Cross country in Roundwood Park

Running in her new spikes, Sofia finished a very respectable 10th out of 30 girls. That's her bff Honor beside her.

And yes, I do realise I need to buy new track pants! 

Adventures in Canada

Day One of our Canadian odyssey passed in a bit of a blur – an 11-hour flight followed by a stumble around an area not designed for pedestrians, some lacklustre food court fare and a ridiculously early night. I think we were all in bed by 5pm.

Predictably, Day Two began excruciatingly early. We gave up trying to get the kids to stay in bed about 4am and were all downstairs having breakfast at 6. Catching the 9 o’clock sailing to Vancouver Island was not difficult.  The ferry ride was fun – a lot like the Interislander but a shorter voyage.

The next day we all went whale watching from Victoria. Orcas proved tricky to photograph, but we also saw a humpback, a bald eagle and many seals and sea lions.

On Monday we loaded up the cars and drove up the island to Lake Cowichan where we spent two nights camping in a pine forest campsite near the edge of the lake. Quite different from New Zealand camping grounds, which tend to be in big open paddocks.

There followed two days of fishing (the kids), swimming, kayaking (the ladies of the party) and s'mores (marshmallow, chocolate and Graham crackers combo) around the campfire. Sofia was the only one in our family who could walk the log around the swimming area with style. 

Stay tuned for the next installment - our adventures in dinosaur country!

Day trip to Great Missenden

Will in Roald Dahl's writing chair 

On the countryside trail

Jules gets by post-surgery

With a little help from the grabber...

The new arrival

So on Saturday morning Sofia and I went to the Mayhew Animal Home to pick up our new cat, who Sofia had chosen the Saturday before.

She is pure black and about a year old. Spent most of the weekend hiding behind the couch and the TV but is now much more confident - jumping onto the table even, while we were having dinner. 

Her previous name was Meer but Sofia has called her Emerald, on account of her striking green eyes. 

A busy Easter in Barcelona

We had a brilliant time in Barcelona this Easter, hitting the aquarium, the zoo and the beach, as well as Parc Guell (where we didn't get to see the mosaic lizard, much to Sofia's disappointment). Many of the attractions we visited just by bowling in when we first came to Barcelona in (ahem) 1999 are now the sort of thing you buy a timed ticket for online in advance, or queue around the block. Or perhaps that was just because it was Easter. 

Anyway, this holiday marked Will's transformation into a brave food warrior, which we are all very pleased about. He tried pimentos de padron and chorizo and salt and pepper baby squid, just to name a few of the delicacies on offer.

Lots more photos on flickr.  

Hamster love