The Huffman Crew

Beijing or Bust!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 22:09:00 +0000

After a 4 year hiatus, we're reviving our family blog in hopes that we'll be able to share pictures and stories during our China trip. Marley is planning to take the helm with posts, as this trip really is 'hers' in many ways.

We leave bright and early tomorrow morning to start the 24-ish hours of travel time between Charlotte and Beijing. The longest stretch of air time is 13 1/2 hours. My patience usually lasts just about 13 1/2 minutes, so this is going to be a challenge.

Christmas Karaoke

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 25 Dec 2014 20:20:00 +0000

Nailed it, don't you agree??

Keller's Valentine Box

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 22:16:00 +0000

Because a brown paper bag with some heart stickers slapped on just wouldn't have been good enough . . .

Family Photo Fail, Huffman Style

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 17:15:00 +0000

Anyone who knows our crew is well aware that we are often in the midst of some ridiculous scenario that is better, and stranger, than fiction. I like to think those moments add authenticity to life, so I thought I'd share a brief clip of what happened on the way to take our annual family photos.

The Huffman crew wakes up on a beautiful, sunny, warmish day in Spain. I decide it is the day we absolutely must do our family photo, and zero in on one tiny village 'nearby' that looks like the perfect scene for the backdrop. We hang our clothes in the bathroom, hoping the steam from the shower will sub in for an iron. Mixed results, although nobody cares but me, so we head out with our GPS, guidebook, tripod, camera, and remote in hand. This is where things start getting dodgy...

The car we've rented is a hybrid in two senses--power source and transmission type. We can control whether it's automatic or manual, but apparently that's about all we have control over, because as we attempt the death-defying act of pulling out from a 5 foot entrance ramp onto a 70mph highway, the car decides it is going to stay in 1st gear on battery power, which puts us pulling into fast moving traffic and being stuck at 30mph. Two times we have to pull off an exit, wind back through the resort and try again before the car finally gets itself together and we are on our way to Mijas, my ideal spot for family photo goodness.

Despite the guidebook's insistence that Mijas is "in the hills just above" the town where we are staying, we drive forever without seeing any signs. We stop near some decrepit dog race track to ask a local where to go. Through a combination of hand signals, mouth-made car noises and rapid Spanish, we figure out that we just need to follow the road we are on and we'll apparently magically land in Mijas.

Let's just say the road we are on isn't really a straight shot to anywhere.

Twisting, winding up through the hills, making sudden turns when we think we see a sign pointing us in the right direction---these are the things that motion sickness is made of. We enter the oft-endured cycle of: Keller moaning and groaning, me asking if we need to stop the car, him moaning and groaning louder, Dave making a sudden stop and reversing into a spot on the street, Keller taking a few deep breaths and insisting he's okay, Dave pulling back out onto the street, Keller moaning and groaning--lather, rinse, repeat.

At one point, I get into the trunk and take out a beach towel ('borrowed' from our air bnb host) and the one airplane barf bag I had the foresight to shove into my backpack. We get back on the road, finally see signs for Mijas, and as we wind our way uphill on narrow switchback roads, there is the sudden sound of water, as if someone has turned a faucet on full blast. In the second it takes me to realize that it's the sound of Keller tossing his churros, I sneeze the most violent sneeze of my life and feel a pop in my abdomen. I put my hand on the knuckle-like lump that is now protruding from my abdomen, push it back in to wherever it escaped from, and twist around in the seat, where I'm treated with the sensory delight of seeing, hearing, and smelling Keller unleash another stream of liquid death.

Dave puts all of the windows down and we just keep driving, because dammit, we are finally on the way to Mijas.

We get lucky enough to find a tiny parking spot to squeeze into, give Keller a Wisp to brush his teeth, drop the bag of vomit into a trash receptacle that may or may not have been meant for glass recycling, and head into the village on foot, looking for a path to a tiny church with a view that is supposedly to die for.

We spend forty-five minutes wandering streets and trails, bickering as we climb over giant cactus plants, stopping to mime and gesture and point to our guidebook in an effort to get directions from locals, all with the background music of me saying "This is the one thing I ask for from you guys every year, stop complaining and don't get dirty" over and over, and . . .

you guessed it folks, we never end up finding the church. Instead, we end up with gems like these, which just aren't quite cut out for the annual Huffman Christmas card.

"Boy secures guarantee of future revenge photo-bombing by mother"

"Can't you see the pride in this dad's eyes?"

"Family pleads for safe return of wife/mother who was abducted by aliens while on vacation"

"Small Chinese child emerges from man's backside"

Fortunately, our Thanksgiving in Spain wasn't all comic relief for our readers.

We spent a day in Gibraltar

We walked across the border from Spain, which involved walking across the airport run way.

That's Africa in the distance. Cool, right?

This freeloader hitched a ride up the rock on our tour van.

Kindred spirits.

Sit on my head, you must.

What're you lookin' at?

And because you can never have too many random monkey shots . . .

Cool cave in The Rock

Last Gibraltar shot--Prepare for landing

Back in Spain, we checked out paleolithic caves in Nerjas, where the coolest picture I took was of this stray Siamese, chillin' like a villian outside the cave entrance.

We spent a day in Malaga, checking out the local scene.

I love you, aging hipster with your tiny dog and green New Balance kicks.

Goodies from the local panaderia took the place of turkey and stuffing. The kids were cool with the substitution.

Beyond the museums and the markets, the cathedrals and castles, the simple things are what we tend to enjoy the most on our travels. Quiet time on the beach, everyone doing their own exploring with the ocean as a backdrop and sound track, ranks pretty high on my list of awesome family memories.

Even though they make me crazy 99% of the time, I am so dang lucky.

On our last night, we were rewarded with the most breath-taking sunset on the beach.

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.”

― Roald Dahl

Fall Favorites

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sat, 12 Oct 2013 17:15:00 +0000

Fall is my favorite time of year--

football, changing leaves, and pumpkin scented everything!

I saw this gorgeous picture of the trees near my western PA hometown, and it made my heart just a wee bit homesick.

(credit: Bob Hancock Photography; Johnstown, PA)

We don't get quite the same array of fiery fall colors here in England, but we found our own autumn beauty last weekend at Anglesey Abbey

We also found definitive proof that my boys have a serious dose of primate blood. If only climbing trees was an olympic sport. . .

And Marley. . .well, she is very talented at cuddling with Daddy, and using found objects creatively

(that's my nice way of saying that she used a rock as a cell phone and a stick as a gun, while she walked through the park having an animated conversation with whoever was on the other end of the call).

We ventured out to the local pumpkin patch, just in time for a downpour. On the weekends, we have perfected a knack of dilly-dallying around the house until the exact moment when the weather takes a turn for the worst.

Pumpkins were chosen, pictures were taken, and doughnuts were devoured.

Up next on the Huffman family calendar: Keller's 11th Birthday, my 30k Fright Hike, and Halloween.

Happy Fall, y'all!!

Highlands and Lakes

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 09:51:00 +0000

I have taken somewhere around 15,436 pictures over these past 3 months when I've been too busy to blog. I won't post ALL of them because, well, I'm too busy, but here are some highlights and favorite pictures from our two most recent trips.

In August, we spent a week in the Scottish Highlands, which looks like a giant's playground. Towering grassy mountains with peaks in the clouds and sparkling waterfalls coursing down their faces. Truly something out of Lord of the Rings. I kept expecting Frodo to come along, riding a gigantic tree dude.

Gorgeous scenery . . .

Cool museums . . .

Monument to Bonnie Prince Charles

Jacobite Steam Train crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct---a scene straight out of Harry Potter!

Keller's vantage point to view the train (I am going to force that boy to walk around with his climbing harness and a helmet)

Hadrian's Wall

We took a detour through Falkirk to see the birthplace of my dad's grandmother, Jessie Yates, who emigrated to America around 1905 at the age of 16. She was born in an area called Jawcraig, which is mostly a cluster of beautiful large farms. The closest village is Slammanan, which has several historical buildings that were there when Jessie was a child.

Slamannan school house

Slamannan Parish Church and cemetery (unfortunately, I was not able to find any grave stones showing family names of any of my ancestors, but this church was listed on some documents as possibly the place of family weddings).

Monument marking the Battle of Falkirk (famous from the Braveheart story)

Falkirk Wheel--a bit of a touristy attraction, but cool anyway.

The scenery around all of the lochs was amazing and serene

How would you like to live there?

Or there?

Random cute-kid photo

Cairn Gorm Mountain, pre-hike

(pre-exhaustion might be a better caption)

Moody tweener avoided his family for the majority of the 2-hour hike

World's Best Kid Sherpa!

Almost at the top!

Two hours later . . .a little bacon for their efforts and to lard-load for the last hike to the summit

At the top of the 6th highest peak in the UK--Cairn Gorm Mountain

We did it!

View from the restaurant near the summit

These cool stone bridges were all over the place

This one is for my brother-in-law and brother---these guys are waiting for you in Scotland ;)

If I had a nickel for every 'sheep stop' we made over the course of the week. . .

View from our cabin

Random creepy foggy castle

Shots from our glass-bottom boat ride on a loch

Salmon farm

The kids searched for Nessie at Loch Ness

Urquhart Castle

Random cool little stone hut hanging over a river

After giving ourselves a week to recover and go back to work/school. . .

we spent Labor Day weekend in the Lake District with our BFFs and frequent travel accomplices, the Marchinis.

Marley and I lounged by the fire in the converted horse stables that we rented for the weekend and went on a shopping 'adventure' in the town of Cockermouth. . .

. . .while the rest of our travel posse busied themselves jumping off of cliffs and plunging down waterfalls on a Ghyll Scrambling adventure.

We hiked to, around (and across!) a scenic lake

(love the splashes of red/orange/gold fall leaves)

Best hike food . . . fresh baguette she filled with bacon and added wild blackberries along the hike :)

We hiked the Cat Bells with most of the pack making it all the way to the top, and a few of us stopping a little more often to rest and enjoy the views

The last day took us on a gorgeous drive through the Yorshire Dales on our way to Forbidden Corner, a super funky estate with cool gardens, interconnected underground rooms and tunnels, crazy sculptures, squirting statues, and all varities of oddities along the way.

Our next big adventures for 2013 are yet to be determined, but possibilities include: Italy, Brugge (city we missed on our last trip to Belgium), Paris, Tenerife (Canary Islands), Austria, Germany, Switzerland . . .We've got some research to do :)

In the meantime, Dave and three friends are doing a 3-day hike along Hadrian's Wall this month, and 7 of my buds are joining me on a 30k night hike (that's 18+ miles!) in Epping Forest just before Halloween. Pictures of both hikes to follow . . .

Stars in my eyes. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 16:44:00 +0000

I make a habit of putting myself in strange situations, but today's chapter in my life book of weirdness takes the cake.

Dave and the kids dropped me off in Cambridge this afternoon for an eye appointment. The optician's office was right on the corner of the bustling market square, which made for some high-quality people-watching while I waited for my exam. The people watching got more difficult, but also more interesting, on my second round of riding the bench in the waiting room while I waited for my pupils to finish dilating.

I looked out the window just in time to see John Goodman walk onto the market square. He stood to watch a street band for a few minutes, which gave me time to run up to my friendly optical tech guy and tell him I was going to pop over to the market for a minute to get a closer view of a famous American actor.

As I stumbled out the door, he yelled, "Be careful, your vision will be blurry and the sun is going to hurt!" That did not deter me one bit because, you see, I happen to know for a fact that John Goodman is in town filming a movie that co-stars Matt Damon and is directed by GEORGE CLOONEY!! I was hoping that where there was smoke, there would be fire, and I headed out onto the blindingly bright market square, lookin' to find me some Clooney.

When I got outside, I realized how horribly impaired my vision was, but I kept walking in the general direction where I thought John Goodman had walked. All of a sudden, this big guy in front of me turned around to go pay for his juice, and I found myself face-to-face with him!

Like a complete loser, I blurted, "Hi Mr. Goodman. Can I take your picture?" to which he replied with a sound that can best be described as an exasperated grunt/sigh as he walked past me to pay for his produce. So, I snapped this lovely photo from behind, which I realize isn't quite tabloid quality, but not bad considering I was pretty much legally blind at the moment.

Poor guy, he just wanted to purchase a bottle of OJ and enjoy the scene at the market, and instead he got accosted by a crazy American mom with pupils the size of dinner plates.

I Feeeeeeel Good!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:43:00 +0000

Of the many things I love about my Aunt Di, perhaps my favorite is her laugh. She has one of those contagious laughs that is part hiccup, part hyperventilation, and part snort :) If Diane laughs, you gotta laugh.

She and my Uncle Buff (short for Buffalo, of course) are walking a tough road right now and it is hard to be so far away. There is only so much we can do to show our love and support from across the ocean even though they are always on our minds.

This video is the Huffman family's ~~semi-pathetic~~ effort to give Aunt Di and Uncle Buff a reason for a hiccuping, hyperventilating, snorting laugh at our expense.

Wales Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:10:00 +0000

Keller and I spent the weekend horseback riding and camping in the Black Mountains of Wales. The scenery was amazing, the experience was authentic (the best kind!), and the company was excellent.

Sometimes when I look at Keller, I can't believe how much he is changing right before my eyes. I will be forever grateful for the gift of time with my boy before he completely breaks my heart by growing up.

Our first stop on the trip was at Hay-on-Wye, a cool little town full of antique book stores, funky shops and quirky cafes.

Outside of the castle walls, there are shelves full of old books where you buy books on the honor system--50pence for paperbacks and 1 pound for hardcovers. Keller and I bought three antique books from these shelves--a bible from 1885, an English composition school book from 1900, and a Book of Common Prayer from 1902. It was cool to sift through the books and look for finds.

From Hay, we drove a very long and windy 7 miles (one hour of drive time!) to our destination. We passed wild ponies, a billion sheep, and one crazy mountain biker along the way.

We did 2-hour trail rides both Saturday and Sunday, with a night of camping and two delicious home-cooked meals thrown in to make the trip complete.

Taking advantage of nature's refrigerator :)

At the top of the mountain on our second ride, we were rewarded with a wild pony encounter. Apologies for the blurred pictures--my horse, Charlotte, wasn't keen on stopping :)

The weekend was an unforgettable experience for both of us (although I am hoping that the sore bottom I brought home is soon just a faded memory.)

