Corn on the Cob

Sometimes, it's tough to live on an island. A lot of the food we love to eat has to be imported. Generally, the packaging explains where our food comes from. Our grapes come from Egypt, our cantaloupe from the Philippines. You know, places like that. We didn't realize how incredibly spoiled we were to live in Utah, where a lot of food is grown locally or within a day's drive.

One of the things we have really missed this summer, is corn on the cob. Man, do we miss Hayward Farms stands!

I decided, however, that with how much Henry loves corn, he needed to have some off the cob. So, I spent the horrific amount of £3 for just four pewney little cobs so he could enjoy it.

He loved it!

But it took him a while to figure it out--even after we showed him. Once he did, he loved sucking off the butter we had slathered all over it and gnawing on the corn.

I think he really enjoyed just holding it!

This is a face I see a lot--he likes to turn his head like this and talk--cracks me up!

This is how he tried to eat it for a while..it worked, sorta. 

There we go!

Butter fingers!!

Trip to Utah-- 29 April - 12 May

Aunt Chelsey got married at the beginning of May, so Mummy, Daddy, and I flew on a few airplanes to go back to Utah. We flew for 8 1/3 hours to Minnesota, and I got my own seat! I played, read books, and talked to the people behind us. Then, we stopped in Minnesota for a break, before we flew another 2 1/2 hours to Salt Lake City. The second flight, I was really tired. I slept in Mama's arms for a little while. It was hard though, because when we landed in Salt Lake City, it was 3:00am in Cambridge! Definitely past my bedtime.

But it was definitely worth it--I was so excited to be in Utah and see my family! I got to meet Uncle Dallon, too! He was on his mission in Peru when I was born, and when we moved to England. Mummy said he is her favorite brother. I loved him so much--we played a lot and he carried me sometimes. I liked it when he carried me because I was up so high!

The first few days we were busy getting ready for the wedding. I helped take all the tags off the new flowers Nana planted and kept Edie dog busy by chasing her around the house and the yard. We hung up lots and lots of hankies, put flowers on the tables, and even hung lights above the basketball court. Mama said that made it a dance floor! Mama was very busy helping with the wedding, so I hung out with Daddy a lot. I was very happy the day of Aunt Chelsey's wedding because I got to be with her almost all day.

One of my favorite things to do while we were at Nana and Papa's was to carry everybody's hair brushes around. Mama had one, Aunt Corinne had 2, Aunt Sam had one--it was so cool! Usually I had one in each hand that I carried around the house, just in case I needed to brush my hair or Edie's hair.

I loved playing the piano! I got to play with Aunt Chelsey, Aunt Sam, and Mommy while we were at Nana's. 

I helped Uncle Dallon outside!

Even though I wasn't there, Mummy wanted me to add this photo of her, her siblings, and Nana getting pedicures. 

Nana and Papa and all their kids. 

Helping Aunt Corinne and Mommy get ready!

Aunt Chelsey and Uncle Jeremy got married in the Draper Temple. While everybody else was inside, I got to hang out with Grandpa and Grandma Bruton! They took me to a park where I got to swing on the swings, go down the slides, and play with some other kids. After a while, they took me back to the Temple to meet up with Mama and Daddy and take a LOT of pictures. Mama packed a PB&J for me to eat, which was good because we were outside for a very long time. But that's ok--because I got to run around on the grass and play in some of the wood chips. 

I had to adjust my tie a lot...

Our family!

After being at the Temple, we went and had dinner at a very fancy place. My favorite part of that was the chocolate cake we got for dessert. 

The next day, Saturday, we spent the whole day getting ready for the wedding. Luckily, I still got to take a nap while everybody worked, and then I was ready to party! Nana  had a whole bunch of games that she made for the party. I got to play golf, dance, and eat cheese cake. At the end, Aunt Chelsey and Uncle Jeremy rode away in a carriage. My favorite part, was riding with Papa and Nana on the carriage after Chelsey and Jeremy left. I loved the horsie and bouncing around in the carriage. We rode in the carriage back to Nana's house--I was so tired from all the partying that I fell asleep. 

