July/August - America!

(Firstly, as a side note, it should be noted that there has been a long long delay in posting blogs! That is because James rightfully decided that this American blog obviously needed to be written by me (as the one who was actually there!), even though lately he has taken over the reins of blogging. Thankfully he has carried on doing the monthly updates in the meantime, just not publishing them, so as not to get them out of order. So there's about to be twelve more blogs posted following on from this one... In my defence, when it came to my turn to write this blog, which was already a few months behind schedule, I was very newly pregnant. And that meant that I was really really ill and exhausted and falling asleep as soon as the boys were in bed around 8. So writing this post dropped in priority - and then, to be completely honest, I completely forgot that it was waiting for me like a great big clog in the blog pipes. A blog clog. So anyway, I'm finishing it up now, in April - over half a year from when these things happened. Which is unforgivable. But luckily, after this one the rest should fall into place written more or less when they were happening and hopefully, carrying on as such from here on out. All that is left to say is: sorry!! Super super sorry! I will try my hardest to never clog the blog again!)

July/August - our trip to America

We set off for America almost immediately after Finn finished school so as to arrive with a couple days to settle and time-adjust ourselves before the big important event of my brother Matt's wedding. The flights (it took us three) were relatively seamless - though we were all exhausted by the end. Orry crashed out on the floor of the Columbus airport while we waited for our bags to arrive - quite fittingly right in the middle of the Ohio circle :)

As much as the travelling is exhausting - it is always so good to be home. Even without doing much, it is nice just to 'be'

But we had more important things to do than just to hang around all day! We needed to get to Pittsburgh. Road trip!

It was quite a long drive, but an enjoyable one with plenty of stops and plenty of cousin car-swapping. And of course, the main event. Matt and Sarah's wedding. Which was awesome. Such a great day full of so much joy. I was so proud of my boys as well. Finn I always knew was going to be fine as a ring bearer but Orry always had a question mark. But we practiced and practiced and he pulled it off! He held Finn's hand and bravely walked down the aisle to deliver the rings. I was so happy - and he was too! 

Practice run

The real deal!

Later, at the reception, they had the boys walk in together again and Orry talked about it for weeks if not months afterwards - asking me if I remembered "when the man on the microphone said 'Finn and Orry Franklin!' and we walked down the stairs and everyone clapped and clapped." I'm glad it is such a lovely memory for him as it is a lovely memory for me. Especially as Orry is generally really shy and doesn't like doing anything in front of people. So it was a massive sigh of relief all around. And sighs of cuteness - the cousins all looked really spiffy and we got lots of lovely photos!

The wedding itself was great and the party went on with lots of dancing and joy until dark and exhaustion set in.

Unfortunately I don't have too many pictures of the wedding itself, or the very cool reception. It was at this point that our camera started really acting up and the camera on my phone was not that useful because it filled up too quickly (I broke my nice one days before we left for USA so had to get a replacement cheap one super quick just to function - and it wasn't very good). So from this point on I don't have many great photos! I've seen many of them, from my siblings etc, and I believe they have even been shared with me! But when I'm here at my computer writing, I can't seem to find them. So this blog will have to be done with a fair few gaps and missing some of the best pics. Luckily my sister has created a photo-book of this summer, so I will always have that to look back on independently when this blog fails to deliver... but anyway, I digress!

The wedding was clearly awesome and it was great to be able to see where Matt and Sarah are living and a bit of their life, as I had never had a chance before then. But they were soon to be off on their honeymoon, so we didn't stay long before we went back to Ohio. Unfortunately James wasn't able to stick around for too long so he left a bit earlier and me and the boys stayed on in Ohio for awhile more. But before he left we got a fill of Ohio goodness. Including going to visit my grandfather and creating chaos in his house with all the children! Even with the noise, it was lovely and relaxing to be there. And good for me as well as I hadn't been able to come home for the funeral when my grandmother died. So it was my chance to go into the spaces that were hers and smell her perfume and say my goodbyes in a way that I hadn't yet been able to do. I do miss being able to see Grandpa and am sad that my boys won't know him like I do - so we try and soak up as much time with him as we can, when we can!

Although I had a small list of things that I really wanted to do while we were in America, Finn had quite a long list. Luckily there were lots of simple things that were easy to accomplish (eat ice cream, go swimming etc). But absolute top of his list was, and had been for a long time, go camping.
This was James' last day in America - so he got one small taste of our not-very-rustic version of camping before he headed off. But the rest of us got to spend a few days there having a really lovely time. Again, I haven't got too many of the pictures to prove it (but I've just glanced through the book from Jaimie again and there are some brilliant ones - so I'm going to take some pictures of the book pages and post them -which means the quality isn't going to be much good, but at least the memories are saved here as well). But, even when it was raining and windy or steaming hot - it was a time etched into my memory as one of happiness and contentment.

The rest of our time in America was spent happily as well, doing normal things. The last time we had visited, we ticked through a long list of museums and heritage sites and other amazing experiences. But because we had therefore done all of those things fairly recently, this trip was more about spending time with each other while hanging out at home (especially great because my younger sister was able to come and stay for the time as well), or having a sleepover at my older sister's house, or going to the swimming pool or the zoo.

A truly joyous day was spent picking super ripe warm peaches in the morning (during which Orry managed to eat about four I think, before we even made it back to the car! He was so sticky!) and going for lunch and ice cream after. 

So nothing too dramatic - but each and every day was shared with family that we don't see very often and building up moments to cherish for a long time to come.

Our last day was spent at the splash park near to where Jaimie lives. It was one last time for lots of fun before we made our long journey back to the Isle of Man

The way back was again three flights - but this time just me and the boys. I was pretty nervous about it but it was actually pretty seamless! There was a super long wait in Dublin airport, but it was alright - the three of us just set up a little corner in an unused bit of the building, set an alarm for when we needed to get moving again, and crashed out.

Overall it was a great trip, and we've all been thinking back to it with very fond memories ever since. Can't wait to go back again!

July: Before America

July brought the great milestones of finishing school and heading off on holiday to America, but in this post we'll just speak about everything up until our getting on that plane for Ohio...

At the start of July Cori went off for a few days' work in London, leaving me to look after Orry as Finn was still at school. Orry and I coped quite well:

However, as the afternoon nap ended up being an afternoon rest-time, which looked much like this:

I had suspected for some time that there wasn't a day-time nap in him anymore. Not that he doesn't benefit from it, and not that he doesn't zonk out every early afternoon car drive; but he doesn't have enough tiredness to get over the hump of resistance anymore when at home. So, instead of struggling through it and making of misery of everything, we're now beginning not to fight for it at all. And, besides the later-on grumpiness from Orry, we're all better for it.

Unfortunately, Cori's time away meant that she missed Tynwald Day. It is, of course, a big deal in the Island, and, since Finn's school faces Tynwald Hill, we'd seen it taking shape for weeks leading into it:

On the day I had to be in work, sadly, as it was a great day. Everyone was at St. John's and Finn and Orry had a wonderful and busy time seeing all that was to be seen at their Fair with Granny. When they called in to see us in the afternoon, Finn and Orry were very excited and full of stories of what they had seen, and Granny was just tired! Unfortunately, she still had hours after that until I was to be free from work! Sadly, I don't have any pictures of everyone at the Fair (as I was in work), but here are Finn and Orry, and Finn's friend from school, taking a sneak preview of what was revealed at more work on Tynwald Day - as a hint at the fun on offer:

We kept Cori updated as to what she'd missed out on by being in London, by sending her this fascinating video, conceived and directed by Finn, of the bike he had won at the Fair:

Since Finn's school-mate appeared in that Tynwald-related picture, we might as well show Finn and him again, this time with Finn modelling his new wet-suit on the beach at Peel.

Orry got one too, and also looks rather fantastic:

The progress into summer was obvious by the time we spent on the beach, and also by things like...
... the mobs of ravenous ducks even climbing over our feet and snapping at our hands as we fed them (I had to pick Orry up when I went with him, as he was rather frightened by them all):

... And also the handsome progress of the boys' sunflowers:

... And the development of the baby pigeons in their (rather precarious) nest in the house across the street from us:

The weather also encouraged more trips to the Wildlife Park. The place near Ballaugh is great, with lots of good animals and the like, but they also have a great array of play areas, inside and out. Trips now tend more towards the play than the animals, but we guess that it's still a good day out regardless:

Talking of trips north, we enjoyed a few trips to Ramsey, such as our first trip to the Grove Museum, when we timed it with the appearance of an olden-days car...

