Spring in England

(Above) Mother's Day photo. (Mother's Day is in March in England.) Lucas couldn't manage anything but a squint in the sun.

Noelle loves the playground. She's especially fond of the slide. She enjoys going with her brothers. 

Springtime, like any season in England, is a gamble weather-wise. But after an extremely wet and warm winter, we've had a beautiful, warm, dry (and early) spring. There are a bunch of great areas for walking and hiking near our village. The boys love getting out and going on short hikes. Below are some photos of these recent hikes.

(Above) A large stately home hides behind the trees. This is a huge estate not far from our village. Unfortunately, it is closed to the public. 

(R) A boating lock not far from our village. 

(Above) Noelle wanted to get out and walk with her brothers. She doesn't care too much for the baby backpack.

(Above) The rear side of a large manor house in our village on the right, and on the left (behind a tree) one of our village's two 900-year old churches.

(Above) Noelle fell asleep on the train table. One of her favorite hobbies is climbing on the train table and wrecking her brothers' toy set-ups.  (Yes, she often wears her brothers' hand-me-downs at home.)