Les Cousines Dangereuse

Father's Day

I have been talking hundreds of photos in the last few weeks but there has been little time to update the blog. I know, I have had complaints :).

First of all, Happy Father's Day to all the good fathers in our lives. Our kids are lucky to have such a legacy.

Our family on this side of the pond spent Father's Day at the Haycock Hotel, where we had a traditional, full English Sunday lunch. The food was beautiful and delicious. Paloma especially loved dessert - some decadent chocolate tart.

And Isabella especially enjoyed the little fountain, conveniently located alongside our table!

Llegaron!

They got here yesterday and it feels like we have already done so much.

This morning we went for a short hike in the surrounding farmland. Then later this afternoon we all went to Haycock Hotel to sit in their gardens for a drink and to watch the girls play in the flowers and all the pretty things they have growing there.
Paloma and Isabella get along so well - it has been wonderful!
Isn't she just the cutest? She has been so excited being here and seeing such a big difference between England and Puerto Rico - it's nice to see because we no longer notice the differences as much.

The Long Lost Minnesota Pics

being with family is the best!

exploring Great-Grandma Lu's garden

she would have a nasty fever only hours later

learning colors from my brother, Uncle Adam

first lipstick with Auntie Lisa

cuddling with Cousin Kaitlyn on my handmade quilt

"lips" for all the girls

warm welcome from Cousin Sacha

with Grandma Sue after a long journey from NY

with Uncle Adam and her new souped up trike

patty cake with Great-Grandma

A Bunch of Beach Bums

only about 20 minutes from home

April, Isabella, and sister-in-law Kathy - Isla de Ratones

Notice the great tan Aaron got while he was here - Jobos Beach

Rincón.

We really can't complain.

Photo post!

snorkeling in La Parguera, Puerto Rico

Aaron donning snorkeling gear - it was so beautiful down there

Pedro's brother Luis with friend Pablo in the mangroves

Aaron in a mangrove canal in La Parguera

my brother Adam with Isabella and my neice Kaitlyn

Thanks to Pedro's brother Walo and his technological expertise, we got back some (but not all) of the lost photos. Unfortunately, most of the photos from Minnesota are still gone. We did have the presence of mind to upload them to my mom's laptop but since she doesn't have internet, it's unlikely that we'll see those any time soon. I'll post a few of the pics we found here and more in the sidebar slideshow. Have a look and be sure to leave a comment. We LOVE comments :).

Update

Our month-long trip is going really well. New York was just as fabulous as I thought it would be and I hope to travel there again with a good babysitter on standby so that we can enjoy more things that the city has to offer. Claudia and Jesus were wonderful hosts and we took our time and enjoyed a few things to the full. Little Daniel was so adorable with Isabella - he behaved like her older, wiser friend who protected her from areas she wasn't supposed to be, held her hand, and showered her with baby kisses. Those two ran around Ellis Island just as happy as can be and it was precious to watch.

Our time in Duluth, Minnesota flew by. We drove into town from St. Paul and were greeted by balmy weather and a mini-family reunion - just about all of my immediate family made it out to see us. My mom watched Isabella several times during our visit so Pedro and I went out with my brothers and tried to enjoy the area a bit before we were taken down by a disgusting cold. Our plans for seeing everybody and making at least one hiking trip were nixed. We did manage to convince my youngest brother Aaron to come with us to Puerto Rico, so our farewells were made easier knowing he'd be along too.

Before we left, we found out that Pedro's uncle Vitín suffered a fatal heart attack in Puerto Rico and passed away. Ours hearts are heavy for his family as we missed the funeral by two days. Vitín's brothers and kids were still here when we arrived so we got to visit people Pedro hadn't seen in years and some that I hadn't yet met. Despite the sadness, we all had a really nice time at a party Pedro's brother Walo hosted the day after we arrived.

Since then, we have been trying to show my brother this area of the island. Yesterday we went snorkeling off Walo and Luis's boat in the mangrove islands of La Parguera. It was breathtaking. We got minorly stung by jellyfish a few times, but it was quickly forgotton in beauty of those coral reefs.

For the rest of the week, we are hoping to get in as much beach time as possible before Aaron goes back to the cold climate of Minnesota. This post is without photos because our memory card proved defective and our shots from the whole trip were erased (we may get them back yet - we're trying!). But there will be more, so I will make a photo post soon.

