Powell

And a few more.

2012-02-13T09:59:00.002-07:00

Occupy...something rather.

There were protester's tents all around St. Paul's Cathedral.

It was freezing out.

And that was our date.

We'll be back, London.

Trafalgar Square + National Gallery

2012-02-13T09:57:00.001-07:00

The famous 'Nelson's Column' in Trafalgar Square.

(The same Lord Nelson buried in St. Paul's)

Count down to the London Olympics.

Outside the National Gallery.

No photography was allowed.

After snapping this Van Gogh painting, I got in trouble.

Oops!

Piccadilly Circus.

2012-02-13T09:42:00.001-07:00

Statue of Eros in the dead center of Piccadilly.

As we were walking up to the fountain, a street performer got up in Alma's face (friendly) and started dancing.

It was because Alma got on 'his stage'.

"There was the 'circus'", Alma later commented.

This performer had a lot of onlookers. What was so entertaining, I don't know.

He was lip-syncing the theme song to 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'.

A short walk away, the statue of the Grand Old Duke of York.

Admiralty Arch.

About 2 miles behind is a straight shot to Buckingham Palace.

A stroll through Chinatown

2012-02-13T09:04:00.000-07:00

I've been up and around Chinatown in San Fransisco and it's a huge one.

London's is small but has plenty of Chinese restaurants that look yummy.

Since we grabbed lunch before the museum, we picked up a sweet treat.

Alma bought a deep fried bread stick (like a scone w/out honey), and I got a little something called a Tiger cake roll. After finishing, I immediately regretted it. It was good and all but, it felt like my arteries were going to block. It was that good, yet that bad. I didn't feel so good afterwards.

I also tried bubble tea. Won't ever do that again. But now I know.

More of the Museum.

2012-02-13T03:00:00.003-07:00

There are so many mummies.

(We know who the grave robbers must have been ;)

Many more than what I took pictures of.

And a lot more than we saw in Egypt and Rome.

It was fascinating.

The highlight of the museum (for us).

The Rosetta Stone.

A piece of the great Spinx's beard.

The British Museum...

2012-02-13T01:54:00.002-07:00

Catch the 'Tube' to the Museum.

"Mind your step"

Lindow Man, a Bog Person.

Sites of London

2012-02-12T14:57:00.000-07:00

A walk across the Millennium Bridge and a stop at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre.

The Thames was at low tide.

The Theatre is built with a Traditional English Thatched roof.

We didn't take a tour (pricey!).

But maybe, we'll be able to watch a production before we move.

We did take a look around the Globe shop at some fun stuff.

It's a date. In London.

2012-02-12T12:08:00.002-07:00

Traveling the Underground was so much easier and less stressful without having to maneuver a buggy.

First Stop, St. Paul's Cathedral.

Sir Christopher Wren helped rebuild the city after the Great fire of 1666. He was the architecture for St. Paul's.

The current Cathedral is the fifth one on that exact spot since 604AD

Admiral Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington have respected tombs in the basement which is called,"The Crypts"

Day #9-- Someone I love...

2012-02-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

So, okay. fine. I don't know these men personally.

And no, I suppose I don't have feelings for them either.

But I'll tell you one thing, if they knew me, they'd love me.

yep.

;)

Regardless of their muscle body mass, and their premium bank accounts,

there's only one man that has my heart.

(and also two little boys :)

I love him very much!

To the men shown above, 'Sorry. I'm already taken.'

And I wouldn't trade him for anyone else.

(Photo by Cade)

Day #8-- Habit...

2012-02-08T13:05:00.001-07:00

This is a habit.

An addiction.

Bad.

Terrible.

No good.

I'm ready to give it up.

I blame the gross water from the town I grew up in.

(poor excuse. whatever. i'm claiming it)

Last night,

I was going to lose it.

Reek havoc on my hellyuns', if you will.

Of course, I'm exaggerating.

But I did need to get away for a while.

Some time to myself or by myself.

Just to refocus, de-stress and relax.

So, my gracious hubby, let me go.

