London City Zoo

We went to the zoo with a low camera battery. It rained all morning, but by the time we got there it was quite nice. Anastasia liked the wild boars and Joe thought that the purple giraffe tounge was neat. We went with friends from town and all was well.

Assembly at Dropmore

Joe received a school award and I was given an invite to attend assembly. This is a big deal as only 2 kids per grade are chosen to present their work. Joe interviewed students about what types of fruit that they liked to eat. He went on the computer and made a bar graph. He told the entire audience all about this and showed off his graph. He spoke really clearly and everyone was able to hear him. Here he is showing off his graph.

Beaconsfield Market

We ventured over to the Farmer's Market in the neighboring town of Beaconsfield. Kids were excited to pick out fruits and veggies. We even explored the church and its surroundings.

Black Park

The weather has been pretty nice as of late. We find ourselves exploring more and more parks in the area. The latest is Black Park which houses a big lake and playground. Here are a few shots!

Joe's Camping Party

We had a few friends over to celebrate Joe's birthday. Tom and two of the dad's took the kids for a nature walk and the kids loved it. They found bugs and birds and bark! They came back and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. They even had fun competing against each other loading up backpacks in the backpack relay. It (per usual British weather) was a bit overcast, but all enjoyed themselves. Here are a few pics. Joe was so excited by his gormitis, bakugans and other toys. Thanks so much for all the well wishes for Joe's 6th bday from the states.

On a side note, after this camping adventure walk, Tom is not certain that he can handle boy scouts! He says it may be ok if it is a 1-3 ratio, otherwise he may be outnumbered!!

Beaulieu in New Forest

http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/ipus/beaulieu/index

This housed the Abbey, Motor Museum with monorail and James Bond exhibit, and Montague house with gardens. It is an extensive property that the kids enjoyed. Again, we saw ponies and tried out various methods of transport. It is a very pretty town near the coast.

(Please notice that Joe has started to take pics and was proud that he took one of me while were were driving. See, I was along for this trip!)

New Forest, UK

We headed to the New Forest and had a good time despite the lovely British weather. We stayed at the Balmer Lawn. (http://www.balmerlawnhotel.com/) Eisenhower stayed there and it is said that he made many decisions for WWII from here. It was even a hospital and supposed to be haunted. Maybe this is why the fire alarm went off in the middle of the night.

The weather cleared and we went biking. The kids came back muddied and tired. Ana even rode 4 miles. It was fun. Both kids did well and Joe loves his new bike with gears. It was really cool as the wild ponies were scattered throughout the forest.

Holiday Cookies

The two bakers were cooking up a storm as they decorated and colored sugar cookies. They had a great time, but am not certain how many casualties that we had.

Easter Hat Parade

Joe's school had an Easter Bonnet Parade. Some kids (and their parent's) could be stylist for the KY Derby. Some were really amazing. We can shoot for more next year, but Joe's turned out well and Ana had fun making hers as well. She was so excited as she was able to partake in the parade, too.

Dropmore Infant School

It was a typical British day-- drizzly and overcast. Here are some pics of the old part of the school house and thatched roof portion. It dates back to 1800's, here is the website: http://www.dropmore.bucks.sch.uk/default.asp?wci=main

They are currently at full capacity with 60 kids. There is a lot of individualized attention.