Canadian Castling Clan

2008-11-20T06:04:00.001-05:00

2008-10-07T14:21:00.003-05:00

Back to the Maritimes....

Well, here we are back in Dartmouth, finally feeling like we are getting settled in to our new house....still missing life in Ontario with friends and grandparents and wondering what life almost was if we had gone to Nanaimo after all......

It`s a bit surreal really....wandering back into your old life while it has been carrying on without you there....some things have changed, some for the better, people are a little older (most noticeable with kids, obviously), some are gone and new faces are all around....but it takes a minute to remember that you can`t just drop by to see _________or go to a certain store to pick up ________ because they are actually in a different province now!!!

It has been a joy but also time-consuming to be able to organize our lives within the new house with so much space and within the new community....trying out new things, meeting new people, following our passions....if only daddy could find one that didn`t take up half a day each time!

It is much easier to do this in a place we`ve already made a life before and with more space to do it in, although I think I could write a book on how to reinvent your life with children in a new place after having moved three times in three years!!

I am going to update our top ten lists to reflect what we`re up to now and will add some pics to the other blog where there will soon be a pic a day from the Flannagan household....we`ll see!

Cheers!

lisa

2008-07-22T23:39:00.002-05:00

Never gonna catch up....not gonna try....

Well, I'm throwing in the towel on the: I must catch up the time I missed blogging about before I can say anything about today, routine....I will not wait or punish myself any longer!!??!!

So, suffice it to say, it's been a busy year! Danica was born, we are moving AGAIN at the end of August and we are definitely straddling the gap, between our lives at the moment - anyone who has moved a few times KNOWS of which I speak.

I am coping but not well, at times. Had a good day at Canada's Wonderland today - might not have happened though, as the downpour scared us off initially but back we went!

I still LOVE rollercoasters but am not nearly as brave as my youngerself but Bailey is fearless for a 6 year old!

Had a great time in Splashworks with the boys and Danica and Sé survived the day.

Pics to follow, must sleep.

Impetus for blogging....just found out radical unschoolers get together on Salt Spring Island and we had no idea! I am missing Nanaimo again - were supposed to be moving there but are now off the Halifax again....maybe someday....

lisa

2008-01-04T12:48:00.000-05:00

December 2007

Well, December was taken up by surviving a Daddy business trip and recovering from the last one......lucky for us the two week trip in January has been cancelled....sorry Ian :-(

The other two major occurences that delayed Christmas preparations significantly were Bailey's Party (see below) and the boys' first Christmas Pageant with the Kingston Home Learners group. It was our first foray into activities with that group and I think by all accounts a great success!

The boys were very courageous, considering they had no idea what they were getting themselves into and volunteered for everything from acting in two plays, reciting monologues, singing with the group in many instances and Jaxon even sang a solo verse for one song!

Some grandparents even made it to the shows! That is definitely a novelty for us, since we've never lived close enough for that to happen before.

I made red bird costumes for Bailey and Se, adding to my sewing portfolio this fall, ha ha - oh yeah, I'm not sure I posted about making the grand Pokemon costume for Bailey for Halloween - he was Charzard - and they each had three costume changes, except for Se with just the one walk-on role! It was definitely busy but great fun.

Pics to follow. And I am going to work on a slideshow.....wish me luck!...it's a new function on blogger.

TTFN!

2008-01-04T12:44:00.000-05:00

November.....the ULTRASOUND results are in.......

and.....it's a GIRRRRRRLLLLLLL!!!!!!

No, none of us can believe it, but as of sometime near April (probably the end of March), I will no longer be able to sign anything Lisa & the boyz! Pumpkin, as she is currently named by the clan, will have made her debut, thereby altering our collective lives and signatures forever!!

We are very blessed!

2008-01-03T19:31:00.000-05:00

Fall 2007

We enjoyed frog (LOTS) and turtle watching off the dock in our backyard during the early part of the fall as the weather was quite mild for awhile! This turtle was named "Turtles". Turtles was quite small, compared to the size of the lily pads - this is a real close-up photo off the dock. We aren't sure where turtles came from or if it was a hatchling from this year or not.

We never did get to see any babies born from the mother that dug a nest for her eggs in the front lawn - we are pretty sure the racoons got to it right away.....we know what to do next year to protect the nests, as we learned all about it at Keji.

We also enjoyed visiting what we called "Turtle Rock", a short paddle in the kayaks around through the canal and around the corner in the river....but you had to sneak up on it or they would all slip in to the water before we even got close!

