Hermosos Dientes

On Wednesday Pearson and I set out on an adventure. Our first stop was the Pediatrics Department at the RAF L.akenheath Hospital.

While we waited for the doctor to come in, Pearson got a little typing practice in:

The doctor didn't keep us waiting too long. She did a quick physical on Pearson and the biggest takeaway from the appointment is that Pearson has grown two inches in the last two months!

We then headed upstairs for an Anesthesia Pre-Op appointment. Unfortunately we ended up waiting for over 45 minutes and then the appointment itself lasted five minutes. But, once again there was nothing to worry about so Pearson was cleared for surgery.

On Thursday morning we reported back to the hospital at 6:30AM. We went into the Pre-Op Prep Area and Pearson was forced into a hospital gown and hospital bracelet. He tried his best to rip both things from his body. We chatted with two doctors, two nurses and two techs to verify why Pearson was here and what was going to happen.

At 7AM I helped the anesthesiologist give Pearson a medicine to help keep him calm. It took affect after about 20 minutes.

At 7:30AM the anesthesiologist came back and carried Pearson into the operating room.

I then just had to wait. While I was waiting Pearson was put under general anesthesia, had x-rays done of his teeth and then had three molars capped (one required a root canal) and a fourth molar had a filling put in. Thankfully he had no other teeth in need of repair.

Why all the trouble for routine dental care? Because of his age. The dentist did not want to risk traumatizing Pearson by doing such invasive work in the office. Plus there was the possibility that the dentist wouldn't have been able to do any of the work if Pearson started fighting and screaming. He wanted to go straight to anesthesia to keep things as calm for Pearson as possible.

A bit before 9AM the dentist came out to the waiting room to let me know that Pearson's dental work had gone perfectly. I then had to wait a bit longer for him to come out of the anesthesia.

As soon as Pearson stirred, they called me back. It was a bit before 9:30AM. We then had to sit for an hour so they could observe him.

While Pearson and I were cuddling in the Post-Op Area, McColley was performing.

His spanish class put on a little musical performance. Luckily his best friend's mom was there to take pictures:

Pearson got cleared to leave the hospital at the same time as McColley's class finished up their performance. It was a busy day for everyone!

Wandering Through World Wars

We entered Wr.est Park through a WWI trench:

At the end of the trench was an encampment of British Tommys taking a break:

After learning how the Tommys turned old guns into grenade launchers, we noticed something exciting happening across the field. A WWII American was in paratrooper training:

We followed him back to his camp and the boys took a quick turn in an Army truck:

They were also interested in checking out the Jeeps:

As our interest in the Jeeps began to fade, we heard an announcement for a fashion show. It was time to learn about the differences between the British, American and German uniforms and equipment:

With a new understanding of why everyone wore what they wore, it was back to the American encampment for some paratrooper practice:

After I declared an end to the jumping we wandered through some trees and back in time. Pearson was overjoyed to find the Ambulance Brigade and all their horses:

Just past the Ambulance Brigade was some Tommy basic training. McColley and Brayton had to give it a go:

Brayton was very proud that the drill instructor didn't yell at him!

After all that excitement, and a brush with the French Resistance, we decided to relax for a moment and throw daisies into the Long Water:

Our relaxation ended when the gun demonstration started. We got seats a bit far away from where they were shooting the rifles but the boys had the PERFECT seats to see the mortars explode:

When the demonstration ended the boys were ready to go. We made a quick detour through the formal gardens to see the tulips:

And one last stop for ice cream before heading out:

Fun At Framling.ham

Today we drove east to F.ramlingham Castle where Queen Mary (better known as Bloody Mary) was holding court:

Fr.amlingham Castle is now mostly ruins but during the Tudor era it was the stronghold of the Dukes of N.orfolk... until one too many of their nieces was beheaded by Henry VIII (Anne Bole.yn and Catherine Ho.ward were cousins and nieces of the Duke. To save himself, he actually presided over Anne's trial and execution but he was brought down by Catherine's indiscretions.)

After the Duke barely managed to escape execution thanks to the timely demise of Henry VIII his castle was given to Princess Mary by her brother King Edward VI. When Edward died, Mary used Framl.ingham as her base to launch a march on London to claim her crown from Lady Jane Grey.

With Mary back at the castle there was a lot of Tudor era activities to participate in.

