The Adventure Begins.......

On July 31, we drove to Harwich, on the eastern shore of England, and waited in line with a zillion other cars to board the huge, white boat you see on the horizon. The boat pulled away from England around 6 PM and we arrived in Esbjerg, Denmark the next afternoon around 1:00.
This was our room----with 2 sets of bunkbeds and our own little bathroom. It was an interesting ride on the boat. Our plan was to hang out in the room, maybe walk around the boat a bit, then get them to bed ASAP; then we would wake up early and play and really explore what the boat had to offer. This was a disaster plan! Luke was way too excited to go to bed any time soon, and Caleb had no intention of sleeping in a foreign place with all of us around. Needless to say, we have amended our plan for the return trip home.
The next morning, after I realized I was going to be on the verge of throw-up regardless of medication, or position on the boat----we all headed down stairs to drink Cokes and hang out with the clown. In this picture, Luke is up front about to enter a hool-a-hoop contest (which thankfully he ducked out of at the last minute). It's been a VERY rough start, but we feel fortunate and happy to be setting out on this adventure.

p.s. I've been without internet access for a month now, so I'm writing about this retrospectively. We're currently on the last leg of the trip so hopefully I'll catch up soon. I've got lots of pictures.

The Fort

It has been the rainiest summer in 60 years.....or something like that. All I know is that it is CONSTANTLY raining, and therefore we are constantly trying to come up with new and fun indoor activities. Chris had a brilliant idea to build a fort and it entertained Luke for a good 20 minutes. He moved all of his clothes and toys into the space you see above. Our only mistake was that we should have taken it down before bed. Instead, he was afraid of what was in the fort at 3 AM and that's when it had to be taken down. Live and learn....

The Gruffalo

We went to see a play on Saturday morning called "The Gruffalo's Child." It's adapted from a book by Julia Donaldson, England's most well-known children's author. We've probably read the book a million time in the past 2 years, but the play was a first time experience. It was WONDERFUL!
Luke was a bit scared at first when the lights went out, but after a minute of screaming and crying (along with most of the other kids in the theater), he remembered the gruffalo is a "nice character." Our budding thespian has been pretending to be the gruffalo ever since.
Caleb (and Chris too) did incredibly well during the performance and was all smiles (as ever) whenever he could get his eyes on Luke.

Celebrating seven years together....

We had a very nice night out together eating Thai food and drinking Mint Juleps. Mysteriously, ever since, we've both been very itchy. Maybe it was the strange combination of Kentucky Derby drinks with Southeast Asian cuisine??? (It's late and I'm tired so maybe the pun isn't working well here----I'm trying to make a joke of the 7 year itch!!) :)

Oxford with the Kennons

The Kennons, from First UMC in Charlottesville, came to England for a tour. They were in Oxford for about 3 hours and we got to walk around town showing them various sites and catch up with them at the same time. We also got to see Evelyn Jones, but she somehow evaded our camera. I doubt Luke remembered Harry, but he certainly took to him instantly. He wouldn't hold anyone's hand but Harry's.

Apparently, Gale and Harry's grandkids (yea, right---the grandkids) are big Harry Potter fans. Chris took them into Christ Church dining hall to see where some of the movie was filmed.
Luke and Caleb were wiped out from the excitement of having friends in town......it's hard to serve as tour guide, eh, Luke?

Saturday in Wales

This is a map showing Wales and England, divided by the Severn River. You can see where we were ("YOU ARE HERE") in Chepstow---just over the border into Wales.
This was a magnificent castle and in really good condition. We had a great time climbing up a muddy hill trying to get a good look inside since we were too cheap to pay to actually go in. Luke thought it was quite an adventure.
Probably one of my all time favorite shots. Here the boys are discussing the river below and what sorts of animals do and do not live inside it.

It's incredible to read about how old these towns are. Chepstow, according to this sign, was a big ship-building town.

Then we moved on to Tintern Abbey built in the medieval era. The town reminded me of something in Colorado---beautiful mountains surrounding it and lots of green, lush trees. It was gorgeous and we definitely hope to go back and spend more time.

We went for a nature walk, then sat down for a snack. We were lamenting how we never get any pictures of Chris and me together when we looked at Luke who is always eyeing the camera. We were amazed by the good luck he had with this first shot. (Subsequent shots unfortunately disproved our original thought that he is a child-photographing-genious.) :)

Friday the 13th

So I've never actually had a really terrible Friday, the 13th until this one. It all started at 3:56 AM when the alarm on the building with the laundry machines went off. It flashed and beeped at an incredibe volume for 15 minutes. By this point, Chris was so frustrated he had turned on the lamp and started reading. Eventually, we turned the lamp off, fell asleep for about 20 minutes and then Caleb was awake. Anyway, I'm not going to continue in this detail.......but by 10:45 in the morning, we had been to a play group and Caleb had spilled my freshly poured hot tea down his chest (which blistered up immediately) and Luke had gotten so freaked out he ran off. Luke was rescued by a nice lady who knew where to bring him because I was screaming his name as loudly as I've ever screamed anything. We eventually made it to the hospital with a calm Caleb (he'd screamed for the full 45 minutes between being burned and arriving at the hospital) and a very upset Luke. Luke was quickly calmed down by the fun toys in the waiting room at the hospital, I was told Caleb wouldn't be scarred for life, and things started looking up. It was at this moment I realized it was Friday, the 13th. Once we got home from the hospital, we ate lunch and we all took naps. The picture above is of Caleb in his bandage. He'll have it removed on Monday at the doctor's office. Thankfully he seems to be feeling totally fine. When I think back over this day, what strikes me most is that it was total strangers who made this very bad morning not turn into the worst day of my life. I am so grateful.

"Last play" with the Twists

There's a term we have invented around our house: "last play." It's the final warning before bed to let Luke know he has just a few more minutes to play. As we headed down to the Twists' house on Monday, the 9th, I was trying to explain to Luke that our friends were moving and we wouldn't get to see them for a long time. Now, almost a week later, he still expects to see Carter around every corner, but we refer to this day as the "last play day."
Mason and Caleb hanging out so relaxed while their brothers ran all over the park.

Snack time and a little singing and dancing too. Someone actually asked me right after I took this picture if all 4 boys were mine (2 sets of twins!!!).

These guys were so happy swinging.....

After the park, Jan (Erik's mom) took us all to lunch and we said our good-byes. The Twists were our first and among our very best friends in Oxford. It certainly will not be the same without them around.

Bye-bye BBQ

We hosted a BBQ on Sunday afternoon and it was incredibly and miraculously sunny! It was a great event with Macedonian liquor, English beer, LOTS of meat, and lots of kids running around. Here are Catherine, Allison, and Mason.
Kendra, Kaye, and Zac.

And here's Michael (the Aussie on the barbie) teaching Vicente and Luke various techniques for cooking out. He didn't get too many tips out, however, because Luke was continuously saying, "I LOVE sausage!"

On the beach in Bournemouth

We were all giddy when we saw the beach because it had actual white sand and lots of people, AND it's only an hour and 45 minutes from us. It may be hard to tell in the picture, but at this point pretty much everyone had on sweatshirts.

But after we ate some lunch, it warmed up.....We actually saw the sun for the first time in probably a week! Luke made several trips to and from the water. He LOVED running into the ocean and then turning around and running out before he got too wet.

Meanwhile, Caleb slept peacefully in the stroller.

Once Luke was pretty well worn out and shaking from the frigid water, we showered him off and dressed him in dry clothes. He was asleep in the stroller in a matter of minutes and Chris, Caleb, and I hung out drinking Pimms in a relaxed pub. Another truly wonderful Saturday!

Bouncy Castles and Strawberries

We went to Rectory Farm today where you can pick strawberries and/or raspberries, you can buy homemade wooden furniture or buy all sorts of fresh meats and cheeses. It's a really neat place for the kids to learn about where food comes from and then to bounce themselves into an oblivion.

Although picking strawberries and raspberries was lots of fun, this was definitely the highlight. Carter, Ella, and Luke played for a solid hour on this thing. It was a wonderful morning and we have some gorgeous fruit to show for it.