Family from all over the place

We had a really great rest-of-the-weekend with a selection of family members: my Mom, my cousin Annie, and Rhodri's sister Nia + family all came to spend the weekend. Here are the Three Amigos in true form..
Sophie came over to join the fun on Saturday morning and Rhiannon put her new face painting kit to good use.
We went for a walk in the forest with the whole herd of us (including Bentley, of course!). It was a gorgeous autumn day and everyone had a grand time.
Playing in the rhododendren bushes..
It was tough going pushing the stroller on some parts of it but we made it through anyway.
We called in to the Red Lion pub and had a round of drinks and some snacks outside in the sunshine.
There was a black cat prowling around the place that was absolutely tormenting poor ol' Bents who had to stay on his leash!
We came back to the house for more face painting and playing outside over the course of the weekend. Good times!
Here is Cris with all the kids
Tryfan looking particularly creepy with his "Darth Maul" facepaint on (courtesy of Rhiannon).

Birthday Party for Tryfs

We had a Star Wars themed birthday party for Tryfan on Friday 21 October. He decided that he only wanted to invite a select few people to his party: Oscar, Leonie, Harrison, Rhiannon, Sophie, Rhodri, Grandma and me. So there were 4 little kids, 2 big sisters and 3 grown-ups. Perfect! We picked up all the kids straight from school/ nursery on Friday afternoon and came back to the house. After the troops changed outfits and played a little bit, we sat down to make Star Wars cookies.
Video footage of the cookie making activity:

Once we finished a batch of the Star Wars cookies and Grandma had put them in the oven to bake, we headed to the "Galaxy far, far away" with our light-sabers. In fact, the kids used their light sabers to bat balloons all the way from the house to the middle part of the garden where we had set up tarps, ribbons and the Death Star pinata. Here is the scene:

We had (actually I should say Grandma had) made light sabers out of pool noodles which were cut in half and decorated with duct tape. This way they could really pound each other without hurting anyone or anything.
We blindfolded kids one-by-one and gave them a chance to break the pinata using their light sabers.
Once it fell to the ground, troops piled into the massive stash of loot.
Then we went inside to take a break by watching Tryfan's favorite Star Wars scene. It is the part in Empire Strikes Back where Han Solo says to Chewie, "Laugh it up, Fuzzball".
Then we had some pizza followed by Jello (aka Jelly) and gluten-free cake which a magic fairy made into the shape of a TIE fighter (Star Wars spaceship which the bad Stormtroopers fly).
Here are the partiers as they were enjoying their food: Leonie, Sophie, Rhiannon, Oscar, Tryfan and Harrison.
It was a good party - hugely successful - but it would have been really hard to pull off if there were less than 3 grown-ups on the scene! Thanks to Grandma for helping so much.

Rhodri's website is live!!!

Hey everybody - Rhodri's new website is alive and ready for business!
Here it is:
www.nordiclife.co.uk

Have a look and feel free to give him feedback on what you think of it!

Tryfan turns 4

Today was Tryfan's birthday and we celebrated it by opening a couple of presents in the morning after breakfast, then having a Death Star cake and more presents in the evening after dinner. Here is the Birthday Boy with his chocolate Death Star cake which was made by Grandma Debi. It is so wonderful that my Mom could be here for his birthday, and since she was with us on the day he was born it was just extra special.
Rhiannon staged this picture and went a little crazy on the number of candles on the cake. Somehow Tryfan managed to blow them all out without anyone getting hurt.
Grandma Debi brought him a LEGO Star Wars X-Wing fighter, which is what he has been wishing for these past few months. We told him that it was only for children ages 8-14 (since that is what it says on the box), so he had mostly given up on the hope of getting one for his birthday. He was soooo excited. Here he is trying to put it together with the help of Daddy.
And so, at 4 years old, Tryfan is showing himself to be:
- a sensitive little guy
- very considerate of others (e.g. refilling another person's glass of water when it is empty)
- someone who needs a good dose of alone time each day in order to get immersed in something imaginative (usually involving LEGO)
- someone who trots rather than walks everywhere
- a very good hugger and snuggler
- very high energy, requiring lots of space to run and do crazy "moves"
He loves salted nuts, peanut butter or cream cheese on crackers, cucumber, broccoli,pizza sweets/ candy of all varieties and most other stuff too...he isn't a very picky eater.
He sleeps with "Kitty" and "Blanks" (his baby blanket) every night and sometimes carries them around on wobbly days too.
He adores Rhiannon and all of her friends, constantly trying to tell them about things he is excited about (usually involving Star Wars scenes).
He also loves animals, especially Bentley.
His favorite thing lately is to have pizza and a movie on a Friday night.
We love our precious Tryfan :-)

Perfect autumn weekend

We had such a lovely weekend! Rhodri was away on Friday so we started the weekend without him by putting on a film and getting ready to have pizza for dinner. But just as we started this, our friends Danni, Neve and Blythe called by followed shortly by their dad Bryn. So they joined us for the pizza and a showing of "Kung Fu Panda" -- kids watching the film while us adults chatted and enjoyed some gin & tonics. But then the movie finished and it was still early so we put on "Annie" and all heaped onto the couch to watch together. A lasting memory of this Friday night is of all 7 of us snuggled together singing "Tomorrow" at literally the tops of our voices.

Then on Saturday we tidied the house while half-watching the Wales v France rugby semi-final. Sadly, Wales lost by 1 point. Rhodri came home in the early afternoon and by then our friend Felicity was over to play with Rhiannon. It was clear, warmish and very autumny all day so we mostly just pottered around in the back garden. At some point our friends Emma, Rob, Sophie and Oscar dropped by asking if we wanted to walk down to the pub. So we rounded everyone up and ambled down to the Coach & Horses.
On our walk down to the pub, we saw Angus on his bike. So then he ended up gathering his family and joining us there as well. Here is the scene - kids playing and adults chatting.
Good times!

Under the sea day

Today was Dressing-Up Day at school, and the theme was "Under the Sea". Rhiannon wanted to go as Ariel (the Little Mermaid), but after I explained that I didn't have any good materials to put together a mermaid costume, she changed her mind and decided to be an Angelfish. Here is our sweet little Angelfish getting ready to leave for school with her fins out.
And here she is sitting with her teacher and the rest of her class, which seemed to be mostly pirates.
We walked Sophie home from school, and their friend Jed and his older brother walked with us. Actually, I was the only one walking. The 4 of them were running ahead and having pirate brawls which ended with 1 or more of them laying on the pavement pretending to be dead. Then Sophie came home with us anyway
When we got home, we were treated with a visit by Sam and his older brother Ollie and their Mum who has recently started a dog grooming business! She had been working on Bentley all day so she was bringing him back but was able to stay for a cup of tea. The 5 kids were truly wild. The ones who were not in dressing up costumes got changed into dressing up costumes and then just went mental. They were racing up and down the stairs, jumping off the beds, dancing and tickling and chanting "Children Rule! Children Rule!", while Sue and I tried to have a civilized conversation. Here is a little snapshot of the scene...

Pirate ship homework

Now that Rhiannon is in Year 1, she has a weekly homework assignment. Last week her homework was to build a pirate ship out of previously used materials. So we started with a milk carton and carved it up, then put in wine bottle corks for the cannons and she painted the hull lots of pretty colors. Rhiannon started out intending it to be a Wedding Pirate Ship but I don't know if it ended that way.
In the end she had a really great looking pirate ship which incorporated plenty of gold spraypaint and a real little pirate figure -- "Pelle" from our Kaptain Sabeltann days in Norway. I don't have a photo of the final product and now it is in the pirate ship fleet in Rhiannon's classroom. I think she enjoyed building it though.

Autumn Show 2011

Today we went to the South of England Autumn Show. We went to it last year too, except that on that particular day it was raining whereas today was hot and sunny, feeling nothing like autumn! Here are the troops posing in front of some winning onions.
Rhiannon with her personal favorite onion entry:
And of course posing with the Giant Marrow (Zucchini).
We visited all the booths and stands which were selling hunting/ outdoor clothes (lots of tweed coats) and we also walked through the Food Fair (cheese, cider, savory pies, local meats and game) and the Animal barn. When we walked past all the competition chickens, I couldn't help but think of how much my Dad would have loved to see the great variety and character of these chickens! This is a really crappy photo because you can't see how beautiful some of the feathers were on some of these girls...
We took a break in the shade and had snacks while Rhodri talked to a Dog Rescue outfit - we have been thinking of getting a companion for Bentley but we don't want a puppy.
Then we watched the Dog Agility competition before heading home. Most of the dogs were border collies, but there was also a yellow lab, a german shepherd, and a dalmatian. The dalmatian was hilarious because he had to explore the whole arena first, sniffing around the fences and seeing who all was there before finally listening to his handler and starting the race. Here is the scene (another crappy photo taken with my camera since the normal camera is lost).
Everyone was tired by the time we left, so when we got home we all had a rest and it was lovely. Then we talked to my family in California and had dinner, then bath and bed. Good weekend!

Week of lovely summertime

We have had the most amazing weather the past week or so - highs around 85 deg F and bold sunshine. Wow. On Saturday, Nain and Taid took Tryfan and Rhiannon on an outing to the Bluebell Railway. It was a hot day so I think they had plenty of water to drink and ice cream to enjoy!
Its been wonderful to have Rhodri's parents stay a whole week with us. While they were all at the Railway, Rhodri and I went into Brighton and just explored for a few hours by ourselves. So nice to have a chance to do this!

And before the weekend, we went out to dinner at the Red Lion pub just down the road from us on Wednesday night (26 Sept). Rhiannon took this photo using my phone (our normal camera has been lost for a few days).
And then on Friday the kids went over to play at our friend Lou's house. She has a massive property and 6 kids, so they really know how to play well at this house! Here are Rhi and Tryfs, Sophie and Oscar jumping off the scaffolding onto the trampoline (with Lou and Fliss in the foreground).
It is still sunny and warm now that it is Monday, but the prediction is for clouds and rain to come back in the next few days. Thats ok though - it was great while it lasted.

Packed lunches

For the past week or so, Rhiannon has been asking for packed lunches rather than hot meals at school. Usually the mornings are quite chaotic in our house, so Rhodri and I almost always refuse to make packed lunches for her.

Well, the Little Miss has taken matters into her own hands!
I came downstairs yesterday and found she had relocated the stepstool so she could reach into the upper shelves of the refridgerator, thereby accessing the goods to put in her lunch! She proudly showed a full lunchbox which had a sandwich that was already cut in half with butter and cucumber inside, fruit, string cheese and a little treat.

So she has been continuing to do this and finally I eeked out of her that a special someone also has packed lunches and so he ("OB") has been sitting at the same table when Rhiannon has a packed lunch. I guess the hot lunch diners have to collect their food first and so aren't able to sit down until a few minutes after the packed lunch diner have sat down. So that's the excitement in our house - oh, AND Rhiannon has another wobbly tooth.

Extended birthday for Rhods

Rhodri was away for his birthday, so we weren't able to celebrate until he got back home on Thursday. But then Sioned & Lorenzo were coming to stay on Friday night so we saved some celebrating for when they arrived - we cooked dinner over the fire in the back garden and then went through a few bottles of wine amongst all of us, later enjoying the additional company of Emma and Rob (S&O's parents). Then we used the excuse to gather people and go to the pub on Saturday afternoon, and then another friend delivered a birthday cake and champers on Sunday! So he really milked it this year even though it wasn't a "big" one.
Saturday was the most photogenic, although it was all good fun.
Sioned, Lorenzo, Rhodri and the kids went geocaching in the forest nearby - here they are when they found the treasure (I had stayed at home to work a little bit):
I met them at the Red Lion pub down the road and several other families joined us! It was a gorgeous afternoon as you can see...
All the kids ran wild in the grounds, playing games and climbing trees and all sorts. There was a herd of about 9 or 10 of them at one point, ranging 3-8 years old. Here is a typical scene:
But then one of them found a stash of old furniture or something in the field behind the pub, and they busily carried all the dresser drawers, tables, chairs and random bit to some secret hiding place in the trees where they were then building something new. Hmm. We left them to it because they were very happy being so industrious and creative! But then the pub landlady saw what they were up to and they had to put all the pieces back where they found them.
It was great to just hang out with Sioned and Lorenzo. We love Sions' new hair cut!
Back at home, Sunday morning watching Star Wars (episode 5 - the Empire Strikes Back)
Good times! We love people visiting, going to the pub, running wild and then being cozy on the couches!

