Hosting the Honeymooners--Sudeley Castle

We have been lucky enough to host Uncle Craig and Aunt Karen for the past week for their Honeymoon Part II. Unlike their Bermuda Honeymoon Part I, this was not a week of sunshine, pina coladas and romantic dinners. Instead, they've been lucky enough to experience castles, mud, rain and dance parties. Who could ask for anything more? ( :

The girls were anxiously awaiting their arrival (how cute are they in the window?) and got to work giving them the tour and then showing them around not one, but two, Cheltenham parks. It was hard to keep Uncle Craig awake but they did it! Aunt Karen and Uncle Craig both agreed that the parks were scarier here...I wish I had video to post of Uncle Craig nearly crying on a little spinning thing! ( :

The next day it was off to Sudeley Castle, which is very close by our house in the village of Winchcombe. We had never actually been to visit before and we got a beautiful day full of sunshine.We had lunch outside in the cafe and explored the castle grounds, complete with a Pheasantry, playground and St. Mary's Church, containing the marble tomb of Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII.

How's that for a picture?

Peek-a-boo!

King of the Castle?

Aww...

Gotta have the sheep in the picture!

The best seat in town!

She's not falling for it...

Daddy's Girl (and the cows)

Why aren't they answering me?

I love this one!

Family picture!

I like the flag in this one

I want to sit in that boat and read with the castle in the background. Aaahhh...

We decided to keep the fun day going by getting a babysitter for the girls and heading out for dinner and drinks. We had a great dinner at the Tivoli (Karen really recommends the risotto) and then drinks at the Jolly Brewmaster. We were all sad when the bar closed at 11:30 (why??) but it was probably a good thing since the next morning would bring an early morning train to London for a very long day of sightseeing.

We missed you Emily!

Hanging with the locals

Brothers

Waiting for the cab home...

The newlyweds are used to having their picture taken!

What a fun night!

Day Out at the Cotswold Wildlife Park

To celebrate the beginning of the summer break, we piled into an American minivan with our friends Ali, Teddy and Ben and their Mommy and headed to Cotswold Wildlife Park. It rained on and off throughout the day but we had tons of fun checking out the animals, playing on the playground and riding the train. Definitely the prettiest zoo we've ever been to! We even got to see penguins! The girls were very impressive on the playground...both of them are getting so big and brave!

Lyla loved this big thing....and even learned to scoot off the bottom of the slide super fast so she wouldn't get hit by the big kids coming down!

Monkey see, monkey do!

Check out that balance! Tumble Tots paid off!

Whoa!

All aboard!!

Proud to be An American (in England)

This year we celebrated the 4th of July in the same ways as usual...with hot dogs, beer, bbqs...and Brits?  A little bit strange to be celebrating America's independence from Britain in Britain but we like to keep things interesting around here. Riley did not have off for the big event but we did notice a few American Independence Day sales around town on American products. Needless to say, we had a fun time (even without the fireworks!) hosting a BBQ on the 4th and attending a bigger BBQ thrown through Wayne's work later on in the week. It rained both days but the girls still got in the partying spirit, complete with face paint, dancing and ice cream. The girls broke out their red, white and blue and best smiles just for the occasion!

Lyla and Chloe tearing up the dance floor

Riley wanted a British flag on one cheek and an American flag on the other but had to settle for an American flag and a star. ( :

We had fun hosting friends at our house!

Paris!

I was lucky enough to spend a Girls Weekend in Paris in mid-June with three lovely American ladies. We took the train to London and then took the Eurostar through the Chunnel to Paris in 2 hours. Amazing! The train was quick and easy and I can't wait to do the trip again with Wayne and the girls sometime soon!

I had visited Paris once before with 2 other lovely Americans while studying abroad in Ireland but found this trip to be very different....last time we stayed in a hostel with our giant backpacks in the middle of a 3 week excursion through Europe! This time we had giant suitcases filled with way too much luggage and three days to simply walk around and enjoy the city...which has its own very special appeal after travelling with kids!

We visited lots of pretty places, ate many a croissant, got pictures of the Eiffel Tower from every angle, enjoyed a few Kir Royales, indulged in fondue and did some shopping. Of course, no trip would be complete without a few hiccups, including a run in with crazy foreign soccer fans, a lost taxi driver and a metro con man.  Good thing we had one semi-fluent French speaker (aka Colleen), one city-savvy New Yorker (that's me), one persistent little lady (you go Lori!) and one frequent traveler with a great sense of direction (yay Neda!) Don't tell Wayne but it's about time to plan the next girls weekend. ( :

Enjoy some of our favorite pics!

Outside of Notre Dame

Macaroons!

Musee d'Orsay

Lollipops!

Locks all across the bridge with lover's names

Hot cocoa and croissants

Our flat had one bedroom and a loft. That's Colleen's foot hanging over the edge. ( :

Ready for a night out!

Such relaxed, happy smiles! Maybe it was the wine? 

We thought the cheese fondue was the first course...but that's all they would give us. Wine and endless cheese...

Why was the wine in baby bottles? I have no idea...

Beautiful!!

Picnicking by the Eiffel Tower

Cheers to a great trip with wonderful friends! Au revoir Paris....for now!