City of B A T H

We survived half-term! One of the days we drove 2 hours to the city of Bath. We had a great time and enjoyed getting outside in the "warm" air!

We visited the Roman Baths...established around 70BC. They were remarkable! We got to taste the water in the "Pump Room" which wasn't that great...

But we were all willing to give it a try! Sophie thought it looked dirty!

Hanging out listening to an audio tour... catered to our young crowd!

A little Artsy photo shoot.

The master bathroom...haha.

Previous to our Roman Bath House Tour...we watched this entertaining "busker" (street performer) juggle knives while riding a unicycle...which the kids absolutely loved!

Lovely Ionic columns in the city center.

Lucy and her daddy.

The Pulteney Bridge on the river Avon. There are shops all through the bridge. The water was a cool looking green! (Hard to tell from the picture.)

Walking with Lucy...must be nap time. Check out her huge yawn!

Lucy's leash came in handy in situations like this...she got a kick out of it and giggled all the while she was being reeled back in!

We were happy to see the sun for a brief time! Lucy found some ducks on the river to "talk" to!

Our little English girl...complete with artistic bird in flight!

A cool little museum we saw as we were driving around. We didn't get to see all that we wanted...so we will return on another occassion!

Daddy Dog Pile!

I love this! The kids love this...and jury's out whether or not Michael loves this!

History of Science Museum

Beautiful stained glass window at the Museum of the History of Science. Yeah, I know, you're saying, what an "exciting" museum! It actually was very cool! Here are a few of our faves:

Fracture Brace for a broken elbow...from over one hundred years ago. Michael enjoyed looking at these more than the rest of us...as well as at some of the early amputation knives and other surgical instruments. Go figure.

Einstein gave a lecture at the University of Oxford and they preserved one of the panels of the blackboard that he wrote on...I like this. It was kinda cool!

We climbed the winding staircase at the Sheldonian Theatre to get this great view of our snowy spires!

The Tale of Despereaux

We finished reading our book as a family, one or two chapters each night! We read the book, The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. We picked it up at a bookstore during our Christmas holiday and just last night read the very last chapter! It was a fun book to read and Sophie and Riley enjoyed the story. These are their favorite parts:

Sophie: I liked the whole book because it was exciting, especially when Despereaux was born. We found out that he had big ears and was born with his eyes open! And I want to be a princess some day!

Riley: I liked the whole book, except for the part when Despereaux got sent to the dungeon! It was scary and I didn't like him getting pushed down all those stairs. I think Despereaux is a good hero.

Snow(men) days!

Who would've thought we'd get to miss school because of too much snow here in Oxford? It was a phenomenon that hardly ever takes place! The first day when school was cancelled the kids were jumping up and down, very excited to play in the snow. We looked out the front window and already, 9am, the street was filling with kids and grown-ups alike, tossing snow, sliding around, laughing, and gathering materials for a snowman! Probably a first for most of them!

We, of course, needed to build a snowman of our own!

The snow was very dense, wet and super for packing! This happy snow guy fashionably wore black licorice for eyebrows, dried apricots for eyes and buttons, and of course, the traditional carrot nose! Gotta love raiding the cupboard!

Lucy sitting, waiting for rescue.

And how about a few lovely Snow Angels!

Although it was very cold, we had fun for quite some time, thankful for the chance to play in the snow...and miss school!

Our 1st DAINES "Read-In"

Our first ever "Read-In" was so much fun! I can't believe how much the kids really got into it! During lunch, I had told them stories of when I was a kid and how we got to have "read-in's" if we read enough pages to meet our goal...and how much fun they were. We could bring a pillow, snacks, and books, and then we got to read all day at school, even on the floor, or tipping over desks or tables to create a reading space all our own. Of course, Sophie and Riley couldn't wait to try it out themselves, so we made plans to have one of our own that night. After lunch, we made a trip to the Public Library here in Cowley and all chose a few books. Riley had 15, Michael 2, Lucy 2, and Sophie checked-out 6 books. I renewed my book club book, "My Name Is Asher Lev"...I'm still getting through it! We then made our way to the grocery store and all picked out some healthy and some non-healthy treats. The excitement kept building! When we returned home, the kids couldn't wait to start. We all chose our little corner of the living room, made our spots perfect with blankets, pillows, etc., and turned on the fireplace! COZY!

Riley was especially fond of the idea of turning over desks and tables for his perfect reading spot. We brought in the chairs from the dining room. They made a great "wall." Riley liked reading about dinosaurs, farm animals, and other picture books.

Here's Sophie in her little corner, snuggled in with some short chapter books...like Junie B. Jones, Titchy Witch, The Pony Fairy, and A Magic Kitten Book (her favorite!). She is a very good reader!

