July 2014

We've been enjoying a gorgeous London summer!  Although we're all kind of wondering how we're going to manage in the California heat this summer.  London has been having a heat wave and we have all been extremely hot in the 80 degree weather.  I think we're going to have a tough time getting used to the 90 to 100 degree temperatures in California.  Maybe this means we have finally acclimated to the London weather :)

Eating lunch and feeding the ducks at the Serpentine in Hyde Park.

Trying on big brother's tennis gear.

My boys :)

Cooking at Purple Dragon.

Trent turned six months old this month.

Ask any ex pat living in London, the absolute worst part about living here is the washer/dryers (usually combined).  It takes forever to do a load of laundry and even after running it for most of the day, we still end up having to hang clothes on the drying rack to finish drying them.  But, at least someone likes the drying rack :)  Much to my dismay, Trent is already completely mobile.  He positioned himself under the drying rack all on his own.  He's not crawling yet (but I'm guessing that is coming very soon), but he maneuvers himself around and then rolls to where he wants to go :)

My lunch date at the Natural History Museum.  I took Nathan to see the Woolly Mammoth exhibit.  We made it through about 1/3 of the exhibit and then he saw a giant saber tooth tiger and a scary bear-like thing on its hind legs looking ready to attack and he decided he did not want to go any further.  He insisted we turn back around and go out through the entrance.  At least we made it far enough to see Lyuba, the preserved baby woolly mammoth that they recently found!

Nathan picked out Trent's outfit and shoes!

Saying goodbye to my friend, Emily, who is moving back to the States next month.  We went to the Mad Hatter Afternoon Tea at the Sanderson Hotel.

Enjoying a sunny day in Hyde Park.  Chris and Nathan rented a pedal boat.

Trent and I relaxed in the shade and tried to keep cool!

After his boat ride, Nathan was ready to toss around the frisbee.

Enjoying a babyccino at breakfast.

Nathan and his best friends at football.

Working out with Daddy.

Beating the heat.

Trent's First Haircut

Last week, we took Trent to Trotters to get his first real haircut.  I had already trimmed it at home twice (with questionable results), so we figured it was probably time to get him a real haircut.  Luckily, he seemed to like it, because with as fast as his hair seems to grow, I have a feeling we will be in there all the time!

He was very interested in the fish in the fish tank.

He was also very intrigued by what she was doing to his hair.

Nathan got his hair cut at the same time.

Not his first haircut, but still cute :)

End Of The School Year 2014

The last few weeks of school were very busy with lots of fun activities, including a field trip to Battersea Park Children's Zoo, Sports Day, and the Summer Concert.

If you know Nathan, you can probably guess which activity was his favorite--Sports Day!  He's super competitive and athletic, so he was looking forward to Sports Day for weeks and when the day finally arrived, he did great!!  There were three races--a running race; a sack race; and a race where the kids had to balance a potato on a spoon.  Nathan won two of the three races (running and the sack race) and he actually crossed the finish line first in the last race, but he was disqualified for cheating (he held the potato with his hand so it wouldn't fall off the spoon - oops!).  He got a medal for participating and two certificates for his first place finishes!  He was very excited!!

Nathan had such a great first year at nursery school!  And, now we're looking forward to our trip to Chicago and California this summer!

Nathan and Brice getting ready for the running race.

Ready for the sack race.

Brice and Nathan discussing strategy for the potato race.  Apparently Nathan's strategy was to do whatever it took to ensure he did not drop the potato :)

Nathan's Summer Concert.  His class danced to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and then sang "5 Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed" and "Miss Polly Had A Dolly" (hence the Monkey/Doctor costumes).

Best friends monkeying around after the concert :)

Nathan on his first (left) and last (right) day of nursery school this year.

A Fun Start To The Summer - Great Friends and Wimbledon

At the end of June we got to catch up with our good friends from California, the Holfords.  We have been friends since Nathan and Katelyn were just a few months old and we have missed them so much since we have been living in London.  They were here visiting family, but we got to steal them away for a day.  The kids had so much fun getting reacquainted with one another.  And, the parents - we always have a great time together!  We can't wait to see them again when we are in California in a few weeks!

Nathan was a very lucky boy that week, because the day after he saw Katelyn, his daddy took him to Wimbledon to watch some tennis.  He even got to get some practice hits in too!

Checking out the butterflies at the Sensational Butterflies exhibit at the Natural History Museum.

In front of the Natural History Museum.

Waiting patiently for lunch.

Making music together.

A boat ride in Hyde Park.

Watching cartoons after a long day in London.

Wimbledon

Getting some practice in at Wimbledon.

His new tennis outfit from Wimbledon.

Yes, he likes it that much :)

And, of course, he had to wear it to tennis that week (and every week thereafter).  He even got Aiden matching head and wristbands.