Summer in Oxford

Well Summer is here and is has been surprisingly warm. We have had quite a few days in the high 70's to mid 80's. Doesn't sound so bad until you try to sleep without AC or even a fan. Oh well... it is a trade off for the winter with no snow. 

So Jeffrey and Nicole spent last week traveling to Dublin and then Paris. They seemed to really like Dublin and they weren't so happy about Paris.  They returned to Oxford Saturday night and the three of us spent Sunday walking around London. They went back today and Jeffrey was really looking forward to going to the wax museum.

Friday night was the end of term BBQ at the school. It was a nice evening and we got to meet the newest edition to the Oxford Family, Miss Amelia Jasmine. What a cutie !!

Over the weekend, Adam worked hard on completing his final papers. Two were due today and one tomorrow.  He has one more due next Monday and then he starts his "Internship" on Tuesday. No time to rest. 

Sunday in Oxford

Well yesterday Jeffrey and Nicole saw the Natural History Museum, The Pitt Rivers Museum, walked through a few of the colleges ( Green Templeton, Keble, Christ Church  and Worcester)  walked through Christ Church Meadow, ate Bangers and Mash at a pub on the river, saw inside SBS, walked around the Oxford Castle and of course Nicole and I visited Lush : ) 
When we came back and Jeffrey made me feel like a fool by hacking into my computer in 4 seconds. Guess I better beef up the security : ) 

Cathedral at Keble College

Jeffrey, Adam and Nicole looking at the shrunken heads at the Pitt Rivers Museum

I thought this was a really funny display inside of a display case

Head of the River Pub

Jeffrey & Nicole

Well after a looong layover, Jeffrey & Nicole are here in Oxford. They arrived Wednesday afternoon and were quickly brought to the water for a little punting.  Yesterday they went to Blenheim palace and then had dinner in town. I think today we will have to get them to pick up the sight seeing pace a bit.

Last night Adam and  I attended the Sylvesters. It was the end of term dinner / awards ceremony. The students nominated their peers for various awards such as Best Smile, Most Likely to Change the World, Best Boy Band and the David Koresh award. It was a fun evening. 

Lead singer of the Best Boy Band...

Sunny Sunday

Sunday was another beautiful day in Oxford so a few of us had a picnic at one of Oxford's many lovely parks. 

After our picnic, we stopped in town do do a little shopping at Lush and happened upon the most random " Parade."  We weren't quite sure whether it was a parade or a church service as the crowd was saying prayers and singing hymns while walking down the street. 

Now it is time to get ready for Jeffrey and Nicole. They will be here in just three days - Yeah !!! We are so excited to see them. 

Birthday's and Punting

This week one of Adam's friends from home came to stay with us.  Adam and Mike did some sight seeing in Oxford, and tried to see a Shakespeare play that was rained out so they ended up at a pub.

On Friday night we met out with a group of friends to celebrate three birthdays form last week.

On Saturday we took Mike punting in the morning and then walked the dogs all over Oxford for the afternoon since we had perfect weather again.

Last night we tried to have dinner at a restaurant in town. We showed up to an empty restaurant at 7 and were sent away because they were fully booked at 8?? Interesting business model... 

BBQ

Well the wonderful  weather that  we have had over the last few weeks has left us and we are back to English weather.  

On Saturday I went into a neighboring town to go shopping with a few of the girls and it rained the entire day : ( Most of our shopping was in an indoor mall so it wasn't so bad but it did make our outside time yucky.

Yesterday we had a BBQ here at our house. Unfortunately nobody here was much of a " Grill Master"  but we still had some laughs and enjoyed our oven baked veggie burgers. 

Stereotypical BBQ behavior

The ladies Chatting inside

Getting the grill ready

Everyone watching the grill and offering advice

Adam realizing he has no idea how to actually grill

Oxford Castle

Yesterday I finally saw the Oxford Castle. Everyone has been asking if it is worth a trip and I can finally answer. 

Go to it, don't pay to go in. You can walk around the grounds and see the outside of the castle, eat and a lovely restaurant, or stay in the hotel.  Your admission allows you to climb a hill where you then have views of the tops of the surrounding buildings, and tour the inside of the castle which has artifacts from the prison days. It was a nice field trip for 8 year olds though.