Tennis

We actually had nice weather over the weekend. Joe has been ill on and off all week. But was good during tennis. Here are a few shots of the up and coming Wimbledon stars!

Canal locks

We learned how to open and close the locks along the canal. How they were built and even took a boat ride. It was a great day and the kids had to find heron, geese, ducks, etc. along the route. There were even artists painting along the way.

Canal boat

We were able to sit in and see the different configurations of the canal boats: eating, sleeping, cooking, chamber pots.... It was really amazing how they fit about 5 children and 2 adults into the size of a twin bed.

Field trip

Joe had a field trip along the canals and locks. It was really cool. They began the tour in the old water company where they had child laborers build and assemble buttons, linens, and other items during the Victorian era.

The children were told about the canals and life aboard the boats. They dressed for the period, washed clothes, made food for the time period.

school days

We are hanging out and having fun with play dates. Here are a few recent pics of the growing kids.

Safety Equipment

The kids got to see all of the safety equipment. After the dog demonstration, we got back on the bus and were welcomed home with banners and a BBQ. Kids had a great time, played on the play ground, bouncy castles and ate their weight in burgers and hot dogs. They were thrilled to receive a prize- canteens, hats, and other fun items.

Phase II

Phase 2- We got to see the cargo planes, go in them and see the refueling plane. It was pretty cool. Then we went back into the hanger to see the fire and medical equipment, look at the fighters jets, and see what food the soldiers ate. Joe asked to sample some of the MRE, but the SGT said there were not enough to allow kids to try them, but he gave Joe and Anastasia a tootsie roll to eat if they did not show the other kids. At this point Joe had it opened, handed me the wrapper and halved it with his sister and hid all of the evidence. The SGT was laughing hysterically. We then saw the 4 wheelers and bikes that the AF used, followed by an assortment of weapons, drysuits, bomb robots, and the mobile chemical analysis units. Here they got to guess what the ingredients were- water, inside of a light stick. But the best was when one of the kids pulled out a dollar- it had cocoa, flour... on it and someone had made cookies. The finale was the K-9 dog unit. We all got to see how the dog (Ajax) listened to commands and took down the bad guys. Joe wants a dog trained like Ajax now. :)

Mock Deployment

We headed to RAF Lakenheath for an action packed day of deployment simulation activities for families. It was really interesting. The first phase (shown here) was the bus ride over to the equipment loading zone. We got a passport and went through several check points--chaplain, medical, legal- kids had to decide what to do with bikes, toys..... Then we had a top secret briefing telling where we were headed and what bad guys to look out for- Sammity Sam and other cartoon characters.

Heading out

We played in the back some, ordered pizza and hung out until bedtime. Joe is throwing well and Anastasia had fun on her swing.