This fall was very active, once we returned from our September vacation. We especially enjoyed connecting with the Brockville Home Learners group. The boys got involved in an all-boys - homeschoolers - gymnastics class on Wednesdays, which was quite a workout! We also got together with that group for a tour of the local newspaper plant and for a bookclub. Other fun with that group included a sports day at the Brockville Y, tobogganing, a bonfire night and lots of fun at Jaxon and Bailey's birthday parties.

Jaxon had a Pokemon party at our house: DS, GameCube and Gameboy Pokemon action, a Pokemon tournament, pizza, snacks, cupcakes, 'swamp water' drinks and a Pokeball Pinata outside provided loads of entertainment for the group of 6 boys.

Bailey wanted to have a Pokemon party too, but other activities became the main focus: a session at the gymnastics academy playing many fun games, pizza, cupcakes, cake, snacks, presents and goodie bags in their party room onsite and then a couple of hours on the huge local toboggan hill!! Well, we had a pokemon video on in the party room and they talked about their cards a bit....but not a full-fledged pokemon party....which was fine!

Jaxon continued his involvement with his YuGiOh club in Kingston, ending the season with a second place finish in their tournament - a big thrill for him, considering he didn't win any matches for the first 8 months or so!

Bailey took swimming lessons for part of the fall - he just enjoys being in the water no matter what.

We joined the Y as a family, so we spent a couple of afternoons each week either participating in activities such as the kids' cyclefit class, a kids' sports class in the gym, a Pilates class for me (until I couldn't lay on the back and breathe at the same time any longer!!), Aquafit classes, free swim sessions, meeting up with friends in the gym to play hockey, soccer and basketball.....and most of all, playing the Dance Revolution game outside the gym - Jaxon especially loved that.

The boys were excited to see the snow arrive again - tobogganing heaven!

Lisa

2008-01-03T15:25:00.000-05:00

Summer 2007

It would be impossible to recap everything about the wonderful summer we had but here are some of the highlights:

*soccer, baseball and t-ball

* Friday nights or carload Tuesdays at the Kingston drive-in - a great family night for all and a date for mom and dad after kids fell asleep before the second feature!!

* Friday night ladies summer soccer for mummy!!!

*YuGiOh club extended through the summer by popular demand

*long, lazy days at our favourite beaches: Charleston Lake, Kendrick's Park, Grass Creek Park and Dunes Beach at Sandbanks Provincial Park

*two weeks of swimming each day at Landon Bay campground outdoor pool with free swim after, meeting new friends and neighbours that live close by!

* the 143rd Lansdowne Fair - we all entered something and won a lot of ribbons: crafts, photography, woodworking, flowers, decorated bike and rider in parade (Bailey) and toddler with the biggest dimples in Lansdowne!!

- other highlights at the fair were the ride-all-day bracelets on Saturday, demolition derby, lawnmower races, kids' pig wrestling, midway games, Ray's Reptiles and Birds of Prey

* kayaking on the river - see pic to follow of the family flotilla in action

* Homeschooling campout 2007 at Charleston Lake - medieval knight treasure hunt, tye-dyeing t-shirts, campfire games and songs, midnight Password games for the 'big kids', gourmet dining by the Paquettes, sharing the field with our new friends Lynn, Reid, Sam and Isaac, beach afternoon, blazing hot soccer game, clapping games with Kathy, parachute games with Kathy.

* a visit from our new friends from Quebec City: Julie, Patrick, Benjamin and Leo - they also joined us at the campout!

* sing and swim days at the Bibic 'resort'

* Jaxon's robotics workshop

*Werry picnic revival (displayed photos from Cornwall Trip in Aug 2006)

* ice cream and corn on the cob....many and often!!!

* Wettlaufer family reunion at Aunt Debbie's - great pool party and bbq - great day with cousins Joe, Megan and Alyssa and dog soccer with Cassie and Flintstone

* Thousand Islands playhouse theatre with Uncle Scott: "Anne and Gilbert"!!

* Festival of the Islands in Gan with Uncle Scott - too many concerts to count!

* narrowly missing the entire Rickard picnic reunion due to fun on the 401!

* two week holiday to Nova Scotia: Not Back to School Camping Trip 2007 at Kejimikujik National Park and camping at Shubie in Dartmouth, visiting old friends and checking on our house......especially Ian's 50 km bike climb and yoga/swim for moms by the water in the am!

