JUNE 2016

I have decided to try to do things a little differently now because I obviously do not have the time to do this blog that I thought I would!!!

Starting this month, I am going to just write one entry over the month so that I can just capture everything.

The first week of June has been good so far.  The kids were out of school for the first few days, so we went to see Horrible Histories, the Terrible Tudors at Hampton Court, which was quite entertaining and well done!  And we got to check out the new Magic Garden playground, which was quite amazing.  The favourite bit was sliding down the astro-turf hill.  And we bumped into our friends Jenny and Georgie!  And the next day, we went over to Thomas, Magnus and William's house for a playdate, then the boys showed us the tiny frogs they discovered in the pond by the park.  And then we went to the Polka Theatre for lunch at the cafe and then the kids played on the playground for a long time.  I cannot believe I have never been there before, what a great place.

Brad came home from his 10 day birthday guys trip/work trip to Vegas and we were all SO excited to see him!!!!  Although, he was totally wiped from all his travels of course.

8 June - I decided that it was a sunny day and I was doing laundry, so I hung my laundry on the line to dry.  Here are a few observations:
-First I had to figure out how to work the clothes line as I strung it out and hung one pair of shorts on the line and it drooped almost to the ground.  More tension, please!!
-It takes MUCH longer to hang each article of clothing on the line rather than shoving them in the dryer.
-When it is sunny, the clothes dry pretty quickly
-The only thing that was a little bit stiff was the towels.
-You must watch the weather closely, as the rain was coming down in buckets literally 5 seconds after I removed the last article from the line.
So, I would say I can see myself doing that again, because there is nothing like an article of clothing dried in the sun and wind!

12 June - Mum Mum arrived, WOO HOO!!!!  Drew was so excited to see her at his Gruffalo assembly.  It was REALLY cute, and Drew was the student who got to welcome everyone to the assembly.  I went to the neighbor's for a BBQ, which was great fun.  Saturday was the Holy Trinity summer fair, where I had an Arbonne stall.  Mum Mum and the kids stopped by for a bit.  It was fun, and the weather was mostly good.
Sunday, Mum Mum was off to the seaside to see her friend Donna and her granddaughter Caroline.  We went to the Garden Shed to support Poland in the Euros (Apparently this tournament is the next big sporting event, there seem to be multiple ones, but this is football amongst all the European Countries).  Poland won!!!
Tuesday, Drew, Mum Mum and I went to Hampton Court for the afternoon.  It was really fun!  The rose gardens were AMAZING, and Drew had the best time playing in the new magic garden, especially since there weren't many people around.  Thank goodness for the extra trousers in his school backpack.  We enjoyed looking around the palace and we nearly got lost in the maze as Drew was our tour guide.
Wednesday, Mum Mum took Drew on an adventure to the London Eye. They ate lunch at McDonald's first and then took the train to Waterloo.  Drew enjoyed seeing the sites, but I think he had the most fun playing on the playgound.
Thursday, Brad and I got all dressed up and went to Ascot for the annual KFC day at the races.  I LOVE getting dressed up and I LOVE seeing all the men in their top hats and morning coats.  It is so quintessential British to me.  We had some great food, some Pimm's and I won £78 on the Gold cup!!!  I bet on the horse that came in third and it had 66-1 odds.  I quit while I was ahead!!

Friday was Drew's class trip to Godstone Farm, which was very fun!!  Drew really enjoyed the ride on the coach, and they had lots of really cool animals there, as well as several amazing play areas. They got to go on a tractor ride, feed the pigs, play in the barns,  play on the playground and explore different areas of the farm.  He also enjoyed the dinosaur area.

Sunday was Father's Day, and we met some friends at Jimmy's World Cafe for lunch/dinner.  It was quite an experience!!!  It was SLAMMED, both because it was Sunday and father's day, but the kids had a great time.  It's a buffet with all different types of food, from curries to Yorkshire pudding to hamburgers.  They even had a chocolate fondue fountain.  The kids all enjoyed getting all their own food and going back again and again and again.

The girls and Mum Mum had a great time doing American Girl crafts.  They discovered a great website with all sorts of printables that allow them to make food and other items for their dolls out of common items found around the house.  Although, Mum Mum did take each of them shopping to purchase a few items like craft foam and clay.

