Our First Visitors!

What a whirlwind week it has been! Uncle Timmy and Emily came to visit and we learned that having visitors is wonderful but saying good-bye stinks! ) : We have had beautiful weather here and took full advantage of it this past weekend. On Saturday, we visited Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean. Puzzlewood is basically a big maze of paths in the woods with a very magical, Pixie-Hollowish vibe. It is said that Puzzlewood was Tolkien's inspiration in creating Middle-earth for the Lord of the Rings. Some even say it is the inspiration for the Forbidden Forest in the Harry Potter books. The area was apparently a super old natural underground cave system formed in limestone that was later exposed through erosion and mined for iron. The paths were built there in the early 1800s by a local landowner and are still intact but covered in moss...we especially loved how the trees were growing around the bridges. Pictures didn't come out great...hard to capture it all...but we'll share a few.

The girls' favorite part of the trip was pony rides! They were adorable in their "gear". While there, Lyla came face to face with another GIANT pig (named Lulu) and conquered her fear. Phew!

We took Uncle Timmy and Emily downtown on Saturday evening to check out our 'hood...they were quite impressed! On Sunday we headed to Cardiff Castle in Wales (only about 90 mins away) for the Great British Cheese Festival. It POURED during the drive there but cleared up and turned out to be a gorgeous day! We ate lots of cheese, tried lots of wines, beers and ciders and even got to tour the castle. Daddy, Timmy, Emily and Lyla climbed to the top of the keep (pictured below) but Riley and I only made it about half way...the crowds and very steep steps scared us away! Very pretty though!

We got to tour the rest of the castle too...we especially enjoyed the weird monkey themed library. We somehow joined a group of French tourists and learned from their tour guide that the library was some kind of anti-Darwinian statement. Either way, Aunt Fran would have loved the monkey paraphernalia! Lyla loved the tour so much that she snuck under the ropes into a restricted area but was caught by Daddy before security noticed. Thank goodness!

Our camera battery died during the day but not before I got these cute pics of the girls playing with matchbox cars with the castle in the background.  Only in England!

Riley keeps on insisting on giving the peace sign in photos...which apparently means very bad things in England. Oops! Tomorrow she performs in her school's Harvest Festival...let's hope she saves the peace signs for another day! She has been practicing her poem and it is hysterical to hear her accent. She is still loving school and went on a field trip to her Teacher Assistant's farm today. She had a great time but was pretty sad to have cow poop on her wellies. It isn't easy being a diva! We now have all of our belongings and are working hard to set up the house and unpack our stuff. Stay tuned for more updates!

Making Friends!

We've been hard at work in the Schmidt house (tehe) making new friends--American expats & Brits alike! Riley probably gets the award for being best at this... she is still loving school and even got an award for her fantastic start during Assembly.

Riley has been working very hard....we are so proud of her! She is officially reading lots of books and doing addition and subtraction during Minute Math. She's also taking French, Art, Music, Tennis, Swimming, PE and dance class. No wonder she's tired! She's been making friends while she goes, going to a swimming birthday party last weekend and already planning for the next one two weeks from now! She has her first spelling test today and has been continuing to wow us with her British accent! Yesterday she asked me what "sensibly" meant and, when I explained, asked why we have to act sensibly in the car door! I was confused for awhile until I realized she meant corridor! She is too darn cute! The only problem with school so far is that she eats the same thing for lunch every day--a Jacket Potato! They have a very elaborate lunch menu but she always seem to end up with this....Daddy's trying to talk her into trying some new things. She is also learning to eat British style--you have to use a knife and fork and hold the fork upside down. We haven't quite figured it out yet! It's getting colder here and she was very excited to model her Winter Uniform for everyone. Love the tie!

Lyla is doing pretty well herself at making friends--she's been taking on Cheltenham with her BFF, our American neighbor, Chloe. They have been going to Toddler Playgroup on Tuesdays and Lyla loves it! She is doing a good job interacting with the other kids and especially likes biscuit (cookie) time! ( : Last week, she got to paint a picture but she didn't really like to get her hands dirty. Regardless, it came out beautiful!

All ready for "school"!

Lyla and Chloe have been playing lots and getting along really well (most of the time!) Lyla has finally stopped calling her baby (she's older than Lyla) and now says "Oey, Oey, Oey!" Aren't they cute?

We visited a nearby park for a special train event with Chloe's family and the kids (and dads!) had fun riding the trains.

