Punting on the Cam

We were privileged to get a visit from Grandma Lori this summer. The girls had no idea she was coming. It was a big surprise. Charles picked her up from the airport, snuck her into the house and hid her behind the curtain. The girls came downstairs knowing they had a surprise from Daddy waiting for them. He had told them they could not jump on "it" or they may break "it." The girls were racking their brains, wondering what it could be. Some guesses were: bad mitten set or archery set. They never thought it would be their beloved grandma! They came down and saw a big lump behind the curtain and tore it back and found grandma. They were thrilled! We got to spend almost two whole weeks with her all to ourselves. The girls didn't have to share her with anyone. We took her up to Cambridge one day (which is about an hour's drive from our house) and went punting on the Cam. Grandma Lori had no idea what punting was but didn't even ask, just happily went along wondering what in the world she would be doing....

I gave Sammy my camera since I was holding Sadie as we punted down the river. It was fun to see what an 8 year old deemed "photo worthy." I have pictures of all kinds of strangers punting down the river, interesting angles of buildings and bridges and many trees, specifically weeping willow trees. Sammy seems to like these trees a lot since she remembers we had one in our backyard in Naperville, Illinois. She remembers swinging from the branches like Tarzan. Unfortunately, I could not download all of her "tree" pictures because they are all high definition photos and take forever to download so you will not get to see them all.

Here is a picture of our punting guide. He was very knowledgeable.



Here is King's College and Grandma's hand and phone taking a picture. Sammy also seemed to take pictures of whatever Grandma was taking pictures of.



Interesting building with fellow punters and my changing mat in the picture...



Good one of the bridge if only the stroller and my darn changing mat wasn't down there in the corner again...

Nice building with fellow Asian punters and again, the stroller and changing mat.

I believe that is the Bridge of Sighs and my stroller and changing mat again! It really is a cool changing mat. (Its the spotty thing you glimpse in every photo. I bought it to be a minimalist and not have to carry a diaper bag everywhere. I am very pleased with my purchase, as is Sammy apparently.)  

Great shot of Alex. Alex was thrilled to be on the boat.

Here is Sadie and Alex shot over my shoulder by Sammy. Very cute! Girl in the background is fellow punter who happened to be sharing our boat.  

Weeping Willow Tree! Believe me, there are plenty of these pictures, this is the only one I downloaded...

Very good shot of this lovely ivy covered building. Well done Sammy! It was a lovely memorable day!

Surprise Daytrip to Paris

Charles' brother, Andy came over to visit us. Charles surprised him and Abby and Sammy with a daytrip to Paris. Abby and Sammy have been reading the book "The Cows Are Going to Paris" for years and dreaming about Paris. They have been to Paris many times as babies or toddlers but they don't remember it. Well, finally they were able to go to Paris and remember and appreciate it and it was all a surprise! The first thing I asked them upon their return was if they saw any fancy dressed cows in Paris? Sadly, they did not...Abby was so excited to go that she woke up almost hourly the night before. I was not able to go with them because baby Sadie did not have her passport yet. It came the day they were there though....

Abby had her ipod to take pictures so I gave Sammy our little camera to take all the pictures she wanted.

Sidewalk café in Paris

View from the Eiffel Tower

Sammy took thousands of pictures from the top of the Eiffel tower. Charles said as they walked down the steps, she would stop every third step and take a picture. I couldn't possibly download them all but here are a few...

Riding the Eurostar home and absolutely shattered from a great day!

Lavender Farm

 

Today we went to a lavender farm. I have known about this farm for two years and have not been able to make it during flowering season until this year. It was gorgeous! I think a visit will be on the agenda every summer. Beautiful colours, lovely smells, great weather, delicious treats - could not have been a better day. Pictures do not do it justice. Lavender as far as you can see. The smell was so heavenly! The girls decided they wanted to live very near by so they could smell it all the time... 

Here is Sammy and Alex a bit too far away to even see in this picture. Upon arrival, we were given two large brown bags to fill with as much lavender as we wanted. The girls loved picking and smelling the lavender.

Our friend Annie came with us.

Sammy filling her bag.



Sammy looks like she is holding a baby doll. Sadie was not very happy with the sun in her eyes and all the wind.

There was also a sunflower field with flowers that were as tall or taller than the girls. Alex was crying at one point because she was lost in the middle and couldn't see to get out.

This is looking from maybe a quarter of the way up the field of sunflowers...there were loads of them!

See how Abby's head comes just barely above all the sunflowers?

The girls each got to pick a giant sunflower to take home. Here is Sammy very happy with the one she chose. I must say, Alex's didn't survive the trip home too well with her shaking it constantly and using it as a giant flower walking stick while pretending to be an old lady... 

What a perfect day! After frolicking in the lavender and sunflower fields we went to the farm café and gift shop for ice cream and cake as well as a sniff of all the products that they produce from the fields. It was heavenly!

Passport Photos

Last week we had to register Sadie at the U.S. Embassy for birth abroad in order to get her passport and social security number etc. Charles took her passport photo at home and came up with this. I couldn't believe how cute they were. In fact, every embassy employee who saw her photos had to comment on them. 

This is another one we took but didn't use.