Our dogs Chip and Cricket

We have two dogs.  When we were asked to come to the UK, we accepted and then panicked about the dogs.  We had talked about the possibility of going to the UK a year or so before so we knew a little bit about the process and we had an idea that it was not going to be an easy process.  THAT is an understatement!  And luckily for us the laws changed January 1, 2012!

In January, the UK came in line with the rest of the EU and stopped the mandatory 6 month quarantine.  That was good news for us!  The procedure that used to have to be followed was quite a lengthy one.  You had to have the international micro-chip implanted and then all the shots done.  On top of that you had to have blood drawn with in a certain window of the shot and then the dog had to wait 6 months from the date of the blood draw.  It was all changed January 1.  The shots had to all be done with the micro-chip and then the animal could come 21 days afterward with all the correct paperwork.  The paperwork, proved to be another headache!

 One of the first things that I did was ran my dogs to the vet to get the initial prep work done and got all their shots up to date.  It was then that I learned the Cricket should not go because of her Cushings disease.  Then we talked about things.  We talked to rescue, we talked to people about taking them for the year, we asked for friends for help on Facebook.   I have done Fox Terrier rescue and after my recent experience with them, I would recommend to stay away from that particular organization.  In talking to the organization, they were very helpful, at first.  But then when things changed and we found a way to keep Chip and bring him with us, I got the nasty treatment.  Really?  I THOUGHT that the goal was to keep dogs out of rescue, but what do I know (actually a lot!)?  I will recommend that if you adopt from rescue, make sure that they are reputable.  There are so many out there right now and they have good intentions, but some of them have a god like complex when it comes to the dogs they are there to help.  Reputable rescues have a board of directors and operate under good ethics.  Ask around and do some leg work before you adopt, or better yet, go to a shelter.  In the end, we did the best thing, we kept Chip with us instead of turning him into rescue.

My mother and father in law took Cricket and we found a place that deals in long term boarding in Indianapolis for Chip.  We put Chip there and I asked my cousin, Jane to take him to the airport for us, to which she happily agreed.  Phew!

What a fiasco it ended up being.  Thankfully, Jane is a very determined and patient woman!  The paperwork was the first issue.  I had my vet do all the paper work that they could.  But, before he could come over, more paper work had to be done and he had to do another trip to the vet.  All the paperwork also had to be taken to the USDA and signed as well.  Jane got it all done with the help of the boarding facility and got him to the airport.  Continental has an excellent pet travel program, I would definitely recommend them and I will use them again.  They sent him in a controlled climate cargo area.  And because they personally met and specifically escorted him to his plane changes, I did not have to worry about any weather issues (many airlines will not ship animals when it is too hot or cold).  They used to have the worst record for transporting pets but have really worked to be one of the best in the industry.

Continental declined to send him in the first attempt because the vet had crossed one thing out on the form.  That meant that Jane had to get it all redone.  Oh my!  That was a full day of another vet visit and then another trip to the USDA for Jane.  All I could do is sit here an wait and feel really bad that Jane has had to redo all of this.  Lots of gnashing of teeth for sure!

All the paperwork was done and Chip was rebooked on the flight for the following week.  Poor Jane then has another snafu!  Third time is a charm though, right!  Yesssss!  It surely was!   With the Continental Cargo program, we were even able to follow his progress though the airports.

Chip landed in the UK, Saturday, Jan 28th, at 6am in the morning.  We left home just after 8pm and got to Heathrow almost at 10am.  We waiting about an hour and then they released him to us.  Happy Days!  All in all my puppy sat in the airport about 29 hours.  I swear that as we were waiting for him, I heard him barking in the holding area!

As for Cricket?  She is a pampered, little princess staying with my mother and father in law.  She apparently loves to dress in cute little t-shirts like her other fur companions (who knew!)!  She has also proved to my mother and father in law just how smart she is, as she managed to figure out how to open the cabinet where the dog food is being stored to help herself to food.  She has lost the extra weight she gained with the Cushings and she is being treated with meds and is in good health.  She even got her teeth cleaned recently and I think that she had a few teeth removed as well.  Not bad for an "old" gal.  Cricket is 10 years old now.

We are so happy to have our Chippy back and while we miss Cricket, we are glad that she is being taken care of so well.  We were wondering last night if she would want to come back to Chip's rough playing (he used to grab her by the tail and swing her around) and the non-princess treatment that she will get back at home!  (she never had doggie clothes at home, I just can't be bothered!)  :)

Tea

As it is well known, the British drink a lot of tea.  It is definitely true!

When I get up in the morning I have taken to having a cup.  If I stop by a friends house, invariable I have one as well.  I have found with the cooler weather that I will also have a cup in the afternoon as well.  I find though that if I drink my tea too late, I don't sleep well.  So I switch to an herbal tea at night.

When I am out shopping, often the shop keepers can be seen enjoying a mug.  When I was in the medical office yesterday (26/01/12) the receptionist and the pharmacist were discussing having a cuppa.  (and they used the word cuppa)

When my mother in law was here, on her last day after we had a good shop (think shopping trip), we went to have a cream tea, which is a traditional tea.  It was quite lovely and it was my introduction to clotted cream.  I love it, but dairy does not love me back so I have to limit my intake, sadly!  At our tea, we had a nice selection of sandwiches: tuna; egg; and ham.  We also had scones with the clotted cream.  What is clotted cream?  In the US it would be considered butter.  It is cream with the fat separated but with no further processing.  It has a slight butter flavor and is wonderfully creamy.  You put it on a scone with a dollop of jam and it is HEAVEN!  I fancy it with rhubarb jam but strawberry is good as well.  I would happily have a cream tea for dinner every night.  I have found as I age that my appetite has decreased and I really prefer something light for dinner.  In the UK though, dinner is referred to as tea, no matter what you are eating.  It does not have to be a cream tea.

I learned from my mother in law the proper way to brew a tea bag.  Ideally, to be proper, you are suppose to do it in a teapot, but if you do it in a mug for a single serving, you are suppose to pour boiling hot water over the tea bag and let it brew for at least 5 minutes.   I typically don't brew it quite that long.

Every person that I have met thus far always take milk in their tea, no sugar.  I also learned that there is such thing as too much sugar (gasp!).  When you ask for 3 or more sugars in your tea, you are up for ridicule.  Too much sugar and you can't taste your tea!  I am trying to wean myself off of the sugar.

I completely understand why their biscuits are so dry, you dip them in your tea.  Honestly, that always sounded so distasteful to me. when I heard it in the US.  Then, while I was having tea with one of my friends at her house, I decided to try it.  It was actually quite good!  I found out the name of the biscuits, they are McVitties Digestives.  They are quite tasty!  I went out and bought every single variety that was in the store.  Yum!

In the store, the tea aisle is shared with the coffee's just like in the US.  There seems to be a smaller coffee selection, which makes sense when there is so much tea drinking.  The British apparently do not drink as much herbal tea though.  The stores carry a small selection.

I drink the Tently tea at home.  PG is also another brand that I have tried and it was nice as well.  I don't think that my taste buds are not sophisticated enough to tell a bad tea from a good one, I may be wrong, perhaps I just have not tried a bad one!

The British do have a very nice custom that I do particularly find pleasing.  When they have a contractor or anyone at their homes to do a service, they serve them a drink.  Typically it is a tea brewed and served on some sort of tray with cream and sugar.  Before I moved into our house, the day I was visiting, Jan had a carpet cleaner here and she served him a tea.  The gentleman that was here to diagnose the problem took a tea.  My girlfriend who is having an expansion put on her house makes tea for her contractors (if she is home) at least twice a day.  Yesterday, I had a contractor here fixing  the flue (we have been having boiler problems) and he asked for a coffee.  I think that it is a really nice custom, especially since during the day, if it is damp one can get thoroughly chilled easily.  Especially if your heat only comes on twice a day (like mine does).

Right now, I am the only one in my house that drinks tea regularly.  Super Handsome will have a lemon flavored tea when his throat is sore.  My kids prefer to drink hot chocolate.  We brought a huge canister of hot chocolate with us when we came and it has been all drank up.  I saved the canister and I have put some of the Cadbury hot chocolate mix in it.  I don't think that I could convince them to drink tea with me, even for all the tea in the UK.  :)

UK Health Care

So, we had our first experience with the UK Health System today.  On a happy note it went fairly well.  Though, I did get told off once.

Super Handsome has been telling me that I need to register us at a Dr. office.  I agreed but it was one of those things that I just did not do.  As usual I waited until it was an undeniable need.

