Oh to be in England, now that summer's here :)

Not wishing to be stuck in the house watching football when the sun was shining, or rather not wishing to be stuck in the house watching football ever, my s-i-l Ann and I took or girls to Calke Abbey. (Tom had suddenly developed an interest in football at the mention of the words "national trust").

Because of the beautiful weather, we didn't explore inside the house today, but stuck to the gardens. I think I'm going to have to get some wisteria for our garden, it's so pretty. Hannah and Ella loved running around. It's a wonderful thing to see things through a child's eyes. It was so cute to watch the girls smelling the flowers.

The house and garden reminded me very much of the book The Secret Garden, which I loved reading when I was little.

Anni regretted not quite being dressed for the hot weather, but we had arrived the night before.

Then we went back to Ann and Jon's for a bbq and to watch the BGT final together. Ella found a comfortable perch on Tom's shoulders. Soooooooo cute.