Chepstow Castle

On the way back from Tintern we stopped off in the town of Chepstow to see Chepstow Castle. Chepstow Castle is the oldest castle in Britain that can be dated. By now I had gone quite a while without a nap so I was pretty much off my rocker.

Chepstow Castle was built and then added onto many, many, times. Now the castle stretches along the Wye River (I think it's the Wye River) and seems to go on forever.


The castle has many rooms and nooks and crannies that I could hide in. Here is what I think used to be an old fireplace that I could walk into. I would run inside and then run out playing peek-a-boo with everyone. Like I mentioned in the first paragraph I was pretty much off my rocker.


The weather was pretty much perfect. It was warm when the sun was out and cool when the clouds covered the sun, pretty much a moderate day. The towers were huge and had many many rooms. Chepstow Castle is in pretty good condition since it has been used even after the middle ages most notably during the British civil war.


After visiting Tintern and Chepstow in the same day we were all pretty exhausted. Even 'Nighthawk' dad went to bed fairly early. I can't wait to do more sightseeing with Grandma and Grandpa!

Big Boy Chair

I like my high chair less and less every day. Now I like to crawl in every chair I can find. Before supper I crawl into big person chairs until mom and dad tell me to get into my booster chair. Before supper mom and dad let me sit at the table and eat some bread and water before supper. Not too long now until I get to sit in a chair like the rest of the big people. The high chair makes me feel handicapped but I am really a big boy!

M&M: I am supposed to pass on from mom and dad to Michelle and Mel that Michelle's AOL email is not working and is rejecting any and all emails from both mom and dad. This has been happening for a while and seems to be a problem with AOL.

Tintern Abbey, The Return

Yesterday I took Grandma and Grandpa to one of my favorite haunts, Tintern Abbey. Here is a picture of me describing to Grandpa how the monks built some of the buildings surrounding the Abbey.


After giving the tour to Grandpa I took Grandma along some of the ancient walls to show how well the walls have held up against the environment.


As you can see Tintern Abbey is a massive structure that has fallen into dis-repair after the king turned the Abbey's lands over to private ownership. After going through the Abbey and surrounding buildings we ate at the restaurant across the street called The Anchor. The Anchor is in a building that the Abbey used to use as the wine press and distillery. Apparently most Abbeys were big into wine making. Unfortunately I am still two years away from legal drinking age in Britain... Just kidding, legal age is 18 years old.

Bampa & Bamma are here!

Mom has been telling me all week that Grandma & Grandpa are coming & finally they are here! Today we went down to the Swansea train station to pick them up. I was really excited to see them & the big train they came in on. I can't get the "G" sound down, so for now they are Bampa & Bamma! I also got to skip my nap to play in the back yard with them. Yes, I already love having G & G here. We are all a bit tired tonight, so are heading to bed early.

Grandpa has been telling me all about A. Sue, so a big hi to you & Bruce.

KETCHUP

Well as you can see my new favorite food is ketchup! My parents keep telling me that it is for dipping things, something about being a condiment?!? I just like to eat it by the spoonful Mmmmmmm. I think it is part of the vegetable & fruit food group. Mom tells me that Dad loves ketchup as much as I do, she thinks our ketchup loving habbit might bankrupt us.

Cannes, France

Last Friday mom and dad wisked me away early in the morning and drove to Bristol, England and caught a flight to Nice, France. After that flight we took a cab to the hotel which was right on the beach in Cannes bay. Dad got upgraded to a junior executive suite so we got a big room with an entry way, two bathrooms, living room, bedroom, and two patios facing opposite sides of the hotel. It was awesome! The only negative thing was that this hotel was built in 1991 and was stuck in the 80's in style.


The weather in Cannes was pretty much perfect. It was mid seventies but we never saw a cloud until the day we were leaving. Plus, the sun was very hot. Mom and dad caked me in sun screen lotion and wouldn't let me take my shirt off. But mom and dad both got toasted with sun burns.


This is what mom did a whole lot of, sitting on her beach chair, staring at the ocean, and reading home magazine (which dad says are all the same). In this picture I am laying with mom looking at the million dollar yachts. There were huge yachts sailing by all day long.


At first I was a little scared of the water. On our second day on the beach the wind was making the waves crash really loud so I didn't like to get too close but then dad showed me that I could use my bucket to collect water from the ocean and dump in holes that I could dig myself. After I realized this I made dad fill up the bucket many more times. I think I made him a little tired with all those trips.


After the end of our last beach day I took my parents to the roof of our hotel where the hot tubs and swimming pool are at. Plus there is a great view of the city and beach. Dad and I went swimming and I kicked around while dad held me in the pool.


And of course, I couldn't go to Cannes and not take advantage of the luxury bathrooms, and our hotel room had two bathrooms and three toilet paper rolls!

We are all tired and mom was checking emails all night so I have to end my post now and go to bed. I'll try to add more detail later. Good night!

Sitting

I like to sit on chairs. I like to sit at the kitchen table chairs (not the boring baby high chair, I don't like that one), and I like to sit on the coach. Unfortunately I don't sit for very long, usually less than one minute. Then I am off to the next location or next chair to sit on.

Ospreys Vs. Scarlets

VS.

Tonight dad went to his first professional rugby game and saw the Neath-Swansea Ospreys vs. the Llanelli Scarlets. If you remember my previous post Llanelli is pronounced "Kknekki" if you can sound that out. Of course I wasn't invited because it was past my bedtime! Anyway, the Scarlets are the most famous rugby team in Wales and the Scarlets franchise goes back more than a century. They are sort of the Yankees of Welsh rugby except... they don't buy all their players.

There were a lot of interesting differences between Welsh sporting events and North American sporting events. Starting with the uniforms professional Welsh (and this is true throughout European sport). As you can see NPOWER is the main sponsor this year for the Ospreys, you can see their logo on the front of the above jersey. This is a lot different from, say, major league baseball, that nearly had a meltdown when the Yankees attempted to put a 'Spiderman' web on the bases as a promotion for the Spiderman movie. Wait a second, I wasn't born yet when that happened. How did I know that?

Getting tickets was the most difficult time of the night. Despite a game that wasn't anywhere near sold out the game needed to be postponed because the queues (lineups) were so long. Can you imagine a hockey, football, basketball, or baseball game being delayed because fans were still waiting to get into the stadium? Not likely I think. And what do I know I've never been to a professional sports event. Dad just tells me stuff. I also think it unlikely that a) that many people would not have tickets before the game, and b) that a North American sporting venue would not have the ability to process tickets and fill the stadium. I saw people walk away tonight because the line was too long. Not good for business.

Getting in the gate was the another adventure. Dad thinks he touched on this when he went to the Swansea Swans soccer match. You literally need to turn sideways to get into the stadium. Then you inch along and hand in your ticket, and then roll through a turnstyle (still sideways) and finally into the stadium. Anyone of any size would have a serious issue getting into the stadium. Apparently this is set up that way as a precautionary measure to prevent fans from storming the gate (a major problem in Europe but not one I have heard of in North America).

Concessions are not easy to track down either. Outside the gate people were selling programs for the evening's match. Dad figured "I'll pick one up inside", no you won't dad, there weren't any for sale inside! And, once you are in your seat you need to go get your own food because it ain't coming. Unlike most venues in North America you need to go get your food at the concessions below.

Another interesting thing, at the start of the game the first few players bring young children onto the field. This is also common in European sport and I always figured that these were the players children. No! Individuals pay money (for the Ospreys it was 250 GBP) for their children to walk on the field with the players! Now 250 GBP (about $450 USD) isn't a crazy amount of money but imagine what it would cost for a child to walk on the field with a team like Manchester United? It would cost a small fortune and children walk on the field every game...

It was a beautiful night, again thanks for inviting me dad, and interesting to see how they do their national pastime in Wales.