Looking at my over-exposed pictures with the blown out skies, I am regretting my choice to take my cheap camera and am also desperately sad that my free trial of LightRoom expired and I don't have a good photo editing program. I guess I know what my next purchase will be.

Motherhood

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sun, 12 May 2013 21:01:00 +0000

I've been planning to take some time to share a few profound sentiments on the topic of 'Motherhood.' With 10+ years of experience under my belt, there are a handful of wisdoms that I can afford to pass along. But, what is that old saying? "If you want to make your children guffaw, tell them your plans involve quiet time." Something like that.

The fact is that at this moment on this sacred day of honoring mothers, Marley is upstairs loudly mediating an argument between Shutterfly and Twilight Sparkle, and the boys are engaged in a competition to see who can use the maximum amount of potty humor and minimum amount of brain capacity.

The profundity (it's a word, I googled it) of my post is going to be significantly impacted, but if you'll bear with me, I'm going to attempt a little photo essay on the topic of Motherhood.

When you are a mom. . .

There will be days when you beat your head against the wall while you watch for that gosh-dang Calgon truck to show up and fill the jacuzzi tub that you don't own.

There will be days when you restart the dryer three times--to quiet a crying baby or to pretend the laundry isn't ready to be folded or to 'iron' the clothes. The reason doesn't matter. The time it buys you does.

There will be days when you smile instead of crying, cry instead of screaming, or scream instead of getting in the car and driving to Vegas. Alone.

But there will be good days, too. So many that they dilute the bad and wash them down the drain.

There will be days when you nearly weep with pride

Like when your boys run an adventure race together. . .

and their little sister cheers them on with the loudest voice of any fan in the crowd. . .

and they run their hearts out. . .

and fling themselves over obstacles. . .

broken wrist and everything . . .

and you watch them finish, feeling strong and proud of themselves and each other.

And dirty. Man, were they dirty.

On days like those, you'll think this 'Mom' gig is good stuff.

Here's to the good days, without them we would not survive.
And here's to the bad days, without them we would not appreciate the good days (or wine) nearly as much.

Happy Mother's Day!

Moment

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 18:28:00 +0000

I "had a moment" today. It was one of those moments when you're sitting there, thinking about the important things in life like when Game of Thrones season 3 starts, how to help the dog lose a few pounds, or whether you remembered deodorant--and then Whammo!!--you're on the verge of plummeting into a big, ugly, embarrassing, scary-sobbing fit. I held it together and managed to save my dignity, but it was touch-and-go for a good solid 20 minutes there.

Why the moment, you may wonder?

Marley and I had her first visit with the Cleft Net Team this morning. She massively bombed her hearing test in August and it started us on a convoluted quest for ear tubes via the National Health Service. Our appointment today was the culmination of countless office visits and extended waits for more office visits. I was relieved to finally be where we needed to be, and to know that we would be seeing the top cleft experts in our area. Marley and I walked for 17 miles through the habitrail of hospital wings and wards to find the clinic we needed--lucky #7. We signed in, got settled in our seats, Marley went to play with toys. I took a deep breath, relaxed into my chair, and then lifted my eyes to look around the room for the first time.

Cue the tears.

There were three babies. Beautiful, amazing babies with perfect little faces. And cleft lips. They were so tiny and vulnerable.

One mom cooed "my handsome boy" to her son over and over while she rocked him to sleep.

One dad kissed his little girl's crooked smile at least twenty times.

One mom's face crumpled and she fought back tears, literally biting her lip to stop from crying, when she saw a toddler come in with very bad scarring from his bilateral cleft lip repair. She held her own baby boy, with his crooked smile and dripped tears on his head. It was emotional and raw and difficult to watch.

But what really brought me to the edge was this sudden pang of sadness that came from looking around and realizing that Marley was the only child there over the age of 2. Those babies and their families were already on the journey toward healed lips and palates and all of the other wonderful things that go along with having cleft surgeries early.

The "handsome boy" was only 10 weeks old and was there for his pre-op appointment. He will have a new smile by the end of the week, and his palate will be fixed in a few months.

Marley was estimated to be 10 weeks old when she was taken to the orphanage.

That is hard to think about on so many levels. It's hard because it makes me wonder if her birth parents ever sat in a waiting room, hoping that a doctor would be able to fix her palate. It's hard because snags and delays in our adoption journey meant that we had to wait to bring her home a few months longer than we should have, which meant a few more months before her palate could be closed. It's hard because her hearing loss is due in part to having countless untreated ear infections while she was still in China.

But most of all, it's hard because I know there is a pretty high likelihood that the main reason I get to be Marley's mom is because of her cleft palate and what it meant for her birth family versus what it meant for my family.

For her birth family, it most likely meant feeding difficulties from day one, impossible medical expenses, and being ostracised for having a child with a birth defect in a culture that often does not accept such things. Ultimately, it meant putting their 10 week-old baby in a box outside of a gate and walking away.

For my family, her cleft palate meant we went into her adoption knowing we'd be going through surgeries and years of speech therapy, and knowing that we'd come through all of it 'ok'. It meant bringing home a toddler who was significantly delayed and having all of the resources within reach to support her as we've watched her blossom into a 'normal', healthy, ridiculously-happy little girl. It meant raising two boys who have a greater tolerance for physical differences and special needs, and who would gladly kick the arse of any child who ever teases Marley about anything.

How can it be that this thing that tore one family apart brought another together?

It's no secret to most who know me that I've got some unresolved 'stuff' to work out with the Big Kahuna when it comes to things in the universe that just don't make sense to me.

Add this one to the list.

Ironically, when I checked my email after our appointment, I had a message from SmileTrain that gave me pause. It was touching and inspiring and I'm going to be putting my thinking cap on to figure out what I can do to carry all of the emotions I felt in my "moment" toward a greater good.

Up Close and Personal

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 14:45:00 +0000

Armed with my new camera, I've been enjoying getting in the faces of small children and lumpy-headed dogs.

Hi, I'm Juno and I'm part Unicorn.

I also spent some time playing around with my macro lens today, and even though these are far from perfect,

I got a few cool shots.

The snow has been coming down since yesterday morning, and although I wasn't planning on being snowed-in this spring, it sure makes things look pretty and fresh.

Required Huffman blog post randoms:

I am super excited for some upcoming adventures--Cornwall for spring break, Holland for tulips (& Amsterdam) in late April, a Mom-and-Keller horseback weekend in the Black Mountains of Wales in May.

Many photos to follow :) Cheers!

Tea for Two

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:25:00 +0000

A new ritual has woven itself into the fabric of our family over the past few weeks.

It looks like this . . .

As I busy myself with making dinner for our crew, this guy hops up on the counter and talks. He talks about little things--what level he beat 0n his game, what he wants to buy with his allowance, a joke someone told at school. He talks about big things--troubles with peers, missing his best buddies, things that make him feel bad about himself.

And we drink tea, like all good Brits. We have chamomile or green tea, depending on our mood. Peppermint or cinnamon for a cold, damp day. Always with cream, and sometimes with honey for him.

Sometimes it is hard to bear the weight of his words--to know the things that keep him awake at night or the degree of guilt he feels over minor mistakes. Sometimes I feel like I can't possibly be the mom he needs to guide him through the hardships and heart breaks that are yet to come, because surely I don't have the right advice or answers.

