A change of clothes

Emma and Ander's school uniform is a combination of a red/white top with grey/black slacks/skirt so last Friday was a real treat for them as they were given the option to dress in yellow to support their House color (the Herons).  Emma went as far as carrying a banana phone.  Anderson sported one of Daddy's ties.  Stewart just wanted to be in the picture and still loves to wear his kilt.

Wellington Boots

One of the first things we were introduced to when we moved to the UK was Wellington Boots or Wellies as the locals call them.  The first village we lived in had a historic walk where some of the 'grey hairs' led a tour through the town telling stories from when they were kids, machine gun marks from World War II, where the Cricket Pitch used to be, etc.  During this walk there were several times when we left the pavement and wandered into the fields.  This is quite a common thing here as the land is covered with "public" footpaths that (as long as you stay on the path) are open to any and everyone who wants to take a stroll.  Needless to say, we came back from the experience with our shoes covered in mud and the recommendation for several stores where we too could buy some great rubber boots.


Last Sunday afternoon (with a rare bit of Sun) we took our kids on a walk to Stowe Gardens for a picnic and hiked through the sheep pasture to an old Gazebo to sit and talk about what life might have been like if we had lived back when the structure was new.

This summer we were unable to plan any excursions to the beach as the kids didn't get out of school till late in July and John had a major inspection at work mid-way through August so during the kids mid-term break we took the family on a trip to the Greek island of Crete.  The hope was to spend the week lounging in the sun, playing in the sand and sea and just being together as a family.  While we were there we had 1 semi-sunny day and several fairly rainy days.  The recommendation...  don't go to Crete in October/November and hope for sun... If you want sun this time of year go further south!