Some spring photos

Here are some photos from the spring. (I am a bit behind on the blog!). Photos from top down are: first three- Aaron, Linnea and Meade on a hike/walk in Guildford followed by Aaron and Linnea at the "punch bowl" in Savill garden, Linnea on a pony ride at one of many fairs we visited, and Aaron and Linnea gardening in our greenhouse.

Devon

In mid-May, we spent a weekend in a little cabin in a tiny coastal town near Bideford, which is in the county of Devon. We were crazy lucky with the weather and it was sunny and in the high 70s. Highlights of the trip included the best fish and chips Meade or I has ever tasted (doused with loads of vinegar) and a visit to the clifftop village of Clovelly. The village has been entirely preserved as it was in the mid 19th century, inclusive of cobblestone streets, thatched roofs, and no cars. They use sleds (previously pulled by donkeys and now by children- according to some local kids) to carry goods up the narrow, steep roads. The whole village is owned by a single family, and has only been owned by three families since the time of the Normans. We also had a beach experience unlike any possible (lucky for us) in the U.S. I suppose that because England is a crowded place with lots of people and not much coastline, the beaches are packed with people and it is not a quiet, relaxing place. On the contrary, right on the sand there were multiple vendors with generators going and....a bouncy house! (But of course). The English and their ice cream and their bouncy houses- what is the deal? Linnea and Aaron loved it all.

San Diego

In early April, I went to Carlsbad, CA (solo) to visit my sister and her family and help out with their new baby, Connor. He is a happy and easy going baby, but still of course requires lots of time and energy (I had forgotten how much). Their older son, Colin, who is 3 and a half, is very sweet with the new baby. I got to see my brother, Jimmy, who came down from Monterey, which was quite a treat, as I have not seen him for a while. One sunny day, Sara, my mom and I went out for a champagne brunch in celebration of my my finishing her master's thesis. She is now almost finished with her MSW program, and will graduate (with honors!) at the end of May.

It was sunny and warm. I ran on the beach a few times, went to Trader Joe's twice, and I think I had Mexican food 4 times, and oh man, it was so good! What is up the English and their food? How hard is it to cook good food?

Spring!

Well, spring did finally come to England, though it definitely took its sweet time. Here are some photos from March- at Great Windsor Park with our friends, twins Gabe and Elliot, and at a local farm for kids.

The never-ending holiday in Portugal

Meade had two weeks off of school for spring break (well, that was the allotted time). For the first week, he hung out with Aaron and Linnea while I was away in San Diego. Our friends, Mark and Aimee, came to visit from Seattle and were here as well during part of that week. They also spent some time up in Scotland.

For the second week, we all headed off to Lagos, Portugal hoping for some sun and relaxation. The beginning of our travels did not bode well for the rest of the week. Aaron vomited (copiously) on the train and then the airplane just as we were descending. It improved from there.

Lagos is a quaint town in the Algarve. We stayed in a villa about a half mile outside of town, just 300 meters or so from the beach with a fantastic view of the ocean. During that first week, we spent time at the local beaches as well as drove out to the west coast to explore the more rugged coastline there. It was very windy for the first few days, so we were constantly trying to devise ways to enjoy the sunshine without getting blown away by the wind (coves, rock blockades, etc.). We visited the town of Sagres, which is located at the most southwesterly point of the European continent. The views from an old lighthouse were of dramatic cliffs and gorgeous blue ocean.

For a few days during that first week, it rained. And I don’t mean Seattle rain-sudden , intermittent downpours of sheets of rain accompanied by wild winds. So, we had to find other things to keep us (and two three year olds) busy. So, we visited the town of Silves, where there is a castle sitting majestically atop a hill overlooking the town. It was built during the Moorish occupation of the Algarve region, as early as the 4^th century. The kids enjoyed exploring it. Another day, we visited Portimao, an old fishing village, and enjoyed an excellent sardine lunch outdoors during a sun break. The town of Lagos has a colorful, interesting market on Saturdays, which we visited and bought some mouth-watering food- olives, tomatoes, oranges, fish, prawns- oh so much better than in England.

