Bye for now...

Hello! Hope that this finds you well. We are fine although sad at having to say Goodbye to Mum this afternoon. Hopefully she is on the plane by now - I haven't heard otherwise and if she had been bumped off this time then I am sure she would have rung!!

We had a funny sort of day today; we had a few things to do this morning before we went out and then Silas went to sleep for a bit. When he was ready to go out we went and had some lunch and then the plan was to go to a new park in Mercer Island and then go down to the airport for about 4pm. As we were on the I90 there were signs that there had been an accident and even a few miles out the traffic was at a standstill. We were able to come off and head to a different park which is lovely but has no shade as we discovered! WE were there a short time but it was too hot for the children to be out in it long so we set off to find a drink or and ice lolly for the children. However after a fruitless search we decided to head to the airport as time was ticking and Mum managed to drop off her case around 4pm.

The original plan was for us to have a drink altogether before Mum left but she had to go through security and wanted to do a bit of shopping all in 45 mins, so we decided to say Goodbye there instead. The girls, Silas and I then went and and found a drink and then as we were leaving we saw Mum in the queue. As she hadn't got very far, we said we would go and buy her a cup of tea, which we did but by the time we got back, she was nearly at the front of the queue! We gave it to her anyway but I don't know how much she got to drink!

I spoke to her when we were almost home and she was waiting to board; she had found a cup of tea and had done all her shopping so that was good!

We had a slow journey home but we were home in time for more ' Charlie and Lola' before tea!

It has been hot and sunny this week and we have spent Monday and Tuesday afternoon at Pine Lake Park in the water or on the beach. It was lovely! The children really enjoyed it; Silas too. They all got so messy though that they came home and went straight in the bath before tea. Naomi coped with this well but Silas and Esther were very confused! Esther has spent the last 2 days thinking that she is half a day ahead of herself! She was asking yesterday lunch time if Tim was home and if it was bedtime!! Funny lass!

Silas was funny both evenings though as the girls were allowed to watch television after tea as they had been in teh bath before tea. Both nights, Silas was in the lounge when he heard the music came on and set off at pace to the playroom! he makes these lovely ooh sounds when he is excited and was making lots of them at the television!!

Yesterday, Silas really started to cruise along the furniture and he is beginning to try to stand unaided. He can let go for a second or two! This morning he was funny as I had him in the bathroom with me whilst I was having a shower and he was looking for the baby in teh mirror. The first door he came across was the door without the mirror and so he looked and then crawled on to find the one he wanted! It was funny!

The girls are fine, although Naomi was very upset today as she couldn't draw an Ariel picture. The fact that she was starting with the hardest thing and that no-one but her expects perfection, couldn't console her, poor love! She is such a perfectionist!

Well, this is about it for now and is bye for now for the blog too. We are away from this weekend until the first weekend i September and so I will resume blog writing until then!

Take care and keep well in our absence!

Sequim (pronounced Squim!)

Hi! We have just returned this evening from a weekend away in Sequim; we have had a lovely weekend - particularly today. We left yesterday morning and caught the ferry to Bremerton, which was a very pleasant hours trip away and then drove to Sequim over the Hood Canal bridge. Sequim is west of Seattle at the entrance to the Olympic peninsular. Sequim is not much to write home about really and I wouldn't bother to go there again but it did have a very pretty national park. The park had a woodland trail that lead to a spit that had a lighthouse at the end of it.

We walked down the woodland trail but only got to view the spit from the upper level as it was very windy down the bottom and the walk to teh lighthouse was a 12mile round trip! Naomi had a headache and was cold and was really very miserable! She whinged and whined all the way down to the viewing point and in the end just sat on my knee and had a cuddle for a bit. This is so unlike her that I decided that something must be really wrong and so we didn't push her any further. She perked up a bit after some calpol and some warm food!

