Moving Day

At last we have signed the papers for a house and yesterday the container with all our stuff arrived and was unpacked. :) There was all the symptoms of nosy neighbours as the truck with the container arrived - it looked huge in the street, far bigger it seemed than when we had it outside the house in Long Beach. The driver wasn't very impressed at having to maneuver around the tiny roads, I think he normally delivers to businesses.

It actually didn't take too long to get it unpacked and into the house/garage. Thankfully very little got damaged 'in transit' but of course the one thing we forgot to insure got the most battered. Oh well, could be worse. A lot of the boxes stayed packed since we are rather lacking in book cases so have no where to store stuff.

Beth seems to like the new house - of course the stairs are a big attraction. She settled well into her new room though I think a big-girl bed is needed since she has shown her ability to escape. Not sure that now is the best time for a wandering toddler but nevermind!

Preston Park

It has been really cold here for the last few days. This morning it was around 21 degrees - a bit different from the 'usual' 60s to 70s in Long Beach . . . It had warmed up a bit by the time we headed out but the car still had to be scraped of ice.

We went to see if the ducks were out and about at Preston Park (in Eaglescliffe). As you can see, it was very misty and still crunchy cold! We had a wander around the park and headed down to the edge of the River Tees. The edges of the river had frozen and there were no ducks to be seen. There were a few blackbirds and robins but they were all huddled around and shivering.

From there we walked back up towards the car park trying not to get stuck to the railings. Unfortunately the playground was noticed so we spent a while playing/freezing in there. All the swings and equipment still had a layer of frost on it though I think the pampers might have staved off most of the cold for Beth. With Jack Frost chasing us, we decided it was time to head home for a hot drink!

Crimdon Dene

Yesterday we ventured to Crimdon Dene for a walk. It was a pretty nice day, no rain and not too many puddles about. We parked near the top of the dene and walked down to the bottom. On the way down there is an enormous viaduct to go under. Beth was totally unimpressed until a train went over the top!

We didn't make it quite as far as the beach as there was far too much to keep distract us on the way down. There were loads of sticks and twigs lying around and piles of horse poo so there was hours of fun to be had poking the poo just to see what happened. After that we took the sticks and continued with the poo theme and played Pooh Sticks off the bridge. That would have been more fun if the stream had been moving a bit faster but it was still good.

On the way back up the dene there was lots of fun to be had jumping on mole hills and playing 'see-saw' on a large branch. Lots of muddy fun but thankfully the lack of water made it less messy than our normal outings! From there we went to meet up with Gran Jean, Great Gran Ess, Great Aunt Anne, and Great Great Aunt Peggy for their usual Friday lunch outing. We had a lovely (huge) lunch that included good olde English sponge pudding and custard - can't get better than that!

After the nice relaxing morning, we got the news that the house we'd found had fallen through since the current occupants were refusing to move out. So, we headed out to look at three more (not as nice) houses in hope that we'd find something suitable. I think we may have found a replacement. Unfortunately it's not as nice either inside or out as the other and not quite in the location we wanted but since we're only intending staying for a few months I suppose we'll make do! I'm not going to post any photos of it yet or give any details as I don't want to jinx it like with the last one.

Got a House!

We're all very excited (and quite relieved) to have found somewhere to live. We have looked at about ten places and eventually found a house that we both like and that has a garden, a garage and parking (along with all the other essentials). It's just outside the city of Darlington in the North East of England (closest airport is Durham Tees Valley - code MME for those of you contemplating a trip over!).

We're not sure yet when exactly we'll move in, hopefully it will be around the 21st Feb as this is when our shipping container arrives. I guess we'll find out in the next few days. I don't want to put the address on here but I can email it to anyone who is interested to see where we've landed.

Not much other news, spent this morning at the park and going for a walk. The weather has been surprisingly nice but really frosty - makes it a bit slippy but very picturesque! Hopefully the rain will stay away for a while and give us a break from the puddles (some of which are still hanging round).

