Vancouver

Hello! Hope that this finds you all well! We hear that you have been enjoying unusually warm and sunny weather and hope that you have enjoyed it! We on the other hand feel that winter has set in! It is chilly, damp and dark as our clocks also turned back an hour last night!

However we have not let the weather spoil our fun and we have returned today from a wonderful weekend away altogether! Tim had friday off and we all went to Vancouver for the weekend! It was great! We didn't see all that much of Vancouver and only really got a flavour for it but we all enjoyed ourselves! Understandably our days were spent doing child friendly things so we didn't get to see the museum of Anthropology for example! Sorry!

We had a good journey to the border on friday and were soon allowed in! The immigration lady was a very friendly and helpful lady who understood that Naomi and Esther wanted to see what she was doing and allowed Naomi to sit on the work bench! She also gave the children a flag - a paper one for Esther and a badge for Naomi! The children were delighted!

We then went into a place called White Rock for lunch and found a fish and chip restaurant for lunch! White Rock was so like sea side towns out of season at home it reminded us of either Skegness or Clacton! It was so funny! We really felt at home! The fish and chip shop was made for us too as they had Nemo on for the children and gave them stamps on their hands! Esther was mesmirised by Nemo (it was as if she had never seen it before!!) and sat there entranced all through the meal! She ate a lot as I kept on feeding her bits! She is not used to watching things outside of our house I think!

It didn't take us too long to get to the hotel after lunch and we were soon checked in! The rooms were great for us as they both had little kitchenettes and plenty of space! We were in adjoining rooms and were able to set the phones up so that we could hear into our bedroom and yet were able to sit in Mum and Dad's room in the evening which was great! Once we had checked in we went for a wet walk and splash in the puddles! Naomi got to use her umbrella again! She was happy!

After this we went into the local large supermarket and it was great! We could get things like Tetley tea and oxo cubes and best of all proper chocolate!! We were very happy! We bought things for the weekend and to take home!

Unfortunately Esther didn't sleep very well that night and she woke up early! We were all weary yesterday as a result! However we went to Granville Island (part of Vancouver itself) and had a great morning there. There was a model train and ship museum that had models of large and small trains and a huge model railway track! We couldn't have found a better place for our children who spent ages watching the trains running around! Naomi could have spent all day there without moaning I am sure!

We then went into a place that had an indoor soft play centre which looked great fun but we were unable to enjoy it as the small place for Esther was shut for a party and it wasn't fair for Naomi to go on the big one without Esther having some where to go too. However there was a slide that the children could play on for free and so they spent a happy 15 minutes playing on that! After this it was time for lunch and then home via Stanley Park and a look at the Totem poles!

We all had a rest back at the hotel and then Tim, Dad and Esther went to the park whilst I took Naomi swimming! She loves swimming but was a little unsure at first as she is only used to swimming in the lakes and was not used to being out of her depth. However her love of splashing and swimming soon meant that she and I were able to enjoy being in the pool and playing ring a ring of roses in the water! she was very brave and really enjoyed the time we spent in there!

Esther had had fun too and when they came back it was time for the children's tea! After they had gone to bed we read for a bit and then we were able to sleep in Mum and Dad's room whilst they kindly slept with the girls! This was lovely and Tim and I had a great sleep last night!
Today we went to the Science Centre which was fun! We listened to a talk on Cold things which the girls enjoyed - the dry ice was fascinating! We also went into the Reptile room and the girls were able to touch a snake! They both loved this except when the snake's head got close to them! One of the snakes licked Esther and she was not too keen!

We set off for home after lunch and had a wet journey! We took a scenic route home and drove along a road that is on the border between Canada and America. It was odd to see houses and therefore neighbours being separated by an international boundary and yet were over the road from each other! Try looking out of your window and imagining that your neighbours need a passport to come and visit and you will see what I mean!

It was rather embarrassing crossing the border because I made everyone get out and go into the immigration office when we didn't need to! The man took one look at us and said "have a nice day" and handed back our passports! I felt very silly! But we were afraid that if we didn't stop then we might be chased by men with guns!

We had a wet journey home but the children were very good! They were tired and went to sleep quickly this evening which was good!

So that was our fun weekend! We've had a great time and enjoyed going away as a family! It is nice to see something of Canada and to have a couple of days away.

Tomorrow we are going to the Farm with some friends and hope that it is not too wet! We are then meeting Tim at work for the children to show off their costumes! It should be fun!
That's all for now!

Bainbridge Island!

Hello! Hope that you are all well! I have heard that it has been very wet with you this week! We have so far had very nice weather since Sunday but it is scheduled to finish tomorrow! It was so warm and sunny today we were quite spoilt!

We have had a very busy but fun few days! On Monday Mum and Dad came with the girls and I to watch their gym class! They enjoyed watching first Naomi then Esther do their gymnastics and were impressed at how well Naomi listened and tried to follow the instructions of her teacher! Naomi really does try hard and gets very cross with the little girl who will not "make a train" when going from one set of apparatus to another! They are supposed to stand behind each other and hold the shoulders of the person in front and Naomi gets very cross with them if they don't do this properly!!

Esther loves watching Naomi and shouts Nay-nay encouragingly from teh balcony! she loves her own class especially when she can bounce and roll and climb! She may not yet be 18 months but she can certainly participate as well as the rest of them!

On Monday afternoon as it was fine we went to Lake Sammammish State park. We were able to take Naomi's bike - a job I find difficult on my own and Naomi did really well! She was able to steer and peddle all by herself and she was very speedy! Esther enjoyed pushing her baby in the buggy for a little while but poor baby kept on being dropped on her head!!

In the evening I went to a UN Seminar with Melinda on reducing child mortality rates; this was very interesting but I concluded that significant political changes are required before any real improvement can be made!

Yesterday Naomi went to school in the morning whilst Esther, Mum and I went to the music class! We all had fun I think! We did a bit of shopping after we had collected Naomi from school and bought Naomi her leotard and princess dress with some birthday money that she had been sent! She looks great in them both! Thank you Aunty Chum and co!

Yesterday afternoon we also went to park! Mum and Dad were worried that we were going to be attacked by bears and cougars, but we didn't see any that time! We met a man who has though ...!

Today we had a slightly slower start to the day but then had a brilliant day at Bainbridge Island! We caught the ferry and then had some lunch when we arrived! We had a lovely wander around the little village and enjoyed looking at the boats! We saw a star fish and a crab, much to Naomi's delight! We had a super day! I love looking at the water and always feel peaceful afterwards!

The girls made us laugh on the way home! There were men lying on the seats, sleeping. Naomi was concerned that they should have been in their own beds and Esther just stood in front of them shouting "up, up!!" We were chatting to a mother and her 2 little girls, slightly younger than our 2 and all of a sudden we were aware that Esther and the older girl were looking and prodding a very odd looking bug! Both the mothers shrieked and we got rid of it!! Coming home both girls were singing at the top of their voices - very noisy!!

Naomi removed one of Tim's slices of bread this evening and took some persuading that he could have it back! In the end she said "It's ok daddy, I was only joking you! A good let out cause if ever I heard one!

This evening Tim and I have been out with a couple who are investigating the possibility of moving here! We have had a pleasant evening and it is good to be able to help someone else make such a huge decision!! Good luck guys!!

Anyway, that is all for now! We are off to Vancouver for the weekend on Friday so that will be fun and we have school in the morning!

Night night!

Happy Birthday Naomi!

Welcome to tonight's blog entry!! We have had a very packed but very special birthday weekend with our little Naomi and we all have really enjoyed it! We have been very proud of Naomi because she has behaved well all weekend and has remembered to say thankyou for all her presents! I appreciate that many of you will not have heard it but she did say it!

