Back in my English garden

We've been having some very nice weather lately - sunny and mid-eighties - hot enough for me! Tonight after dinner we spent some family time in the back garden, with Brad and the kids playing rugby, and all of us picking raspberries.

We have lots of new flowers since my last garden post, including lots of roses on a little arch.

Some of the raspberries have seen better days, but we still get a handful of good ones most days. Of course the best ones are out of reach unless maybe you get all suited up and trek through the prickers.
I think these are black currants. They smell like black currants. I tried one and it was okay. Black currants generally get treated with lots of sugar before anyone eats them.
Brad and the kids playing tackle rugby.
The back of our lovely English home.

Donkey Derby

Today the kids and I went to the summer fete* of one of the other primary schools in town. Every year this other school has a Donkey Derby.

Apparently this is a traditional English thing. Donkeys are brought in from a somewhat-local farm and made to participate in several races. I believe the donkeys are sponsored and they had riders, though I'm not sure how one would become a rider. They also took bets on them. Not sure how that works either - if its true gambling or what. I'm guessing that it is.**

The kids each had a bareback ride on a donkey. They also played a variety of games and won a variety of sweets and junky prizes. We ate hot dogs*** and bought cakes and squash.****

Now its 6:00, and the kids are fed and bathed and on the couch ready to watch a movie. Except Ben, who is already asleep. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

*that's pronounced "fate", by the way

**What school fete would be complete without booze and gambling??

***as far as I can tell, if they tell you its a "hot dog", its actually a sausage in a bun. Not sure if there is any other difference between these "hot dogs" and plain old sausages.

****concentrated juice/sugar drink mixed with water.

Career goals

I try to talk to Ben a lot about different jobs that people do, and how most people we see when we are out and about are doing some type of job.

So he's been thinking about what kind of job he wants to have. First, he decided that he would just go to work with Daddy and they could even share clothes when Ben is big enough. Then he became very interested in firemen, and decided that he wants to be a fireman when he grows up. ("But I have to buy a firetruck first!")

Then he figured it out - he can do both! So now he will be an auditor with Daddy, and also a fireman. Yes, my boy, you can do it all!

Susanna, who has recently become very interested in dogs (peer pressure), has seen ads on the telly for "Dogs Trust", and decided that she will work there when she grows up. We're secretly hoping she takes it one step further and becomes a veterinarian, but no pressure...

Weekend report

I can officially count our remaining weekends (living in England) on one hand. So much to do, so little time...

I am doing my best to enjoy the little bit of time I have left here. On Saturday, I ended up going to London on my own. Brad and the kids were tired from work/school all week, but I was ready to get out.

With no plan whatsoever, I got on the train and had a think. I decided to see a show. Since there is only one show I really want to see and I am planning to see that one with a friend in a couple of weeks, I decided to see a new show I knew nothing about.

The show is called Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. I honestly wasn't expecting to love it, but I did! It was about drag queens making a road trip (in an old bus called Priscilla) from Sydney to Alice Springs. Lots of singing and dancing and fabulous costumes.

On Sunday, we went to Family Fun Day at Susanna's school. This is the annual PTA summer fundraiser and it was very fun! They had go carts, pony rides, bouncy slide, games, crafts, and food. Like last year, Ben played the "Bottle Stall" game and won a nice bottle of wine!

Now we're back to Monday, but I know the week will go fast. Only four more weeks of school...

Maths lesson

Today at school they had a maths* session for parents.  The idea being to show us how things are done these days so that we can actually help our young children with their homework.

Always on the look-out for some use for my brain, I signed up.  It turned out to be very worthwhile.  We learned how to add two numbers using a number line.  You can also use the number line to subtract.  We learned about the importance of understanding place value.  We looked at number squares and multiplication tables.  We even learned how "chunking" is used to do long division.

They plan to offer a longer course in the autumn, and I am disappointed that I probably won't get to participate.  But I'm hoping that the little bit I learned today continues to be useful when we go to school in Texas!

*Yes, that's right - maths.  With an S on the end.  That is how it is here.

Thoughts...

As crazy as things have been around here, I'm having a bit of trouble working up a good post for the blog!  So today I'll just unload a few thoughts and recent activities and see how it goes...

• We are still waiting for a final answer on the move.  It is definitely Dallas and definitely soon.  At this point we have decided on a leave date at the end of July, and assuming all approvals go through, that will be it.  Soon we will start talking to the movers, etc. about packing up our things.  We also need to give notice to the landlords (at this point it will be more like a month's notice rather than the usual two) and then comes my favorite part of moving - having my house constantly ready for prospective buyers or renters!

• We have six weekends left, according to what we think is the plan.  That means after this weekend we will be able to count our remaining weekends on one hand.  I don't even want to think about that any more right now.
  

• I need to start thinking about all the good-bye/thank you gifts I need to get.  Ben has nine teachers in his school, Susanna has one plus aides, then there is music, Rainbows, etc...  Any good teacher gift ideas would be appreciated!  

• We are actively looking for houses on the internet.  They're starting to all look the same...  Brad expects to be in Big D in a couple of weeks and hopes to get a good tour of the areas in which we are interested.
  

• Susanna and I went to see the Lion King in the West End on Saturday.  We went with her best friend, T, and her mum.  The girls seemed to really enjoy it.  The day out included lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and then a visit to Build-a-Bear - a great day by six-year-old standards!
  

• Ben and Brad went to Legoland with T's sister and dad.  They had a good time - sounds like a fun place.  I'm not sure if Susanna will get a chance to go there herself before we move, but we've promised a visit to Dutch Wonderland in August.
  

• The weather is getting a bit more summery again.  Its quite pleasant when the sun shines.  The only trouble is that when we open the windows to get a bit of fresh air, we also get lots of flies and bees.
  

Hope everyone has a good week!

So this is... June?

I think our English summer has ended.  Gone are the warm, sunny days.  Back again are the cool, rainy ones.  

Just as soon as we packed away some winter clothes and took the warm duvet off the bed, the weather went back to March.  As usual when its a bit cold outside, its colder inside my house.  

But the kids are still in school (28 more days!) so its just as well.  And if its cold and rainy, I save time on sun cream in the morning.

Truthfully I don't really mind this cool weather, and after about a week in Texas, I'll be really missing it!

Sunrise: Follow-up

In response to a query from a loyal reader, I am following up on my last post.  

While the sunrise continues to hover around 4:45 in the morning, our kind son lets us sleep until 5:30 at least.  Maybe that is the time that the sun really gets going and makes enough light to wake him.

So no, haven't seen the sunrise yet!  

But there are still many early sunrises to come...

Sunrise

Brad heard on the radio this morning that sunrise tomorrow morning is scheduled for 4:48.  

Guess who will be looking for his breakfast by 5?

Wish us luck!

Have a nice summer!

As most of our American friends are preparing for the end of the school year and a nice, long, hot summer, I just felt compelled to write a little blog about how we still have 7 weeks of school left.  That is 7 full weeks, not one day off.  Our "summer" doesn't start until 2:00 on the 17th of July.

Of course we live in England, and even though we've been having some beautiful weather the past few days (around 70 F), we can't count on it staying this way until September.  So even if we were out of school, its not as if we'd be relaxing by the pool everyday or anything like that.  

Fortunately my kids are little enough to think that school is fun, and they don't realize that it could all be over much sooner.  And of course I don't mind having the few hours a day to myself... : )

Hope everyone on the other side of the pond has a great end to the school year and a great start to summer!