Country or Folk Dancing

Joe's school hosted 6 schools for country (folk) dancing. They started with May Pole, did a hooligan? dance and something that resembles square dancing. They topped it off with creamed scones and strawberries. The weather held out which was great.

Sports Day

The Brits love their sports and it is not any surprise that sports day is a huge end of the school year event. The children had dress up races, spoon races and running races. The parents even had a race at the end. Next year I will wear sneakers. Lisa and I did well with the "balloon between the legs race." We did not finish last. :)

Heading home

After a fun and eventful day, we made the trek back to the station for home. We parted company briefly- the guys went in search of food while we took the kids back to the station. Sarah and I had to lift a sleeping Anastasia in her stroller up and down the steps to the next track. Notice the biceps. Sarah was a bit slow, and some large woman pushed her way past us on the train and secured the open seats. We got seats together on the connecting train where Joe and Anastasia entertained those near us. Joe's parting comment as he tripped on the way out was, "It's OK, we're kids and always do things like that!"

Launch at the castle

Warwick Castle

We explored the huge grounds with period actors, saw the trebuchet launch, the Ballista, the falconry exhibit(Tom would not let us dally- ask Keith), the mill, the dungeons, and state rooms. It was quite impressive and even the kids had a great visit. According to Joe the best part was the trebuchet launch and archery. Anastasia liked the archery and hanging out with Sarah.

Archery at the castle

Joe and Anastasia had a go at archery with a longbow. According to the sign, it stated that 7/10 soldiers in the English Army were archers. The kids did quite well and actually hit the target a few times!!

Warwick

We caught the train headed toward Stratford upon Avon. We got out at Warwick and toured the city and castle. We asked some random people for directions and they took us to the high court and showed us the ancient dungeons. It was really cool and a definite bonus.

4th of July

We had a great celebration with a mix of Americans, Germans and some natives. Everyone enjoyed visiting and we had a fantastic afternoon. The British weather even held. We grilled and the kids played on the trampoline as well as baseball and American football. The grand finale ended with the firework poppers. Please note the picture of Tom giving safety instructions to the onlooking children.

Summer Fete

Joe's school hosted a summer fete themed 4th of July!!! Hmm. Anyhow, there were booths with food, grilling, cupcakes, games similar to those on Pollyana and Pims. (This is a typical British summer drink dressed with mint, cukes, strawberries and their version of sprite-- like a British sangria.) This was all followed by the children dancing around the Maypole. Tom won the chipping at the golf green. A good time was had by all.

A bit under the weather

Cat nap and Reading


Joe and Dad were reading as Anastasia fell asleep. She was feeling "poorly."

Summer visit

Keith and Sarah Lowe came over for a whirlwind week of touring. They had great weather, except for the one day of typical British rain. We had a great time visiting London and seeing the sights, the boat tour, hop on hop off subway and taxi trip, too. We visited neighboring areas: Eton and Windsor, a day trip to Warwick and the castle, intermixed with our 4th of July party and Joe's school summer fete!

Aussie Visit

Sophie Ford came for a visit. She left her sister in Sweden and spent some time in London before heading back to Oz. We had a fantastic reunion and decided that we should not wait another 9 years to see each other. We had a fantastic visit, she overnighted, met the kids (survived) and shopped! It was so nice to catch up.

Please notice that the kids even made her jump! Kensignton High St./Park where squatters were evicted for not paying for chairs. It was a beautiful day for walking around.