Natural History Museum

Lucy and Henry filled the reward jar so we headed off to the Natural History museum, as promised.

Dinosaurs are endlessly fascinating, and so are the scads of stuffed dead animals they have on display.

 The butterfly pavillion was a highlight, as was the rose garden, where we stopped and had a couple Oreos that I had squirreled away in my purse.

Operation Overboard! VBS 2012

Our church did another amazing week of VBS this year. I taught science all week again, and the kids were in their own ocean themed classes. Lucy was in the "whales" group, and Henry was appropriately in the "shrimps" group. Jet lag was not our friend on the first day, as Henry collapsed under a chair and slept for three hours as other 3 year olds danced, snacked, and crafted around his exhausted body. 

By Friday though, they were back to normal! 

Final Welsh thoughts. . . .

Well our laundry is done.
Most of the British treats have been eaten (except for the lime pickle. . .that has to be treated with respect.)
But we keep on thinking about our trip and have a couple more pictures to post. . . so here are our final Welsh thoughts.
 Cawsom amser gwych! Ni allwn aros i ddod yn ôl!

London

I love London. 

I just love this city. 

It's the perfect mix of all my favorite things: 

it's kinda artsy 

it's kinda shoppy

it's kinda olympic-y

it's kinda foodie 

it's kinda historical

it's kinda pubby

it's kinda walkable 

it's kinda festive 

Terry and Sharon took the kids for the night and Simon and I had a great couple of days beating the streets on foot (and Tube) just like we used to when we were in London together. 

Spent some time at the V & A

Spent some time at Harrods

Spent some time in the rain

Ran into Simon's childhood friend Ben Blake

Olympic countdown clock at Trafalgar Square

Full English Breakfast at the Breakfast Club

Checked out the Olympic rings at Tower Bridge

We had an amazing couple of days. . . all thanks to Terry and Sharon! 

THANK YOU! 

THANK YOU! 

THANK YOU!!! 

What a terrific memory!

Hunt Family Reunion!

Family reunions in the United States generally mean lots of bodies in one house, lots of food, lots of drinks, and lots of cousins running around squealing. As it turns out, they are exactly the same in the UK. 

Simon's Aunt Sue and Uncle Doug, cousins Toff and Kelly with their son Joe, and Jane and Justin with little Ben came over for the day. It rained most of the day, but brightened up for a bit and we all scampered outside to catch what dry moments we could. 

The cousins loved each other immediately, and it was amazing to see family traits and similarities in them all. That  Hunt DNA is powerful stuff.

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 . . . .