The next day, we took some of our family up to Salt Lake City to see the Temple. I love going to the Temple there. Mama and Daddy took me once before we moved to England. While we were there this time, we went to the Conference Center and walked on the roof! We looked at all the beautiful flowers around the Temple and the Conference Center, and then decided it was time to go home. 

On Monday, Mama and Daddy and I stayed home and had fun with Grandma Shaw. We went to the BYU Creamery and got some ice cream, played with Edie, and relaxed. I was so glad to have a day at home! Poor Mama was really sick though. She didn't want to run around and play as much as I did, but luckily Edie wanted to! Edie was probably my favorite part of visiting Utah. I made everybody laugh--because whenever I saw her I got so excited, laughed, and ran to her. She was so fun--she let me launch myself at her, pet her, chase her around, and even lean against her when we were on the floor. I miss her already...

Monday evening, we met Grandpa and Grandma Bruton, Aunt Lori Ann, Uncle Wyatt, Aunt Kimberly, and my three Bruton cousins at a park (Uncle Stephen had to work)! It was so fun to run around and play! Ian and I decided that we wanted to be friends and so we played on the play ground and ran around on the grass. 

All of the Bruton Cousins!

Ian, Luke, Allyson, and me!

Ian was lots of fun to play with!!

After we had dinner at the park, we rode in the car all the way to Duchesne. 

We spent the next few days in Duchesne, where I played outside, rode on the swing, popped HUGE bubbles, played with blocks, and even with fun Nerf guns that Daddy and Grandpa shot for us! My favorite part was definitely the bubbles, but I also liked dancing to the music with Ian at his house. 

After we were in Duchesne, we went back to Provo to see Nana and Papa again. Mama wanted to go to Target, so we went shopping, then back to Nana and Papa's to play. We went to the park and Nana and Papa, Aunt Sam & Uncle Greg came with us! Nana helped me go down the slides, and Papa carried me on his shoulders. That was my favorite part, definitely. 

At church the next day, I got to sit with Nana during Sacrament meeting, and then with Papa in Sunday School. Mama let me stay with her during Relief Society, which was so nice. Daddy told me it was Mother's Day and so I had to be extra good and cuddle with Mummy a lot. I think she liked that. 

On Monday, we got everything packed up, before going to BYU to walk around. We went in the Bookstore, then visited the place where Mummy used to work in the library. I like BYU--there are lots of places where I can run around and pretty flowers to look at. 

After we saw BYU, Papa drove us to the school where Nana works. We gave Nana lots of hugs and then we had to leave and go to the Airport. We flew ALL night to get back to England. I was so tired--I curled up in Daddy's arms and slept almost the whole way. Everybody told me how good I was, which made Mama and Daddy very happy. I just wanted to sleep!

--Little Brute--

Pretty Tree, Cute Boy

I just love this little boy

Lovely London Day

We hopped on the train and spent the day in London yesterday.

On the train in to King's Cross Station. With his cheesy smile. This "cheese it" smile has recently been appearing when Little Brute sees a camera...oh dear. 

I realize how lucky I am to be able to do that--especially this time, as we popped by one of my favorite streets in the entire world: Palace Court. It's strange to me that it's already been six years since I called number 27 Palace Court home. When I walk down Bayswater, or pop out of Notting Hill Gate Tube Station, it feels like I should just pop down to the London Centre, run up the 86 stairs to the top, and plop on my bunk for a quick nap. I miss all the ladies (and Mike) and the adventures we had. I was thinking the other day, about gathering around the kitchen tables at 5:30pm for dinner, and filling our bellies with the delicious bread that Sister Schuler had waiting for us. The water glasses were always filled to the top with lovely cold water. But the conversations and the laughs--ahh! That is what I miss. I loved catching up with everyone. "Have you been to the Science Museum yet?" "We're going to Wicked tomorrow, want to come?" "I spent three hours in the British Museum today and I'm going back tomorrow." The four months I spent at number 27 will always hold a special place in my heart.