* dahlias finally blooming but alas, not being organized enough to dig them out in time :-(

Ah, yes,....summer in the Thousand Islands beside the Blue Heron marina!!! The Blue Herons would visit us multiple times in a day and we caught them fishing close up - expert zen-like stillness...amazing!

2007-03-28T10:41:00.000-05:00

Circus Camp and other pics.....

We got some photos sent to us from the camp Bailey and Jaxon attended - Bailey was there every day, so Jaxon must have missed the day the photographer came:(

Here are the boys at Stone Soup - the gym at the Kingston Military Family Resource Centre:

This is the outdoor area near the gym where we spend our late Tuesday afternoons until Beavers and Cubs - Jaxon starts Cubs next week and Bailey just got a temporary little vest for Beavers last night - wow, was he proud! BTW, if anyone comes across second hand Beaver or Cub uniforms, please let us know! Thx!

Also,.....Bailey's design that he was very proud of and wanted to share! Our favourite puzzle blocks from England www.myriadonline.co.uk ...thanks to a generous donation from G & G Werry at the time!!

Our spring snowfall has all but melted/washed away now, so we're hoping to dry up soon! Then it will be time to tackle the worshop and build the shed! We are also hoping to build either a treehouse or clubhouse and create a campfire pit here. The bike path is pretty much dry and clear so we hope to get out scooting and biking soon.

Both boys start ball hockey soon, so we are looking for hockey gloves and jocks!!..maybe a taller stick for Jaxon. His legs have been aching lately after a big day out, so I've been wondering about a growth spurt again!?

Oh yeah, and if anyone has any great astronomy/space facts for Jaxon (he's looking for a great one for every week of his course), put them in our comments section or email them to Jaxon at jaxonflannagan@gmail.com !

That's all for now folks!

2007-03-25T12:59:00.000-05:00

So, the squirrels have eaten through the plastic to get to the seed in the feeder that they knocked to the ground, even though it was hanging by wire! We have tried to baffle them with a pole mounted (baffle included) structure but the pole was faulty and wouldn't stand up straight, so I'm very sad to be missing my bird entertainment.

We also tried to (but didn't) get some pictures of the squirrels that were hanging upside down by their feet on the string that was holding up our pop bottle feeder - they finally brought that down after emptying in a day (once they had perfected their acrobatics)!

Now I'm hoping Canadian Tire can salvage my bird feeding woes with a proper pole or two - we'll see!

But I think I did see two Robins yesterday.....although it looked like they were having some kind of a rooster fight on the ground, hopping up in the air and scrapping away at each other - quite funny! And the crows are collecting to build nests....got get the feeders up so maybe the Jays or Cardinals will nest nearby! Must get to Can Tire today....after we play hockey outside (Jaxon's request!) and before my Woodworking class tonight!

Look for a cute pic of Sé in his new wellies from www.muddypuddles.co.uk and his one-piece waterproof outfit - coming soon! Really fun, until he did a face plant twice in the mud outside yesterday and now looks like he got in a barfight with scrapes on his nose and a fat lip.....not enough practice in the world for what Jaxon aptly called the 'outdoor terrain'!!!

2007-03-25T11:56:00.000-05:00

Negotiating the new schedule.....

Well, we had our first week of two days out of the house for different activities - it was supposed to be three but I had no energy after a bout of flu over the weekend - and we survived! Once again, one of the main problems about any drive was Sé's distaste for van movement! This makes me taking the kids out either traumatic or skillfully timed around his potential naps - the trauma comes when he cries until we either pull over or he vomits, making it very difficult to get anywhere very fast!

Luckily, our Thursday trip to Gatineau works out well because we leave the house at 7am with Ian, so I can sit beside Sé. So, we met a lot of nice people - and lots of boys in the 5-10 year old range - at the Chelsea Community Centre and are really going to enjoy hanging out there on Thursdays in the spring.

Bailey and Jaxon both did a yoga class - although Jaxon has opted for a French class instead - and Jaxon LOVED his astronomy class! They had Lego on the floor to build with in a spare room and there were some foam sword/lightsabres floating about, so Bailey had no trouble fitting in and playing with some of the boys during Jaxon's class - he played outside in the playground (they have a big backyard property) for over an hour.

When the weather gets warmer, they all go down to a spot by the river nearby and hang out, so we are looking forward to that. Less than 5 minutes down the road is a ski hill and woods everywhere - quite a beautiful spot!

It makes me want to try out the Kingston group that has more organized activities and classes - I didn't think the kids would like it but it turns out Bailey wants it and if it is something Jaxon is interested in, he may try it too. We always thought it would be a good way to meet some more kids but didn't know if we could take on what would be involved - it works as a kind of co-op.

We did enjoy our own new version of Stone Soup - like what we used to do in Dartmouth - we have rented out (at no charge) a big gymnasium as the Kingston Military Family Resource Centre (Batoche Gym) on Tuesday afternoons from 12-3 and had a great time with our cousins and Aunt Crystal. Although we couldn't get the sports equipment onsite, we have found out that Ian can sign out sports equipment from the Kingston Military Community Sports Centre, so it will be fine, just inconvenient dragging the stuff around. Now we just have to advertise more widely than the Learning in Community group, as no one else has been able to make it so far.

We also went to the big Kingston area Recreation Fair yesterday and found out about clubs, sports organizations and every kind of summer camp you could imagine, so we've got plenty of choice. We're thinking about trying to keep driving to evening activities to a minimum in the summer, so we're weighing our options. So far, we've got Bailey signed up for outdoor ball hockey for the spring to try it out. Jaxon wants to play too but it conflicts with his chess club for a few weeks, so he is going to wait until another session.

I was going to put Bailey in swim lessons - and may still, if we join the YMCA in Brockville, as it is included in the membership - but yesterday he was resembling a full-fledged swimmer! He was motivated to try to pass the 'swim test' which allows you to go on the great big water slide at the Kingston Military Community Sports Centre (KMCSC) - we paid $35 for a family membership 'til August. Great pool set up, lousy hours for family swims and kids can't go in the hot tub:(

All in all, lots of options to choose from - including the Gananoque Recreation Registration event this coming Saturday - somehow we will work out the balance for everyone.....

....meanwhile, things are just getting interesting here in the woods.....we did have two more bouts of snow - one even stayed for a couple of days until the rains came, so here comes spring!

2007-03-16T12:52:00.000-05:00

March Critter Watch

Well, we saw our first fisher across the canal yesterday - exciting but worrying, since we learned that they like to eat cats, as well as porcupines, squirrels and chipmunks. Jaxon said, "Well the squirrels can have more babies but we need to keep our cats around awhile"!

So, I guess we'll develop the Flannagan Family alert horn or something to round up the cats everytime danger approaches? I don't know how we're going to keep them in on warm summer evenings. I guess we need to research fisher hunting/feeding patterns now.....makes me nervous. We have also seen coyotes up on the parkway but not down by the water yet. I keep hoping the fact that we have ALOT of little critters around means that there are no massacres going on.....I can only hope.

This morning we were greeted by a two bunny friends. One was about three feet from our sliding doors in the living room, so we took a lot of fuzzy pictures and movie footage through the window:) It was having a real feast around the pine cones and needles and such. A chipmunk was hanging out on the step right under our noses, surveying the scene. Neither one was startled by the other.....not even when chippy's friend came along and they played some tag for a moment....the rabbit just kept on munching.........yes, this is why I brought the kids to the forest!

Now we wait for the deer....

2007-03-13T16:43:00.000-05:00

Embracing Another Transition....

Well, just when I thought we were enjoying our winter wonderland bliss....the slow thaw begins! Oh, there's still snow on the ground and ice on the lake but not the kind you can play with or skate on! Then the anxiety hit - well we have Daddy's exams to be anxious about too - but it was almost a new sense of panic....and then I figured it out: another change. We were just coasting along getting settled, cocooning a bit, enjoying our new place, building our nest and now BOOM, another transition to make.

To be honest, I wasn't sure how we were going to cope but a trip to good ole Canadian Tire did the trick....I picked up a couple of birdfeeders to go with the seed that had been lounging about since we arrived (and feeding nothing but the squirrels with the old wooden feeder nailed to the tree out front! I also got a seed tray and some seeds to give us another spring project.

Yes, we've decided to embrace the spring...BRING IT ON! We have projects, we now have a little bird paradise to watch out the living room window or while outside (will be easier in a few weeks as Se will be able to walk around out there once the snow melts). All of a sudden, I'm ready for the snow to be gone (kids are sad and constantly saying goodbye to it - seems like a long time to wait to play in it again) and I'm loving watching everything begin to come alive with the mild temperatures and impressive sun warming the place up.

And just like nature unfolding and coming to life before our eyes, we are finding our legs and branching out into the community with our 'make new friends' crusade. The kids were off to Circus Camp this week at Dreams In Motion in Gananoque (march break for the school kids) and are loving it - but looking very tired after day 2! We have started another Stone Soup - free gym time to play with sports equipment or just hang out with new friends. We are continuing Chess Club (Jaxon), Beavers (Bailey) and Karate (Jaxon) for the next month or so. We have a new Yugioh/Magic Club through Kingston Rec that we want to sign up for this weekend and we are hoping to get Bailey on a soccer and/or baseball team for the summer.

