Conquering Covered Slides

Last year when we were in England, our (then) fearless little Amelia went down a very steep, very swirly covered slide at Farmer Ted's.  She rolled over and went down some of it on her head.  This left her with a complete lack of trust of any covered slide, including the one that Mummy and Daddy painstakingly put together with her play set in the back yard last summer.  While we were in England in March, we returned to the scene of the crime, and as we were on our way, the first thing Amelia said she wanted to do was go on the slide.  Grandma was kind enough to go down with her . . . twice!!  And now she seems to have gotten over her demons :D

England 2012

Amelia and Kate went to England for 10 days to visit family and friends.  We had an action packed time meeting all sorts of people.

At the airport waiting for our plane.

 We drove to Cannock Chase to meet Laura, William and Oliver for a run around the forest and a play in the park.  Amelia loved all the statues and insisted on having her photo taken with every one.

Walking in the Ainsdale Sand Dunes with Debra and her little dog 

 Towards the end of our stay, Kate's friend Em and her family came to stay.  Noah is 2 1/2 and Mollie was 5 weeks old.  Amelia and Noah get on very well and she got in some baby practice holding Mollie.

We discovered Camellias on this trip.  Amelia would love to grow them at home but I don't think we have quite the right climate.

Fun at Farmer Ted's

Driving in Grandma's Convertible

 On our last night, Grandma took us out to dinner at a tasting restaurant.  Amelia got her own dessert (Mummy and Grandma had to share!!!) and very much enjoyed her chocolate fondue with marshmallows and strawberries.

Videos from our trip.

Singing in the Choir

The morning we left for England, which was also Daddy's birthday and the day the clocks changed (in the US anyway) Amelia sang at the church where she goes to preschool with her preschool friends.  At our church, the kids can join the choir (complete with very cute red robes) once they're in Kindergarten and Amelia is desperate to join them so she was very excited to "sing in the choir" at a different church.

Fun in the Snow

We didn't get much snow this winter but Amelia still had some fun outside.  The snowblower only made it out once!

Thanksgiving

Just a bit late. . . but here's some pictures and video from Thanksgiving.  Amelia and Raf are now firm friends.  We had a great time exploring the theme park at the Mall of America.  Amelia even got to meet Dora and Boots.

Freedman Christmas. . . . in January

We celebrated Christmas with the Freedmans a little late this year (Jan 21st) but we had a good time getting together with Grandma Marilyn, Suzie, Jason, Tom & Abby.  The kids are getting along really well and having a lot of fun together.

Amelia's Half Birthday

As Amelia's birthday falls during the school holidays, she celebrated her half-birthday at preschool this week.  Kate got to go and spend the day with Amelia.  It was also "Spirit Day", so the kids all wore their school shirts and sang cheers at the beginning of the day.

The sound gets a bit iffy. . . we need to switch cameras for video.  The picture of is of her sitting on the Birthday Chair.