Park, Park, Park & Park

With the snow here, kids spend a lot of time sledding down hills all winter. C got his chance today for the first time in in his short life. At a nearby school, there is a hill about 40 feet high. We borrowed a sled from a family friend, braved the cold and C went for it. 45 minutes later, he was still going for it- thrilled.

We made it! For a few days leading up to our flight, we weren't sure if we were going to get out of Heathrow due to the 3 inches of snow. Christmas was great- just enough presents to make the kids happy, Uncle Nate in attendance, and Bells cooked a big turkey. Unfortunately, we still haven't listened to the Queens Speech on youtube yet. Snow here is accepted and encouraged- we had 3 inches on the ground when we arrived, more on Christmas eve, and a few flurries during the day. C enjoys it more than D!

C and I were to meet a few ex-work colleagues for a Christmas Lunch yesterday, but the weather got in the way. So C and I enjoyed pizza for lunch in Covent Garden, and then a bit of shopping. The line of the day: C to Bella afterwards- I had a lemonade and Dad had a house red. We started the day in Hyde Park at a huge Bavarian Christmas Fair with rides! C was adventuresome on some of the higher, faster one. Posting mat be a bit light over the next 2 weeks- We all fly to the US for an American Christmas!- and I need to figure out mobile posting.

C and I journeyed by tube over to Ravenscourt Park to meet Jack today for lunch. We met at the Anglesea Arms - a really good pub (my pork shoulder with apples was perfect for a cold, snowy day). A few pints later, we wandered back out into the elements. Depending on the weather, C and I have another festive engagement tomorrow- lunch in the Big Smoke.

Bella's long-standing friend Jane and her partner Merv have just moved to France, running a B&B and outdoor touring outfit. They came through London last night, and we had an impromptu dinner party. Famous Nettie and Bella's Dad joined in the festivities. Jane and Merv came down from the loft this morning to the loud sounds of kids playing- although they graciously denied that the kids woke them up. In Jane's hand is the key to their French house- a huge skeleton key from the 1910's!

In preparation for our journey to the US for Christmas, we got Dorothy a haircut this morning. The first ever- she's nearly 2 1/2 now. Before: After:

Here's some pictures from C's Nursery Nativity Sing-a-long this afternoon. The Chorus Line of 5 year olds to the left dressed as Santa's Elves. D to right, enjoying the show with Mum. C with the lead- Rudolph (aka Alex).

On Friday, Bells and I had to run between Nursery and School to attend the kids' nativity plays. We ended up in the back rows of both of them, hence the poor picture quality. Dorothy did a fantastic acting job, while Christian sang like he was on a showboat!

We all awoke this morning to a snow covered street. Thrilling for the wee ones. Less thrilling for the runners and pram-pushers of the family. School was still on though!

C took all the pictures that make up this collage, as well as a setting up the entire farm. His first project for the blog.

C's 5th birthday was on Saturday. It was a pirate theme, with 30+ kids! And it was a success, even though the Birthday Boy dressed up as Spiderman at the last minute and got a bloody nose halfway through the activities. Bells did lots of games, and we had Nate, Nettie and Bobbie help out. Picture and video to follow later. I did the cake, as usual. Lemon inside, vanilla frosting and coconut on top. There was even mashed, bloody pirate bones inside!

Nate and I took an afternoon stroll through Hampsted Heath on Thursday so that he could get a bit of green. We also enjoyed a nice pub lunch at The Spaniards Inn just on the edge- around since 1585.

Uncle Nate arrived in London this morning on holiday from Afghanistan. He got here at just the right time- Nate and I got to walk C to school together. A primary school playground it a bit of a change from Kabul. Then off to Starbucks: Months of dreams of Venti Vanilla Lattes finally satisfied. Here he is later with D, both looking a little worse for wear: Nate having just flown overnight from Dubai and D under the weather from a chicken pox vaccine.

Back here , Mark, Judith and Logan came to town from Washington DC. Logan is about the same age as D, and about the same size, it turns out. Judith arrived Sunday for a short business trip, so we re-acquainted her with the kids and Southfields. She got a taste of St. Barnabas' Guy Fawkes fireworks (weak) and Bells' famous Butternut Squash soup (strong). The kids acted like monkeys most of the time.

Cleaning out my mobile today:

C came home from school today and told me the entire history of Guy Fawkes . So of course, we needed to go see him burn on a bonfire and witness fireworks in his honor at our local park. And there happened to be a Carnival there as well. With lots of flashing lights and rides. And cotton candy. And to add to entire experience, it was windy and raining. We all donned our wellies and water proof jackets (suits for some), grabbed a baguette sandwich from the best French deli in the UK, sold the car to pay the admission, and... Had a really good time. C took D on a few rides, we bumped into several kids from Sheringdale and Louisa with Ollie (family friends). Nobody got cold and miserable. The fireworks were good (by UK standards!) And the kids got to stay up past their bedtime. And I resisted the chanting for cotton candy.