We are also trying to start our own Yugioh and Lego Clubs to meet both local kids and other interested homeschoolers/unschoolers/homelearners and so we don't only meet people in Kingston - 20-30 minute drive and Se is still HATING the car!

I am starting a woodworking course on Sunday evenings for the next few weeks that is offered through the KMFRC, I'm looking for a pilates class and I'm on the waiting list for a soccer team.

If all that wasn't enough, we just found out about some cool classes offered for homeschoolers at a community centre near Ian's work once a week -so we may travel in to Ottawa for the day each Thursday to take some classes in French, Yoga and Astronomy/Science, just for the spring. The kids are really excited about that.

I countered the mounting panic and overwhelming feeling of too much too soon by 'calendarizing' - my new word for what I do once in awhile to organize my life - and sitting back and watching my birds!!!

I never knew how much I would love this - luckily Grandma and Grandpa Flannagan gave us an Eastern Region, North American Field Guide and some new binocs, so we are set. (We also have a Bird Watching Trivia Game to test our new observations!)

Now I'm new at this, but I'm pretty sure that so far we've spotted: MANY Black Capped Chickadees, some kind of small blackbird, robins, a pair of Blue Jays we are hoping to woo into nesting nearby, possibly a cardinal of some sort but only once, so I'm not certain about that one, a few Downy Woodpeckers (or the same one over and over again!), some kind of finch (House Finch, I think) and a couple of other small grey and white birds that I have no idea about!!

AAQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQAQaz(Se's commentary - was going to delete but Jaxon thought it was soooo hilarious!) Fortunately, for our viewing pleasure but unfortunately for the comfort of the bird feeders, we have a lively squirrel and chipmunk population right now. We are on our third incarnation of the feeders and will be seeking a post shortly to go with the squirrel baffle, so that the feeders are both squirrel-proof and more stable for the larger birds - the BlueJays are having trouble getting on the small perches while swaying on the long line (now wire, after many knawing incidents!).

Anyway, we are definitely embracing this new season coming upon us...I just hope we won't be moving so fast we'll miss the blossoming of the new buds just coming out on our trees....ahh yes, the balancing act, I recognize it well...we've transitioned ourselves back to life again....and the journey continues!

2007-03-04T11:16:00.001-05:00

WINTER WONDERLAND IN IVY LEA

Well....we are finally in our new house and REALLY enjoying a true Canadian winter this year.(We even have a castle nearby, ha, ha!)

The boys have had great fun with their cousins (who live just 25 minutes away, for the first time ever - yeah!) tobogganing at a great hill just down the lane and skating on the canal in front of the house.

We love to follow tracks - bunny footprints leading up to a hole in the snow - deer, lots of chipmunks and squirrels.....we have also spotted a red fox and a falcon fluttering in the tree beside the van, desperately trying to get a grip on the poor chipmunk it had found for lunch!

Two days ago there was a freezing rain "ice storm", which blanketed all the trees and began to melt shortly thereafter in the blazing winter sun. The sound of the the ice chunks falling was quite loud, following by the trees 'raining' down the rest of the melted ice - luckily the sun saved most of the branches, with only a few small ones breaking off under the weight of the ice.

It was mild enough (+2 or 3?) for Se to take off his mitts and play with the snow, dragging a fallen branch along as I pulled him in his little purple sleigh. He's going to love spring/summer here in the forest when he can trot down the lane - right now he pretty much has to sit in the sleigh. He can't really get very far in the snow on his own.

Jaxon was experimenting with how much water would come from the snow he was scooping into his water bottle once it melted and perfected a snowball forming technique with the tool for molding clay - just right for the freshly fallen wet snow of that day.

Bailey and Jaxon both love to climb the 30 ft rocky hill in front of Blu and Douglas' house (owners of property we live on who have lived here for over 40 years and raised their THREE BOYS here!). They live just down the lane from our house, around the corner from their small marina - named after the Blue Heron that apparently visits our front dock daily in the summertime. Bailey loves to watch Douglas plowing the laneways with little red tractor with the plow on the back - he can't believe Douglas' luck to play on that everyday!

We still have about a foot and a half of snow left and hope it holds out a little longer for our winter wonderland playground here in Ivy Lea....spring will come soon enough and we are ready with our waterproofs and wellies we stocked up on before leaving England (www.muddypuddles.co.uk)!!!

