June Down - One Month to Go

Oscar & Emmett play in the fountains

June was as eventful as ever! Emmett and I have officially become regulars at all the weekly toddler-friendly events around Windsor and Spencer is enjoying the time he puts into his projects for work. But we broke from our routines several times this month to explore more of England and to host some wonderful visitors!

Dover & Canterbury
We had what I would deem our most leisurely and relaxing trip yet to celebrate my birthday at the beginning of the month. We booked a car and an apartment on AirB&B and headed Southeast toward Dover for a weekend getaway. Spencer drove, this time seeming relaxed and comfortable with being on the wrong side of the car and road. We arrived on Friday evening and stayed in a little town called Folkstone, walking distance to the coast, where Emmett was eager to "tow wocks in da oshy" (throw rocks in the ocean) at every opportunity.

The Church & 1st Century Lighthouse at Dover Castle

On Saturday morning we headed to the Dover Castle which is a spectacular place to explore. Since it is built on the chalk cliffs overlooking the channel, it has been a stronghold for England since the beginning of England. It not only has buildings dating back to the first century (the original lighthouse within the castle grounds), and the castle that has been built, rebuilt and fortified around the lighthouse and tower, but it also has miles of tunnels underneath - some as old as the Middle Ages and others built during World War II to house a hospital, soldiers and other military personnel. We enjoyed touring the tunnels and letting Emmett run around the castle grounds while we read up on the history of the place. After the morning castle tour, we brought Emmett back to the apartment hoping he'd sleep for a couple hours and be cheerful all evening, but instead he skipped his nap and we walked from the apartment to the ocean, so he could fulfill his one weekend request and throw rocks to his heart's desire. It was a very pleasant evening until his meltdown around 6pm.


On Sunday we headed back to Dover, but this time to see the White Cliffs. Spencer took us on a somewhat off-road journey to get to the South Foreland Lighthouse, which we used as our "basecamp" for a morning hike in the rain. We headed west toward Dover along the top of the cliffs and let Emmett walk as much as we could, along the parts of the trail that were not immediately next to the cliffs. Despite the rain, we had a very enjoyable hike.

After the hike, we headed to Canterbury to have some lunch and check out the cathedral. The cathedral was stunning, even with all of the scaffolding up for maintenance work. One of the highlights was getting to see a few sections of the stained glass windows at eye level which had been taken down temporarily so that they could be reinforced before hanging them again. We were not allowed to take photos of those windows, but the intricacies were awesome. After the cathedral, we packed ourselves back into the car and headed back to Windsor so Spencer could return the rental car.


Shawna's Visit
The very next day, my friend Shawna (who I've known since Oman) arrived for a visit! Spencer had to work all week, but that didn't stop Shawna, Emmett and me from exploring London for two days and Windsor on her third day here. Unfortunately, I didn't get many photos on either of my devices during her visit, so I'm hoping she shares a few of her highlights into our album (hint, hint, Shawna... ;) ). On day one, we walked through Kensington Park so Emmett could play on the Princess Diana Memorial Playground, had lunch at a Lebanese restaurant, then headed to the Natural History Museum while Emmett napped. On day two, we went back to London, this time to Buckingham Palace where Emmett scooted at the nearby park while Shawna saw the Changing of the Guard. From there we had lunch in a park, then headed to see Big Ben, West Minister Abbey, along the River Thames to the Kings College and then past the London Eye toward the Waterloo train station. By day three I was feeling hung over from walking so much, :) so on Thursday we stayed in Windsor and went on a boat tour, saw the castle, and made some homemade dinner. We were sad to say goodbye on Friday morning.

Other News
My brother, Brian came back to the UK for business and managed to fit in an afternoon walk, dinner and overnight with us once more on this trip! Emmett loves spending time with his uncles and aunties and this was no exception.

In other news... we had our 20 week ultrasound for our upcoming Baby Kathol the day after Brian's visit! We are excited for our daughter's arrival around Halloween of 2016. Emmett has been hugging my growing belly and talking to his "baby sistew" on a regular basis.

The Landers Stay

Jack, Quincy & Emmett reunited

Our next visit was from the Landers family, who came from the Netherlands on their 3-day weekend at the end of June. On Friday afternoon when they arrived, we immediately introduced them to the Windsor Castle (Jack loves castles) while Emmett finished his nap, then met them at the park where the three boys ran around, Emmett so happy to be reunited with Jack and Quincy.

Saturday was the London day! I, unfortunately, had food poisoning and was unable to join the group in London, but Spencer was a great tour guide. According to his Fitbit, he took 24,000 steps so apparently the walking was intense. But they saw a bit of everything important, with the big stop being at the Tower of London. They didn't get back to our flat in Windsor until about 10:30pm, and Emmett was wide awake with the group - so our next day was definitely going to be a recovery day in Windsor. We managed to take the Landers to the Long Walk, by the castle, to feed the swans and then after lunch to a playground to get some energy out before the flight home.

I found out just a few days prior to the Lander's visit that my good friend Nimmi, who I know from Oman, was to be in London for some courses she is taking for her job over the same weekend as the Landers were staying. I feel so lucky to have gotten to have an afternoon with Nimmi on Sunday, who took the train into Windsor just as the Landers were heading out. It's so wonderful to reconnect with good friends!



And all of a sudden... it's JULY! We are looking forward to more visitors this month!! And my mom is coming back so that we can go together to Ireland and because she has offered her assistance in watching Emmett while I clean the apartment and pack for our journey home. Emmett and I are officially returning Stateside on August 7. Spencer will be coming with, though he will be coming back here a week later to finish his project (that is slated to be done at the end of September).

I hope this post finds you well! As always, it is wonderful to hear from you! Keep in touch!