The Month of April

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April has brought us much change and excitement...The link above will take you to the pictures from our month.  We moved house from Greenlea's Farmhouse in the country to Main Street Hockwold-cum-Wilton and village life.  Although the move was stressful and costly, we are MUCH happier in this house.  I will get some pics of the house up sometime in the next couple of weeks.  

It is late but I thought it was time for an update.  Hopefully, the pics will speak louder than word since the priority now is to get boxes unpacked since my parents will be here next weekend. 

Max's 7th Birthday

Aachen and Maastricht: The Double A Cities

Just in case you get stuck in the Eurotunnel, it is reassuring to know about the middle pedestrian tunnel.


I'm not sure what the Dutch put in their frites...but they sure are good as attested to by the FriteMan.


Carnavale Decorations in Maastricht


The Selexyz Dominicanen, an amazing bookstore.


The Puppet Doctor and a bunch of meat in a deli window.


Picturesque Maastricht


Easter in an Aachen printen bakery window


The Rathaus square in Aachen


The Lindt chocolate factory and a women's parking spot in the parking garage

KARATE!

Sam's First Karate Class



Max Gets An Orange Belt

Scotland, the Brave

Here are some long overdue photos from our trip to Scotland with the Burts...

Max and Sam chillin on the train.


Max at the Scottish Parliament House. It was designed like leaves of a tree, very eco-hip!


Max showing you the House...


All are welcome!


Sam shows you the outside next to the craggy hill.


Who's that sexy guy???


Our Dynamic Earth that we were so excited to see...but it was closed.


In theory, we went here.


Cuddling up with Auntie Sisa in our flat.


Where to go next??




There were lots of great quotations outside of the Parliament Building.



Looking over the Christmas Market and Ice Skating.


Sam leading us down the Royal Mile.




We stayed right down this road on the right side.

A Couple of Quick Vids from My Mino

Finally, I figured out how to put a manageable amount of video on the Mino. I miss FiOs...our connection is a little pokey.

The first video is from September when we went across the street from our little farmhouse and down the lane that heads to the River Lark to the local wheat field. We are pretty much surrounded by farms of various sorts. The boys (and Chris and I) have learned quite a bit about agricultural and when various veg are harvested and how.
To cap off this learning experience, we went to a local windmill. The fellas there turned on the windmill and ground some wheat so that we could see how the process worked. Then, we were able to go to the windmill's bakery and bought some fresh bread.

The second video is a snippet of Sam the Sheep in the Early Year's Nativity Play from our village school, West Row Primary. Just cuteness...




We are staying in the UK for the holidays. My mom and dad came for Thanksgiving. It was a nice, laid back visit. Since they have been here so much, we did not do as much sight seeing but more visiting which was just what I needed. We went to a fun Christmas Fayre in Bury St. Edmunds.

Our friends, Kyle and Lisa, are coming on Christmas Eve. We are heading to Edinburgh on the 27th. This year, our Christmas party/gathering calendar is filling up! It is nice to have a little community around us this year.

I, and the rest of the Blake clan, wish each one of you a happy and peaceful holiday season! We miss all of you more than ever at this time of the year. We hold you close to our hearts!