“Happy Birthday”, Croughton Style.

A week after our move, Robert’s birthday was coming up. Usually, if he is lucky, he gets a day off ON his birthday (nice perk, eh?). We were excited since we could use that day to actually get something done in our new house. But about a month before the move, we found out that Robert is needed to go to RAF Croughton to help out at the dental clinic there since they were short-staffed. Originally, he was asked to go there during the first week of August, but that’s when we were going to Scotland; then he was asked to go during the second week of August, but that was the week we were moving (and the boss was nice enough to let him off the hook); the only other option was to go there after we moved but that would mean Robert was going to be away on his birthday.  We decided that it would be fun to join him on the night before his birthday and celebrate the following day with him.

This is where the two bases are—RAF Alconbury and RAF Croughton. It’s about an hour and a half drive, but Robert stayed at the other base because it was easier.

So the night before Robert’s birthday, we met up at the half-way point, at Ikea in Milton Keynes, bought a big set of drawers and some meatballs. That night we all squished into Robert’s “hotel” room where the boys slept on the couch in the “living room” and Katya slept on the floor. It was still fun (despite the weird bright green light on the ceiling!haha).

The following morning, Robert somehow managed to get a few hours off so we were able to spend some time with him! He got his presents of course, and the most surprising one was the new Ipad. It was a true surprise for him since he knows my opinion about all the “gadgets” and things that create more disciplinary actions for our kids…sigh. But, nevertheless, he was very-very excited!

That morning, we also drove to a nearby town, 20 min away, to see our very good friend’s mother, who is Scottish. She lives alone and has not been back to the states for over four years now. We had met her a couple of times when she had come to visit her family in Minnesota (that’s where our friends live), so it was nice to chat with her, even for such a short time.

After lunch, Robert had to go back to work, but the kids and I drove to Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill. Blenheim Palace was a gift from Queen Anne to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough following his famous victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704.

This time, we decided not to go inside the Palace because we simply did not have enough time…plus I did not want to wonder through all the state rooms with three kids (who really wanted to just run around)…and it was expensive. Instead, we choose to visit the garden part of the property. It was huge! The playground was fun, but the maze was the biggest hit.

Butterfly house was small, but we did see some pretty butterflies, although in this picture, it seems that the boys are looking for fish in the pond and not for butterflies.

“Ready, set, JUMP!” attempts.

It’s an enormous palace, so I really hope we come back here again. It’s located only 8 miles from Oxford.

We drove back to RAF Croughton and met up with Robert for dinner.

We went to a charming village of Deddington, with intention to eat at The Crown & Tuns, but since it didn’t open till six, we walked around high street, pass the church and the cemetary.

The restaurant was worth the wait! Holy cow—the BEST British pies I have ever tasted!

Some tiny hedgehogs joined us for dinner as well.

We all loved that place and if we are ever in the area,  it will be a definite place for dinner!

Of course, we could not finish Robert’s birthday without something sweet! My wonderful friend, Mallory, the official cupcake lady around here, made Robert these delicious  cupcakes that we all could enjoy!

Happy Birthday, sweetie, hope it was a fun one! We love you very much!