Busy, Busy

Welcome to the 'new' blog.  It's been a busy few weeks as we have been settling back into the school routines and still trying to soak up every bit of cultural experience we can find.

We went to our first Premier-League rugby match back in September.  Caterpillar sponsors the Leicester Tigers so we got discount tickets.  We had a great time!

  

"Try" = Touchdown

We took note of the beautiful sunflowers that Emily planted in the spring.  Look how much they've grown! (She had her mouth full of something when the photo was taken!)

School started.  This is Emily's first year of school and she is in the Reception class (kindergarten).  She was very happy and excited to go to school like her big sister and has adjusted beautifully.

 

For one week parents were invited to come in and have school dinners with the Reception children. Both Matt and I went in during the week and enjoyed dining with both the girls.

Here is Emily with her lasagne/veggie platter:

Then there was the "Dance Through the Decades" day.  Amy's class was assigned to dress up in 50's-era clothing.  So I sewed her a poodle skirt:

 Later that afternoon, parents were invited to come watch the dance the kids had learned.  Boys dancing with girls! 

In addition to swimming lessons (both girls) and tennis, Amy started Brownies this fall too.  Here she is modeling the trendy new uniform:

Symphony rehearsals are in full swing for me.  We have a Russian-themed concert scheduled for November (Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Khatchaturian, etc.), and we just performed last month in conjunction with the 110th anniversary of the P'boro Operatic and Dramatic Society's production of "An Evening With Rodgers and Hammerstein."  Lots of good ol' fashioned show tunes.  It was nice.  I'm teaching some piano lessons too.

We have recovered nicely from our travels to Ireland, have even done a few local weekend trips (photos to come soon) and are gearing up for a week in Norway the end of this month.

And just to keep life interesting, we've been dealing with an ongoing plumbing issue in the house...

 

It's been wet, moldy, and has left us with gaping holes in the ceiling and a disfunctional toilet upstairs.  We are now at 34 days and counting.  Still no action from the landlord yet...

At least we're too busy to notice it.  Much.