Blog AATO

Meanwhile....

2012-02-11T12:51:00.003Z

Little O is spending a lot of his spare time working on his favourite hobby - jigsaw puzzles.

Knew that tip-toeing gait would be useful...

2012-02-11T12:50:00.002Z

Little T has been enjoying her first half term of ballet lessons.

" I love it" she reports.

Schoolwork review

2012-02-11T10:58:00.000Z

At her parents' evening recently, we managed to look at all of Little T's work that she has done over the past few months.
This is an example of her work. Obviously we need to work on her spelling as 'Sauvignon Blanc' was apparently just a little too hard.

Frosty morning

2012-02-11T10:54:00.000Z

With the recent cold spell, temperatures are often down to -6 deg C (21 deg F). This results in some beautiful ice formations, much to Little T's delight.

Parrot's got a brand new perch

2012-02-05T16:11:00.000Z

Little T was very proud to be able to build a tower even taller than Uncle James for her favourite toy to sit upon. Great after dinner entertainment !

Plank position #65

2012-02-04T13:16:00.001Z

Little O had been practising the art of planking.

Good for the abs, he tells me.

Little T has been spending too much time watching the Jewellery Channel ?

2012-01-28T18:59:00.001Z

Guess where they are ?

2012-01-21T19:51:00.003Z

Top Trumps with a 6 yr old

2012-01-02T16:17:00.001Z

After my suspicions of foul play were confirmed (Little T dealt the cards in private), I confronted her with an accusation of cheating.

Her defence....?

"It's not the winning that matters, it's the playing"

Monday's message

2012-01-02T16:09:00.001Z

Sad news...

2012-01-01T10:35:00.001Z

After being unwell this year, Grandma Alice sadly passed away on New Year's Eve.
She is now at peace, although will be sorely missed by us all.

Mrs K/C/KC is flying over to be there for her dad. Little O is going with her to keep her company and Little T will be staying with me.

We shall say prayers for a safe and peaceful trip.

AATO Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T00:40:00.000Z

Christmas comedy moments

2011-12-27T11:33:00.003Z

Is it a train set, Daddy ?

Rapunzel doll has a bad hair day !

"It's a book about drains !" - Little O exclaimed

Cooking the Christmas dinner

2011-12-27T11:29:00.002Z

The dinner choice was made by Little T - roast turkey and Yorkshire puddings were top of the list. Mrs K/C/KC had also made one of her fantastic nut roasts (better than meat in my carnivorous opinion).

Not unexpectedly, after all the goodies they had been snacking on during the day, neither of them ate all their beautifully prepared food. That was ok, as it meant more for the rest of us !

Santa's gifts were most welcome...

2011-12-26T22:47:00.000Z

The proof is in the small baked biscuit

2011-12-26T22:43:00.002Z

As usual on Christmas morning, the first thing that Little T and Little O have to do when they come downstairs is to check out whether Santa consumed the supplies left out on Christmas Eve.

As usual, Santa (and Rudolph) did not disappoint.

Twas the night before Christmas...

2011-12-26T22:36:00.001Z

And all through the house,
The Dynamic Duo were
Quite excited, really !

Having said that, they did go to bed without complaint and (as far as we know) fell asleep very quickly, so that Santa could arrive.

Little O gets the hump....

2011-12-25T00:37:00.001Z

Nativity part 2

2011-12-25T00:27:00.001Z

Tonight (Christmas Eve) we had our second Nativity play of the season, this time at church with Little O starring as a quite colourful camel and Little T opting for a more sheepish role.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-18T23:08:00.001Z

We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.If you would like to read our 2011 Year Review then click here or navigate there by using the link on the right of this screen.

Little T's angelic portrait

2011-12-14T21:28:00.000Z

School nativity play 2011

2011-12-14T21:27:00.001Z

Little T and Little O both starred in their school's nativity today.

Little O was a goat (with extra thanks to Grandma for her horny creations !), whilst Little T was the angel.

Happy Birthday Antijen !

2011-12-12T07:52:00.001Z

Take it easy today.....

$1000 claimed ?

2011-12-10T20:27:00.001Z

Little O broke his 'no fruit' policy this evening with only gentle encouragement from Mrs K/C/KC. Not sure she can claim the fruit bounty of $1000 as I didn't actually witness it myself.

Which fruit did he pick to start eating ? That's right..... a lemon !!!!!!

Grandma's smokin' fire

2011-12-10T20:25:00.001Z

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa up in Liverpool this weekend.

We were able to see the new fireplace that has only just been completed.

Christmas hugs all round

2011-12-08T19:10:00.000Z

Little T enjoyed a Christmas cuddle with a local snowman. He very much reminded us of his snow-cousin at Goody's in Manistee.