He's been driving down a bumpy road the past year and a half; learning to negotiate peer relationships while living so far from his safety net of friends and family who "get" him and his Keller-ness. Sometimes that drive is more of a coast, a pleasant Sunday drive; but more often it involves break-neck speeds, squealing tires, flying gravel, deep potholes, and painfully-sudden brake checks.

He's 10 now, and I know that as tough as things have been at times, we haven't even touched the tumultuous teen years that await us on the horizon.

I find comfort in my mama heart from our new ritual. The talks, the tea, the fact that he still wants to spend that special time with me and isn't rushing off to text a friend, call a girl, or otherwise let me know that Mom isn't his most trusted confidante any more.

I know that I can't change the things that life will throw at my boy, and that there will come a time when he has secrets and stories that aren't meant for my ears.

But maybe, even when that time comes, he will remember sitting up on the counter, sipping tea, and he will know there is nothing he could say to me that would change how much I love him.

Holidays, Huffman Style

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 13:50:00 +0000

December 15th found me waking up at 3am to get on a double decker tour bus for a trip to the

Christmas market in Lille, France with three friends.

Good times, good conversation, and good Gluhwein were had by all!

On Christmas Eve, we exchanged the gifts that the kids had picked out for us at their 'Winter Wonderland' at school. Unfortunately, Keller's gifts for us disappeared into some really spectacular hiding place a couple of weeks before Christmas, never to be seen again.

But he made up for it by making us some really special cards.

His gag gift from Casey evened the score.

(I just love Keller's depiction of me on Christmas morning. Thanks, kid.)

(He still wears his Indiana Jones hat from Halloween on special occasions)

After Christmas, we headed to Belgium for five days of exploring. This was the seventh country we've visited since leaving the States in August 2011, so we've gotten pretty good at hitting the best spots, avoiding the tourist traps, and enjoying the local fare (in this case: waffles, chocolates, and amazing beers apparently made by entrepreneurial monks in remote abbeys).

On the 29th, we hit the Christmas market at Place Sainte Catherine

(Accidental cool camera shot from the top of the ferris wheel, where we swayed and rocked in the wind and snow for an incredibly unnerving period of time)

Don't let Casey fool you, he was up and down, leaning out the door, acting crazy and fearless the whole time.

(View from the top--Christmas market and ice skating rink below)

(First round of waffles going down)

(Metro station--this little pumpkin has logged more public transport miles than most adults I know!)

On the 29th, we were treated to the Twelve Days of Christmas by Marley--

tell me this isn't the cutest thing!

On the 30th, we journeyed to check out the beautiful medieval city of Ghent.

(Gravensteen Castle)

On the 31st, we started the day by ice skating at the local rink.

I am proud to say that even though it was my first time ice skating in my whole 38+ years of life,

I did not fall once and only minorly injured my wimpy ankle.

(Ready to go!)

(Marley's cheering section)

(Voted #1 in the family for Natural Ability--kid has some skills on skates!)

(Voted #1 in the family for Most Improved)

(Voted #1 in the family for Most Likely to Cause Back Injury to an Adult, and also Most Likely to Pants her Dad on the Ice)

We headed off to the Comic Strip Museum in Brussels after our skating adventure. Belgium is home to some comic icons such as Tin-Tin and the Smurfs,

and bunch of other characters that we Americans had never heard of :)

We finished our New Year's Eve outing with a pedestrian tour-de-Brussels of the Grand Place and surrounding streets.

(Kids with Le Manneken Pis, which is a very old statue of a little boy...peeing.)

(Chocolate and waffles on every corner)

(Looks like Casey is haunting the rest of the family during yet another waffle feast)

On the 1st, we violated our "avoid tourist traps" rule and visited the Atomium in Brussels. It was built for the 1958 World Fair, and although it is a cool concept, the exhibits within the Atomium were of very little interest to Huffmans big or small, and the lines were Disney-style.

We headed for home on January 2nd, with a very quick stop in Brugge. It's a beautiful town and we definitely didn't do it justice--we literally ran through the streets, stopped at the Christmas market for souvenirs, bought some chocolates, and headed out so we wouldn't miss our ferry.

(We missed it anyway, of course).

Keller and Casey each carried their own camera on our travels,

so I will follow up with a post of their best shots soon.

Happy New Year to everyone and we hope your 2013 is full of adventures!

Gran Canaria -- Nos encanto!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 19:01:00 +0000

Sorry for the blog hiatus. As blessed and lucky as I am, I have to say that the 'work' and 'kids' portions of my life kind of eat up the 'blog' portion. Fortunately, the 'travel' portion gets quite a bit of attention over here as well. I've got tons of pictures on my flash cards that are itching to be posted, but that would involve going all the way back to early August, including birthdays, Scotland, and many more. I just don't have the ambition for all of that right now, but maybe in the deep dark of another English winter, I'll go back and catch up. In the meantime, we've just returned from an awesome week in the Canary Islands. Enjoy the pics!

Sunrise on our first morning

(photo credit goes to Dave for this one--I had the silly notion

that vacation meant not being awake for sunrise!)

Nuestra casa para la semana (our home for the week!)

Breakfast on the patio

Mid-afternoon siesta

Palm trees (my new photography obsession)

Windsurfing lessons

"Huffman Gran Canaria 2012" (original artwork by Casey)

Black sand beach

Pool bound

Did I mention the palm trees?

Maspalomas Sand Dunes (where the motto is something like: Saggy & Wrinkly Preferred)

(Would've been nice to see this sign before we camped out about 500meters to the left of it)

Barranco de Guayadeque--gorgeous ravine where people still live in cave homes

Lunch in a cave!

Cuatro Puertas cave dwellings

Snorkel adventure

(Practicing in the pool)

To the sea!

Look at that face! In her defense, it was a really rough entry. Our wonderful, patient guide kept Marley on her back the whole time we were in the water so the rest of us could explore.

(Happier at the end!)

Thanksgiving dinner at Julia's fish house, squid included :)

The kids thought the mountain in the sky in the distance was heaven. Hated to tell them it was actually another island, Tenerife.

Playa de Amadores

Caldera de Bandama -- extinct volcano

(Overlook at the highest point)

(Hike into the crater)

Playa de Aguadulces -- a completely deserted beach

Sunset swim in the ocean on our last night

Casey looking tough with his souvenir fan ; )

Ponies reading up on volcanoes before we headed to Caldera de Bandama

Goofy underwater shots from the last dip in the pool

Next up on the Huffman family adventure schedule? Dave is off to the glamorous and exotic city of New York this week, I'm heading to France for the Christmas market in a couple of weeks, and we're looking at either Belgium or the Scottish Highlands for New Year's.

Team Huffman at London 2012!!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 20:56:00 +0000

Olympic Park

Velodrome

BMX track

Rainbow over the basketball arena

Olympic Stadium

Orbit

Beat Box

Tower of London

Animal sculptures were all life-sized and made of chicken wire!

