Trip to England - First Three Days - Air Travel, Gloucestershire and Wales

We just returned last week from a two week trip to England, Sophia's first international trip!  She had lots of family members to meet for the first time and so it was nice for her to finally meet everyone that she has heard all about.  Jeremy and I were really nervous about taking a high energy toddler on a plane for 10+ hours, but Sophia did exceptionally well and made friends with all of the flight attendants and the passengers seated near us.  The flight out there was a red-eye, so she managed to sleep for about 7 hours (albeit fast asleep on me, so I didn't get much sleep).  When we arrived at Heathrow, we picked up our rental car and then drove to Gloucestershire.   Our family friends, Debbie and Andrew, have a farm near Gloucester and we stayed with them for a few days, which was lovely. Sophia was absolutely thrilled that there was a big open lawn for her to run around on, plus, there are chickens (absolutely fascinating for a 14 month old)!

The first day was mostly spent on car travel and trying to recover from the flight, but by day two, we were ready to get outside and enjoy the nice weather.  We drove to Sudeley Castle, in nearby Winchcombe.  This castle and gardens are in wonderful condition and is the home of Lord and Lady Ashcombe. Sophia loved running around on the grass and seeing all of the flowers.  There was also a pheasantry, complete with owls, pheasants and a peacock (hidden in the tree and making all kinds of noise).  The next day, we drove a little further, to Chepstow Castle in Wales, which is more of a ruin, but fun to explore.  We then carried to Tintern Abbey and then to the Forest of Dean for a walk.  For those of you who are Harry Potter fans, the Forest of Dean is where Hermione takes Ron and Harry in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".

Sophia asleep on the plane

Sophia and Jeremy playing outside on the lawn at Debbie and Andrew's house

Sophia enjoying some time outside at Sudeley Castle

View of the castle and grounds at Sudeley

Chepstow Castle

"Oooh, lichen!"

And more grass to run on!

Tintern Abbey

Walking in the Forest of Dean

More photos to come soon :)

Greer!

Two weekends ago, we left Sophia with her bestamama and grandma for the first time (!) and drove to Greer to help our friend Alicia celebrate her birthday.  Greer is about a four hour drive northeast of the Phoenix area, almost to New Mexico.  The weather there this time of year was beautiful - sunny and in the 70s during the day.  We stayed in an adorable log cabin with a great porch (perfect for shooting archery off), cooked our own food, did lots of hiking, played board games, and just had some great relaxation time.  We wished we could have stayed longer and tried some fishing, but had to get back home to relieve the grandmothers :)  Thanks for planning the trip Alicia!  We had a blast!

Our cute little cabin

View from the cabin

Heading out on our first hike

We really lucked out with the weather!

These were the strangest silk worm nests

Justine, Alicia, Napali and I

Justine trying out Jeremy's "very necessary" slingshot purchase...

We met this little horned lizard on our hike - he was pretty docile!

Alicia, Max and Napali

Jeremy and I

Justine and Napali (Justine's boyfriend Andrew couldn't make it up to Greer until the next day)

Very sleepy Napali!

Trying out some archery

Bullseye!!

Luckily for the deer, we were shooting in the opposite direction :)

Visiting the Children's Museum of Phoenix

This past weekend, we met up with our friends (Charlie & Rachel with their daughter Clara and Kyle & Leah with their daughter Peyton) to visit the Children's Museum of Phoenix.  The museum is more of an exploratorium and has lots to appeal to children from a year to about ten years.  All three little girls had a blast, though I'm sure it was a bit of a sensory overload!  We spent the most time in the area designed for children 3 and under, which is a little less crowded.  Sophia loved climbing up and down the stairs, as well as the little slide.  There is an area where children can do artwork (we didn't do any this time), a room full of "forts" complete with giant sheets, a little shop, a kitchen area and a giant noodle "forest" (a little too scary for Sophia).  Overall, it was a big hit and I'm sure we'll be back (not much else to do in the summer in Phoenix!)

Sophia trying out a lightbox puzzle 

Rachel, Clara and Sophia exploring the flowers

Clara, Peyton and Sophia

Sophia loved exploring!

Look closely!  That's Charlie :)

Some of the unique wall art

This was a big hit - you put little discs at the top and watch them drop to the bottom, kind of like Plinko on the Price is Right

Jeremy, Sophia and I

Rachel, Clara and Charlie

Leah, Peyton and Kyle

Exhausted!

The Pink Bathing Suit

For her first birthday, Sophia was given a new bathing suit from our friend Suzanne.  Last week, since my mum's pool finally got warm enough, it was time to try it out.  Sophia was absolutely fascinated with the fact that her new swimsuit had tulle, and she kept trying to figure it out.  The pool was also a bit hit, but she hasn't quite grasped the concept that the pool isn't a giant bathtub and she won't float if she walks off the steps.  Here's to the start of an Arizona summer and lots more opportunities to go swimming!