RAIN, RAIN, RAIN was the weather almost the entire time Mum Mum was here, but we didn't let it stop us!  The one day it rained pretty much all day was the day we had planned to go to Kew Gardens, but we opted for a nice breakfast in the village instead.  We enjoyed walking around and looking at all the different windows decorated for the tennis.


Alison has been learning all about Van Gogh (pronounced Van Gof) in school.  She has done sunflowers, starry starry night and Irises (although she always calls them radishes.)  She knows all about his life and she is fascinated by his art.

Drew has been learning about the author Julia Donaldson, who is a prolific children's author.   All of her books rhyme, and have great stories.  We discovered that she started our writing childrens songs and she is exactly the same age as Mum Mum!!  Drew can recite the entire book of A Squash and a Squeeze and the Gruffalo and The Smartest Giant in Town.  It baffles me that I had never heard of this author until we moved here.  And the same with one of Lauren's favourite authors, Jacqueline Wilson.

My dad's cousin Peggy and her husband Barry were in London for a few days as an exchange student of theirs is getting married outside of London.  The kids and I met up with them in Hyde Park on the day of the Brexit vote, as their school is a polling location.  It was so nice to catch up with them, and the kids had a great time playing at the park.....until it started raining and I was completely un-prepared for that.  We stood under the cover of the ice cream stand for a bit until the rain let up mostly.  We took the tube to Earl's Court and then the trains to Wimbledon stopped running due to flooding at Wimbledon park.  Thank goodness for City Mapper!  We took four different buses to get home, and it took almost 2 hours from Earl's Court (which is usually about 25 minutes.)  The kids didn't complain at all, and we even had to wait for one bus for about 20 minutes.  What an adventure.  It just goes to show there are MANY different ways to get just about anywhere in London.

Brexit: needless to say, we are as shocked at the rest of London that people actually voted us out.  No one really knows what it means exactly yet, but I will say that a lot of my friends from other European countries are very upset and feeling uneasy about the future.  Brad was asking Drew if he was shocked about Brexit and Drew said "What does he look like?"  On the other side of the kids, Lauren's class had their how vote about in/out and her class voted 18 in and 7 out.  Not quite what the popular vote came to....

In July, Lauren is going to Disney with her Stagecoach group, and they had the unique experience to go to a recording studio and record their song they will be singing in their performance, which is a medley of classic Disney songs.  The one comment that was consistent for both her and her friend Kayla was how small the studio was and that all 27 of them were all smashed in their at once.  That is one experience I can say I will most likely never have!

27 June: Today begins the Wimbledon Championships.  It is definitely an exciting time around here!  All the shops have tennis balls and decorations to signify the event, and of course the train station has a large winding line.  One of the local grocery stores has grass set up upside the shop, along with a huge TV screen showing all the matches.  And of course Pimms and strawberries and cream set up for sale right inside the shop.

30 June: The last day of June was quite exciting!!  Delta (my second cousin who is the daughter of Peggy) and her boyfriend Justin were in London for one night only, so Brad and I met them in the city for dinner at this REALLY great pub called the Laughing Gravy.  I don't even know the last time I saw Delta, but it was so great to catch up with her!  Brad was invited by a work collegue to attend a 4th of July party that is held each year at the Winfield House, the home of the US Ambassador to the UK, so we headed over to Regent's Park for that.  WOW, what a beautiful area of London!!  It was right past the London School of Business. and we could hear the music from down the street.  The house is AMAZING and we walked outside to this massive garden with about 1000 people (maybe more) and a full-on stage and numerous VW beetle buses and all sorts of flags and tents set up with food and drinks.  And they also had people walking around with Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Krispy Kreme donuts.  It was quite a production!!!  We met a few people that Brad works with in the London office and there were several people who are in government relations positions there as well.  The final band was Bastille, followed by a proper 4th of July fireworks show.  The event was definitely on a much larger scale than either of us expected.

Visit from Rebecca

We were all so happy to have our second visitor...Rebecca!!!

She arrived around 3:00 on Friday, and let herself in as the kids and I were at school at the International Fair.  I think she was appreciative of the quiet and Shower!!

