London Wasps

Today the students had a Rugby lesson from the London Wasps. The London Wasps are a professional Rugby team in England. The students really seemed to enjoy their time!

http://www.wasps.co.uk/Schools.ink
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Wasps

Blenheim Palace

Today we went to Blenheim Palace with Zach , Nancy and our amazing friend Jayesh. It was a really beautiful building and we had fun walking through the gardens all around the palace as well.





http://www.blenheimpalace.com/

Wales Pictures

Wales

On Thursday and Friday Zach and I went to Wales and saw some really impressive castles. Wales truly is a gorgeous country. I was so amazed by the beautiful mountains.





From top to bottom these castles are Beaumaris, Caernarforn, Harlech and Conwy.

Finally a visitor

This week our friend Zach came to the UK for a visit.
On Wednesday Zach and I went to Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-Upon -Avon


and Broughton Castle just outside of Oxford.

Cotswold Wildlife Park

This weekend Adam rented a car so that we could try to see something out of town. When he arrived they only had Standard so.... we are learning how to drive. Adam only did it a few times as a teenager so I think he is doing pretty well. He thought I should mention that even though he stalled in traffic a few times we didn't get a single honk. One guy even looked concerned for us. I tried driving in an empty parking lot last night. I did OK but I am a little nervous about driving on a road with cars still.

Today we went to Cotswold wildlife park. It is mostly an outdoor park so Zena and Jackson could have joined us if we knew better.

Sun Dome

Today at work I got to go inside the sun !!!
Our school had a traveling exhibit that teaches children about the Sun. They had a large dome to represent the sun and students watched films inside. The kids really enjoyed it and learned a lot !

http://sundome.org.uk/index.htm


Also our friends Karen and Josh had a baby boy last night, Ryan James Talbot. Congratulations Karen and Josh. We hope that you are all well.

Something for Dad

Yesterday our school had a special guest. Jeff Rich, a former drummer from the band Status Quo came in and gave a 90 minute drumming workshop for our whole school. He taught the students about the history of drums, played the drums for them and then gave them an opportunity to play with percussion instruments.

The kids really seemed to enjoy it.

I hadn't actually heard of the band before but apparently they were a really popular English band a while back.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Rich

Playing in the Snow

Today we took the dogs for a walk in University Park and they had fun playing with the snow sculptures.

Kudos to Adam

Well Adam still doesn't have his first term grades yet, but today the list of pass/ fails was posted.
I am VERY happy to report that Adam passed all of his classes... YEAH !!!!

Another Snow Day

Last night we got more snow, I think we have had a total of 4 - 5" now. So today I had another snow day and we still have no bus service.

Adam did take his bike to school yesterday and is about to head out by bike again today. It seems odd to us because we wouldn't hesitate to drive on the roads in this condition if we had a car.

I certainly like living in a city where a few inches of snow is a big deal, but it isn't much fun being stuck in the house for two days when the roads are fine.

Still Snowing

So last night we got 2 -3 " of snow !! Figures that Adam and I have the privilege of being here during the only significant snow in years.



Anyways my school is closed today. Adam however was determined to get to class even though there is no bus service where we live. Looks like it will be the bike today.

Second Snowfall in Oxford

Well here you have it, this is our second snowfall.


So admittedly there was almost an inch near work today but.... teachers who lived further from school were sent home after lunch, classes were combined and we watched videos in the afternoon. In addition teachers were preparing students for what to do in case we have a snow day tomorrow.
(Update it is 8:41 p.m. and 9 local school have already closed for tomorrow LOL )

Can't say that we miss the New York winter one bit.

News article describing the snowfall
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/02/snow-brings-britain-travel-chaos

Oxford Philharmonic

Last night Adam and I went to see the Oxford Philharmonic with a friend. The concert was pretty good. However the best part was that we paid 5 pounds for our seats and then got upgraded to seats that cost 26 pounds : )