Thames River Cruise from Tower Bridge to Westminster Pier

Cleopatra's Needle

Tour de London--we covered serious ground on foot, literally miles and miles, with 3 kids and a very sweet, helpful, jet-lagged teenager

London Bridge

View of Tower Bridge (my obsession with taking pictures of the rings at the bridge was epic)

With our first visitor from the US--Justine is staying with us for 3 1/2 weeks :)

The Shard--tallest building in western Europe

The rings are raised everytime Tower Bridge raises for a large ship to pass under

Some random clock ; )

Westminster Abbey

Dean's Yard

St. Margaret's Church

Buckingham Palace (and fountain)

Longest stretch of our walk for the day--Westminster & St. James Parks through to Hyde Park and on to Kensington Gardens

Never too old for a piggyback ride

Kensington Gardens and Lady Diana Memorial Playground

Hard-earned taxi ride back to London Bridge

London Eye

Thames River Cruise back from Westminster Pier to Tower Bridge--it was beautiful! We were really hoping the rings would be lowered and lit, but a boat had passed through recently, so we weren't so lucky. Consolation prize was an amazing moon over the bridge. The battery was dead in my 'good' camera, but you can see how beautiful it was :)

Proof that we ended our London weekend with some worn out kiddos!

Love this shot of Keller--I fear this will be his 'look' throughout college

Next up---WWOOFing near Peak National Park--we'll be camping and working on an organic farm :)

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 20:05:00 +0000

After 16 days of non-stop fun with family and friends, we have many new memories to hold us over until our next visit "home" to the US. Enjoy the highlights!

Phase 1: Northern Virginia to stay with the Gildeas and catch up with friends

Hot sunny day at the pool

Kayaking and canoeing on the Potomac

Hanging out around the house

Jack's 8th Birthday party

Fishing on the Chesapeake Bay

Quality time with Team Gildea

Grilling and swimming with the Gorham family

Phase 2: Up to Pennsylvania to stay with Grammy and see family & friends

Roadtrip with the Rigbys

Johnstown Inclined Plane and City View Grille

Grammy's house

Lybarger family picnic at Grandma Dot & Pappy George's house

Cooling off at Yellow Creek State Park with the Rigbys

Pappy's for hometown pizza and stromboli yumminess

Johnstown Flood of 1889 dam site and visitor center

Silver Drive-In to see Brave

Lunch with Grandma Dot & Pappy George

Swimming and goofing off with the super Steinhoffs

Afternoon at Poppy's

Last day in PA--hanging with Grammy & trying on the clothes Marley wore when we met her in China

Phase 3: Down to our old stomping grounds in Fairfax to stay with the Driggers and have fun with peeps from the 'hood

Sweet Frog for ice cream with the Driggers

Greenbriar Pool for 4th of July

Food, fun, and fireworks at casa de Driggers

Dinner with Grandma Nancy & Big Old Bob

Last day in the States--hanging out with friends and a fun visit from Super Nanny (a.k.a. Miss Jennifer)

The journey "home"

It was wonderful to fall deeply asleep in our own beds last night after 2+ weeks of being on-the-go. It was even more wonderful to wake up and realize I had slept 15 straight hours--my longest stretch of sleep since long before Keller was born.

We miss our friends and family, as well as the 'little' conveniences about life in the US--cavernous washing machines, for example.

It will be a long stretch before we visit the States this time--probably a full 12 months--but we are filling up our calendar with fun adventures here in the UK and beyond, so dust off your passports and come join us for madness and mayhem abroad!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 18:35:00 +0000

As the school year draws to an end, I just have to say, "Whew." And then I might just have to go grab another British brewski and toast myself because holy guacamole, it has been a hell of a year in the life of Holly Huffman. I'm not going to bother with the 'sorry for not blogging' excuses this time. I work full time, I've got 3 kids, and I live in a foreign country. As far as I'm concerned, that gives me permanent license to fade in and out of life in general at will. That said, we are eagerly counting down to our next big adventure. In 11 short days, we'll cross the pond again for an extended visit to our east coast family and friends. We've got plans for barbeques, concerts, fishing trips, and lots of catching up with loved ones. We are quite looking forward to the sunshine and warm weather. If you're looking to meet up with us, we should be pretty easy to spot. Just look for ten glowing white legs attached to five jet-lagged people with delirious perma-grins.

Here is a photo run-down of the last six weeks of Huffman Family Adventures.

Brandon Country Park

We have an on-going 'problem' (using the word loosely) where we feel like we need to be traveling and sight-seeing every chance we get. We aren't sure how long we'll live in England, or where we'll venture when we feel ready to leave here, so we are always trying to eek out as much as we can on the weekends. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that it's okay to stay put, and relax at home for a few days (a notion that I've struggled most of my life to accept!). In mid-May, we took a short drive to enjoy a sunny day at a local park, and were reminded of the awesome places we can visit without packing the car or boarding a ferry. The kids even got to see a real live redwood tree, in England--how cool is that??

Not a redwood, but super cool and climb-able.

Arger Fen

Dave discovered this forest park about an hour from here, which conveniently happened to be near one of the only two pubs we know of that serve only vegetarian and vegan food. We spent a nice afternoon exploring before stopping at the pub to stock our cooler full of some dangerously yummy eats.

Another cool photo victimized by our family creeper--Marley just cannot make herself stay out of the frame.

(We had friends over the night before we went to Arger Fen, and we all agreed that the true mark of a good night with friends is when someone wakes up with an unexplained black eye.)

(Photo by Casey, with adjustment to contrast by Mommy.)

Mother's Day

Dave and the kids treated me to an afternoon of 'punting' on the River Cam, along with tea and scones at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. It was a beautiful day to float along and hear our young guide share historical trivia and random facts about the colleges along the river and some of the traditions there. There is an ancient rule on the books that Cambridge students may take home a cow as a graduation gift from the University. Apparently a student from a rural farming village took advantage of that old rule and was able to take a cow home to his village after graduation last year!

Yep, that's me holding Marley's head down so she couldn't creep into the picture. Hey, it was Mother's Day, right?

Sweet gift from Dave and the kids. I love the puzzle, but love spending time with the kids putting it together even more!

Isle of Wight

We spent a warm, sunny 3-day weekend on the Isle of Wight over Memorial Day. Our digs for the weekend: converted barn on a beautiful farm on the western side of the island.

View of the farm

View of the coast

Casey termed the loft area "paradise" and retreated there to "write" several times per day.

Alum Bay. Note to self: chair lifts are downright intimidating when they drop off the sides of cliffs and nearly plunge into the sea.

Compton Bay, where we enjoyed a few extra special sights including a Troy Polamalu jersey (represent!) and a parking lot that has literally crumbled into the sea due to erosion. It is estimated that in 10,000 years, Isle of Wight will be completely gone. Pretty crazy.

Keller did some fossil hunting on the cliffs

Bear Grylls got nothin' on my boy

Yaverland, where the kids had their first experience of hanging out near a topless sunbather. Too bad she was 80 years old, with saggy baggy pieces and parts, and may have permanently scarred both of my boys. No photo evidence, but a funny story to share: her husband convinced her to take a walk along the beach, so she started rummaging through her bag. I assumed she was looking for her top or a cover-up, or anything at all to hide her scary 'girls.' Alas, she pulled out a bracelet, put it on her wrist, and then headed off for a walk. Stay classy, granny.

