Arizona side-trip

We ended up in Arizona just before Hallowe'en, so cousin Debbie took us to Schnepf Farm to pick pumpkins. The boys had a great time-- as did Daddy David, who carved his first (and second, third and fourth) -ever jack o' lanterns later that evening!



The kiddos would have stayed in this train all day if they could have! There were a few play areas throughout the farm, along with a small carnival-ride area. Great fun as the sun went down!








And, as ever, the traditional good-bye-we're-about-to-hit-the-road pic taken on the back wall of Yaya & Papoo's carport:

October in California

Having just flown in from UK to attend my brother's wedding in San Diego, we stayed our first two (written off to jet-lag) nights centrally in Hollywood so had a glimpse of "the" sign (afar on hill in background) though none were interested in pursuing anything or anyone famous further than these snapshots at the shopping centre next to our hotel.







This was the actual colour of the sky as we drove out of LA with wild-fires on one side and dust-storms on the other. A picture can't really capture how unreal it all felt, so I haven't put up any of the many others we took of swirling dust trails and fire glow. Just no way to explain how apocalyptic the surroundings seemed...



It was so windy in Cabazon, CA that we could hardly walk from the car to the two giant dinosaurs. We went inside of this one (where there's a gift shop), had lunch at the café next door, then headed out through more miles and miles of wind-farms.



It was bright as well as stupendously windy, so David was able to get this nifty photo of himself under the gaze of the life-sized apatosaurus, built by Claude Bell about 30 years ago.



The 3 boys got out and had a look at Alcatraz from a small beach while in the car mommy made phone confirmations re: our rental flat in San Francisco.



When we finally got to SF, the boys were of course keen to check out and ride on the trolleys!





There was also a great park & playground near our flat, much to our delight!



Can't remember exactly where this was taken, but it's typical of what happens when one tries to snap a pic of Sol!

whirliebird flight

For our 10th anniversary I bought 2 tickets for a helicopter flight over London, though we didn't take the flight until September. We took off from Kent but flew over south London to get to the river, along which we hovered before heading back south to Kent. We passed over many familiar places, including our current and previous homes, but we weren't able to get decent pictures of everything. Here are some of the better-known places you might recognize.


view from above Battersea



Parliament buildings and Square



Westminster and South Bank




Tower of London



Canary Wharf & Greenwich Peninsula


David snatched most of these pics through shuddering windows on a less-than-clear day. I think he did a great job under the circumstances. If you want to see some spectacular views of London, visit the "BBC aerial photos of London " link to the right!

August fun

We are fortunate to live relatively near to Hilly Fields park (though it is a serious uphill walk to get there).



Like most games allowed by mothers in exchange for 2 minutes & 48 seconds in which to get dressed, this one took longer to clean up than it did to play. It was sufficiently entertaining while it lasted, though-- and even Elmo ended up in a nappy (diaper)! Nappy-tastic.

beach day

David's sister and family were camping in --?-- for a few weeks over the summer. We went to visit them one day. Once we finally found them on the crowded beach, we had a fun day all together. Grandma and Grandad (David and Sarah's parents) came, too!

Cousins Rebekah and Solomon are always genuinely pleased to see each other again.


Uncle Chris, Sol and Felix work on ... um, I think it's a sand castle...



As the tide invades, structures are recreated further inland. This one had a lovely long trench leading up to it. And lots of bridges!



Chris needs a second opinion, perhaps. The onsite uncles confer: Is this trench straight enough?



And now to rest and wait for the water to carry on up the beach... and trench.... then tent ... so off we go.

out of town

The boys stayed with their grandparents for a weekend while we went to the Cotswolds for a wedding. David used to work with Parit, Jason, and Ben, who also attended.

market spit

We don't live in Deptford any more but we still walk the two miles (or take the DLR) from our home in Lewisham to Deptford Market. The lady who put up this sign sells batteries, bungee cords, lighters, masking tape, and just about everything in between! Apparently some market-goers have a habit of which she doesn't approve...

in The Glade

Near where Grandma (Dorothy) and Grandad (Ian) live in Sidcup, there is a lovely park called The Glade through which we walk on the way from the train station, or when G'ma takes them to feed the ducks, etc. Here are some of the treasures the boys and I found there recently.

rat-a-tat-BANG

Still enjoying the drums from birthday!




And when we're out and about, anything that resembles drums or sticks is likely to get drafted into similar use!

DLR to G'wich

In the last entry I mentioned the DLR-- Docklands Light Railway. Lewisham is currently the end of a DLR line. The next few stops include Deptford and Greenwich before it goes under the river and up into East London. We call it the "Little Train"-- as opposed to the "Big Train", which signifies longer journeys further into or out of London on ye olde British Rail system.

The boys like to watch the tracks as we pass over them.



On this day, we went to Greenwich. We stopped near the pier to eat our packed lunch. Solomon was trying to make Felix laugh. Felix was like, "Dude, you are crazy!"



Sol seems incapable of NOT pulling silly faces and/or gestures when a camera is out (and much of the rest of the time, come to think of it).

wandering in Brookmill Park one day

The boys are starting to become friends. And they play together! Except, of course, when they are fighting...


Felix nearly always has at least one stone in his hand(s).


Solomon starts full-time nursery school in September. He'll move up to "reception" (kindergarten) in January.


And yes, he did wear this shirt a lot over the summer (what there was of it)!

on a blustery day in Greenwich Park

Our boys enjoy a song with Taylor and Zoe Pressdee (who are also half UK, half USA).


Sticks and stones... are a boy's favourite toys, from what I can tell!

People's Day, July 2007

People's day is an annual local event at Mountsfield Park in Lewisham, London.



After our encounter with a deft-handed make-up artist, we had a very happy Spider-Soli.



Felix, meanwhile, praised the powers that be for the providence of ice cream.



And Kori looked up and, behold, there approacheth the cider angel!

escape of the parents

In July we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. David's parents had the boys for 3 days & 2 nights so we could get away and remind ourselves what it's like to have conversations with each other that don't revolve around lines such as "Where are the wipes?" "Have you fed the boys/cats/fish?" "Can you help him put his shoe on?"

This is where we stayed, on an unnamed road, in the garden of a large thatched cottage, with a long view over rolling hills to Arundel Castle. Great pub food in a nearby village, fanatstic Indian food in the next town. A bit of rain but lots of peace and quiet. Aaahhhh...



For more pics see
www.special-escapes.co.uk/search/display.php?FileID=bsc5977