Happy Halloween!

We celebrated Halloween onboard the Splendour of the Seas with Riley and Lyla dressing up as the Snow Sisters from Frozen! Doesn't Riley make a gorgeous Elsa and Lyla make an adorable Anna? We had a wonderful time trick or treating on the ship but are excited to be back in the US next Halloween for our first real trick-or-treating experience since 2010, when Lyla couldn't even walk! Happy Halloween!

Great Grandpa, Aunt Julie and Madeline Visit!

We were lucky enough to host some very special visitors this July--Great Grandpa, Aunt Julie and Madeline came to visit! First we met them in London, where we spent the weekend and they spent a bit longer, and then they came to visit us in Cheltenham!

We decided to visit Stratford-Upon-Avon while they were here, which we hadn't been to before. We had fun visiting Shakespeare's Birthplace, Nash's House, Hall's Croft and Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried. We also visited Bourton on the Water, one of our favorite Cotswold villages, where we did some shopping and enjoyed a delicious lunch!

What a fun trip! We can't wait to spend time with Grandpa, Aunt Julie and Madeline again during our trip to NY in just a few weeks!

Riley, the literary genius!

Cousins!

Grandpa, Aunt Julie and Riley take a lunch break

Hungry girls

It was hot enough for air conditioning!

We found some hands on learning opportunities for the girls

She found a key!

Lyla learning about Shakespeare

Visiting Shakespeare's grave

Ready for a day out in Bourton on the Water

Kindergarten--A Year in Review!

Lyla started Kindergarten here in Cheltenham back in September and has been loving every minute of it! Kindergarten here is the year after nursery and is not the same thing as Kindergarten in the US, although the curriculum is a bit more intense than preschool in the US.

Here are some highlights!

Lyla has been able to try lots of fun new things at school!

Here is Lyla during a visit from the dental hygienist and painting with her feet at school!

Lyla got to try on lots of glasses during a visit from the optician!

With her friend Lola on a field trip to the Cotswold Wildlife Park

Lola, Max and Lyla check out the giraffes!

Lyla has been able to dress up for lots of special occasions with her friends!

Lyla in her pajamas for Gruffalo day at school!

She's become quite the artist!

A person that resembles a sun ( :

Lyla's lion

Lyla started ballet lessons and had a wonderful recital!

Practicing at home in her ballet outfit

At her recital

Pretty ballerina

She's become quite the literature lover!

Lyla saw her favorite author, Julia Donaldson, at the Literature Festival!

Both girls enjoyed their session on the Petticoat Pirates

Forest School

Lyla went to Forest School with her class every week. They got to play outside ad explore nature in a forest behind the school.

One of the best parts was rolling down the hill! As you can see here, the school provides waterproofs and wellies for bad weather!

Lyla's class at Fun in the Forest Day!

Learning to Write and Sound out Words

Super good work!

Lyla has loved performing with her class!

May Half Term in the Lake District!

For May half term, the girls had a week off from school and we decided to explore the Lake District, a gorgeous mountainous region in Northern England famous for its lakes, forests and fells. We stayed at Croftside cottage, a beautiful cottage with lovely owners that I highly recommend. It was located close to Keswick, which was great for shopping and eating out, but was in the tiny village of Applewaite, with gorgeous walks right from the front door. The property even had a playground for the kids and the apartment had books and toys for them to play with!

That pretty cottage is where we stayed.

The fields outside the cottage

While we were there, we found time to do a Go Ape Junior Adventure course in Grizedale Forest Park, which was a giant obstacle course high in the trees.

My two little apes

Brave little Lyla

Riley ziplining

Riley way up in the trees

We also found time to visit Castlerigg Stone Circle, an English Heritage site from about 3000 BC! It was set in an absolutely gorgeous location and we had a great time taking pictures, playing among the stones and imagining what used to take place here so long ago!

Lyla and her dog

Lounging on ancient stones

Much cooler than Stonehenge because you can climb on the rocks!

And stand on them

Daddy, Mommy and Lyla's puppy

Cheese!

Pausing for a rest

Pretty background, isn't it?

I think Lyla was walking like an Eyptian

A game of hide and go seek

An opportunity to learn something new

One fun day was spent at Mirehouse in Keswick, exploring the Woodland Playgrounds and walking around Bassenthwaite Lake.

Exploring in a stream

Pretty girls posing with the lake

Family selfie with the lake

We also did some beautiful walks right from our cottage, hiking up Skiddaw and exploring the fells around it. We really enjoyed checking out all of the animals right around the cottage--cows, sheep and even Lyla's very own Peter Rabbit!

An evening walk down the road in front of our cottage

Lyla took her dog along for the walk

We saw Peter all over on our walks. I think he was following us!

Mommy and the girls on a longer hike up Skiddaw

Gorgeous girls, gorgeous views!

Wow!

Lyla had her cell phone and was making an important call

Love these views...can you spot our cottage down there?

Daddy and Riley

Daddy and his girls

I love this one!

Speaking of Peter, the beauty of the Lake District inspired Beatrix Potter's stories, which we loved learning about during our visit to the World of Peter Rabbit in Bowness-on-Windermere. We enjoyed walking around the town, which was adorable and filled with things to do, but we were glad to return back to our cottage and away from the tourists and traffic!

The World of Beatrix Potter

A little light reading

A fox!

Lyla loves Peter!

On the drive back, the views were so pretty that we decided to stop and walk along a public footpath with some sheep.

Quick! Grab your wellies!

Why did the sheep cross the bridge?

Posing along the "path"

Yes...we followed the sheep!

Our trip to the Lake District was the perfect combination of exploring and relaxing, adventures and quiet reading (Riley finished seven books while we were there!), quiet meals in the cottage and lovely pub lunches. I hope that we find time before we head back to the US for a return visit to Croftside Cottage, even if it's only for a wonderful weekend away from it all!