brewery and visited the little shop. We viewed the different beers, but nothing really spoke to us besides the Farmer's Stout that we knew we liked. We bought two cases (12 bottles in a case), and a variety pack just to try the others.

We weren't there very long, especially since the kids were restless after the drive. I actually spent much of the time outside with them so they could burn off some energy.

Looking through the door of the shop

Clara's favorite part was the field full of sheep.

Love views of the English countryside!

Now, above I had mentioned walking around town, but there was nothing nearby. I mean nothing. So once we had our beer, we went straight to the pub for a late lunch.

The children were not very happy about having to sit still.

Matt and I each ordered the "pie and a pint." I got the steak and ale pie with some kind of light ale, and Matt got the steak and Stilton pie with the Farmer's Stout. The food was good, too. I wish I had ordered the same beer as Matt, but hungry children had me flustered. Oh well.

Clara ate more tomato sauce than anything.

Once the kids had eaten, they were ready to move around, and they were not quiet about it. I ended up taking the two bigger kids outside while Matt paid the bill because I didn't want them disturbing other diners.

And then we had to put them back into the car. The first bit of the ride home was bearable enough, but after a while they were just done being in the car. So much of the way home was filled with fighting and children yelling. It was terrible, and we definitely won't be driving back just for beer anytime soon.

Also, once we got home, we realized that instead of picking up two cases of the Farmer's Stout we like, we picked up one random case of something else. It was a disappointing end of the day, but we're trying to appreciate the adventure we had instead of dwelling on the bad parts. Not every trip can be a great success, but I'll leave off with a few more pictures. We will definitely be savoring this beer!

View from the pub

This is a two lane road, speed limit 50 mph. This is one reason I don't like driving.

On the motorway. Apparently the country is separated into the North and the South (just like Westeros).