... to the Mooragh Park, where we had the rare treat of going out on the lake & exploring the island in the middle with the cousins...

... to the free rides at some special event at the Mooragh Park:

Finn loved the Ferris Wheel, but Orry hated every moment of it and sat there almost crying throughout. But Finn was nice and help his hand to help him, as he waved furiously to us with his other hand.

In the midst of the chaos and disorder that Orry wilfully and carelessly creates all around him, he continues his fine attention to order about some things:

It's a shame that this can't be redirected to a desire in him to put things away after use!
Never mind. Here's a picture of him with a mini steel drum for a hat:

A surprise to us all was our managing to have a pleasant day out on a walk with Finn. He has been fighting the very idea of a walk for months, immediately asking about any activity on the weekend whether it involves walking. But we worked out that it was mostly a hang-up about walking up Cronk ny Arrey Laa in the wind a few months back and getting cold. So we convinced him that a walk to Lag ny Keeilley wouldn't be windy as it wasn't up a hill. He was suspicious but accepted it. But once we were waking, he really enjoyed it:

In fact, it was a very long way and tiring for all of us, but we narrowly avoided Finn complaining, thanks to the good weather and also the handful of cards of things we wanted to spot: a bird, a sheep etc., and, most excitingly for Finn, danger. The danger was, perhaps obviously, the steep cliffs we were walking along, but the ferns had changed the frightening drop into nothing too dangerous since the last time I'd been there (before the ferns had sprung up). Indeed, perhaps helped by his smaller height, Orry took it as a big joke to fall off the path into the ferns constantly:

He was carried on the way back, whether he liked it or not!

A great day out was had by everyone, even if we did have to pick tics off him aplenty by the time we got home!

Here is a video quiz to break things up a bit:
What is the well-known phrase which the Finn & Orry band are performing here...?

Any idea?
... Well, here's Finn with the answer:

We have no idea what that is all about. It was just Finn's idea of something we should put "on the internet" one Saturday morning, as you do!

The wooden train track hasn't been used over the recent months, but it is beginning to come out again, although Finn's excitement over it has waned. Now it is more Orry who enjoys it. But, for him, he just wants a track of a metre or so long. So all of this sort of thing is a waste...

With any sort of clever connection, here is how Cori found Finn & Orry after she returned from the toilet before their bedtime stories - it was almost as if they didn't need her at all!

One of the big things in the Manx cultural calendar is the Celtic music festival held in Peel year year. Cori volunteered to help out at the evening events this year, which meant that she got into the thick of things. It also meant that Orry was able to tag along to some of the daytime events, and also to pick up some excellent Irish dancing which he had seen at the House of Manannan:

Orry's excellent dance skills also show up in his happy taking up of the Manx dancing which Finn is still going to and refusing to join in on (and yet still wanting to go back, with a fight, each week, infuriatingly!). Here is Orry's excellent impersonation of the 'Nur jin shen!' / 'Don't do that!' part of one of the kids' beginners' dances:

After only a few weeks of July, Finn's first year at school drew to a close, and he was done for the summer. To mark the occasion, here he is on his first and last day of the year:

The final thing in the school's year is the big summer show. This year it was Snow White, or, as it is in Manx, Sniaghtey Bane:

The show was brilliant and Finn, like every other child in the school, was in it. He was one of the scary woodland beasts who Sniaghtey Bane was frightened of when caste out into the woods. With the rest of his class, Finn did a fantastic job at singing and dancing in front of everyone, even if he did wave to everyone he knew constantly!
Orry was allowed only to the Pre-school performance, so on the Tuesday night (on Finn's third performance of the sell-out show), he and I were left to fend for ourselves after we'd dropped off Finn at the hall. Happily a ball to throw around and lovely weather in St. John's made this a very easy and pleasant task:

Because we deliberately booked flights off for our American trip as soon as possible after the end of school, the only thing after this that we did was pack, and trip out to get our on-flight magazines... which meant a pleasant walk around town which looked like this:

And, after that, it was up early and off on our grand trip to America...!