After our walk we found some tea and then went back to the hotel. The hotel was very basic and once the children were in bed there was not much for us to do. Mum, Tim and i were all in bed early!! Anyway, after breakfast today we set off again and stopped at a Lavender pantry and gardens, which we all enjoyed. We then went onto Port Townsend and went to the fort park there which was great fun. We all enjoyed the maritime museum, which was better in some ways than teh aquarium in Seattle; certainly the children enjoyed a closer experience to teh wild life and Silas loved being able to stand up and gaze into the fishtank! I only hope that he didn't deafen them too much!!

Although we would have very much liked to have gone onto the lighthouse there and onto the beach, we needed to go and get some lunch and so we left there and drove to Port Townsend itself to find some lunch. We eventually found somewhere which served very nice fish and chips and then we set off to catch the ferry back here. We stopped off again to let the children have a play at the park and then got to the ferry port about 4:45 hoping to catch the 5:30 ferry. unfortunately we were not able to catch that one so we went and had an ice cream and played in teh fountains (the girls and I got very wet!) until we could get on the next ferry.

We got home around 8:15 but the children were all in bed about 8:45 so that wasn't too bad! We had had a lovely day and we were all happy!

On Friday we went swimming with Mum as it is not something that I can do on my own. We went to the Bellevue pool as it had a better little pool for the children and it was very nice. We all had a great swim (although Silas was not too keen!). The girls did very well with their swimming and are making progress. Naomi in particular did very well with a noodle (Mum says that it was a long foam sausage thing, I say that a noodle is a lot more concise!!)! Esther had a life jacket on which was a relief!

After a swim we went to the park for an hour or so as it was a lovely afternoon and we had a great time there before coming home. Mum finished making the castle out of a cardboard box with the girls on Friday and it looks very impressive! Marvellous turrets from old toilet tubes!

in the evening Tim and I went to the wine bar in Issaquah which we enjoyed very much. In fact I have done very well this week with evenings out as on Thursday night I went out with Melinda to see "Becoming Jane" which we both enjoyed very much.

On Thursday morning we went to the Castle Park in Kirkland which pleased the girls very much and in the afternoon we just went to Target; we found a bag on wheels for Naomi to bring home on teh big plane but by Friday it had broken so we will have to return it. Poor Naomi, she had not done anything to it but the little leg fell off it. So we are back at square one again!

Silas is getting more and more mobile and is now able to pull himself up against a flat wall. He loves to play the ' dropping game' and will happily drop the toy again and again after mum kindly picks it up! He makes such a lovely noise when he is happy but the shriek that he emits when he needs food is truly awful and goes right through you and every one else! So far we have not been thrown out of a restaurant but I am sure it is only a matter of time!

Esther has been a real pickle today and resists doing anything that you tell her to do. "I don't want to get out the bath" she says and so you have to cajole or lift her to where you want her to bed. She can be such a madam when she tries! Naomi is usually a lot more placid thank goodness and is usually able to stop herself getting into a pickle. Yesterday was the exception!

Well that is it for now! Hope that this finds you all well.

Up 73 floors...

Hello! hope that this finds you well. We are fine here and are having a wonderful time with Mum visiting.  I have really appreciated her help and the children are loving having some extra cuddle time with her! We have had a busy couple of days but the end of the week might be a bit quieter. No day trips planned at any rate!

On Monday we went down to North Bend to do some shopping mainly for Silas but we all ended up with something. In the afternoon. we went to see our friends Marie, Caitlin and Ed which was fun.

Yesterday we had the day out in Seattle. We met up with Ulrike and Rosie and the children at the Klondike museum and spent an hour there learning all about how and why people travelled up to the Klondike to seek their fortune in finding gold. It was a fun little museum and one day I would like to go back again to see more about it! After this we went for some lunch, which was very nice but slow in coming and I ended up having to buy another sandwich as they were unusually not large enough to share!

