Hi everyone! We're about halfway through our two-week vacation and having a wonderful time. The first week was spent with family in Exeter. We did lots of family-friendly activities like nature walks and amusement parks, and the girls got to spend tons of quality time with their British grandparents.
Yesterday we drove up to Oxford where we're spending the rest of our holiday with friends. It's much less structured so it'll be more relaxing, and we don't have to worry about making sure relatives get the maximum amount of quality time. (NT's parents are divorced and re-partnered with other people, so it was a delicate dance to make sure both sets of grandparents felt they got an equal share of the girls.)
I have an hour or so to myself while AS and the girls nap and NT is out food shopping with our friends. They're throwing a small party tonight so it's nice to have quiet time. It's perfect weather suddenly -- a break in the cold, windy days we've been having -- so I'm sitting out in the back garden enjoying the sun and the sound of birds and insects. I'll go in soon and get showered and changed for the party.
I'm afraid I've put on weight with all the delicious but starchy food we've been having. I'll have my official weigh-in next weekend when we get back, and we'll see if I have to go on the straight-and-narrow for a bit to get back down to my ideal weight. Hopefully I won't go too far off track.
So far we've only spent about a third of our vacation funds, so I think we're going to end the vacation under budget! The family kept paying for everything on our first leg of the journey, so we didn't spend as much as planned. We do want to go clothes and souvenir shopping, and we'll eat out a few times, but at most I think we'll break even. We haven't been taking out our weekly allowances either, so there will be three weeks' worth waiting for each of us when we go home. 
Anyway, I'd better get going. I just wanted to check in since I had the time!
Quick hello from Oxford, England!
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snafu, I asked my friends if there's ever any terrorism outside of London, and apparently that's the only place that sort of thing happens! I guess it's the only worldwide prominent city in the country. There's the usual petty crimes, of course. Virtually no gun violence since guns are mostly outlawed.
Living smaller, yes! There are tons of fascinating habits here that are down to energy conservation due to costs, I think. Homes are smaller; cars are smaller and much more fuel-efficient (gas costs about twice as much); roads are TINY, as are restaurants; people hang their clothes to dry even if they have a dryer; handwashing dishes is very common. The strong national identity is kind of amazing; they don't make a big deal out of patriotism, but since they don't have such a huge and wide-ranging culture, there's more of a singular cultural identity. Even though there are striking regional differences.