Well done Little T

2011-12-07T19:49:00.001Z

Little T's swimming skills have been improving and as a result she earned a badge at the end of the term.

School Christmas lunch

2011-12-07T11:33:00.000Z

Little T was quite excited to have her first school lunch today (having had lovingly prepared packed lunches for the past year).

The temptation of roast turkey and roast potatoes was too much to resist !
I hope the event matches her expectations.

Published !

2011-12-04T19:10:00.001Z

Little O was very excited to see that his latest book (an autobiographical work) is now stocked in the local branch of Waterstones.

His favourite chapters include :

1 .... you give me food.

3 ..... I can watch TV

9 ..... we play lego

and 13 ..... you make me a gingerbread latte.

Whodunnit ?

2011-11-24T22:46:00.001Z

Mrs K/C/KC and I had great fun at our 4 yearly murder mystery night hosted by our friends, recently.

The dragon puppet was a delightful touch, although perhaps his cockney accent was not authentic enough ? Mrs K/C/KC played an artist renowned for her risque work and she took along some pieces she had prepared especially !

Tricky cheating ?

2011-10-30T20:25:00.001Z

Little T and Little O had a lot of fun going around the neighbourhood to see our friends and ~~begging~~ asking for treats.

Little O was confusing people with his 'tricky cheating ?' instead of 'trick or treat ?'

The pumpkin results

2011-10-30T20:21:00.001Z

Pumpkin carving 2011

2011-10-30T20:19:00.000Z

As usual we had great fun preparing our pumpkins today. Little T even managed to be persuaded to get her hands dirty ! Little O, though, was not convinced and used a spoon...

We even had company and expert carving skills were displayed by the Bad Kamas from no 8 !

Or alternatively.....

2011-10-30T20:15:00.001Z

What to do with 20' of bubblewrap

2011-10-30T20:13:00.000Z

Sleepovertastic

2011-10-29T20:30:00.000+01:00

Little T was an excellent host for her friend Little R over the weekend. There was popcorn, 'late' night TV, bath bombs, giggling in bed and pancakes in the morning.

Little R was a very welcome and polite guest as usual.

Flying visit from the IOM cousins

2011-10-24T20:06:00.001+01:00

Little T and Little O managed to squeeze as much fun as they could out of their time with their cousins at the weekend. Sadly they were only here for 6 hours whilst en route to New York, but it was great to catch up.

Ugh ! Girls...

2011-10-16T10:28:00.002+01:00

Praying for snow

2011-10-16T10:27:00.001+01:00

In light of the sudden colder weather, Little T has been paying closer attention to the weather forecast in the hope that there may be snow soon. This is particularly true following her birthday and her gift of a new sled from Mummy and Daddy !

Look, no hands !

2011-10-02T18:25:00.000+01:00

Little T has spent some time perfecting her scooter stunt skills, including this one - the "no-hands, one foot, no-teeth" move.

Luckily, no 6 yr old child was hurt in the making of this photo....

Sushi ninja school

2011-10-01T20:09:00.000+01:00

The highlight of the day (well for me at least, but I'm pretty sure for the kids too) was the sushi making lesson.

We spent 2 hours with our instructor and learnt the art of rolling the perfect sushi roll (with fillings such as crab stick, avocado and cucumber).
Although we had plenty to eat, we even managed to bring some home for later !

Next stop - pod with a view.

2011-10-01T20:04:00.003+01:00

The first activity (after ice cream, of course) was a ride on the London Eye. The girls enjoyed the fantastic view of London and we sang a round of 'happy birthday' at the apex of the ride.

Girls day out in London

2011-10-01T11:34:00.000+01:00

To celebrate Little T's 6th birthday we are in London with her friends to go on the London Eye. First stop - ice creams !!!

Birthday celebrations for Little O

2011-09-17T17:35:00.001+01:00

Slightly belated cake for the now 3 yr old Little O.
There was definitely a Cars theme to the proceedings (cake, cards, presents) much to his delight.

Bubba bats

2011-09-16T18:47:00.000+01:00

Day 2 of new bunk bed. Little O has not wasted any time in finding new ways to entertain himself in his room.

This was the view in the middle of the night last night.

Big day for Little O

2011-09-14T21:29:00.000+01:00

After months of waiting, Little O was very excited to be starting nursery school. He looked very smart this morning in his uniform and was pleased to go right in and start playing (so much so, that I didn't even get a 'goodbye' out of him !!!).

What could surpass that excitement ? Well, later In the afternoon there were squeals of delight when his new bunk bed arrived. Let's hope he's still in it upstairs as I write this !!!