Weald Woodfair

Today I took the 4 kids (ours + Sophie & Oscar) to the Weald Woodfair
http://www.bentley.org.uk/#/woodfair/4525168793
which was about 25 minutes drive away from us at the Bentley Motor Museum. It was an unsettled day with intense heavy rain showers followed by partial brightening of the skies - perfect to get all suited up in our rain gear and head to this event! The troops all took turns learning archery skills...
Rhiannon was really good at it - the pirate-looking guy who had about 25 earrings in his right ear was well impressed with her skill.
We walked around for a couple of hours and then I finally caved in and said that we could all get ice creams and ride the miniature railway.
Then they played on the adventure playground and were all trying to out do each other in their sliding stunts and what-have-you. That's when Rhiannon's stunt went horribly wrong somehow and she got a big fat lip. I didn't actually see this happen but I was near enough to hear the cries and go help. It wasn't too bad of an injury - just a lot of blood at the time. Good excuse for all of us to do a trip to the bathroom and wash our hands and faces!
It was about this time that S&O's Mom called to ask when she could have her kids back and so we made our way to the exit. I tried to take a photo of all 4 together looking extremely scruffy and worn out, but Oscar ran away so I only managed to get 3 of them in the photo above! I like how Tryfan is pulling up his leggings, Rhiannon is holding a cloth to her mouth to stop the blood, and Sophie is looking laid back and cool. Good times!

Barrowful of fun

This looks like a classic summertime photo - eating ice lollies in the wheelbarrow on a warm (and cloudy by the looks of it) afternoon.

Lost tooth and hair visitors

Well, Rhiannon lost her first tooth this week. It had been wobbly for a couple of weeks and then finally fell out when she was at school yesterday. Yes, the Tooth Fairy did visit and apparently she left 1 pound in the same envelope that the tooth was put in. What a sly Fairy she is!

I don't know why Rhiannon drew the lines on her face in this photo but she did. It took quite a bit of scrubbing to get these off but a little scrubbing once in awhile doesn't hurt!

Speaking of scrubbing, we've also had an invasion of "hair visitors" (aka, lice) this week. This all happened while I was back in Santa Barbara by myself so I didn't get to participate in the treatment and attempted removal of these little fellows, but I'm sure Rhodri did a thorough job!

He is going away next week so I'm sure I will get some payback for all these treats I missed.

Article about love

I read this article from OdeWire, a website that I love checking in with because of its supply of positive news from around the world.
http://odewire.com/117588/benefits-of-adding-love-to-your-schools-curriculum.html

I love the concept of the Compliment Guys! How much better would the world be if every town had some guys on the corner handing out free compliments to each individual that visited them!

First day of school

Today was the first day back at school. I thought it was a little bit harsh to start on a Monday and have everyone go straight into a full week, but whaddayagonnadoo? Rhiannon was really excited and was begging for us to go to school a full 40 minutes before we would normally otherwise go, so we compromised a bit and did go early. We were the first ones on the playground. Tryfan went to the nursery school part of the school today and he was pretty excited to see his old friends again.
Ready for "Year 1" (aka 1st Grade in American lingo). She is in the same class as last year, as it is a shared Reception (aka Kindergarten in American)/ Year 1. Sophie and Rhiannon are the only girls in their year and now are the oldest, so they have plenty of bossing around opportunities coming up for them!
We are so lucky to get hand-me-down school uniforms from our friend Sarah, so all we had to buy was new shoes for Rhiannon this year. She chose a particular model which all the cool girls from the year ahead of her have: there is a secret compartment below the heel which opens from inside the shoe and has a little figure of a girl and another one of a tiger! Funny.

Today was also a special day because it would have been my parent's 41st anniversary. I was teary everytime I thought about this today. So that combined with the emotions that welled up when we were confronted with people at school asking how the summer was and all that made for a very wet day for me. Fortunately we live in a small place and word gets around pretty quick, so most people knew about Grandpa Carl's passing. But I did have conversations with both T & R's teachers to let them know and to ask them to be supportive and/or shielding when it came to the inevitable sharing of summer experiences.

Tomorrow I am flying back home to Santa Barbara to spend a week with my brothers and sisters and Mom. I'm really glad that my boss said I could take compassionate leave at this time, since we were technically on vacation when we came over in August. It will be strange to travel alone!