Halloween

I didn’t know what we were going to do for Halloween. Go knock on a bunch of strangers’ doors? And they don’t do it up like we do - we were lucky to find pumpkins. They were not at every grocery store like you would expect in the US. Had to go to one of the Portobello Market street vendors for that one.

Luckily, the only American (Asian American/Columbian to be exact) family in Fiona’s class invited us to trick or treat in their communal garden. We went ‘round the garden knocking on people’s back doors. The kids had a ball and it seemed much safer than wandering the streets of London looking for inviting ground floor flats that open to the street.

The next day we embarked by train on our first trip to the English countryside. We picked up a rental car when we got there and Ryan mastered driving on the opposite side of the road while shifting with the left hand (all the while with a lot of squabbling in the back seat). We stayed at a working farm and the girls got a kick out of seeing the sheep and petting the horses.

We visited a friend in this cute little town called Long Buckby. His house is a converted school house from the 1800’s. It had so much character. He turned the auditorium into a gym with original wood floors and mirrors. It quickly became the girls’ private dance studio. Mitch, the perfect English gentlemen (think cool, fun and welcoming, not old stodgy and stuffy) not only endured the show, but also taught the girls some boxing moves.