Getting here and Hampton Court

What began as a random hope and small suggestion has actually happened!  My family gets to live in England for six weeks!  Bruce was transferred to England for the year in a residential position and Leesa moved out to be with him during that time.  Well, it simply wouldn't do for them not to see their grandchildren for an entire year so we had to come out and visit.  We had originally talked about renting a house close by not knowing what kind of space they would have available, but luckily their home is large enough so we can crash with them.  We are incredibly lucky that they are willing to host us for most of the summer.   Step one was packing.  Packing for six people for six weeks is not a simple task.  I'm thrilled we were able to fit everything we needed in these bags, plus a bike bag for me.  

I don't think the kids really knew how long we would be spending on a plane, but they had their own personal entertainment systems which was enough to stop any complaining about being bored.  It felt like I was cheating, but those quiet smiles were fabulous. 

 

Despite everything going really smoothly it's still a long time to spend in one spot, especially when it's time to sleep.  All the kids had a hard time finding a comfortable spot so no one really slept well.  

When we landed at Heathrow we were all ready for a nap but it was only 7:30 in the morning.  Bruce and Leesa met us with huge hugs and then loaded us up to take us to their home.  

We have so much space it's ridiculous!  The girls have a room, the boys have a room, Jeremy and I have a room, there are rooms waiting for the Kings, Dantley, and there's still an attic where the girls have decided to set up their castle.  (More pics to come of that when it's done.)   I think they're happy to be at our destination.

Soccer in the backyard!  This is how you retrieve a ball after it goes into your neighbor's hedge, just have your dad lower you down into the hedge on the other side of the fence and hope your arms are tall enough to reach him when it's time to come back over.

After a quick nap by Jeremy and Daxton we hopped in the car and went on our first adventure, Hampton Court.  McKenzie was thrilled to see a real castle for her first time, especially since it was one she recognized from her Palaces book my mom gave her.  She ran around giggling looking at the roses, the gold everywhere, and the gardens before we even entered the Palace.

First we explored some of the grounds, specifically the maze.  I think that Kelton will enjoy that when he's actually awake.

We found the center with just one wrong turn.  Not too shabby!

As we wandered we also found the Master class where we learned how to be courtiers.  

McKenzie was chosen to be queen and was dressed by her ladies maids.  

Jeremy was the court poet and read poetry for us.  

I was part of the royal hunting party and rode my horse to help capture the stag and the hounds hunted him down.

After class we all headed back to the castle to explore inside.  

While McKenzie listened intently to her audio guide about the grand staircase...

Henry VIII's apartments...

The Great Hall...

 

The Great Watching (sleeping) Hall...

And the Georgian apartments...

The rest of the kids took turns sleeping in the buggies and resting in the courtyard.

 One castle done, a dozen to go!

School's out!

School's out!  Holy cow, where did this year go?  McKenzie was Mrs. Raney's teacher's pet and they had a really great relationship.  Kenzie is sad to see her go.  

Cambrie was just celebrating being free.  That is a smile of a girl who is thrilled to be done with fourth grade!  Next year she'll be the big kid on campus....gulp!

End of season festivities

Kelton's end of school activities were more like end of season activities.  Soccer wrapped up and he had such a blast.  I was so glad that his coach enjoyed Kelton's goofy self.  They got along really well and I'm glad Kelton had such a great first experience.  

Gymnastics was similar for him.  He loves climbing, rolling, jumping, spinning, bouncing, balancing, and hanging.  He has so much energy that this class was fabulous for him.

 Sydney is one of Kelton's little buddies.  They play together while Allison and I volunteer at the school.  It sounds like she and her family will be moving back to Utah and we'll be so sad to see them go...  

Silly Daxton, trying to keep up with his big brother.  

Now that the girls will be home, Kelton won't have to wait for them all day any more.  I guess that means I won't be on domino duty anymore.  But look at that face!

End of school festivities

Wrapping up the school year means school plays, field days, term projects, and last minute play dates.  Cambrie's GT group put together versions of The Three Little Pigs and performed them for other classes.  Cambrie was one of the narrators and did a stellar job. 

 The fourth graders learned about Colorado history this year.  They put together a tour of Colorado to showcase their work and Cambrie helped put this painting together of the dust bowl.  I think we should go on a tour of Colorado now so she can teach me everything she knows. 

 McKenzie performed Chicken Little in her class.  She was the narrator and was so cute reading her lines.  She had her entire part memorized (she was one of the best readers in her class), and had the cutest inflections.  The parents chuckled as she said her lines because she was so into her role.  

Field day for the first graders meant hula hoops, sidewalk chalk, giant cup stacking, relay races, and a picnic outside.  Abby is one of her new friends and she can't wait until they can make a play date work. 

We did manage to squeeze in one final play date with Brielle and Molly before summer began.  My girls have the best groups of friends!

U10 the end

I did not take nearly enough pictures of Cambrie this soccer season.  Her team's last tournament of the season was out in Boulder.  I managed to snap a couple pictures of her brothers watching her play, but not one of her when she was making a run, showing off her amazing footwork, making a perfect pass, or pushing her way through a defensive line.  I love watching her play.  She can do things with her feet that I can't even pretend to try.  She's made a lot of progress this season and I can't wait to see how things go next year when she ages up into Blast.  

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to me!  One of my favorite parts of mother's day is that I don't have to step foot in the kitchen all day unless I choose to.  When breakfast magically appears in front of me while I'm still in bed...ah, that's pretty much perfect.  

I say pretty much perfect, because completely perfect is when the four little sous chefs show up with their plates and join me in bed for breakfast.  What a great way to start the day huh? 

 After church we came home and just relaxed, but after dinner I watched the kids play outside and couldn't help but think how lucky I am to have these four munchkins.  They love each other.  They play with each other.  They genuinely like one another.  And how lucky am I that my kids can play and grow up in this fantastic neighborhood?  I was hoping for a picture perfect shot with those who call me Mom, but I couldn't get them away from their fun.  

I am one lucky Mom.

Sugar and Spice, and Everything Nice

It's harder to capture the sweet sugar of my girls because it often comes in the form of sweet notes to me, help with putting the kids to bed, or secret cleaning fairies who help me with my chores.  

They are just as sweet as snow ice-cream!

This was taken on the first field trip I have been able to go on with her to the Hiwan House.  For some reason it took me five years, but we finally made it on the bus together.  She looks like my mini me!

Best bubble faces ever!  These bubbles lasted and hour and were still going strong when I made the kids pull the plug. 

My favorite part of choir concerts is when Cambrie comes out on stage and immediately scans the audience looking for us.  When she sees Daxton's little arm waving at her, she lights up like a firefly.

Proof that this girls loves her sport.  Look at that face!

I should change the title to "sparkles, sugar and spice, and everything nice" for Miss McKenzie.  Castles, princesses, pink, glitter, sparkles, gems...I've never seen a girls so in love with sparkles than this one.  She even managed to make her paint and construction paper castle sparkle at the art show.

This encompasses the "everything nice" description of my girls, because I literally wrote everything nice I could about Cambrie until I ran out of room.  We went to a mother-daughter activity days activity together.  One-on-one time is awesome with her.

Cambrie is starting to grow into this tween stage.  Instead of just getting pictures of her hiding on a couch with their millions of stuffed animals, we are getting memes to go along with them.

Loves these sweet girls.