Last day of school

Today is the last day of school!  Finally!

We still have our normal morning routine to complete, but I definitely feel more relaxed about it already.  The school is having 'hot dog day' so I don't have to pack a big lunch.  Pick up is at 2:00 today, so we actually get a bit of an afternoon with Susanna.  We'll have to go out and celebrate!

Bike riding

Since we've been in England, the kids haven't had much chance to ride their bikes.  When we were picking a house, there were so many factors to consider, and somehow the question of where the kids might ride their bikes wasn't one of them.  Our driveway is stones, not paved, we're on a fairly busy road, and all the neighbors have hedges, so you can't just ride along the sidewalk - you have to stop and check for cars at each driveway (hopefully others do this as well - really hard to see if anyone's coming when I'm backing out of my own driveway!)

There are parks, of course, but its easiest to drive the bikes there, and then ride them at the park.  We just don't do that as often as we should.  Maybe the cool, windy, sometimes rainy weather has something to do with that.

Today Brad got the bikes out in the back garden and decided that the kids would ride them there.  Before we came, Susanna was in the process of learning to ride without training wheels.  She was doing well, but now its been a while.  She did very well riding on two wheels through the garden this evening.  She can do it... now its just a matter of her knowing that she can!

Here are a few photos:

Can Daddy let go yet?

All by herself!
Ben, too (but with training wheels, of course)
Can you feel the love?

Zoo trip

Today Susanna had her big school field trip.  They went to a safari park about an hour away.  They got to ride in a coach, which was exciting in itself.  They had a full day at the zoo, leaving school at 8:30 and not returning until 5:00.

Susanna said that they saw a lot of animals in the comfort of the coach.  Vehicles can be driven through part of the park and the animals can get quite close.  She said that a monkey landed on the roof of the bus.  They also had some classroom time during which they had a chance to pet a snake.  The snake's name was Brian and he wasn't poisonous (of course!)  

Susanna's favorite part of the trip was "seeing the gigantic snake."  She also liked the classroom time, since it was in a special area "that only schools get to go in."

Sunny day

Today we finally had some warm, sunny weather here in cool, rainy England.  Brad and the kids decided it would be a good day to get the blow-up pool out and have some backyard fun.  It ended up not being quite as warm as expected, but the kids had a blast running around in their suits.  It did warm up a bit more later in the day, after they'd had enough of the pool.

Only one more full week of school, then a half-week, and that's it!  Poor Susanna is so tired from being at school so much.  I hope that the break rejuvenates her a bit.  She has a field trip this week to a safari park, and she is very much looking forward to that.

Ben has been going to a program called Tumble Tots, which is a bit like Gymboree and places like that, except the equipment is portable and they move it around to different towns every week.  He is very happy to go there and has a lot of fun playing on the equipment.  He is done with cooking classes, but still has football (soccer).  Ben is the biggest kid in his football class and is starting to get a bit bored with it...  Hopefully we'll be able to get him a place in the older kids class (3.5 - 5 years) in September.

Filling up the pool.

My sassy girl.
Life jackets, just in case...
Those toys are so bright I need my shades!
All organized (for the moment...)

Sports Day

Today was Sports Day at Susanna's school.  I think every school in England has a Sports Day.  I've heard and read a lot about it and was excited to see what it was all about.  

Schools here have "houses;" kids in each class are divided among the various houses so that each house has kids from each year.  Susanna is in the Blue house.  For Sports Day, each house sat together but competed only against other kids in the same year.  I think it was three relay-style races per class.  The first event was just a regular race.  Susanna was at the back of the line and therefore was among the last to race.  She raced against one of her favorite friends and another girl.  Susanna ran well but stopped before the finish line to see how her friends were doing.  It was very cute!  The second event was an egg-and-spoon race at which Susanna did very well.  The last event involved running, throwing a bean bag in a hula hoop, picking it up again and running back.  The events for the older kids were a bit more complicated and/or longer - challenges were age-appropriate.

Of course the weather for this event was cool and nearly rainy.  It rained quite a bit this morning and the blue sky appeared just in time to start Sports Day, but by the end it seemed like it might rain again.  The parents were all warm in coats, etc. while the kids looked quite chilly in shorts and t-shirts.

Only two more weeks of school left...

Where has summer gone?

After a nice, warm welcome to July, the weather has returned to more typical English fare.  The next three days are predicted to be 65 and rainy.  I'm not complaining, really, I actually like it.  It just makes it hard to believe that its really July, between the weather and still being in school.

We had a nice 4th of July here.  Of course it was a work/school day, but we had a little bbq for dinner that night.  The kids went to bed at the usual time.  Much later, we heard the sound of fireworks being set of nearby.  I looked out the window and didn't see them, but I very much heard them!  I do know there are quite a few Americans living in this town.

Of course we've heard that gas prices have gotten quite high in the States.  The prices here are just a bit higher - $10/gallon for regular, and $11.75/gallon for diesel.  When we get our keeper cars, they will both be diesel.  Slightly more expensive for the petrol, but better mileage.

Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend!

Summer has arrived

Its the first day of July and it finally feels like summer here!  Its only in the 70's, but quite sunny.  Ben and I spent the morning at the park and its good to be back in our nice cool (but of course un-air-conditioned) house.

Now that July is here we can finally start the end-of-school countdown.  The last day is 3 weeks from tomorrow!