In Final Leg of Month Long Journey....

... the gang heads over to Holland to surprise Opa for his 70th birthday.

Henry, at 4, Gets a Driving Lesson -- in a 1961 Porche 356!

Looks Like Daddy Has Arrived in Gosport!

This is Grandma and Grandpa Bohling's house in Gosport, a town on the south coast of England.

Henry, Ollie, Mommy visit UK/Europe for Whole Month!

In July 2012, you guys spent a whole month away from the States and in the UK/Europe visiting friends and family.  Here's Mommy's account, sent July 27, of what sounds like a truly memorable trip for all:

"Well we've reached the last leg of our month long vacay to the UK and Europe. Despite 2.5 weeks of constant rain in the beginning it's all gone rather quickly and well.

"The highlight for Henry was and continues to be Thomasland. The highlight for me without doubt was Cornwall. We got lucky with our weather and where we were located on the Rosalind Peninsula there was so much to do and so little time to do it! It felt a lot like door county in its peninsular community plus the Cornish are a bit like the Welsh with a strong micro culture of their own separate from the rest of England. Our last night the boys and I enjoyed a summer fete out in a farmer's field. It was so quaint!!!!!! One old man tending one of the games looked at me and stated the obvious, "well you're not Cornish!" clearly.

"It was very family friendly, lots of Europeans on the beaches which surprised me. Lots of yummy restaurants and a few family friendly hotels that are fairly chic. We however stayed in a house that was a converted barn. Ollie slept in a big boy bed almost the entire time! And in fact did not start to sleep through the night til I let him. HE has changed a lot!!

"The boys were able to have fun with cousins Connor and Euan. Visiting their  campsite and playing at the beaches, learning to float on a boogie board and fly kites and the best part of course was fish and chips on the beach! All of you would love the feel and pace of the area and I hope someday we might all be able to go back sometime-- the cornish wouldn't know what to do with us!!

"We had a five hour drive back to Gosport/Portsmouth yesterday. Lesley joined us for the ride and the boys were awesome! We only stopped once for an hour and then Henry and Ollie slept for a lot of the rest of the way.

"It would be an understatement to say how excited I've been to be driving on my own! I did dent the car however, ironically at Charlotte's house up against a wall -- at least there was no one else involved! : )

"Driving here has been a lot of fun as its kept me on my toes and the roads are meant for cruising! Lots of curves and beautiful views!!

....

"Dom is mid Atlantic as I write and Henry woke up this morning saying, "Ollie guess what? Daddy's here today!!!!" We are all SUPER excited to see him.

"Despite the exhaustion and hard work with the boys, it's been so nice to have focused and uninterrupted time with Henry and Ollie and to have them to myself. They've been for the most part really, really good. Needless to say there is probably no way I'd have been able to do this without the help from Lesley. I owe her a vacation complete with spa day!

"Off to Holland tomorrow via Brussells. Peter's 70th bday party is tomorrow and I don't think he knows we're coming tho he must suspect something! We'll be at a hotel for three nights about 15 mins from his home. 10 years ago I flew to Holland with Dom to celebrate Pwter's 60th. It was the first time I ever met his Dutch circle. 10 years later... Hard to believe we have two boys and I have a lot of wrinkles.

"We've missed you all and look forward to seeing you when we get home!!"