Psalm 145

 "I will exalt you, my God and King, 

and praise your name forever and ever." Psalm 145:1

photo:  six years ago at The National Aviary in Pittsburgh

Choo Choo by Petr Horacek

I nostalgically checked this book out of the library and read it to my kids.  It was one we read with David when he was an itty bitty guy.  I really enjoyed reading it again although I think my kids were a bit baffled.  If you've got a train loving little boy I highly recommend it!  Now I'm researching trains that take you to the beach . . . you'll  see when you read the book.  Doesn't that sound like fun?  

After spending a long weekend at the beach this past weekend I think I've got spring/summer fever!

What are some of the things you're most looking forward to about spring/summer?

Kelly

Snow and Sheep

Almost a year ago Adrian and I began planning and dreaming about a trip to Europe this spring.  My father-in-law is on sabbatical over here and they invited us to visit as well as having some other invitations from friends and family so here we are!  

We flew out of Denver on Friday afternoon, March 16th after my sweet dad drove us to the airport.  Packing for this trip has been an exercise in getting closer to our ideal.  

Last time we were in Florence we had to pay a good amount of money to put bags into the "bag hold" at the train station and because the cost was so high we were still hauling quite a bit on our backs, trying to "tuck" bags that were too big for "tucking" under the table at the restaurant, etc.  We knew that we would eventually like to travel with only one backpack per person to allow for more comfort/flexibility in travel in a lot of ways.  

Our first time to really do this was a trip to San Francisco mid-February.  One backpack per person . . . but that trip was only about 36 hours.  This trip is 32 days!  I am pretty pleased about making it into only five backpacks this time!  

We flew to London's Heathrow and I asked Adrian if we couldn't take a steamer next time.  The flight really was fine but it is just so hard to try to sleep on a plane and you know you are supposed to be sleeping and getting hit with jet lag.  

When we arrived we ate lunch and hired a car.  We drove to Hampton Court Palace which once belonged to Henry VIII among other notable people where we met Adrian's Aunt Helen and cousin Leo.  It was so wonderful to see them again and it was very interesting to tour the palace.  

of course you sit on the floor of a centuries old palace to check your maps - I was impressed with the displays and how well done everything was.  I would recommend it if you're in the area.  

We enjoyed tea before heading to Swindon, England for the night.  

We ended the day at a restaurant that we really like called Nando's.  Chicken, veggies, French fries . . . excuse me, chips . . . etc.  It is our second time to have gone there on a first day in England.  It is a nice little tradition and it feels comfortable to know what you are getting there.  

We stayed the night at a Double Tree in Swindon that was really clean and nice.  Unfortunately Cora, Adrian and I were all up for nearly three hours in the middle of the night but surely jet lag will get better!  

We got up this morning and had a very nice breakfast complete with baked beans, sausages, fried tomatoes and white grapefruit.  Then we drove from Swindon to Wales in the snow and crossed over this magnificent bridge!  

During the afternoon we trudged through the snow a mile and a half or so to the grocery store.  It was a really fun walk.  I enjoyed seeing the signs in both Welsh and English for each aisle at the grocery.  

As we walked along we passed a field of grazing sheep.  

I can tell I didn't sleep all that well last night.  Jet lag is hard.  

Not an awesome photo but I wanted to document and remember that Cora and David really enjoyed working in their travel journals on the drive.  Thank you for the stickers Aunt Helen!  

to be continued . . . 

Kelly

May recap

Well bummer!  These pictures loaded all out of order.  With so many I am not going to try to rearrange them.  

Here is a little bit of what we were up to in May after school let out!

Our family of four + Nana and Ducca went to California to visit my grandma, aunt, uncle and cousins and to go to Disneyland.  My dad worked there once upon a time and it is a special place to our family!  

During our California visit, Nana and Ducca agreed to keep the kids for a day so that Adrian and I could have a date day in L.A.  We had such a good time being together and eating all the things.

  

We rode the train in and so we walked quite a bit and also uber ride shared around the city.

It as fun to explore different neighborhoods and areas.  

We revisited a favorite taco shop, Guisados, that we had discovered on a previous trip.  It did not disappoint!

We enjoyed Little Corona Beach for the first time!  

Earlier in the month we enjoyed a lovely morning at a friend's house.  I tried out a new technique as I hope to grow our ability to be active transportation participants.  We drove part of the way, parked about a ten minute walk away from our friends' house and nature walked the rest.  It was really nice and we even found a gorgeous - already hatched out of - robin's egg on the sidewalk!  I truly thought it was Easter candy at first!  Such a vibrant color! 

I am enjoying so much learning more about God's creation through nature!  

Over Mother's Day weekend we made a trip down to New Mexico to visit Adrian's great grandma, aunt, uncle and cousins.  We had such a good visit with all of them!!  We had such a good time that I managed not to take any people pictures but I did snap some pics of our dinner spot on the way down.

We had a couple of places in mind that were closed for various reasons that day/time so we ended up at Pat's Place and I really, really enjoyed it! 

These two cuties at "the train park" in Santa Fe.  Adrian remembers visiting this park as a child and we had a good time there with our kids!

We have determined that we really enjoy driving small roads whenever possible while traveling.  It is just so much more enjoyable for us than interstate, more to see, slower pace, less traffic, more chill . . . 

On the way home from New Mexico we got a GREAT back road perk!  We were just driving along when we came across real cowboys doing a cattle round up of a few mamas and babies who'd gotten loose.  It was so exciting to watch them with their lassos!

Also in May, Cora began riding on a regular seat on our four seater bike and pedaling!!!  

She and David are on a tandem trailbehind bike so they have to coordinate and work together to pedal at the same pace.  We are super proud of how they have worked on communicating and working together on this!  

Cora pretending to sleep on Nana's lap on the plane ride to California.  

 Salt and Straw ice cream on our L.A. date day

curiously exploring and taking in all of the wonders of God's creation we got to see in L.A. as we enjoyed long walks and talking

another shot from Guisado's

walking into Disneyland

spying our first character on Main Street 

swinging in Tarzan's treehouse!

Looking through photo albums at Grandmother's house I found baby pictures of myself that I don't remember ever seeing before!  That was really special, especially now that I am a mom.  

 on the way home from California we had a layover in Salt Lake City and we got to see cousins and Uncle Edmund and Aunt Ceci and they brought us tacos!!!

on May 31st we celebrated both of my parents' birthdays (May 30th and June 1st) with a family trip to the snowcone stand!

oops, this one's sideways, family fun at home

one of the last true naptimes . . . 

We bought new chopsticks and there were PINK ones in the package!

mud play in the backyard!  David has dug a very impressive hole!  We even called the utility company out to mark gaslines and such so we could make sure it was safe!  

a few more pics from Little Corona Beach in California

second cousin bonding

Roasting marshmallows with Gammy on her new firepit on the back patio!

We are so thankful to have our grandmas, the kids' great-grandmas!  We got to visit my other grandma, Sweetie in June!

Kelly