We had one more sunny, gorgeous day at a strikingly beautiful beach, Dona Ana, and anticipated going home on Friday, but learned late Thursday night (we had been watching movies instead of news) that the airspace above the UK was closed due to a volcanic ash cloud from an erupting volcano in Iceland. What??? We learned that we could not fly out for several days. The earliest flight we could get was for the following Sunday, which was quite frustrating, especially for Mark and Aimee, who would miss their flight back to Seattle.

We soon accepted that there was nothing we could do. The owner of the villa told us we could stay as long as necessary, so we returned our expensive rental car and settled into our second week of vacation. It was sunny, warm, and the winds died down- we could not complain. Meade’s school was very understanding about it. Fifteen other teachers were also stuck in various places. And I, well, I am STILL not licensed to practice medicine here, and thus not working (don't ask). So, I was free.

The second week was arguably even better than the first. We got into a great groove of running in the morning, then off to the beach or pool for a bit. After lunch, more beach or town, then happy hour and appetizers on the balcony followed by an incredible seafood meal (cooked by chefs Meade and Mark) finished with a magnum (the best ice cream bars ever, after the kids were asleep of course). One day, we went on a grotto tour via sailboat. Linnea was a bit nervous, as it was a bit rough out there; but Aaron, to our surprise was confident and relaxed.

One of the best things that happened during that second week was that Aaron decided to pee in the sand and the grass, followed by...the toilet!!!! Yay! See above photo of Aaron posing on a rock in his underwear, next to the serious rock climbing shot with Dada.

Mark and Aimee left on standby a day ahead of us and made it back to Seattle a week later then planned. We finally also made it out on standby, as the seats we had re-booked were for some reason cancelled. We were all were happy to be back in the UK. Aaron and Linnea were so excited to see that their tulips had bloomed and their neighborhood friends were all outside, ready to play. Sorry about the formatting on this- this program is terrible!

The long winter

I have not written for a while- there has not been too much going on for us. Well, "us" being the kids and me. Meade actually has gotten out and about a bit recently, though since he does not take photos, you will have to use your imagination. In late January, he went to Mombasa, Kenya for a teacher-training for his school. He spent most of his time indoors learning, but did have the opportunity to see the city and surrounds a little as well as to hang out with several African teachers, which was overall an interesting experience. In early February, he spent a week as one of two chaperones for a high school ski trip in Austria. His job was to ski with the advanced skiers, poor guy. (How does he always finagle these things, I really don't know!) They had 2 feet of fresh powder for much of the week and he had a fantastic time.


Here at home, we did just fine.
The bitterly cold winter continued on, but we were able to get out and have some fun. We visited Hampton Court Palace, which is located sort of between our house and London. The grounds are beautiful, and will be even more so in the spring when it is not 30 degrees out! We learned more about King Henry VIII; Aaron and Linnea are getting to know him quite well, though I think they are still calling him "Henry the ape!"

The photo on the right is mistletoe growing in the branches of a tree next to the palace. It is everywhere around here and so odd-looking.

My dad visited during part of the time that Meade was away, offering me some respite from solo- parenting. We mainly just hung out around our area, going to parks, playing at home, etc. We did take the train into London one day and visited the London aquarium, which the twins really enjoyed. Aaron and Linnea really loved having my dad here- they warmed up to him immediately and couldn't get enough of him.

My dad and I also went into London and saw Oliver, which was fabulous ("fab," as they say here).

I also had the opportunity to go into into London a couple times last week, once to see Mama Mia with some teacher girlfriends and then to see Dave Matthews with a my college friend, Janine. He is not so popular here, which was kind of funny- he played in an indoor amphitheatre and it was not even sold out. He was awesome though, so much fun.

We are still waiting for our spring to arrive. Temperatures are still in the 40s. We are supposed to hit 50 this week, which is actually exciting. It has been the coldest winter in 31 years. I have not been thrilled to be a part of this history. However, the daffodils are starting to come up, the days are getting longer, and I am hopeful for a nice spring.

Aaron and Linnea are doing well. They enjoy school and have made several friends. They went to a birthday party last weekend, which was a highlight for them. Linnea still talks about Seattle almost daily and asks to go to KK's house and Nana and Bapa's house frequently. Aaron follows her lead with this, but seems less invested in it. I do think that they are happy here, but they certainly miss their friends and family at home, as do we. We hope you are well.