Old Wardour castle & Old Sarum

Remember in the Kevin Costner Robin Hood movie when he comes home to find his dad's house destroyed? We played Croquet on the lawn.

And walked through what remains of the castle.

And practiced our bow and arrow skills.

And had a picnic where Robin Hood cut his hand over his dad's grave.

And picked some flowers.

And had a few races.

Then we drove to Old Sarum near Salisbury, England. This is the spot where the Norman's built a castle, cathedral and village between the 10th and 12th century after they conquered England.

It was fun to walk around the remains and see the view of the English countryside from the hill.

twenty-one?

The boys told their bus driver that it was my birthday. The bus driver asked if I was 21. Benjamin corrected him and told him that I was 25. I said I'd take that too. Michael corrected them all. Bummer!

It was a fantastic day! Benjamin had a Kindergarten 'rain forest' music performance at the school in the morning. Our little Benjamin with his home-made rain forest hat and that adorable smile. Pure entertainment.

I went to a friend's house for lunch. She made me a homemade carrot cake for dessert. Another friend made me a chocolate cake. Two birthday cakes that I didn't have to make. Fabulous!

Then in the evening, the kids turned the play room into a card making party while Todd made me a salmon dinner. I kicked back and talked on the phone. Delightful!

Flowers that I received from friends and the kids. They were all so beautifully color coordinated that I had to get a picture.

That weekend, a dear friend in our ward that wants grandkids but doesn't have them yet, called me and asked if Todd and I would like to go out for my birthday while she babysat. Yes!
She came to the house with a bag full of stickers and games and the kids were thrilled. Todd and I went shopping and to dinner in London. Incredible!

Buzz can speak French

Off on holiday, it's time to play.
Skip some school
Spend some time at the pool.

No need to take a plane,
we drove our car right on the train.

Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and Louve will have to wait,

Disneyland gate opens at eight.

Old favorites Thunder Mountain, Teacups and Rockets to name a few...

Magic carpets, Crush and Cars to add some new.

With Michael at the map,

and Benjamin's new cap,

Good thing we brought the stroller for Luke to nap.

Our room had quite the stench

Hey- Buzz can speak French!

Baguettes and Croissants for breakfast on the go

Mickey puts on quite a show.

Mary liked Minne the best

she sure gave Zurg a real test.

Disneyland is always a treat
we love strolling down Main Street.

It's hard to believe our holiday ended so fast

we had a blast!

Pink

On the way home from Mary's school today we stopped to play in the pink blossoms. I'm so glad I had my camera with me. Happy Spring!

but...what if...

Todd works in the London temple one weekend a month. Last month I had the chance to go with him. I panic a bit when we leave the kids with a sitter over night. What if Luke wakes up in the night? What if he has a huge messy diaper? What if one of the kids chokes? What if...and my list goes on and on.

After some consideration I went. Todd and I were in the temple until late Friday night and then we woke up early Saturday morning and went for a walk around the temple grounds. The tulips were incredible. My walking partner was even better. Then Todd went back to the temple for the day and I headed home to be with the kiddos. Guess what? Luke DID have a huge messy diaper while I was gone and the sitter handled it. The kids were all happy and I was a better mom for having been to the temple and spent time with Todd.

Growing up

Something happened when Luke turned 2. He suddenly became bigger and more independent.
He's starting to talk up a storm. Every day he amazes me with a new word or two.

• The other day I was out for a run and I went longer than normal. He looked up from the stroller and said, "home...eat..."
• Recently I was putting him in the car and he said, "r blu car"
• He points to his diaper and says, "poop" (I know, I know... I'm starting to THINK about potty training again.)
• He calls himself "lulu" and he loves to tell people he's "two"
• He calls his favorite green blanket his "mimi"
• He loves juice. He says, "mor appa" when he wants more juice (to him every kind of juice is apple).
• He knows the boys bus drivers name and he loves to wave to him. He calls out, "bye Ray".
• He calls for his dad when he wakes up in the morning. He's got a good set of lungs on him too. There's no chance of us sleeping in with him as our alarm clock.
• He loves to wear his "coo" (cool) jammies to bed. They are orange with tractors on them. He hates it when they are in the "wa" (wash).
• He makes a noise like drinking when he's thirsty.
• He asks for a "nak" (snack) all day long. This boy loves food (as you can tell from the picture below)!

