The Big day finally arrived and we couldn't wait, or at least I couldn't.  I woke Sophie and Riley up at 5:30 and we sat in Riley's bed counting down the minutes until 6 (the appointed hour to go in and get the presents).

Here we are, still waiting, but Lucy joined in.  Who wants to open a present?

Lucy's first present was this pretty little pony.  She squealed in delight and couldn't take her hands off it, that is, until the next present.

She also got this little scooter.  It plays music while she rolls.  She loves it.

Lucy really got into the present thing.  Here is her new phone.

Oxford/Cambridge Rugby

Here I am in front of the national stadium at Twickenham for the annual Cambridge/Oxford grudge match.  I went with a group from the research lab.  We went early, spent a few hours tailgating in front of the stadium then went in just in time for the start of play.

Me and my good friend Rich right before the game.  Great seats wouldn't you say?

The Oxford Blues gettng warmed up before the start.

The final score.  Oxford pulled it out, but not without a furious charge at the end by Cambridge.  All in all it was a very entertaining game and close enough at the end to keep everyone on edge.

Cinnamon Rolls

Okay, so I borrowed this image from the internet...though they do look mouth watering, don't you think? Mine did not look this good! I don't really have a pan that would accommodate cinnamon rolls, so I tried the roasting pan...you know the one, it's usually stored in the drawer under the oven and hardly ever gets pulled out. It worked pretty well. I also used our muffin tins, so those 12 looked great! We just had to make do with what we've got around here. Turned out to be a fun and tasty Sunday evening treat!

Lucy loves to lick the beaters...especially when they've got sweet stuff on them, like frosting!

walking...British style!

At the trail head...before all the mud!

dressed warm...in layers

This is how far we've come!

Swinging from a rope in the tree that we found. Had to stop and have fun for a while.

Riley's a little scared of heights...but always knows where the camera is!

Michael braved the limbs for Lucy to feel part of the fun!

We met some horse riders that were kind enough to stop and allow the kids to make friends with their horses...This one is William Pinkerton...aka: Willie.

Feeding some grass to the horses.

A break from walking...on a sunny rock.

Investigating the plants nearby.

We set off yesterday morning to go walking in the forrest. There's a park not too far from our house and the car park (parking lot) was very full ...even by the time we got there. Gratefully, the park is large and we didn't see many of the people belonging to those cars!

Pigtails!

Lucy's hair is finally growing enough to stretch it into teeny-tiny pigtails. She looked adorable and acted like she knew it! They only lasted a few hours before she couldn't resist the temptation to tug at them and pull them out.