Happy Halloween

We had a fun Halloween with Sportacus and Darth...




Though it's not quite the same here in the UK...



And here are the kids wearing Statue of Liberty sunglasses from Aunt Susan and Uncle John...I saw them briefly in NY when I was there for a packed work trip...it was nice to see them both. (Sandy)

The Best Way to Get Down a Hill

The best way to get down a hill, as demonstrated by Tolka!(Martin)

Back at Christmas time Aunt Susan and Uncle John bought Joey a huge Lego model which can be built as a cargo plane, a hovercraft and a ferry. First we built the cargo plane, which was then a favoured toy for ages. Now we built the hovercraft. It took about 4 or 5 hours, with Martin finding the pieces for each stage and Joey putting the whole model together. it comes with two cars to transport too. A good way to pass a couple of days of the waning school holidays. (Martin)

Today, Jo and Ella and Sassy came over. We went blackberrying and then we had a lovely picnic in the old cowfield. We went to the Bourne playground. This was all a trip down childhood memory lane for Jo and Martin who used to play here all the time. Finally, back home, and into the pool with the kids spraying each other with the hose. A great Summer holiday day!.(Martin)

New Olympic Swimming Champion

Tolka loves watching the diving and swimming from the World Championships (and loved the olympics last year too), and here he is winning his own race and diving competition.

Tolka

On 22 July it was finally Tolka's turn (see last entry). We had an impromptu birthday party for Tolka's 5th birthday, 15 kids came to the park, and they all had so much fun! He was so happy to have a day of his own. I made American-style cupcakes and they were all chocolately messes..

I love this little guy, so much...

(Joey's still waiting for his trip to Legoland...soon...soon...)

Joey's Birthday--in the bucket, as it were...

Joey crawled into bed in the middle of the night, and woke mummy up with a less than pleasant surprise. We held out hopes that he could still go to Legoland with his Dad and friend Calvin...but alas...dreams were dashed down the barf bucket...Luckily Aunt Susan & Uncle John sent Joey 3 sets of Lego Power Miners for his birthday.

Not quite the same as building rocket racers at Legoland, but ...

And then there was Tolka, who wanted birthday presents too, not satisfied with knowing his birthday WILL come next month...

Joey asked us to take down the sign that says "have a super day" (poor guy). And thanked his mum for looking after him. How sweet.

And Tolka is getting ill too, so we have to let him know his long promised trip to the pool today (a reward for a week's worth of good efffort) will have to wait until days when his derriere is a bit more reliable...

Sigh. Life throws us curveballs sometimes...I promised Joey I'd show him these pictures when he's a teen and he'll probably still remember how he felt...

Tolka's Many Faces

We took pictures for flash cards of Tolka making different faces.

ANGRY


SAD


SCARY


SICK


TIRED (YAWN)


SURPRISED

HAPPY


There were more, but you get the idea. Someone told us recently he couldn't do this. Hmpph.

creativity

All about Joey

I like football, tennis and being helpful.
But I like being funny as well.
My mum says I’m cute.

By Joey

-------------------------

By Tolka Butcher

Tolka went to a jungle pool.

The giraffe was in the water.

The tiger jumped into the water.
It was freezing cold!
He was sad.
The tiger jumped and he was happy.

The giraffe came out of the pool.
The tiger came out of the pool.

The tiger was dancing.
Giraffe said, “Stop dancing.”
The tiger did not stop.

The giraffe and the tiger danced.

The giraffe can’t dance.

The tiger did a happy dance.
He was tired.
The tiger, giraffe, spider, lion, gorilla, monkey, and zebra were all in the pool!

---------------------

Note: Joey spontaneously wrote that note on the computer in Microsoft Word while I was upstairs putting Tolka to bed tonight. "Tolka's Jungle" was the result of a project over the break where we did MANY activities related to jungles, and he learned how to sight read many jungle-related words. He made up the story and acted it out with animals and a box lined with blue plastic. Joey took photos, and we 'published' our own little book. They both have such great imaginations. (PS- we have a book called 'Giraffes Can't Dance' which is a lovely story about how everyone can dance when you find the music that moves you...) SIB

fun in the sun...

There's not really much more to say... except that it happened again today! :-)

A Great Day in Fresh Air

We spent a really nice day today at the Amwell Quarry Nature Reserve. There is a video of the park available here: http://www.biffaward.org/bcasestudies?aid=44

It was nice to be in fresh air with Martin, the boys, and our dear friend Joanne and her family. I only remembered my phone takes pictures as we were leaving the park. Tolka's laughter while plunking stones into the river was so joyful... (sandy)

A Day Out in London

We are in the two week long Easter holidays, and as always in the longer breaks we have to fighure out how to occupy the boys. So, the other day, while Mummy had to go to work in the Pugwash office, the boys took a short tour of London. First stop, Bloomsbury Square. This square houses a small park with a recently and magnificently renovated children's playground. Joey and Tolka both loved it.  Tolka was happiest while spinning on this mini-roundabout. While Joey had a whale of a time jumping around on the springy wooden discs. 

Having had a jolly good run around, we got onto a red bus, and to both boys delight got to sit on the top deck at the front. We took a ride down to Trafalgar Square to look at the huge lion statues, as well as Admiral Nelson on top of his column.

 

Then it was time for lunch at McDonalds, and a stroll down Whitehall.  We had a look at the Banqueting House where Charles I was executed in 1649 (although sadly the monarchy returned). I tried another discussion with Joey about why Presidents are better than Kings and Queens, but he really isn't sure.

Finally we went on down Whitehall to Downing Street where the Prime Minister lives (although these days that can be hard behind the layers of iron gates.

 

We had a fun day (I think Sandy's day in the office was less enjoyable!), and two tired boys fell asleep in the car on the ride home from Cockfosters tube station. (Martin)

A Saturday Lunchtime Picnic in the Sun

Sometimes the sun shines and England is warm. This is not just the land of fog and rain.

Today the sun is shining brightly. Actually it has been warm all week, once the morning mist burnt off. This lunchtime the boys decided they would like to have a picnic. (Joey asked for the paddling pool too, but it isn't that warm!)

So Tolka got the tablecloth out, and they had cheese and carrots and crisps and yogurt in a tube (frubes).

As always, they loved. Meanwhile Mummy was shopping with Aunty Emma and Daddy was busy blogging about the NATO Summit. (Martin)

Happy Day

9 years ago...

The Lego Engineer

Aunt Susan and Uncle John bought Joey a superb Lego kit for Christmas. It can make a cargo plane, a hovercraft and a massive ferry.

Since Christmas Joey has, bit by bit, been tackling the cargo aircraft. It involved finding and assembling hundreds of tiny lego pieces in a 100-stage process. Hours of painstaking work. And this week, Joey finsihed the job.

So here we have pictures ofthe plane banking in mid-air and anothe rof it coming in to land. Joey took the plane to school for show and tell. All his friends were amazed at how much work Joey had done. Once Mummy comes home from America and has had a chance to see the plane it will be demolished. Next up is the hovercraft. (Martin)

O what a day

Celebrating the Dream

We made sure our boys watched this historic moment (we made a special 'O' dinner to make it fun for them).

The day affected me in a way I did not anticipate. It wasn't just about an African American becoming president, it was about reaffirming what our country stands for:

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. ...

"Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom. For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and ploughed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

"...we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. ...

"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."

This made me think of my grandparents. One grandmother scrubbed floors for 7 years as an indentured servant to pay her way to America. Unable to speak any English, one grandfather walked every day from Philadelphia to NJ to work as a laborer moving boxes in a factory. My other grandmother sewed buttons and did piecework for hours on end, with help from her daughters. Another grandfather did whatever he could do to put food on the table for 9 kids. These were not people who whined or complained. They did it, and they believed in the dream. It's what brought them across the ocean. And thanks to their hard work, and the hard work of my parents, I have been blessed. I have met world leaders, and live a life they could only imagine might be possible two generations later. I am the proof that the dream can work.

And I rebel inside when I hear my fellow Americans complain about immigrants and people who come to the country from other places. It's what has been the strength of the country for so long. I welcome President Obama's recognition of the journey we have all taken. And the journey my husband, children and I are still taking.