Ice Lollies

Any time is ice lolly time when you you are defrosting the freezer - 10 am and 60 degrees farenheit!

Olympic Experience

Charles and Jack went to Wembley last night to watch the Olympics semi-final football match. Theo didn't go, but he was happy to dress the part leading up to the departure: 

A day at the Olympics

We were fortunate to get some Olympic tickets. It was a lottery system and the majority of our friends who applied did not get any so we felt really privileged to get tickets to two events: volleyball and football. Charles and I went to the volleyball match today. We watched Japan vs. Dominican Republic in the first match and Russia vs. Algeria in the second match. The first match was fairly close with Japan winning. The second match was completely lop-sided. Russia crushed Algeria. It was close to embarrassing at times. The crowd really got behind Algeria and cheered really loudly whenever they got a point, which really wasn't that often. There were times when I thought my high school volleyball team could have beaten them. But overall, it was a really fun experience. We have never seen London before more efficient or friendly in our time here. Here are some pictures:

The Earls Court Venue:

Ready to go in (the stewards were so friendly they were offering to take people's pictures!): 

Pretty high up but still in the arena so we were happy:

Eliot was a star. At one point we laid him on the ground on a blanket and he had a fun little kick about. We got a couple of funny looks, but mostly smiles from those around us. We wondered if we looked negligent or laid back, thoughts?

A close up of Eliot which is both cute (with the smile) and kind of scary (with the red eyes!). 

All in all, it was a great day. A big thanks to Charis for watching the older three kids. We will do the same for her next week as she and Seulgi have the same tickets for next Monday. There was part of us who felt bad for not taking the older kids, but we are confident they were more excited about going for a long playdate at the Byuns than they would have watching the volleyball. :)

Happy Birthday Theo!

Today we had the privilege of celebrating Theo's fourth birthday. We went to Bekonscot Model Village as a family and allowed Theo to bring one friend with him. He chose his good friend Josiah. It was a really fun day with viewing the village, playing on the fun playground, having a picnic, and riding a little train. A fun fact about this village was that the Queen celebrated her tenth birthday there. Theo liked that fact.

 We then ended the day as a family with our traditional pizza celebration at Pizza Hut. While at Pizza Hut we made a list of things that Theo had learned in the last twelve months or had accomplished. We came up with the following:

•  to count to thirty
• to recognize his name
• to dress himself
• to put his shoes on
• graduated from St. Paul's Pre-School
• to ride a bike with stabilizers 
• to be a good big brother to Eliot 

 We then decided that we should all go around the table and say what we appreiated most about Theo. Here are the results:

•  Charles: His imaginative play and how he creates so many fun things to play 
• Erin: How he has made progress on working hard and doesn't quit when things are hard 
• Addie: How he colours (there were crayons in front of her so it may have just been the power of suggestion as Theo is not a big colourer) 
• Eliot (as spoken by Mom): How he talks to me after breakfast every morning and makes me smile
• Jack: How he lies on my bed with me and reads books 

 We are very blessed by this little boy and thank God he is part of our family.

 Kids the morning of Theo's birthday:

Theo on his birthday:

Theo receiving Miles Axelrod his present from Jack, Addie, and Eliot:

Picture of model village:

Having fun in the phone booth:

On the train at the model village:

Theo and his friend Josiah:

Theo blowing out his candles:

Family at Pizza Hut:

Last Outing in Cambridge

Last Saturday we went to Cambridge to say good-bye to our old home and some great friends. We had fantastic weather which has not at all been guaranteed this summer. We met the Tuckwells at Lammas Land had a picnic, jumped in the paddling pool, and even managed one last Anderson Boys vs Tuckwell Boys (dads included) Football Match. They won, but with the addition of Eliot to our family we think we will have a chance in a few years when our boys outnumber theirs!

In the late afternoon we headed over to city centre and enjoyed one last walk through the beautiful streets. I have so many memories pushing Jack through those streets six years ago as a new mom/mum. It wasn't nearly as peaceful this Saturday with seven kids in tow, but it was just as beautiful - a beautiful mess!  

The mess was manifested when we grabbed ice creams and enjoyed them in St. John's College gardens while we watched punters go by. We had numerous people take our picture sitting there - we must have been a sight - seven kids with ice cream dripping down all body parts. Well, to be accurate, our kids were messy, but the Tuckwell kids in true Tuckwell fashion were as tidy as could be!  

Progression of trying to get our kids to all smile at the camera:

On our way back to the car, we had one last unplanned sight to see and that was a rather intoxicated man bridge jumping. This involves climbing out of your punt onto the bridge you are getting ready to cross under, over the bridge, and then jumping back into your boat as it comes back on the other side. As Charles keeps pointing out we don't know for certain that this man was drunk, but I am fairly confident that you would not do this sober. It was entertaining and a good example to Jack of what 'drunk' means since he had recently asked about this when reading the Bible. 

All in all, it was a fabulous day. But even more important, it was a fabulous three years in Cambridge. Part of our heart will always be there because of how many rich memories we have - primarily of becoming parents.; but also of arriving and experiencing deep loneliness and then watching God surprise us beyond our imagination with friends that are just so very special and dear to us - friends that have truly become like family. 

As I watched the kids exchange hugs in the car park, not really understanding how long 'you will not see these people for a long time' really means, tears welled up in my eyes. Good tears. Something wouldn't be right if we had lived in a country eight years and were not sad to leave it. And so to the Tuckwells, and many others, we say thank you for being part of our England. You have made it what it is to us.

PS - And yes, Eliot did enjoy the day - he just didn't make it in many of the pictures!