On the Road: Conwy Castle

Following on from our morning in Llandudno we decided to head to Conwy Castle, about 10 minutes away.  Oh my gosh... it was amazing!  The Castle is built on a rock and is a formidable fortress as you cross the bridge to Conwy Town.

Built for English monarch Edward I, by his master architect, Master James of St George, the castle was apparently the finest of a ring of 5 castle's Edward built to contain the Welsh. It is beautifully preserved and you certainly get a feel for it's age and medieval purpose when you walk around it. It was built over a number of years between 1283 to 1287. The Welsh briefly captured it at one point but over time it was abandoned due to various conflicts and civil war.

The town is encircled by huge walls with 22 towers, and the Castle itself has 8 massive towers with spectacular views. They would be more amazing on a fine day of course! Still though - it was such an experience wandering around the halls, rooms, towers, walls, and up and down the tiny winding staircases.

We had an absolute in our first castle. Such an experience! Even if we were soaked by the time we were done :) Walking on the castle walls and taking in the views from the top was my favourite parts. Imagining what went into building this fortress as you look down on the walls and the layout of the structure - the history, the lives that filled this place...

Once we bundled our wet selves into the car we set off for Liverpool.
To be continued...
L xx

On the Road: Llandudno

During the last bank holiday weekend we hit the road and drove to Llandudno in North Wales for a day.

We decided to take the scenic route to avoid some of the traffic and stopped at the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct on the way.  It is the largest one in Britain and absolutely fascinating and beautiful.  Walking over this 300m stretch is one heck of an experience.  A rail on one side, a canal on the other - almost 40m high.  L was not at all keen setting foot on that thing... so she waited with Dad while the rest of us walked on over. And then scooted down to the river.  It was a glorious evening and the views were spectacular.

That tiny blip in the shadow was us!

Driving through the countryside and passing through all the little towns was a delight.   Not to mention all the signs being in two languages - one forgets the Welsh speak a different language.  At was almost dark when we arrived in Llandudno, so adventuring commenced the next morning, with a trip in the Great Orme Tramway.  The weather was miserably cold and wet but we were pumped.  The Great Orme has a lot of history and things to see.  If it were a nice day we would have gotten about and seen them all!  But we had a look around, read up on the history, and headed back down - taking in the still awesome views.

After lunch and a stroll, we all had a ride on one of the merry-go-round's as the town has a huge carnival over this particular weekend.  Fun : )

To be continued...
L xx

Nineteen/52

L:  My littlest blossom.  In the last couple of weeks you have delighted in writing your own name, recognising the letters in it everywhere, and also writing other names and words all by yourself.   You are still terribly in love with your birthday dress and whenever you can, you wear it.  When I wash it, you beg that I do it quickly while you sleep at night.  And you are counting down to your next birthday - every day hopeful that perhaps its not three hundred and something anymore but more like three... "isn't it Mummy?"  Bless  : )

H:  You are such an individual with a style that is completely your own and very unique.  We are often amused by your outfits that are usually randomly thrown on together - you have other things to do : ).  You are hanging out to play soccer, but given that we are heading into summer, we will have to find an alternative outlet/sport for you in the meantime to keep you passionate about running about outside.

A:  We laughed and laughed when we discovered your soft toy tower the other night.  Who knows what you get up to when you're supposed to be sleeping that we just never see or find.  Over the weekend part of your homework consisted of doing data collection and presenting it in a bar chart.  Once we nailed the concept of the exercise you were away - we had fun doing your homework.  But of course you then enjoyed the whole thing so much you surveyed us all on so many different topics and produced who-knows-how-many different bar charts!  To such an extent that your sisters started their own ones too.  I think you have covered just about all aspects of our lives in your charts : )

L xx

The month of April

April literally started off with our 10-year anniversary. Celebrations are on hold but there were lovely flowers to mark the special day.

We had our first Easter in the UK and had a lovely morning hunting for eggs and rabbit holes. As we started to "see the light" from the flu and other infections we set off and had a lovely day trip seeing some nearby towns. A welcome change of scenery and a beautiful day.

During the second week our shipment arrived from NZ. With the arrival of our goods and a last few items of furniture, we settled into a "more normal" day to day existence. We also discovered Ikea - in a good way :) We now have shelves, cupboards, beds and some couches along with Lego and soft toys for Africa. We have created a playroom for the girls with all their stuff in the "attic" room and they are loving having this nook with all their goodies and books.

There were two weeks of school holidays during April. This gave us time for regrouping and unpacking, some shopping and also meeting a few people. We also went to see Home during the holidays - a movie we all enjoyed and I cannot wait to see it again simply to bawl my eyes out and enjoy all the warm fuzzy feel good moments again.

A lovely afternoon was spent with an ex-blogger from Birmingham, meeting and shopping for a birthday dress for L. A week or so later we celebrated L's 4th Birthday. The Queen of butterflies made the most of her day and loved every moment... after counting down sleeps for what seemed like months! Another week later we celebrated D's birthday - chocolate and wine especially marking his day.

We discovered just how central Birmingham is and decided to start making the most of it. With many places only a couple of hours' drive away we started planning a few short trips. Quite hard to believe and very exciting all at the same time! And definitely a sure sign that we are starting to feel well settled.

A had a wonderful start to school here and it continued once the holidays were over. The recognition and praise she received for her Alice in Wonderland project continues to bring her a lot of joy and pride. Our kindy girl still delights in going and especially in having dinner-lunch. On the two days that she has lunch we get a full report from her on what she devoured. We have started to notice the little changes in her accent creeping in... especially in her expression of a new found love for "coustard" served with some puddings. And H... finally the waiting was over. And just in time! The council was about to insist on having you start at a school further away in the meantime... We were so relieved that the spot came up for you, and you were ecstatic. You beamed from every cell in your body after each day. So happy to be part of school and learning. This has also marked the start of a new normal for me - no children around for a couple of days a week. The silence is quite something and a huge contrast from having at least one of my children around for nearly 5 months... I miss having them about, but we adjust :)

In other happenings A learned to knit and delighted in having, and practicing, this new skill. She also started Dance Club after school which is a great outlet for her. We planted our flower seeds for the fairy gardens, and have also spotted a few foxes on occasion wandering through the backyard. Spring has arrived in full force and the blossoms, daffodils, tulips, green leaves and flowers are everywhere... so pretty! We have become very friendly with one of the cats that pass through and it now comes running for a pat when we step outside. It is quite a character though and loves stalking the birds around here (though never pounces) but did terrorize a frog one afternoon which gave the girls a chance to "rescue" and "touch" it. Hilarity.

Life is certainly moving on in many ways, though the adjustment continues. As long as there are smiles each day, we are winning :)
L xx

Eighteen/52

A: What a great weekend we had. You were constantly in awe of everything we saw. Going to the Lego store blew your mind - a giant Olivia!! Listening to all your ideas, new plans, new dreams, all the time - such passion and desire to create constantly. You are also enjoying Dance Club after school - full of moves and twirls to demonstrate on the walk home.

H: You had your first week at school and Loved it! It is wonderful to have you and A at the same school - you love being together. On Friday you arrived home with a certificate for Exceptional Behaviour. You were thrilled to bits and so were we of course. This weekend saw some of your recent fears dispelled/overcome. You were happy to walk over very high bridges and dead keen to go on a ferris wheel - you would not have had a bar of it up to a few months ago.

L: You are absolutely fascinated with Dinosaurs of late. You watched quite transfixed and happily the doco series Walking with Dinosaurs, over a few days - not at all perturbed by the "reality" of it. We're also not sure how it came about but you started calling torpedo's and bomb's "boom-blasters" following a visit to see a recovered U534 submarine. You are so full of beans.

My darlings - you fill my cup.
L xx