Leeds Castle with Grandy and Jumpy

Sadie calls Curt Jumpy, instead of Grumpy. It is so cute. We had a fun two days in Dover! We started off at Leeds castle on Thursday, and then stayed the night in Dover at a fun old hotel right on the English Channel. 

The walk through the grounds at Leeds Castle is really beautiful. So nice to get a little bit of sunshine too!

 Swans, geese, and black swans wander the grounds. Kind of scary when they approach you quickly!

Grumpy in the blue jacket

Janie and Grandy

Janie, Eli, and Grandy in the castle ruins next to Leeds castle

Knock Knock- Janie can't resist a door knocker

The shadows on the stone...

Gorgeous castle inside and out. Such a treat for the eyes.

Cotswolds- September 2013

Where to start? It is October 10 today. Many, many family events have happened, trips taken, another school year begun, and now, our family is getting ready for another move. Sometimes I wish I had a pause button, so I could  reflect and take in everything that has happened over the past few months.

Most recently we enjoyed a visit from Curtis and Jordan. They stayed with us for 2 weeks, and we kicked that two weeks off with a trip to the Cotswolds. It was so much fun. They are a super fun couple, patient with our slow pace, totally fun to be around and talk to, and had interesting observations and thoughts. Also good at taking really fun jumping pictures:

Walking from Lower Slaughter to Upper Slaughter

Broadway Tower

On Sunday, we drove to Worcestershire, where Gadfield Elm Chapel is. It is the oldest LDS chapel in the world, where members of the United Brethern met before they were converted to the LDS church. It was sold in 1842 to help fund the Emigration of the LDS people to America. Thanks to Lloyd Gardiner for the info. His dad was instrumental in raising the money to purchase the building and land, restoring it, and donating it to the LDS Church in the 1990's. 

The Cotswolds were beautiful. We especially enjoyed Burton-on-the-water, and Upper and Lower Slaughter, and Broadway Tower. On the way home, we went through Oxford and went to Christ Church College. As we walked through a doorway, we realized we were actually inside Hogwarts castle, getting ready to go to the Great Hall to be sorted. All that was missing with Neville's toad, Trevor. 

 Professor McGonagall is going to walk up any minute

We got caught in traffic on the way home Sunday night. We were all starving, and cranky, and ready to be home- we were all soo glad when we finally pulled into the driveway! 

A Typical Wednesday

Eli walked in the door tonight, after being at a playdate and stated (very matter of factly in his best Eli): This house is a Mess. Thanks Eli, very astute observation.  There are shoes and backpacks as you walk down the front hall, there are tissues paper cutouts all over the office floor, there is a plastic ikea bowl flipped over on the floor by the couch in the family room. Once today it contained the last pour out of a box of Frosties- now somehow the contents of that bowl ended up half on the wood floor, half on the rug, under a basket, side table, and couch. The bowl itself is laying pitifully near the rug too. It actually looks like somebody was fingerpainting in the sugary crumbs. Probably happened. Walk into the kitchen and realize too late that going barefoot in our kitchen is never a good idea, as I step into a nice scattering of pink sugar sprinkles. Then I remember making the cupcakes that belong to the sprinkles, as I look down at my jeans. Somebody wanted to help, and as I carefully handed that somebody the 1/2 cup of oil to pour into the bowl, that somebody lost her balance, and half of that oil ended up on my jeans. And no, I didn't change them yet. That was 7 hours, and 2 trips to the school and back.

It gets better. Eli also asked me what happened to the kitchen table? I'll tell you what happened - feeding 2 sick kids ALL DAY LONG. There are juice boxes in numerous states of emptiness, bowls of dry cereal, a few plates from sandwiches at lunch, the remnants of a school project, and then that was all pushed over to make room for dinner plates. I love dinner time. It's such a nice time to gather together, to bicker, fight, complain about the meal, and make numerous bodily function sounds.   In about a 20 minute timespan, we managed to trash the kitchen, cut a finger wide open, and not eat a freakin bite of food. Wait, I take that back. Sadie had a handful of cheerios. Everyone begged for a bowl of Frosties immediately after dinner.
My eyes wander to the glass door that leads to the backyard. There is a nice fresh coat of pink crayon all over the glass. That's actually a great thing. Could have been a sharpie. This was today. This is only a fraction of what I could have written about this day. I really hope nobody throws up at 2 am,  like they did last night. I'm sorry friend who sent me an email and needs a response, I am just not going to get to it tonight. It's 10:40 pm and I just sat down to breathe for a minute, before I go and pick up the pieces of this crazy day.

Cornwall, March 2013

Long weekend to Cornwall! Curtis and I had been there in 2006 when we came to pick up Paul from his mission. It is such a beautiful part of England. We stayed in Sennen, in a cottage close to the beach. We got in about 9:30 pm, and we had to park in a car park, and then walk down a semi steep path to the cottage. It was DARK. And we had a bunch of sleeping kids and a pack and play to haul. It probably took us about 10 minutes to walk down to Tresilian (the name of our lovely cottage). I was carrying 2 backpacks, my camera, the pack and play, and my phone/flashlight. Jonah was helping Janie Kate, and at one point he turned around and was blinded by my flashlight, and fell down hard! The kids were troopers, they kept going, and we finally got there... and found a pack and play already waiting for us!!! We explored the gorgeous cottage, while Curtis made another trip to get the rest of our luggage. The kids hopped in the bath tub, and all was well. Next morning, I took the kids down to the beach. It was another steep hike, alongside a clear stream. Beautiful. The sun came out for about an hour and a half, and we enjoyed every second of it!

                                     

 We hiked back up the hill, cleaned the sand off our feet, and made our way to St. Micheal's Mount.

We stopped at a playground and then walked over and got pasties while we waited for the boat.

 Inside the castle...

 From the top looking down...

Janie and the Giant's heart

Dinner at the Last Pub in England, after a game of pool. I had fish pie and guess what? I really liked it! Imagine thick clam chowder, with chunks of tender fish, covered with mashed potatoes and cheese, and broiled. Hiked back down to Tresilian (in the dark again), and snuggled in with hot chocolate and digestives.