Redcar Beach

Yesterday (Saturday) we met Beth's cousin Adam at the beach. It was a lovely day but still a bit cold. The beach was really quiet - it's the beach where Atonement was filmed. I think they chose it because it was easy to make it look like an English beach/town in the 1930s and 1940s! Not sure if that's a good thing . . . Anyway, we watched people ride horses down the beach and dogs play in the water. Here's a picture of the beach, I forgot to take one when we were there so this one is 'borrowed' from another source.

After a cuppa tea at the cafe by the beach we headed to the playground for some more fun. Beth particularly liked the motorbike roundabout even though her feet didn't quite touch the peddles so we had to push it. Adam loved running around and going through the tunnel on the play structure. He and Beth seemed to get along great - a great relief since they will be playing together a lot more. Adam might be three months older but I'm not sure who was in charge!

At nap time, Steve and I headed off to look at more houses - we'll have to find somewhere soon or else this baby's first address might be a borrowed car!! ;)

Conkers :)

The last few nights have been really wet so the ground is extremely soggy. As we're (this is a general statement and does not reflect the views of Beth) sick of puddles we tried to find somewhere to go that was dry! We decided on Conkers, a self described "Hands-on experience for all the family".

Getting there was a bit of an adventure since it's in the middle of nowhere and there is no direct route from the house but after a few wrong turns we arrived. Inside there was a variety of exhibits mainly about animals and the environment. Have to say that we didn't really get to read anything or savour the exhibits as our tour consisted of running at break-neck speed, in circles, pushing any button within reach. Probably a good thing that it was a very quiet day and we were just about the only ones in there. Unfortunately the train wasn't running as the track was being replaced but we did have a good look.

There was also an adventure playground that Beth enjoyed climbing around and playing on including an enclosed slide. Using rather poor judgment, I decided that since it was really dark and 'curly' I should go down the slide with Beth. Unfortunately, I misjudged my girth (I keep forgetting about the bump) and got a little stuck - or at least doubled over and not in a suitable position for 8-months preggers!

From that we headed outside to wander around the lake and explore the activities they had dotted around. There were a few puddles but between us all, we managed (just) to keep Beth away from them. At the far side of the lake was a wooden house with a big carved seat. Beth immediately took possession of it and got most upset if any of us tried to sit in it. Obviously fancies herself as a queen, though of what I'm not sure!

Of all the exhibits and exciting stuff we looked at, of course her favourite thing was the Fireman Sam fire engine! It didn't move, the steering wheel didn't turn and the bell wasn't working but still just sitting in it seemed to be the highlight of the morning. So much for paying £6 each to get in, we'd perhaps have been better going to a shopping centre and playing on the 'rides' there!!

Common Theme!

Okay, so our days are starting to take on a theme - always involving water, wellies and mud! Today started out a little differently but it didn't take too long to return to the muck. As it's Shrove Tuesday we decided to do the traditional thing and stuff ourselves with pancakes for breakfast, very tasty. :) Beth had blueberry jam on hers and preferred to lick it all off rather than eat the pancakes.

After eating all that, none of us could be bothered to do too much so lazied around for a bit. Beth is making use of one of her new dressing gowns. In the last couple of days she has received three as gifts - people obviously think we're going to be cold . . . Luckily they're all different sizes so she can make use of them over the next few months. A good thing since I suspect she's about to have a growth spurt - she's eating like a horse and sleeping ridiculous amounts (not that I'm complaining). This pic is of her in the dressing gown from great grandma Ruth and great grandpa Harry.

We eventually persuaded Beth to get dressed and decided to go for a little wander around the village, perhaps calling in at the post office for some stamps. We didn't get quite that far - in fact we got as far as the puddle in the park across the road. Once again this is how we spent our morning, running through puddles and once again, the wellie boots were no defense against doing the splits in a puddle. I'm afraid grandma and I were not the greatest of caregivers as we just stood watching and laughing as she got wetter and dirtier.