Gilmore's in Wonderland

Watch this space...

2014-09-15T22:44:00.001-07:00

I'm sure I've used that line before. But tomorrow we start our adventures with a 10 1/2hr flight. Wahoooo this is going to be fun!
If we're all still alive I'll post pictures soon!

The other side of Costa Rica

2013-06-25T18:08:00.001-07:00

Sorry it has been so long but here at the new house we have moved to is without WiFi . We have done so much since we have moved to this new spot!

The standard of living here is so far from what you would expect both in the UK and USA. The humidity and heat corrodes things at a much faster pace so houses and cars look old when they are not, also electricity is really expensive so you don't see too many power tools being used and most people won't use the tumble dyer either! The new house we are in is fantastic! Just this morning we were watching White faced monkey’s swing from branch to branch; there are a few a toucan’s that live in the trees around our house as well as a cute gecko that is living with us! We have also seen a sloth and a GIANT turtle. I know you could spend your entire life exploring this land and still not cover half of what there is to see. It’s such a privilege to see so many wonderful creations in one place, this leaves you with no doubt that there is a creator of this amazing earth!

So first the new house...

The view from the front of the house, you can't see it here but when its clear you can see the sea (ocean)

The monkeys living in the trees in the back garden... They were really close.

Speaking of which, as amazing as the monkeys are the highlight has definitely been spending time with the brothers and this little English group. We have LOVED being here with them and the enthusiasm they show is outstanding! For example the room we meet in is the back school or second school and it seats about 12 ok but they have around 16 with us showing up, the room is like a little sauna and is not the most comfortable but that does not detour these dedicated brothers and sisters. Their territory is vast and beautiful, for the most part! Most people live in modest houses and one Bible study we went to the people didn't even have a floor but they are so excited to be able to learn about the Bible, they have an appreciation for spiritual things which you don't see too often in the western worlds. Going out in service is fun but hot! It was especially fun the other day when we were doing the rural territory. The roads that are UN-paved are a free for all... as you can see.

And here is the group... most of them.

This is the Bible study I was telling you about, the dirt floor you see is all they had through the whole house. It really makes you appreciate all that we have! Here I was trying to teach the children English and they were teaching me Spanish, it was fun.

This is a house next to a brothers Bible study, the parrot looks dead but he was chilling with his friend the dog! So cute!

And this is how they do it!

Even in the rural's we manage to find a street corner to congregate on!

Hudson is now a seasoned driver! He can't be any worse than the locals hehe!!

A little after service refreshment...

Tarzan!

And the kids catching lightening bugs back at the house... all those white dots are the bugs, it's so cool!!

We are going to move!!!

2013-06-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

Ha! Only houses not actually move to Costa Rica! we have done so much in the last few days, it feels like we have been here for a month already!

First of all we went to the English group which is hosted by the Spanish congregation on Sundays at 4pm and Fridays at 7pm. It was so much fun to be included, the kids were so happy because they got to answer on every question. Right now there are about 12 in the group so its kind of like the old book studies which is awesome (for us at least!) Experiencing the Spanish meeting was a real challenge mostly because we don't really speak any Spanish, although we are trying hard to work on that! Hudson was a bag of snakes for the majority of the meeting and did not want me to hold him plus its was SOOOOOOOOOOOO hot and humid in the hall they don't have AC just fans with the doors open... I didn't get pictures yet, I was to hot to care about it, but I will I promise! The brothers of course are lovely and we got to hang out with a brother called Matt and his lovely wife Meredith and their two boys Max and Jack. Jack has pretty much grown up in CR and has a funny Spanish and American accent, it's cute!

We haven't got to out in service yet, the kids have been sick... (it's not the water ;)) just a tummy bug I think from the plane! Way to go American Airlines!! But we are hoping to go this Thursday if we can get baby well!

So why are we moving and where are we going?

The place we are currently staying at is so so beautiful but so very very cold! So cold in fact that you have to turn on the electric blankets on our bed so we can get a decent nights sleep, plus its a solid hour and a half from the congregation which is a huge pain because it means 3 hours of driving time just to get to the meeting let a lone out in service and on these roads that's a lot! We managed to find a new house about 10 mins from the beach and only about 45 mins from the Congregations,,, yep both the group in San Isidro and the English congregation in Quepos. Its near a little beach town called Dominical below you can see what the beach looks like... it looks rocky but nearer the water its amazing, and the waves are super high, perfect for surfing, we spent a few hours jumping waves, it was so much fun... oh and the house comes with a pool too, so we are really excited about that.