After lunch  we walked a couple of blocks to the Bank of America Tower, which is the tallest one in Seattle. During the week you can go to the top and look around for $5 per adult and $3 for children (although ours were free). We had a magnificent view of Seattle and the surrounding area even though it was cloudy. The only slight problem was that there is a recording studio at the top and Felix was at one point banging on the window!! I wonder how much of Seattle heard it!! It was a great trip up and i would definitely do it in preference to the Space Needle as it is so much taller and cheaper!

WE came back down to the car via some beautiful waterfalls right in the middle of Seattle which was a great way to finish a really lovely day. In the evening I sat and read and read the final Harry Potter until I finished it (around 11:30 last night!) I really enjoyed it and thought it was brilliantly done. I will say no more!!

Today we went to the zoo in Seattle as Naomi was keen to see the butterflies and have one land on her arm which one did, so that was good. Esther and Silas and I went to see the bears and tried to see the tiger whilst Mum and Naomi were in the butterfly section. After lunch we saw the elephants, the tapirs, the monkeys and orangutans as well as the hippos and the lions and the giraffes. Most of the animals we went to see were visible and we had a good if tiring day.

The children played for a bit and then watched television when we came home and were in bed quite early, which was good. Silas has been a star all day but is now yelling and yelling! I don't know what the matter is with him! I have tried cuddling him and giving him some gripe water, but no luck so far! Had better go and sort him out!

Silas' Baptism

Hello! Glad to hear that the weather has been better with you this weekend and hope that it stays like it for a little while! We have had very typical weather for Seattle this weekend - cloudy in the morning and then sunny in the afternoon. Today was very typical!

WE have had a lovely day today in celebrating Silas' baptism. Melinda and Chad are godparents and it was great that Mum could be here too. The service was lovely and great to share it with our Seattle friends here. Tim was playing the piano at church this morning which he really enjoyed and so we had a lateish lunch at Ray's Cafe this afternoon, which was very nice. Afterwards we went to Hiram Chittenden Locks and watched the boats for a while before heading home.

Yesterday I was feeling under the weather and didn't do much at all. Tim and Mum took the girls out in the morning whilst I stayed at home with Silas, who was asleep. Mum's case arrived in the early hours of yesterday morning and so I was reading Harry Potter! So far, so good!

Late in the afternoon Tim and I went to a wedding of some friends here which was lovely. We didn't stay for the ceremony but enjoyed participating in their service.

On Friday we had a fun morning at the park with Elisabeth and then went shopping in the afternoon.

Silas has been making some gorgeous 'ooing" noises recently and has started to make steps when he is standing up and holding onto something. he is a sunny and delightful baby but will emit this ear piercing shriek if he is cross about something. This morning he was desperate to get hold of the microphone that Tim was holding and was shrieking and shrieking because I wouldn't let him get to it!!

The girls have come out with some funny things this weekend. Tim has a long sleeved shirt and a pair of trousers that you can unzip to make a short sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts. Naomi was suggesting to him that he went to work on Friday with one arm short and the other long and one leg short and the other long; Tim said that his colleagues would laugh at him and she said seriously "Well, why don't you try it Daddy?"! It was very funny!

Esther was wearing a pair of toy princess shoes yesterday which has given her blisters but she said to Mum yesterday afternoon that she had "holes in her toes"! It took a while to work that one out!

When they came back from the market yesterday they had bought me some flowers, which are lovely. However Esther is mystified as to why there are bananas in the bouquet. She is referring to the closed lily buds that look a little like bananas and she has been referring to them as bananas ever since. She was intrigued this afternoon to see that one of the bananas has opened but is waiting for the other one to hopefully do so tomorrow. Understandably, no-one understood her this morning when she said that she had bought Mummy some banana flowers!

Well, that is it for now! Will write next week. Hoe this finds you all well!

Mum arrives but .....

Her luggage hasn't yet!!! Poor Mum had a bit of a drama trying to get here yesterday as BA tried to bump her off the flight without her knowledge or permission! She just arrived at the gate to be told that she no longer had a seat after checking in 24 hours prior to the flight and arriving at the airport 3 hours before the flight was due! They were even going to bump her off in preference to some of the other people who had arrived late or who didn't get to the gate on time! how outrageous is that? Anyway, thanks to someone not having a proper passport she was able to come (in club world!!) but sadly not her luggage. They were saying that it would come today but it hasn't and on the website there is no sign of it although we know it must be in Heathrow somewhere! We hope that it will arrive tomorrow but i am a bit worried as i was sure that it would just arrive on the next flight here today but it hasn't.

Anyway, BA gave her $50 which enabled her to buy some undies and 2 tee-shirts but if the clothes don't come in the next couple of days then we are going to have to go shopping! I  hope BA cough up a good compensation package as Mum had clothes in there that she was leaving for her and Dad when they come in October at the end of their Californian tour as well as her summer clothes. i wonder how much we can claim for Esther's emotional distress at no chocolate puddings! And no Harry Potter for Mummy! Or Princess magazines for Naomi!!!! Poor Mum.

So today we went to Target to buy a few things and then this afternoon we went to the park. The children have been delighted to see Mum and have demanded her attention all day! She has been a star and has read stories and played all day! Esther told me at bed time that she didn't want me to read her stories! That told me!

our Burundian family left on Monday after a week's introduction to life in America with us. I saw them yesterday in their new apartment and they were looking very happy and were pleased to see us. They were cooking something on the stove which was a good sign and had things appropriately in the fridge which was good. I hope that they get on OK but they seemed good for the time being!

We had a busy week with them and i was very tired. It is hard work trying to speak in french but we did very well, all things considered and managed to communicate most things. it was hard having a family who had so little understanding of life in the west and who had no idea that a car went "brim brmm" or that you don't put your head through the middle of the car seatbelt! Things like the rubbish was a problem as they are used to just throwing it on the floor so were a bit surprised when we had to tell them not to throw their empty cans in to our hedge!

The family liked the washing machine and finally understood how to work the stove before they left on Monday which was good! They also had found out that there are no crocodiles or hippos in Lake Washington! A valid but amusing question!

We had a great day on Saturday at Melinda's birthday. I had made the cake the night before and it turned out well, which was good! The party was down by the lake and it was a gorgeous day and we all had a fun time. Chad's parents can speak fluent french and so were very usefully communicating with our family and it turns out that not only do both Chad's parents and the family share a mutual friend but that Judy knew the camp that they had spent a long time in. She says that it is a camp just of tents and that it is in teh desert scrub land where nothing grows. She was emphasizing that the family would be very visually stimulated here having comefrom there. Melinda enjoyed her party and it was lovely to be able to share it with her.

On Sunday we all went to church which was good and then came home. In the afternoon we went to the park, which was a first. I showed the children what to do with the play structures but after seeing Naomi and Esther they soon got the hang of it and there was no stopping them! They were truly delighted which was good to see. I also took them to cross a couple of roads as i was concerned that they would not have any road sense. I think i managed to explained to the father how to cross the road but only time will tell whether or not i was successful!

On Thursday and Friday teh girls went to church camp in teh morning and the family were away having meetings which was good. In the afternoon, I took the children to the park on Thursday and stayed at home on Friday.

On Tuesday, the children and I went to the Bouncy place and, once we were in, they had a good time. When we arrived the door was shut and locked and we couldn't get in, which was  a great surprise as I was sure it should have been opened. Anyway, just as we were driving past the door to go home someone came out and I asked if it was open and they were having problems with the door! So I unloaded everyone again and we had a much shorter bounce than planned but it was still good!

In the afternoon we met up with Ulrike and Fritzi at teh park and had a lovely afternoon in the sun playing at the playground and on teh beach.

Yesterday I took the girls for a haircut in the morning and then we met up with Tim for lunch. After lunch we came home for a bit before setting off to find the new apartment. Well, this too forever as the family are not living anywhere near the bit of Kent I know and so we got very lost before we found them. Once we were finished there we went to collect Mum and were home around 6:30

Well, that is about all our news! Will write on Sunday!