May Mystery

The mystery of May is which word best describes the breakneck pace with which it advanced.  Mayhem, madness and masochistic would suit I think.  Phew.  I'll take a breath now that it's almost over. 
Much of the month was fun and celebration, and of course as life tends to present itself there was (and continues to be) much sadness and stress. 
Our countdown to our England trip looms in the distance and as excited as I am I am still not in a position to plan too much or even make my top 5 list of places to visit.  There is still a long list of things to do, finish, and prepare just in our day-to-day.  I can't say I'm great at approaching life at this speed but regardless I either have to run or miss the train. 
As all of this stuff of four lives lived together zooms around us the boys are growing as quickly as the spring plants.  The reality of their changing selves strikes chords with me daily.  How can the time move so fast?  With each little baby I hold I see how un-little my boys are, while simultaneously shaking my head at how much there is to watch unfold inside them before they exit my daily influence.
Am I recording the sweetness of now?  For their benefit but mostly for my own....I'm not sure how successful I am at that. 
Today a girl I have know since she was born turns 13.  And it literally feels like it was a blink in time.  May's mystery...the stunning dash of our children as they grow.  I'll take a breath again and sit with that for a while.

London Calling

The countdown to our summer holiday is officially on.  We leave in about 2 months for London England, and Jersey Channel Islands.  To say I'm excited is a huge understatement and in my true fashion I'm doing some fun research on my own and with the boys.  Luckily Kyan developed an interest in knights and castles recently, and Elliott's obsession with shields and swords is playing into our prep as well.  Here are some books that we have checked out from the library to give us some background on our travels. 

 

This is an interesting read so far, debunking the myths surrounding the ravens living at the Tower of London.  I happened upon it while looking for books on ravens for a future art project.

 

Edward Rutherford has written many novels specific to cities.  I have read Dublin: Foundation  (Also named The Princes of Ireland) and really enjoyed it.  Historical fiction helps me to grasp a place much better than too much non-fiction.  Much less dry.

 

Let's Take the Kids to London: A Family Travel Guide, and Frommer's London with Kids (Frommers With Your Family Series) are the guide books I have been looking at.  So far I've just been glancing through but I plan to look more extensively in early June.

And for kid's books we have been reading:

  

Which is really fun and engaging. 
Although the overall perspective gets harder to grasp as the city grows over time.

 

 We pick and choose from this one covering the areas we will be going to and the aspects that we can engage a 4 and 7 year old in.

That's it for now.  I'll try and share more about our prep and the trip itself soon.