At Sheringdale, C seems to spend a lot of energy on junk modelling. This is where the kids take used boxes, milk cartons, paper towel tubes, etc and make ROCKETSHIPS and CANNONS. So much effort, that he bleeds the place dry of materials. We've taken to sending C to school with a bag of what was once left out for the recycling collection. Something about a creative, engineering mind...

C, D and I went to the park yesterday, on what could be the best last day of the year. We even had a picnic supper there as it got dark. While C dug in the sand, D and I hit the swings. She really enjoys swinging away- higher Daddy!- with her eyes closed.

Following on from the previous post on singing... Grandpa Wigan came by yesterday evening to see the kids. He very masterfully acted as the kids' jukebox- singing requested nursery rhymes to them.

We had a Tate Day today with Bonnie and John. Starting at the Tate Britain, boating to the Modern, finishing in the City. At TB, we saw Fiona Banner's take on fighter jets that used to fly very low over her Welsh homeland. Here is John with C in front of an upturned full size Jaguar jet. Here's a link to the exhibit at the Tate. Here's a Korean students' youtube video of it- well worth it to convey the scale.

My Aunt Bonnie and Uncle John have arrived in London, all the way from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan . And they brought gifts from the rest of the family in the UP! Thanks everyone. C received a Spiderman costume and D got a beautiful dancing outfit.

Bella's very good friend Jane now lives in France. Jane's mother Dorothy is visiting from New Zealand to see the new place, which is near the French/Spanish border. On her time in London, she wanted to check in on the younger D. Our D made a good impression.

Two minutes school, counting, pants, and face-painting!

The sun came out today in full force. It actually was supposed to arrive yesterday, but didn't. So we took advantage and had a picnic at the park. It's tough to get all three people smiling at the same time.

We ventured down to deepest East Sussex last weekend for lunch with John and Sheila Van Maurik- relatives from Bells' side. After a lovely meal, we all put our wellies on and tromped through the light rain to Pooh Bridge . A. A. Milne, the author of Winnie the Pooh, used to live in nearby Hartfield. Apologies, Sheila, for the camera hog.

My daily routine is a satisfactory one- breakfast with C, take C to school, work, pick up C, find things to do with C until dinner. The things we do range from park trips to B&Q trips to other odds and ends. Earlier this week, we decided to do face painting. It went a bit far- like down the body far. We painted each other, so I look equally as bad/mean. He is the most scary pirate (!?!) ever! And I have video for the future. This one may just come out to show his prom date.

A 4 minute long collection, featuring friends and family. Alexander and Jasper are Harry and Geralds' kids. Penelope and Charlie (Bella's Godson) are the kids of Mike and Di. Harry is Duncan and Katie's kid.

Well, I now have plenty of time with C and D- I was made redundant (American= laid off) last week. So, I'm taking C to and from school every day. Monday after school, we took a tour of the local playgrounds by bike. At one, we bumped into C's friend Harry and his dad Duncan. The kids scaled the Mount Everest of the playground. And then shared dinner together back at base camp, like good climbing partners.

Lisa, Bella's close friend from boarding school, came for lunch today, along with her 3 kids. We enjoy getting together with them periodically- here's last time . C first met Lisa and Nigel when he was just two months old- here . Emily, Jacob and Sam (and C and D) all ate enough main course to have some home made pavlova- meringues, cream and fruit. Then off to the park for some English football and American whiffleball.

Today was Christian's first day of reception (in American terms Kindergarten). It was a big event- a haircut yesterday, gathering clothes and putting together a box of stuff from the summer holiday. And was heavily anticipated by both son and parents. Unfortunately, he developed a bit of a fever yesterday. So, this morning C was a bit subdued and Bells only took him over for a few minutes. He was fine by the end of the day, and I did get some video to be posted at a later date.

My cousin Chris and his wife Monika found themselves in London- partly for business, partly for pleasure. We had them over for dinner last night, and we all shared cocktails with the kids before bedtime.

C did a bit of walking while in Spain with my Dad. Here they are at a mile marker along on of their routes.

We met Grandpa last Sunday up in Sloane Square; back to the center of it all in London. D has a great time playing in the fountain, with us in the background.

Stop the Basque Stories. This is Charlie. He is the son of these people . And here is his Head-Wetting . He's got a great sweater knitted by my Mom, which is getting him many compliments on the playgrounds of London.

One of the best parts of the holiday were the views from high hills. Here was our second day. Here was Mom and Dad's first day. Here was the beach Bells and I escaped to- surfed, skinny dipped, and got splashed upon late at night. Other times, we had views like the one to the right just on our way to lunch: The drive to France to see these people , went through some really impressive mountains. This is one I missed. After I left, everyone went walking up in the hills in a different direction than we had in the past. And the The Basque Region being fairly agrarian, we'd run into things like this regularly: