Monday 20 February 2012

Half Term a.k.a. Winter Break

The kids had "half-term" this past week so no school.  It was nice to take the mornings at a slower pace, stay in our p.j.'s for a while and hang out around the house.  The weather was in the upper 40's, but we managed to get outside each day for at least a little playtime.  On Monday, I was feeling like I had good energy.  The sun had been shining all morning.  I thought we should go for a walk to the small grocery shop in our neighborhood.  Of course it started to sprinkle rain as soon as we got ready, but we went anyway.  Amelia was in our new "pushchair" (stroller), and I put the rain cover on her.  Dylan rode his scooter and never once complained about the light rain.  On our way, we saw this "real race car" which was so exciting for Dylan.  In this picture, the store is straight ahead at the end of that street.  It was less than a 10 minute walk.  That will be convenient when we just need a few last minute things. 

Our walk to the local Costcutter store.   Dylan loved seeing the race car on our way.

As I described in my last post, we stayed busy making valentines and cookies last week as well.  We also went to a few parks for some fresh air.  Here are the kids enjoying the parks...
They love spinning each other around!

Yep, it's a trampoline with concrete around the edges.  Safety first!

Seesaws are always fun!

We spent time playing in our backyard too.  They love the playhouse!  Dylan and I decorated some of the stones with chalk.  Amelia watched for a while and finally joined in the fun.

Chalk designs in the backyard

On Thursday, I decided to venture to Bath, our nearest big city.  Eric told me about a huge park there.  When I plugged it into the GPS, it said 18 minutes.  We packed our lunches...literally the kids packed their lunch boxes on their own.  They actually did a good job choosing mostly healthy foods.  It ended up taking us about 45 minutes to get to the park.  Once we exited the "motorway" (highway), we sat in stop and go traffic until we reached the park.  Torture!  The kids were very good and patient, but they were anxious to arrive at the park.  Well, we were not the only ones with the same idea.  The park was very crowded with everyone off school.  There were NO parking places around, which is pretty common here.  We ended up parking quite a distance away.  Pushing the kids in the double stroller was more torture for me!  Dylan walked quite a bit for me, but my little princess is not much of a walker.  We ended up spending 2 wonderful hours at this park...

Amelia on the dolphin and Dylan behind in the castle

They rode the double decker bus on the carousel

The ice cream truck showed up.  Suddenly they were not too cold. :)

This park had at least 8 different play structure areas, most of which were on sand.  They even had ziplines.

It is a great park if I did not have to battle traffic to get here.  I was wiped out that evening, and even wondered if I would go into labor from all of the walking all day.  Luckily, baby stayed cozy. 

On Friday, we had a playdate with a friend from Dylan's class.  His mother is American.  She has lived in England for over 10 years now.  It was so nice to have some adult conversation.  We talked about all of the things that we miss about the states.  We went to an indoor play place, which they call "soft play".  It was a fun afternoon, and I am so happy to have a friend here!

Soft Play

They loved the huge slide!

I am full-term now.  I was 37 weeks on Thursday!  I am feeling very tired these days.  We are getting excited for my parents to arrive and for this little one to make his/her appearance!  And I will say I am excited for the kids to be back in school this week.  :)

37 Weeks

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