Scotland - For the Brave!

Yip, you guessed it!!! We are off to Scotland...

8 days of roadtrip through the Scottish Highlands! Just makes you wanna fling, doesn't it ;)

Leaving 12 September, so watch this space.

Medieval Tournament

The Czechs seem to be very passionate about their traditions and their history - even the traditional folk music (like those of the medieval King's court) is still played and listened to widely.

While I was out for a run on Sunday, I noticed an arena being setup in one of the monastery grounds in a park land near us. We made an outing of the afternoon, packing the girls' bikes and going down to see what all the fuss was about.

Well, we got there just in time as a medieval tournament was starting - showing the skill and horsemanship that was needed to be a medieval knight!


The riders took the part very seriously - and could very easily have been timewarped from 1107 to today, straight from King Author's court.

Sunset

Just one of those sunsets that makes you stop what you are doing; call the family and watch it until it fades into darkness...

Skiing in Jan!!!

Now that the sun is no longer setting after 10pm, it is very very quickly becoming apparent to us that the summer is waning and we are very interested to see what the winter will hold in store for us this year.

With Mish & the family arriving for a visit in December, we have been frantically planning a winter ski holiday - somewhere where the snow is pure; the air is clean; and the children are taken care of!

Finally, we have found the place and booked our spot: http://www.samoens.com/index_en.html

So, Roll on Winter!!!

Portraits in Prague

Ever since Italy, we have been promising the girls that we would have their portraits drawn on Charles Bridge in Prague. The artists in Italy were incredible, but trekking all those miles with such delicate pages would not have worked. Sadly, the artists on Charles Bridge were a downgrade or two, but still really really good.

After waiting for an hour and a half in the queue behind the best guy on the block, Saz was first to go...

Amber eagerly took to the stool after Saz...

Dad and Saz waiting patiently for the master piece to be complete..
After the bridge, we met up with George and his family and went for dinner at an Italian restaurant in town. The girls would not leave the chefs alone all night and even took it upon themselves to take photos of their every move.

Sarah then turned her photographic prowess to George's wife and daugher, Anna & Leanne..

Concert at the school with Dr Klutz the Clown

At "Summer School" the last 2 weeks, the school had a guest teacher: "Dr Klutz the clown". And for 2 weeks, he taught them how to be the show, not just to watch the show. On the friday, the parents were all invited to the concert, showing off what they had learned...

This is the girls waiting for the concert to start...

This is our 2 eagerly volunteering to be the first... and to be a Duck and a Snake!

This is the snake... eating the lillypad

And these are all the monkeys...

And this is Dr Kutz giving the parents and children a magic show...

Week-end in Munich

Another week-end in Germany and another rainy day...

Saturday morning we went to the Olympic shopping centre and browsed the summer sales. The girls got kitted with new tracksuits and 2 BIG giant cows (for 5 pounds!). After shopping, we planned to go see the Seaworld, but on arriving, the queues were about 2 hours long and we gave it up for the next day. At the olympic centre, there are restaurants; lakes; pathes and trails; and a full on carnival.


There was a concert by Red Indians which the girls really enjoyed.

Then just around the corner we came across the carnival / fair.
We kept them amuzed with rides ...
and bumper cars...

The rain came down in torrents as we were finishing on the bumper cars so we kept under the covers and watched the boats in the lake as they were having Jousting competitions.

Sunday was a stunning day, so we made for seaworld and then took a quick tour of the centre of Munich and had lunch on the boulevard.

The pavements were full of artists and musicians (including someone playing a baby grand piano under a tree on the pavement)

Welcome Pink and Tom!

Ok, so I finally gave in ....

There has been talk of getting a pet for a while - you know, something that the girls can call "their pet"; and love, play mommy to and take care of; yet one that doesn't need to be walked at night or looked after on week-ends; one that doesn't yap or yeaol and generally gets on with it's life without much need for attention.

And, at the same time, there has been much equal and opposite talk of not getting a pet! In fact, I had thought that it was louder, but today got proven wrong (sorry, persuaded) when the family arrived home with Pink and Tom.

... Enter, Stage Left ...

This is Pink. She is Sarah's.

Tom is the camera-shy-very-out-of-focus-white-hamster above. He is Amber's.

Well, so far they have survived the over-zealous and very-enthusiastic mothering of our 2. And are actually very cute!

OK!!! So it is really not so bad having pets again. At least there shouldn't be too much difficulty finding someone in their class to look after them while we go away on week-ends. But let's talk again in a month or 2 ...

All made up and a picnic to go to

Colin is always encouraging me to "glamorise" the girls. So in the morning while I was getting ready for the day, Colin called the girls to me and said "today girls, Mom is going to do your make-up"... (much to my surprise as to theirs). So we tarted and glammed and all 3 left the bathroom all spruced and ready for a day's outing .. to the forrest!

The Woods have not left the planet .. yet :)

Pls don't dispair; and do not Fret
The Woods have not left the planet .. yet
Bogged down by work
And children to mind;
Blogger is one of the things left behind

It has not been all bad tho,
There has been some fun;
Like mountain bike riding
In forrests and in sun;
Picnics by rivers
And pizza in town;
Milkshakes in Amberg
With the rain coming down

There have been heatwaves and coldspells;
Lazy mornings and late nights;
Dominos and puzzles
And measuring of heights;
Pony rides for little ones
Shopping for big ones
And always, always, happiness and smiles...

So I know I'm no poet
(And don't pretend to be)
But you really must know
That we are well and feel free!
Living the life of our dreams
We can imagine no other
Being here; being there
Just being...