catch a wave

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Kim Halloran-Fry

“All in all, it was a never-to-be-forgotten summer — one of those summers which come seldom into any life, but leave a rich heritage of beautiful memories in their going — one of those summers which, in a fortunate combination of delightful weather, delightful friends and delightful doing, come as near to perfection as anything can come in this world."

Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne's House of Dreams

It was the beach trip that almost wasn't. We had already had a couple full days of sightseeing after all. "We can be home by dinner time if we head back now…" It was decided that we would eat our boxed lunch in the shade and sit for a few minutes and reassess.

After our break we loaded kids and dogs and headed out, resigned to wrapping up our trip if the Dad driver needed to. But after a few miles I noticed the car was not pointing north after all. Instead, the buildings began sporting pastel hues and we spotted the occasional palm tree even. Yes – in England!

And then, the water came into view and all talk of heading home was long forgotten.

This was waterfront in Hastings and the 'sand' was manmade. More like a super thick layer pea gravel actually. No one was complaining though. At the end of that trek were icy white topped waves to splash through on a warm day. After they were all splashed out we explored the boardwalk area and hit up the ice cream stand. After which some very happy kids piled into the car and dozed all the way home, windows down and wind blowing hair dry.

a noble task

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Kim Halloran-Fry

"Man has a noble task:

That of prayer and love.

To pray and love, that is the happiness of man on earth."

St Jean Baptiste Vianney

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Kim Halloran-Fry

On our road trip to Leeds for a dance competition we squeezed in a few field trips. The big surprise was the Thackeray medical museum. We planned very last minute and the museum randomly pulled up in a list of local sights. I am glad I clicked on that link because this sleeper attraction was worth every penny.

The first part of our tour was the "Streets of Old Leeds" which I expected to be much like the much loved "Streets of Old Milwaukee" from my childhood museum. Yeah, but no. Truly this was one of the most realistic and disturbing recreations I've ever been through. Unique to this place was the smell. They piped in exceptionally realistic stench which had us a bit gaggy. There was audio too. Wailing animals and chopping sounds at the blood stained slaughter house, moans of the sick, vendors hawking their wares. At several points the little ones jumped or gasped or turned for an exit and Moira and I were half-tempted to do the same. We are glad we pushed through though. It made an impression few book explanations could have. If you are interested there is a virtual tour here. Without smell-avision you will have to take our word for the rest.

There were fabulous displays of vintage medical equipment and medications, complete with explanations of the procedures and how they've evolved. Lots of film footage was available. Just truly fascinating even for kids.

My only gripe came while I was completely engrossed in the maternity section reading the stories and seeing all the apparatus used over the years. The exhibit closed with huge quotes on the displays which led one to the conclusion that "people who love children only have one or two because you could never do enough for more." To which I just reminded children of mine – numbers 5, 8 and 9 – that love multiplies, it does not divide.

splash

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Kim Halloran-Fry

This morning we had the great summer toy box purge. That went well so we moved on to tackle the indoor/outdoor half bath that was added to the outside of the house for farm staff years ago. (insert shudder) Meantime, the sun and the temperature were rising – a rare combination here. So we finished up and spent the rest of the day focused on vitamin D absorption. For a while there, if I closed my eyes, I could have been in the tropics. I think. I haven't actually been to the tropics, so it's just a guess.

It has been a big week. Doctor appointments, eye appointments, one sick child, one traveling parent, and two working daughters. It was pure joy to spend these hours just watching them smile with no place to be but right here.

sunrise

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Kim Halloran-Fry

"That time of day when the sun hasn't come up yet but you can already feel it coming. It's an elusive warmth, like a subtle promise whispered in your ear, and you can go on with your day knowing you've been given another chance to get it right."

– Cassia Leo

changeless and calm

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Kim Halloran-Fry

When I walked over to the pasture fence I thought again about the prayer I read earlier in the day:

"Help me to become wholly forgetful of self, that I may be immovably rooted in Thee, as changeless and calm as though my soul were already in eternity. May nothing disturb my peace…"

– Divine Intimacy

zoom, zoom

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Kim Halloran-Fry

So I had this idea for the guys to go go-karting after seeing it on TV I admit. I thought they would have a blast. The costs at the local places I found were crazy high though so the idea was shelved for a while and the boys didn't know anything was in the works anyway. When we were out walking at the beach last week however we stumbled upon this small course. I elbowed my husband and said hey, seriously, check out these prices. This could happen! Could this happen? Right now?

Yes says he, so we called Kieran over to get his brothers. He had been eyeing the karts nonchalantly and said, "Sure, what for?" I told him Dad was going to take them for a ride. He stopped a split second slack-jawed while that sank in. "What? Now??" Yes. "OH MY WORD! Guyyyyssssss!!!! We're gonna ride!!!!"

Pretty darned exciting it was. I think it made their summer.

(connection is very slooooow this week so no resizing, sorry)

Hiking the White Cliffs

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Kim Halloran-Fry

With wind whipping our hair we braved the chalky coastline of Dover. Since there was a dip in the terrain it was literally 'uphill both ways.' We have hiked higher and farther – hello Lake District? This one ended up kicking us in the pants though. Maybe it was the sandals. Note to self, always bring the hiking shoes because you always need them.

We headed out at the end of a rainy day and the clouds gradually cleared by the time we reached the lighthouse a few miles out. The water and sky deepened in color with every step. Truly breathtaking by the time we got back.

Classic

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Classic car shows are even more fun in another country. We never fail to see makes and models we've never before seen. This show was chock full of candy story color. Perfect summer fun.

Star spangled 4th

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Kim Halloran-Fry

This was the fifth consecutive "4th" we have spent in Europe and the 8th summer of my life celebrating overseas. For whatever reason our Independence Day's have historically made for pretty good stories. Our first 4th was in Germany. I was due with our first baby. Most memorable was a lone electric guitar playing the Star Spangled Banner and feeling super choked up. We parked in a field and had to drive off a small curb to exit. In doing so we knocked our muffler clean off… right before I went into labor. Did I mention they had strict noise control laws in Germany?

The summer of '94 I was nearly due with Alannah. We were in San Antonio and the temps were near 100. We watched Selena perform at the base celebration that summer. She would be murdered a few months later.

In the late 90's we returned to our vehicle on an army post in VA to find it stone dead. We tried everything we could but it was no use. We had to get a taxi. Actually, when you have six kids you have to get two taxis. We split up the kids and Allen's taxi took off. I got into another with the babies and we set off. It was like midnight by then. Our driver turned off into a dark remote area and I freaked completely out. Didn't say anything but was preparing to be a statistic. He must have read my mind because he quickly fell all over himself to explain he knew a better shortcut and sure enough we arrived home first.

We spent a frigid 4th in Colorado about a dozen yrs ago. We had hoped to see the fireworks up at a old mining town but didn't realize it could be 50 degrees up there, even in summer. Totally were not prepared and decided that with toddlers along, discretion was the better part of valor.

The year we left Colorado we spent the 4th watching a parade in our tiny cow town. I use the word town loosely. : ) I think the whole "town" was actually IN the parade.

This year we celebrated at RAF Feltwell. The RAF Red Arrows performed and the kids hit the carnival rides. This year's highlight ended up being that there is one "gate" out of RAF Feltwell. Thousands of people exiting single file. That took about 3.5 hours. I don't remember all of that. I do remember waking up a few hours after we began lining up when I heard a boy ask if we were still on base. Yep. Still on base. Still fun though.

We had today to clean, cook, and pack and are off again for a totally different adventure.