Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow???
Topic: This and That

I thought I would at least get caught up on what I've been up to since I've been back in the UK. :)

I have to mention that Monday the 5th, was the first night in the entire time we've been back in the UK that Ryan finally went to bed without any sounds of protest! I'm not sure why, but this time around, coming back here was particularly tough on Ryan. I'm sooooo glad he's finally adjusted!

So, Ryan and I got back to the UK on Jan. 11. (I will write about that when I reach the end of my Stateside recap.) That transition was hard for Ryan, however, except for dealing with his wacky sleep schedule, it was a lot better for me this year than last year. Last year I suffered from serious post-holiday letdown. I think part of that was because I didn't really have any friends here, and definitely didn't have a social circle. Also, the weather is a lot better this year. We've been very fortunate with a lot of sunny days. That makes a huge difference!

On the topic of weather, before I go any further, it snowed today! Ryan and I met Sarah and her boys at Winky's. Ryan and I took the bus, since Larry had the car. As I walked from the bus stop to Winky's, I noticed the sky and the temperature and thought it seemed like perfect snow conditions. (It was also called for in the forecast, but those things are almost never right!) After we'd been at Winky's a couple of hours, Sarah said, "Have you looked outside?" It was snowing quite heavily! I really didn't fancy the idea of walking much in a snowstorm. Sarah had the idea of calling Larry to see if he'd take us home (which I did and he did). Of course, by the time Larry came and got us, the snow had stopped falling and it wouldn't have been too bad for me and Ryan to walk in (it's a bit of a walk to and from the bus stops and home). Oh well. I was glad for the ride! I was also glad Ryan got to play. He didn't nap yesterday, and I think that's because he hasn't been getting enough exercise lately. He has gotten out some, but it's been so cold, we haven't stayed out too long. It was also very nice to get to chat with Sarah while our kids played.

Back to our arrival... It was also nice because Larry only had to work half the day, the day we got back, then had a three day weekend, so we could spend time as a family. Sunday the 14th we went to the Hard Rock Café in Manchester. That was fun. I got a very cool shirt.

Sunday the 15th was busy and fun. Larry watched Ryan while Sarah and I went to Betty's café for lunch. Afterwards, Sarah took me to see "Pursuit of Happyness." Later on in the evening, there was a babysitting co-op meeting at a pub called The Hopper. That was fun, except the service was glacially slow. The food was good, the company even better. I looked around the room and realized, that with one exception (a friend on tdy), all my Menwith friends were right there in that room with me. That was a good feeling. It was great to be back.

The 16th marked the first time Ryan ever said, "I love you!" I think he was just repeating it, but it still melted me into a puddle on the floor!

Since we've been back, we've gotten back into the groove here, running errands, actual running, etc.

Friday Feb. 2, Sarah hosted a Stampin' Up party. I'd never been to one before. Scrapbooking is something I've been interested in for a long time. I've dabbled a little, but never really gotten into it. I had a good time at the party. Unfortunately, I was really tired, so I didn't stay too late. I always love seeing the neat things people come up with, with scrapbooking. I hate to say it though, but I don't think I have the patience for it. Not right now, anyway. It's definitely something I want to pursue at some point, though.

The next day, Larry watched Ryan while Carissa and I walked around the shopping area, and had dinner. That was fun! It was good to get out and get some girl time.

I should mention that Ryan's first favorite movie is, "Cars." We watch it almost every day! It could definitely be worse...

Time seems to be zipping right by. I can't believe it's Feb. already.

Well, now at least I'm caught up on current events... just got to finish up with the trip to the States! I have two installments left: CA, and FL (both will have lots of pictures to go with).

Holiday?
Topic: Holidays
I just wanted to share with everyone that yesterday, the people out at Menwith Hill (at least those in the Army) didn't have to be in to work until noon, because of the Super Bowl! (What really amazed me, was in Germany, they got the whole day off!) I think that's pretty funny. (The Super Bowl started over here at around midnight.)

Vegas
Topic: The States

(Please click on this photo to see the whole album.)

Hello. Here is my next installment of my travels in the States!

On Dec. 30, my parents and Ryan and I caravaned to Las Vegas. They were on their way to Laughlin, and Ryan and I were on our way to Larry's Dad's house in Vegas. It was really nice to have company on the road most of the way. We each had cell phones in our cars, so we could communicate back and forth. It definitely made the long drive go back more quickly. That is, until we hit the mother of all traffic jams.

I knew that close to New Year's is always a bad time to try to drive to Vegas. However, we thought we might be able to get away with it if we left early enough in the day. We didn't count on an accident that would back things up for miles... and hours!

We were (I think) about twenty five miles out from Baker. Traffic was stopped. What really blew my mind, was the atmosphere on the road. People were getting out of their cars - to look around, to let their dogs out to pee, to let their kids out to walk around. Across from me there was a caravan of three cars, and they had busted out their red plastic cups and were starting their party right on the road! (These same people had been making friends with Ryan, earlier!) The atmosphere became that of a huge street party. I even let Ryan out to stretch his legs a bit. I'd never been in a traffic situation like that. My Dad wandered out to the center divider to see what he could see. Someone in a vehicle traveling the other direction shouted, "Turn around!!! Go back!"

Traffic could be seen far enough ahead, so when it started moving again, everyone jumped back in their cars like at the end of a Chinese fire drill. Ryan was NOT happy to be rushed back into his car seat. It was all for naught though, since everyone made a mad rush to travel only a few yards. Things quickly came to a stop, and people were out of their cars again.

It'd been like this for a while, and people were starting to get antsy. People were trying to drive on the far right side of the road (my Mom gave a passing car a telling off to be proud of!), and down the divider. To the right of the road, there was a barbed wire fence separating the highway from a service road. My parents and I noticed a couple of people trying to look casual as they walked to the fence. One enterprising person had a pair of wire cutters. They made short work of the fence. What to do, what to do. Cars began literally pouring through the newly made gap, and onto the service road. I saw my Dad turn and go through, so I did too! My Mom called me on the cell and said, "If anyone asks, we've been on this road since Yermo!" :P

There was still heavy traffic to contend with once back on the interstate, however, I do believe the detour saved us a decent amount of time.

We stopped in Baker, per usual when driving to Vegas. My parents and I said our goodbyes, since we'd be going our separate ways from there after a few miles.

My parents left the interstate somewhere before State Line, and Ryan and I were on our own. Everything was fine, until somewhere not far outside of Las Vegas. It was dark. There was stop and go traffic. I'd been on the road for about six hours. I thought I was paying attention when suddenly I realized I'd rear-ended the car in front of me. Luckily, there was no real damage to the other car. The people were really nice. The first thing they said to me was, "Are you alright?" We exchanged names and numbers and they moved on. I sat there and cried. No one was hurt, but I was shaken up. I couldn't believe I'd let that happen. I felt awful.

I managed to get to Larry's Dad's house ok. It had been a very long day. I have to say that Ryan was great. He did really well being in the car that long.

It was great to see Larry Sr., and Grandma Layman! Ryan and I were there from Dec. 30th until Jan. 3. We also got to spend time with Larry's uncle Barry. While we were there, I took Ryan to two different playgrounds. I was starting to think of our trip to the States as Ryan's Whirlwind Tour of Playgrounds! I took him to eight different ones during our Stateside visit! Luckily, the weather in CA, NV, and FL was such that we could do that. Ryan is such an active boy, that he needed to be able to run around. He seemed to enjoy the playgrounds!

While in Vegas we mostly just relaxed and spent time with family. We got to visit our friends Toya and Greg, and their kids, which was great!

I took Ryan with me and went to one of the outlet malls in Vegas. I always have to hit the Nike outlet, and now of course Carter's. :) I fell victim to another member of the Eastern European Salesmanship Hit Squad! I wound up buying some cute nail design stuff that I have yet to actually use. Oh well!

Unfortunately, towards the end, Ryan was starting to have difficulties. We co-slept, since the bed in the room we were staying in is huge, and I didn't want to take the big cushion we were using as a bed for Ryan with me to Vegas. That may have been a mistake. It got to where Ryan would NOT sleep unless I was in bed with him. That was rather inconvenient! If I put him in bed, he would stay there, but he'd just cry and cry. I thought he'd eventually fall asleep, but he'd keep it up for quite a long time. After a while, I'd give up and either bring him back out to the living room, or simply go to bed myself.

Other than that though, we had a very nice visit!

Birthday
Topic: This and That

Happy birthday Tara! Hope you have a wonderful one!

Love,

~Holly, Ryan, and Larry

Oh my...
Topic: This and That

Oh my... It has been a while, hasn't it? (If my emoticons worked, I'd put an embarrassed face here!) I just wanted to touch base and let everyone know we're alive and well. I've been a bit sidetracked lately with a pet project. I will endeavor to catch up some more here soon, though.

The last Harry Potter book comes out July 21. I am at once excited and sad! I can't even imagine how JK Rowling must feel...

Birthday
Topic: This and That

Happy birthday Amber! I hope you have a great day!

Love,

~Holly, Ryan, and Larry

Clarification
Topic: This and That
It's come to my attention that it wasn't obvious to everyone *cough* - Larry! - *cough* that if you click on the picture, it opens up into a photo album. It IS a thumbnail, albeit a big one, AND a hyperlink. So if you haven't done so yet, please click and enjoy! :) (Also, once at the album page, you can click on the thumbnails for a full size image. I love this setup because I can post full res pictures, and you can download or buy them if you choose.) Anyhow, hope that clarifies things.