More fossil hunting

Zen girl

Dinosaur Isle museum

Ft. Victoria, a defense battery built in 1850, which has been converted into a variety of random exhibits

Ventnor Botanic Gardens

David and. . . Goliath?

Yarmouth Harbor and Pier, where the kids got to sample Minghella double creme ice cream, an Isle of Wight speciality

Queen's Diamond Jubilee

London-style was certainly a bit more fancy than Barton Mills-style, but our little village had it's own brilliant celebration that the Huffman family rather enjoyed. We didn't brave the cold rainy weather or the crowds to participate in the festivities in London. Some may think of it as a missed opportunity, but it is a bit akin to celebrating 4th of July in Washington, DC. Both sound like wonderfully patriotic experiences, and both are likely to end with 5000 intoxicated people crammed into a train car, sweaty armpits in my face, and feelings of "I would've had a better view on the TV at home." I've done DC 4th of July twice, so just trust me on this. We may not have had the fancy fireworks and random British celebrities. . .

. . .but we had flags, a barn dance and bbq, and our own visit from the 'Queen'. We had a church service with the British national anthem as the closing hymn, followed by prayers and a choral chant of "God Save the Queen." We had a sunny day on the village green, and to that, I'll say "Hip Hip Hooray!" any time!

I'll close with a few random shots from around our village, just because I think they're 'purty'

Last but not least, I'd like to give 'props' to my very created and talented brother-in-law Jim http://www.jamescliftonhuffman.com/welcome.cfm who is getting ready to direct and produce a short film that he has written. Take a minute to visit the film's Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/TrailsOfGray and see what it's all about!!

Happy Friday!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Fri, 04 May 2012 18:28:00 +0000

Days like these

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 20:24:00 +0000

When I was in my early twenties, I spent one year living alone. It was the first and only time in my life when I did not have roommates or housemates. I lived in a tiny apartment in a building where the only two souls I knew were my dog and my cockatiel. My apartment, billed as a 'junior one bedroom,' was so small that I could see everything I owned from any vantage point. My belongings consisted of flea market finds and hand-me-downs. It was small and simple, a metaphor for what my life was like back then.

There are days, and lawd today was one of them, when I long for that little apartment and that simple life so much that I am tempted to pack it all in and go out in search of that old feeling. I find myself shutting down and turning inward, just to block out everything else for awhile. These days are few and far between, but when they come, the funk is hard to shake. Days like today when the kids drive me crazy, the weather makes me feel hopeless, and I drown in the overwhelming knowledge that I am responsible for so much beyond my own happiness.

Sometimes I get stuck in a rut where I focus on how hard things can be, and how 'nobody told me there'd be days like these.' How it feels to love my children so fiercely and at the same time, sometimes want to be away from them. That there would be times when I reacted as harshly to requests to read books as I did to sibling bickering. Times when I would have to force myself to nod and smile and gush over a newly-drawn picture. Days when my upbeat husband and I would be so out of sync that I felt like we were living on different planets. Hours that passed too slowly, bed time seeming unbelievably out of reach.

I remember talking to my mom once awhile back when I was going through a particularly rough season of parenting. She thought for a moment, and then offered a heartfelt "Surprise!" which makes me laugh every time I think about it.

Tonight, I will remind myself of the pieces of today that I wouldn't trade for even a week of solitude in my tiny old apartment. Reading to the kids around the dinner table; snuggling under a blanket with Dave to watch The Descendants; explaining to Casey that No, humans do not lay eggs; hugging my oldest child who is suddenly less of a little boy and more of a little man; listening in as Keller gave Marley pointers on dribbling a basketball and riding a bike. These are the things that make my 'here and now' so much better than my 'there and then.'

Finding Day . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:48:00 +0000

About an hour ago, as I sat playing solitaire and watching Indiana Jones with the kids, it suddenly occurred to me that today marks the 5th anniversary of Marley's 'finding day.' Five years ago today, Marley was found, wrapped in a flowered quilt, with a bag of formula tucked inside. She was estimated to be 2 1/2 months old at the time. We know where she was found, and the name of the person who found her, but beyond that and what was published in her 'finding ad' in the local Chinese newspapers, we have no idea what that day held for Marley. Was it a long train ride or a short walk from her home? Did she wait long before being found? Was she cold? Scared? Who brought her there? Was it her birth mother? father? grandparent? This is perhaps the piece of the puzzle that I've thought about the most over the years that she has been our daughter--Who was the last person from Marley's birth family to hold her in their arms? What did they think when they walked away? How must that have felt?

I sat and wondered tonight if her birth family marks this day in any way. Do they light a candle or a stick of incense in her honor? Do they talk about it, using her birth name, which Marley will never even know? Are there tears? Do they wonder about her life and speak of the hopes they had for her when they made the decision that they could not be her family anymore?

And how should we mark this anniversary? Should there be ceremony--flowers planted? letters written, never to be sent?

So many questions, and these are only my questions, not Marley's. I can't imagine how many questions she'll have as she grows up.

In honor of National Poetry Month, I had planned to post one of my favorite poems. I remember reading it when I was much younger. The ways I felt I could relate to it back then pale in comparison to the ways that I relate to it now. It seems appropriate to share the poem on this night, the anniversary of the first night that Marley and her birth family spent apart.

Comes The Dawn

Author: Veronica A. Shoffstall

After a while you learn the subtle difference

Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,

And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning

And company doesn’t mean security,

And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts

And presents aren’t promises,

And you begin to accept your defeats

With your head up and your eyes open

With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child,

And you learn to build all your roads on today,

Because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans,

And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After a while you learn

That even sunshine burns if you get too much.

So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,

Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure...

That you really are strong,

And you really do have worth.

And you learn and learn...

With every goodbye you learn.

Wild Wales and Friendly France--The Epic Blog Post You've All Been Waiting For ; )

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:34:00 +0000

We arrived home from France at 1:30am this morning, and after a day full of unpacking, forcing filthy children into bath tubs, and working through 8 loads of the smelliest laundry ever--I've finally carved out a few moments to relieve my flash cards of their beautiful burdens. We have been insanely lucky to be able to take two awesome trips in the past month--one long weekend in Wales and one week in France--which ended with a combined total of about 1,000 pictures snapped by Yours Truly. I promise I won't post all of them, just a few hundred : )

Caswell Bay, Wales

Casey's baby tooth literally hung in there forever, but finally did fall out while we were in Wales

The boys were inspired to write their own beach quotes. Typical low-class behavior from them.

Three Cliffs hike--we had hazy weather and my pictures absolutely do not capture how breathtakingly beautiful the view was from the cliff line

This next picture captures the relationship between these two so well. As much as I feign emotional injury every time Marley tells me in her sassiest voice that she "wants to be a daddy, NOT a mommy" when she grows up because "daddy's are nicer," I love that they have this special bond.

Rhossili Bay, Wales

We spent an entire day at this beach and would gladly have gone back again if we had more than a weekend to spend in Wales.

We spent spring break week in the southern Brittany area of France, which was a choice we made by default. We originally planned to spend the week in Switzerland, but the friendly gal we were hoping to rent a house from mentioned that there would "still be plenty of snow for skiiing and snowboarding" this time of year. . .so we opted out. Skiing in the Swiss Alps sounds awesome (at least to Dave it does; I'm more interested in hanging out in a chalet mid-mountain, drinking hot alcoholic beverages and people-watching). It just wasn't what we had in mind for spring break time of year. We looked at our options that were driveable, and chose Brittany. No regrets at all--it was a wonderful week!

