My Little Hannah

Before we left the States Hannah had a few favorite dolls/animals that went to bed with her every night. Each one has its own special place (the white puppy goes above her head, the monkey to the left, 3 babies to the right). We are now up to 10 things that go to bed with her including a small red fire hydrant (from the Little People set). She's so happy to set it all up and snuggle down with her 2 favorite blankets. She gets things out of her bed during the day and oh what a night when one gets lost because she knows!

This is Hannah's little play corner. She's starting to use her play voice talking to "Granma" and "Baby" and making them go "up, up, up" the stairs. She's content to play for at least an hour!

My girls live in a pretend world most of the day. Usually when one hollers, "Mom" it is not intended for me. (I'm usually the Granma and am constantly told that.) This picture is of the three little kittens lapping up milk. Hannah was more than happy to imitate her sisters with this one.

Hannah loves going down the slide at our little park (at the Model Village) especially if one of her sisters is there to chase her.
She's also becoming our official spider monitor. She finds them in the smallest of places, runs to me and tells me "pider, pider". The two of us then get a tissue so that we can "smash it" and then we say "eeeyuuu, disgusting". It's quite a fun game!

Rachel Mary

Rachel made a paper chain tonight to count down the days (36) til Grandma and Grandpa come. She also asks several times a week how long until the baby comes out (37) and how long til her birthday (61).

What would life be like without our sweet Ray? She adores her big sister and loves to make Hannah laugh. When she's not playing with her sisters, she is reading! When she finds quiet time during the day, she picks up a book (a chapter book) and reads intently. Then she sneaks it into her bed so she can read late at night. And in the morning when I go in her room (thinking she's sleeping) I find her propped up on her bed reading (with a huge smile on her face). What a great way to start the day.

She is becoming more independent every day. She continually amazes me. When she likes to do something she really likes to do it--all by herself. She volunteers to do the dishes almost every night! Thursday is her day for making dinner. She likes to make all of the dinner on her own. My job is to direct, but not touch. It's fun to watch her grow!

Emily Loses Her Top Teeth!

Last week Emily lost her two top teeth! The first one she used string to pop it out. While I was videoing Emily, Hannah got a hold of the tooth and tried to fit it in her mouth. Luckily, we got it out quickly. A few days later a very stubborn tooth came out after many attempts with string. Finally, an eager Em just flicked it out! That night in her attempts to polish the tooth so it would shine enough for the tooth fairy to find easily, it fell into the drain. Through her tears she told me, "This is the worst day EVER!" We made a card to the tooth fairy and explained the situation.

"Dear Tooth Fairy,

I was washing my tooth in the sink and it slipped out of my hands when I was washing it and then it went down the drain. I would really like it if you give me £1 again. It's o.k. if you don't. From, Emily"

Thankfully, we were able to add a P.S.

"But my Dad got it out!"

Jon saves the day--our hero!

Happy 7th B-day Em!

Emily wrote out on index cards how she wanted to celebrate her big day. Here's what she did:

*Wake up to a trail of balloons leading to a present
*Eat muffins and scrambled eggs (with cheese and bacon) and o.j.
*Play balloon games
*Watch movies
*Eat noodle soup with tuna sandwiches
*Paint nails
*Play games
*Make lemon bars for dessert
*Order pizza from Dominos
*Open presents
*Eat dessert
*Play

King Henry VIII's Castle

Playing in front of King Henry VIII's Castle

Checking out one of Henry's kitchens
Emily visiting with King Henry and his sister Mary

Car Buying Experience

Our 'New' Van For the past 5 weeks we have been searching for a van. We have learned about many European models--mainly that they are different from what we knew in America. We quickly found that mini vans are rare in the UK—people don't want them because they are too big and they don't have large families—they want small manual cars that are fuel efficient. One of the deciding factors for us became--Will our stroller fit in the boot (trunk)? Having found the few that fit that criteria, Jon then called every dealer in a 50-mile radius to inquire if they had any used vans in stock. He found 2 or 3 dealers that had a few vans that we could choose from. We went on Saturday and from a choice of 3 vans all the same color, year, options and miles we chose one! We bought it and were then told we could have it in 6 days, but we talked them down to 4. This diesel van is no frills—no cruise control, no entertainment system, no automatic sliding doors. Even though it's smaller (and more expensive!!) than an American van, it still feels really large on the English country roads and parking in spots meant for a Mini Cooper. But nonetheless, we are happy to have found a van that will take us to all the places we want to see--without the girls being able to touch each other. :)

This is our compact stroller from New Zealand. It has been fantastic on cobblestone roads, tight sidewalks and miles of siteseeing. The top seat lays flat for the upcoming baby and the back seat switches up front for hannah.

Cost of Living in UK

The best advice we have received about living in the UK is "Don't compare the costs here with US costs", but it is so difficult not to – especially given the simplicity of the current exchange rate (2 US dollars for every British pound). Here are a few examples of UK expenses (I've already adjusted the prices to US equivalency):

Filling up Jon's car $100

Gallon of gas (petrol) $8

Mandatory TV License which gives us permission to watch 5 BBC (like PBS) channels $273

Tickets to Windsor Castle $73

Pass to local model village with play park (only park within walking distance) $216 (bekonscot.com)

Haircut $50 (No Supercuts here)

Tickets for London Eye for two adults and one child (under 5s are free) $112

Day pass for train/bus ride to and around London for 3 (under 5s are free) $58

Meal for 4 with water at Wagamama (our new favorite "inexpensive" restaurant) $70

Average price for a simple 4 bedroom/2 bathroom house in Beaconsfield $1,750,000

Borrow a movie from library $4

Rent a movie from Blockbuster $8

2 Adult tickets at cinema $32

Bananas $2/lb.

Milk $4.50/gal.

Doz. eggs $4 (all free range and "respectful", and a few feathers included)

Happy Meal from McDonalds $6

Tickets for 4 to see Mary Poppins the Musical $246

Mail local letter 48¢

Letter to America 96¢

One-way flight to Rome for family of 5 $30 (Thank goodness for cheap airlines here)

Large pepperoni pizza from Domino's $28

Babysitter $12/hour

Rent an MPV (van) for 1 week $1300

P.S. Don't let this scare you into not coming out for a visit. Our guest bedroom is bigger than most hotel rooms and it has its own bathroom (which not every hotel can boast)--and it's free!