Park, Park, Park & Park

C is now a Beavers Lodge Leader.

The triathlon went well.  I completed it in a reasonable time and the weather was perfect.  Bella and the kids saw me on the run and at the finish line. Here's a picture taken by D!

We're all spending the night in a hotel in Slough- a town out of London near Windsor. I'm doing a triathlon race tomorrow morning and this was a way for the kids to have a bit of fun while seeing me compete the next day.  They get to s UPDATE: Slight malfunction with mobile posting Friday evening.  To continue- They get to swim in the hotel pool and eat in the hotel restaurant.  They then get to stay up late and sleep in the same room as Mum and Dad.  All very exciting.

We all visited Bella's Aunt LM over the weekend.  It was a short visit (because we had another party to get to), but a really enjoyable one. C and D even left with a few impromptu presents:  A set of vintage Carl Zeiss binoculars for C and some lovely sparkly bracelets for D. Here they are in the park the next day trying out the full Army command.

On Saturday, we all took ourselves off to Woodcote Park, down in the deepest Surrey forests. Woodcote Park is the "country house" for the Royal Automobile Club .  Through work, I have a membership to the RAC, and we try to take advantage of the opportunities it creates (like seeing the Jubilee there). Saturday, the weather was lovely and sunny, so we decided to spend the afternoon there.  That means a bit of a swim before lunch, and then a walk along the golf courses.  We got in a boys vs. girls croquet match as well. For Bells, the best part is just lying in the sun reading the weekend paper.  And getting in a second swim with the kids. Just before we left, C spied a chess board.  So we started a simple match to learn the movements of each piece. As an extra, here's a picture of D from Sunday morning.

We all took D to her first day of reception this morning. She was only a little aprehensive, and got involved with the other kids as soon as she got to her classroom. C started a few days back.

We're here for the morning. Seeing the athletics. It is a very impressive park, great organization/entry and the stadium will be dramatic when full in a few minutes. UPDATE:  We had a great time- saw a blind American take second in the long jump, finals of the javelin & shotput, and several heats for track races (both running and wheelchair).

Two major accomplishments in the Park Household this weekend. Number one: D rode her pedal bike for the first time.  You may remember, she inherited C's like-a-bike a while back- see here .  This summer, she's been using it consistently to get her balance. Friday, Bells took her out on C's first pedal bike.  She was off like a shot on her first attempt!  We were back out on Saturday and Sunday.  Video to follow. Number two:  C rode his bike while Bella went running.  They covered a total of 9 miles on Saturday together.  We then went back out on Sunday.  C and I covered another 6.  Not only was 15 miles on a bike great exercise for him, but it bodes well for future joint exercise.