We have so many stories already, way to many to write down, but I am sure we will be talking of everyones ear when we are back.

In the meantime enjoy the pics.

xxx

With new friends...

And a baby iguana they found

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh what a view, the beach in Dominical

Just hanging out at the beach

The perfect get-up

Ronnie and Danielle recommend this place... it was fantastic, built around an old plane in the city of Manuel Antonio, we got to see monkeys and the kids got to hang out in the cockpit. We got to stay in a hotel here to because our car broke down... like I said so many stories so far!

Outside of the restaurant.

This is the bridge we have to drive over everyday to leave the property, its soooooooooooo dodgy, I don't even think there is anything holding it up expect the new planks thrown onto the old!

Our house in the middle of our street. Our house...

2013-06-15T19:02:00.001-07:00

Are you humming the song yet?

Well for the past 24 hours we have been stuck at home because little Ella has caught a bug... Yep gross! Poor thing has been really poorly and needed to stay at home, so we have been making the most of this amazing place and exploring the area...

This is just one of the many breathing taking views from where we are.

It's so funny too that many of the plants we desperately try to keep looking amazing in Sacramento
grow like weeds here... look at these hydrangeas they grow everywhere! its so cool.

This little waterfall runs under the pathway up to our house.

This is the house we are staying in the pathway is lined with these lovely succulent plants, they look so good.

close up of the plants

One of the back views of our place

The steps leading down to the river

Trying to keep Jude occupied whilst Ella recovered was not really a challenge, we let him wander free within walkie talkie range of course and I even got him to take some pictures for me... he even got an iguana on film.

These are so some of them...
Oh first the handsome young man right before he headed out

The shot he took of the Iguana is a little blurry, he'll get it next time...

The pond above our house, they re-stock the river with these fish (I think)

One of the caves at the bottom of the garden

and another waterfall

Tomorrow we head out to meet the congregation, we are hoping to get the schedule down for the ministry and the rest of the meetings times. We also get to meet the brother who helped us put this trip together, actually he did most of the work!

We can't wait to meet the brothers...

We made it!!!

2013-06-13T21:37:00.001-07:00

Well a few hours later and we have made it to the hotel! Finally!!

It has been too dark to take any good pictures, but I do have an interesting story.

We had to transfer flights to get to this pace, which actually turned to be a good thing, normally its a huge pain but when traveling with a baby, it meant he could get of the aeroplane and run around, well upon boarding the flight from Dallas TX I strike up a conversation with this man and his lovely daughter to my right, I think to myself ... Hmmm 4 hrs of witnessing this will be good! I thought I'd try to be discreet though (sometimes I can do that!) and got my iPad out to start studying for the week. He then asked me if that was the WT for this Sunday! What!!! How did he know?? Well it turns out they are witnesses who are from Seattle! How crazy is that a whole plane full of people and here we are sitting together!
Jose who actually is from Peru, his wife (sherri who we haven't met yet) and his daughter are going to be here for a couple of months whilst his daughter (Gabby) goes to school to learn Spanish and help teach the violin... Cool huh? They come to CR every year or so to help out the local Spanish congregations, and here we were all stuck on a plane together. It was so amazing to be able to relax straight away and see how Jehovah's people, are truly like a huge family! Plus he has the most awesome story of how he found the truth... Can't to share that with you in person.

Hudson is such a good traveler as well and was so relaxed throughout the whole thing... Check it out.

Oh and so sorry for the terrible pictures, my camera has broken, so you'll have to make do with these until I can replace it

And the lovely Gabby with my rabble... So nice to meet you!

I feel so privileged to be able to have this experience... I can't WAIT for the rest of the trip!!

Location:San Jose, CR

Traveling again!

2013-05-29T11:36:00.002-07:00

Good morning to you all.
I wanted to start posting again... we are traveling to Costa Rica for about 4 weeks which is very exciting, but I wanted to be able to share our experiences with you all...
Enjoy!
The Gilmore Family

Why where have you gone?

2011-05-31T20:12:00.000-07:00

You maybe wondering (or not!) just where I have been for the past year (s) or so?
Well if you want to find out then scoot on over to here... You will find all my lastest typos, and rambelings.
I must apologize for not posting pictures of my last meal in England, but it was just to sad to so. Kind of like closing the book never knowing when it will be open again! BUT!!!!! I maybe going back home in August so "watch this space"

Thanks for reading.

We're home

2010-01-06T18:09:00.000-08:00

So we made it back okay to sunny Calif, I can't believe how much snow the UK has had this past week and how much warmer it is. We almost didn't make it up to the airport, but my dad pushed through the weather like the expert driver that he is. We did see a few cars facing us the wrong way on the motorway though which was a little unnerving!

The last night we were in England Graham cooked us this fantastic meal, and I took a million pictures but cannot be bothered to load them on at this moment, but I promise I'll do it this week. I want to show all you Yankees how amazing British food is so when you hear people slagging it off you can set them right ;-)

Look forward to seeing everyone and sharing our funny stories... miss you already my fellow Brits!

Love xxx

Sniff Sniff last night in GREAT Britain :-(

2010-01-05T09:52:00.001-08:00

Well we have had such a fantastic time here in lovely England it's going to be so very hard to come back home to CA... ahhhhh we need to plan something to do to ease the pain! maybe snowboarding again??

Today we just spent the time getting ready to come home and took a little wander around the village where my brother lives. It's such a cute place and has everything you need.

Outside Tim/Dad's place

The American style house

Again it was so very very cold, she just couldn't manage to walk anymore!
Local butchers...
...and the local baker shop

We got to hang out with some old friends (Damien & Jo) we kind of all grew up?! together at least we were all pioneering at the same time! They are from lovely Brighton but took the time to come and visit us, which was lovely.
They too have a boy called Jude and a sweet little girl called Poppy.

Kathryn & Michael, who really don't drink as much as it looks like they do in the picture!!!!

Poppy & Ella

The other Jude and lovely mummy
And it was an absolute nightmare trying to get the kids to take a picture without mucking about... sigh oh well they are still very adorable.

This is in a place called Cranbrook, apparently it's the 2nd tallest windmill in the county.

So the girl that pretty much taught me to sew, is called Nicola, she was also my Quick Build team mate! we used to mix cement for the bricklayers on the team... ahhhh good Ol' days. She now is married and has two lovely Children, Joseph, who is a sweetie and Tilly, who I am sure will be too but is only about 6 weeks old! Anyway she makes the most amazing necklace's, bracelets, broaches etc... so I had to pop by to see what she had... check her out here at Tinhouse let me know if you want anything and I'll pass the info along! scuh cute stuff
Adorable Joseph helping mummy to show of her wares.
Her hubby (Tristans) pet spider, yes it was a little unnerving
Yes I was freaking out a little inside!

This was a brilliant idea, the kids were freezing but loved it! well done Nic

We took this the last day we were in Oxford with Rolfe & Michele

Leaving Oxfordshire :-(

2010-01-01T03:16:00.000-08:00

We have had such a fantastic time here in Oxfordshire. We have done and seen so much since we have been here, but the best part of the trip was spending time with our dear friends Rolfe & Michele. Michele everyday cooked for us breakfast & diner, which was amazing... Ahhhhh good food and good company! Simply the best people in the world (so Rolfe keeps telling me)We'll miss you SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much :-( we may just not leave and then you'll have to put up with us forever !!?

Oh and to all you yanks who know them they send HUGE HELLO and HUGS xxxx

Ella LOVES the dogs!
Awwwww my fellow Brit
Getting ready to go to Woodstock
The kids fighting to get to travel with Rolfe & Michele, they will miss you so much
Before we had to go though we made the kids pump the water for when we get back!

Rolfe's gate to his house... we had to stop there on the way to Woodstock.

The historic town of Woodstock...

The STOCKS!!!!!!!!!! every home that has at least one or more children should get this contraption installed!

Rolfe kindly became the tourist for us and took some lovely photos of Woodstock which houses the most amazing Blenheim Palace the birth place of Winston Churchill

Churchill's grave...

If any of you get the chance to come to the UK or for any of you that live here and have not yet paid a visit to this lovely town you really must, there is so much to see here.

Whilst being here in Woodstock we somehow always end up in this lovely little tea & cake shop called "Harriet's"

The building was amazing the windows and door frames were made from the Spanish Armada, they were fantastic!

The owner Harriet? was very patient with the kids

She took a real shinning to Micah & he to her ;-) ...

Most homes that are this old will have one of these outside which is a foot scraper, some are so old and worn, just another thing that adds charm to this country.
Over time a lot of the windows begin to bow out this is a great picture that Rolfe took which shows just how fragile but sturdy these buildings are.

Of course what would the trip be without a trip to the pub!

So what would the last night be without a party, I know you have been missing Micah's moves too!

Ahhh good times. Our children do have issues though, Ella for a while thought she was a dog so Michele kindly fed her along with the other dogs, silly Ella!

Shakespeare & Barges

2009-12-31T03:59:00.000-08:00

We ended up going to an amazing place called Stratford upon Avon yesterday and despite it being bitterly cold we still managed to look around somewhat.
We saw the home where Shakespeare was born which is pictured below here.

It was amazing to see, they had exposed part of the original wall which they call Wattle & Daub so you could see how they used to build the houses here.

It was really amazing to see the house in perfect condition after almost 500 years. There is so much history here it was impossible to see all of it in just a short amount of time, let alone in the freezing rain!

This is a little public library in the town

And here is a statue of the man himself!

And the other man!

The kids loved playing in the phone boxes and we had a hard time getting Ella to stop talking to her imaginary friends and to move along!

Ugggggg it really was a dreary day though and so very very cold. Still we had fun.

We did get to see how the canal lock works though which was cool. These where built because of the contour change in the landscape, a bit like going up or down stairs across the water way of the canals.
It's a very clever system that works by opening and closing special gates.
In this example the water level was lower than where the barge was at so the Captain needed to "step" the barge down. She did this by entering the first gate, there were two sets of gates in this lock, you can kind of see that in the picture. She then closes it behind her causing the barge to be in the lock and has to be moored to prevent accidents etc... then she uses a gear called a windlass which operates the lock gear mechanism and equalizes the water in the lock in this case it lowered the water in the lock.

When this was finished she could the open up the bottom gate and pass on through. Just look at how narrow the lock is it almost felt like the barge was too big but this girl knew what she was doing and made it look easy!

The whole process takes about 15 minutes, which may seem a long time, but can't you just imagine yourself in the middle of the summer on a barging holiday with all the time in the world to just meander along the lovely canals of England...

Oxford & Home

2009-12-28T14:25:00.000-08:00

When we got back from France we were able to spend some time with my dad and his new wife Elaine. They threw together a last minute meal and fed us (Thanks) we had a really nice time just relaxing

I do love this country, I know I'm biased but really the life is very laid back, well at least if you live in the countryside.Good ole' England with its endless rolling hills and sheep grazing! nothing like this to bring you down to earth!
It is so very cold though, not the usual Sacramento cold we feel this time of year but the type that no matter what your wearing will find a way to penetrate your very core in about 15 minutes. Still, cold an all I love this place.
This is outside Rolfe & Michelle's house... so cute, I say cute but it's bigger than our place back in Sac! maybe we should move in ;-)

This is a house they are taking care of just down the road, Ella loves the fact they have chickens and a few dogs.
Helping Uncle Rolfe with the chickens, Jude kept his distance but Ella was right in there!

Today we went to a place called Chipping Norton just outside of Oxford and what a sweet little Village. It had a lovely little Theater that was showing Jack and the beanstalk unfortunately we didn't have time to stop and catch a show! but as we walked along the street look what we came across!

How cute is this Kingdom Hall, we didn't get to look inside but it's not all that huge, although I think Rolfe said there are two flats above it.

We endedup in a small Pub (of course!) and yes the kids felt right at home as if they were in the Bon lair!

Only in France!

2009-12-28T13:47:00.000-08:00

So this is dedicated to things you will only ever find in the amazing country of France... sorry if it's shocking but you know how the french can be at times ;-)
these buildings really looked like they were holding each other up! What brilliant colors.

