Day 181: From the top of Notre Dame

I've never had such a hard time picking a photo for the day. We spent a wonderful morning in the Louvre and ended the day with a very enjoyable boat ride on the Seine. In the middle of the day we returned to Notre Dame, this time waiting a long time in line to climb to the top of the South Tower. There are amazing carvings up there, and stunning views, and this photo seemed to combine the two.

Day 179: Swans

Bizarrely this post seems to have disappeared from my blog, so I am reposting it. This is one of a family of swans we came across walking home along the river after a fun morning at the swimming pool.

Day 180: Not the picture I thought I would post today...

So here we are in the magical city of Paris and I was thinking that it would be impossible to choose ONE photo after a fantastic day in which many great photos were taken of amazing buildings and delicious food. However the choice turned out to be incredibly easy. After wolfing down crepes at a creperie close to the Pompidou Centre, Daniel noticed some Parisian boys playing soccer in the square. He asked me if he could join them - his only concern being his inability to speak their language. I asked one of the adults there if my boys could join the game and they were warmly welcomed on to the team. I am not one to be sentimental about sport but the scene truly brought tears to my eyes. The simple game of street soccer transcended any barriers of language or culture and I am so proud of my sons for seeing the opportunity for what it was and for making the most of it. I have watched my boys play soccer many times, but this could well be the most memorable.

Day 178: A spontaneous trip to the beach

We had a sudden and rather overwhelming heatwave today and my lovely sister-in-law suggested that we take the train out to Walton-on-the-Naze where it was forecast to be cooler. Sure enough we had a perfect day at the seaside. The kids spent a lot of time in the water, which was just the right temperature for swimming. I realized that I last visited Walton more than twenty years ago with my greatly missed godmother. The pier, on the right of the picture, looks exactly the same as it did then.

Day 177: A well-loved view

The children and I returned to Standon today, where we used to live before we moved to Portland. We attended a lovely service at our old church and spent the rest of the day with our beloved friend Lizzy and her incredibly hospitable family. Johnny, Daniel and I went on some of our favorite walks around the village. There were so many photos I could have used but I picked this one, taken from the hill behind the church, one of my favorite places, where I have often spent time sitting and thinking and enjoying the view.

Day 176: More baseball at the park

I was absolutely thrilled to see one of my aunts and two of my cousins today. Rhea and Tanji came over to the park with us and played baseball with the kids.

Day 175: Mosaic

We took the train to Colchester today, the oldest town in England. We were fortunate enough to get a private guided tour of the Norman castle, built in 1076 by William the Conqueror around the ruins of a Roman temple. We explored the temple vaults, saw Roman mosaics, held 1900 year old pottery, tried on a Roman helmet, reenacted sword fighting on a Norman staircase climbed by at least four English kings, got up on to the roof and explored the prison. It was a great visit!

Day 174: Playing baseball with Uncle Andrew

We had a delightful day with my brother and his family. We were thrilled to meet my new nephew Ethan and renew our acquaintance with his wonderful elder brother Alex. We went to the park around the corner to play baseball. I have some great pictures of Noah at bat, but love this one of him pitching to his uncle.

Day 173: Fleur

Anna has wanted a cat for a long time but we are pretty sure a cat would not enjoy living with our dog Tilly. So while there are many things Anna is looking forward to on this vacation, spending time with her grandparents' cat Fleur is quite high on the list.

Day 172: Waiting in line at immigration

The sight of my kids reading their books while waiting to go through immigration at Heathrow made many people smile. Despite the long wait, it was considerably less stressful than immigration at Calgary airport, where Canadian officials interviewed me and Johnny at some length because they suspected I was trying to kidnap my own children. We only just made our connecting flight!

Day 171: We're off!

Boarding the plane at PDX, on our way to London via Calgary.

Day 170: Packing

Six out of eleven bags packed with thirteen hours to go before we leave the house...

Day 169: Pedicure

I have been cleaning, doing laundry and packing most of the day. And I am feeling pretty good because I have four bags packed already, with 36 hours to go before we leave. I had to get some copying done for church this afternoon and when the lady at Office Depot told me to come back in an hour, I decided not to go home but to go and get a pedicure. This is a huge and unusual treat for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Day 168: Kindergarten graduation

Third graduation of the week! After the preschool and fifth grade graduations came Anna's kindergarten graduation. School is over for the year and we have two days to get ready for our big trip...

Day 167: Bridges

Johnny graduated from elementary school today - hard to believe my little boy is ready for middle school. David took all the graduation pictures, so I can't post one here, but I was volunteering in Daniel's classroom this morning and was extremely impressed with the popsicle-stick bridges that had been built there. This is Daniel's team's suspension bridge.

Day 166: The school year is almost over...

And I am going to miss these kids...

Day 165: Preschool Graduation

Oh my goodness, my fourth and final baby has finished his first year of preschool. Congratulations Noah!

Day 164: Taking flight

Actually, he just headed a soccer ball. I did get other pictures like this with the ball actually in the picture, but Daniel didn't look quite so elegant as he does here. The kids love to play soccer in the backyard now that summer evenings have finally arrived.

Day 163: Strike!

We had a wonderful time on our end-of-the-school-year Sunday School bowling trip.

Day 162: Baby Shower

I threw a baby shower today for a delightful mother-to-be expecting a little girl in three weeks. One of the activities was the opportunity to decorate a onesie for baby Ella - my guests were incredibly creative!

Day 161: Ice Cream

We took the kids to Ben and Jerry's this evening as a very special treat. That is REALLY good ice cream.

Day 160: Darth Vader

Daniel reprised his role as Darth for the school talent show and played his Star Wars medley very well.

Day 159: First rose of summer

I have some lovely rose bushes and I was afraid that they would all bloom while I was gone this summer.

Day 158: Home from the salon

Anna and I both got hair cuts today. Anna came home with a more dramatic change than she had imagined (I LOVE it!) and I came home wishing I was more skilled at dealing with my hair - a pony tail is my default style!

Day 157: Surprise message

I was not expecting this when I opened the door to use the washing machine.

Day 156: A fond farewell

This is Noah saying goodbye to his best buddy, Tucker, after a fun post-church hour at the park.

Day 155: Car Wash

Oh my, this was a busy day! A sleepover, a trip to the zoo, an out-of-state playdate and an at-home playdate. Somehow we squeezed in an hour of car-washing to help raise money for next year's sixth grade Outdoor School. Other soon-to-be sixth graders worked in shifts throughout the day and raised $250 - only $51,500 to go...

Day 154: Baby shower

Anna's wonderful kindergarten teacher is expecting a baby this summer and one of my fellow parents had this beautiful quilt made for her, to which all the students contributed by decorating a letter of the alphabet. We also had a riotous baby shower in the classroom - great fun!

In other happy news, the sun is finally shining and the recount for the school bond measure took place this morning: the measure passed by six votes! Woo Hoo!

Day 153: Surprise

I have absolutely no memory of planting irises in my garden last fall, but I am glad I did.

Day 152: Bible Study

Every Wednesday night I teach a Bible study. It is a huge privilege to study God's Word with some of the greatest women I know.