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Driving adventures, or how did we get here????

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We are in North Wales - what a beautiful part of the world! Beth has been a trooper with driving - the "other side of the road" hasn't been nearly as scary as the roundabouts, and now we are into Single Track Road driving. Our first encounter with another vehicle where one of us had to decide who was going to back up to the nearest layby started with us backing up...but we were going so slowly that after about 5 minutes the other car honked at us, waved and started backing up instead.  And didn't look terribly impressed with Katherine blew a kiss as a thank-you... Our scariest adventure in driving was in Conwy, an old, old, walled town near Anglesey.  Very beautiful.  However...GPS, or SatNavs are limited in their ability to get us where we want to go.  We were looking for a parking lot near Marine Drive and ended up going through a teeny-tiny gate (lucky Beth had found the button to close in the side mirrors), into what looked like a pedestrian only section where
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Family part 3 - Kellys and Kneales

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One of the best things about this trip  - the length of time and the fact we have a car - is that we've been able to connect with so many of Katherine's extended family.  Lots of cousins, And Aunt and Uncle
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Salisbury Cathedral

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We spent a day in Salisbury and it was, surprisingly, a great place for small children! Katherine was able to church-geek out at the Cathedral, which had 2 fantastic features: the most amazing baptism font (this is the google images shot of the whole thing).  It has flowing water over the edges and is designed to reflect the beautiful stained glass window at the front. And the close-up photo Beth took.  Around the sides, the text reads "Ta ken from Isaiah Chapter 43 verses 1 and 2 they read, ‘Do not fear for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.’  The last sentence was the one that spoke to us the most, for various reasons. Katherine couldn't resist dipping her hand in and blessing everyone in the family.  It was really spectacular in real life, but you  can read more about it here.  http://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/sites/
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Trafalger Square

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Today we went to London.   Before children, we would have gone to museums, the theatre and restaurants.  Today we went to Pret a Manger's new fast food place - Itzu (Asian inspired food - Clare loves, loves, loves sushi), went to the the children's activities at the National Gallery, and saw a live play of What the Ladybird Heard. But to get there, we went through Trafalger Square.  And among the interesting bits of this famous place, are the pedestrian traffic lights.  The "don't cross" red man is the same...but instead of the familiar green figure letting us know when to cross, we saw this: Apparently, a year ago, they changed all the crossing lights for Gay Pride!  We didn't get photos of all the lights (too dangerous!!) but here is what was there -  We saw fun buskers, dancers, musicians and....bubbles. After arriving just in time for the play at the wrong theatre - we literally jogged to the correct one and made it just in time to s
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Wolves!

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On our first day here, we went for a family walk along a public foot path and passed this sign: Today we visited the Wolf Sanctuary in the small village where we are staying (a 15 minute walk from the house).  What an experience! The wolves are beautiful, intelligent, intuitive animals.  Because the Sanctuary is only open on Wednesday, the wolves do not react to public the way animals do in a zoo.  The different nature and instinctual behaviour of each individual wolf was so interesting to watch.  The sanctuary spreads across 50 acres and has 10 wolves in total - 3 of them are arctic wolves from Canada rescued during the 2011 ice storm when they were 10 weeks old after being abandoned by the mother after their den iced over. They are in four different pack groupings. Wolves are stereotyped as being predatory - think the Big Bad Wolf in fairy tales - or symbolic of unspoiled wilderness.  They were hunted to extinction in Great Britain centuries ago, but there are places like the
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A little sun, a visit to the dentist in Reading

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The rain stopped for a few hours one morning so we made the most of it!  Katherine and Beth went for a run in the countryside (we take turns, we don't actually abandon the children), while Clare and Rachel finally (!!!) got to go in the paddling pool. We made the most of the morning sun: Bathing beauty picnic lunch that ended when the rain started... And then a trip into Reading.  Katherine broke a tooth while eating salad (and is only going to eat bacon, meat pies and alcohol for the rest of the trip.  Fortunately the UK has a National Health Service density and private practices - sometimes in the same clinic.  This means that foreigners can access the dentist by paying the private system.  And even more fortunately  - their rates for an exam and a filling are very, very reasonable.  Here's hoping the travel insurance we paid for covers it! Reading is between 2 rivers - the Thames and the Kennet - and they have made the most of their waterfront!  This is
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Family part 1 & 2

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We've packed in a number of visits with Katherine's extended family - which means Clare and Rachel have a whole new batch of cousins to visit with! First -some of the Kellys This is how poor little Rachel got the bouncy castle injury.. and then some of the Kneales/Abrahams no injuries in this bouncy time Our city girls spent some quality time loving the farm they called it "the maze" And a seriously cool swing:
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