Just in one of the coffee shops we went to.

I know... on a kids carousel too! INSANE! and yet I still took a picture of it!

Stunning architecture!
Yes Tim we love you.

For some reason Jude was fascinated by the pharmacy signs here and would let up until I'd taken a picture of one! funny boy.

These were pictures we took driving back from from the alps. I can't even begin to describe how amazing these mountains were.

It's hard to see but this bridge was built right into the the rock on the side of this mountain.

Follow the rainbow...

The Wedding

2009-12-28T01:01:00.003-08:00

So finally here are pictures of the wedding, sorry it's taken a while for me to get them on here.

The morning of the wedding getting ready...
This is Rachel my niece
And Lucy, can't you just see the mischief written all over her face.
This is such a great shot of all the little ones that were in the wedding party.
Dad & Elaine right after the ceremony (congrats)

My Dad and his best man Graham (my BIL)
My Brother Tim
Everyone that was at the Kingdom Hall
Ahhh doesn't he look happy

So if you know my family or at least me, then you'll know how much we LOVE to talk... now there is proof!

My Dad...
My Daughter (Ella)
Me!
My Sister (Natalie)
BTW doesn't she look gorgeous!
My other beautiful Sister (Mandy)
My Nephew (Ciaran)
The only one that had her mouth closed was my niece (Bella)
Okay I do have more pictures but I am waiting to get them sent to me.
See you guys soon
xx

More Snowboarding Pictures

2009-12-26T00:20:00.001-08:00

On the last day Tim & I finally got it so that we didn't take a dive every 5 mins! I just managed to get a picture of him though

A couple of shots as we left the resort :-( bye bye

And my brother Tim & I at the resturant. Ahhhhh good times!

The Alps

2009-12-25T08:59:00.001-08:00

How amazing are these mountains. I can’t believe we get to snowboard here. The view from our chalet (below) is stunning, the weather is a little icy but even with these conditions it’s amazing to be here.

The picture below is of a lift that took us up to the top of a mountain and it felt like were where never going to get there, I’m not sure how high it was but the largest mountain is almost 2 miles high… I know crazy.

So we are on this lift and it felt like we were on it for 1/2 an hour, it stopped several times which was a little frightening to say the least, but we sucked it up, hid our fear and made it to the top… At the top there was a bar, only in France! 2 miles up nothing in sight but a bar/pub! Hahahah so we got a couple of drinks to “help” us down. During the run up to the top we passed at least two/three "button lifts" which consisted of a pole with salad plate sized disk to sit on whilst being YANKED up the mountain for at least 1/2- 1 mile. the skiers were fine but snowboarders hmmmm I tried 5 times and fell flat on my face all times but one! Micah of course got up first time, and Tim... hmmmm I think twice?? anyway the point was these lift's !!!!! who invented them????

The run we went on first was considered a green run which is the easiest one and I must say it was fun, even for me ;-) because it was less traveled it was mostly powder which was fantastic, especially as it hurt less to fall!
I would take amazing pictures but I don’t think I am expert enough to snowboard down with the camera.

This is the little village where we stayed, it was a fantastic place called Saint Sorlin D'arves ahhhh so fantastic that we get to do this. The pictures will never be able to convey how amazing Jehovah's creation is, it is truly breathtaking here.
The people here are so friendly and especially love Micah, him being a yank and all! We just let him do the talking. He’s even attempted French and does really well with it, except when he mixes in the Spanish lingo!
Everyone here is so nice like I said. We even got one of the women here to watch the kids, don’t worry she wasn’t a random stranger but a service that the resort offers which is soooooooo nice, Micah took a picture of our French nanny! The kids loved her too,

Jude is desperate to get back out on the slopes, even Ella is doing great at it but before we did we had to get the kids ice cream!

And of course us some more dutch courage to get down the slopes!

Who knows what Tim is doing!? (my brother) who has driven all the way here and back... a mere 10 1/2 hours despite loosing the keys on the slope we still appreciate it. Thanks Tim xxx
So here is the man Jude

And little Ella, what a great stance she has already!!

And ummm yes this is our mountain!

