Emily Rainbow Promise Night

Emily is a great little Rainbow (youngest group of Girl Scouts). She finally had her promise night where she repeats the Promise. It is only 3 lines, but Emily was the only one of five new girls that wanted to say the promise on her own and not with the group. She did great and was very happy.

They skipped around all the other girls and then under the rainbow. Fun was had by all.

Cake Fest 2011

We kept with tradition and had a bunch of friends over to eat goodies and cake in celebration of Matt's birthday.  I made 4 different cakes this year (keeping it simple): Pumpkin Cake, Cherry Chocolate cake, Banana Split Cake, and Vienna Torte.


Banana Split Cake


New this year - we provided some regular food as well: dips, Chex Mix, sandwich trays, etc.

Everyone had a good time... so good, in fact, that I forgot to take photos during the party!

Cornwall- Eden Project

Last day in Cornwall. It was a great couple of days. The Eden Project was created in a crater formed from mining in Cornwall as a way to bring in money and tourists and showcase various eco-conscious ideas and be model for mine rehabilitation.

The main attraction are the rain forest and Mediterranean climate domes. The Eden Project is a charity and it felt like we were generous contributors by the time we paid admission bought lunch and a $60 bamboo bowl. While in the states a few weeks later I nearly passed out when I saw aisles of the same bowls in Target for $10.

This banana flower chooses....Amy!

Emily and I did ice skating for an hour. After Switzerland she's been reminding us nearly daily how much she loved it and wants to do it again. It was alright. The highlight was this dinosaur that came out and terrorized people. His guide would tell people to back up a bit so he wouldn't eat them by mistake, but also encouraged one kid to put his head in the dinosaur's mouth. There was a mix of awe and fear- even though his extra human legs were clearly visible next to his T-rex legs. Mostly fear. A lot of crying, but morbid fascination that wouldn't let the kids run too far away. What a dinosaur had to do with anything I know not, but it passed the time.

Don't sit there Amy!

Emily loves those giant aloe plants.

Cornwall- North Coast

This day on the North Coast started at Padstow with the National Lobster Hatchery. In the past 10 years they have released tens of thousands of little lobsters into the sea. It was a really nice science lesson and neat to see them in different stages of maturity. The biggest surprise was learning that European Lobsters and blue. Everybody smile and say Lobster!

The babies grow very slowly. The 3 inch long ones are almost a year old already. A mature one is 7-10 years old which may be why they are so expensive.

It was a bit of a frosty morning to be out walking on the coast, but here are the Bedruthan steps. There is a staircase that takes you right to the sea but it is closed in winter.

We had Cornish Pasties in Newquay and ambled down to the aquarium. It was quite nice. Here are a starfish wanting to do Amy's hair, a really big octopus and a piranha.

After dealing with Emily's complaints that we hadn't played at any of the beaches so far, we stopped for an hour at Newquay beach. Lovely sand, beautiful rock formations, surfers, and just warm enough that the girls could play barefoot and not freeze to death. Lana and I picked up some shells and rocks while the girls played.

Cornwall- Land's End

We finished out the February school break with a few more days in Cornwall. This is the far south western peninsula of England. Admittedly, we were out of season. Cornwall is renown for its slightly warmer climate and palm trees, wonderful beaches, and small winding roads. There is one 4 lane highway in the whole county. This makes Cornwall a popular and incredibly crowded place to visit in the summer. Time was running out on our tenure in the UK and we still had a great time.

Our first full day we spent driving to Land's End. You may wonder how big the outlet mall is- but it is literally the End of Land. The furthest west you can get on the Island. It is 874 miles from John O'Groats in the far north-eastern corner of Scotland.

On the way to Land's End we stopped at the British St. Michael's Mount. It was quite different than its more famous neighbor in France, but equally memorable. In low tide a footpath is available to walk to the Island Castle, but in high tide the use 'Ducks'- boats with wheels. The ride ended up being free (probably since it is the off season) but it was a really fun little ride. On the way back we even saw some real dolphins playing in the distance!

The castle has been owned by the same family for a few hundred years. About 20 years ago they donated it to the National Trust (no more tax on its value and help in keeping it maintained). The family took out a 100 year lease and still 'own' and live in a big portion of it. The larger rooms are open for public viewing. Some really unique and fascinating architecture.

The little chapel was lovely and inspired Emily to read John 3:16. The appeal of this intimate worship settings gets us every time we come to a stately home or castle.

Even though it was winter you could tell the gardens were amazing on this rugged little island.

After the castle we stopped for lunch at Penzance. There is nothing particularly interesting about the city and I wondered whether Gilbert and Sullivan music was lauded or banned there. I did look for Pirates the whole time with no luck.

Here we are at actual Land's End. A bit bleak and anticlimactic, although I'm not sure what wonders we expected to see- it's just another bit of rocky coast.

All in all a fun day out even with rain sprinkling down off and on.

Back to the UK

We took the speed ferry back from France, stopping on the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey (UK) en route.  Total travel time was about 5 hours (half the time of the 'regular' ferry).  We enjoyed some sandwiches, games and movies along the way then spent the night in Weymouth, England.

The next morning we headed to Falmouth (Cornwall) and explored Henry VIII's Pendennis Castle.

Pendennis has been in use as a defensive fortress all the way up through the end of WW2.  The hands-on displays for each era of the fortress were fun too.  Lots of imaginitive play.

Eating our WW2 rations in an underground bunker!

From Falmouth, it was only a short drive to our cottage near Truro. Our little home was a converted barn - very cute with sweet decor and just enough heating to survive...