It was fun to stand on the steps of the London Centre with my little boy. I often thought about taking Derek there and then, some day, my children--amazing to have that dream come true!

 It's being renovated right now (which is wonderful!), so we even got to take a peek in at the staircase that sometimes seemed never ending.

I hope they put in better internet...

Oh--Henry is eating that piece of bread because he thought he was starving. You can see in the other 2 photos that his little mouth is full. :)

We scuttled down Bayswater, crossed the street, and had lunch in Kensington Gardens. Henry thoroughly enjoyed his bread and bits of my ham and cheese sandwich (he had applesauce after his nap), but mostly he loved watching all the birds and the dogs that were in the park. Once I had finished eating, I took him by the hand and we explored a bit of Broad Walk. He wanted to chase the pigeons and the crows that had congregated behind our bench--I wasn't so interested. He certainly did enjoy walking down Broad Walk all by himself. He's getting so big!

Look at that little man go!

 It's spring in England, so of course the flowers have exploded in the gardens. I LOVE the daffodils that pop up all over the place. As we were walking around, we happened upon a nice little spot with hundreds of tall, yellow daffodils for Henry to explore.

the photo on the right is Derek's favorite--Henry loves that tree!

Henry didn't actually pick any flowers, but someone else had. When I handed them to him, he was far more interested in the green part of the flowers (see bottom right photo). silly boy. 

 After we left the daffodils, we loaded Henry up in his buggy and made our way towards the Long Water. Heading our direction, was a very beautiful white horse and his rider, a female police officer. I knelt down and pointed out the "horsie" to Henry, and the police officer was kind enough to stop right in front of us. We chatted about her horse, a 24-year-old Irish Draft horse who was VERY big and very gentle. He was so sweet--and stuck his head right down by Henry. Not too close, but close enough to say hello. I wish I could have snapped a photo of that--but we were too busy enjoying the moment for pictures.

Henry fell asleep minutes after our conversation with the horsie. Derek and I continued through the park, enjoying the gorgeous spring weather and the scent of the flowers in Hyde Park. At the edge of the Long Water, we found a nice bench in the sun and stopped for a while. It was so nice to feel some actual strength in the sun--my jeans actually felt warm! It made me even more excited for this summer when all of the trees will be covered in bright green leaves and it will be time to bust out the short sleeves.

Our sleepy boy

Here we are, enjoying the sun!

Look at that handsome man! He humored me and posed by this boat house. :)

Henry woke up just as we reached Hyde Park Corner. Luckily, he was perfectly content to eat a biscuit and wake up slowly, so we made our way to Buckingham Palace and St. James' Park.

At this point, we decided to head to Victoria Embankment and walk around the Thames. Of course we had to stop and say hello to the Horse Guards! Henry was pretty captivated by the horses (that's my boy!). Either that or the guard's pretty awesome hat...

 As the weather was so lovely, we weren't sure we wanted to go inside. But, our little guy was REALLY desperate to get out of his buggy and run around. Derek has been wanting to take Henry to the Aquarium for quite a while, and...well, it was right there! Little Brute did a great job of telling about our adventures in the London Aquarium yesterday, so if you'd like to read about that, check out his blog.

After the Aquarium, we walked down the South Bank for a while enjoying the sights. We saw the used book sale that is almost always under the bridge by the National Theatre, a man blowing HUGE bubbles (unfortunately he put everything away just as we got close enough for Henry to see), and enjoyed the start of sunset in London. Henry enjoyed the sunset from the comfort of my arms with some milk. :)

It was dinner time at that point and we still wanted to stay in the city, so we headed to the British Museum. Luckily, the Museum stays open till 8:30 on Fridays, so we had several hours ahead of us in that wonderful place. We had dinner at the Cafe in the Great Court(they have great toasted sandwiches, by the way. Oh! and their raspberry muffins are to die for). As soon as we let him down, Henry bolted for the Rosetta Stone. We obliged--what am I going to do, say no?-- said a quick hello, and then began our adventuring around the upper floors.

