Out and About

I feel like since we moved to England (which was only two months ago) we have had so many opportunities to be outside and explore. I have really enjoyed this because it has not been typical for our family but of course there is so much to see and do outside here that even we can't resist. I really like getting us all outdoors. We seem to get along better and are generally happier when we are outdoors.  Of course we have been enjoying the most spectacular weather for the past two months as well so that has been helpful too.
At the beginning of October, we went up to Buckinghamshire to visit some friends of ours who just bought a house there. Above is the view from their house.

Their house is the Old Rectory behind this very old little church in a quaint, little hamlet. We love visiting them and seem to go now almost every Sunday.

On this particular visit, we all took to the fields for a walk, as is customary. We also picked apples and collected conkers.

This visit was also a farewell party for some friends of ours moving back to the States (Goodbye Weylands!). Here we all are posing again in the field during our walk.

This is in the cemetery on the grounds of the old church. Our friends said that their neighbors who were out that day have not talked to them since. I hope we didn't offend them with our disrespectful picture-taking. 

This one is a bit random but here is Alexandra in her adorable dress given to her by Auntie Susi! (Thanks Susi!) I put her hair in pigtails for the first time. Pretty adorable!

On this particular day, we ventured over to the neighboring village (Wheathampstead) where the girls go to school and explored the park there. It is gorgeous with a little stream and lots of wooded areas. You can even stop in at the local pub for a nice snack or meal afterward.The girls were amazingly good at posing for pictures that day.

We love this park. It is a favorite after school destination.

The view of the park from Abby and Sammy's perspective

Here is another random photo that has nothing to do with the outdoors, but I just have to throw it in here. I thought this homework of Sammy's was so cute. Sammy was asked to write a few sentences about herself and she did it "by herself." I love it when kids are first learning to spell.  I will translate in case you can't tell what she wrote.
"I'm Samantha Marie Farnsworth. I like pepperoni pizza. My favorite color is all the colors in the world except black, I don't mind. My favorite thing to do is going to Birthday parties. I have 2 sisters named Abby and Alex." (I am not sure what the last three words say.) 
That's all. More of our outdoor adventure over half term will be in my next post.