A day in London

We spent Sunday in London with Will's mom. She took us to the church she used to go to as a child. She lived in London twice with her family, her father was a lawyer for the Air Force.  After church we walked over to Hyde Park and down and around to Buckingham Palace then finally down to Big Ben and Parliament. It was s lot of walking but a really fun way to see the city.  We saw the ducks in Hyde Park and the Peter Pan statue. There were lots of statues all around and we took some silly photos with some of them. In the picture of us in front of Big Ben you can see a double decker bus behind us. On the bus there is an add that reads "I (heart) MORMON". Which we did not notice until our brother in law told us after reading it on our holiday card this year! It must be that the musical was in town but kind of funny that it ended up on our card. Our trip to London was a fun day and a good long walk. We rode the train in and back out again which made it pretty leisurely. Elsie got a hold of the camera as we got off at our station and snapped the last photo as the train pulled away!

England 2015

We had a great trip to England. We went for Will's sisters wedding. We were able to go for a week before the big event to explore and have fun. It was at the end of October so it was pretty chilly but the weather was not too bad we only had one rainy day! We stayed in a little town south of London on the coast called Shoreham-by-Sea. This is where the girls new uncle grew up. The house we rented was beautiful and it was right on the beach. We few our kite on the beach, we hung around the house, we went for a walk in the country side and on the beach and we toured around. It was fun. We had a little hiccup though. Catherine caught what her little cousin had and so had a fever and soars on her feet and hands for the last half of our trip. It was sad but she was a trooper and did a great job with it. We kept her medicated and she was mostly happy. Elsie did great working on homework every day. She had to write a paragraph of what she did that day for every day we were there. It was good practice but a lot of work. She also had a book to read and a book report to do and math homework too! We ended up doing a bunch of it on the flight home! More to come on our trip so come back soon. 

October 2015

This October was fun too. We did the usual stuff...school, work and playing but we also did a few extra fun things too. Elsie had her annual Fun Run, fundraiser at school. She ran a lot and did a really good job. Catherine and Adah went to a local farm with some friends while Elsie was at school and had a great time! Sorry Elsie that you missed out. Catherine can use a three wheeled scooter now! She is really good at it too and she loves it. She is getting so big so fast.

We went on our usual walks here and there and one of those times we took our new kite to try it out. It worked wonderfully. We also went for a hike and plan on taking advantage of our location more next summer and going for more hikes. Plus pretty soon Catherine will be too big for Will to carry. To end the month we went on a big trip to England, more on that coming soon!

September 2015

We thought September was not a busy month but after looking at all the pictures we took it turns out it was. Adah went to a hair class in August and got some good ideas of how to do Catherine's hair better. She watched some instructional videos online too and now is flat twisting up a storm. The normal canning of lots of jam happened this fall. 

We had a few adventures in September. One day we drove west and around the lake. We hiked out to the railroad tracks and even saw a train go by up close and it blew its horn at us! Elsie and Adah went to their annual ice skating event. Elsie is improving and getting more confident even though we only go once a year. We also went to the state fair and got to see them release the butterflies for the second year in a row. It was pretty cool but it was crowded. 

Will harvested his two small watermelons and we ate them. They were really quite yummy but oh so small. Catherine and Elsie are growing and learning a lot. Catherine was potty training during September and October and doing great, (we wont tell you how she is doing now in January). She loves combing her dollies hair and playing with blocks and toys. Elsie enjoys school and learns new things there every week. 

School starts 2015

As you can see we all had some mixed emotions about school starting this year. It started in late August so we had only been home for about a week before we were back in the thick of it. But it has been a good year so far! Elsie is doing well and still in the Spanish immersion program. She is doing multiplication and division and is reading up a storm. She is writing paragraphs while making sure to have a topic sentence, at least three supporting sentences and a concluding statement. It is great to see her grow and learn.

August 2015

A good chunk of August was spent on Vermont, Boston and NYC but we did spend a little of it at home. We came home to a bountiful harvest and the girls loved picking the carrots and eating them. We also grew beets, sunflowers and some peppers among other things. Will had another birthday and we had a fun day with him celebrating. Our girls grew up and changed too. Catherine was talking up a storm and came up with the cutest things. One day she opened the back door and said something like “ Hey birdies hello! Birdies li’sen me! Birdies come on!” She was a little fed up with the birds since they were not lis’ening to her! She often would say things like "puppies love you me" and  "lay by you me". It is so cute how kids talk sometimes. Elsie grew and did more reading on her own this summer especial when she found a book she liked. It was a fun summer but summers end and life moves on.

NYC 2015

Now that we have moved into the new year I think I will post a few more things so I don't get too far behind! Just kidding I am hopelessly behind. 

We went to NYC this summer to see Wills' sister, her family and his brother too. It was fun we did hit a lot of the regular spots the carousel and walking by the Brooklyn Bridge. But we were a bit adventurous and went for a sail boat ride in the harbor and had a picnic in Central Park. It is great to see family and so cute to have our girls play with their cousins. We love to travel.