After an hour or so, our little guy started to show every sign of being ready for bed. We made sure he had a full tummy, got him in his coat so he would be warm, and then covered his buggy with my coat. It only took a few minutes of walking around the Chinese and South Asian section (it's nice and quiet up there!) and he was out.

That was the end of our adventures in London for the day. We walked to King's Cross Station so Henry could continue sleeping, boarded our train on platform 3, and headed back to Cambridge. 

p.s. to see another adventure we had yesterday, take a look at this post by Little Brute. 

another p.s. 

we figured it out when we got home yesterday--we walked 12 miles yesterday from out door, to the station, around London, and then back to our door. That's a conservative estimate. 

I definitely don't feel bad about the 3 Cadbury Eggs I ate yesterday. 

In Midst of Knowledge

We took Henry to the British Museum again last night. This time, we wandered around the Mesopotamian art on the 1st floor (as opposed to the ground floor) and the Roman artifacts that have been collected around Britain. While we were there, I snapped this photo of Henry and Derek as they wandered around the Great Court.

The quote is from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's The Two Voices.

Knowledge comes from many places. Reading, writing, even television has its merits when it comes to education (hello Discovery Channel!). But one thing I've learned in my time as a budding "globe trotter,"is the beauty of being in the place "where it happened."

I'll never forget standing in Independence Hall in Philadelphia years ago. To be in the place where my country was born, to see the actual chair President George Washington sat in when he presided over the Constitutional Convention--I mean! My breath caught in my chest, and even as a 12 year old, I knew I was experiencing something special.

Nauvoo was a similar experience--even more so because of it's religious significance. And every corner of London, Rome, Paris, and Cambridge has offered me a moment of "wow, so and so was here! And he saw this!" or "she did this here! she changed the world in this very spot!"--I love that.

I want to teach my children to put their feet in the midst of knowledge. You all know how I feel about reading--it is essential and my favorite activity as an individual and with my family. But there is more to life than just in the pages of a book! I want my children to stroll through Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. I want to take them to the field of Gettysburg and the gently rolling hills of Valley Forge. I want them to view the cliffs of Dover, the beaches of Normandy, the fields of Flanders. I want them to toss a coin in Trevi Fountain, or get a kiss on the top of the Eiffel Tower. There is nothing quite like putting your feet on the soil of another country, but especially in a place where incredible things occurred.

It is not lost on me that this quote is on the floor of a museum. By setting foot in the British Museum, we set our feet right smack dab in the midst of knowledge. Just last night, we saw the Rosetta Stone, tablets from Ancient Mesopotamia, the helmets of ancient Saxons, jewelry from the Roman patricians. Henry's little feet kicked through galleries of ancient objects for over an hour. That's something no book, no video, no podcast can recreate.

I have my parents to thank for teaching me this important principle. And with that legacy, I hope to pass on my love of learning to my children. I hope to set their feet in the midst of knowledge and, millenniums hence, find them weary from travel with hundreds of tales of their adventures through life, seeking knowledge.

For Sentimental Reasons...

My baby turned one this past Saturday. I can hardly believe it. It seems like just a few weeks ago he was tiny and helpless and couldn't turn over. Now, he's climbing up my legs as I stand at the counter trying to type this.

I pulled all my favorite images and videos from the last year and (mostly for myself) put them together into a video. I know it's long, about 21 minutes, but I honestly didn't know what to cut out--because everything I put in here I love or it represents a significant event/milestone in Little Brute's young life.

If you feel like watching it, please do. I've watched it a million times and I still cry--my baby is growing up!

Man--he sure is adorable.



Henry's Birthday Video from Jennifer Bruton on Vimeo.

* This video is password protected on Vimeo. If you are following my blog--I'm ok with you watching it, obviously. So, the password is: Little Brute

My Birthday!

