England Tidbits

We didn't spent our whole trip cavorting around castles and stately homes. Some days, we rode bikes around Kingsbury.

Cora is just able to ride Nan's small bike, which was great for her because it has gears. She now would love a geared bike of her own (perfect 10th birthday gift, no?).

Violet and Cora were given spending money by Nan and Pop, and Daddy, to look for souvenirs. Violet chose a kit from the Roman Baths shop that involves digging polished stones from plaster - an activity, AND a souvenir!



















Cora and Stace had great fun looking through his many old Star Wars toys. We picked out a few to take home.

Dean has been in business for himself for about a year and a half, and he's doing very well. We checked out his new van and logo - nice one!











And, Violet made an attempt at gate vaulting, but didn't quite get the hang of it.

Like all of our trips, this one came to an end too soon; we had a great time with everyone.

Our trip to Heathrow on Sunday and our flight home were super smooth again. I'm amazed again, thinking back to our years of grin-and-bear-it flights with littles, how easy it is to travel again.

Since it was a daytime flight, with no sleeping, I was able to watch four movies! The girls also watched lots of movies and shows, and were perfectly behaved.

Until next time!

Fab Times with Family

When the sun is shining on the English countryside, you go out and bask in it.

One of the best parts of rural Kingsbury is the many fields outlining the village, perfect for those welly-clad rambles.

Olivia and Violet developed a special bond over our two weeks together. Perhaps it was a little sister thing, or perhaps the fact that Violet was finally older (and bigger) than someone, but they got along so very well. It was wonderful to watch.

Cora and Euan got along much better, too, as both are growing up. They sure had a great time together at Go Ape, and Cora loved showing him her Minecraft skills on her kindle.

Andy and Jenny gave the girls gifts when we saw them - a DIY paint-the-garden-gnome project. They were so content to paint away Friday evening, and Pop sprayed them so they'll be weather-tight. They turned out really cute!

On Saturday, we spent time with Dean and Jen and the children swimming at Street's indoor pool. Then we ate together at Nan and Pop's house, and had a game of footie in the back garden.

We had a great time together as a family; saying goodbye is always so hard!

Fab Times with Friends

We have been happy to catch up with lots of dear friends this trip, including Andy, Jenny, Marisa and Lola.

We met up at Ham Hill, having a nice meal at the Prince of Wales pub. After some rainy days, the evening was truly glorious.







Ham Hill is a favorite place of both our girls, and it was wonderful being back.













The girls had a great time playing together; we all felt like we knew Lola already, after hearing so much about her from Marisa and Andy when they were with us in March.

We initially got caught up with Jenny in Chard, when Stace and I went to the town to put flowers on the grave of his Nan and Pop. We stopped in at Costa Coffee together and enjoyed a chat.

We also met up with Lindsey and Duncan and their family at Morrisons, one of our favorite grocery store cafes. They offer free kids meals in the evening with the purchase of an adult's meal, so we love it there.

Cora and Violet had some silly times with my phone camera...

...and some great times reconnecting with Chelsea and Charlie. It's hard to believe that Chelsea was one when she and the family came to visit us in Newhall, and now she's 10.

And finally, we played with cousins Ben, Chloe and Bethany in Kingsbury.

Ben and Chloe have gotten so very tall! Ben is about my height now, and it a solid football player. He, Stace and our girls played some footie at the park.

Taunton Day

We explored the town of Taunton on Thursday with an old friend of Stacey's, Adam, and his children.

After meeting at their house, we walked to the Museum of Somerset, a brilliant place to spent a few hours.

Here, Violet and Harry are checking out an old almshouse, with a docent inside explaining how life was lived in the 1500s.

Inside the museum were exhibits on the county from ancient times, up to the present day.

Children could complete a worksheet, looking for items and writing about them. Here's Cora's entry into the guestbook.

















A special exhibit on the Somerset Light Infantry, the unit Stace's grandfather served with. Uniforms from the First World War and the Zulu conflict were on display.

Stace and I had last visited the museum years ago, but hardly recognized it as it's gone through a full redo over the past few years.

 One room of the castle, which dates from the 12th Century, featured famous quotations about Somerset and its people. One such quote was in the ceiling rotunda, visible by looking into the mirror shown here.









In this room, children (or adults) could write down their own thoughts, or words of wisdom. Violet took hers from the book of Proverbs: "a harsh word stirs up anger."