Youngest Son stayed home yesterday with a fever and he vomited.  Today he was "poorly" again.    He had a fever, sore throat and he looks very pale.  He also was very nauseous with very little appetite.   Around 11am, I noticed that he had a rash on his chest, around his shirt collar line.  Upon further inspection, it was obvious to me that he had scarlet fever which also meant strep.

I called our private insurance company to ask them where I should go.  They could not find any doctors to go to and they advised me to take him to a local doctor and pay out of pocket, that they would reimburse me.

I then proceeded to text my girlfriends to see where I should take him. I did not hear from them right away, so I went and called another mum that I knew.  She then proceeded to explain to me the process for the national health care system in the UK.  You apparently register at the local doctors and that is where you go when you are poorly.

So, I looked up on the internet places that I should go and made a phone call.  I was very confused though because the medical center is actually called a SURGERY center.  I still have not figured that one out.  The centers are allowed to accept you as patients if they have space and if you are in their area (think zip code or as they say here post code).

I called and explained my situation to the receptionist.  She asked me my post code to ensure that we were in their service area and she told me that I should have registered before, but because this was what they termed an emergency situation that I could come in and register Youngest Son.  They would see him afterward.  I arrived and the receptionist that was there (who was different from the one on the phone) promptly "told me off" for not registering.  I was kind of irritated so I explained to her that I was from the US and I carried private insurance.  I mentioned that we did not have to go to specific doctors or centers and I could go to a doctor in another city if I wished.   She gave me the required paper work (for all 6 of us) and made the appointment for an hour later.  She then proceeded to give me a dirty look when I sat down in the waiting area to wait and fill out the paper work.  I think that she expected me to go back home.  She was kind enough to mark us "in" in the hopes that we might be seen a little earlier.

I sat in the waiting area and filled out paperwork.  Patients walked in and checked in on a touch screen TV in the waiting room.  Youngest Son was still feeling very poorly and dozed while we waited.  We were finally called back on the intercom system.  It asked for Youngest Son to please report to exam room one.  Since I had seen other patients disappear down the hallway after being called, I had the idea of what to do.  So, I roused him and we headed down the hallway.  The signs clearly directed us where to go.

We made it into the room (I think that we saw a doctor and not a physicians assistant), and the doctor was sitting at his desk on the computer.  There were no exam table to lay on, just two chairs.  Youngest Son sat in one and I sat in the other.  I talked with the doctor to tell him the symptoms that he had and I told him my opinion that he has strep with scarlet fever.  The doctor looked at him and said it looked like a text book case based on the appearance of his face and mouth.  Kids with scarlet fever get really flushed cheeks and the skin around the mouth stay really pale.  He checked his throat, temperature and prescribed penicillin.  He also told me that Youngest Son had to stay out of school for the next 5 days and it was very important to take all of the medicine.  This seemed so much more important to me after I talked to his teacher.  It seems that strep is going through his class.  Youngest Son's best friend is out with it as well.  It is apparently a really yucky version that is taking the full 5 days to get over.  I was hoping that after having him on antibiotics for 24 hours I would see a vast improvement like what normally happens.  His teacher told me that when the kids were coming back to school they were still not 100%, great.  Remember, I have 4 other boys that have now been exposed!  Back to the visit...

I walked out to the receptionist and she was much nicer as I handed her ALL the paper work that I had filled out.  They filled his prescription right there.  I asked how much I owed and they told me nothing. I nicely protested telling her that I am not even a resident of the United Kingdom, that we are here on visas.  I told her that I have private health insurance.  She said she thought that it was a bit crazy as well, but, since we were here the kids were free.  She told me that if it was an adult there would be a charge.   I think that we may be making another trip there tomorrow, Mark is presenting symptoms that suggest he may have strep as well.  After his bout with mono last year, I really don't think that I can afford to take any chances and I am not sure where we would go on the weekend.

I still think that I might have a bill coming around for me in the future and when it comes I will be happy to pay it.  We certainly did not come here to leech off their system, because that is what I feel like we just did.  We do pay for our own health insurance.  I am very happy that we were seen and the we got medicine with little hassle and not a long wait.  It was really nice that I was able to leave with the medicine in my hands.  I give the UK health care system an A in treating viruses.  As for the rest of the health care and treating other ailments, I really can't give an opinion one way or another.  But as one of my neighbor's back home pointed out on my Facebook page, Steven Hawking is a UK resident and he is going on 70 this year.  The UK health care system has, at least, worked well for him.

It's Time for the Music

You are looking at that title and thinking Beatles, Rolling Stone, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Adel, Florence and the Machine....  I am laughing.  I know, I know.  You have no idea why.  Let me explain and I apologize, it just won't be as funny!  I listen to Absolute Radio in the UK.  Everyday, they play a sound bite when then enter their no repeat time frame and it is this woman who has a heavy oriental accent (Chinese, Japanese?  I am not sure), but she always says "It's 'ime for a m'sik"  I love hearing her say it and using it for my blog post title is my own personal joke!  Sadly, I could not find the .wav file to post.

Anyway, back to the music.  First thing, the UK does not have digital TV, odd right?  We are getting here this month actually.  They are reminding us to retune our TV's right now.  But, they do have DIGITAL RADIO!  Ah-ha!  But because not all of the cars have digital radio, they are not totally switching over, but they are doing kind of what the US TV stations did by adding extra channels.  They added extra channels as well.  So, if you have a DAV digital radio, you listen to Absolute Radio and choose your decade.  They have it all, even the naughties (if you remember, that is the '00)!  We do have a DAV, but just one.  During the day I listen to the radio in the car and when I am home. I listen to the Absolute Radio app on my almost, completely useless iPhone (thanks AT&T).

I love Absolute radio.  I listen to the Absolute radio, they say that they play a variety.  I won't argue, because they do and they do not repeat songs from 10am-17:00pm (5pm).  But most days they do play the same songs over and over.  But I can handle it because, I do happen to like the songs and some of the artists are *new to me because they never made it across the pond.  Oh, and the classic rock station?  We have it on because Super Handsome likes classic rock, it is his preferred genre.  Well, things that were considered classic rock are from the 90's (like Nirvana) and we are not always familiar with all the music either.  Which is not such a big surprise...

Absolute plays a lot of Queen.  Queen is bigger then the Beatles or any of the other big UK bands that you are familiar with.  Last year was the 20th anniversary of Freddie Mercury's death and it was highly discussed.    They also play music that has more of a punk feel.  The big bands right now are The Vaccines, Kasabian, Noah Gallgher's High Flying Birds, Biffy Clyro, Snow Patrol, Foo Fighters, Radiohead, Coldplay and Adele.  They also play a nice mix, I usually hear Kiss or Ace Freeley, the Beatles, either together or they will play the solo work as well, I always hear some Aerosmith, Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd (occasionally), and I often hear Johnny Cash singing "Hurt" (which he covered).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go

Last night was an excellent night as I heard some great US tunes!  While making dinner I was dancing to "Sweet Home Alabama" by Leonard Skinner while making dinner.

There are some bands/songs that I do not enjoy as much as others (Meatloaf, Kate Bush), but really all in all Absolute plays the variety of music and most importantly music that I really enjoy.  It is like this whole genre of music that I hear has skipped the US and it makes me sad.  Super Handsome has not been a fan of modern music for years.  But, he does enjoy some of the bands that we listen to on Absolute.   There are other stations here that play Katy Perry and the other popular songs and the hip hop/rap, I just really don't enjoy listening to them, the constant repeat is mind-numbing.  I do listen to the radio a lot and I am glad that I can bring Absolute radio home with me via apps.

If you have some time and want to see what we are listening to, take a minute and check it out.  Your can stream it live or listen to the podcasts.  Maybe you will hear the cute little woman say my favorite little phrase!

http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/

There is always time for the music!

"Keep Calm and Carry On" and why I "Can't Be Bothered"

One of the many things that I like about the British is their calm attitude about things.

The saying above actually has a history that it very interesting.  During WWII the British Government issued posters called morale boosting posters to help the people deal with what was going on.  The first two posters were posted quite prominently all over the UK.  The first "Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness and Your Resolution Will Bring us Victory" and the second "Freedom is in Peril, Defend it With All Your Might", they were all printed by the His Royal Majesty's Stationary Office.  (King George V)  The posters were all styled very similarly, on a bold colored background with the crown on each of them.  The third poster, "Keep Calm and Carry On" was only meant to be posted if the UK was invaded and it never was, so the posters were never really seen by the public.  However, recently, an old copy of the poster was found in old book dealer shop and the story has now come to light.  There are only two copies of the poster outside of the public archives.  For more information please check here.  http://www.keepcalmandcarryon.com/history/

For the British, it is all about "keeping a stiff upper lip", and going though life with decorum.  But it is not all dull and boring, you have to add some "pomp and circumstance".  The royal family certainly helps to adds the pomp and circumstance!

