William graduates from nursery

The kids all looked very grown up and very little at the same time. Primary school starts in September.

Lake District July 2011

Isn't it great when your best friend on holiday wants to do exactly the same thing that you want to do?




William and Megan found that muddly puddles are the best things to play in, and if there isn't one around, then they'd just find a stone to sit on together, as an ideal location to eat, or fish, or just watch the world go by from.
















We had a lovely holiday in the Lake District, staying near Coniston, which was mostly spent playing in streams, lakes and ponds. With three families coming together (the Marshall's, Stacey's and Brown's) we numbered 6 adults and 7 kids. I'm already looking forward to meeting up again next year.

Wood festival, May 2011

Shortly after our return to Oxford, we spent a weekend camping at a small, green, local, family-friendly music festival, called Wood. They have a cycle-powered film tent, loads of activities and a solar-powered stage (risky thing to do in the UK!). The weather was lovely though and we spent lots of time in the kids tent doing activities. I'm not sure that we heard any music at all, except for a kids song-writer and singer called Nick Cope (we went to both his sessions) but much fun was had by all, trying to relax a bit.


One reason Andrew was particularly keen on this festival is that you were encouraged to cycle there. I agreed, on the condition that as it was his idea, he could carry both kids on his bike. The Oxford Cycle Workshop organised a group of people to travel down together, choosing a very pleasant route and supplying a picnic. The festival organisers gave us all a free beer when we arrived. I was pleased to survive my longest ever cycle (3.5hrs).

Even though we traveled by bike, we still brought quite a load of stuff!
(A van took all our gear, so that we didn't have to carry it all on our bikes).



William made something (?with a face on it) to carry along in the parade!



Sophie enjoying a bit of English camping, and her first ice cream.

Home

It is lovely to be back in our own home. The weather here has been better than that we experienced in Australia - that will teach us to leave! The garden has grown into a wild meadow in our absence and so William and Sophie has spent the bank holiday weekend helping us mow and weed. I chopped a few branches off one of the lilac trees and brought them inside. I love being able to pick flowers from my own garden. ☺ Now I just need to visit the garden centre and buy some new plants - what fun.


We found out today that William has been accepted at our first choice of primary school, St Andrews, which is a short walk from our house. He starts on Monday 5th September – what a big boy! I already excited and nervous for him....what on Earth will I be like on the day? He seems pretty calm about the idea though.


My step-Grandmother, (also called) Jo, came and stayed with us for a night last weekend on her way to Heathrow at the end of a holiday. It was lovely for her to meet Sophie and we all enjoyed being tourists in Oxford together for a day. As she has extensive experience minding her seven grandchildren, she was great with the kids.


On the Monday bank holiday we went to Blenheim Palace to watch the falconry and jousting - lots of fun! We enjoyed a picnic lunch there with friends (Rae, Maeve and Edward) as well as a train ride and the kids and I enjoyed doing the hedge maze.

Home in Oxford

We all survived the flight home. The first thing that William said after we landed back in London (as we walked up the gangway to Heathrow airport) was "We'll need to get a dog to hoover up the floor under Sophie when she eats".

:)

The best thing about this holiday......

....has been spending time with family.



(you were right Ali, the best photo we took of the two of us is the one where we are sticking our necks out, a bit like ET)

Easter at Inverloch

The beaches at Inverloch are lovely! Most days while staying here, we’ve been walking, sand-castle-building and generally playing on the beach. Sophie says that the sand tastes just as good at British sand does. There were a few rainy days at the beginning of the week, so William and Sophie don't look dressed very differently than they were on Cornish beaches in February.




The main Inverloch surf beach was 100 yards from the house we were staying in. It was patrolled, so we swam between the flags (you can see the life guards dressed in red and yellow). The water was lovely, and Andrew would like me to point out that the temperature was the same as that in Bournemouth in the Summer.



The local primary school had a school fete on Saturday, where William had fun on a bouncy castle, feeding and folding some animals (which he held ever so carefully) and exploring the cabin of a fire engine, all while Sophie slept. Jo enjoyed some shopping at the local market (great success shopping for clothes!), and we had had a nice walk along the coast in the afternoon, during which we picked up some dropping shea oak cones, watched crabs being caught from a bridge and climbed a great tree.