Grown-ups? Where?

These are more photos from the 4th of July at our village park. The zip wire is fabulous - you should come visit us just so you can try it for yourself!

Happy Birthday, Pedro!

Pedro turned 34 this weekend and to celebrate, we all packed ourselves into the car for a road trip to possibly the last Roman ruin we hadn't seen in Britain. We went to Verulamium in the London 'burb of St. Albans. It was spectacular.

Then we got back into the car and had dinner at Pedro's favorite sushi restaurant in Cambridge. The restaurant was thankfully packed with loud people, so no one could hear Isabella's tired shouts for freedom.


All in all, we had a really nice time and wrapped up the night with my homemade chocolate birthday cake.

In other news, Isabella is officially potty training. This is not at my behest, but at her own free will. At 16 months she tells me in advance when she has to go potty, then she sits on her potty patiently...and goes. I had heard cloth diapers might encourage things along, but I didn't expect it so soon. She has been able to do this hit and miss (EC style) since infancy, but nothing I've put much effort into. But unlike Kate from the now defunct Jon & Kate plus 8, I won't be posting photos of that!

In Puerto Rico

Hi everyone! I'm writing a quick, photoless update of where we are and what we're doing. We're in Puerto Rico visiting Pedro's side of the family. I didn't even think Isabella and I would be able to come on account of my job, but here we are! Pedro's parents, Don Willie and Doña Aida celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Saturday. All of the family flew in for the occasion. They had a formal party, preceded by a bishop-led mass as they renewed their vows. And today, we attended the baptism of our niece, Victoria. Photos of everything will be forthcoming when we get home after the 12th.

Agate Hunting on Lake Superior

On this particular day, my mom, brother Aaron, Isabella, Kaitlyn and I all went down to Lake Superior (Duluth's claim to fame is that it is the largest freshwater port in the world - last I heard anyway).


My family are all avid agate hunters (myself the only exception as I have found maybe three agates in my whole life).


Lake Superior agates are prized for their color and marbling and are found all over the Duluth area.


While they all hunted for agates, Isabella and I enjoyed the beautiful sunny weather on the beach and walked the boardwalk ("lakewalk") down to Leif Erikson Park and rose garden.

I'm working on embedding a photo slideshow soon to show more photos from the trip. Stay tuned.

P.S. This is what an agate looks like.

We're home!

Isabella and I are finally home from our trip to Minnesota. Although we didn't get to see everybody we were hoping to see, we stayed very busy seeing quite a few other family members and friends. I really wanted to go out to see my sister-in-law Lucy who gave birth to baby Victoria earlier this week! Congratulations to Jerry and Lucy!

Both Isabella and I arrived home in England with terrible colds and we've been trying to recuperate all day, but it's miserable for a nursing mother and a 7-month old - neither of us can take much to relieve the cold symptoms. Other than that, our return journey went really well because we stayed at a hotel in the Minneapolis airport to get some rest before our 6a.m. flight yesterday. Posts about our trip will be forthcoming, including more photos, but I just wanted to post one quick pic before I turn in for the night.

Isabella & her cousin Kaitlyn in my mom's yard

Mom and Danny's Visits

Stonehenge!

braving the rain

my mom, with Danny and Isabellachanging her diaper in Cambridge

outside the houses of parliament in London

at the Texas Embassy restaurant in London

strolling in London

in front of Buckingham Palace

My mom went back home to Minnesota two Saturdays ago. My cousin Danny and his girlfriend flew over from Germany to spend a few days with us while she was here too. So we all hopped on a train into London and stayed in a hotel for two nights before we saw them all off again. We had a wonderful time having family around again and now we're all by our lonesomes again!

The weather here has been weird - some days sunny (yesterday was 84 degrees F), and some days rainy and a bit chilly. We drove through the rain to Stonehenge, saw the site, and pretty much turned back for home right afterwards. I showed my mom as much as I could in the 12 days she was here and we really did have a great time - it was wonderful for her to finally see the baby for the first time.

Now it's back to getting Isabella on a routine. She's been sleeping badly for the last several days, which has been a challenge for us. Tomorrow she has her four month vaccinations - yippee! Can you believe it's been four months?!