My friend uses the saying "I can't be bothered" and I have to say that I really like it.  It means I am not going to do something because I am tired, I am not in the mood, I am feeling lazy or I just don't think that it is important.   We are all guiltily of overcommitting, avoiding or procrastinating.  Myself, I have a to do list and I am sure that most of you do.  Sometimes you find that you have left your list a little to long and then you spend a relentlessly busy week trying to catch up, or because you were trying to catch up, you just "can't be bothered" to get other things done!  Then, when we are talking to others or trying to explain why things may have not gotten done on time, we spend the time doing a lot of explaining and explaining.  After awhile I just feel like I am making excuses, no matter how good my reasons may or may not be.

So, one of my New Year's resolutions is to stop making excuses for not getting something done on time and also since I hate drama, I refuse to succumb to the hysterics.  Now I know exactly what to say "Keep Calm and Carry On", because really, I really "Can't Be Bothered"!!!!

Delightful English Sayings (and some not all the delightful)

Over here in the UK, you would think that it would be easy as we speak the same language, right????  Ri-i-i-i-i-i-ight.  This is a short list for now as I hear more all the time.

If you are sleeping in late; it is a lie in, a nap is a lie down.

Sean stopped a speaker at a meeting because he had such a perplexed look on his face regarding the phrase "storm in a teacup", which is equivalent to "making a mountain out of a molehill", you don't say?

The women are a bit more, um shall we say vulgar then Sean is used to as well.  At another meeting, one of the women used the phrase it went "tits up" to mean that the went bad.  Also someone can be called a tit as well.  It is not a nice name to be called either!

"Quite good" means very disappointing.

Having a stern talking to which may, but will not likely include yelling is called "being told off".

To call on the phone is to "ring".

Rubbish is an adjective as well as a noun.  "I used to be good at that, now I am rubbish".  "That is complete rubbish".

Tuck in means to eat.  Also you go to a "tuck shop".

Whenever I hear the DJ's on the radio say "tip", I do a double take because it sounds like "tit".

"Boss" means good looking. (from my teenager)

"Sorted", means to get organized or settled.

Chips are fries, just bigger with more potatoes.

A trolly is a shopping cart.  And it moves very differently.  All 4 wheels rotate, so my kids love to take them and just do a 360 in the aisle.  It is quite un-nerving for me and I really dislike taking them to the store.  I either get hit by the cart and they often have has some close calls with other shoppers.

Football is really soccer, our football is American Football.

Cheeky is being naughty in a cute way.

Zero is naught and on the radio they refer to the first decade of the 2000's as the naughties which sounds exactly like naughty as in being naughty!  Makes me laugh every time!

Hiya!  Used as a greeting.  I hear it from store clerks and friends, so it is more of a casual greeting.

I am constantly being asked "Are you OK or alright?"  They say that instead of saying "How are you?".  Which I do hear, just less frequently.

Bits and bobs, as in all of your staples, common household items or clothing like underwear and socks. Basically your odds and ins.

Cheers is thank you and can also be thank you and goodbye.

Pissed is drunk.

Bullocks is balls and is quite a nasty word to be using.  You definitely do not say it around your kids or your mom!

Nicked means to steal.

Gone pear shaped means it has ended up in disaster or as we might say, gone to hell in a hand basket!

If you are made redundant?  You are laid off.  We hear that a lot!

To get sacked is to be fired.

Getting shirty is to be bad tempered.

To snog is to make out or kiss.

Starkers is naked.

Wonky is shaky, unstable or just not right.

Take a mick out of me, means to be teased or ridiculed.

Brilliant!  Means the same and is one of my favs.

Tidy is to pick up.

To suss it out is to figure it out, and that is exactly what we are trying to do, figure out all these crazy phrases the Brits use!

It's on High Street, well at least most of it is

I started to notice as I was driving around with my sat nav (or GPS as you know it) that High Street seemed to be appearing in all the little hamlets/villages/towns or whatever they are.  At first I thought that it was some amazingly long street.  Then I figured there was no way that was true because when I was driving around on one road, my sat nav would tell me to turn (when I was actually going around a curve) and the name of the road would suddenly change. Which was really confusing at first....

