Hot air balloon in our backyard!

Well, not quite our backyard, but nearly!

Note that these pictures were taken at 8:20 in the evening, after Zoe had taken her bath and gotten into her pajamas.  We're thankful for blackout shades :)

Yup, one more trip to Ikea

It seems we missed a few items last time, so Sunday it was off to Ikea.  Somebody had fun in the flooring department.

Windsor Beer Fest

Another weekend, another beer festival! This past weekend we went out to Windsor to enjoy their beer festival.  It was held at a small farm shop full of fresh fruit and veggies and fancy-made quiches, alongside a fancy cafe.  The tents were set up in the grassy area.  And, to Zoe's pleasant surprise, some of the beer was delivered via horse.

take that, Budweiser

We have furniture!

And internet!  Wow!

a most glorious sight

Yesterday, the movers arrived.  About two weeks later than we originally thought, but they arrived!  Apparently our container is half the size of the previous renters.  And their container hit a parked car getting out of the neighborhood (tight corners, lots of parked cars, and the owners of said cars not around) so everyone in the neighborhood was super jumpy.  Happy to say, no incidents ;)

after traveling across an ocean, not even half-way full

the boxes and wrapping papers we were able to unpack before the movers left

 There were two guys moving everything off the truck and into the house.  Compared with the two long days to pack everything up, with three guys one day and two the next, it all went relatively quickly.  We did have a slight issue with one of our couches - doors here are apparently fairly narrow, and the couch wouldn't fit through the front door!  The guys had to lift it over their heads, down the side of the yard over the fence, in through the rear sunroom double doors, and then into the back living room.  And there it will stay until we move again! Slight change of plans, but I'm sure all will work out fine in the end.
And then, today - internet!  The Virgin media guys came through to install cable.  First things first I asked them if they wanted any water.

No thanks, love.  Tea, black, no sugar.  

Well, alrighty then!  Welcome to England ;)

We're very happy to have all of our stuff and a means of interacting with the world outside of expensive phone calls. And something to do besides sit on a few cushions reading the same stories over and over! And dishes! And toys! And chairs!  And books!

not the offending couch

The Cotswalds

On Saturday we headed up to the Cotswalds, near Chipping Camden, and also hit this amazing lavender farm. It was a nice leisurely Saturday driving around, with a few stops in some old towns, and a nice 'jaunt' at the lavender farm, which we were able to wander freely around and headed into the gift shop right as it started raining - perfect timing.  The farm was gorgeous, lavender stretching quite a ways, the smell absolutely amazing.  But the noise - I wish I had captured a good video of the noise, but it was just too windy.  The bees were everywhere, and quite loud. A bit freaky for me, but Kyle and Zoe seemed to have no problem at all. A very pleasant Saturday indeed.

hide and seek around an old marketplace

lunch!

I swear that guy in the blue shirt and sunglasses looked exactly like my Uncle Mike

Zoe the map reader

Kyle was super excited to find the entrance to the mines of Moria at a local church

lavender ice cream during the rain break