A Revival? We'll see.

About once a year I decide that I'm going to attempt to revive this blog, which I lost track of once life got busy with kids and work. When I made it a priority, writing the blog was something that I always enjoyed and looked forward to and also a nice way to keep track of the exciting things that were happening in our lives here in London.  And so much has happened! 

These days, I use my Facebook account as a way to remember what we have done. It has captured snippets of life across years: pictures, comments, expressions of frustrations and humor.  I've documented travels and reunions with family, relationships with new friends and old.  But it's not the same as my old blog.  So, again, I'll try.

I'm about to turn 40, which is a milestone!  I don't feel anxious or middle aged. I don't feel like I've wasted precious time or that this is the beginning of the end. I'm constantly amazed at how much we have done and how unpredictable my life has been. I'm lucky to have spent more than half of my life with someone I love--someone I met when I was teenager growing up on a farm in Louisiana, in a time a time of my life when the biggest adventure I had to look forward to was finishing high school and going to college. I'm proud to have two amazing, strong and confident girls, to have created a life and a family in a city that is international and exciting, despite that fact that it's so far away from so many people we love. I'm lucky to have parents and siblings and in-laws back in the States who love us and support our choice to live here, but still wish we would come home.  I'm fortunate to have incredible friends all over world, who have acted as surrogate family when family has been too far away and who have become our 'international community.'  And I'm proud not to have lost my sense of humor along the way.

 Turning forty is good!  And turning forty requires extreme celebrating. So we decided to start with a family weekend away in Suffolk.

Something that has happened since the last time I was serious about this blog is the Air BnB phenomenon of renting out a room or a spare house or a caravan or a tent or a couch online.  We're jumping on the bandwagon late in the game and have hit the jackpot with a two bedroom converted barn on a farm, with horses and chickens and access to beautiful walks in the countryside across the street.

And, anyway, how can you not love someplace that has a sign like this,

with apple trees and magical bridges across their ditches,

 and a pond with stone creatures in it?

 It's like being in a country wonderland. I'm surprised this horse (Maddy) didn't start talking to us!

 Down the road a few feet, was an entrance to a Circular Walk, which started in a field (luckily nice and dry).  The city girls donned their finest crazy, clashing outfits and their rarely worn hiking boots and trekked across the crunchy clots of dirt, swatting at invisible bugs and collecting rocks.

 The handsome honey and dog, looking similarly stylish, kept the pace.

We were on the lookout for green woodpeckers, but only saw a Kestrel, lots of Starlings and a number of frantic Pheasants (one of which nearly gave us a heart attack when it came crashing out of the hedgerow). 

A small wood held more magical bridges and streams, before which to take a haggard picture.

 

There were ample opportunities for sister loveliness and for a game of 'We're going on a Bear Hunt.'  There were also a lot of cow pats to be assessed and stepped in. Fortunately, the canine member of the family showed no interest in rolling in cow pats, so that potential crisis was averted!

 

Love was in the air!

 
Food at the local family run pub was yummy (and Aggy got a few nibbles), but we had to sit outside, which was a little cold. 

 And on the way home, everyone showed off their best stile crossing moves:


We couldn't get enough of crossing fields...

And by the end, we all needed a little rest (some of us needed a nap!)

But there's always time and energy for a friendly horse who has a mustache!