(I think he was scared of what I was turning into ;)

Out of all the things I could have done,

I went to the movies.

I went, by myself.

(it was last minute. i didn't want to bother any friends)

And still, I didn't feel like a loner.

It was all so good.

The details on which movie, isn't important.

It was terrible.

But it was one I had to watch; for some reason.

To get my habit fix, I brought a can.

I took this picture when the lights were already off (hence the blur).

I took 2 photos; the flash went off. I quickly put my camera away, ignored whether or not people were staring and placed the can in the cup holder. Which then, I heard a loud clank on the floor. The can was too small and fell right out the bottom. I grabbed it just as it was starting to roll down under the theater seats.

I also have another problem. I play and pick at my thumb cuticles. This too, I hate. It's the worst.

I can't think of any good habits.

Probably cause I don't have any.

;)

...and some other snapshots.

2012-02-08T01:28:00.000-07:00

Day #7-- Fruit...

2012-02-07T14:36:00.002-07:00

Bananas.

When I was younger, I didn't care for them.

I didn't not like them, but didn't like them either.

So to fix my indecisiveness, I stopped eating them.

Which eventually made me gather a distaste for this fruit.

I know.Weird.

Lately, mostly to help my athletic performance, I've begun eating them.

And now I'd like to see you pry one from my hands, mid devour.

Let's just say, if there was such a competition as a 'banana eating contest,' I'd be the champ.

Day #6-- From a Low Angle...

2012-02-06T11:11:00.001-07:00

* I realize that the photos from Day #5 & Day #6 should be switched ( high & low angle).

Day #5-- From a High Angle...

2012-02-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

After putting the kids to sleep last night, I glanced out the window and saw that there was thick layer of snow on the ground and it was still snowing! It made me all sorts of happy!

Oh snow, how I've missed you.

It's been awhile.

It hasn't snowed since.....our first Winter here (2yrs ago). And then, it wasn't much. Just enough to scare people and start cancelling things.

In these parts of England, we don't get much. Two inches could cause things to get cancelled like church, work and school.

It snowed one other time this Winter. Just a few flurries that lasted about an hour and as soon as they touched ground, they melted.

You can imagine Cade's excitement (as well as the rest of ours) to wake up and see a beautiful deep layer of white everywhere.

This was Cade's first time ever to run and play in it. He couldn't have been happier. We had to drag him in to warm up his little toesies.

Ross wasn't impressed. Alma threw a snowball at me (he's so nice) and some bounced off and hit Ross.

He let us know he didn't like that.

Here's an upstairs view of our backyard with fresh untouched snow.

It didn't stay like that much longer; snow angels, snowballs, snowmen and an attempt at a snow cave (Cade kept sitting on it). It was glorious.

And no. We don't have screens on our windows. I don't think many houses do. It's just one more thing to get taxed on.

Day #4-- Something Green...

2012-02-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

I could have easily taken a picture of our lawn or the countryside, it's green all year long, but decided to go a different route.

Instead of taking my long run this morning, we (i convinced alma to take me) went shopping. Now, I have to take my run this evening and I'm just procrastinating. I'd say it was worth it though.

We take this road often, through Tuddenham St. Mary, this was the first time I noticed this street sign. Probably because I was trying to decide what I wanted to snap a photo of and spotted it.

It seemed perfect.

Also a green road sign, telling us the 5-ways round-a-bout is approaching.

And Cade lined up all his green cars on his "race track" for me.

Day #3-- Clouds...

2012-02-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

Don't be fooled.

It is FREEZING outside.

Freezing wind is the worst.

Today, I lucked out.

There was actually clouds in the sky.

Lately, it's either been fog or overcast all day long.

The sun is a long lost friend of mine.

It's good to have it back.

(even though my eyes are very sensitive to it now)

Day #2-- What I wore...

2012-02-02T09:29:00.001-07:00

I'm not stylish. Or trendy. Or very fashionable. I'd like to be. I just don't have that gift. It's nothing to cry over.