Reaching the summit

2011-09-10T23:25:00.000+01:00

Fun at camp

2011-09-10T23:24:00.000+01:00

Little T and I had a race up the climbing wall and it was a close call, but Little just beat me to it.

Farewell hug with Grandpa at Detroit airport

2011-08-31T07:59:00.000+01:00

Goodbye Manistee

2011-08-28T18:54:00.000+01:00

After a frantic last 24 hrs (although finding time to visit family and eat ice cream, of course), it was sadly time to say goodbye again.

We have had a wonderful 3 weeks and cannot wait to return next year.

The riverwalk

2011-08-27T03:33:00.001+01:00

Fun at Lighthouse Park

2011-08-27T03:31:00.000+01:00

The dynamic duo spent a little more time at their favourite park before we headed back to the UK.

Shopping at Giant store has major disadvantage for Mrs K/C/KC

2011-08-25T03:58:00.000+01:00

Water baby

2011-08-25T03:56:00.000+01:00

Little T demonstrated her improving skills and confidence in the water. There are just a few more days left so we will try and get to the beach a few more times before we leave.

Dad and son enjoying lunch together

2011-08-25T03:55:00.000+01:00

Little O had the raw grilled cheese sandwich and I had a 'ham and jam' sandwich which was superb.

Mia & Grace, Muskegon

2011-08-25T03:52:00.001+01:00

We managed to return to this lovely cafe in Muskegon for lunch and this time I managed to try a new ice cream - strawberry balsamic. Very nice it was (last time I tried a fantastic rosemary and olive oil flavour).

Cousin collection

2011-08-25T03:47:00.001+01:00

We were delighted to meet up with some of the cousins in Muskegon again. They all got on very well and it did not feel like a whole year since we had last seen them. There was plenty to do together, including snake stroking and sassafras chewing !

Little recreates her favourite scene from Karate Kid !

2011-08-22T14:54:00.002+01:00

Accident waiting to happen ?

2011-08-22T14:53:00.002+01:00

No prizes for guessing what happened next !

Fun with the Bear Lakers

2011-08-22T14:52:00.000+01:00

We spent a wonderful afternoon out at the lakeside cottage. Little T did plenty of swimming and Little O did plenty of eating !
We also tried to recreate my favourite photo of all time (see here) with Little O but he was not so keen on jumping alone !

Cousins Reunited

2011-08-21T03:14:00.000+01:00

The Beach at Manistee

2011-08-20T18:18:00.000+01:00

Lepidopterous Metamorphosis

2011-08-20T16:08:00.000+01:00

Quick stop for fun

2011-08-20T16:05:00.004+01:00

On the way home from dinner, there was even time for a quick play by the lakeside (although Mrs K/C/KC seemed to want to play more than the rest of us).

Dinner at The Glenwood

2011-08-20T16:03:00.000+01:00

Mrs K/C/KC and I were determined to make it to one of our favourite restaurants whilst we were on holiday. The Glenwood does a lovely almond encrusted shrimp with a cherry dipping sauce, which even Little O was quite fond of this time around.

Good food was enjoyed by all and the dynamic duo behaved well throughout, which meant that we all could relax and enjoy our evening.

View from Horseshoe Bend

2011-08-20T15:58:00.000+01:00

The family took a drive out to the river bed at Horseshoe Bend. We managed to skim some stones in the river, collect pretty rocks and successfully avoid poison ivy.

Self portrait in chalk - Little T 2011

2011-08-20T15:42:00.002+01:00

Hanging out with the O boys !

2011-08-20T15:40:00.002+01:00

"Loud and noisy and scary" - Little T

2011-08-19T14:42:00.001+01:00

The steam powered whistle was a crowd puller at the engine show. It was indeed impressively loud...

Buckley Old Engine Show 2011

2011-08-19T14:38:00.000+01:00

We rode up North to see our friends, The O's, and then headed over to the engine show which is run annually near their house.

A large collection of tractors and other old engines were on display. The steam train ride was also a big hit with the children.

No doubt, it is the popcorn and ice cream that they will remember primarily !

JB snow cone heaven

2011-08-18T03:49:00.000+01:00

Little T was overjoyed with her gift from Aunt K. An authentic jelly bean snow cone machine, with cherry and apple flavours.

Little O was not so impressed and preferred the mint choc chip ice cream that was a back up plan.

On the sauce again !

2011-08-17T23:26:00.000+01:00

Mrs K/C/KC wondered why the crowd was not cheering after her karaoke performance. Equipment failure maybe ?

Tractor ride

2011-08-17T21:44:00.001+01:00

More tractor fun

2011-08-17T21:30:00.000+01:00

Little T and Little O had another fun day, this time going for a tractor ride with their friends. Mr O drove the tractor whilst we rode in the wagon.

Working on the farm

2011-08-17T21:25:00.000+01:00

Little T gets the well pump working whilst Little O tries to stay dry !

Fun at Uncle Mike's Ranch

2011-08-17T21:22:00.000+01:00

One of the most memorable locations here in Michigan is Uncle Mike's place. This is likely due to the relatively limitless supply of home grown fruit and a tractor ! Suffice it to say that Little T prefers the former and Little O the latter.

Even Little O helped pick the blueberries, but politely declined to try them himself.

Tractor-tastic 2011

Train theft on the up ?

2011-08-17T21:17:00.000+01:00

Crime is so bad here, that they have to lock everything up....

Keeping the US economy going

2011-08-17T19:28:00.000+01:00

In light of the financial crisis in the world currently, Mrs K/C/KC and I feel it is our duty to support local businesses to ensure they remain open. Our favourite coffee shop (Goodies) is one of those we keep afloat ! They do make a very agreeable iced chai latte :)

Call this a medium size ?

Further photos of the Wisconsin cousins

2011-08-17T19:25:00.000+01:00

After their few days here in Manistee, we sadly had to say goodbye. Little T and Little O had a great time playing with them. Hopefully it will not be another 10 years until we meet up again.

Caffeine break no. 1443

2011-08-15T23:05:00.001+01:00

Sitting in Barnes & Noble enjoying an iced caffeinated beverage is one of my favourite pastimes here in Michigan. Mrs K/C/KC does not share such enthusiasm which is why she is busy doing some more shopping elsewhere in the mall. She has done well so far and those who know her like I do will understand how much more that means we have to ship home as a result !!

Rufus Wainwright

2011-08-13T15:35:00.000+01:00

The highlight of the evening (with Mrs K/C/KC's own performance coming a close second) was the concert by Rufus Wainwright at the Interlochen Arts Centre in its beautiful setting on the lake.

His music is particularly special for us as his we listened to it whilst Little T and Little O were born.

Night out (thanks to Grandpa babysitting)

2011-08-13T15:31:00.001+01:00

Mrs K/C/KC and I managed a fun night out with family, starting with cocktails and sushi and finishing with beer and karaoke.

Little T applies for patent for new ear wax remover....

2011-08-12T02:56:00.000+01:00

Fun at the beach

2011-08-12T02:53:00.002+01:00

Although it was still a little too windy for Little O's liking. We'll keep trying and hopefully one day it will be nice and calm and more suitable for swimming practice.

Mrs K/C/KC resorts to safe cracking to help fund her shopping habit....

2011-08-12T02:52:00.000+01:00

I'll catch you, I promise....

2011-08-09T03:22:00.000+01:00

Running wild on 8th Street

2011-08-09T03:21:00.001+01:00

Mud bath for two

2011-08-09T03:20:00.000+01:00

It didn't take long for the sand box to be turned into something else entirely !

Hosey-cow 2011

2011-08-09T03:18:00.002+01:00

And that night, they dreamt of eating their pillows....

2011-08-09T03:17:00.000+01:00

Pool jumping

2011-08-09T03:16:00.000+01:00

We have been blessed with some nice weather since we arrived. Let's hope it lasts for the next few weeks.

Either this is false advertising or the Seattle coffee industry is in real trouble....

2011-08-09T00:14:00.000+01:00

Airplane meals

2011-08-09T00:11:00.000+01:00

Little O slept through the arrival of his gourmet chicken nuggets, sloppy mash and overcooked carrots. When he finally woke, the bread and butter and salad seemed far more appetising !

Terror alert : Giant bear masquerading as security guard at airport store !

2011-08-08T00:14:00.002+01:00

Things That Make You Go Yuck......

2011-07-31T23:01:00.000+01:00

Stepping barefoot on slugs

Deep and meaningful question no. 34

2011-07-31T22:28:00.000+01:00

Little T today asked me "Does God control everything we do ?"

Cue rambling answer including concepts of free will, right and wrong etc.

Little T's question of relativity

2011-07-31T17:33:00.000+01:00

"Daddy, to an ant, would the TV look as big as the cinema screen ?"

Phrases that portray our average meal out as a family

2011-07-24T19:57:00.000+01:00

Mummy : "Little O, take that Yorkshire pudding off your head"

Bedtime rituals

2011-07-21T22:18:00.000+01:00

It is funny how our children have got themselves into a routine at bedtime. There's the obligatory filling of the water cup, the re-arranging of soft toys and the switching on of the ladybug lights for Little T.

For Little O, it's the singing of 'Sleepytime', a quick prayer and a shortened version of London's Burning as the door closes.

Whatever works, I guess !

2011-07-17T23:25:00.000+01:00