2 Mother's days

We were blessed to have both of our mom's here for the UK mum's day in March. Since my mom and dad flew back home that morning, our kids sang their Mother's day Primary song to both grandma's when they woke up. Precious.

I feel so blessed to have 2 great mothers. I have fond memories of my mom making us a hot breakfast every morning before school. I know now how much effort that takes.

I also have a great mother-in-law. She has always-from my first meeting with her-been completely accepting of me and shown great love.

I had a fantastic mum's day in March. In additon to not having to cook or clean up, I received a few treasures.

I got a paper flower in a styrofoam cup from Michael with a note that reads:

Dear, Mom

I love you.

I love the food you make for me.

I am so excited to be 8.

Michael

Benjamin gave me a framed picture that he drew of me with a sunshine background. It sits on my night stand.

Mary gave me a bag that she decorated with 'Happy Mum's day' stickers and a lovely card.

This weekend was great as well. I managed to squeeze in another Mother's day celebration. Saturday I went to a Stake Relief Society meeting. While I was gone, Todd caught up on my pile of ironing, cleaned the bathroom and took the kids to baseball. It made my day.

I read a chapter from "Glimpses into the life and heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley" today. At the end she says,

Have joy in your home.

Have joy in your husband.

Have joy in your children.

Be grateful for the journey.

I was cleaning up the kitchen from dinner last night and I heard uncontrollable giggles coming from the family room. I went in to find 4 little bums in the air and their dad throwing a ball at each one. They laughted until they couldn't any more. My heart was so joyful to watch them play together. I am truly grateful for the journey.

After school walk

We had so much fun on our bluebell walk this week that we decided to take another walk on Friday after school. We headed to Hughenden Valley when the boys got off the bus. Here is another spectacular yellow field in the background.

My walking buddies.

The older boys helping the younger ones up the hill.

The kids loved finding these and making a wish.

Chasing each other around the hills.

We even found more bluebells. Mary had been telling the boys all about them so we were glad to find a mini-bluebell wood for them to see.

The church in Hughenden valley was built sometime in the 1100's. The large manor house in the valley near the church was purchased by Benjamin Disraeli (Prime minister of England during Queen Victoria's reign) in 1848. He and several members of his family are buried here.

Bluebells

It's bluebell season in the UK. I was going to see some bluebell woods with a friend yesterday, but at the last minute she had to cancel. So I decided to take the two youngest and go anyway. I called a friend and scratched some directions which I was a little nervous about. I'm fine with putting a post code into my sat nav and having it tell me where to go, but I'm a little nervous when I'm told to 'go about a quarter of a mile or so...'. So off I went with 2 kids, my handwritten directions, a lunch, my phone, and Cindy's favorite's Vol. 3 for entertainment.

I knew that we were headed to beautiful country when we passed fields like these on the way.

We drove right to the bluebell woods. Bluebells blossom during the month of May in the UK. These woods had a 3.5 mile bluebell walk. We walked for maybe .25 mile of that trail and it was simply amazing. Honestly, the pictures don't do it justice.

The scent was fantastic. It smelled like spring and freshness.

Mary called it our 'nature walk' and she had a blast (except for when a couple passed us and their dog sniffed at her. She almost killed the bluebells with her blood curdling scream). We watched lady bugs, a spider, bees and a butterfly.

Taking a rest on a fallen tree.

Luke walked most of the time. This is towards the end of our walk when he was getting tired. This is Mary's turn with the camera. She was taking pictures of bluebells and caught this picture of us.

Our little Mary on the trail.

A bluebell up close.

I was really grateful for these occasional arrows or we might not have found our car again. After a while, trails in the bluebell woods start looking the same.

An incredible day out. I love Spring in the UK.

I love London youth baseball league

The boys started baseball a few weeks ago. I love watching our little guys out there on the field. I love that Michael has a "lucky batting helmet." I love watching them play in the dirt when they are supposed to be watching the ball. I love seeing them slide onto the base just so they can get their white pants dirty.

I love that the guys climb the fence in the dug-out.

I love watching Benjamin warm-up.

I love that the best part of baseball is snack time.

I love these two guys.