P.S. - Dad didn't take the top picture but did take the other pictures from his seats (like you couldn't tell).

Jaunt To Cardiff

Today I took a trip to Cardiff since mom wanted to check out some stores. While I was waiting I sat in a ride of one of my favorite book characters, Bob the Builder. Since I was below the age limit recommended by the ride I just sat inside and looked around. I was pretty proud of myself. I also yelled at anyone who got in the way as you can see by my hand gesture in the picture. Out of the way fools!


Incredibly, I went outside and there was a real backhoe working on the street! I sat there and watched them work for almost half-an-hour. It was pretty cool.


As I am sure you know oil prices are through the roof but at least in North America it is not as ridiculous as here. The above picture is of a gas station sign. I know you can't see the prices due to the sign flicker but gasoline is 95 pence per litre and diesel (which we use) is 98 pence per litre. To convert that, 1 litre = approximately .25 gallons so there are about 4 litres in a gallon. So, 95 pence times 4 litres = 3.80 British pounds. 1 GBP = 1.75 USD therefore 3.80 GBP times 1.75 USD = $6.65 USD per U.S. gallon! When dad filled the tank today it cost $100 USD. What a deal!

Museum Of Welsh Life

I tried to post this yesterday but Blogger has been absolutely terrible.


Today we went to the Museum Of Welsh Life. The museum is actually a huge outdoor campus with buildings from the different eras in Welsh history. The museum has everything from thatch roof buildings to modern futuristic homes and everything in between.


We went to the museum with my good friend Emma, her husband Simon (also our friend), and our (and their) other friends Sally and Jason. In the morning we went to Ikea for a couple hours to look at things that I would like to purchase. I think I managed to touch every single display item in the entire store. I sort of made it into a contest.


There was some great scenery and Wales is in full bloom so the flowers and trees were looking really pretty. It was a long day but I was a real trooper.


What are you lookin' at Willis?

Faster Than A Speeding Camera

Dad was trying to take a picture of me today at the fortified manor house at the Museum of Welsh History.

During the first picture I ran out of the camera's view.


In this picture I wanted to see what dad thought was so interesting in the background, hence, the photo of the back of my head.


In this picture I thought the cars on the street and the rust on the bars were more interesting than watching dad take a picture of me with the camera.


In this shot I just couldn't resist the challenge of climbing up the side of this hill. Hey! This was like Everest for me, I almost needed to radio for an oxygen tank, hence, the picture of the side of my body.


Dad wanted to try another picture of the manor house but something really interesting happened to my right so I needed to check it out. I think I saw a squirrel or something...


After all these pictures I realized mom wasn't around so I couldn't wait around for dad to take a picture, so instead you got the picture of my butt.


When is dad going to learn there are way to many things to see around here for me to wait around for a camera to take a picture. Maybe we should get a digital camera with less of a delay? Six takes and this was the best shot.

Oxwich Bay

Today we all went to Oxwich Bay to play in the sand. Even though we are dressed in warm clothes the temperature was actually pretty warm. Mom and dad always make me where a toque if there is any wind. I think it's a little ridiculous but what can I do?


The first picture is of me and dad building a sand castle. The next picture is of what I would do every time dad would build a sand castle. I could get a job as sand castle destroyer. Not sure if that pays very much though.

Look What The Mailman Dragged In

Just after I woke up this morning there was a knock at the door. Since I was demanding to be held mom carried me to the door and when we opened the door there was a huge parcel! Inside was a bunny, for me, some chocolate, for me, even a card, probably for me but I can't read, and a box and packaging, which I assume is for me also. The parcel was from Auntie Lala and Uncle Kirby. I guess she sent it a couple weeks ago but it must have gone through a unionized distribution center because they certainly took their sweet time in getting it here but in the end the timing was perfect!

Blogger Down

I don't know if Blogger has been having problems or what but posting has been limited due to internet malfunctions and www.blogger.com. Hopefully these don't continue. Sorry for any inconvenience.