We had a busy few days really and hope that this week will perhaps be a little quieter even with Grandma and Grandad being here! On thursday we had a great day with Becky and Eli and it was great to spend some time with them! Naomi and I left them all sleeping on Thursday lunch time and went to the park, which was great! Naomi loves the park and it was a warm day! We weren't going to be able to go later and so it was good to make the most of it! After they left we went to Freds to do our shopping and then it was the usual bath and bed time routine!

On Friday we saw Maddie and co in the morning which was fun and then in the afternoon the children played either on their own or with Brooke whilst I did the housework! After the children were in bed I created the James the red engine cake! IT took some time but it was great fun and definitely worth it when Naomi saw it in the morning! She said that it needed steam!! Yes Naomi!

She was funny, though! She was discussing with me that if she had wanted a Gordon train cake then Daddy would have had to make it as Daddy was big and strong! Huh!! I quickly put her straight!!

Tim took the children to do some last minute shopping and then when they returned it was time for the party! Maddie and Fritzi (and their parents) arrived and we played pass the parcel, musical bumps and sleeping lions! We also sang Ring a ring of rosies and the Farmers in the den! After this we had bubbles and stories and the children played in the Thomas Tent that Maddie had given her! This is truly amazing! The children love it!

We had some lunch and sang Happy Birthday to Naomi who insisted that she could only blow out the candles with her party hat on! Even today! Funny! After this the children played for a bit longer and then it was home time! We went to the airport in the afternoon to collect Mum and dad which caused further excitement as you can imagine! It is lovely to see them again though!

Today when Naomi woke up she had a Thomas play set to open and then we all went into Seattle. The girls went with Mum and Dad to the Children's Museum whilst Tim and I went to church to do our children's work. We met up for lunch and then came home! We were surprised to see that there was a Turkish Exhibition on at the Seattle Centre where we had lunch and even more surprised to see Mukhedin and Zakhedin there!

Once we got home we opened the rest of the presents! Naomi is delighted with them all! She liked the umbrella that Mum and Dad bought very much and since it has poured with rain all day we were able to take a wet walk and use it much to her delight! She is looking forward to watching all her DVD's and doing the sticker books - she and I will do them in our together time!
When we came back she and Esther did some play dough with mum and then we had tea and two very tired little girls went to bed! Naomi has gone to bed without her dummy! I hope she sleeps well! We'll see!

Tomorrow we are off to Gym class and then see what the weather is like in the afternoon! We are just going to enjoy spending some time all together I think!

That is all for now!!

School visit!

Good evening! Hope this finds you all well! We are fine here! The children's cough is improving and we are getting excited about Mum and Dad arriving on Saturday! Naomi is also having her birthday party on Saturday and so we have been busy with preparation this week!

On Monday morning we had our Gym class, which went well this week, thankfully! Naomi was very good and waited patiently whilst Esther and I did her class! Esther loved the trampoline and all the rolling! We also spent a lot of time walking along the beams this week! Lots of "gain!"
In the afternoon, after a long sleep for Esther (Gym class really knocks her out!) we went to Costco to do our shopping and to Trader Joes; the children were excellent and we were soon home in time to watch the televsion whilst I cooked tea! In the evening I made the cake bit of Naomi's birthday cake and Mum's suggestion of using a baked bean tin for the cylindrical cake worked brilliantly!

Yesterday it was school for Naomi and Music class for Esther and I. We had a good sing and dance! Esther loves it so much! She just grins and giggles all the way through! She is even starting to join in with the songs now too! she and I did a bit of shopping before picking up Naomi from school.

In the afternoon we went to Crossroads mall to buy the icing and cake stuff that I need for naomi's cake. Naomi was being very helpful and carrying a basket for me! She was chattering away and looking very sweet in her stripey poncho! One lady came up to me and commented that she had been listening to Naomi and wasn't she adorable! I had to agree!! She has to keep me in check sometimes though! Having gathered all this shopping, I then put it on the table whilst I looked at something else and then walked away from it! Naomi said "you need the basket, mummy!" She was right! I would have forgotten it completely!

