East To Norwich

Today Arianna and Tim decided to go south to London while the rest of us went east to Norwich.

Our first stop was Norwich Castle:

The castle is a museum covering many different topics.

We started by learning about Boudica and the Iceni who were from the Norwich area. The boys enjoyed driving an Iceni chariot:

We then learned that the Romans kept the native Britons from revolting again by turning them into prosperous Romans. McColley was the first to try on a Roman toga:

Brayton also dressed as a Roman... but just for a moment:

After the Romans abandonned England the Anglo-Saxons moved in and replaced Roman symbols with their own. Brayton traced an example of the symbols brought over during this period:

McColley had to dress as an Anglo-Saxon just to see the difference:

We left the history exhibits and went into the special art exhibit which featured families in British Art.

Can you find the five live people in this picture?

Brayton did not enjoy the exhibit so he got taken outside the castle to play with Daddy for a bit:

Finished with the castle we walked a few blocks to the cathedral:

The cathedral was still decorated for Christmas and had a beautiful projected piece of moving art as you walked into the nave:

As we were exploring the transepts and choir a cathedral worker led us in The Lord's Prayer:

We then exited through the cloister (where it was a bit cold):

A light rain kept us from doing any more exploring but we had a fun historical day!

A Mighty Math Palace

Last night we threw a post-birthday party for Brayton and invited over some friends... most importantly Geo, Bot and Milly:

Although everyone else was important too and we were super happy they could come and celebrate with us:

After all our guests were gone Brayton got to open a few more birthday presents, much to his delight:

Today we headed to Hampton Court Palace to take a peak at Christmas 1540 Tudor Style:

We started by going to the farthest point in the palace and working our way back to the entrance. Our first stop was Fountain Court:

Then we worked our way through the Tudor kitchens and McColley took a turn as a spit boy:

We next wandered into the Great Hall where some courtiers were entertaining Queen Catherine Howard:

We followed the court jester out into the Clock Courtyard to watch him practice his act for the King:

Brayton found the jester laugh out loud funny:

As we were heading back towards the King's chambers we ran across the Queen in an argument with a courtier she seemed to know... but we were told not to say anything:

We did find our way back into the King's chambers and had the chance to stop for a moment and watch him eat his dinner. We are now reassured that he is healthy and able:

Tired of the Tudors we skipped forward a few hundred years and enjoyed William III's royal apartments before leaving Hampton Court:

Breaking The Code

Today we took our two little soldiers to Bletchley Park to figure out Enigma:

Luckily we had Turing's Bombe to help us out:

 However, even after a very knowledgeable guide explained Enigma and Bombe we still didn't really grasp the math behind the whole thing, so we decided to play with toys instead.

Bletchley hosts a small toy museum which showcases toys from the 1930's to the 1950's. The museum guide showed the boys some of the homemade toys from WWII:

The boys also played with some replica toys while Arianna attempted to figure out French Knitting:

Arianna gave up on the knitting and we decided to check out the mansion:

Once inside the mansion Pearson decided he would rather play with Arianna than check out the history:

We finished up our tour and split into two groups - the girls went shopping and the boys went home to build Legos!

A Ritzy Christmas And A Fit Boxing Day

Christmas morning started with the boys opening their Santa presents, the biggest of which was a Wii:

Pearson also got his traditional First Christmas present:

With all our presents opened it was time to drive to London for tea. Tea at the Ritz:

We had a wide selection of sandwiches and cakes to ponder over:

But Brayton dived right in to the cake selections:

Part way through our tea Father Christmas stopped by:

He had a few presents to deliver in person:

As we left the Ritz we paused to pose in front of the beautiful decorations:

Today we headed to Warwick Castle:

We climbed The Mound and checked out the view:

Then we wandered down the hill to check out the (giant) weapons:

Our littlest bear was a bit tired from all the history:

We found a nice spot in front of the conservatory for a family picture:

Arianna and Tim also had to take their traditional self-portrait in front of the River Avon:

As we wandered back to the castle Brayton convinced Grandma to carry him all the way:

However everyone had to climb the battlements under their own power:

When we reached the top of the first tower Grandma and McColley pretended to be archers:

Arianna had to take a moment and catch her breath:

We climbed down the first tower only to discover that there were two more left to climb!

We finally escaped the battlements and then walked through several interactive exhibits before returning home.

A McCGuireWellsKins Christmas Eve

For our Christmas Eve church service we decided to head to Ely Cathedral:

We found the closest parking lot but it was still a bit of a windy walk:

We got there about twenty minutes before the crib service started and claimed a row:

We were surprised to get such a close row especially as the cathedral filled to over flowing:

After the service we had to check out the cathedral's tree and take a grandparent/grandkid picture:

And since we were all in our church clothes we had to take a picture in front of our family tree when we got home:

With pictures taken it was time to put on our Christmas pajamas and do some cuddling:

We all opened two presents while waiting for dinner to be ready:

Arianna appreciated our gift:

She now has her own Weasley clock!

And then after dinner it was a full on present bonanza:

We hope everyone has a Happy Christmas tomorrow!