Our seasoned road trip crew, loaded up and ready ~~to start whining about who controls the DVD players, whose DS battery is dying, who sat/stood/farted on whose snacks/shoes/game~~

D-Day Museum in Portsmouth, England near where our ferry departed from

Pizza/Kebab house in Portsmouth We tend to gravitate toward these pizza/kebab/anything-else-you-might-possibly-want-to-eat places when travelling---the kids can fill up on pizza, I can get vegan goodies like falafel, and Dave can eat a whole bunch of whatever his metabolism seeks at the moment

We took an overnight ferry ride to St. Malo, France

Drove to Mont St. Michel which was crazy-crowded and very commercialized, but awe-inspiring nonetheless

passed this en route

Worth braving the crowds to see something so beautiful and old

Casey got to celebrate his 7th birthday in our comfy "caravan" (read: mobile home) at Ty Nadan in Arzano

Random beach in Lorient where we spent an hour or so and had a picnic lunch

I love these next two of Dave and his Mini Me

Guidel, near Lorient

I like to call this sequence "Blissed to P*ssed"

Hennebont market where we bought the best bread ever baked by anyone in the history of bread

St Cado, an amazingly picturesque islet with only about 20 houses and a beautiful old church. This was one of the off-the-beaten-path spots that took a little detective work to find, but so worth the effort

my absolute favorite scenic picture from the trip

Carnac Megaliths an arrangement of about 3,000 giant stones that are believed to have been part of an ancient astrological charting system. Unfortunately, they held about as much entertainment value for my kids as. . .well. . .a bunch of giant stones.

Plage du Beaumer at Carnac

When Keller saw me with my fancy new hair wrap from the Hennebont market, he said, "One, two, three. . . wait--I'd better count by fives" and I quickly realized he was counting my grey hairs. That's my thanks for a spring break trip to France. Brat.

Coco, our world-travelling monkey, makes an appearance in France

Quimperle town and market, where we bought some more incredible bread, some tasty (and very non-vegan!) cheeses, and Dave treated himself to a giant serving of paella with local mussels in it

Ste Barbe Chapel, another off-the-beaten-path locale we read a tiny blurb about in our guidebook, and then almost gave up on finding. It was so beautiful and serene, a fifteenth century church perched on a rocky cliff overlooking a river.

skies that greeted us

I can't describe how cool it was to search for this chapel with no idea what it might look like, and then to be rewarded with this view

We passed this cottage on the way to Ste Barbe and I made Dave stop across the street on the way back so I could snap a quick picture

Adventure Course at Ty Nadan (our 'glamping' resort home for the week). Dave and I were super proud of both boys for taking on the challenge (and kicking arse!). Dave signed up and did the course, in case Casey needed any help (way to take one for the team), but he was hardly needed at all. Marley decided to launch an un-contested campaign for Naughtiest Cheerleader Ever, running through all of the 'muddy puddles' she could find, throwing rocks, and at one point she even disappeared for a few heart-stopping minutes when she apparently decided she was going to walk back to the camper by herself.

Doesn't that little smirk just scream "NAUGHTY!"?

Canoe trip at Ty Nadan, which involved a lot of Keller trying to steer us under hanging branches, Casey complaining that Keller was elbowing him, Marley crying because she thought Keller was trying to take us under water, and ok, I'll admit that I used a little of my 'French' while out on the river. Not the high point of our vacation!

D-Day sites--Omaha Beach and the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, we visited these sites briefly on our way back to the northern coast to catch our ferry back home. It was a grey and rainy day, which added to the somber ambiance. (Dave gets full photo credit for the pictures from the cemetery and memorial)

If after scrolling through the million pictures above you find yourself tempted to think that vacations are all rainbows and unicorns for the Huffman crew, let me lay that to rest with a few anecdotes:

1. We arrived in France at 7:15 a.m., disembarked from our ferry, and quickly realized that we brought the GPS that only has UK maps on it, not the European continent. We found a McDonalds with free Wi-Fi, and figured we'd stop for a little breakfast, load the maps and be on our way. Alas, McDonalds in St. Malo, France does not actually open for breakfast until 10a.m., so we spent an eternity in the parking lot, being tortured by our ~~caged animals~~ children and trying Wi-Fi. After spending 2+hours outside and inside of McDonalds (during which time we ordered a bunch of food and drinks that we literally were not sure how to assemble) we finally gave up after having a whopping 14% of our maps loaded on to the GPS. By some miracle, it was just enough to get us through our whole trip, although we did find ourselves at the end of more than a few farm driveways and one one road that we're pretty sure was meant for cattle only :)

2. I took two years of French in junior/high school, followed by a couple years of Spanish. I have since taken Spanish in a variety of settings--college, private tutor, immersion experience in Guatemala, and have also used it with my ESL students (adults in Fairfax County and students here on base). Needless to say, I have completely forgotten even the most rudimentary French, and found myself using Spanish words a bazillion times. Example: approach the fruit seller at Hennebont market and hand him my chosen specimens; point to my reusable grocery bag and say "aqui" (Spanish for "here") to which he says "ici?" (French for "here") to which I respond "Si" and he responds with a friendly chuckle "Oui?" Dave had himself convinced at one point that he was pulling off a pretty convincing "Bonjour", but he sounded more like a big dude of German descent, who has mastery of toddler Spanish (minus the 'r' rolling) trying to say "Bonjour." Kind of like Steve Martin in the Pink Panther.

3. We travelled home across the English Channel, by ferry, on the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. About 10 minutes into our ride, the captain came over the intercom and announced that due to engine failure in 1 out of 4 (he emphased the "out of 4") engines, we would be sailing slower than planned and would reach Portsmouth an hour behind schedule. Something about the Titanic anniversary and our boat's engine failure left me feeling a bit uneasy.

I'll leave out other gems like how the boys were forced to 'go commando' for a day because they both ran out of clean underwear and how we realized after crossing the channel that Dave had forgotten to put the van in park on the overnight ferry. We are still getting the hang of this world-traveller business and although each trip is slightly easier, we are far from having our multi-lingual international ducks in a row.

Seriously, though, Dave and I want our kids to understand how fortunate they are to be on this grand adventure, but we also realize that at their ages, they don't have the perspective that it takes to really wrap their brains around it all. We try to put it on their level--like telling Casey how cool it is that he lost a tooth in Wales and then less than three short weeks later, celebrated his 7th birthday in France. We talk about how fun it is that Marley was born in China, adopted by an American family, moved to England where she attends a British school (and has picked up a cute British accent), and has stamps on her passport from places like Malta and France. I try to drive it home to them that all of these places and things they are experiencing are firsts for me, too, at age 38. We hope for the best, which is to say that it would be awesome if they grow up realizing how much there is to see and experience in this great big world, and how lucky they are to have been able to dive right in at such young ages.

Until next time. . .~~adios~~ Au Revoir!

The pay-off

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:35:00 +0000

It's no secret that Keller came into the world an intense, frenetic ball of boy. He rolled over at 11 weeks, crawled at 5 months, walked at 9 1/2 months, and I'm fairly certain he climbed his first tree a week later. He is funny and goofy and often inappropriate. He chews like a cow, for which he often earns an admonishment to "Quit 'chaw-ing'" from me. He has been on both the giving and receiving ends of countless bloody noses and goose eggs. And if I had a nickel for every exasperation-laden email I've received from one of his teachers, I'd be circling the world in a private jet right now, using dollar bills to blow my nose and gold coins to push back my cuticles. Keeping up with Keller is a full-time job.

But he is also smart and generous. He is sensitive and feels it deeply when he has hurt someone. He still gives bedtime kisses and will even sneak me a quick kiss when he gets out of the car at the bus stop. He wore his 'wedding outfit' to school on Friday, when his class was narrowing down their class officer nominations. Yes, my sweet boy went to third grade "dressed for success" (his words) in a tie and vest, and although he didn't win the nomination, he graciously agreed to be the campaign manager for the boy he has had an intense rivalry with for the better part of the school year. He has a sense of humor that far outpaces most kids his age. He is willing to try just about anything once, which means that he gets to experience active endeavors like rock climbing, mountain biking, and adventure racing at an age when most kids have never even watched, let alone participated in the sports.

It is hard, as his mom, to know that many people only see the less-than-glamorous parts of Keller, and miss out on the total picture. I can't tell you how many times someone has made a comment that left me torn between defensively rattling off all of Keller's strengths, or just skipping that in favor of popping them in the mouth. The day we walked into orientation for the Gifted & Talented center program at our old school in Virginia, I actually saw a few jaws drop. I wanted to scream, "Yes, he's hyper and silly, but he's also really freaking smart. So there." Instead, I settled for offering up a few really ~~bitchy~~ surprised exclamations of "Oh, I didn't realize ______ was going to be in the program!"

Every so often, though, he gets a chance to shine and surprise people who think they've seen all he has to offer. For me, those moments are a bit of a pay-off for years of attempting to help Keller channel his energy, while giving him space to be himself and keep all of his unique Keller-ness intact. Last week, Dave and I received an email from his teacher, who was awestruck by our boy's interaction with preschoolers when his class walked to the base daycare to read Dr. Seuss books for Read Across America day. She said that she saw his sweet, nurturing side really shine through as she watched him read to the children, play with them, and do little acts of kindness, like tying a boy's shoe for him.

So, without further ado. . .(ok, so there may be further ado. . .give the video a minute to load!)

I'd like to close by schooling everyone with a list of famous, successful people who have been blessed with the 'gift'of ADHD:

Ty Pennington of Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Sir Richard Branson founder of Virgin (including Virgin Airlines, Virgin Records, and about 398 other companies), adventurer, and 4th wealthiest man in the UK

Jim Carrey comedian and actor

Michael Phelps swimmer who racked up 14 gold medals at the Athens and Beijing Olympics

Will Smith actor, singer, father

Justin Timberlake Grammy-winning singer, dancer, actor

Terry Bradshaw Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback who led them to 4 Super Bowl wins

Paul Orfalea founder of Kinko's who also struggled with dyslexia and alleges that if No Child Left Behind had been around when he was a child, he'd still be in third grade :)

David Neeleman founder of JetBlue Airways

I cannot wait to see what my exuberant boy does with his many gifts.

Weekend Wrap-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:42:00 +0000

Despite an onslaught of nasty kid germs, we managed to get out and about for a few hours both afternoons this weekend.

One of the conundrums we face here is that some of the really cool sites that the grown-up Huffmans would like to see don't exactly appeal to the little Huffmans. On Saturday, we found a happy medium at St. Edmundsbury Cathedral, where the kids could climb and play on ancient ruins outside, tiring their hyper butts out enough to give us about 5 minutes of quiet while we explored the inside of the cathedral. Of course Marley fell on her face on the marble floor and bruised her chin, which happened immediately after a friendly older English mum had said, "She's fine, mum" when I told Marley in my best whisper-of-rage voice that she needed to "stop.running.in.the.cathedral."

Random aside. . .these little pot pies that they sell at the outdoor market in Bury look yummy enough to make a gluten-free vegan consider falling off the wagon!

On Sunday, we finally got out the door at around 2:30pm, just in time for the clouds to come out. We checked out a local nature reserve, Lackford Lakes, where the kids ~~scared away all of the protected birds and water fowl, thereby pissing off the kooky bird watchers and photographers~~ enjoyed a walk around the series of small lakes.

Both boys had end-of-season basketball parties over the past week. Keller had a good season--scoring lots of baskets on the days he was "on" and entertaining himself by practicing elaborate figure skating maneuvers on the court when he was having a more "off" game. Casey was a bit timid this season, and actually only took one shot all season. . .at his last game. . .and he scored! Looking at their basketball pictures, the Huffman height advantage is pretty obvious. Just gotta work on their skills and they will dominate next year.

That's all for now. Marley and I took a sick day today, which involved a trip to the doctor for her, and a lot of me listening to her give running narratives of her life while I tried to relax and read.

We are getting pretty excited about a few upcoming trips--France and Switzerland for spring break in April, and Gran Canaria for a week (most likely over Thanksgiving). I'm also planning a girls' weekend away with some friends from work, which will be way cool, especially because we can consider a variety of countries all a reasonable drive or cheap flight away!

Through the lens

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:49:00 +0000

Sunday morning ushered in a bout of 'the blues' that I couldn't seem to shake. The kind of something's-not-quite-right-ness that is hard to remedy because the cause is vaguely related to a million different things. I have been missing my friends, my family, my freedom to come and go as I please. I have been missing time alone with my husband and time alone with myself. Time to read more, write more, take more pictures, talk face-to-face with the people who have known me forever and still love me even when I'm being awful. Those feelings were compounded by a random smattering of disgruntlements (if that isn't a real word, it certainly should be) which I heaped into a big pot and brewed into a giant batch of what Dave likes to call "stinkin' thinkin.'" As the morning wore on, the skies cleared and showed us some of the gorgeous blue that we covet so much in the winter here, so we packed some snacks, bundled the kids and headed out for some fresh air and time spent together in nature. As always, I found that looking at things through the lens of my camera provided a much-needed shift in perspective.

Anglesey Abbey and Gardens

On Monday, our hardy bunch donned winter coats, hats, gloves, and our wellies to explore the coast at Dunwich Heath. It was beautiful and although we didn't see blue skies until just before sunset, we had the beach to ourselves for hours, which meant we were free to gather shells, skip stones, make sand angels, and collect various 'treasures' that acted as props in our make believe game of 'Beach Survivor.'

At the end of the day, the sky gifted us with some glimpses of blue and a beautiful sunset.

And finally, the kooky family portion of this post, because lawd knows a day out with my kids is not complete without some tomfoolery. It was a good thing we had the beach all to ourselves, as Keller amused us by drawing a circle in the sand and ranting in his scarily believable crazy person voice "Don't come inside the circle! Stay out of the circle!"

(For the record, I had to google 'tomfoolery' because it is one of those ridiculous words, like 'shampoo,' then when I type it, I start to wonder if it is a word I made up in my head. Loved that a synonym for 'tomfoolery' is 'buffoonery.' My new favorite word!)