Autie Kate's Visit

 

     The summer roles on.  We have been consigned to San Diego for most of the summer because Abigail has summer school, and because Tim doesn't have much time off of work.  We've been trying to make the most of it.  We still try to do our hikes regularly, and we have some hiking buddies:  the awesome Sommers family.  Here we are on a typical hike, with the typical, beautiful scenery around Ramona:  

 

 

     We've also finished our baby quilt, finished reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as a family, and had a lesson in pie making. There is something about being back in America that has made me rather obsessed with pie making:

 

     We've also finally started gardening! I know, I know, July is rather late to start planting things, but I have been told that California has a longer growing season than other places.  This year will have to be an experiment, I'm afraid: 

Samuel, Georgie, Eleanor and Verity finish planting the vegetable patch





     We had another British visitor recently:  one Arnie Kitsell!  We were so excited to have him. We knew him when we lived in Brampton, near Huntingdon.  He knew him through our church congregation there, and he was assigned to take care of our family when Tim was deployed to Afghanistan for four months in 2010.  Arnie is one of the nicest men I know, very unassuming,  and very funny.  He was in town on business, and he came for dinner.  I served him something I have been dying to make, a hazelnut meringue cake with chocolate and raspberries.  It looks a bit saggy, but it was amazing!

The fab Arnie Kitsell, with Imogen, Abigail, Samuel, Tim, Verity, Eleanor and Georgie Bleakley
 

     A few days later, Auntie Kate arrived for a two week visit!  Kate is Tim's little sister.  She lives in Australia, but goes back to the UK every year.  She stopped in San Diego on her way back to Australia from the UK.



     Tim had a day off of work, so we decided to take advantage of the time off and Go Somewhere.  Going Somewhere in America is not quite the same project as Going Somewhere in the UK.  It's very spread out here, you see, so Going Somewhere usually involves a lot of time in the car.  We did the best we could and took Kate to see one of the wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon, which is a 6 hour drive from here.  Well, Phoenix is a 6 hour drive from here, and we had an invitation to stay with some old friends there.  But Phoenix is another 4 hours from the Grand Canyon.  So it was quite a time investment to go up there, but it was definitely worth it.  The kids loved seeing the canyon, and we had a great time with the Kennedy's, our very gracious hosts.

Samuel, Holly, Verity, Imogen, Eleanor, Abigail, Tim, Georgiana and Kate Bleakley, all perched on top of a very high cliff



Abigail and Imogen with Josh Kennedy

Samuel and Eleanor under a cliff

Imogen, Abigail, Georgiana and Kate with Jemma and Josh Kennedy

Tim was quite taken with the condors of the Grand Canyon

A view of the Colorado river

The Grand Canyon at sunset

      Verity made a new, lifelong friend on the trip:  Emma Kennedy.  These two were absolutely inseparable:

 

 

     They walked around the Grand Canyon like this most of the time:

 



 



 

 

The Tim and Holly Bleakley family, with auntie Kate, enjoying the sunset

 

     We drove back down to Phoenix that evening.  We were presented with a lovely brunch the next morning - eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, fruit, orange juice - and then went to church with the Kennedy's.  We were having such a good time that we decided to throw caution to the wind and stay as long as possible in Phoenix.  Samuel and Abigail had to be back in San Diego the next day for summer school and soccor camp, so we decided that if we left at 9pm, that would get us home at 3am, just in time for a few hours sleep.  That gave us time to enjoy the company, have some lovely bacon butties, and roast marshmallows over an open fire in the Kennedy's back yard:

     A lovely end to a surprisingly relaxing weekend.  A change really is as good as a rest!


British Cousins and the Fourth of July

     The California summer is .... HOT.  The English among us are not used to it.  Neither is the native Idahoan who really should be.  Plus, we have no air conditioning.  Guess that's why we were able to afford this house in the first place, which is fabulous in every other way. 
     So, the heat limits us, just like the rainy, 45F days did in Britain.  We can go out in the morning.  We can go out in the evening.  But if we go out in the day, it is straight to the pool.
    We still do our morning hikes, though admittedly, not every morning.

      Two weeks ago, we had guests!  Tim's cousin Nicole James came with her husband, Freddy, and their children Cayla, Eve, Malachi and Kaelana, all the way from Ireland!  Joanna Pratt joined us, too, who is living in Kansas at the moment.  It was great to have them here.  Even though they live near beautiful beaches in Ireland, the first thing we did was ... take them to beach.  We figured they needed the California experience.

 

     Samuel was grateful to have another boy to play with.  He and Malachi played in the sea for a very long time.

 

    
     Here we are with the cousins after one of the most important human activities:  dinner!  The James's were kind enough to bring us Cadbury's, Smarties, Rolo's, Mars Bars, Kit Kats, Fruit Pastilles, and French Fries.  We will be eternally grateful!  

    
     We had them stay for a few days. They went to the zoo, went with us shopping and to the pool, and just generally hung out and had a great time.  Here we are, the adults saying goodbye, right before Nicole and co. drove to Las Vegas:

 

     After the thrill of cousins visiting, we have thrown ourselves into other projects - or maybe, I have thrown the kids into these projects.  We had a friend from church, Debbie Jones, come over and teach us how to make baby quilts:

 



     And, me being me, we have spent lots of time in the kitchen, with the kids learning how to make strawberry jam,

 

     sourdough starter,

 

     

      and Victoria sponge cake.  ESSENTIAL skill to have!

 

     We also went to the Natural History museum down in San Diego.  Not QUITE the Natural History museum in London.  I am realizing that we were rather spoiled when it came to museums in England.  But, we did see some dinosaur fossils, and the kids enjoyed it.  The museum only displays fossils from the San Diego area, so there were quite a few whale skull fossils on display - totally fascinating!

 

 

     And did ya know that there once upon a time there were woolly mammoths, sloths, and saber tooth tigers in San Diego?  Abigail was all set to watch Ice Age when we got home.

 



 

    

 Last weekend we were thrilled to see our friends Mark and Roxanna Patterson - for the first time in 14 years!  We met Mark at church when we lived in Cambridge back in 1996.  He's an awesome guy, who later married the even more awesom Roxanna.  We met them for brunch in Escinitas - and so Tim and I got a rare date out of it, as well!

 

 

 

     This weeked was the 4th of July - the first 4th of July I have had in this country for about 12 years, I think.  We had the full small-town, Americana experience here in Ramona.  It started out by going to a church breakfast in the morning.  We then went to the Ramona parade, which was, umm, charmingly small.  The biggest attractions in the parade were the Ramona Fire Engines ....

 

     Tractors ....

      Old cars ...

 



      And small ponies ....

     Then the good folks of Ramona had a sort of jamboree at the Ramona Oaks park, full of homemade lemonade stands, bouncy castles, food booths, and a stage band.  The only thing missing, and I am being completely serious, was any sign of a pie-eating contest.  I am determined to make one happen for next year! 
     And here is the National Anthem, being sung at the park, with the royalty on stage:

 

 

     It was hot, so we spent the rest of the day swimming.  In the evening, we took a picnic into Ramona so we could see the fireworks display.  It was rather impressive for a town of 50,000 people.  Tim told me that I had a 'fireworks' function on my camera.  I know nothing about these things, so I was very happy when he took the initiative and got this great picture:

 

    
     Americans are very patriotic.  I know it rubs some people the wrong way, but after living overseas for so long, I find it comforting, endearing, and impressive.  God bless the USA.  Absolutely.