Kingston Lacy

What a fun and funny day we had! Kingston Lacy is a nearby grand old house on 8500 acres. It was built in the 1600s and was a family home for centuries, but it now is owned by the National Trust. Today, the boys (and Jesse and I, as it turned out) ended up there as subjects for a full-day National Trust photo shoot spotlighting the many family activities on the vast premises. It turns out the employee arranging the shoot is friends with my cousin Danni, and when Danni was asked if her sweet girls would be "models," Danni explained that we'd be around and asked if Josiah and William could be models too. (I use the term models very, very loosely...)

There were ten kids in the end, four moms, and one Jesse. We didn't anticipate that the adults would be in any pictures, but actually we were in many...interacting and playing. And Jesse, as the only male, was a dad / husband / random guy in basically any shot requiring something resembling a family or needing a male presence. Ha! Today was Jesse's and my 15th wedding anniversary, and of course this was a lovely way to spend it. But who knew that he'd mark it by acquiring three additional wives and eight additional children? 

For my part—happier behind a camera than in front—I did my best to stay out of the photographer's way but also wanted photos of the day so took them when he was shooting in another direction. We joked at the end of the day that I should have been documenting a "real" family day out for our own, more honest companion publication...pictures of bandaids being put on, tears being mopped up, ice packs being applied, food being spilled, toilet breaks being taken.   :)

In any case, it was super to spend the day on the beautiful grounds (and we were snuck into the house for a look around at the very end of the day). There also were free snacks and tea and drinks mid-morning in the tea shop, free ice creams mid-afternoon, goodie bags at the end, and lots of activities throughout. Of course every step was photographed. I can't think it's an exaggeration to say 3000 shots were taken, probably many more. 

A few other fun facts: My great-grandfather Frank Frampton was employed by the family at Kingston Lacy over a century ago as a carpenter / handyman, and built his family's little home on rented Kingston Lacy soil. My mom recalls that as a schoolgirl here in the 1960s, she and all the children received an orange each Christmas compliments of the family. 

 

 The first hour or so was spent playing with various toys and equipment on the south lawn. Here a cricket came was underway. My baseball boys were totally confused...but William's always a happy camper when any sort of bat and ball are to hand!

Waiting for snacks and tea in the tea shop area. Of course this was all photographed as well. 

The children frequently were asked to, for instance: "All stand on that log...jump when I say go...and race down the path as far as the trees!!"  (And usually repeat the performance a few times.)

In this shot, William kind of missed the jump and was disappointed. So while all the other kids raced off to the next spot, being photographed throughout, I had him do his own jump for me: 

 

 All day there were sticks to gather, woodland doors to peek into, leaves to inspect, pigs to feed, logs to climb, hills to jump, games to tag to be had, and so forth. 

There also were children falling from on high!

(Actually, this was just us playing around after the shoot was over.)

 The rope swing was a big hit. Jesse was the dad / pusher for every child in turn for 15 minutes.

 Here's an outtake from when Jesse also became the poster boy for some orienteering shots, along with a National Trust employee. Totally natural with their maps and compass, right?  :) 

 Being photographed by the real photo guy whilst collecting ice creams... 

Being photographed by Mommy whilst eating said ice creams...

And...catching moths whilst eating said ice creams. 

After 7+ hours outdoors, Jesse and I were happy to have 30 minutes to peek through some of the rooms of the house itself (while Danni mercifully and wonderfully kept our kids playing outside). It's filled with all sorts of jaw-dropping furniture, artifacts, and artwork, including paintings by the likes of Titian, Rubens, and Brueghel. With our short time available, I didn't take many pictures—although I do have this one obviously from down in the servants' quarters. Downton Abbey, anyone? 

A quick parting shot for our 15-year anniversary. Here's to hoping we have many more great anniversaries to come!

PS - No, our bags aren't here yet. Jesse's now completed Day 4 in his one outfit (yes, it's all been laundered), but thankfully the boys and I had a couple of things in the carry-ons so have had 2-3 options in rotation.