We picked up lunch after leaving the museum, and enjoyed it at a nearby park. Harry is Cora's age, and Molly is two years older, so it was nice for the girls to have playmates for the day.

Then, before it was time for us to head home, Adam treated the kids to ice cream.

Why the big smile, Cora? Oh, yes, because you have TWO scoops!

We all had a very nice day together, and Stacey really enjoyed catching up with his boyhood/football friend. Thanks to Adam for most of these photos...

Bath, Part II

Along with the Roman baths, we had fun exploring the beautiful city of Bath on Tuesday.

Above one of the main streets was a display of colorful umbrellas - thankfully this was one of the days on our trip that we didn't need to actually use one!

After our historical learning adventure, we picked up pasties for lunch and took them to the river. The bridge holds a row of tiny shops - so beautiful!

We did some shopping, too, and in one indoor market, we found the Queen! She just celebrated her 90th birthday, and was happy to shake Stace's hand.

A nearby stall was selling second-hand books, and the girls each bought a book to read. They came in handy, as since it was Stacey's birthday, we did some clothes-shopping for him.

Stace picked out two pairs of jeans for his gift from Sue and Gord, and the girls quietly entertained themselves with their own purchases. Cora remains a voracious reader, and Violet is now reading chapter books, too.

On the next block, we found a section of chairs, fake grass and this huge television screen so that people can keep up with the European Cup football action. Cora and Stacey have both greatly enjoyed watching the footie while we've been here.

Not far from the train station, the girls came upon this wigwam celebrating the British summer treat of fresh strawberries.

Our train back was a bit delayed, but not by enough time to put a damper on our great day out together.

Bath, Part I

On Tuesday, we celebrated Stace's birthday with a train trip into Bath, where we visited the ancient Roman baths for the first time with the girls.

The train itself made for an exciting part of our trip, passing the lovely countryside. With our advance tickets, it was a good deal, considering we would have had to taken two cars for the six of us.

We couldn't get a grouping of seats around a table, but we had plenty of seats for our reading, snacking and goofing off pleasure.

After our arrival, we made our way to the Baths. It was very pricey - £44  for a family ticket, or about $66. But it was well worth it, since the girls are old enough to soak in the learning.

We all were given a phone-type device with a keypad, and you dialed in numbers that corresponded to signs on the walls, and then listened to recorded info. It was like having a personalized guide, and the children could listen to special information geared toward them.

A view of the ancient bath below, and the more "modern" abbey behind, from the 1200s.

We were fascinated by the tour, and spent several hours listening to our devices and looking at the artifacts from Roman Britain, circa AD 60.

This is an overflow channel for the hot springs, which were important to the natives long before the Romans came along. The Romans then built a huge complex around the spring, with the hot, mineral-rich water used in various pools.

A Roman temple was attached to the baths, and we learned many much about the way Romans worshiped their gods.

I found the hoards of Roman coins to be most interesting, as well.

A half dozen pools were inside, in smaller rooms surrounding the large pool seen here. Most were warm or hot, though a couple were cold.

This one had a huge roof over it in Roman times.

When we finished our tour, we were able to take a drink from the hot spring, piped through the fountain beside Sue.

It was ... interesting! Very warm, a bit sulfuric, definitely heavy on the minerals.

Flying Like Monkeys!

We traveled Sunday to Moors Valley Country Park, down in Dorset a fair distance away, so the children could release their inner monkeys. 

An adventure company called "Go Ape" has locations all over England, and at the Moors Valley spot, Cora, Violet and Euan had a brilliant time climbing and riding a zip line. 

But first, we stopped to climb a tractor and have our picnic lunch at the large forest-lined, grassy park near a picturesque pond.

Then, the big kids got suited up in their harnesses and heard the safety talk and instructions for how to move along the wires.

 The zip line was so much fun to watch. The children went so quickly, and felt like they were flying.

 The rest of the adventure involved carefully stepping, or running, between wooden footholds way up above our heads. The children had an hour of fun, and loved every minute of it.










It wasn't cheap - £18 per child (about $27) - but for a special treat, it was an awesome experience. The adults could have had a similar turn on a harder course, but it was even more expensive.

We then played at a large playground, and Sue took Livi (and Euan) on a train ride so she could have some fun, too.

It was a great day out together.