Right now we are heading back home to Angleterre and it's only two days of driving for 5 hours, not bad for us but rubbish for the kids! But we are staying in an amazing place called "Troyes" pronounced (twah) and it is stunning, we tried to capture a pictures via iPhone but we will be taking more tomorrow, this place is lovely. the restaurant we ate in was built in 1793... such a cool place.

Escargot... mmmmmm delicious snails! Ella LOVED these.
And yes that is real red wine (mixed with water) but hey they inhaled it.

So I'll get fab pictures of Troyes and post tomorrow or the next day. TTFN hug and XXX's.

And thank you for all the comment's. Wish you could be here! We miss you guys too...Krissi, Ella keeps asking if Joseph is going to be okay whilst she's away!... Cute.

Snow Day and more castle

2009-12-20T17:05:00.000-08:00

So we have arrived in France and still have a long journey of about another 5 hours to go before we reach our final destination of somewhere in the french alps.
I wanted to show the rest of the pictures from Leeds Castle.

This is so freaky but I really wanted to get a picture of this bed, it's quite famous and in a ton of interior design books. The castle for the "season" had done themes in a lot of the rooms which were characters from fairy tales and this was little red riding hood... scary

My lovely friend Kathryn and her little boy Gideon came with us, we had a blast. Although the moat was a little frozen and so were we a little because yes it really is that cold!

Look at the sky in these pictures, who knew that they bought a few incheds of snow with them.
Gideon, Jude and Ella. You can see what a hard time my kids have with the camera!

Did I mention is snowed... a lot! it started Thurs? and wow snow it did. it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cold but beautiful.
this house looks so lovely all year round but particularly this time of year with snow on it.
Just past the above house, poor bloke couldn't keep away from that ditch. The roads are very icy though.

It's been really lovely spending time with family and friends even if they are a bit dorky ;-)
This is my brother Tim, nephew Aiden and little Jude playing guitar hero, this is pretty much what they do all day... see how different we are from Americans??!

And my beautiful niece Rachel, My BIL needs to hide her away or he's going to have HUGE problems.

I haven't managed to get pictures of the rest of the familly but I will, they are just a little camera shy.

Lucy and Ella, my niece's are so adorable. Lucy is so funny though and her and Ella really hit it of

I also haven't managed to get pictures of the wedding, but hopefully soon. Well time to dash I'm getting nagged to go now but more to follow soon :-)
xxx

The eagles have landed

2009-12-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

So we arrived safe and sound, the kids slept most of the flight which was fab! (thanks to liquid melatonin ;-)) You can see Jude snoozing with his beauty mask on.

My dad...
My sisters mystery machine hehe how cool is this thing

We are having a blast, I had forgotten how small everything is but how cool too!
Just driving down one of the most dismal motorways in the UK (M25) was wonderful. You could see for mile across green open fields and the odd historic house dotted here and there along with the sheep decorating the fields.

We went to Leeds Castle yesterday which is really stunning if you get a chance, Google it and read up on the history it's very interesting.
The kids LOVED it but Ella couldn't understand where all the princesses were.

Lots more pics coming soon I promise but right now I am running out the door to go into London for a concert :-D

We're leaving on a Jet plane...

2009-12-14T15:35:00.000-08:00

So finally we are leaving, everyone is pumped up and ready.
The drive to SF was not too bad except for the constant "are we there yet, are we there yet, how many mile's in minutes is it"?
The kids are doing fantastic lets hope it last's for a whole 9/10 hours!!
Anyway a pics of our journey across the great American Highway or at least down highway 80!

Our mug shot's

Pixie really wanted to come with us!

Love airports, they take you to magical places faraway lands and different cultures, sometimes I just want to fly way :-) Oh wait today we do...

Not quite our plane but you get the idea!
No worries of our kids not wanting to take pictures!
And Micah deeply engrossed in transforming Jude's transformer... Cute
Not sure if they are more excited about the gift bags we got them or the plane journey!

two and a half more days...

2009-12-12T10:18:00.000-08:00

... and we will be leaving for sunny ummm I mean wet rainy and cold England... YAY can't wait.
When I asked the kids how excited they were, this was the response...

Jude is trying to show how excited he is by reaching with his feet, and ella with her mouth... ahhh good times