We then met Ulrike and Fritzi there and the children had several goes on the merry go round before heading to the park behind the shops. We had a great 20 mins or so there and it was good to get some time in the fresh air!

Tim was out for the early part of yesterday evening , but he was home by the time I had
finished the clearing up, which was good!

Today the children and I went to Seattle for the Mum's group and then saw Jo and baby Zoe this afternoon. It has been wet here today and so we haven't been out! This evening after tea, Naomi and I went to her school as the Mum's (just the Mum's this month!) were invited to see the children in their class rooms! I felt very priviledged to see Naomi in her school environment and it was lovely to see her so settled and at home there; she was showing me where she has to put things and what she likes to do! The teacher was telling me that Naomi has enjoyed sticking on the shapes so much that she has made another sheet especially for Naomi! Now we have hexagons and parallelograms too!

After a short time, we sat in the circle with the children and we sang the introduction song, a green frog song and the good bye song! The introduction song gave me a chance to learn the other children's names and there is indeed a little girl called Jennifer and a boy called Jeremy (jermy)!! Naomi was joining in with all the songs, the actions and giving herself a pat on the back when she was told she had done a good job! Poor child, they obviously have a "recess" after the circle time normally because Naomi said at the end "Are we going to have recess now!" She was most disappointed when I said we had to go home!

The funniest thing though was the fact that Naomi was amazed that we went to school and it was dark! She kept on saying this! I am sure she is going to tell everyone that she went to school in the dark! Blow the fact that Mummy came with her - we went in the dark!!!!

Naomi is struggling with the change of season thing! If she sees the sun shining (or sunning as she puts it!) she is desparate to wear her summer tee shirts and go splashing in the water! I keep telling her that it is cold, but as soon as she sees the sun, she is convinced that it is warm enough to shed all her clothes and leap into the water! At least this year, she is not too distressed about the leaves falling off the trees!

Esther is still into "Oh no" at the moment and it usually implies some sort of disaster! Tim took a lovely video of her in the bath today and she was telling him all the sounds of the animals and was looking at the duck book! She is very funny!

Anyway, had better go and go to bed as it is late and we have to be up swiftly in the morning!

Will write over the weekend and tell you how it all goes! Mum and Dad will be here then!
Hooray!

Arboretum Park

Hi there! Hope that this finds you all well! Tim has bought a new, ergonomic keyboard which I am finding difficult to use! My typing is going to be a lot slower today and may have even more mistakes than usual! I am sure that it is more comfortable but it has definitely slowed my typing speed and increased my error rate!

We have had a very quiet weekend here, which was exactly as planned! We have had a busy couple of weeks and will be very busy next week end and so it was lovely to have no plans this week! Yesterday Tim and Naomi carved out a pumpkin which was a sticky business! The inside was very stringy and full of seeds! Naomi took one look and went "ugh" and left it to Tim to scoop out! The best part as far as she and Esther were concerned was smearing it in vaseline to preserve it! Esther was a little purturbed by this initially - I think that she thought that it was going to go on her, but she was soon joining in! Tim carved out a face and we lit it yesterday evening - the children were fascinated! We went to the Library yesterday afternoon and briefly to the park, which the children enjoyed.

Today we went to church in the morning and then went to the Arboretum park in Seattle. It was very autumnal there and the colours were beautiful. The children enjoyed running through the leaves, playing hide and seek and rolling down the slope! They were both shattered this evening and went to sleep quickly!

Last week we saw Vanessa, Maddie, Fritzi and Ulrike on thursday after school, which was good and on Friday we went to Kent to see our russian families. I hadn't seen them for a while so it was good to catch up with them. The men were taking their driving tests on Friday morning - I wonder how they got on! They are all mad keen to buy cars now!

Naomi and Esther have both been making us chuckle this week! Esther has a new word "ee" which means "let ME see" when ever Naomi is looking at something! It is said with a great deal of emphasis and is funny! She doesn't like to be left out!

Tim was saying to Naomi today that she looked good to eat and so could he take a nibble of her? She said "no daddy, I am a person!" and told him that he should eat food! She was funny! She was also giving me driving directions today - but I think I will stick to Tim's directions!

We have got a hectic week ahead of us. I need to do lots of shopping in preparation for Naomi's birthday cake and party and in preparation for Mum and Dad's visit next week. We are looking forward to seeing them! Naomi was getting very excited today! Still, I hope to write on Wednesday even if it is only a quick note!

Until then! Bye for now!

Ssh, ssh, ssh, Boo!

Hello all! Hope this finds you all well! Not too long now before it is the weekend...! Our children always get excited when it is the weekend because it means that Daddy is home - something that they both love!

Our mornings have been spent doing our regular activities so far this week! We went to Gym class on Monday, which was fine except that Naomi was suddenly very upset during Esther's class and wouldn't calm down and so we ended up leaving a bit earlier. She was not herself on Monday morning - there was nothing obviously wrong but she liked a lot of cuddles and reassurrance which is not like her when we are at home! Anyway she soon picked up in the afternoon when we met Maddie, Vanessa and Alex at the boat in Bellevue Square. She and Maddie were leading all the chilren in a long line and were running round and round in circles! It made me feel quite dizzy! Esther enjoyed her gym class but I couldn't get her to go on anything
other than the trampoline during the free play time! It was funny!

Yesterday Naomi went to school and Esther and I went to music class! Esther was really excited about going to her class yesterday and obviously really enjoys going! She loves to sing and dance and woke up from her nap today singing a bit of one of the songs! To you it would sound like "oh dub tub dub" but to me it is "Oh I like to splash and wash up in the tub; if you want to come with me then ruba duba dub!!". Isn't it amazing what I can get from Esther's few words!! She was so smiley yesterday morning that the teacher (another Louise) asked if she was always this smiley! I reassurred her that at 3:30 that morning she was not smiley! Yes, we are going through a disturbed sleep spell again! We don't seem to have more than a good week at most!

In the afternoon we took Esther to the doctor to check her weight - she seems to be doing better! - and then we went shopping and to the park. It was nice to get out and enjoy the warm October sun as we haven't seen it much lately!

Last night, just as we were going to bed, we checked for parcels outside our front door and found a surprise! It was a plastic pumpkin filled with goodies, a "boo" sign and an explanatory note! Basically you were given the pumpkin as an anonymous gift but with the understanding that you gave 2 away to your neighbours in return. The Boo sign denoted which households had been recipients of the goodies already! As I knew that the plumber was coming today, I decided that we could make some cookies and a sign this afternoon for our pumpkins!

This morning we went to Seattle for Mum's group, which was good and then had a great time this afternoon making cookies! You may well question the sanity of someone who thinks it is a good idea to make cookies with a (almost) 3 year old and a 17 month old, but when you consider that Esther is very sensitive and allergic to 2 key ingredients of cookies, then you will be forgiven for thinking that I am completely mad! However, it was complete chaos but great fun and Esther thought it was brilliant! It was the first time I had done any cooking with her and she loved stirring with the big wooden spoon. Despite trying very hard to insure that she didn't get any mixture on her hands, she obviously had come into contact with something ( I suspect the egg) at one point as her hands became itchy. However, we washed them and put cream on them and they soon calmed down, which was good! I got to it fast and it was very minor and she was having such a good time that it was worth it! She was laughing and laughing! I must see if I can find a recipe that I can use Soya margarine for so that Esther can make and eat the cookies!

Naomi also really enjoys cooking and was very excited about making the cookies when I mentioned it earlier on! She likes to lick the spoons and to taste the ingredients and so I have to watch her closely! She is very good at pouring things into the bowl, stirring as well as flattening the cookies once they have been put in the tin! It was great fun! IT is so lovely watching them do something that they obviously enjoy!

After cooking came the washing up (Mum always had a rule that you could cook as long as you washed up when I was growing up and I am trying to instill this excellent principle in my children now! She possibly got it from Grandma too!)! Well, the washing up caused as much excitment as the cooking as probably more mess - not sure that that was Mum had in mind! But still the girls enjoyed it and all in all it was a fabulous way to spend a wet Wednesday afternoon when you are unable to go out because the plumber is here! Esther has reached the "oh no" stage and so we had lots of "oh no's" when the water went on the floor! Poor Esther got a bit itchy again but it soon calmed down. The children then watched Balamory whilst I did the clearing up!

Whilst I was cooking tea, Tim took the girls to deliver the pumpkins. He was saying to the children that they had to be quiet so that no-one knew that the pumpkin was being delivered. Esther was going "sss, sss" (her noise for quiet or people sleeping!) and Naomi was looking for a sign that said BOo. As a result they came back all saying "sshh, ssh, boo" which was very funny!

WEll, that is about all our news for now! Will write soon!

One year on!

Well, the Sneaths in Seattle are now one year old - and so is the blog! Happy Birthday Blog!! I hope that you are still all enjoying the regular ramblings of the Sneath clan and that you are as impressed as I am that I am still writing it regularly one year later! It's all to do with getting into a routine! You see it works for children and mummies!

So, it is a funny feeling now that we have been here a year. We marked it with a toast on Friday night at 7pm which was exactly a year since we arrived at the flat in Redmond and also with a party yesterday - more on that later! Everything in the stores is the same as it was last year - pumpkins, squashes and Halloween stuff and yet this year, it is thankfully more familiar! I know where to go to do the shopping for a start and don't need a map to get from A - B quite so much any more (always helpful in my case!). But the downside of having been here a year is that it has been longer than that since we have seen many of you, which is hard and also that walking into the stores brings back memories of a harder time, which is never easy to deal with!

However, I do like living here! It is a lovely place in which to bring up children and much nicer than Nottingham (as much as I loved Nottingham!). I love the trees and the lakes and the mountains and we have opportunities here that we wouldn't have had back home. It is great to feel a lot more settled, too, in that we have good friends with whom we can have fun and mutually support. The children are relaxed too, Naomi loves school and Esther loves her music and gym classes. They have little friends and are part of a wider community at church which is lovely. It has been a fun year over all and I am glad that we are able to enjoy this opportunity.

We have been saddened this week to hear of sad news back in Russley road. Our lovely next door neighbour died after a long fight with cancer on Tuesday night, leaving her husband, her childrenand her grandchildren. She was always so chatty and we used to have long chats over the fence on summer days! Another lady opposite has also been diagnosed with cancer and is unlikely to recover. Our thoughts and prayers are with them all at this time and we hope that the families and the neighbours are able to support each other.

It seems a little trivial to tell you of our activities this week after all this but this is what the blog is for and so I will get on with it! On Friday morning Tim took the morning off work to go and see our Russian families, one of whom he hadn't seen for a couple of months. He took Naomi with him and they were there ages but had a productive time. Esther and I went to have our hair cut and to the park, which was fun! Esther spent the whole time running, singing "nyun nyun" all the way along! In fact we didn't get to the play ground bit at all as she was so happy running and then walking along the wall! We came home and had some lunch and she had a sleep! In the afternoon, Brooke arrived and I did some clearing up in preparation for the party on Saturday!

Once the children were in bed, I prepared some of the food. I had also done a lot on Thursday night and so really didn't have too much to do yesterday morning. This was just as well as I was stupid enough to fall down the stairs and so for some of the morning was not really able to do too much! Daft thing to do! I am a bit sore but not too dreadful! Thankfully I wasn't holding Esther and didn't drop the camera!

Our party started at 3:30pm and the last people to go home went around 10:00 ish last night! It was a good party! IT was a great way to say thank you to the people who have helped us the most over the last year and to celebrate with them. We had salmon cooked with goats cheese and tomato pesto, green vegetable salad and a tomato and avacado salad followed by a white chocolate and orange torte and a strawberry compote! They were all recipes in a Good Housekeeping magazine that Pam had given me and they tasted wonderful and were so straightforward and easy! A big Thank you also goes to Pam at this point for pointing me in the direction of the recipes and encouraging me that I would be able to cook it! The recipes all catered for 10 people, which also worked well as one of our friends were unable to come and that then left 10 adults. There really was very little waste and we finished up a lot of it today!

We had a really lovely afternoon and evening! The highlight as far as the children were concerned was the communal bath after tea! 4 little girls in our large bath makes for a lot of splashing!! The children were shattered and soon fell asleep but had a bad night - I had a nap this afternoon I was so tired! This morning we were looking after the children in the nursery and then came home, had lunch and went to bed! Later on we went to the park, which was great fun and a good way to blow away the cobwebs!

Our week is hopefully quieter this week and we currently don't have any plans for this next weekend! I am hoping for a quieter one than the last two and before another busy one in 2 weeks time! I am hoping to make a JAmes the red engine cake for Naomi for her birthday but need a swiss roll for the engine bit. If anyone has a good recipe for an easy swiss roll cake then please let me know! I don't think you can buy the big ones here!

Anyway that is all for now! hope you are all well!

Gym class!

Hello all! Sorry for the delay in the blog - I went out last night and didn't get chance to write it! I had a very pleasant meal out with a group called Microsoft mum's night out and really enjoyed myself. It is a monthly thing and I am hoping to go regularly now that the children are not as dependent on me to go to bed!

It has been a funny week this week - it seems to have taken ages to get to thursday if you know what I mean and I don't know why as we have been quite busy. I think I have been concentrating on our party at the weekend and lost track of days!

On Sunday after church we went to see Becky, Darin and Eli, whom we haven't seen in ages and had a wonderful afternoon with them! On Monday we went to Gym class in the morning which went a lot better this week - the girls knew what to expect this time and were quite happy waiting for each other! Naomi is like her mother - uncoordinated - but she loves going and she is doing exciting things like learning to walk on the beam! Esther just loves the rolling and the jumping on the trampoline. Even the teacher commented on how much she obviously enjoys it as she giggles and giggles! She loves to run down the long trampoline and then launch herself onto the mats at the end!

In the afternoon we went to do a bit of shopping and to the park as it was fine and they have been threatening rain all week. It came today!

Tuesday was school for Naomi and Music class for Esther and I. We all enjoyed ourselves! In the afternoon we stayed in the garden and then walked to our little park for a short time. Naomi made me laugh as she said to Esther at one point "Good job Esther, give me high 5". How American is that!!

Yesterday we went to Seattle in the morning and then met Jo, her new baby and her Mum in the afternoon at the park. Naomi panicked at first which was a surprise; I think she wasn't expecting to see Jo's mum and was suddenly unsure of herself. She is so confident most of the time, that we are usually surprised when she is insecure. She is also hard to predict, meeting new people is not normally a problem for Naomi but it was yesterday! Anyway, by the end, she was "holding court" as we describe it and telling Jo's Mum all about school and songs with actions!

I went out in the evening and had a delicious meal, but we were surprised that the restaurant didn't offer us coffee or dessert! We went to starbucks instead!

Today was school again and Esther and I went shopping. This afternoon we had a lovely play with Maddie and her baby brother Alex! Naomi was very attentive with Alex and was very nurturing! She likes to be a little mummy! Esther was less bothering today!

Well, that is about it for now! Hope you are all well!

Issaquah Salmon Days

Hi!

Well, the rain that Seattle is so famous here arrived today with a vengeance and we were in it!! Despite the rain, we have had a really great day and so I thought I would write today before I forgot anything! Today and tomorrow are the Issaquah Salmon Days, when Issaquah celebrates the salmon returning to the hatchery to spawn. IT is a big event and last year, we missed it by a few days, so this year, Vanessa and family and Ulrike and family and us all went together! It was great fun!

We met the others in the Issaquah Park and Ride this morning early and went in a school bus to Gilman Boulevard. WEll, you can understand how much excitement the bus ride alone caused the 3 little girls and Esther just joined in the excitement without understanding why! She on the other hand was DELIGHTED to see that the Memo had returned to the top of the Ford garage!

We couldn't have timed it better if we had tried, because we hopped off the bus, crossed the road and found plenty of space right at the front just as the parade started! We saw the usual things, the horses, the bands, the floats and the posh cars, as well as the mayor, the fire and police chiefs and the other 'dignitaries'. There were horses and dogs and an array of cut out fish to amuse the children and although at times it was raining hard we all enjoyed ourselves!

We were comparing them to the parades back home and the represented countries really do have a lot to learn about them! Germany doesn't really have them and the UK are usually a bit half hearted, with tractors or HGV lorries pulling rather tired looking floats! Perhaps when I come home, I can find a job planning them! We were impressed with the high school students in the bands, who, despite the rain, were smiling and playing well! Naomi and Esther's Gymnastics group were represented today and we saw one of the teachers we knew! The children were fascinated by it all and stood and watched for an hour or so, without a murmur.

AFter it had finished we walked slowly down Front street, which looked completely different to normal as some of the stalls were there. We were headed to the food area where we had heard that you could get some good food. However we could only go a short distance before we were so wet (seriously, as wet as the salmon!) that we dived into a bistro to find food and shelter. The bistro accommodated us beautifully and we all had a warm, dry lunch! It was very good food!

After lunch it cleared up long enough to set off to the hatchery. I was amazed! I have never seen such large fish jumping in real life before - I have seen it on TV but I had never quite appreciated what they were doing before now! The fish were really jumping! Astonishing! We were watching them at one point when one jumped out the tank and splashed us all! The chilrden were similarly amazed and we learnt that the fish jump up the ladders to the hatchery to spawn and then are killed. They would normally die after spawning anyway and it is kinder to kill them! The children were also fascinated by the large inflated salmon that they could crawl into and have a story!

Ulrike and her family left after this and we walked to the park area, where I knew there were activities for the children. However, they were tired and the inflatables were very wet and so we soon also headed for home, with very exhausted but happy children! Esther fell asleep in the buggy she was so tired and didn't wake up even though we had to lift her onto the bus and into the car! They were in bed and asleep early tonight!

We have had a better few days with Naomi since I last wrote! Thursday and Friday were nice days, helped I think, by she and I having some time just to be together at lunch time on both days when Esther was asleep. I am going to try and make this part of our routine! On thursday Naomi had a good morning at school whilst Esther and I had some time at home and then we went over to see Vanessa, Maddie and Alex in the afternoon. Vanessa had found a toy for the girls to play with that caused such cackles of laughter from them all! Honestly it was so funny! It was a frog that popped out a bucket and you pushed the frog down on a plate and as you opened it, it jumped out! It caused Esther in particular to laugh and laugh! Eshter was also fascinated by Alex - in a nice way but she kept on wanting to prod him! Poor baby!

Yesterday the girls and I went shopping in the morning and then Brooke came in the afternoon. The girls enjoy playing with her, so that is good!

Naomi has been telling me very seriously that she needs to check her email and that she needs to do something 'portant on the internet! She is funny! They both copy you so exactly sometimes that it is quite scary! Esther was pointing at my glasses the other day and saying "glug glug" and then pointing at her eyes. I said to her "No, darling, it is just mummy's eyes that are deficient" at which point she started opening her mouth like a fish! She made me laugh! We have a counting book from the library at present that is all about counting fish and it is so easy to read to her, because all you do is turn a page, wait for her to shout, MEmo and then turn again! Actually, her favourite book at the moment is another library book, called "What's in baby's morning" and we must read it at least twice a day! She loves it!

Anyway, that is all for now! I will write as normal next week! Bye