SUMMER 2007

It seems fitting that on this solemn day of remembrance, we say adieu to summer for it has come to an official end. Fingers crossed for some late lingering September sunshine (so far so good)! We made the most of our holiday and traveled across the pond for two weeks of New England summer which really is the best. Long (mostly!) sunny days in a gorgeous pool, loads of deer having their dinner at the edge of a beautiful lawn in Connecticut, early morning trips to the Roast for mummy's java, running around in the grass, more swimming...move to Nantucket: tons of gorgeous sunny days, yummy meals, awesome shopping, CROCS!, beach time (Children's Beach is THE Holland Park of Nantucket!), and Bess's favorite, a ferry ride! And then finally Cape Cod: A visit with good friends, cousins and family, lots of seafood and tons of beach time. At the end of the day, it's good to be home with family and friends. We'll miss everyone.

The General has his first swim.

Swimming on 'tucket.
Meet our dear friends....Will it be Dartmouth or Williams Class of 2028 for the guys? For now, it's all about hands in the mouth! Hopefully they'll graduate from that trick soonest.
Daddies rule! This is how we looked last year.

Bess on Nauset Beach.Three Generations. First Outdoor Shower.


We're excited about fall and are planning more trips. Sleep is overated!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FINBAR!

WAITING FOR...HEATHROW

It's all fun and games until they cancel your flight.

The day began at 3.55am when Bess walked into our room. "Airplane! We need our passports!" There was no convincing her to go back to bed for a few more hours so we were up.

The day ended when we packed it in at good 'ol Heathrow after they canceled our flight - 6.5 hours after we arrived at the airport.

We'll try again tomorrow. And maybe Bess will be less eager and thus not wake up at 4am. Please?!!

Waiting....

We told her she was too big and would have to go below...she wasn't too keen on that idea.

The General...waiting...

LIFE IS GOOD

The logo on Bess's shorts pretty much sums up her life...especially now that summer is really here in London. A morning at the Club in the white sand with a swing and a giant trampoline. Followed by an afternoon with some mates in the garden. Lots of peaches....a hamburger for lunch. A bath with the General. These are all of her favorite things!

TWO

So, we survived. Bess turned two today. It was a hot, sunny day here in London and thankfully the ice cream man showed up. Bess had lots of mates here at the house to help celebrate and Finbar made not one but TWO CAKES. Delicious! Here's a smattering of photos from the affair.

ALMOST TWO

Thankfully, in time for Bess's second birthday, the weather has turned to summer. To celebrate, Bess and her mate Claire went for an impromptu swim in the fountain in Holland Park. Then Claire's Daddy, aka Cereal, bought the girls ice cream cones. Perfect Friday afternoon was had by all, except Finbar who was at work. When Finbar figures out the bluetooth blogging relationship on his new phone, we will provide evidence of this swim. In the meantime, here is Bess with post swim curls and then Bess and the General in a much-needed bath.

MOULES FRITES, CHOCOLATE, ICE CREAM - REPEAT

Back from Brussels. Lots of food, some walking, not much sleep. A good time was had by all.

Party in the Club.

Family time on the Eurostar (aka Choo choo train).
Ah, finally, some steps to walk up and down. Cathedral.

Much-needed nap time.

And of course, sitting at a cafe, eating ice cream. Life is good.

DOUBLE BUGGY

Tried out the General in the big kid seat - a touch early but he was digging it.

LITTLE BROTHER

It's not always easy being the little brother....your big sister makes you wear funny things on your head! The General appears to have a sense of humor about it all.

ISLE OF WIGHT...INTREPID TRAVELERS R.I.P.

To celebrate our favorite holiday, July 4th, Finbar and I chose an idyllic locale off the southern coast of England. We pictured charming sailing towns, lovely beaches and loads of ice cream. Eh. Not really. Some, we've been told, affectionately call it "Pile O'Shite." (We didn't learn this until upon our return.) But alas, we went, we had fun, and next time we discuss going on holiday in the UK, slap us. I say intrepid travelers R.I.P because of signs like this...

We visited The Needles which are a historically significant collection of rock formations off the western edge of the island. We visited during "near gale force winds." I kid you not. So the General was safely tucked into his mother's bosom in his baby bjorn and Bess had the amazing privilege of being carried like Cleopatra up and down some pretty serious steps in these "near gale force winds." Needless to say, it was a great workout but probably not the smartest thing we've ever done! We're looking forward to some much more glutinous resort vacations in'08.

Bess learned some important new words to add to her already robust vocabulary: ferry boat, sail boat, sea/ocean, hotel, hotel bed (a girl after my own heart!), and she even met a lovely young waitress with the same name. The General slept through most of our capers but did manage to have a serious nappy blowout just as we were trying to make an earlier escape from the island-in the ensuing mayhem, Sammy managed to whack Bess with the boot door while hurriedly trying to dig out some clean clothes for Finbar who had the General buck naked on the front seat. 2 under 2 rules!!!!!!

In the end, it was great family time, even if Finbar spent a lot of time on the phone.

BESS AFTER A LONG DAY OF TOURING

Be sure to turn up your volume!

SOME HAVE GLASTONBURY...OTHERS HAVE ABBOTSBURY!

It's been a very rainy week or so when, finally, last Sunday, the sun came out. Bess and crew found loads of puddles to jump in and we all discovered the big kids playground in Holland Park.

Bess in her "sun" tent. More to come on that...

Fun in the playground!

THE WINDY CITY

So Finbar and I are sitting here, punch drunk (we have a nearly 9 week old!). And I was filling Finbar in on the day's events...which included the General and a lot of, well, wind. You see, here in Jolly 'ol England, they don't say "Farts!" or "gas"...they say "Wind." And because we have a rather Beavis & Butt Head sense of humor, we're really laughing. The poor General...he has some serious wind. Here he is after a particularly, um, windy session, looking very pleased.

Bess was pretty entertained too! Here she is with her pre-dinner aperitif of mint tea.

EVERYBODY NEEDS A MONKEY

(Thanks Auntie Special K!)

ANOTHER SUNDAY NIGHT

Father's Day and the token male in the house was The General. We had our London M&M's over, not to be confused with our Scottsdale or NYC M&M's!! Big M brought us a lovely dinner which we followed up with ice cream and berries! Then Little M and Bess hit the tub! I'll spare you the nudie shots but here they are in their jammies. This is what it's all about, isn't it??

The General tried to ham it up for the ladies...

SUNDAY NIGHT

It's nearly 9 here....the kids are crashed out. It was a long and eventful weekend with very few pictures! We rented a lighthouse in Cromer on the Norfolk Coast. It was cool but the fog was so thick we never actually saw the beach. And it was too early in the season for crab sandwiches. But we had a delicious visit with our London neighbors who have a lovely weekend house up in that neck of the woods. And we finished the weekend at Eastie Beastie's 2nd birthday party.

Bess particularly liked the lighthouse because she had a room of her own with not one but two big beds - and she slept brilliantly!

But alas, it was a full weekend. Here she is on the way home from the "cake party," falling a s l e e e e e p p p p.

... MORE OF THE KIDS ...

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO