The New Forest

For our final weekend getaway we decided to head toward Winchester and Southampton and enjoy the surrounding areas. 

Saturday we spent the day in The New Forest National Park. It was awesome! There are wild ponies that wander everywhere throughout the park. Seriously you could walk up and touch them (if it wasn't against the rules).  Jude and Livvy were in heaven. 

At one point we were driving out of a car park and we were stopped by 6 ponies that decided they were comfortable in the middle of the road! Thankfully, a forest ranger was behind us and came and literally pushed them off the road. 

After we wandered around the ponies we headed to a little hiking trail nearby. 

The fall colors were gorgeous and Livvy was so excited to go hiking. She kept saying she needed her tent and a flashlight. =) 

We bought a little hiking back pack a few months ago and finally broke it in for our little non-walker. He loved it and had fun grabbing leaves on trees with Lincoln. 

The only way we keep Livvy walking is by providing her a "walking stick". She was so entertained with it and the mud that she could "squelch and squirch" through (go read We're Going on a Bear Hunt). 

Lincoln also found me a Christmas tree. Thanks, sweets. 

Jude discovered the fun of crunching leaves.

 Family time is the best. 

Oxford

On the same trip that we went to Windsor Castle we stopped in at the University of Oxford.

Because we got there pretty early and it was still cold we meandered around the Natural History Museum with the kids first. 

Jude seriously couldn't stop pointing at things. He wanted to touch everything and was so excited! Livvy loved it too, although she was really hesitant to stand underneath that T-Rex and take a picture! 

After the museum we wandered around the campus and saw some of the beautiful architecture. 

It was definitely very impressive, although I told Lincoln BYU may not be as impressive, but our landscaping has it beat! 

On our way back to the car park we walked down this random cobblestone street and right through filming of the movie Belle.

I think we literally passed the main characters in a carriage as we first walked in and they were setting the scene. We had a few minutes to hustle down the road before they closed it for the shot. It was pretty cool to see all the details that filming takes to create realistic scenes. Largely though, the scene was already created for them, thanks to the beautiful architecture that Oxford has.

Windsor Castle (the famous one)

A few weeks ago Lincoln booked our last couple weekends away before the weather gets unbearable. I couldn't have picked a better time to get away from house work and making food for a few days. 

Saturday morning we woke up to the coldest morning since last winter. So we grabbed everything we could think of to keep us warm and Lincoln punched in "Windsor Castle" in the "Points of Interest" category of our GPS. 

After an hour of driving and feeling bewildered about the lack of signs pointing us to the second most visited site in England, we pulled up to the following restaurant in the completely wrong direction called "Windsor Castle."

Woops! Just for the record I was the one driving not navigating...

So after another hour of driving we arrived in freezing cold Windsor. I love how Jude is bundled! He can't move, but he is warm!

Windsor Castle is the Queen's preferred weekend residence and houses many state events. The rooms and the decorations were over the top. They were gorgeous.

Despite it being freezing, the kids did great. At one point in the day Livvy said "Mommy, Jude told me he wants to go to the hotel and go swimming." That girl is a sly one.

After stuffing ourselves with amazing hamburgers and fries we made it to the hotel that was way too fancy for us and Lincoln and Livvy went swimming in a low-lite pool in the middle of a restaurant and bar. Lincoln is one good dad.

Summer Road Trip: Bath

And that was Bath. I can see why several Jane Austin characters went there on holiday. Gorgeous.

Summer Road Trip: The Cotswolds

Day three we finally went and saw the Cotswolds, a place that Lincoln has been dying to see since we came to this island.

The Cotswolds are made up of beautiful little villages that dot the countryside. We just drove from town to town and wandered around enjoying the small town atmosphere. 

 Our favorite spot was Arlington Row in Bibury. The cottages on this small walkway were built in 1380. They are so cute!

Livvy kept Jude entertained by splashing in puddles and getting all wet!

I think Lincoln wants to move there....I seriously had to pry him away from taking 09123098 pictures.

Classic Livvy. She is obsessed with three different skirts and shirts and refuses to wear anything different.

At one point we stopped in a town and went on the "Great Cotswolds Ramble". Ramble means walk or hike here I think and so we went walking along the meadows and picking flowers.

 

At the end of the "ramble" this inscription was on the fence. Pretty cool if they walked the same pathway we did! 

At the end of the walk Lincoln ran back to get the car, while the three of us camped out.

Cotswolds you did not disappoint!

Summer Road Trip: Wales Part 2

In the afternoon of our "Wales Day" we found a small village that one of Lincoln's ancestors lived in, Cowbridge. 

We found the old village church and Lincoln was excited to be where one of his relatives walked a long time ago! 

The kids, however, weren't that excited for an old church, but we found playground close by and then all was well.

 My sweet baby boy has recently gained a terrible fear of swinging (whether by seat or by mom's arms). He gets so nervous and just wants to go down slides!

Wales was cool. It was a nice relaxing day that had little driving and tons of time doing fun things outside.