Park, Park, Park & Park

Our Tiverton Castle is on a small hill overlooking the River Exe. C, D and I followed the trail down to the river one evening, through fields (and fields!) of wild garlic in full bloom. Here is D in the middle of it, with a few bluebells for free. We then grabbed a few stalks and chopped them onto our dinner.

Allison and Angus, the proprietors of Tiverton Castle, opened up the grounds and buildings to visitors on Sunday. Part of the tour was through a room housing replica armor from the 1650's. Here is C with a pretty heavy helmet on his head. With the full coat, he would have fallen over!

We made a side trip to Shaftesbury to see Bella's Godmother Elinor. Here is the last time we were there. And here is when she first met C. It was a beautiful sunny day, so we had a very nice chat looking out across the Dorset hills. And we then stopped in the local deli- run by a friend, Turnbulls - and grabbed a picnic lunch!

We all went out to Knightshayes, about 2 miles out of Tiverton for an afternoon walk. Here is all: Jackie, my Mom, Richard. C, my Dad, Mieke, Allison, Bella and D. Here is the last installment with Mieke .

We just spent the last four days in the heart of Devon- at Tiverton Castle . My parents joined us and it was a pure joy. Several of the memories will make separate posts, so here are some things to set the scene. Here's Grand-Dad taking a picture of St. Peters towering over a remaining wall of the castle where we stayed. A journey to the Knightshayes National Trust property. Easter service at St. Peters in Tiverton. Catching up with family- both parents and people on Bella's side. And easy drives there and back!

My parents arrived last week for a 3 week tour of duty. The first half of their stay includes time in the country, travels with C and a bit of historic London. Last week, Dad and Bella went to see the play Warhorse - throughly enjoyed by both. Then, Dad and I had a few pints in famous City haunts- The Lamb and Jamaica Wine House (opened in 1652). Followed by a fantastic lamb shoulder, cooked by Bells, on Friday night in honour of Dad's belated birthday. Then Sunday in the country- see previous post. Now, they have taken C and are roaming around Portsmouth, showing him the old sailing ships . We then meet them in Tiverton on Thursday, for the long Easter weekend.

We spent this past Sunday in Hartfield , East Sussex, showing my parents some English Countryside. Bella, Christian and I also ran a race. C, the 2.5k; Bella, the 10k- after running the 2.5k with C(!); me the 10k. It was,of course, C's first ever real race. He was a bit nervous for the first k, but finished strong. I think he felt pretty good for getting through the whole thing. Here he is with Cousin Ollie and then the exhausted family.

C is really interested in space right now. That means reading books at bedtime about earth and other planets. That means hearing things like "I know what orbit means." That means watching TV shows on the Space Shuttle and star gazing. And, finger in the air, statements like: "What would happen to the universe if all of the humans died? That is the question."

We had really good weather this past weekend- sunny and shorts/tee-shirts type weather. So good that we took the kids to a beach in Farnham (!) and then to Wimbledon Park on Sunday. Ice cream afterwards. Bells is here giving D her freedom to tightrope walk along the sandpit edge at WP.

My cousin Andi in Michigan suggested I write a book titled Questions From the Kitchen Counter. A collection from the kids. Well, this morning I caught D acting particularly charming on the kitchen counter, waiting patiently for breakfast. Couldn't move quick enough to get video or the right picture. But got close.

I snapped several pictures today that turned out well- some on the camera, some on my mobile phone. One of each to see how they've grown. More to come.