England

Kate and the girls were in Southport for the first week of our trip visiting friends and family.

Amelia on the workout machines at the sea front.  The sea is about a mile <---- that way. 

Having lunch at a pub with Gran Pat and Grandma

Amelia watering Gran Pat's garden

Mummy felt very old explaining that "when I was a little girl, this is how we made phone calls when we were out".  Amelia had trouble understanding that there was once a world without cell phones.

Amelia at Farmer Ted's

Mastering the ropes near Grandma's house

Zoe likes swinging just like her sister

The beginning of our trip to Edinburgh...renting a  massive car for all our stuff and to pick Kevin up at the airport. Amelia is shown for scale.

Edinburgh

We spent a nice weekend in Edinburgh with our friend Kate as our personal tour guide. It was a beautiful city.  We saw the Edinburgh castle and visited the Scottish National Museum, which was great for the kids.

Amelia watching some Scottish bagpipes and  dancing near out hotel.

Edinburgh Castle

Zoe had a nice ride on Daddy's back

Bottles on the go!

After visiting the Waukee Jail during Safety City Camp before we left, Amelia was interested in the dungeon's, so here we are.

Zoe couldn't resist the tea set in the hotel room

Center Parcs and the lake district

Here we are at the main event, Center Parcs.  We rented a lodge and rented bikes to get around.  They have loads of activities.  We checked out the indoor pool, playgrounds, and a variety of activities for Amelia (her favorite was Little Chefs).  As a family we did a treasure hunt, which involved a lot of biking as we spotted and solved puzzles along the way.  Amelia was a big help.

It didn't rain until our last day.

Ducks were a regular visitor to our back porch.

Zoe rode in the trailer.  The picture on the left is how she was supposed to look.  But the picture on the right is how she tended to look after a few minutes.  (Helmet was a little big)

On the Family Treasure Hunt

The Center Parcs we went to was very close to the Lake District. On our last day we went to visit the Lodore Falls (where Kevin and Kate got married) and Lake Windermere.

Family pictures at the Lodore with lots of great memories.  

Tea time (or Hot Chocolate time) at the Lodore

After the Lodore we went on a boat ride on Lake Windermere.  

Then the trip came to an end.  Both girls were good on the flight home (as seen below).

Sisters

Some of our favourite pictures of the girls from the past few months.

Jan 14th

Valentine's Day

March 8th - Look Auntie Suzie, we're wearing our new shirts! 

March 10th 

March 24th - With a bonus picture below, taken by Amelia

March 27th - After a run with Mummy

Which one's which?

April 13th - Swinging Fun!

April 14th

Zoe Eating

We started Zoe on solid food back in February.  Here's the story so far:

Feb 16th - Lets try some broccoli.

Feb 16th - So what is this???

Feb 17th - Banana

Feb 18th - Broccoli is fast becoming her favourite food 

Feb 18th - Mini Corn

March 13th - Asparagus (and pasta in the background)

April 15th - Out-eating her sister at Jason's Deli

April 20th - Cheerios are a guaranteed way to get Zoe chatting.

Pulled pork was a big hit tonight.  It's unusual for not much food to hit the floor.  Zoe hadn't napped much today, hence the closed eyes once food made it to her mouth.

Grandparents' Day

The day after Zoe's baptism, Amelia got to take all of her grandparents to preschool for the day.  They did all kinds of activities and a little program(me).



This is how Amelia and her friends use a record player.  She has no idea how you would use it for anything other than crafts.

Zoe's Baptism

Zoe was baptized at Plymouth last weekend.