I've always wanted to do this at least once. Do a 'What I Wore Today' post. I've seen other bloggers that do it and it just seemed fun. The problem is, I'm usually in gym clothes (today is an exception because it's a very special day). I don't hop in the shower right when I get home from the gym. It is usually at night when the kids have settled down and hopefully in bed, that I make time for some pampering. And then I'm exhausted, so it's as short as possible.

Two kids are a handful. I don't know what I'm going to do when (or if) we have more. How my Mom stayed sane with 7, is a mystery to me.

Not only am I doing this fun challenge, it's also a lose 5lbs this month, as well.

Some changes have to be made. I need to stop at one cookie. Cut my caffeine habit (something I've wanted to do forever). No late night eating (when I say late, I mean after 7pm. including our family favorite night treat, chocolate milk).

I was hoping the pounds would shed when I started my training schedule because my weight wasn't budging before, even though I was at the gym ~~regularly~~ daily and was running constantly.

Now I've incorporated heavy weights and running intervals. I see a little difference in size but the scale hasn't moved at all.

I'm happy to be strong but I'd be lying if I didn't say that it's a little depressing not seeing a change in weight.

I think I can fairly put the blame on my poor eating habits (that I didn't think were SO bad to begin with).

Now that I've bore'd you...

The Navy trench is from Land's End Canvas. It was a steal.

Polk-a-dot blouse is from a local British Store.

The basic tee underneath is from Target (their basic tees are the best. I truly live in them)

Pants are from Old Navy.

Shoes/booties from same local British Store (but a couple of years ago)

The ring you can't really see, was a Christmas gift from Alma.

And the earrings you can't see at all, I made.

Lip stick/gloss is 'Wet n Wild' natural blend. (I don't even care that it's cheap 'Wet n Wild'. It's about the only product that stays on my lips for a long time and the perfect shade too--berry)

(i self-timer'd this photo. it was freezing outside.)

Photo Challenge-- Feb. 2012

2012-02-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

My sister and I, decided to try this challenge (of course, found on pinterest).

I missed yesterdays. It's a bad excuse. I kept putting it off and well, I still hadn't taken a shower from the gym that morning. It wasn't until right before climbing in bed last night that I finally took the time to shower. And welllll, that wasn't going to be a very good 'self portrait'.

I won't forget about it. One day this month will have to photographs.

2012-01-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

Life is going on as usual. Running, being mom & a domestic engineer, running...You know. Life.

It hasn't been exciting lately. But I'm grateful that we are all healthy and happy. There's absolutely (not much) nothing to complain about.

So anyway. Here are a few things on my mind and some other stuff.

---I have never liked Hannah Montana- A.K.A Miley Cyrus. Just the sound of her voice makes me cringe. Luckily without television channels, I haven't heard or seen much of her these last few years. But on the radio today, I heard she was being considered for a part of a like able female role on a popular T.V. show/ gone movie. And now, another movie is being made. Not that I liked the show or movies much, but I think, if she's chosen, this just might ruin the famous 'Carrie Bradshaw' character.

---You know those Kewpie dolls? I have my very own real live one. Jealous? Ross has this chunk of hair on the top of his head that sticks up. It's caused from two cowlicks and it makes his hair stick up. It won't lay down no matter how hard I try. But it's darling so I don't care.

---Cade really likes Wall-E. We don't own it. This is the second time we've checked it from the library. I made a special desert/treat last weekend centered around the movie. It was fun. Cade had to asure us that it wasn't actually dirt we were eating. But that it was cookies (smashed up oreos). I love hearing him quote lines. "You look gorgeous." Sometimes he quotes cartoons while he plays and when I hear him, I know I've heard it before but I have to think a minute and figure where.

---Finally watched "The Office" season 7. I pathetically nearly cried when Michael left. And then I pathetically did when I was surprised by Pam meeting him at the airport.....oh gee. I.am.pathetic.
Now we've been watching each season, an episode here, a couple there. It's been fun.

---Going from pulling my camera out several times a day, to not even touching it, is kind of ludicrous. I really want/need to take pictures and capture England. When I drive around, I think, I need to bring my camera out here. But lately (for the past few months. especially recently) it's been sooo cold. But the weather is my excuse for everything. 'i'm having a second brownie. it's cold outside.' 'i'm not cleaning today. it's cold outside.' But this weekend, I will be taking my long run outside early in the morning, no matter what the weather is like. Maybe I should pack my camera along with me?...nah.

---Two of my most favorite people are coming to visit us!! I simply can't wait until April!

2012-01-26T07:26:00.002-07:00

Ross turns 1 years old.

2012-01-17T08:13:00.000-07:00

one year has gone by.

(January10th)

my baby is 1 year old.

It was a long year. (maybe i'll write about it and explain. sometime. maybe.)

But really, it was a short year.

I've loved watching him grow through his first year.

How hes learned to smile, giggle, roll-over, scoot, and crawl.

I love seeing his teeth in the beginning stages (though his gummy smile is absolutely adorable!) and him starting to grasp the idea of walking without support.

Ross has added so much to our family.

So much love into my life.

I love that he loves to cuddle, even though he loves the warmth and comfort of daddy's bulky arms most, I still take every chance at getting my turn.

He loves his big brother. They are so cute when they play. Even though his brother doesn't always want him to play with the toys he thinks belongs to only him and they have their moments, like any siblings, you can tell they are going to be the best of friends.

Like for instance, when Cade wants to include Ross in random things. And when Ross wanders around looking for Cade while he is taking a nap. These moments make my heart melt.

Enjoying a birthday cupcake all to himself.

"The Zookeeper's Wife"

2012-01-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

What I've been reading.

It's very good. Very detailed. It's a story and a lot of facts all in one.

I've learned a lot. For example; the Nazi party at that time (during WWII),

wanted EVERYTHING back to it's pure-blood line. This including animals (and bugs).

(why didn't I know this?)

It's taken me a while to read. Now I'm almost finished.

Here's a short paragraph I've found interesting (though the book is full of these types of facts).

"Unlike other occupied countries, where hiding Jews could land you in prison, in Poland harboring a Jew was punishable by immediate death to the rescuer and also to the rescuer's family and neighbors, in a death-frenzy deemed "collective responsibility." Nonetheless, many hospital workers disguised adult Jews as nurses, drugged small children to quiet them before smuggling them out in knapsacks, and planted people in funeral carts under a heap of corpses. Many Christian Poles hid Jewish friends for the whole length of the war, even though it meant reduced rations and relentless vigilance and ingenuity. Any extra food entering the house, unfamiliar silhouettes, or whispers seeping from a cellar or closet might inspire a visiting neighbor to notify the police or tip off the city's underbelly of blackmailers. The wayfarers often spent years in the dark, barely able to move, and when they finally emerged, unfolding their limbs, their weak muscles failed and they needed to be carried like a ventriloquist's dummies."

pg. 116

tricycle love.

2012-01-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

One happy boy taking a spin (or push) on his birthday gift.

And a tiny bear (whose finally getting some teeth!).

When I learned I was going to be a mother.

2012-01-04T07:14:00.000-07:00

The first words that came out of my mouth when I found out I was expecting for the first time, "Oh CRAP." I was staring at a pregnancy test in the small bathroom at a company I disliked with a boss I absolutely detested.

Still holding the test, I looked up and saw my reflection in the mirror. There was fear in my eyes. I didn't know whether to cry or laugh from pure shock.

I've watched as my nieces and nephews have grown and I've loved being with them. But having one of my very own? Could I even do this? Would this child survive to his first birthday with me as his parent?

I had been married for nearly 4 years. We had plans to one day have children....at least knew we wanted some. That's about as far as we had gotten with these "plans".

Even though I had been feeling nauseously sick and with that had an inkling of an idea that I might be pregnant, I really didn't want it to be true. I wasn't ready yet. I'm supposed to be in control and make these kind of decisions when I'm ready. Right?

Not always true.

Heavenly Father knows me. I know this.
He must be good at baseball too, because he threw a pretty good curve ball at me and into my life.

At that time, I didn't know the blessing he was sending us. To me.
It was definitely one in disguise.

There's no way I'd send him back
[or hop in the DeLorean]

Empower.

2012-01-03T12:07:00.002-07:00

I wasn't going to pick a specific word for 2012, but, for weeks, one word keeps coming to my mind and I choose not to ignore it.

Empower.

Creating personal challenges and doing only those things that strengthen me.

physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally.

Physically-get strong. run. choosing to eat healthy, fresh, raw food. try a new beauty regime.
Mentally-constantly learning. traveling. teaching my children. embracing my hobbies and interests.
Spiritually-studying the gospel. sharing my testimony. service.
Emotionally- conversations with my husband. creating friendships & connecting with people. playing with my children. [...having a clean house...I'll scratch that one.]

Things that build me up and make me better.

Therefore, a more happier, confident person.

For the rearing of my children, the relationship with my husband & for me.

Now, go do those things that are empowering for you.

[I'm not sure if I'm using this word correctly but it feels right]

For 2012--this will get done.

2012-01-03T06:59:00.002-07:00

Last year I made just one simple resolution.
To keep track and calculate the miles I ran total.
Because I haven't looked into any devices to do do this for me, I was using my trusty pencil and paper.
And maybe because I had a delayed and slow start, only running 1-2 miles here and there and far in between, in the end I kept forgetting. When I did remember, it was simply guessing which days I ran and how far....in the end it was a downer. So I quit altogether. But I don't consider it a failure. Even though I don't know the exact miles, I'm happy that I ran. And ran a lot. My 1-2 miles quickly turned into 3,4,5,6...back up to where I was before the kiddos. So, I'm not sad about ditching last year's goal somewhere near the beginning of 2011.

For 2012, I've decided to still make resolutions, even with my 27 things list.
They are three things that have nothing really to do with my personal growth. They are somewhat BIG projects and accomplishing them will make me extremely happy. The bad part is, all three may cost a bit.

1. FINISH PHOTO ALBUMS/ SCRAPBOOKS
Even though I'm still very much in love with pretty paper and embellishments, I've kind of inched away from decorative scrapbook pages. They are fun but I'm looking for a simpler plan and with clean pages and yet still be elegant.
I really like her style and her's too. And a little bit of this will be used.
I have a few ideas. Just need to jump in and bring them to action.

2. RECIPES.
Finally get them organised so I can use them effectively. I already have plans set and again just need to get going.
My hold up is knowing that it will be time consuming. And once I start, it's hard for me to rest until it's finished. That just the way it goes.

3. BUY PHOTOSHOP.
Simple enough. All I need is some money in my pocket (maybe not so simple).
I had the program once (not admitting it might have been illegally). When my computer crashed so did it. Plus, it was taking so- much- time uploading and then it would freeze, ending in my frustration.
With this program and when I learn to use it properly, I can finally be satisfied with my photo editing and it will take a lot less time. It will also help with resolution #1. I'm all about that!

a short recap of 2011.

2011-12-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

1. 2011 ALL TIME BEST moment-- Having Ross join our family [and not being pregnant anymore]

2. The MOST DIFFICULT thing to overcome in 2011-- Postpartum depression [which is a post all in it's self]

3. Total COUNTRIES VISITED in 2011-- 8 countries [Scotland, France, Wales, Italy, Vatican, Greece, Turkey, Egypt]

And a ton more.

2011 was filled with plenty of adventure. Some good. Some not so.
I welcome 2012 and feel confident it's going to be a great year for my own personal growth as a wife, a mother, a friend, creatively and spiritually. To rely more on the Lord for His guidance and trust in myself.

Celebrating Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T03:14:00.002-07:00

Hi Everyone!

We have had a fabulous time celebrating the holidays!

The only thing missing is being in the warmth of our childhood homes, with family and visiting old friends.

Instead we joined our friends for Argentine Christmas Eve festivities! It was the next best thing we could have done!

