Mike has been teaching Merrit how to play chess.
As I eavesdrop (not really, I just happen to be fixing dinner),
I'm amazed how many life lessons can be worked into a game
of chess. Once a homeschooling family, always a homeschooling
family--at least in spirit. Everything is a learning opportunity!
Ollie in the background playing with his Leap Frog
alphabet letters.
The stem of this peony snapped (rambunctious boys!), so I brought it inside to put it in water. I don't have any pretty glass bowls, so I floated it in an oversized cereal bowl. It looked so much like an ice-cream dessert, I stuck a spoon in it to complete the illusion.
In all these sentences, substitute the word "dessert" for the word "pudding" to get a sense of how the Brits use this term:
"Ollie had a great day at nursery school today. He worked on his letters, played with musical instruments, and for his snack he had cheese toast and for his pudding he had grapes."
"Lunch was great today, Mom! We had spaghetti and meatballs and yogurt for pudding."
This is just about as authentic as I think it gets. No plates, just a stack of papers wrapped around haddock and hand-cut potatoes so hot we had to wait five minutes to eat them. Salt and vinegar on the table. I asked for napkins and the lady at the counter handed me more sheets of paper. Odd. We ate outside this little chippy, with foot traffic going by envying our late lunch.
To be honest, a bit greasy for my taste. But the flavor of the fish inside was
phenomenal. And the chips (French fries) were to die for.
This portion was HUGE. The boys and I shared it and still couldn't eat it all.
This week, a tall leggy rose bush in the front garden at our house finally bloomed. I have been wondering what color it would be! White. Wow. The flowers are stunning. Not fragrant, though.
Also appearing this week, after two weeks or more of what seemed to be buds ready to open up any second, this peony decided it was time to bloom.
Both these plants are right in our front yard. I'm enjoying the fruits of someone else's labor, that's for sure.
The English roses are blooming everywhere now! This is an awesome time to be walking the streets and peering into people's front gardens. Ollie and I always have to stop and, well...you know how the saying goes...
When I see that someone has set out a lost item to be claimed, I always have to take a picture. This little stuffed puppy was on the rail outside a real estate office.
Sunday
Merrit made omelettes. Delicious, as always. :-)
Monday
A trip to the nearby park turned into water play since the new splashground, which has been under construction for the last month or two, just opened this past weekend. We hadn't planned ahead, so Ollie stripped down to his underwear like all the other little kids and Merrit went shirtless with his pant-legs pushed up. It was a bit too chilly, truth be told, but I can remember swimming until my lips were blue as a kid so I figured they'd be okay.
Sunny, but chilly. These kids are braver than me, that's for sure.
Merrit, opening the dam.
Tuesday
We went with friends to an event sponsored by an organization for kids with disabilities but open for all to attend. There was much to see and do, but the boys most enjoyed the drum circle, the mud hut built in traditional Celtic style, and awesome wooden playground.
The front door to the mud hut was only about three feet high.
I was so impressed by the aeration vents and amazing thatched roof.
Once inside the hut, the ceiling soared to a peak high above.
Ollie conquering the wobbly bridge.
Wednesday
The boys and I walked to the indoor pool, swam and rode the waterslides all morning, stopped for a pizza marguerita on the way home, and then they napped!
Thursday
New friends invited us for dinner at their house tonight. We barbequed in the back yard. How American! But of course we had sausages. How British!
Friday
I took the boys down to the skate park for Merrit's first attempt at riding the bowls, ramps, and walls. He's been getting really good at around-town scootering (is that a word?). Helmet on, we set off for the skate park, which is about four blocks away, right next to the North Sea. Unbelievably, Ollie was mostly content to just watch the big boys.
Saturday
Having caught the bug, Merrit wanted to go back to the skate park for more! Mike was happy to oblige. They were gone for a few hours. Back at home, Ollie and I did some cooking. We mixed up chicken salad and tabouli for a picnic the next day.
Sunday
No time for omelettes today! All four of us drove about an hour and a half south/southeast to a spot in York County called The Forbidden Corner. We were invited to tag along with another family, so we followed them there. At our trip to The Forbidden Corner we saw amazing English gardens, wooded paths, trick water features, hedge mazes, optical illusions, underground caverns and passageway, and quirky sculptures.