Pearson particularly enjoyed lawn bowling:

He even let his older brothers try a couple of times:

But every time they would throw the ball, he would run into the pins to collect it... and get in the way of anyone else trying to bowl:

Since everyone was becoming a bit touchy about the bowling, we left the castle's inner court and decided to walk around the moat:

Halfway around the castle Brayton found some picturesque wall remains and I attempted to take a picture of the boys but they refused to all look at me at the same time:

We then had to climb down from the wall. Brayton rolled, McColley scooted and Pearson crawled:

We continued our walk and when we got to the remains of the prison wing I tried again to take a picture of the boys. They laid down and again refused to look at me at the same time:

With our moat walk complete we went back inside the castle. We arrived just in time for McColley to join in on training for Mary's army:

Done with hard work we sat down to watch the Court Jester perform - until he needed McColley to stand on his rope for a minute:

The Jester thanked the four kids who had stood on his rope and they all got a big round of applause:

The Jester also attempted to marry McColley off to the girl who had also stood on the rope but luckily his father wasn't there to approve the match so it couldn't go forward!

After the Jester's show we went into the exhibit section of the castle. While I read about the castle's history, McColley and Brayton worked together to build a Tudor chimney:

They then got to pick out something from the gift shop. Brayton wanted an ax like the rhino's in 'D.isney's R.obin Hood' and McColley wanted to be a jousting knight:

Pearson didn't get anything because he was asleep. Maybe next time!

Waiting, Always Waiting

We do a lot of waiting in this family. Our weekly schedule is not just about the activities the boys participate in but also what the rest of us do to kill time during the activities.

Once a week Brayton and Pearson get to wait in the car. It is (and I am not joking even a little) one of their favorite places to hang out for a half an hour.

The car is a jungle gym:

Hide-and-Seek Stadium:

Prop for practicing 'Blue Steel':

On top of being full of buttons, sticks and mirrors that they can play with. I'm pretty sure it even outranks the 'Let's Go Get Doughnuts Wait.'

Getting To The Best Part

A bagel must always come with cream cheese for cream cheese is the best part.

If one liberally applies said cream cheese than one will barely notice the unworthy bagel underneath.

Or one could just forgo the bagel and get the cream cheese straight from the source.

Perfect.

The Video My Phone Didn't Want You To See!

Thanks to a full memory, misplaced cords and the refusal of iPhoto to export a video I am getting this video up on the blog about a week and a half late.

After McColley's dance recital on May 12th I did a little post-show interview:

A Day For Spectating

This morning McColley had another t-ball game. It was our job to cheer him on from the stands:

During the second inning McColley got to take the pitcher's position:

And he actually caught a few balls!

Brayton and Pearson did a good job watching when McColley was up to bat:

But the rest of the time they ignored the field to do a little running:

Unfortunately it got very cold, so we spent the last inning watching from the car:

This afternoon Brayton performed in this year's dance recital. Once again no pictures were allowed inside the building. His costume was his regular dance uniform plus white sparkly 'dragonfly' wings. They danced to a jazzy version of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".

After doing such a great job performing he got a small bouquet and his favorite chocolates:

Onion Opportunity

Yesterday at Ost.erley, Brayton got a child's size shovel from the gift shop. This morning he couldn't wait to try it out:

We just happened to have an onion that was blooming out in our pantry:

I let him plant it in our little vegetable garden:

He lovingly covered it up with dirt and is now excited to see what it does:

I know we've probably planted it at exactly the wrong time and in the wrong soil but maybe we'll get lucky and something will happen!

An Afternoon At Oster.ley

Today we checked out somewhere entirely new - Os.terley Park:

We toured the mansion first. Brayton was given a special counter to try and count all the marigolds he could find. We were told there was over 5,000... but he didn't see quite that many:

McColley was given a special tablet engraved with animals that he then had to find in each specific room:

We did the main floor and then headed upstairs to the family area. As in most N.ational Trust houses, there was a room with interactive exhibits and a dress up box. This dress up box actually had awesome clothes for boys too!

With the house complete we headed out into the garden. One of our first stops was the Winter Garden where there was a bench situated in front of a beautiful tree. I asked the boys to sit for a minute so I could get a picture.

They didn't...

quite listen...

to me.

We explored the rest of the garden and before we left I found a spot to get a picture of all of us: