Sing!

Today Rhodri was out all day so the kids and I got stuff done around the place and then we went into East Grinstead to watch the movie "Sing!" We discovered that the cinema sells 'Pick a Mix' candy and they sell by volume rather than weight. Cha-ching! Although we chose the smallest size, we were still able to strategically load a LOT of candy into it, compressing as we loaded.

We had a really fun time together and the film was great too!
In fact, since today is my sister Heidi's birthday, it feels especially appropriate to celebrate with laughter and candy!

Last day in Llandudno

And we spent it at the beach.

This morning (late morning) was low tide and the sun was shining, so we all went down to West Shore to the beach.

 It was so wonderful to play in the sand, collect sea shells, explore up and down the beach a little, and just enjoy the sunshine and the texture of the day.

Later on we met Nain for lunch in town and then we all did a bit of shopping before going back home for our last meal of the holiday.

Down the slate mines

Today was rainy and cold and we decided to spend it underground in the Llechwedd slate mine in Blenau Ffestiniog.

We had an amazing tour down below with a charismatic and engaging tour guide.

After the tour, we went to a nearby pub for lunch and then came back to Llechwedd to spend an hour at "Bounce Below", which is an incredible arrangement of trampolines that span a few of the caverns on various vertical levels. It is just so cool.

We all got pretty tired jumping and running and sliding and chasing during the hour on the trampolines, though. It was a truly great day and we hope to go back another time to do their zip wire and other adventure activities.

While we were away

... the troops had a good time with Nain and Taid! They went to visit Caernarfon castle, about an hour away from Llandudno.

I think they also got to play with their cousins Leusa, Rhyddid and Brython AND they got to have fish and chips for lunch. Everyone won during these two days and one night! Thanks Nain and Taid.

Lake District outing

Yesterday morning Rhodri and I left at 9 am to drive 2 hrs and 10 minutes up to Kendal in the Lake District. We met with one of Rhodri's clothing company supplier and spent the afternoon looking at the new collection. We were treated to a delicious lunch and dinner by the sales rep, so that was nice for us! We stayed at "Castle Green" http://www.castlegreen.co.uk/hotel-rooms.aspx and it was lovely.

This morning we checked out and then went for a longish hike from Patterdale near Ullswater. It was a really misty rainy day with mostly terribly visibility, but we had fun anyway.

It was a bit of a slog in the end but at least we were edging round the lake on that stretch. Once we got back to the car, we just piled in and headed down the motorway to Llandudno and arrived in time for a slightly late dinner this evening. In the meantime, we received some photos from Rhiannon that showed the fun that they were having in our absence!

New Era!

Today we started out a new era of adventure. After buying hiking boots for the kids yesterday in town, we took to the hills today. Both Tryfan and Rhiannon decided that we haven't been doing enough outdoor adventures of late, so we figured today was a good day to turn over a new leaf.
It was a stunning day, though a bit hazy at first.  We climbed up to Llyn Idwal and then instead of just walking around the lake as we had initially planned, we went up over the little ridge into the cwm at the base of Y Garn.

 There was increasing amounts of snow and ice on the path as we climbed up, but it wasn't enough to make us turn around. We just were extra careful.

The two Tryfans

Inside the emergency shelter where we didn't last long!

On the way home we stopped in Llanberis to visit the V12 climbing shop so Rhods could speak with Bertie (the owner). Then we went home for a cup of tea and cake. Yay! A great day in the hills of Snowdonia.

Beach walk

Today we went for a walk on the beach, starting from the house in Deganwy and walking into Llandudno along the beach. Rhodri cunningly left the car down at West Shore so that we could drive back rather than walking.

 It was actually a really cold and windy day, but we made it into town and then called into the Cottage Loaf pub for a delicious lunch.

We spent the afternoon watching more rugby, reading the paper, and then having a fantastic Sunday dinner.

Wales for half term

Yay! It's the half term holiday and we decided to spend it up in North Wales. Last year at this time we went skiing in Storlien and that was fantastic, but we are staying more local this year. We decided to get a "good early start" on Saturday morning and were on the road at 6:05 am, arriving into Deganwy at 11:05 am. And we even stopped for breakfast along the way! So we made good speed and got to Nain and Taid's house in time to see Auntie Mary who we haven't seen in such a long time. That was a very happy homecoming indeed.

After a cup of tea with Auntie Mary, Nain and Taid, and then after unloading our car (actually not our car as we rented it for the journey and are really pleased since it is a minivan and we never get to ride in those!), I took Bentley on our traditional walk up the Vardre. Even with gray skies and soggy fields to walk on, this is still one of the most beautiful spots I know. I absolutely love coming up here and making my way up to the top of the old castle to look out over the Conwy estuary, Snowdonia mountains and the town of Llandudo. Bentley had a fantastic time too!

We made it back in time to watch both of the Six Nations rugby matches that were on telly. I fell asleep during the Italy vs Ireland game but we were all wide awake for the Wales vs England match. Sadly Wales lost in the final minutes of the game, but it was really fun to watch!

Fundraising Committee

We've discovered that our school is in a bit of a financial pickle right now, due to the low pupil enrollments over the past couple of years combined with a reduction in government funding for rural primary schools in England. We formed a fundraising committee at the end of last year, and now we have a bank account which means that we can finally start asking for donations.

The other night we counted and got ready to distribute flyers in a door-to-door fashion. We also had a good laugh as we were doing this, as we are a jolly and enthusiastic crowd!

Paris, briefly

This week I was in Paris the whole week, traveling there on Monday morning and traveling home today (Friday). Very civilized, even though our actual venue for the week was at a property about 1.5 hours southeast of Paris. I was actually really excited about this week because I would be meeting about 25 people that I've been working with for the past 18 months or so, but who I've never met in person. In my taxi from home to the train station on Monday morning, I explained all this to my taxi driver Olivier, who, by a stroke of lovely coincidence, was also the taxi driver that ended up taking me home this evening!  For all the challenges and conflict that comes from working for a major oil service company, I will say that it is quite special when we get to meet each other in person - there are so many nationalities and backgrounds. Of the 30 people at this workshop, there were 20 different nationalities.

That said, I was relieved when it was over and I could travel first into Paris proper to spend the evening with my long lost friend and flatmate from Leeds, Florence!  We had a long and wonderful dinner at a cafe near her flat, and it was so great to see her.