===

Test From the Mac with FIREFOX

2007-03-04T10:43:00.001-05:00

Ian just put in a new plug-in for FireFox so this is just testing to see if the linkage is working properly. If so, more to follow because it is so easy!

Cheers - ian

2006-08-05T17:32:00.000-05:00

Today I went to my second NIA dance class and I LOVED IT...it is described as a personal growth, body-mind-spirit fitness program, incorporating moves from traditional aerobics, all kinds of dance, yoga/pilates and martial arts.....check it out at http://www.niac.ca/on/aboutnia.php if you've never heard about it....it is apparently very popular in North America but just catching on here in the UK.

After the class we met up with Dorit, Peter and Zach, (Dorit teaches the class and Zach is in Bailey's class at North London Rudolph Steiner) and other friend of hers Jen and her son and we checked out a new park we've been meaning to go to called Friary Park. The British sure know how to do parks and playgrounds, I tell you.....they almost always have a great cafe or restaurant there too. I had a great greek salad, but then everything tastes great when you're starving after a good workout! The NIA classes are the closest I've come to skating in the old days in a LONG time.

Now we are 'prepping' for daddy deserting us for three days! He is off on his BMW motorcycle adventure to Germany for his medical appointment....he'll be soaking up the dream because he'll have to dive back into his thesis when he returns...only a few weeks left!

We also bought a new old (!) computer off Ebay today. Jaxon has been begging us to get some kind of video game system for a long time but opted today to spend his money from Grandma and Grandpa Werry towards a new family computer that can play PC games that he would have played on a playstation or something but he can also use the internet, play chess and checkers with Grandma June and Roy (and whomever else is willing!) and use other software that he has like his Lego Digital Designer and others. We have all been 'fighting' over daddy's laptop as the other computer has been working on and off and is not fast enough for games.

Anyway, hopefully this computer will work out well. Jaxon is pleased with his decision after much research and consideration. Now he wants to get a paper route to pay for games and such...only we don't think they do that here....although there are alot of flyers delivered by people....he may have to wait until Canada for the paper route thing...he is really keen though. He thinks he will ride his bike to do it..we'll see!

Sé was teething pretty hard again today but is still as sweet as ever, charming everyone with his smiles. Almost sitting up but too impatient to bother....he just wants to stand....he's all legs! On his belly, he can spin in a circle, pull himself forward a bit and gets up on his feet and knees but can't quite get right up on all fours yet. He'll be 6 months on Friday.....wow, time flies!

TTFN,

Lisa

2006-08-02T09:27:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are back in London after another big adventure! This time, we started in Sussex at the Steiner School Camp - beautiful countryside, high class camping with fully stocked communal kitchen and food to die for! Not what we're used to in Canada, where we have to put the food in the car or up in a tree so the bears or raccoons don't storm the tent!! Kids had a great time playing and swimming, adults enjoyed great food, drink and music around the campfire.....the highlight for me was the KIA dance workshop!!!Just like skating again!! Felt great to have such a fun intense workout and move to the music.

Then it was off to la loire, actually south of the loire, near la Vienne, in a small village called Berthegon (north of Bordeaux) to stay with Claire and Jason in their old stone farm house. It was REALLY hot and 'buggy' but the company was great -kids played with Gil and Hester and swam in their little pool. We toured many chateaux in the area, including the home where Da Vinci spent his last four years - IBM engineers built some of his inventions and designs and that was definitely a highlight in Amboise - oh, except for le marché where we nearly lost Bailey!! The police had him after he had left the market, crossed two streets and returned to the bar in front of our hotel we had only stayed in for one night!!!! Another highlight of this visit was definitely the meal Jason prepared on our last night of prawns and squid..worth cutting our camping trip to Versailles short.

We spent the extra night in Amboise as there was too much to do, so we only camped for one night in Versailles. A five minute walk from Huttopia - which we would definitely recommend - is the RER train to Paris....20 minutes later and Sé and I were in front of la Tour Eiffel!! After a lovely day exploring Paris by bus, visiting Notre Dame and strolling around the left bank, Sé and I took the Eurostar through the chunnel and were home in Muswell Hill in less than four hours!! Amazing!

Now we are just trying to unpack and get things done -like Ian's thesis -without any particular routine or rhythm to our days .....it's like starting over again, this summer holiday thing!! Jaxon enjoyed his first real visit to the library to pick out books his he started reading full on - that was fun!