Lyla also went to Cotswold Farm Park with Chloe and an American boy called Ben (here they ask what you are called instead of what your name is. It's very confusing...the first time someone asked Riley what she was called at the park, she replied, "American!"). It was Ben's 2nd birthday and the kids had fun seeing the animals, riding the tractors and eating lunch and doughnuts! Lyla was petrified of a giant pig so we didn't get many pictures with animals, but here she is with her friends.

We've also had playdates with some other American toddlers (lots of boys!) and a British family that Wayne met through work. There's no shortage of playmates but Lyla can only talk about Chloe (she wakes up calling, "OOeeey!") She's really looking forward to Chloe's birthday party next weekend and more cake!

Mommy & Daddy are doing good too and are very excited to learn that we are getting our Household Goods (translation= all of our boxes & furniture) next week! There's lots of decorating to be done! Daddy has also tried out two new "sports" this week--Skittles & Snooker. Mommy thinks one is like duckpin bowling and one is like pool, but you'll have to ask Daddy for more details. Mommy is starting up a book club with some new friends (she misses her Anneslie "Book" Club) and is trying a new game called Bunco with some other Americans. Exciting! She has also been doing some shopping! Today she visited Gloucester with a friend and found some fun home accessories & last week she visited a mall in Bristol with another friend. We even got to see Wales on the way back after a wrong turn! We have learned that shopping is fun even when the exchange rate is terrible! Lyla has tolerated all of this shopping, as long as she is rewarded with  snacks. ( :

We have a busy weekend planned--a Happy Hour/Dinner at the pub with some other families & then Uncle Timmy & Emily are coming to visit tonight! We are very excited to show them around and are going to try to visit Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean & the GB Wine & Cheese Festival. Stay tuned for pics and updates!

Back to School!

We've been settling into our new home and wanted to share some updates and photos. Our car arrived in the UK last Thursday and we have been driving all around since then! We drove about 90 minutes to the nearest base on Friday, which was a gorgeous drive! The girls were supposed to nap but couldn't because they were too busy pointing out the many cows, sheep, horses and beautiful "tree tunnels". It's absolutely gorgeous how the trees here form shady tunnels over the roads! It was a beautiful roadtrip and Daddy did a great job driving on the "other" (not wrong!) side of the road! We went to a Back to School Disco Party at the pub by our house on Friday night and had a wonderful time introducing Daddy to some friends Mommy, Riley & Lyla met through our sponsors. Everyone had lots of fun...what a great kickoff for the weekend!

On Saturday, we decided to head over to Stroud for a beautiful Farmer's Market. It was great to get to see more of the countryside of the ride over and pick up fresh fruit, veggies, meat and eggs! Riley was very confused because the Farmer's Market wasn't under the highway (like in Baltimore) but instead in the city streets with a great view of the hills behind the city.

We got some bright purple cauliflower and are trying to make purple soup tonight--wish us luck!

Riley went to Isabella's birthday party on Sunday at a pottery place. She made a beautiful decopatch cat and learned alot about British birthday parties! At children's parties here, guests sing Happy Birthday but don't eat cake. Instead, the cake is sent home in the goody bag. Needless to say, Riley was pretty disappointed! Presents are also never opened during the party. While Riley wasn't convinced about these customs, the party was still a huge success!

Scarlett, Isabella and Riley

Daddy had a day off from work for Labor Day and we made the most of the long weekend by visiting a wonderful Pick Your Own farm! The girls picked strawberries, raspberries and blackberries and ate their way through the farm!

And now...the moment we've all been waiting for! ( : Yesterday was Riley's first day of school. She woke up at 5 am because she was too excited to sleep. Dropping her off was hard and she looked a little scared but when Mommy and Lyla picked her up, she didn't want to leave! Upon closer inspection, her dress was all misbuttoned, a result of a quick change after gym class. ( : Riley "loves" her teacher and her classmates...she has 11 kids in her class with only 3 girls! Riley really likes a girl named Lily and said everyone was very nice. They have a very extravagant lunch menu and we reviewed it and discussed what Riley would like (sausage balls or vegetable pasta) but she said she had a "biscuity thing with something inside that was disgusting" (I think she picked the salmon quiche). She said she tried it but ate her vegetables and brownie. Mrs. Phillips told Mommy that Riley had a great day and was "very switched on". I looked this up and it means alert and intelligent. Ha! Hopefully Urban Dictionary is correct! I've been doing lots of looking up words lately. Apparently they were talking about school and Riley shared with the class that the most important thing is to never give up. The teacher thought she was too cute! Riley "had a go" at writing in her journal and her teacher said she was very tidy and organized. Today at drop off, Lyla and I barely got a wave good-bye. I think Riley was just happy to be there after the mile and a half walk!

