Castle Coch

Castle Coch is a beautiful restored Castle in built in 1240 and remodeled in 1870. Simon and I visited it years ago, but this time we got to go with Lucy and Henry, and of course, Papa Wales. Lucy brought her new "Brave" doll along for the ride. It was the perfect "Castle" experience because it's not very fussy and very hands on.  We had a wonderful time!

"Clover" a new stuffed animal from the gift shop- Henry got a bow and arrow set that we accidentally left behind. We were disappointed, although I was having a hard time imagining it fitting in the suitcase. This will give Terry and Sharon time to practice their archery skills until we come back.

We had a little snack in the tea room- tea and Welsh cakes. 

Ahhhhhhhh . . . .

UK

We backed our bags carefully and got on an airplane or two. . . we very nearly missed our connection in Washington D.C. 

The kids were troopers. 

They kept calm and carried on.

And finally we arrived in Cardiff, Wales! 

Simon's parents were there to greet us with treats and food and cozy beds. . . and raincoats.

We just had WAY TOO MUCH FUN to contain in one blog post, so forgive me if I report on this one for a couple of days.  Our first adventure was taking the train to Cardiff Castle, via Pizza Express. The kids wore their new raincoats that their Nana Wales got for them before they arrived. They were a welcome addition, (especially considering we didn't get our bags for a couple of days.) 

Nana and Papa Wales just thought of everything!

These kids are ready for an adventure on Millbrook Park!

Trainspotting with Simon and Lucy

The California Girls and the castle that they love!

Nana was the perfect tour guide. . . and our tour had to be quite short. 

Henry fell asleep in the restaurant- jet lag is a mysterious ailment.

We decided to cut the afternoon short. 

I Gotta Crow!

As a gift for my mom's birthday, Lucy and I decided to take her to see Cathy Rigby in Peter Pan.
This is the original musical with the singing, dancing, crowing, and "real" flying. My parents took me to see in in San Francisco when I was about 6 when Sandy Duncan was in it and I loved it. The soundtrack was a part of my youth and I can remember driving around in various cars singing "Uga wa! Uga wa! Uga wa! Uga wa! WAAAAAAA!" and if you haven't seen the show, you may think I have just fallen asleep on the keyboard, but those are actually the lyrics.

And can I just say Cathy Rigby is, like, SIXTY years old? Not that that's OLD, but it is amazing to see her getting whipped around on the cables and flying. . .she was terrific. Watch some here! I mean, they are seriously flinging that woman like a boomerang up there and she looks awesome!

Lucy was absolutely transfixed. She sat motionless on my lap during the whole show. She clapped her hands like crazy when Tinkerbell was dying. And when the house lights came up and the show was over, she BURST into years. She wailed, "Make it start again! Make it start again!" She has been either Wendy, Tinkerbelle, or some hodgepodge of the Lost Boys ever since. This girl has theater in her blood! Now where on EARTH would that come from???

Happy Birthday Mom! Thanks for exposing me to so much pixie dust in my childhood. You are magic!

Father's Day Special!

I love my father! 

And the kids love THEIR father! 

And I love their father too! 

All this love and all these fathers deserve a special afternoon! 

The morning was spent at church listening to my dad preach one of his dynomite sermons. Then we hit naps and after everyone was completely rested, we took a bike ride in Newport Beach.

What a wonderful afternoon! We love you Simon! I love you, dad!

Bethany Ladybug Graduation

So ALL YEAR we have been agonizing about this decision. 

Do we put Lucy in KINDERGARTEN (and have her be the youngest in her class?)

 Or put her in a pre-Kinder class and giver her and extra year of physical/social development before entering Kindergarten? 

We talked, tested, interviewed.

 We sought advice of experts, friends, bartenders. 

And finally we pulled the trigger: Another year of preschool. 

 So it's done. There. But I'm still not very peaceful about it. 

She's pretty advanced academically- I fear she will be bored. 

And yet, she still refuses to put her own shoes and takes a long nap every afternoon. 

I think this extra year will give her the edge on world domination, which is all we can hope for, right? 

Here she is on the last day of school. 

 That is, until her next last day of school.

 *sob!*

Special teacher Mrs. Nakoud

Lucy's favorite: Mrs. Metri

 

Special friends Chloe and Madison

 Special last day feast. . . happy meals

And even Henry got to participate!

Disneyland June 2012

Did I mention that my WONDERFUL, AMAZING parents took our kiddos when we were in Seattle? Well, they did.

 And the kids had an absolute BALL.

 But we missed them to bits and as soon as we got back after the hugs and pressies we took those little kiddos to Disneyland.

Simon bought Henry a pirate's sword at Disneyland and to say that he was THRILLED would be a ridiculous understatement. 

He LOVES this thing!

Seattle

Simon and I celebrated our 7th anniversary in beautiful Seattle, Washington. 

We love it up there. 

We had a wonderful car-free weekend.

We walked around and saw the sights and ate scrumptious food with delicious people!

The Market

Gum Alley

Pioneer Square

My friend Ruth had a bbq while we were there so we got to spend time with dear friends Brian, Allison, Mark, Laura, Ruth and her bf Brian. Wild salmon and wild banter was the main course.

Fun night!