Friday night was a  quiet night, as Lauren went to stagecoach, but we were able to watch some March Madness games.

Saturday, we had a somewhat lazy morning, and then went to Easter fun Day at church.  Lauren had a great time playing Just Dance on the Wii, and Alison made some cool crafts.  Then, we headed into London to go to Neal's Yard to try some cheese!  Along the way, we saw numerous street performers in Covent Gardens

and the kids had a great time checking them out and giving them money.  I was very impressed with the girls because they tried numerous varities of cheese at the cheese shop.  Wow, was that place amazing!!!  And we got some yummy cheese!  Then, we went to this amazing whiskey shop that Brad had discovered.  They had numerous kinds of bourbon, and of course an entire room of scotch!!  We had dinner at Pizza Express near Trafalgar Square and then came home.  We left Rebecca to watch the UK-Indiana game in peace, but the outcome was not so favourable for her.

Sunday, Brad and I headed out to Wembley around 6:45 for our half-marathon.  Drew and Alison were up when we left!!!  I was hoping they would let her sleep in for a bit.  I think they had a good time.  The race was good, it was nice to run with Brad but I am not sure I would run the race again.  There were very few spectators and it wasn't all that exciting.  And watching races in London is different than the US because no one has signs and if they clap it's not very enthusiastic.  I am sure the marathon will be different, but it was similar at the Richmond Half Marathon and the Royal Parks as well.  It was kind of chilly and there were 3 hills between miles 10 and 13, which were BRUTAL!!!  But I did get a PB 4 minutes off the last one, so I will take it!  When we got back, Brad went out and ran 7 more miles (he is quite a dedicated marathon trainee!) and then we went for a late lunch at our favorite Sunday Roast, the Crooked Billet.

Monday, Rebecca went into London to meet up with a couple of friends.  And Drew was home sick, so I was able to get some things done around the house.  She explored the Bourough Market and came home with a Lemon Meringue beer to try from her friend the brewer.

Tuesday, we headed to Brighton!  It was the perfect beach day and we had a great time!

 The beach is stones rather than sand, which was actually really nice because you don't have to worry about sand getting everywhere.  Drew was having a great time finding rocks and playing with his planes in the rocks.  We had a great fish and chips lunch right on the water, and found several really great art shops!  We could have spent at least another hour there I think but we had to hop on the train back to collect the girls from school.  We made it back in plenty of time!  Tuesday night, Rebecca and I went out for a curry, although she caught Drew's cold so she was not feeling so well.

Wednesday, we took the kids to school and then went up to Wimbledon Village for a bit.  We had a coffee and then popped into a few shops and then walked by the Tennis stadium and Rebecca purchased some souveniers in the shop and then we walked through Wimbledon Park before collecting Drew from school.  It was a typical London day, so I am glad we were able to get to Brighton on Tuesday.

Rebecca left at 5:30 on Thursday morning, and it was a quite a journey for her that included a night in the ATL airport.....she could write a book on her travel adventures.  We had a great time with her!!!  So glad she made the trip.

Half Term Trip to Tenerife

Before we moved to London, I had never even heard of Tenerife (pronounce Ten-a-reef).  It's in the Canary Islands, which are part of Spain even though they are closer to Africa than Spain.  Tenerife is home to the third largest volcano in the world, Mount Teide.  It is the perfect place to go in February from London in my opinion!!  The flight was about 4 hours (which to our kids is now short!!!), and it was in the 70s and sunny every day that we were there except the day we left to come home.

We left in the afternoon of Saturday, and we were arrived in our place around 10 PM.  It was adequate, and in a great location.

Sunday, we headed to the water park, AquaLand, which was about a 10 minute walk from our flat.  There is another water park, Siam Park, but it is too advanced for our kids.  Maybe if we go back in about 4 years when the girls are up for big water slides.  When we first walked in, they had birds that you could hold; Lauren completely shocked us by just taking the bird and holding it without even flinching.  Drew and Alison on the other hand wouldn't even TOUCH it.  AquaLand was absolutely perfect; we stayed there for about 4 hours and Drew was in one place pretty much the entire time.  He even made friends with a little boy from Finland.  It was pretty funny because they definitely did not speak the same language, but they still really enjoyed playing in the water and going down the slides.  It was great!!  The girls had a good time playing in the wave pool and they each did a couple of water slides with Brad.  At the end of the day, we watched an amazing dolphin show.  And on the way out, we purchased tickets to go back a second day.