Better
Topic: Ryan
On another note, I'd like to mention that things seem to be better with Ryan. He went to bed a little early last night, and with the exception of very minor fussing around midnight, he slept through until 6:45am. I put him down for a nap around 1pm, and he went right to sleep. It's almost 3:30pm now, and I think I just heard him! I'm hoping he'll go to bed at a decent hour tonight (without too much fuss!). Maybe we're just about back to a reasonable schedule...

Palmdale Part I
Topic: The States

Back to catching up... Ryan and I really enjoyed our visit with Joyce and Norm. I'm really glad we got to meet some of Norm's family. They are very warm, welcoming, wonderful people, who made me and Ryan feel a part of the family.

Joyce and Norm very kindly loaned me one of their cars for the drive to Palmdale (and for my trip from Palmdale to Las Vegas). The trip went smoothly, and on the afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 17, Ryan and I arrived at my parents' house. We were finally home.

Unfortunately, Ryan, my Mom, and I all wound up getting sick. Ryan and my Mom had colds, and in the wee hours of the morning (why is it always in the wee hours???) I got hit with a 24 hour stomach flu - the fun kind where you camp out on the bathroom floor. I would always rather have a cold for ten days, then have a stomach malady for 24 hours. (It would turn out that I would get to have both. Yippie!!!) I'd forgotten a few things at Joyce and Norm's. My parents - bless them! - took Ryan with them to meet Joyce and Norm to get my things, so I could have some rest. It definitely helped, and was hugely appreciated!

I felt better the next day, much to my relief. Ryan's cold left him pretty sedate. While on the one hand I of course don't want Ryan to feel bad, but on the other, I can't complain that he wasn't his normal rambunctious self! (He was again, soon enough.)

Dec. 19 was my birthday - 29 for the 5th time! :P My Mom and Ryan and I went to the mall. Ryan's at the age where he loves those coin operated "rides." The funny thing is, he doesn't like them if they're actually operating. Fine by me! We don't have to worry about running out of quarters!

As we meandered through the mall, we came to one of those kiosks selling fake snow. I have to admit, the stuff is pretty  *cough* cool. I wasn't going to buy any, but then my Mom and I were accosted by the Eastern European Salesmanship Hit Squad. This wasn't a new phenomenon for me, but it sure was something I never expected to come across in Palmdale! We wound up leaving with two packages of snow, my Mom assuring me she'd planned on buying some all along.

My Mom got me a manicure and pedicure for my birthday. Ahh... very relaxing! Mom kept Ryan entertained at the mall with fries and Orange Julius while I enjoyed my pampering.

Even though Ryan had a mild cold, he still seemed to need to burn some energy. So after the mall, we took him to Marie Kerr park. The area for kiddos his age wasn't very big, but Ryan still seemed to enjoy himself. The slide is definitely his favorite!

Later on, my parents and Ryan and I had an early dinner at the Olive Garden. Yum! That was nice.

The next day my Dad and Ryan and I went geocaching. The first couple of caches we tried to find were a bust. However, we were finally successful! The cache wasn't one we could drive up to. Since Ryan had fallen asleep in the car, my Dad and I decided that we'd take turns finding the cache, and staying with Ryan.

I went first. I walked right to it! I was really excited, because this was the first cache I'd ever found well and truly on my own. I went back to the car, giddy with my accomplishment! My Dad went next, and of course found the cache as well. We definitely had fun!

On the 21st, my Dad and I took Ryan to Lancaster City Park. The play area is a lot bigger and there's a lot more for kids Ryan's age to do. Ryan seemed to have a blast! After a while, an amazing thing happened: I was telling my Dad that we were going to have to go to the car soon. Ryan heard me, stopped what he was doing, and ran back to the car! What amazed me, was that he remembered what car was ours (we'd only been driving this particular one for a few days), and where we'd parked. I was also amazed that he left voluntarily (that may have been because it was pretty cold that day). Usually we have to take him home kicking and screaming.

The next day we took Ryan to the park again. This time my Mom came, too. It was warmer out, which was nice. Unfortunately, when it was time to go, Ryan did his normal thing of throwing a fit. Oh well.

In the evening I got a call from JoAnna. She wanted to know if I wanted to go shopping. I thought she was crazy, but it actually turned out pretty well! It was great to see her. We went to Target, and she got all her shopping done there. I was surprised that it wasn't even that crowded. Ryan did pretty well, but I did wind up breaking down and buying him some Thomas Christmas edition die cast trains. I figured, what the heck, it's Christmas! :)

On Christmas Eve day, Ryan and I visited Teresa and Kris and their two kids, Abby and Joshua, at Kris' parents' house. It was wonderful to see them! We had a nice visit.

When Ryan and I got home, my parents and I decided to get something for a late lunch. Panera sounded good. My Dad and I went to pick some up, and realized we'd missed the store closing by half and hour! Oh well. We went across the way to Togo's, and just made it before they closed.

In the evening, we went looking at Christmas lights. This is one of my favorite holiday traditions. This year we saw something I'd never seen before: a light show synched to music. It was really neat! It was a residence, with a sign in front saying to tune to a specific fm frequency. Somehow, they had synched the lights to the nuances of the music. I really, really enjoyed it!

On Christmas day, we opened presents and had gooey, yummy muffins for breakfast. I was really happy to get to spend Christmas day with my parents. We had a good time relaxing and enjoying being together. The weather was nice, so during the day we took Ryan to the park. (He needs lots of exercise every day, or he gets stir crazy!) I was surprised at how many other people were there, too. It was good to get outside. (Most of the time Ryan and I were in California, the weather was great!) I think we may have gone for a walk in the evening. Many of the evenings we were there, my parents and Ryan and I went for walks. I really enjoyed that. It's something we used to do a lot when I was growing up.

The next day, my Aunt Jean arrived from Oklahoma. It was great to see her! We got to have another Christmas with her. She was only in town a few days, but we had a very good time while she was here. We went out to eat and shopped, and just enjoyed being together.

One particular evening stands out to me. We went out to eat at Johnny Carino's. Right after our food arrived, everyone was sharing bites of their dinner; forkfuls of tasty food crossing the table this way and that, everyone tasting, talking, laughing. In that one moment, I was truly, thoroughly, content and happy. For most people, it may have been a throwaway moment, something not remembered, let alone given a second thought. For me, it captured the essence of family, love, happiness... life. This is what it's all about: being with those you love, sharing with them, enjoying each other.

On the 28th, my parents and Ryan and I took Aunt Jean on her first geocaching expedition. The first cache we looked for was supposed to be at the top of a fairly big hill. I say "supposed to be," because when my Dad and Ryan and I finally got to the top, the cache was nowhere to be found. That was a disappointment. However, getting up and down the hill was in and of itself an adventure. I had street shoes with no tread - not the kind of thing you want to go hiking in. Also, I had Ryan with me. Making sure he didn't take off and fall down the hill to certain disaster was interesting. I think he had fun though, and it was definitely good exercise!

We drove to another cache, one not involving an arduous hike! My Mom stayed in the car with a sleeping Ryan, while my Dad, Aunt Jean, and I walked to the cache. I had the GPS at first, but upon good natured ribbing from my Dad and Aunt about my directional skills, I turned it over to my Dad. Ironically, it was my GPS-less Aunt who saw the cache first. We had fun looking inside and signing the log. Geocaching is definitely a lot more to do with people than alone. All the times I tried (and failed miserably) to geocache in the UK, I was alone or with Ryan (whom I love, but isn't a whole lot of help geocaching). It felt good to finally find some caches.

My Aunt left on the 29th. My parents and Ryan and I went to lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Ernie's. On the 30th, my parents and Ryan and I left for Las Vegas, which I will write about in another post... :)

Ugh
Topic: Ryan

I'm at a loss. Last night was bad. Somewhere around 2:30am, Ryan woke up, fussing. I went into his room and rocked him for I don't know how long. I put him back in bed, crawled into my own bed, then heard him start to cry at his door. I went back to his room, put him back in his bed, and tried to tell him he needed to get back to sleep. I went back to bed again, only to hear Ryan fuss on and off until around 4:30am. He sounded tired and his cries were half-hearted, so I kept thinking he was about to drop off. He'd be quiet for a few minutes, then fuss again. This is really getting to be too much. Today I took him to the Stray, where he ran around for half an hour straight. Later, we went to the shopping area, and I let him run all the way up our street to our house (I think it's at least 200 yards or so - and uphill!). Even with all that exercise, he was reluctant to nap, though he finally did. He napped for quite a while, so I woke him up, and even let him stay up late. We made sure he had a good dinner in his tummy, so he wouldn't be up hungry. We put him to bed and he stood at his door and cried. Larry went up and rocked him for a while. Ryan was fine until Larry left. I went up after a while, and Ryan stopped mid-cry when he saw me, and started laughing. Not cool. I kept calm and rocked him for a bit, and explained to him that this wasn't ok, and that he needed to go to sleep. I put him in bed, and although he fussed a bit, he seems to be quiet now. That's great, except I wonder if in two hours or so if he won't be up pulling the same crap he did last night. On the bright side, I did get a nap today while he napped. However, this bad pattern of his needs to stop. His sleeping was great before we left for the States. Now things are chaotic. It's been over a week now since we've been back. I keep hoping that Ryan will settle down into some sort of sane schedule. Maybe this is some sort of awful phase. Anyhow, it's almost midnight, so I need to get to bed. I do have another photo album ready to go. I just need to write the blog entry to go with it. :)

Hope everyone gets more sleep than I've been getting.