Destination: Kew Gardens!

Grandma Bucky has been nagging me for years now to go visit Kew Gardens at the end of May.
Finally, with the extra motivation provided by Nia and her kids, we decided to go make a day of it. Today was a public holiday, and not the warmest day ever but it was perfect for visiting the fabulous Kew Gardens.

In front of the famous Rhododendrons

We took the train from East Grinstead, changed at Clapham Junction to get to Richmond, then changed again to the overground Tube to get to Kew Gardens. Phew! It was fine on our outbound journey, but then when we attempted to get home things took a turn for the worse.
It wasn't that bad, it was just that the trains from Richmond to Clapham Junction stopped running so we had to go back to Kew Gardens and then continue on the Tube all the way into central London to Victoria station, then wait for a train to take us straight to East Grinstead. Sounds worse than it was, actually, because our detour to Victoria meant we could stock up on special treats to eat and drink on the train! Plus this way we didn't need to change trains at all since East Grinstead is the end of the line. A great day

Summer evening picnic

Sometimes the air and the light in our back garden is so special, especially in the summer evenings such as the one we had tonight.

In this case, we seized the moment and took our dinner outside to the picnic blanket so we could soak it all up.

Giant's Chair

We gave the cousins a tour of our local woods and they were really happy to be able to run around and play. Here they are sitting on the Giant's Chair.

Start of the half term holiday

Today was the last day of school for a week. Rhodri hosted a football game as usual for any school kids that wanted to play from 4:30-5:30, and then other parents trickled in with stuff to BBQ and drinks to share.

The evening went on until about 9;30 pm, and it was really fun to gather as friends and neighbors in our local green. The only bummer was that I didn't feel all that well and so wasn't really in a partying state. But it was still fun. Tomorrow Nia is coming with Gabs and Valentin to spend a few days with us. Woohoo!

A near perfect Saturday

Today nothing was planned and everything turned out wonderful.
Emma and I went grocery shopping in East Grinstead during the morning, then later this afternoon we went to the Red Lion where they were serving free prosecco to celebrate a year of being open.
Tryfan and Oscar played Lego for hours while Rhiannon and Sophie went walking with Emma and her Mum.

Then we came home and watched Eurovision 2016 altogether. Fabulous!

Little detour

At short notice this week I went to France for work. It was nice to be out in the wide world.
The 2nd night, I was kindly invited out to dinner with a couple of colleagues. We went to this really cool jazz bar/ Moroccan restaurant. There were fascinating pieces of art and furnishings around the place and we had quite a funny and lively evening.

Two of my colleagues: Pierre and Mostefa

 It was a useful trip and I got to meet some people that I've been working with for a long time but never had been able to meet in person until now. That sort of thing always makes for happy times. The only bummer was that my train going back to London had some sort of problem with it and so was nearly an hour delayed. But we made it in the end and I got home this evening.

More on the green

We are so happy to have the totally usable and friendly "Jubilee Green" across the road from us to go play at whenever we want. Today our friend Bruno had his football - themed birthday party there after school and it was super.

There are picnic tables in the corner of the green, and the playing field is behind with the Jubilee Woods behind again.

Water + trampoline

...+ neighbor we haven't seen for awhile = really fun on a hot day!

Ok, it wasn't Hot, but it was warm enough to bust out the hose. 

The troops jumped and hosed each other while I mowed the lawn. Perfect recipe for a Sunday!

Lemon tart

Tryfan was flicking through the weekend newspapers and found this recipe for lemon tart that he wanted to make, so we gave it a go! The recipe called for a 5 lemons and a lot of zesting and squeezing, but we were up for the challenge!

It turned out a little TOO tart, so next time we might lay off the extra lemon, but it was still tasty. 

Preparing for big school

Now is the time that we have to start looking at options for secondary schools for Rhiannon, since she will need to submit her 1-2-3 choices in October 2016 for starting Year 7 in Sept 2017. Yikes! The nearest secondary school which about 50% of her primary school end up going to offered morning glimpses into normal school days this week, so we 3 arranged to go today to have a look.

The 4 students who took our group of 3 families around did a great job of answering questions and presenting the school. We liked what we saw, and at the moment this would be Rhiannon's first choice.

Boys are back in town

All the rugby boys came back tonight, exhausted from their weekend of playing rugby and staying in a place they normally would not choose to stay.

After hearing all the stories about the weekend, I was really glad that Rhiannon and I didn't have to go!

Bluebell bliss

Today was a gorgeous Sunday and we celebrated the new month by going for a bluebell walk in the wood between Danehill and Cumnor House schools. This particular path is the same one that both Rhiannon and Tryfan's classes walk each week to go up for a swimming session at the other school. As we were approaching the really amazing section, Rhiannon had me close my eyes and she led me to the spot with the best view. Of course, the photos don't do it justice!

This is truly the best time of year and it was such a treat to be out in the perfumed woods with my favorite girl and favorite dog!