- Brenden

Schedules

I pretty much have my bed time schedule down to a science. I eat supper, play a little bit, then I have my bath. After my bath I lay on my bed and mommy dresses me and dad reads me stories. After story time mom and dad hold me and say bed time prayers. I know that after prayers dad says good night and momma rocks me for a little bit and then lays me in my bed. So since I know this going to happen after we pray (and sometimes before) I point to the door and say 'bye-bye' to dad since I know he is going to leave anyway. In fact, I stop continuation of my bed time routine until dad has left the room. This probably means I am going to be very schedule orientated, and I don't even have a watch!

Ice Cream Cones

One of my new favorite foods is officially ice cream cones. I think ice cream cones are in the grains and cereals food group so they must be healthy? Whatever group they are in I like them. They are especially useful when we go on stroller rides because they take a while to eat they keep me occupied and I don't get cranky. This also works well for extended car trips when I am tired and won't settle. Although, mom says I do have a tubby belly, I hope all this eating isn't contributing. I guess mom'll just have to take me to the park more!

The Park

Mom and me went to the park on Thursday and I was playing peek-a-boo through the hole. It's a new game I really like to play. Sometimes I sneak up on mom and yell 'boo'!


Here is a picture of me posing with my baby sized soccer ball. I like to kick the ball around but I think I'll retire when we move back to America. Maybe I'll play it in the offseasons.

I Love T.P.

I don't know what it is but when I am in a bathroom I can't help but unravel all the toilet paper from the toilet paper roll. I've unraveled toilet paper in some of the most famouns cities in the world. Amsterdam, London, Edinburgh, I've unraveled in them all. Dad says the chamber maids were probably cursing under their breath at some of the messes I've left in the bathrooms!

PS - The photo above is from the bathroom at the Courtyard Marriott at Amsterdam Airport, The Netherlands.

Mr. Happy

Today mom took me to Bridgend which is a small city just down the road from Swansea. They have a factory outlet there and I was in need of some new shoes. I have been wearing size 4's for a little while but the lady at the store said that I needed size 5 1/2! So I got some new shoes. They are pretty sweet. They are Clarks, which I think is a name brand for baby shoes. Either way they are made in England, not Taiwan Nike losers!

After we got my shoes mom took me to the park to celebrate. I ripped around for a while and then we came home. It was a pretty fun day.

Sleepy Swansea

Today ended my quiet weekend at home. The day started pretty nice cooled off in the late afternoon. Mom was telling me that the weather in Minneapolis was going to be in the mid 60's (Fahrenheit) this week. That is warmer than it is here. The temperature here has been mid 50's for... about the last four months. It has been unseasonably cold. Hopefully things turn around soon.

Rancho Relaxo

This weekend I decided to take it easy. After traveling to Scotland and Amsterdam the last couple weekends we needed a break. I even stayed up late Friday night (i.e. I talked in my crib to almost 9 PM) and slept in on Saturday morning (until 7 AM). Dad didn't think I slept in long enough.


After we finally got up we decided to go down the ocean. I played in the park along ther waterfront and then we all went to Verdi's for coffee. It was pretty fun. As you can see, like father like son, me and my dad were both wearing hats. I like to wear hats. Sometimes I run around the house and put on toques and hats and then look at my reflection in oven door (since there are no mirrors at my height).


After we got home from Verdi's I took a nap for a couple hours. Then I got up and me and my dad played outside for a while. When I came in for supper it was just in time since it started to hail. Likely the hail stones weren't big enough to do any damage but I still wouldn't have liked to be out in it!

Messiest Eater Ever

That's the title I am going for today. Even though I attempt to use utensils I usually end up resorting to the old reliable hands. Then when mom brings me the yogurt the fun really starts. Actually I am getting a lot better about eating my food. Just last week I started using a fork. I do like stabbing my food, unfortunately its a 'safety' fork so the fork is pretty much round and stabbing the food takes a lot of effort. I might as well be using a spoon.