England wrap-up

Perry's Cider Farm, maker of delicious hard apple cider (in England, all cider is hard!)

In this idyllic orchard setting, we enjoyed a cream tea and a savory tea, plus cider samples...

...from barrels like this, with Stacey's Nan.

It was great to spend more time with Mary, who is looking very well and loved seeing her great-granddaughters.

We also took a couple of trips to public indoor swimming pools...

...where Cora's confidence swelled and she managed to take both feet off the ground, without wearing a flotation device or clinging to an adult's neck for dear life.

And, for good measure, a final picture of the babies.
Whoops, the babies and Stace, I meant to say.

We've been home a week, so it's time to put an end to the posts about our trip. We had a great flight home, and the girls again were brilliant on the airplane. Cora watched television the entire trip, except for the last hour, when she finally fell into a deep sleep. (This is now the fourth transatlantic flight in a row when she's fallen asleep only for the final hour.)

Violet was excellent, too. I imagine we'll have a different experience at Christmas, when Vi will be older and presumably mobile and more opinionated.

I wish I could say that Cora was as well-behaved while we were in England. We hit a difficult patch with her; she was tantrum-prone and rude a lot more often than we would have liked.

I've had friends with older children say that three is a harder age than two, and that seems to be the truth. Anyway, Stace and I know how fast the days, months and years fly by, and we know that this phase will be over in the blink of an eye.