Happy Hippos

With the bad weather and the cold here we have had to spend a lot of times indoors. Though the weather is often rainy and cold in seattle, somehow the rain is just colder here in West Lancs. Anyway, today we headed to a new indoor play area in Ormskirk, my home town and let the cousins loose in "Happy Hippos". The play area is very different than any I have been to in seattle. The main part is an enormous rope area with slides, a ball court and tunnels. There is also a a smaller area with climbing platforms and ball pits, which Max and Zoe loved. The rest of the space is for tables and there is a great coffee bar. So today the mummies got to drink lattes whilst the kiddos got to play.

It was really difficult to get any decent pictures because of the myriad of strip lights, but I took a few just for documentation.

Guess who has been sleeping in my bed?

It was going so well. The jet lag was over, the dream tubes were working like a charm and for some bizarre reason both kids started sleeping through the night. I felt normal, you know as if I had slept all night. It was brilliant. And then just like that the pixley one AKA Zoe escaped. It started at nap time but has now progressed to bed time as well. Tonight there was a lot of screaming so I went in to investigate. Zoe had climbed into Max's bed and was singing him "You are my sunshine" just like I do to them at nighttime. It went something like "Maxi, Maxi sunshine,everyday take away sunshine". So poor Max had to go in my bed just to get away from the Z-Bop, then he was out like a light and she was left to serenade her Peppa pig instead.

Fun with cousin Theo

The favorite part of my trip so far has been spending time with my nephews Jack and Theo. Jack is 4 and actually in school full time now and Theo is 3. Theo is at pre-school 3 mornings a week, but today he was free to spend time with his little cousins and his auntie. Today the kids had great time playing in 'the fort' my sister built for them and playing play dough. Theo is a sweet heart full of fun and laughter, and he is Max's new hero along with cousin Jack. Smile please
In the fort
Smile please Angus

The big Woof Woof

We have spent a lot of time on our visit hanging out at my mum's house. My mum has a really BIG golden retriever called Angus. At first he was much "too big" according to M and Z, but now they are starting to thaw and spend more time with him. Zoe even had fun using him as a pillow today. Zoe is getting quite good at actually calling him Angus, but for Max he will always be the big Woof Woof.

A walk in the woods

This week we went on a family trip to Ruff woods. My mum and sister came with cousins Jack and Theo and my cousin kate came with her two children, Ben and Hannah. It was a cold, grey, (English spelling) day but all the kids enjoyed building forts, looking for minibeasts and running around screaming. Jack taking his mini beast hunt seriously
Cousin Ben having fun on the log pile.


Max and Zoe having snack with me

We ended the walk with Max and Zoe's first game of hide and seek. There are lots of big trees to hide behind on the final path back to the car and we all took it it turns to "be it." Max and Zoe needed a bit of help with the hiding and the seeking, but they seemed to enjoy it all the same.

Martin Mere

This week my sister and I decided to brave the cold and head to a local wetland called Martin Mere. It cost about 3 million pounds to get in (okay I am exaggerating slightly) and then we threw more money away so the kiddos could feed the birds. For that kind of money I was hoping to see a phoenix or at least a Marabu stork, but mostly they got to feed pigeons and some ducks. They thought it was fantastic though. Max and Zoe loved watching their older cousins throwing their grain onto the frozen pond and were soon to copy. Pink Flamingos hiding from the snow
Jack, Theo, Max and Zoe feed the birds.

After a fun filled, but very cold hour spent touring we visited the on site cafe for refreshment. I bought M and Z juice which cost 2 pounds 50 a box! (That is nearly $4.50). The cashier said it was because it was "fair trade." Mmmmm 9 bucks for 2 boxes of juice not much fair about that I think!

Big Beds

One of the things I have been dreading about our visit to England is that the flat we rented has twin beds for Max and Zoe. After a lot of worry I finally ordered these things called "Dream tubes" which are meant to help the transition to beds easier. So how is it working? Well so far so good, brilliant in fact. The reason I say this is after 3 horrible nights of jet lag waking, both kids have slept through the night for 8 days. This has NEVER happened before. So why is it happening now? I don't have any idea, all I know is that I hope it carries on.