Desert Camp

We went up to McDowell Regional Park last weekend for one last camping trip in the desert. (At least for a while.) Everett signed up for a Dawn to Dusk mountain bike race on Saturday so we all went along to keep him company. How is it possible that it could rain on us, two consecutive races, in the AZ desert. We haven't had rain here in months, but it decided to rain pretty much the entire weekend. Everett did great and rode about 50 miles that day, despite being cold and wet. The rest of us were a little luckier- we got to hide out in the tent while it was raining. Then, when it got too much for us to handle, we took refuge in the local starbucks for some hot drinks and snacks. Best of all, we had a serendipity! Everett's brother and family are in the process of moving cross-country and stopped in to visit us in Phoenix. They stayed at a hotel (smart people), but they did come out to hang at our campsite and roast some marshmallows. Fiona and her cousin, Violet, had fun getting to know each other. They are about a year apart in age, and will have a great time together really soon! We were so glad to get to see them and have some company while Everett was racing. As always, the boys are up for any adventure. As long as Daddy keeps the fire going and the hot chocolate coming, they're ready to handle anything.

Family Fun

I swear I don't know what happened to all the pictures that I thought I was taking. I guess I just got so caught up playing, I forgot to take pictures. It was a crazy, chaotic, noisy week. Just what vacation should be when there are 20+ people sharing a house! The cousins had a great time playing together and the adults got to catch up. Despite some disappointments (who closes main attractions in August???) we did all sorts of fun things in Branson. Here are some of the highlights: The fish hatchery at Table Rock Dam- fun for all ages!

Marshmallow roasting amongst the poison ivy- fortunately we didn't seem to have any cases of that.
Celebrating Nana's birthday- complete with balloons, elk heads, peach cream pie and singing! Oh, and don't forget the 20 loved ones surrounding her!

And totally random fun-ness!
I will try to get the rest of the pictures from vacation up on my shutterfly site this week, so look there for more!

Slow Down

We had a wonderful time visiting Ev's parents. It was really nice to have a week where we were on country time. The weather was gorgeous- we even got some rain. Yeah, for us that's good news! In fact, it was Fiona's first time in the rain. The boys were so excited they ran around like little maniacs just soaking it up!







We did some good, old fashioned yard work. Ev ran the chainsaw while the boys and I picked up sticks and branches. Even Fiona got in on the work. It was great to be outside! I think we were outside from morning until night with only mealtimes inside.




We worked hard, but we played hard too. Trevor & Braden climbed trees, ran in the corn, caught small animals and generally wore themselves out while getting thoroughly dirty from head to toe.






Of course we left time for those things we never get to do like seeing family, riding 4-wheelers and tractors and looking at cows. Fiona met lots of people for the first time!

Vaca

We're back and we're trying to get into some kind of rhythm. For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to come home from a long vacation on Saturday and start the new school year on Monday. School is going great, but picture editing is going S-L-O-W! Yes, I know this is the second week! I am trying my best to make some progress, though, and here are just a couple to whet your appetite or in case you didn't know where we've been!

Camping with Five

We had a great Independence Day weekend. We escaped the desert heat and headed up to the mountains a couple hours west of here. It was Fiona's first camping trip and I think she had a great time. She helped set up the tent, supervised the cooking and just generally looked cute.






We went for a nice hike through the mountain meadows. The weather was perfect and the scenery was gorgeous.



Apparently the wildlife agreed because we found a rattlesnake who had come out to play. He's the squiggly black thing in the picture. Ev lifted the boys up to view it from a "safe" distance. I think he and I have slightly differing definitions for that, but that's probably because I would have preferred to be about a mile away.



Ev and Trevor went mountain biking later that afternoon while the other two and I relaxed in the campsite. We read books around the campfire, talked about animal footprints and all sorts of other fun things. The campground was very quiet, so we had a peaceful, relaxing holiday. I think we'll have to go camping again soon!

UK Part IV- London

I've been dragging this out long enough. This is going to be a whirlwind tour of our two days in London. Beginning with first impressions. The things which always catch my eye are the things that I can't/haven't see anywhere else.





We either walked or rode the tube everywhere. Mind the gap. We even got ourselves crammed on a train car like sardines at rush hour and climbed up these ridiculous stairs at the Russel Square station. 177 steps. No escalators. I couldn't figure out why there was a line for the elevator.





Of course, we walked past Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament. Insert tour director voice here. Incidentally, did you know that Big Ben is actually the bell, not the clock? As we were standing on this bridge, Big Ben tolled three, while a bagpiper played across the bridge.





Everyone said, "You have to go to Harrods." So we went to Harrods. But it was so much more than I was expecting. Where else can you buy a yacht and LEGOS, and find Laduree next to a Krispy Kreme??





We saw As You Like It at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. That may have been one of the most enjoyable things we did. It turns out, that if you put together fantastic actors in a wonderful theatre, we like Shakespeare!





We went to the British Library to see the Magna Carta and other amazing historical documents. Then we breezed through the British Museum to see the sarcophagi. I think you could go there everyday for a month and not see everything.



Another highlight of London was the Tower of London. AMAZING! And we just happened to be there on the anniversary of death of Anne Boleyn. There were flowers over her grave site and by her name on the memorial where she was beheaded.





Wonderful trip! I'm so glad we got to do it. It wasn't necessarily how we planned it, and that was great. We saw lots of amazing things, and left lots more to be seen next time.



Oh, and I almost forgot...we ate black pudding! Anyone know where to get that in the States??!

UK Part III- Blenheim & Clapton-on-the-Hill

Our second B&B was Clapton Manor. Our hostess, Karin, was a wonderful, cheery, down-to-earth woman who was full of suggestions for what to see, where to eat and anything else. This was great, because we hadn't fully planned what we would do there. This is the gateway into their lovely side yard. We had tea outside in the courtyard our first afternoon. Clapton Manor sits in a tiny little village of Clapton-on-the-Hill. Don't you just love all those descriptive names? As I'm sure you can guess- the village sits on the top of a hill. Everett came to the full realization of this when he went running- every route had him going uphill on the way back.









Our room looked out on one side to the couryard, and on the other side, to the village church here. Karin suggested a drive our first evening that would take us through some of the picturesque surrounding villages, and then a great little pub called the Fox Inn for dinner. By the way, just try searching by the name of a pub in your GPS. You will realize how many pubs are called The Fox, The Horse and Groom, The Horse and Hound, The Horse and Coach, The Coachman, and so forth!

We spent the next day at Blenheim Palace. It is the current home of the Duke of Marlborough and the birthplace of Winston Churchill. So, besides being a beautiful home and garden, it is full of fascinating history. I wish we could have taken pictures inside because it was really spectacular. Though I doubt my pictures would have done it justice.















We toured the palace, which included some very interesting displays about Winston Churchill, walked the gardens and had lunch in the garden. After our late lunch, we finished the gardens with a walk through the hedge maze. Everett is being a human sundial, as his shadow tells us the time.





We headed back to the B&B where Karin had a fire waiting for us in the sitting room and tea and cake! Just what we needed after a long day. We were so refreshed, we did some walking around the village before dinner and came across this red telephone booth. We had passed many like this, and I was so sure I wouldn't get a picture if we didn't stop. But we stumbled upon this one- they really do put them in the most extraordinary places! After our walk we went to dinner at another nearby pub- The King's Head! Too funny!