Park, Park, Park & Park

It was a bright sunny day in Southfields on Good Friday, so we gathered Stephanie, Colin and Gwynnie and toured the countryside. Once there, it clouded over and got cold. Perfect English weather for an Easter Egg hunt at Polesden Lacey- a big stately National Trus t property. Here's the kids mid-hunt. And here's all of us, ready to get into warm cars.

As a gift all of his many godchildren, Andy took a bunch of kids (including C and D) to The Lion King stage performance last week. A tour backstage after the show was a highlight- seeing the actors and costumes. Both kids loved it.

We read to the kids most every night, in a tag team fashion- me and D, Bells and C, and then we reverse the next night.  And we've had the kids read to us their various "learning to read" books most nights as well. Tonight something unusual happened. C read to me. He read "Where the wild things are" to me. Traditionally, this is a book we read to him in years past. It was the first time that he has read something to me that we've read to him (and that my parents read to me). It was easy for him- he's reading chapter books now- but it was completely unprompted and very special.

We're off to Morocco for holiday in a rew weeks. To get prepared we came out to a fantastic local Moroccan restaurant.  The owner is from Casablanca and is feeding us his mothers recipes. Most importantly, the kids are enjoying the food.

C and Penelope.

Here are Charlie and D.

Chinese New Year was also in February.  The entire family sat around the kitchen table on a Saturday afternoon and recycled Christmas cards into the snake below.  And we also made lanterns (in the background) and red envelopes for friends.

While we were in Dorset in February, we stopped in to see Bella's Godmother Elinor.

Here's C in his cricket whites in early February. And here is D about the same time.

I've been very busy with work lately, so my posting has slowed.  In an effort to catch-up, here are a few posts which cover the last month or so.