If you've been following me on Instagram, you might have noticed a few of the same faces popping up on my feed. We've had some friends staying with us for the last 6 weeks. The "P family" had been living in Mauritius but had to leave unexpectedly and were able to come here for a pit stop before returning to the states. You can hear more about their story on their vlog.
They had to quarantine here with us for 14 days but I do think quarantine seems to go faster for kids when you have lots of friends with you and a big backyard! And eventually we were able to take them out and explore the country.
We went strawberry picking. This looks like a lot of strawberries but with 11 people in the house, it didn't even last a week! The gooseberries we picked did last. I should have gotten around to trying some sort of tart of pie with them but never did and they aren't very good on their own.
We toured some lovely garden nearby.
Stonehenge isn't miss-able but as a solo activity it would probably be a bit underwhelming. The Roman Baths are so interesting though! Craig had to stay home with Norah and Jude as they were sick but I am 100% sure we'll be headed back to Bath.
And Cornish Pasty's are always yummy on a cold wet day.
Another day trip was Iron Bridge Gorge to see the bridge and learn about the Industrial Revolution (which of course had me yearning to re-watch North and South. And yes, it was as good as always).
There are too many museum in this town to do them all in one day but the Victorian Town was pretty great despite the heat wave England was experiencing.
Just a few days later (and still during the heat wave), we headed to Stratford-Upon-Avon for all the Shakespeare stuff (that is currently open)
Now, not everything we did was super-educational. Although Cadbury world was actually more educational that I expected. But also a lot of fun. The kids have already told their grandpa that they'll take him here when he comes. Probably because I did drop the no-sugar rule when we got to the pick your own chocolate treat station. I'm not cruel. (But I also didn't let them go hog wild, our tickets had us walking away with not only the treats in the tour itself but also 27 full sized chocolate bars! I will say this for Cadbury - they aren't stingy!) Actually, I was very impressed by Cadbury World. They have quite a bit of material (social stories, etc) for special needs and sensory kids and it made our experience very enjoyable. And despite how much we travel, that isn't always the case because of some of our family's special needs.
It was also fun to do a few of these trips without the dads (who were both working hard, one in his office, one remotely who probably also enjoyed a bit of quiet when all 7 kids weren't also in the same house). I want to be brave about taking my kids out and seeing sights when Craig can't always come along so this was a good first step since I had to drive/navigate.
Okay, enough fun, back to education trips. Just kidding. This was both. Isaac Newton's home. Another place I have to give a special shout-out too. We got confused by the website and missed our tour but after a bit of begging and some sad eyes from the kids, they very graciously let us in. I really enjoyed this tour. Lucy had read a full biography of Isaac Newton last year and pointed out a few things on the tour that she had specifically learned in it which was so much fun. And I've planned Different Like Me as a together time read for this fall but it had a one page bio of Newton so we started early and skipped to that chapter so all the other kids would have a basic idea of who he was too. I won't get into details but this might have been the most personally memorable visit of the summer for me which was totally surprising.
The tree. Yes, THE tree. A bit worse for wear from time but you gotta give it credit for staying alive!
We also couldn't have all the girls get together and NOT have afternoon tea. This local place is too cute.
The lavender fields were something both of us moms really wanted to fit it and it just seemed like Murphy's Law didn't want us to go. But we finally fit it in at the end and the dad's were even able to go with us and it was a great day for it. A bit overcast on the drive, but the weather held and even cleared up a bit.
Of course, we didn't just travel! We had so much fun just hanging out at the house. The kids put on shows and created escape rooms for each other and threw the adults an afternoon tea (that somehow involved Twister which probably isn't what any of us grown-ups would have put on the top of our game choice list but was actually fun to watch the struggle!). The two five year olds became best friends and spent hours doing some sort of cooking thing in the courtyard with crab apples and sticks. And we introduced them to the wonderful world of Megan Follows as Anne of Green Gables.
Then of course, we had to say goodbye. We threw Jude's birthday party a little early on their last night here to keep the kid's spirits up but it was hard to say goodbye for all of us. While we love England so far, we've also been very lonely as we came at such a hard time with lockdown. Its hard to believe its been over a year since we packed up our house in Missouri but we're still in the beginning stage of settling in to a new community/country because of Covid and instagram pictures aside, it hasn't been easy.
It's so cliche to say that blessing others blesses yourself but its very true in this case. We were really excited to have them come but part of me was nervous we would all drive each other crazy because 6 weeks is a long time to live with another family and I didn't want to end this time thinking we had damaged our friendship. But the "P family" were the family who gave us their van last summer despite us not knowing how long we would need it so they were the ones who really first showed us radical hospitality in action. And honestly, "radical" hospitality doesn't seem very radical when you're just living life with friends, especially when its friends who get you! God knew we needed each other in this season and we feel so blessed to have spent this time with them. And having another mom around to help out when its dinner time has its perks too :-)
Kid's reading each other's goodbye notes. They may have lived together long enough to start fighting like siblings at times :-) but they are all great kids who I hope will be friends for a very long time!
Goodbye "P Family" - we're so excited to see what God had planned for you next!
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