Monday, Brad went out for a his long run, so the kids and I ventured to the market.  It was quite an adventure, as each of them had their own basket and are not very good drivers!  And thank you to the man who told me to weigh and get pricing on the produce before getting up to the counter because that saved me a lot of time!!  Once Brad returned, we went to the pool in the complex for about an hour.  We were the only ones there, but the water was pretty chilly so we didn't stay too long.  We had a bite to eat and then we headed down to the beach, which was great.  The kids played in the sand, and Brad and I just chatted and I read a book.  After we played on the beach, we had the most peaceful dinner out we have had with the kids in 9 years!  It was amazing!!!  Everyone stayed in their seat the entire time, ate all their food and there was no arguing.  What a great day.

Tuesday, we went back to AquaLand and had just a much fun the second time.

 It  was definitely more crowded, but it was a little warmer I think.  I was able to do the water slides with the girls this time.  Lauren was SO scared to do this big curvy water slide, but once it started she loved it.  I attempted to do the one that Alison did the day before with Brad, but they said she was too short (like 1/2 cm!!).  Drew did the same thing that he did the first time and had just as much fun this time.  What a great place!!!  It was totally worth the 9 euros per person we spent to return.

Wednesday, we went down to a different beach which was even better than the first one we tried. As we were walking down to the beach, we walked past this guy below.  Lauren walked up to him and said "That's creep....." and then he started moving and she was REALLY surprised!! The guy was really funny about it.   The beach was more of a cove, and the kids played on the beach for literally 3 hours!!

 Drew was drawing a line in the sand for half the time, and the girls were building with some small plastic cups I brought.  It was actually a little bit relaxing for Brad and I.  We did some souvenir shopping after the beach, and we had a bit of words with one of the shop owners.  Alison pulled a magnet off this magnet board, and it made the board fall over and a couple of the magnets broke; it was completely an accident.  The guy who owned the shop totally went off on us about kids touching breakable things and breaking them and how people were so irresponsible.  All of the kids had items in their hands to purchase, but we put them all down and walked out!  He was so rude!!!  She didn't touch something that was not intended for her.  They were all able to find a good souvenir; the girls purchased wooden surfboards!

Thursday, we booked tickets to go up on the volcano.

 We took a chance because the weather on the volcano was not that great, but I felt that we couldn't go to Tenerife and not at least see the volcano.  WE took a coach up the volcano, and as we got closer to the top it started snowing!!!  How crazy is it that one day we are on the beach and the next day we are all bundled up in our winter coats.  We were unable to go up in the cable car to the top of the volcano, but we did get as close as we possible could.

It was a great trip, and the first trip we have taken with kids that I feel like I have actually been able to relax a little bit.  We have turned that magical corner for a bit at least I think (touch wood!).  And the good thing about living in a place where we do a lot of walking is that when we go on holiday to place where we do a lot of walking, there is not so much complaining!!!

Bonfire Night, a little belated.....

I realised tonight when Lauren was looking through these Time travel cards that the kids have, that I forgot to do a blog about Bonfire Night, which is 5 November each year.  It is the closest holiday that the Brits have to 4th of July.  Apparently, back in the 1600s some guy named Guy Falkes had a brilliant idea to blow up the Houses of Parliament; however, he was caught before it happened, so they celebrate the fact that the mischief was stopped.

It is called Bonfire Night because it is celebrated with huge bonfires, as well as fireworks displays.  We had purchased tickets to attend the Bonfire Night at Wimbledon Park, which is a large celebration.  About an hour and half before it was due to begin, it was POURING rain, so we weren't sure if we were going to be able to go or not.  But it stopped raining, so we all got on our wellies (come to find out later that Alison's were about 2 sizes too small), and off we went.  We got there just as the fireworks were starting!!!  They did a fantastic display with Disney music playing the background, and there was also a large bonfire that was built.  Drew was not happy, so the boys left and the girls and I went over to the carnival to check it out.  It was AMAZING!!!  The rides were super expensive of course, but the girls did some jumping on these trampolines and then the three of us went up in the ferris wheel, which was really cool because we could see really far and were able to view many different fireworks displays from all different places.

It was a cool experience; although I do have to say that I prefer watching fireworks in July rather than November!

Fun December in London!

There are so many things going on in London for Christmas!  We had a great time exploring and spending time with friends!

The first week of December was busy!!!  Tuesday, I was able to go to Hampton Court as a chaperone for the Year 4 field trip.

 We took the train to get there.  My group was Lauren, Thomas, Karolina, Moundir and Sanaly.  Karolina is a good friend of Lauren's, as is Thomas.  Monduir and Thomas both sent home love letters to Lauren earlier in the year!  So, it was fun to spend time with all of them.  We did a tour around the kitchens, then ate lunch and then we had a one-on-one tour with a servant who was in charge of the laundry.  She did a great job telling the kids things that had a shock factor, like how they collected urine to get the linens extra white and how they used to lower little boys down into the latrines to unclog them.  And she also tested their knowledge of Henry VIII.  At the end, we walked around in the gardens and took a group photo.  All in all, a good day!

Wednesday, I chaperoned the Year 2 class to the Science Museum.  We also the tube to get to the museum.

My group was Alison, Janan, Haron, Naomi, Lacey and Filipe.  Janan is Alison's best friend so she was really happy about that!!  All the kids were hungry as soon as we got to the museum of course.  The first thing we did was store all of our coats a locker in the basement, which was great so we didn't have to carry them.  Then we split into groups and went to do our activities.  Our first stop was a Three Little Pigs show about materials.  The kids really enjoyed that, and Alison got chosen to be one of the Three Little pigs.  After that, we walked around for a bit and then had lunch.  After lunch, we went to the Pattern Pod, which was a cool place and they were able to learn about all different patterns.  The walk back to school was somewhat slow, but all in all, a great trip!

So thankful for Drew's friends Hugo and Reuben and their parents who watched Drew for me after nursery!

Then, on Friday that week was the Christmas Fair at the kids school.  (Thankfully several of the other PTA members help keep things organized during the week while I was chaperoning!)  The Christmas Fair was not as much planning as the summer fair, but still somewhat stressful.  It was a good fair, and we got lots of positive feedback about the fair.  It helped that we had a few activities outside, and several good external vendors.   Brad and I also went to dinner with some neighbors for a curry that evening, which was a good time!  We haven't really been out in Wimbledon Village that much, so it was fun to do that as well, and try a good local Indian restaurant.  We love our curries!

Saturday evening, we walked back up to Wimbledon Village for the tree lighting.

It wasn't as exciting as I was hoping, but the kids did a small ride and then we were able to see the tree lighting but only because the first time they tried there was a slight malfunction.  It was a pretty small tree and not much of a wow factor, but I do really like Wimbledon Village

Sunday, we headed down to Hyde Park Winter Wonderland to go ice skating.  Ice skating is everywhere in London in December! The strange thing is that it's not all that cold, so the rinks are pretty wet around the outside, but I wanted to try it.

The girls and I did two laps around, and they got  better on the second lap.  Drew however was on the ice for about 10 seconds and he was over it.  The girls both fell and got their pants wet, but I think they enjoyed it!  Everyone had warned me about how expensive the rides were, and they were right!  The rides were some serious rides.  The first ride the girls and I did made my stomach turn, it went upside down and round and round and really fast/  Eating right before going on the ride was probably not the best idea, but oh well.  Drew's favourite ride was the last one they did, which was a Lightning McQueen ride and very low-key.

The highlight of the day was definitely when Brad won a Minion for the kids!  He tried at least four of the booths before he finally found the Penguin Plunge where the aim was to knock over a stack of tin cans.  It only took two tries, but I think he really impressed the workers!  And the kids were SOOOOOO excited.  It was definitely a proud Dad moment.

Lauren had Tudor day at school, since she learned all about the Tudors, so she dressed as Elizabeth I.  We even painted her face white!

The girls did Christmas cards for each child in their class because that's what they do here, which is really nice.  They remembered everyone in their class without even looking at the class list.  Drew did a few, but maybe next year....

