Kent: Days 3 and 4

On day three we headed to church in the morning. We enjoyed visiting, and like other places I've gone, the members of the ward were warm and happy. Ashley had to give a talk in sacrament meeting, so it was hats off to her for pulling it off wonderfully with company at home and no time to herself!

After church we were on our way to Chartwell --the home of Winston Churchill. Last year I read a biography of Churchill by Paul Johnson and was excited that Chartwell was close to Ash and John's home. It did not disappoint. Here are the girls in a small part of the flower garden:
And then in the vegetable garden where they allowed the girls to pick a piece of chard and spinach. They quickly planned to make salads for dinner, but the leaves didn't make it back to the car.
The grounds were gorgeous. I can see why Churchill found such solace here during the world's turbulence he was dealing with otherwise. It seemed as though he found his grounding in home and family --the best place to find it.
The home itself was also pretty incredible, and there was a separate little building that was Churchill's painting studio.

That evening, after dinner, we went for a walk through the neighborhood to the nearest park. How cute are these four kids, seriously?
The girls got along so well the entire trip and were so cute when they played. There were a couple of mornings where I woke up and listened to the girls chatting and playing and I couldn't help but smile. I probably stopped smiling the third morning and ushered them downstairs so we could sleep, but they really were very sweet together. The boys got along some times, and then some times Cole went on his hitting spree. He had been doing that for a couple of weeks before we left, and I wasn't sure how to deal with it. How embarrassing that he would just whack poor W! Finally near the end of the trip, W started a counter attack with what I can only describe as ninja kicks. It stopped the punching. Cole hasn't been hitting since. Thanks, W!

Cole is still asking now and then about both his friends in England.

Day 4: Leeds Castle. Tessa took this picture --isn't it pretty?

The black swans were not afraid to get in your face and try to get some lunch. Cole loves birds and approached one, only to have it slam him with it's head. Good grief! Cole was in tears and couldn't understand why the bird would be so mean. I guess at least it didn't bite.
Leeds Castle is about as picturesque a castle as one can get. It dates clear back to the 12th century (amazing!) and was the place where Henry VIII tucked away his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. We had a good time going through it. The last person to own it and live there, Lady Baillie, didn't pass away until the 70's when it was given as a historical gift to the Commonwealth. I kept trying to imagine what it would be like to walk through the stone hallways in your jammies to get a snack or something. I couldn't picture it as someone's 20th century home.

That evening, Ash and John were rockstars who watched our kids so that we could head back into to London to see Les Miserables.
Jake and I were fortunate to see Lion King when we were briefly in London last time, and then to have this opportunity to see another show --very lucky. Les Mis is Jake's favorite show, which I had never seen, so he was really excited. It was beautiful. We were on the third row, so we got to see the emotional spittle flying. The voices, oh the voices! Jean Valjean must seriously be one of the most difficult parts on the planet to play. You have to have a heaping amount of talent to carry that off --which he did. Eponine had my heart breaking for her; she was incredible. What an awesome experience and date with the husband.