I turned one on Saturday! Saturday, we all slept in, then I got up and played with Daddy for a while before Mummy came downstairs. Daddy was supposed to have a race, but they cancelled it because the wind was blowing so much. Daddy's friends that row in the same boat as him decided to have breakfast at Pembroke, so we got ready to meet them.

While we were getting ready to go, I tripped and hit Mummy's computer. I bit my lip! I cried because it hurt so much, and then Mummy tried to put a cold cloth on my lip. She told me it would help stop the bleeding and make it so it didn't swell up. Well guess what, that hurt, too!

Luckily, I'm really brave. I stopped crying after just a couple of minutes, got dressed, and we headed out for breakfast.

Daddy's friends are so fun! I got to have an orange juice and they all told me how cute I am. I get that a lot, but they were all really nice. After breakfast, we went and bought my friend Lydia a birthday present. Mummy and I went to her birthday party later on that afternoon. I had so much fun! Lydia invited a whole bunch of other friends and I got to play with some of her toys. My favorite part was sitting in Mummy's lap and watching Lydia open her presents. I was so excited to open my presents!

I only got to open one present on my actual birthday, because Mummy and Daddy planned a party for me on Sunday. We Skyped with Nana and I opened up the awesome vacuum that she and Papa got for me! I already love it so much. It makes so many fun noises, and I can push it around while Mummy pushes her vacuum around! Thanks Nana and Papa!

On my birthday, Mummy made me one of my favorite dinners (Chinese Sesame Chicken!). I also got to wear my hat and a special badge that says "I am 1!" That was pretty cool--I got to wear my hat again during my part.

Oh, and don't worry: my party was awesome.

Mummy and I got all the decorations in bright yellow and blue. We had balloons, party hats with polka dots, flowers, a banner, and a really cool sign that says: Happy Birthday! Daddy hung that up behind my high chair. I also had a special shirt that Nana bought me before we left Utah. It says "Look Who's 1!" (me, that's who!)

When my friends started arriving, I got so excited. Josh and Daly Brownlow, Aimee and Jonathan Smith, Kristen and Michael Call and their two kids (Alana and Devin--they were my favorites!), and Dr. Peter Martland all came to celebrate with me. Mummy made cupcakes and we had lots of yummy fruit. Everybody wore their party hats (even Peter!) and I had so much fun. I played blocks with Alana and Devin, showed them my new vacuum, and got to show off my favorite blanket.

But my party wasn't 100% fun.

Mummy made me a really cool cake--a blue one with a blue #1 on top! She put a really pretty candle right on top for me to blow out. But right after I blew it out, I reached up to touch the candle and--ouch! It's hot! It wasn't too bad, but then when everybody started making noise I got so scared! Mummy picked me up and held me and showed me a balloon, and everything was ok after that.

A few minutes later, she took me back so I could try eating my cake again. I got my favorite fork and everything! I really wasn't too sure about the frosting, and when I got some in my eye I decided I REALLY didn't like it.

Cake is so much better when somebody feeds it to you! I'm glad my friend Aimee helped me eat a cupcake. That was much better than having to eat that big cake all by myself.

Even though my cake was kind of scary, my party was a lot of fun. I got so many presents! Aimee and Jonathan got me a cool new shirt and some snazzy shoes. Daly and Josh got me a VERY soft cow with a little blankie. Peter gave me my very first 20 pound note! Mummy found me a really cool scarf with a London Bus on it. I can't wait to wear it! Oh, and Mummy and Daddy got me this AMAZING train set. It has some of the famous London Buildings and the train looks just like the Tube train! It also came with a London Bus, a Cab, a Police Car (which is my favorite), and a fire engine. Daddy and I have already played with it a few times. It's so much fun!

I also got a very special present from the Missionaries. Elder Dickey and Elder Tan brought me a Book of Mormon! Mummy tells me Book of Mormon stories all the time, I'm so excited to have my own book. It has pictures in it, too!

So overall, my birthday was awesome. It was fun having my friends over at my house. Thank you for coming to my party, friends!

Peter and Me. :)

Family!!