Blame it on the iphone

I've had a lot of enquiries as to why I haven't done any blog posts recently.  I point the finger of blame (and texting) at my valuable companion - the iphone.  Since acquiring it, I have had access to information and communication virtually nonstop wherever I go (thanks 3G!)  And my poor digital camera is now... hmm, where is it?  The iphone is now capturing those priceless day to day moments and that has broken my habit of taking photos, uploading at the PC and then posting on the blog.  Oops.

So here's an iphone update of life from the past few weeks:

An afternoon at The Factory in Franklin.  This pottery shop kept us happily painting for hours while Grandma Tolley and Great-Grandma Brooks were shopping.

Williamson County Fair

The first day of school (August 11th)

We have 14 cute little elementary school kids that gather at the end of our street to catch the bus each morning.  Meeting up with the other parents at the bus stop has nicely filled the void of the schoolyard drop-off's I loved so much in England.  We have fabulous neighbors and all of us girls have some great friendships on our street.  We can't wait for Matt to get home from Singapore so he can join in our fun and impromptu neighborhood get-togethers.  Our little firepit has become s'more headquarters for the neighborhood.  (And I love it).

Emily insisted on riding the bus with the other kids on the first day of kindergarten.  The school hosted a "Boo-Hoo Breakfast" after kindergarten drop-off that first morning.  I think I was the only parent that arrived to school after my kindergartener had already arrived on the bus. (I continually had to defend myself that yes, my child actually wanted to go on the bus despite my offer to drive her). Of course, this is old hat for Emily since she's done a year of school in England already.  She did a great job getting herself settled in and her teacher reports she is a model student and a joy to have in class.

Amy is also being very independent these days - riding the bus from Day 1 and being a great helper in her classroom.  She's let me experiment with her hair a lot lately - which is great fun.  I've even learned how to make some new hair accessories: Japanese Kanzashi flowers - made with fabric instead of paper.  I've fastened them with hair clips and onto hairbands.  More posts on that to come in the next few days.  But kudos to the iphone and youtube for the handy tutorials on how to make the flowers and do the hair-braiding.

Most recently, we enjoyed an afternoon at the Franklin Theater which shows discounted movies in its renovated circa 1950s movie cinema/stage theater.  For $5 we enjoyed "Diary of  Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules" with free popcorn and lemonade before making a trip to Toys R Us to buy Playmobil with birthday money.  Then we spent the afternoon assembling the Playmobil and playing.  Saturdays are great!

Another new blog:

Ran out of photo space again!  I know, I need to adjust the photo quality on my uploads.  But I'm in the midst of an upcoming 2-week tour of England and Scotland with relatives from Canada and preparing for our upcoming overseas move.  So, re-routing is the simplest for now. 

Click Here:  Dobber-Blog 3

Dale & Alana Visit (Week 2)

Quick summary...

Canterbury Cathedral

Dover: Secret Wartime tunnels, Dover castle and the White Cliffs:

Dover Castle has been completely refurbished and had a lot of fun props to play with.

Variety is the spice of life.  We took a break from historic sites to visit the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. (Dale was ecstatic).

 

Matt took a day off work and joined us at the Burghley House and then the Stamford Market.  Then, on Saturday we all headed down to Windsor Castle for a tour.

Weekend in the Peak District

The weekend brought new adventures.  We all crammed into our very cozy "people carrier" and headed west - past Nottingham and Sherwood Forest - all the way to Stoke-on-Trent. (Famous for its pottery and china).  We toured the Wedgwood Factory and Museum.

The next day we explored the town of Matlock Bath and the "Heights of Abraham" - taking a cable car ride to the top of a hill with various underground caves.  Great views both inside and out!

Afterwards, we enjoyed some antique shops, picnic lunch and then Chatsworth House (famous for its appearance in Pride and Prejudice).

Dale & Alana Visit (Week 1)

My brother, Dale, and his lovely wife, Alana, are here for 2 weeks.  You may remember that almost 2 years ago, I attended their wedding in California.  Matt and the girls couldn't come because of the cost and interruption to school/work.  So, as compensation we gave them the gift of roundtrip airfare to London to come visit us.  And here they are!

Our adventures started out slowly as they adjusted to the time difference.  We spent a day in Peterborough - wandering shops and visiting the cathedral.  The next day we spent at Old Hunstanton Beach in Norfolk (North Sea).  It was a cloudy day, but warm enough to putter around the tide pools.

Cambridge is a must-see if you come to this part of England.  Riding at the top front of the double decker bus is always a fun experience.  Trinity College was closed so all we got was a brief tour of the courtyard but we got into Kings College with a discount (hooray for student ID's!) and spent quite a bit of time there.

Enough of the easy days, time for a L-O-N-G daytrip to London.  First stop: Buckingham Palace.

On our way to Westminster Abbey, we spotted the Today Show crew and bobbed into the background of Meredith Vieira's interview with the Dean of the abbey.  It was a preview of information regarding the upcoming Royal Wedding (Apr 29).

We even took time to marvel at the beautiful Parliament building and Big Ben before heading over to Tower Hill.

From here, we stopped by the British Museum just long enough to see the Rosetta Stone, the Easter Island statue, the Egyptian mummies and a few other interesting displays before heading to Covent Garden for a bite to eat and some shopping.

On Friday we went to another must-see for this region of the country: the homestead of Sir Isaac Newton, Woolsthorpe Manor: