A Weekend in Wales

We enjoyed a long weekend exploring Wales.  Here is a map of the U.K. which includes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.  We live west of London, near Bath and Bristol.  We crossed over a bridge into Cardiff and drove west to the next peninsula.  We stayed on the coast in a very small village called Llangennith.

Driving to Wales, we noticed that all of the road signs were in both English and Welsh.  Welsh is a very interesting language.  There were so many letters in their words, and some words with no vowels. 

 

We drove through the country on these lovely narrow roads where you have to stop and get as close to the shrubs as possible when a car comes the opposite direction.

Occasionally, we would drive through a little village with an Inn and a corner pub like this one.

It was gorgeous out in the country.       We finally spotted the coast!

For our first day at the beach, we rented a surfboard, boogie board and wetsuits for the kids from the little surf shop right across the street.  The water was COLD!  Most other people there were in full wetsuits.  We had a great day playing in the sand and water.

Of course there's room for the surfboard, babe.

This is where we parked, and then we had to walk over and through the sand dunes to reach the beach.

VIDEO: A look around the beach.

Playing in the sand and rocks

  

The waves were big!  Lots of surfers were out.

Nap time for Cora

Cora's first time at the beach!

We stayed in a bed and breakfast, which is about all you can find out in the country.  We enjoy getting a real feel for these unique places.  All 3 nights, the pub was the place to be with live music, dancing and lots of cheer! 

The King's Head pub and restaurant on the right and the building on the very left is where we stayed.

Amelia had her wellies on, ready for our walk around the village.

The King's Head

VIDEO: A glimpse at the live music and atmosphere.  It was the place to be all weekend!

VIDEO: Live entertainment

VIDEO: Amelia dancing with Daddy

Day 2 at the beach:

The tide was WAY out!  This is a view from the edge of the water.

Dylan tried surfing a few times, but the water was just too chilly.

Running up and down the sand dunes

On top of the sand dunes on our way back to the car...it was a GREAT workout!

We were blessed to have a beautiful weekend in Wales.  The rain did come on Monday, but we spent the day at an indoor waterpark.  It was fabulous!  Another great exploration weekend with my 4 favorite people!



A Little Different Summer Here

Summer time here was quite different than our summers in South Carolina.  We used to swim every day and hang out with friends all the time.  The only swimming pools here are indoors.  The weather was usually sunny with temperatures in the 70's.  Of course, it is always in Celsius here, so I like to check my iphone to tell me in Fahrenheit.  We stayed busy at home and got out to the parks as often as possible.  Here are some things that kept us busy during those few weeks before school got started.

Breakfast time letter practice and ABC puzzles

I cut tortillas into letters for their snack.  They loved them!

Amelia seriously cracks us up with the way she dresses up and ties things up.

Our big 4 year old!                          We celebrated at Build a Bear

 

This is how we send birthday wishes to our family in the U.S.

Dylan loves to write lists of his cars, line them up, race them and do his 200 piece puzzle!

Piano lessons for Cora

Amelia "caught" a butterfly (who was no longer moving).  I let her paint my face too.

 

We took lots of walks.  This is an old part of our neighborhood.

Amelia probably picked over 100 flowers this summer.

We had vases with dandelions on the kitchen table almost every day.

Cora just smiled no matter what we did!

Dressed up as Jessie and Woody dancing to the Lion King soundtrack

 

Enjoying some playdates with friends

Fun with the hose. 

Dylan drew these flags of various countries.  He learned them by watching the Olympics and checking the medal counts on my iphone.  He remembered what the flags looked like!  Amazing memory!

 

We enjoyed our last day of summer at the park (with a little ice cream)!