Ups and Downs for 14!

For Julieanne's 14th we decided to ride the ups and downs on the roller coasters at Blackpool Pleasure Beach Park. You may recall that in the Thompson family we do a birthday party with friends one year and the next is a 'family party'. We try not to let the 'family parties' be the let down or bummer time so we have tried to be creative from time to time. Friday night September 18th, we drove two hours south to the "Myrtle Beach Grand Strand' style famous UK Beach Resort of Blackpool. It gives tacky tourist a new dimension but of course just like Myrtle Beach, there are some pretty spots too.

Saturday from 11-8 we went from roller coaster to roller coaster. What is it about a few seconds of a thrill that makes us willing to stand in a line with a bunch of smelly strangers? Crazy! Julieanne had a really great birthday weekend which was the whole point.

Her friends had tricked her at school. No one said anything about her birthday which was making her feel quite bummed as you can imagine. At lunch she was told by the office she needed to go to the art lecture hall for something. When she walked in her friends were waiting with cake, presents and lots of laughs! She thought they forgot but they were just trying to surprise her and that they did!

She's growing up. Of all the kids, she is the one who has changed most dramatically since moving to England. We brought an 11 year old girl over here and now have a 14 year old young lady. She's learning who she is and what she's about. It's a challenge to be 'you' in all situations of life but she's very aware of this and trying hard to be consistent. She is still a huge bundle of life, fun, energy and care. Happy 14th Birthday!

Grammy's Visit to England

Mom wanted to visit England when the flowers were in bloom and it was a bit warmer than her last visit in December 2007. For two weeks in August we showed her many places she hadn't experienced. We enjoyed a boat ride on Windemere Lake and a two day trip for Julie and Grammy to Edinburgh to see the Military Tatoo. Edinburgh is a very hilly city so Grammy got some major exercise traipsing from the train station to the Hop On Off bus tour all around the Holyrood Palace then up and down the Royal Mile.

The Palace is the Queen's Residence while she is on official

business in Scotland. Many palaces we've seen have been opulent and gaudy in my opinion but this palace almost seemed more homey and livable. The Scottish Crown and Scepter are proudly kept as part of Scottish history in the Edinburgh Castle as they now submit to the Queen's rule over all the United Kingdom.

They do have their own parliament as you've no doubt heard much about in the controversial recent release of the Lockerbee Bomber back to his home country of Libya. It's a

complicated, bloody story of their fight for self rule.

The Military Tatoo is an annual celebration by various military bands from all over the world performed at night in front of the splendid Edinburgh Castle. There were performers from Australia, Fiji, Germany, China and Scotland. The highlight was the 200 strong bag pipe band and the grand finale with all the military performers. Thankfully we enjoyed a cool, dry night but they perform rain or shine to sell out international crowds.

The second day we toured the Edinburgh Castle and searched the Royal Mile for a new black

cashmere sweater for Grammy.

I believe we saw all of the black size Medium sweaters available only to purchase the very last one we tried on!

One fun stop on the Royal Mile was the home of John Knox. Grammy even tried on a robe and hat in his house. She said it was for pastor George Robertson who is always saying, "For Christ and the covenant".

That weekend we all drove across the country to the quaint

town of York with Viking and Roman history. The city was one of my favorites as far as the charm factor is concerned. It has a famous cathedral, York

Minster which houses the greatest collection of stained glass in Europe.

To really tickle Grammy we bought tickets to hear an organ concert on Saturday night. Nathan was psyched about that!

The rest of the time we did normal life things like providing the taxi service for kids' activities, having people over for meals, washing clothes, cleaning up, etc. which is what a Grammy likes to see....day to day life for her grandkids.

We celebrated Grammy's b-day two days early but she didn't mind. A photo book from the 'Vacation to England 2009' was the gift. Lots of good photos and memories.

First Day of School

This is the beginning of our third school year in England. Anna Catherine started 11th grade, Julieanne 8th and Nathan 5th. The girls are still at St. Bees School while Nathan is in his final year at Jericho Primary School.

Each came home feeling positive about the new year - they like the teachers they got and the schedules for the most

part. Julieanne begins Cadet Combined Forces this year (similar to ROTC) but it's mandatory. AC loves the GI Jane activities they get to do and has continued on with it though it is

voluntary for her from here on out. She was even promoted to a Sergeant (maybe she's taking after Granddad in the army skills) Julieanne is continuing on with guitar and actually picking it up often on her own. AC was thrilled to learn that she made the Firsts' Hockey team which would be like a varsity team at home. She says there are girls far more skilled than her but she was in good shape and makes up for lack of ball handling with enthusiasm and effort. I've always told the kids that a good attitude and much effort speaks highly to teachers and coaches. Julieanne hasn't found out about her hockey team yet.

Nathan's still playing soccer - they combined two teams and will compete on a full soccer field for two 35 minute halves. He got to play as a striker this weekend which was a big change from the goalie. He's very fast but exhausts himself quickly with no reserve so we'll see how he holds up.

As a 'Lower Sixth' student Anna Catherine has the privilege of leaving the tartan kilt behind to wear a navy pencil skirt wearing her hair down and 'discreet' jewelry.

Na told her she looked like she was going to work. Ah the joys of being in the upper school. She received her grades for the nationalized GCSE exams. These are the exams that covered the two years of material. I didn't study as much as she did for these exams in all of my high school career probably.

She did very well...6 A's, 2 A*, and 2 Bs. She was a bit disappointed because she really felt like she aced biology and history but missed an A* by one point. She saved up her summer job money and some money we gave her for her great grades and bought herself a little laptop which she is very pleased with! It's a great feeling when you buy something you've saved up for.

Though we didn't plan to be here a third school year the kids are optimistic about the year.