(This photo was taken yesterday at Eureka!) 

Yesterday Ryan and I went to Eureka! with my friend Michelle and her son, Nathan. (Michelle very kindly gave us a ride.) Eureka! is an interactive childrens' museum in Halifax (which is about an hour away). It was fun. There were some specific areas for the under 5 crowd, which Ryan enjoyed. However, for the most part I think it's a place best enjoyed by school age kids. I did have a good time hanging out with Michelle, and it was nice to let Ryan run around somewhere new and exciting.

When we first got to England, Larry looked around online and found a website for the local running club, the Harrogate Harriers. I decided the time was right to go check it out. Last night was my first time running with the group. It would be fair to say I got my butt handed to me, but very nicely!

Unfortunately for me, all the slower people were on vacation, so I was left to try to hold my own with the faster group. Let me just say that I ran longer and harder last night than I had in a very long time! Luckily the people I ran with were so nice. They have a "no one gets left behind" policy, so people took turns staying back with me, and once in a while (probably when my breathing started getting extremely loud and labored), the group would decide to take a walking break.

The people in the group are very nice and encouraged me to come back. I plan on it, but I'm hoping I won't be the slowest person next time!

I have to say it's getting close to the 24 hour mark since I ran, and boy is my body starting to feel it!

Today was Ryan's WIC appointment (for those of you unfamiliar with WIC, it's a kind of checkup/nutritional counseling service). It went really well. Ryan is right at the 50th percentiles for height and weight (34.5 inches tall, 27lbs. 2.5oz). Apparently I'm doing really well with his diet, other than being a bit short on veggies (which I knew that would be the case).

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Happy belated birthday Norm! Hope it was great!

Love,

~Larry, Holly, and Ryan

Dear Zach,

Love,

Uncle Larry, Aunt Holly, and Ryan

I took this picture trying to capture Ryan in his England "football" (soccer) team jersey. He wasn't really in the mood to be photographed. Unfortunately, it's the only full-body one I have of him in this outfit, and now it's getting too cool weather wise for him to wear it. (There are some pictures of him wearing it during our trip to London.)

We had some thunder this morning. We've had a bit now and then over the last couple of days. Luckily, the weather cleared up and was truly gorgeous during the day. The sun came out and was warm, however there was a pleasantly cool breeze. That's my favorite.

Although I'm sure there's some sun and (relatively) warm weather left here, summer has definitely left the building.

Not much is up today. In the morning I ran, and let Ryan out of the stroller to run around a bit. Later on we went to the shopping center.

Around 4pm the rain came back with a vengeance.

Tomorrow ought to be fun and interesting. We've got plans to visit a childrens' museum with a friend, then in the evening I am going to see about joining the local running club.

Happy birthday Miguel!

Love,

~Holly, Ryan, and Larry

Friday and Saturday I did two things running-wise that I hadn't done in a while: run in the rain, and run by myself (also in the rain). Friday the weather had been rainy and I felt cooped up, so I put Ryan in the jogging stroller and the rain cover over the stroller and took off. It wasn't cold (though it wasn't warm, either) so it wasn't too bad. It was kind of fun, actually. I'm sure Ryan appreciated getting out of the house as much as I did.

Yesterday, Larry watched Ryan while I ran. It's amazing how much easier it is to run when you're not pushing thirty-odd pounds of stroller and child!

Yesterday we watched Hannah for Susan for just a bit, then later on they came back for dinner. It was great having them over!

Today has been a truly lazy Sunday. Larry slept in a bit, then later I took a big nap. We had a huge french toast breakfast. Yum! It was rainy and windy a lot during most of the day, but it cleared up nicely in the evening so Ryan could play in the back yard.

I wasn't going to post any of the goofy pictures JoAnna and I took from our night of a wee bit of wine drinking, however, I saw she had one posted on her MySpace for a while, so I figured if she posted one, then I could!

Happy birthday Grandma Layman!

Love,

~Larry, Holly, and Ryan

Happy birthday Elwyn!!!

Love,

~Holly, Ryan, and Larry

I keep forgetting things. The day JoAnna and Ryan and I came back from Paris, we took a side trip (from Ruislip) to a dog rescue shelter. JoAnna participates in a dog rescue program in CA, and also runs a kennel, so she is always interested to see how things are done in other places. This particular one seemed very nice. It was clean and the animals were well taken care of. There seemed to be a very rigorous screening process for prospective families for the dogs.

The other day I was out walking and saw my neighbor, Norah. She's a very nice, older lady. She said she'd been worried about me since she hadn't seen me in a while. I thought that was so sweet! I told her I'd been on vacation. She noticed that I had put out glass on the curb to be recycled. She told me they only collect once a fortnight. I LOVE that the word "fortnight" is still used somewhere!

Which brings me to my next topic: British slang. I love it. I noticed that there seems to be a great number of slang terms starting with the letter B, such as bum, bugger, blimey, bloody (usually used with "hell"). (Hmm, I had more but can't think of them now.) It's just funny to me to hear someone say, "Blimey!" because I always thought that was just a stereotype. I supposed stereotypes have to come from somewhere!

Another thing that I enjoy (which apparently is regional) is the use of "luv" when addressing people. I have been addressed as "luv" by all manner of people, usually strangers! I heard on a news/talk program today that some people are offended by this, so certain stores do not allow their employees to address patrons this way. Sheesh! It's not meant in any offensive way, and I think it's sad to rob a place of regional color. Oh well.

A few days before Larry came back, I thought I would give geocaching another shot. I picked one out that was supposedly easy. I was even optimistic. Ha! Of course I couldn't find it. A man that worked the land it was on even told me where it was, pointed right at it, and I STILL couldn't find it. I was seriously frustrated. (The man told me that other geocachers had been by, and resorted to tearing down parts of the rock wall in search of the cache. I told him I wouldn't engage in destruction of private property!)

It rained this afternoon. I just can't bring myself to believe summer is effectively over here. Again, I am thrilled that I didn't have to be hot much this year, but I would have liked a bit more sun. The clouds make it so much darker in the evenings (I know that seems kind of like a no-brainer statement, but it does seem to cut down a bit on the daylight hours).

Ryan slept in until 8am. Must have been tired!

Well, today truly settled back into "normal" life. Larry went to work. I took Ryan with me for a late morning jog, then later on we walked to the shopping center. In the evening, Larry came home, we had dinner, and domestic life ensued.

It's always a little strange for me to slip back into a sort of "normal" routine after having been in vacation mode for an extended period.