While Riley was at school, Mommy and Lyla went to our first toddler group session. Lyla was a little overwhelmed and tired but enjoyed it. I have learned that she is a "minx", which means a cheeky or mischievous little girl. She was able to play with lots of toys and other kids, make a little shapes craft (we had to remind her that glue sticks are not the same as sunscreen sticks!), eat a snack (biscuit & squash= cookie & juice), and sing some songs! There are lots of new songs here and lots of the ones we know are a little bit different. It was very fun and we can't wait to go back next Tuesday! We may try another toddler group tomorrow at a church near our house.

Lyla's Masterpiece

Hope everything is going well back home! Can't wait to hear about everyone's Labor Day weekends and first days of school!

Good-Bye Cottage, Hello House!

Sorry for the delay in posting! We don't have official internet until Sept. 5th but we have a pay by the day option until then...definitely a relief but internet speeds are very slow! We were able to borrow some American DVDs from another American family to watch on the laptop, which is helping since we're without tv. We moved out of the cottage on Friday, which turned out to be a relief. While it was adorable, the spiders were really starting to "creep" us out and, as many of you read on facebook, we had a bat in the house on Wed night! Luckily, Wayne got it out on his second attempt and we didn't see our flying friend again but I couldn't help but wonder after everyone's scary advice! Plus, I was scared to open the windows! Here is a picture of one of our spiders.

Pretty big, right?

Despite the creatures, Lyla was getting pretty comfy.

Yes, she's on the kitchen floor!

We moved into our new house on Friday and absolutely love it! I won't put up many pictures of the inside yet because we have loaner furniture that does it no justice. ( : But here are a few teasers... the outside of our house, our kitchen and our conservatory.

Still in her pjs but she wanted to be in this one!

We're not sure when our stuff will be here but we can't wait! 3 of our crates are apparently on a ship over here now and 10 are back in the port of Baltimore. Hopefully Hurricane Irene doesn't delay them any more! We're thinking realistically we're looking at late September. Ugh! I am dreading unpacking though as I'm sure we brought way too much stuff, especially clothing! The good news is that our car is here and Wayne is picking it up on Thursday! Hooray!

We've been very busy since we moved in, taking long walks to the grocery store, High Street and the playground. We also took a double decker bus downtown one day, which the girls absolutely loved. The weather has been beautiful so far...a few drizzles but they disappear after 30 minutes. The day we took the bus we set off in rain gear but the rain was gone by the time we got downtown (a 10 minute drive).

Our new house  is in a private neighborhood called Redgrove Park with a long road to get out of the neighborhood. Riley thinks it's through the forest.

Lyla likes to wear her sunglasses upside down! ( :

Nearby are some great parks, including a Humpty Dumpty themed one that the girls loved! They have lots of very cool see saws and merry go rounds and Riley made a few new friends.

We're also walking distance from the grocery store, library and doctor's office (about a mile and a half) and a smaller market, newstand and family-friendly pub with garden (about three-quarters of a mile). Yesterday we walked over 6 miles total and Riley woke up today complaining about how much her right thigh hurt. Even Lyla was wiped out!

But we did manage to open a British bank account and visit a beautiful garden downtown.

We spotted a duck!

With our sponsor family on vacation, we've learned to be rather self sufficient but were very grateful when another American family in our neighborhood offered us a ride to the grocery store last night! Wayne rode with the husband, Chris, while Riley, Lyla and I went to their house to visit with Colleen (the same name as our sponsor!) and her kids Owen (6), Charlie (4), and Chloe (22 months). Riley had a great time jumping on their trampoline while Lyla enjoyed their toys (she's really missing her toys here!) and "befriending" Chloe. Overall, she did pretty well minus a few mishaps (stealing Chloe's cup and calling her baby all night). Lyla and Mommy are excited to have a friend who will be home while Riley's in school and especially so close by! Mommy enjoyed checking out their house (it's almost identical to ours but looks great furnished!) We stayed for dinner and both girls were exhausted by the time we got home!

Daddy headed back to work today and we are walking back to Riley's school to purchase Riley's uniforms. She asked if she can model them "right away" when we get home. ( : Can't wait until school starts on September 6th!