Church

Our experience with church here in England has been fantastic.  Of the many things that I love about the gospel and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, one thing that is so wonderful is that it is the same wherever you go in the world.  The meetings are run the same, the gospel being taught is the same, and the love that you feel the minute you walk in a building is the same.

For a little bit of FYI - in the Mormon church, you attend a congregation based on geographical location.  So when we moved here, we went on the LDS Church website to find out which ward we would be attending.  Our house in Chilton ended up being within the Oxford Ward boundaries.  Our first Sunday there happened to be Easter Sunday.  At home, I usually have new outfits for the kids for Easter and make a fun and fancy Easter dinner.  We had only been here a couple of days; I didn't have any pots or pans or dishes or anything and that made me feel like I was failing my little family on this special day.  I really had no need to worry because by the time we left our church meetings, we had been invited to Easter dinner by a kind couple in our ward - that's what you call a ward family!

Tanner has loved attending all of the youth activities with the boys and girls of the Oxford Ward.  This past weekend, he was able to attend a Regional Youth Activity in Portsmouth.  Since we had never been there before, Colby and I decided to drive to the South Coast and check in out for the day.  Here are a few photos of the things we visited and saw:

Eastney Beach, Portsmouth

We visited the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.  Amazing ships!

HMS Warrior 1860
The world's first iron-hulled warship powered by steam as well as sail

There was a little carnival set up at the beach near Southsea Castle.  Annika & Arik had a great time enjoying a few of the rides!  

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This past week, we were visited by a member of the Stake Presidency and our Bishop telling us that they were going to realign the geographical ward boundaries.  You see, just south of Oxford, is this great town called Newbury.....  this is where Colby works and this is where we thought we would be living.  For a number of reasons, we didn't end up living there.  In Newbury, there are not very many members of the church so instead of a ward, they have a branch, which is significantly smaller.  Colby and I had visited months before - there were only six children in the primary then, with just a few teenagers in the youth program.  The Stake Presidency wanted to strengthen the Newbury Branch by extending it's boarders in order to make it a ward.  We were going to be included in the boundaries and they were wondering if we would be willing to change wards and begin attending the new Newbury Ward.  Of course we said yes and began attending on May 27th.

Once again we felt completely at home.  The members in the Newbury Branch as well as the few families all around who had been asked to change wards were so kind and friendly.  The change has not been difficult at all, even for the kids.  Just a testament to me that the gospel is the same everywhere and that it is easy to settle in with other people who love the Lord as you do.

Rules, rules, rules

Living in Oregon has definitely prepared me for living in England.

First of all, the weather is very similar.  Just when you don't think you can't take ONE more cold and rainy day, the SUN comes out warms the air and everything is shockingly beautiful.  I never tired of that in Oregon and I get that same feeling here.

Second, Oregon likes to boss it's residents around a bit - at least those living near Portland.  I grew up in Idaho where the rules are very relaxed.... Driver's license at 14 (at the time), but everyone I knew was driving something by the time they were 11 or 12.  In Oregon, I was always shocked at the number of things you had to get "permission" to do, like cutting down a tree.  I am not saying it is bad, just different.  Here it is similar, but magnified.  There are a LOT of RULES and I am still trying to sort it all out.  For example, I need to be registered to go to the physician (still haven't done that), and today, I found out that you can't play at recess when it is sunny without a sunhat.

Annika and Arik came home from school today and told me that for all of their breaks, anyone without a SUNHAT had to sit in the shade. Now, I can understand the importance of a rule like this if you live in, say, Australia.  When we visit Australia, we rarely see people in the sun without a hat.  At first I didn't understand this, until we all received our first Australian sunburn.  A sunburn in Australia is the worst thing ever!!  I don't think there is an ozone layer at all over that part of the world.  The sun actually hurts.  Annika even turned purple when she was sunburned, like it had bruised her skin.  All the children there wear sunhats, and they should.  But to require a sunhat in a place where it doesn't seem to get too hot, I just can't understand.  Today my car said it was 79 degrees F.  It felt so great!  I sat outside, without sunscreen or a hat hoping to soak up some Vitamin D.  I wish my Vitamin D deficient kids could have done the same.

South Wales, cont'd

Monday morning we drove a little further and ended up in the beautiful town of Tenby, South Wales.  This was such a cool place.  The old city wall was still very much a part of the town and it overlooked the water.  Also, when the tide was out, you could get to what we thought were islands.  Amazing.

Tenby is a delightful little harbour town and seaside resort, and it would be difficult to find a setting more picturesque...Tenby's hilltop position led to its early settlement as a Welsh stronghold, which was replaced in medieval times by a Norman Castle and walled town. Part of the town walls survive to this day and are an attractive feature at the entrance to the old town.

Until quite recently Tenby was known as "Little England beyond Wales" and the town remains a rather anglicised part of Wales. From the early 19th century, Tenby became a fashionable holiday destination for both the Welsh and the English, and its attractions to the holidaymaker are just as obvious today, with the fantastic beaches stretching to the north, the west, and the south of the town.

Walk along Tenby’s South Beach toward Giltar Point and the start of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path for fantastic views of Caldey Island.   http://www.tenbyvisitorguide.co.uk

Beautiful Tenby at low tide

When the tide is high, there is only about 2 feet of this tunnel showing.  

On the lookout for invaders.

Love this beautiful girl.

Tanner is an amazing brother.  Arik's joints were hurting a bit so Tanner carried  him all the way up the stairs - every single one, and it was a long way!

Birthday Weekend

I love my BIRTHDAY and Colby has learned over the years that I don't just want to celebrate anyone's birthday for a day, but that I think it should last the entire WEEK.

Monday is a Bank Holiday, so bright and early Sunday morning (we just had to sleep in our amazing bed one more night!) we hopped in the car and started driving toward the sun.  We had planned to fly to Spain for the weekend, but it just wasn't going to be warm enough - we will have to save it for another time, very soon.

The weather said it was going to be the warmest in South Wales, so that is where we headed.  Luckily for us, everything is so close here!  Three hours later, we found the sun and the most amazingly beautiful coast.  We stayed the night in Saundersfoot, South Wales Sunday night.  Tanner had heard that this part of the UK has some of the most extreme tides in the world - it did not disappoint - we saw 25 foot tides that day, simply amazing.

Same boats hours later.  We could hardly believe that the were sitting in mud  only earlier in the day 

Since this looks so much like the Oregon Coast, we thought we had better write the location in the sand!

So cool.  The fishing boats had to wait for the tide to come in so they could bring in their catch.  This boat was filled with what looked like large clams, or mussels.  Colby went directly to a restaurant in the bay and ordered just that!

 

Castle Camo and 40/44

Once all of our "stuff" arrived, we knew that we needed to stay at home, unpack, and organize.  However, that is not the way we roll at the Manwaring House!!  Instead, we left the disaster and headed to a castle to play games.  Our first week here we bought a National Heritage pass and now we are determined to visit everything we possibly can while we are here in the UK.  Colby found this fantastic castle that would be perfect for Castle Camo or 40/44, so we headed south to Winchester, and Wolvesey Castle.
From the National Heritage website:
Wolvesey has been an important residence of the wealthy and powerful Bishops of Winchester since Anglo-Saxon times. Standing next to Winchester Cathedral, the extensive surviving ruins of the palace date largely from the 12th-century work of Bishop Henry of Blois. The last great occasion here was on 25 July 1554, when Queen Mary and Philip of Spain held their wedding breakfast in the East Hall.

The boys were thrilled that their Nerf swords arrived safely from the USA.  We immediately took the swords, our best  running shoes (boots for me) and headed to a castle to play.  

40/44 running for the base.  Daddy is still super fast and was the winner for the day!