Lucy was satisfied with watching a Dora DVD in her comfy spot, allowing the rest of us to enjoy our own reading.

Michael, here reading "The Forever War" about the US Marines, got his pick of places and rotated between the couch and the floor...whichever was closest to the snacks! We had a small selection of new yummy cheeses and crackers, grapes, barbeque chicken wings, drinks, and chips. It ended up being a very tasty "meal". Everyone lasted at least an hour before Riley joined Lucy in the DVD corner! We took a break and shared a bit of what we were reading.
We voted to do it again...maybe every month. I loved that my kids enjoyed sitting and reading. Hopefully they will continue loving to read!

Ahhh, the power of Blu-Tak

Here is Sophie's bedroom wall...notice all the decorations right above her bed. They're her special items she likes to have near her...all adhering to the wall with the oh-so powerful...BLU-TAK! It'll hold anything up!

Like her Ben 10 figures, a 2 pound coin, a miniature SALLY car from the movie "Cars", a cat figurine, a soccer ball whistle, and other special papers, including her latest note from Aunt Suzanne which came in the post!

Riley's wall is no different...bet he adds a sea shell to his collection. (By the way, if you were to ask Riley how the sea shell came to be on the school playground where he found it, he will give you his very creative and plausible explanation, "a sea gull dropped it there, so I could find it!" ... such logic!)

Gotta get you some Blu-tak! I'd give you some of ours, but it being used and what's not used is being collected in lumps of blue...just waiting for something else to need to be hung on the wall! It's a hot commodity!

Snow in Oxford

We woke up Monday morning to see this out our front door! How beautiful! And how very rare for our area to see this much snow. It snowed mostly all day. The city slowed way down, but our school wasn't cancelled, much to the disappointment of the kids. (How soon they have softened fromour last winter in Iowa!)


Another shot of the falling snow!

Lucy LOVED to watch the snow and the occassional passer-by. Here's a little video clip I made of her after her nap, jumping on our beds. What else would we do when it's all snowy outside?! You'll laugh when you see the bed-head Lucy sports! So funny!

Oxford Ward Walk

Our ward (church group) here in Oxford met together last Saturday morning to all walk. We donned our wellies (there's been a bit of rain = mud) and bundled up. There was a group of about 30, including back-pack babies! It was so pleasant and fun to chat amongst ourselves, learning a bit about the area and our fellow ward members.

We met at Dorchester Abbey...a pretty place of worship that was constructed beginning in the 12th century. It's found in a little village south of Oxford called Dorchester-on-Thames.

Our little kids are not patient waiters! They were anxious to get the show on the road!

We followed the public footpath, crossed through a "kissing gate" and met a lot of mud. We were glad that we had on our wellies!

Here, our fearless leader and organizer of the walk, Brother Howes, is teaching us about the eddies in the water, why they form, etc. Very informative. We also learned about sticky buds and the tiny cones of the Alder tree.

Walking along the Thames River. The Daines troop bringing up the rear, to get a good photo!

About half-way point we came to another little parish...St Peter's church. I loved these windows!

A really old graveyard on the church grounds.

Riley and his new buddy, Owen. Such great troopers on the long walk! I think they both ran half of the time!

Here's a group shot at St. Peter's church. Such fun people! I laughed a lot and really enjoyed myself...and the wellies are so easy to clean!

Chinese New Year

Riley's class had a special activity day to celebrate the Chinese New Year...and parents were invited to come join in the fun!

Riley in their Classroom Chinese Restaurant, showing me some yummy foods they are learning about. All of it has become very familiar with many viewings of Kung Fu Panda...especially the dumplings! (pictured at the table, Keyano, Lucy, Riley, and Nigel)

A paper creation of a dragon puppet with bits and pieces of ripped wrapping paper. (Riley didn't like them to touch or overlap!) Such good work, Riley!

Riley loved showing us around his classroom, and Lucy's favorite stop was here...the indoor sandbox. We spent quite a few minutes dumping and pouring again and again...until she had her fill! (some of Riley's classmates...David, and Daisy)

We all were curious as to which year each member of our family was born. We researched and found our animal and a few characteristics:

Natalie = year of the tiger ...confident, idealistic, versatile and reckless!

Michael = year of the rabbit ...sensitive, tactful, artistic and timid.

Sophie = year of the horse ...typical characteristics include being spontaneous, curious, whimsical and fickle. She also says that "horses" can be a bit selfish at times...she said it!

Riley = year of the monkey ...typical characteristics include being inventive, witty, humorous and manipulative.

Lucy = year of the pig ...optimistic, obliging, tolerant and materialistic.

So, which animal are you?

There you have it...Happy Chinese New Year!