It was talking to others that I realized that every little village/hamlet/town had a High Street, much like how the towns in America have Main Street.  On Hight Street you will find many different stores, mostly clothing boutiques and some of the chain clothing stores as well.  Depending on the size of the village, their maybe a Marks and Spencer.   Usually there is a butcher or two, a bakery and often a sweetshop.  There is also a pub or a tavern along with some cafe's.  High Street is also host to a number of charity shops.  I have seen many different charity run shops including ones run by the British Heart Association and Hospice.  We can usually find a camping store and we always go in to take a peek, what can I say, I have a family full of Scouts!

I tend to do a lot of my shopping in Bishop's Stortford (pictures are posted on my FB account).  I can usually find what I need.  I don't really like to go to the bigger shopping areas.  I really like getting my things from the smaller vendors and shops.  In fact, there has been lot of talk on the radio about how High Street is loosing business to the bigger shopping centers.  There was a big push by the government to shop local just before Christmas to save High Street.  Most of the little shops on High Street in the various villages all have signs that say buy local as well.

I do really enjoy shopping on High Street!  I love to wander into the shops and see what they have.  Super Handsome and I particularly love to go on Saturday when it is market day.  We often stop at the bread vendor to pick up something tasty.  We have also seen fish mongers, fresh vegetables, sausages and meats for sale along with hand crafted items.   Not all the vendors are handmade or homegrown, there is usually someone selling things for your pets, luggage, clothing, even things that I would normally buy at the grocery store.

Before we moved to the UK, I had gravitated away from shopping at the mall.  I have to admit that I detest the crowds.  Here I feel the same and I really prefer to avoid shopping in the bigger cities and towns.  I prefer shopping in place where I can find unique handmade, homegrown items.   The only problem that I find with that is I am not always able to find what I want and it usually means that I still end up going to the bigger shopping centers to pick up the little bits and bobs (odd and ends) that I need.

I plan on doing a more detailed post on the chain stores in a later blog post.  As much as I would like to avoid them, I find with 4 boys and a husband, I can't completely!

Scouting BSA and UK

In the US, we are a "big" Scouting family.  Super Handsome's dad was is Scouts, Super Handsome Eagled, my dad was in scouts and my brother Eagled as well.  My dad is still involved, and Super Handsome just finished his Woodbadge requirements!  Oldest Son has achieved Life, Second Son just earned First and Second Class, Kids 3 is a Bear and Youngest Son is now a Tiger.  With all my boys in Scouts, I decided that I needed to support them as well and I have been a Committee member in our troop in Fort Wayne.

Now, we are in the UK.  Before we got here, Super Husband contacted the district here (called the Mayflower district) and we met with the district executive.  He was kind enough to stop at our house and talk to us about the program.  There are some very exciting opportunities coming up!

Our boys will be Lone Scouts.   What exactly does that mean?  Well, I have not read the information, but from what I understand, the gist of it, is that we are our own Troop/Patrol.  The older boys will be helping the younger boys.  We will do things with the district and we will try and do things with some of the other troops as well.

At the end of January, the boys will be going to Lakenheath AFB to do a merit badge university.  Super Handsome and Oldest Son were both active in the Order of the Arrow in the US and I hope that they will talk to the leaders more about it when we are there.

Oldest Son also learned that they are going to be doing an NYLT (leadership training for you non-scouters) camp and he is eligible to be a counselor.  They would like to hear about his training to incorporate ideas as well!

Second Son has also attended the local UK scout meetings a few times.  At the first meeting, Super Handsome went with both boys and was politely, but pointedly show the door!  They focus on the boys.  :)  Oldest Son will be joining the older, explorer group. We hope to hear from them in the new year.  Kid 3 group is really neat, as boys and girls are involved in scouting together.  Youngest Son, sadly, is to young for Scouts in the UK.

We are also planning to send the boys to scout camp in Germany this year.  Kids 3 can go for a weekend and Older Sons will go in July after they get out of school.  I am not sure who is more excited, them or us!  We plan on taking the time to explore the surrounding area with the Younger Sons!  The dates of the camp that is located in the UK is when they are still in school so I think that they will probably end up missing it.

Our BSA scout office is located in Italy.  I sent our applications to our district executive and he forwarded them on, that is where I also paid my fees.  We are part of the Transatlantic Council and here is the website if you are interested in seeing all the activities!

http://www.tac-bsa.org/Home.html

You can also see the fundraising, yes, there is popcorn and some NFL merchandise as well!

I am absolutely positive that I will be doing more posts about our Scouting experiences while we are here.  Until then, Happy Scouting!