Weekends apart - Fri + Sat

This was a long holiday weekend for us, and Rhodri + Tryfs were at a rugby tournament all weekend over in Great Yarmouth (a long way away from us). That meant that Rhiannon and I got to have a lovely stretch of days just to ourselves! First we watched a couple of episodes of our new favorite TV show (on Netflix) called Heartland. Then when it was already past 10pm, we decided spontaneously to sleep on the trampoline.
 We did sleep in the end, and we didn't get rained on, and it was lovely to be out in the fresh air (it got down to 3 C/ 36 F)! We woke up at 6:15 am and went inside for a couple more hours of sleep, which has got to be one of the nicest things in the world. Then we had breakfast and, as it was the most gorgeous day ever, decided to rent a double kayak and paddle around Ardingly reservoir. So great to be out on the water with my girl enjoying the day!

 We did feel a little bullied by the sailing school and also the rowing club because we weren't entirely sure where we were supposed to go or not go. But in the end, nobody got hurt and it was a really enjoyable hour on the water. We celebrated by going to the "Cosy Cafe" in Ardingly and each having an egg and sausage bap, which we waited quite awhile for but was very tasty in the end.

 We went back home and quickly regrouped so we could make it to Rhiannon's riding lesson at 2pm. This week she was riding Gemini.

Then back at home, we did some useful things around the house and had dinner while watching more episodes of Heartland! Our friend and neighbor Jane came over and we watched 2 girly movies: Wild Child and Pitch Perfect. It was such a fabulous and special day - one of my favorites in a long time.

More rugby

Today was the last rugby tournament of the season and it was down in Worthing, about an hour away.
We made a day of it and piled into "Lil Jimmy" the green car and headed out first thing in the morning.  It was pretty chilly and a bit rainy when we first got there, but fortunately it warmed up a little bit and the sun came out.

 There was a team from Wales that had journeyed here to participate today, and I wish I could have caught on camera the expressions on the boys' faces when Rhodri and Tryfan came over to talk to them in Welsh! The boys were so surprised and happy to meet some Welsh-speaking English residents. It was especially important since the host club had done a less than impressive job of making this team feel welcome.

So the whole thing finished up around 1:30pm and we headed for home but stopped on the way for a swift pint and some crisps at the Spotty Cow pub. Good times.
In the late afternoon we had the weekly Skype call with California and enjoyed each others company for the rest of the day.

It was really great to hang out with Egan and we are stoked that he was able to swoop in for the weekend during his business travels.

Special guest appearance

...from the Gans side of the family this weekend: Egan!
Rhiannon and I picked him up at Haywards Heath station on Saturday morning and we all went grocery shopping together, then home for lunch. Rhodri and Tryfan were at a football/ soccer match in Tonbridge today so we didn't see them til the end of the day.

We did have a bit of a sad story today. I had seen this yummy looking cheesecake in a magazine and thought I could attempt it in celebration of Egan's visit (and also his birthday just a few days ago).

So we bought rhubarb and pomegranates and the rest of the ingredients and I spent a good part of the afternoon following the recipe. I even called Grandma Bucky for some advice in deciphering the wording of the recipe! And just when I had everything done, looking perfect and gorgeous, I started carrying it to the other fridge and tragedy struck: the latch on the tin caught on my pocket and the whole thing went SPLAT on the floor. Fortunately, I had swept the floor fairly recently so all the big chunks of debris were gone but it was a Very Sad Situation indeed.  In the end we scooped everything back into the tin and ate it for dessert anyway. And it was pretty good but it would have tasted better if it hadn't gone splat. Oh well!

Go for Gold

Tryfan's class performed their play today, called "Go for Gold", which was about the Olympics and the ancient Greeks. He played a couple of different characters, and he did a good job. But he had memorized everyone's lines for the entire play, so he was mouthing the words for each character. 

Rhiannon's class performed nearly the same thing a couple of years ago, so it was a little weird for those of us parents who have older kids too. But anyway, they had a good time. At least we didn't spend a lot on Tryfan's costume! He wore a pillow case and a sash from the dress I wore to Will and Rebecca's wedding.

Rugby, bouncing, sunshine..

... does it get any better than this? Its been a pretty great weekend with Auntie Sions here.
Today we all went to see Tryfan play rugby at Haywards Heath. Bentley came too, and it was a gorgeous day with fantastic clouds and sunshine. Hurray for springtime!

Happy running after Tryfan scored a try

Tryfan's team got 2nd place and here they are collecting medals

Sions had to leave in the late afternoon which was sad, but we are grateful for any visits from her. 

Concert in the city

Auntie Sions came to visit this weekend and we kicked it off by going together to see the fabulous Australian ska band called The Cat Empire. Woohoo! I worked in London Victoria today and then met Rhodri and Sions near the venue in Hammersmith straight after work. 

It was a late night but at least it was a Friday night so we have the whole weekend to recover!

Definitely a good purchase

We are so glad to have a trampoline! Happy days! It is a perfect location too - just behind the first clump of trees and flowers, visible from the house but not tainting the relatively tidy expanse of lawn in the first part of the back garden.

The kids (especially Rhiannon) have been out there jumping every chance they get.

A new addition to the household

After all the begging and pleading, songwriting and rule creating, we finally bought a 12 ft trampoline!! Woohoo! While Tryfan and Rhodri were at rugby this morning, Rhiannon and I set it up...

It was pretty straightforward and painless to set up, and soon enough we were happily bouncing!