Last Weekend

Karen and Martin had the whole family over for a barbecue on Friday evening, kicking off our final weekend in England.

The girls had fun in the pool!

It was a lovely evening, and great to spend it all together. We hadn't seen Karen and Martin's home finished; it's beautiful! We were able to watch Glastonbury on the television from the back patio.

We spent the night, and the next day, Karen led us on a walking tour of Drayton.

On Sunday, we went to a historic vehicle and wartime memorabilia show.

We then met up with Wes for lunch at the pub he's running.

In the evening, Dean and Jen and the children came over for a barbecue. Look at these cherubs!
It was a great weekend together with our family we love so much.

Around Kingsbury

We had plenty of normal-life, relaxed hours with Nan and Pop. Walks in the moor...

...bike rides on the lanes...

...and of course, a trip to Ham Hill.

That little dot is Cora, high in the tree.

Breakfast al fresco

Gardening with Nan

Art in the garage

Puzzle time

 1,000 pieces, finished!

And Cora baked a yummy strawberry cake. Just look at that garnishment!

Wookey Hole and Cheddar Gorge

Stace and I realized that in all our years of parenthood and travels to England, we hadn't taken the girls to Wookey Hole, a fun family attraction with caves and more.

We visited Wookey Hole when I was visiting Stace many years ago, and we knew that Cora especially would love exploring the caves.

Next time, she wants to try cave diving!

These are huge blocks of cheddar cheese, gaining a "cave-aged" twang. You can even watch the cheese aging online, live. Yep. Live cave-aging, right before your eyes.

Wookey Hole also features animatronic dinosaurs, a Victorian paper mill, and miniature golf.

Our archaeology lover loved the touch table and info about the ancient Cheddar Valley.

We took a lunch break for the picnic we'd packed, beside a stream on the grass near the car park. It was idyllic! England has so many gorgeous little spots like this.

We then went back into Wookey Hole to do the Pirate-themed mini golf - we were fortunate to be there midweek, while school was still in session in the UK. There were so few people around!

Next, we drove the short distance to Cheddar Gorge, to eat cheese and drive through the gorgeous gorge.

Yum! Samples!

And the drive was beautiful, with wild goats and even wilder rock climbers. Something else for Cora to put on her bucket list!

Family and Rec Fun

Back in Somerset, we had a lovely day with Nan's Auntie Heather and Uncle Ron - Heather being Big Nan's youngest sister. We hadn't seen her since Big Nan's funeral, and this was the first time they had met Cora and Violet.

We went out to lunch, and it was wonderful catching up and getting to know each other better.

On our way back from lunch, the girls were begging to stop at the Big Rec to play. With a 12-year-old heading into junior high, who knows how much longer we'll get such requests, so we made the most of it.

On Wednesday, we  met up with Uncle Pete and Auntie Doreen and other Kingsbury folk at the monthly ploughman's lunch at the church. 

Cora and Violet spent some time out in the church yard, and came back for dessert. Violet helped me play the game "beetle," and did a lot better than I did.

But, thanks to my poor score, I won the prize for worst finish! Yum!

Barnstaple and Lynmouth

 Sunday was wet, so we partook in the time-honored rainy day tradition of outlet shopping.

I found this sign placement funny - buy one bodyboard for 17.50, or two for 40. If you want two, best to buy them in two transactions!

 It had been a few years since I sat with a stack of picture books to read to an eager listener.

 Oh, this sweet girl!(And awesome guy!)

 We packed up and left Monday, and stopped in Barnstaple for a few hours. This Pizza Express in an ancient building caught our eye.

We did a bit of shopping in the old market; we bought a puzzle to work on back home in Kingsbury, and the girls each picked out souvenirs to take home. The giant Rubik's cube - well, our friend Charlie has become a cubing fanatic, so Cora took the photo for him.

Stace and the girls and I took pasties to the old castle/hill mound for lunch, and got a history lesson by walking around and reading all the plaques.

 Sue and Gord took the girls from Barnstaple, and Stace and I drove across Dartmoor to continue our mini holiday.

 Dartmoor ponies!

 We parked in Lynmouth and enjoyed the beauty.

Postcard-perfect!