The following weekend, Brad and I went to dinner with his co-workers on Friday night.  We went to Sticks N Sushi, which I have been wanting to try for quite some time.  It was YUMMY!!!  Three of the guys came over to our house before we went to dinner, and the kids gave them quite a show...the girls have learned all the words to "Don't Stop Believin'," so Brad put it on and they sang the entire song for them.

The kids got out of school on 18 December, and then on Saturday, we went to Clip N Climb, which was a place that Alison and I went back in October.  Lauren loved it of course, and Alison had a great time the second time around.  Brad enjoyed it as well; Drew however was not a fan at all.  He was excited when he got the harness on, but then he was not happy at all.  He climbed up on step with Brad, and then about halfway through, one of the workers was able to convince him to climb a few steps and then at the very end, he climbed an entire ladder!  We will have to try again when he gets a bit older.  Afterwards, we had a nice dinner at Pizza Express.  The kids loved the Dough Balls!!  It was actually a pretty low maintenance dinner; I think we may have turned a corner on eating out which is amazing!!  Then, we decided to go to Regents Street to see the lights and go to Hamley's, a toy store that has been around since 1760!!  Drew fell asleep on the train on the way to the toy store, but as soon as we got there, he was awake.

Wow, it was quite a place!!  They had all sorts of booths set up where the kids could test out the toys.  And the second floor had a HUGE Thomas the train and Percy, which was Drew's favourite.  They also had the New Generation Dolls that they sell£50 (almost $100!!!).  It was 5 stories, and each floor had very intriguing items.  The coolest thing was these markers that you can mix and make lines.  As we were leaving, the kids became entranced with the magic kit.  The tricks were quite amazing, and Alison decided that is what she really wanted for Christmas (5 days before!!), and then we had to stop to see the powder that turns into snow when you add water.  Next year, we need to go to Hamley's at the end of November rather than right before Christmas.

Looking at the lights in the area was amazing!!!

Sunday, we went to church and then we went out to a Polish lunch organized by our lovely Polish friends, Marek and Yvona.  It was DELICIOUS and so much food, and it was so great to spend time with so many of our friends, including our American friends who have moved a little bit North.  The restaurant was perfect because there was a huge outdoor area for the kids to run around and play.  I have developed a taste for beetroot soup.

Monday, the kids and I went to see Santa at a local play place, Eddie Catz.  Monday night, we went to Kew Gardens to see the lights and it was quite spectacular!  There were several different areas with different lights, including a field of fire, big peacocks made of lights and a few interactive areas.  In the middle were a few rides and some food.  Drew was able to ride on a little train, and the girls rode on an old-fashioned see saw.  The kids favourite part was the marshmallows!  They had homemade marshmallows and roasting sticks, and they melted very differently than Jet-Puff marshmallows! They were VERY tasty!!

 At the end, we were able to see Father Christmas as well.

Tuesday, we went to Brad's office for a Pantomime.  It was the Snow Queen, and it was very well done!  There were several Frozen songs, but also some other songs.  At the interval, we had pizza.  The kids have a great time at Brad's office, and it is so amazing that they do these events.  As we left, they handed each of a box of chocolate!  In the evening, we headed to the O2 for Disney on Ice.  Brad was offered tickets by one of the vendors at work, so we were able to sit in a box, which was PERFECT!!  It was a great show: Toy Story, Little Mermaid, Cars and Frozen.  Drew of course was so excited to see CARS!!  And Lauren and her new friend Lyra were having the best time dancing in the aisle to the Frozen songs.

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty low-key days after a busy few days!  Thursday we did go to church for the Christmas Eve service, which reminded me a lot of the Christmas Eve service at St. John's.  And then our friends Elena, Adriano and Patrick came over for dinner.  It was nice to have some other company here, and I made the best scalloped potatoes I have ever made.  And Lauren made a dessert: little white cookies with chocolate sauce and green coconut.

Christmas was FUN!!!  All the kids received bikes from Santa, which was super exciting!!  And I received a laptop from Brad, which was a nice surprise (although I had really dropped some major hints about it!)  We had a nice day, just playing and relaxing.  The kids each went out with Brad separately to try out their bikes.  Alison will need to most practice, as hers is a two-wheeler, which she hasn't tried before, but she did a good job considering that fact!