Longleat Safari Park

One day when Marc's parent's were here we went to England to Longleat Safari Park. It was about an hour and a half drive from here.

Addison is happy and ready to go!

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Of course they put rides and other wastes of money at the entrance...

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Addison is still happy, but this was after one screaming fit because she was hungry!

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Mimi and Cerys

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They had an incredible playground area, the girls loved it! This slide was pretty tall and long and Bailey went down it and somehow got turned over onto her stomach and came down crying. Cerys loved it!

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Bailey wanted to touch the Python, she does not get that from either of us, so I'm not sure about that. EEK!

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Postman Pat is a children's television show and they had a little Village to walk through, we thought it was pretty cute.


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There was also a tall hedge maze, but somehow we didn't take any pictures of it. Then we drove through the Safari part of the park-

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Gan-Gan and Bailey feeding a deer-

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This is the Manor House on the grounds- so gorgeous. We did not tour it though because by this point the girls were fussy and tired. But they give you a year to come back on your ticket and see the things you did not get to the first time.

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June Bugs

I've got lots of pictures to post about our week with Marc's parents. We had a fun time and even had good weather while they were here! The last 4 or 5 days have just been glorious- warm and sunny! A cold front is moving through tonight, but at least no rain for a few days. It is already much cooler outside, probably dropped 10 degrees- I think we might be back in the 40's by early next week.

June is a busy month here in our household- Marc and I will celebrate our 11th (!) wedding anniversary on Saturday the 6th of June. And I just remembered that the day we got married was the coolest day on record that summer of 1998- and it was only mid-90's. Hmmm, quite a change living here! Then on Monday, the 8th of June is Bailey's 3rd birthday! We celebrated her birthday while the Grandparents were here, so she thinks she is already 3. I will post pictures from her party on Monday. She wanted a Strawberry Shortcake cake, so Marc found a candle on Ebay and I just put a bunch of sprinkles on her cake. It will not win any decorating contests, but boy was it yummy! I made a strawberry cake with a layer of vanilla ice cream in the middle, covered in vanilla icing. I'm sure glad it's gone because we ate a lot last week and I sure don't need any more cake right now! Marc is leaving for a business trip next week (boo!) for almost a week, so you can pray for me and the girlies. I need grace, patience and mercy. And safety for Marc- I will not tell you where he is going, but just pray. Thank you. Oh, and of course Father's Day is in June. And then the end of June is Marc's birthday! Plus add in a big group of students arriving in a few weeks for the summer, and we've got ourselves a busy month!

I'll be back to post pictures from last week. (And the title of this has nothing to do with anything, I just thought about June Bugs since it's June...or is Junebugs?)

I Think She Likes It

If you remember, we moved Addison to her big girl crib and out of our room about a week ago (give or take a few days). Just in case you were wondering....

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I think she's pretty content with her new space. And I'll just say again how much I love her sleep slack/gro-bag/thingy. I used it with all the girls and it's so nice not to have to worry about blankets. I have 3 sizes- newborn, 6-12 months and 12-18 months.

Marc's parents have left :( and we are getting back to life as normal- except that there is nothing normal about this FABULOUS weather we are having! It just makes me so happy. Unfortunately, when the sun comes out in Britain, the clothes come off. I've seen way more skin than I wanted to the last 48 hours! Yikes. But at the same time, I don't blame them because 80 degrees is hot when there is no A/C anywhere! I do miss the cool blasts of A/C as you walk into stores, here it's just hot and stuffy. Oh well. We got out all our fans and are trying to stay as cool as possible!

I'm so thankful for good weather!

Addison's Dedication

What a FABULOUS weekend folks....Marc's parents arrived yesterday from Africa, where they serve...we had Addison's dedication this morning...and the SUN has been shining for two days straight, I even broke a sweat today!

Enjoy some pictures from today-


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Addison was great during the service. I was not too sure going into it because she did not nurse well right before we left the house, she was squirming and grunting which means that she needs to fill her nappy! And that she did. But I saved her cute dress just in time and all was well!

After church and lunch, we walked up to a park behind our house. Do you see it? The BLUE sky. I have not stopped smiling today. It's just absolutely gorgeous today! You really don't realize how good the sun feels and how much it lifts your spirits! Thank you Jesus!

Sorry, I got distracted.

So, the park has these small steam trains that you can ride and today was the opening day for the rest of the "summer" so we had to go!


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Me and Addison, enjoying the Sunshine. I have on shorts! And sunglasses! My legs are so white it's probably casting a glare on everyone, but does it look like I care?

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Three Months

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I'm 3 months old today! I weigh 15 pounds, 11 ounces and am wearing size 3 nappies! I am sleeping from 10pm till around 5 or 6am. Mummy just moved me out of my pack-n-play today and into my big girl crib. I like it much better because I was too cramped in there! Although I think Mummy is a bit sad that I won't be right next to her tonight. I bet she will sneak in and check on me a lot! Thankfully my crib is only about 5 or 6 steps from Mummy's bed. So really I'm not that far away, at least that is what I keep trying to tell her!

(Not that I need to explain the red spot on her forehead- I mentioned before that she has a stork bite there, but this week she has scratched and scratched until it's so red! It's either excema or just really dry skin. I've found some lotion that has cleared it up quite a bit. I have extremely dry skin and so do the girls, so I'm sure it just got really dry and irritated. There I feel better.)

Internet Fast!

So I don't ruin it and accidentally see if Kris or Adam is this season's winner on American Idol, I will have to stay away from the Internet starting tonight through to Friday night- when they air it here! But I also have a lot to do to get ready for Marc's parents! They arrive Saturday and will be here with us for a week, we have lots of fun things planned...including celebrating Bailey's 3rd Birthday! How in the world can she be 3 already??? And of course, they have not met Addison yet so that will be fun! They might think she is older than 3 months old- ya'll I had her weighed yesterday....are your ready for this? 15 pounds 11 ounces! This is 2 more ounces than Cerys was at 9 months! Crazy! We are also having her dedicated at church on Sunday, so it will be a busy weekend!

See y'all later! Hopefully I'll have some pictures from the dedication that I can post on Sunday! Don't anyone even think about leaving me a comment to tell me who wins tonight!

My Texas and Other Random Things

Well, this is kind of fun! A little piece of home that I can watch online!

The grey skies and rain are back in Cardiff. We had several days of lovely sunshine. It looks it's going to be a weekend full of rain. I took all the girls on the school run this morning. As soon as we got in the car it started raining pretty hard- good thing I had already decided I was going to drive! And it's also a good thing that we are prepared most of the time with umbrellas in the car and the rain shield for the stroller. Unfortunately for me, I can't hold an umbrella and push the stroller and hold an almost 3 year olds' hand...so I got SOAKED this morning. I was never more thankful for my new Lands End waterproof coat that I had ordered a while back- and even more thankful I didn't have a baby bump that kept it from being zipped up!

After we dropped Cerys off at school we went to do the grocery shopping. I had Addison's car seat and Bailey in the trolley, so by the time I made it to the check outs they were covered in food, ha! We got home and unloaded and it was then time to get Cerys from school. So it's been a busy, wet day! Once we got home and everyone fed, Cerys had room time and Bailey, Addison and myself took a LONG nap. I love it when that works out! Makes for a happier afternoon for all!

We do A LOT of playing indoors as you could probably imagine and it does drive me crazy at times. We do all the usual things- but I was just wondering if anyone had any fun, different ideas that you do on rainy days that you could share with me? My girls are pretty creative when it comes to playing together and have very active imaginations and I'm very thankful for that! Because of lack of space/storage we do not have a ton of toys, so they have to get creative! I was overwhelmed when walking through Target - so much STUFF! And like any parent, I would love to give them more, but I know that I would rather them be content with what they do have and learn to make up games, etc.

So, I would love for you to share some things that you do with your kids- but remember we can't go out and buy a lot of things, so keep it simple please! Thanks!

And, Blissful It Was!

Yesterday I got to use my gift certificate that Marc got me for Christmas. It was for a "Blissful Beginnings" pregnancy/post-natal massage at The Vale Hotel.

This was the description-
"(Pre and post natal face and body treatment.) This blissful treatment ensures comfort and well-being from 3 months through to early motherhood. It has especially designed massage movements to ease muscular aches, reduce water retention, as well as maintaining skin tone. Using a tonic body treatment oil, your skin will feel radiant and your sense of well-being restored. "

This hotel is beautifully set out of the city, in the Welsh countryside- gorgeous! As I pulled up I was feeling kind of unworthy to be even be there! Once I found the spa inside the hotel I was given a key to a locker. Inside I found a huge white robe and white slippers! How fun! I was then escorted to the "Relaxation Room" where I was told that my "beauty therapist would come collect me" soon. I sat in this huge room all alone for about 10 minutes- plenty of free tea, coffee, water, and fruit. At first I thought how boring it was going to be to just sit and wait but then I remembered how much I like silence. I was just about asleep in a nice comfy lounge chair when my "beauty therapist" came to collect me! :)

Seventy minutes of massage and a facial- which I have never had before. It was very relaxing and appropriately named- it was blissful!

Thanks honey for treating to such a nice spa! And thank you for keeping all three girls so I could enjoy this! I love you!

Rays of Sunshine

Today is the THIRD day of SUNSHINE in Cardiff! As a friend said on his facebook status- it's a Springtime Miracle!

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day- we celebrate Mother's Day in March here in the UK. It was all kind of a blur for me since Addison was only a few weeks old, but Marc assured me we celebrated. We did stop at Subway yesterday on the way home from church, so that was nice!

If you are wondering how Addison is doing, well, as you can see... (notice her onesie)


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...she's doing just fine! The chubbiest baby I've ever had! She is 11 weeks old and between 14 and 15 pounds. We just moved up to size 3 diapers. Size 2 would barely go around her! Cerys weighed 17 pounds at one year old, so I think it's safe to say Addison will be well beyond that. Some of you have asked about the spot on her forhead- it's called a stork bite- real professional huh? It's a birthmark that will supposedly fade by the time she is 12 months old. It's more noticeable in pictures and when she has been crying.

I'm very thankful for my mother and my mother-in-law. Both are godly women, encouraging and supportive! We love y'all!

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