My friend is from Argentina and she cooked a gorgeous traditional meal. It was delicious! Since it's summer-time in the southern hemisphere on Christmas, the tradition is to barbecue.

We ate BBQ ribs, sausages and roast. There was also a type of cold beef with an egg mixture in the middle. A potato salad that's a lot yummier than the American version, a green salad and bread. We also had this amazing sauce to add to the meat or dip bread. It tasted so good and with all it's fresh ingredients, it smelled good too.

For dessert there was two different types of (Argentine) cookies, flan with a caramel sauce, this amazing fruit salad, creme de leche and I brought some Christmas jello (very american).

We had plenty to eat and the company was great. Afterwards, we read from the scriptures and sang some hymns. One being "Silent Night." To sing this song has become our Christmas Eve tradition (in Germany they only sing it on Christmas Eve), something from his LDS mission, that Alma has continued with our family.

Then we watched a couple of movies. It was a nice evening. It definitely helped ward of homesickness. We are so blessed to have this family in our life!!!

The boys playing the part as the Shepards.

On Christmas morning we woke up early but not to see if Santa stopped by. After staying up late, I think we could have slept a couple more hours and had to go wake Cade up. I think this will be the last year that will happen.

I was gently trying to wake him up when Alma came in and was rudely speaking loudly to Cade. He made the comment that we had to get ready to go see the Queen. When Alma left the room, Cade said, "Where's the flowers (we had purchased some the day before)...(he paused)...to give the Queen?"

It was darling.

We met up with our friends again and caravaned up to Sandringham to see the Queen.

Every year she (and a lot of the Royal family) spends time here during the winter. They attend church services at the chapel on the estate grounds.

The Queen took her 'limo' (that's what they call it. It's not as long as the kind of limo we think of, but it's longer than a regular car), while the rest of the Royals walked to church.

The news said that they hadn't see this kind of crowd since Diana was alive (and in good terms). Kate definitely brings a new face to the family.

Really, all I was expecting to see was the Queen. It was a surprise to find out who else was there. If we were to have come last year, it wouldn't have been such a 'big to-do' and there would have been less of a crowd.

We even got to hear the church service on the loud speaker.

The flower for the queen (the car stays with Cade. She could try to pry it away from Cade if she really wanted to, but she wouldn't suceed :)

The walk to church.

When I took this picture, I personally didn't see them. I had the camera above my head snapping photos. The only person I got a good look at, in the gap between people, was Charles, as they passed by.

After the service, children got in line with flowers for the Queen. I wasn't going to make Cade stand in line by himself (since it was all for me anyway). I thought maybe the younger kids could have their parents with them but there was a girl (probably about 12-15yrs) holding a baby with the mom. The police told her there couldn't be any parents out with the children. So the mom left. He looked at the girl with the baby and said, "Oh you are a child." By that time I was standing next to the girl and holding Cade's hand. The girl was taller than I and the police didn't give any notice to me. Maybe I passed off as a child too...I guess it can be a good thing to be short (and youthful looking ;)

The line was long, so it was split in half. The first half stayed where they were and the other half (which we were in) walked down the path a ways. When the Royals left the church grounds, Camilla and Kate approached the line of children we were with. Everyone started giving them mounds of flowers, cards and miscellaneous things. Camilla briskly walked through gathering and Kate slowly walked and actually talked with the children. Pretty soon William came down the steps of the church, and joined her. They both are so sweet. Very genuine. More than I could say for Camilla. It was obvious what her personality is like.

Standing behind me, was a group of American ladies. And i'll be honest. They were an embarrassment. The way in which they were acting, was completely pathetic. And just for those 20 mins or so, it made me want to give my British accent it's ultimate test and see if I could pass as one.

When Camilla passed by us, Cade handed her a yellow rose. William walked around greeting the children and the crowd behind them. When he walked by, I quietly said to myself, "He's so handsome," like it was the first time I've ever noticed. When in fact it's not. I'll confess, I had a small crush on him when I was younger. Even his receding hairline doesn't make him less attractive...in real life.

Then when Kate approached, Cade held out a pink rose ( I stood back toward the crowd as to not identify myself as his parent), William got Kate's attention and said, "This little boy wants to give you a flower." Kate turned to Cade and knelt down to speak to him. He handed her the flower while she exclaimed how pretty it was. She asked Cade his name. Cade quietly said it. I don't think she heard him. When it was obvious Cade was going to be shy, I walked up to get him. She told him again, thanks for the flower and Happy Christmas to us both. And I couldn't even sputter a Christmas greeting in return, only a smile. Perhaps I didn't want anything pathetic to come out of my mouth like those behind me and/or I was just shocked all together.
They are a attractive couple and they compliment each other well. Not necessarily in their appearance, but in their personalities.
(I think now I need to go find a good dermatologist)

Then I looked up near the church and saw Harry and his firey red hair.

I left the camera with Alma. I thought it was only polite not to be snapping photos in their faces especially since I technically wasn't supposed to be up there ;)
It was impossible for Alma to take pictures of Cade and I or even to know where we were with so many people there. So there's no physical proof that this happened. You'll just have to take my word for it. And my word is my bond--or whatever that saying is. I'm not exaggerating this story one bit. It's all true.

Because our line split, the other line, it was shorter, got to give the Queen flowers. We got a good look at her when she climbed in her 'limo'. I made sure to point her out to Cade. I think she was ready to go see her husband, the duke of Edinburgh Prince Phillip, who had an emergency operation on that Friday and was at a hospital in Cambridge. Because of this we weren't able to give her the flower and ended up taking it home with us.

We also watched as the rest of the Royal families past by (some I couldn't point out), including the Princesses

and Zara and her husband the Rugby player.

Will and Kate were the only ones to really mingle with the crowd. I think that's to be expected though. The rest of the family was still very polite and when their names were shouted, they would acknowledge or if they were handed something they would gratefully receive it.

I was impressed by how friendly they were.

The walk back from church (Alma snapped the pictures but like mine, this is the only one that turned out. He was doing the same, holding the camera above his head, snapping away.).

I think this is Anne (the Princess Royal--the Queen's daughter)

From Sandringham, we went to our friend's house for leftovers that were just as good as the day before.

And finally that evening, we saw that Santa, or Father Christmas (as the British call him) had in fact, stopped by our house.

Though it wasn't like the traditional Christmas we are used to, it was still a great day.

And up until then, I had never seen a famous person (not unless you count local news anchors, which sadly, I did. Until now). And I've decided, I don't think I'll be attending these types of things any more, just to get a peek at the person (attending the Royal Wedding festivities in London was different AND totally worth it). I was lucky enough this time. But even still, the idea as a whole; it's not my cup of tea ;)

(source)

The boy who likes Transformers.

2011-12-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Fröhliche Weihnachten

2011-12-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

and in England, they say-

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

a family outing + a carousel

2011-12-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

After my early morning run of 10miles*, we decided to get a few things done today; making the most of having Alma off work for the next week.

After a few errands like renewing the road tax disc for our car at the local post office, we drove a short way to the little village, Elveden.

Such cute shops and it's extra special this time of year. They sell Christmas trees. ---Two years ago, we purchased a huge faux Christmas tree. And no matter how much you try to re-create the Christmas tree scent, it's still not the same as a fresh tree.---- Walking around we could smell it's amazing scent. It was marvelous.

This year they brought in a galloper (carousel). What a treat! It was beautiful. Cade was pulling us toward it but he didn't need to pull too hard on me. I was already drawn to it's antique horses and carousel organ music.

We got a closer look and the carousel has been in a few different movies, one being, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". A classic in my family.

Cade and I took a ride on delightful Ryan the horse, a two seater. And soon enough the organ started playing "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" theme song.

It was perfect.

We even picked up a dried fruit wreath from a stand, that smells like my favorite Yankee candle.

*marathon training.

i don't run 10 miles

(nor want to)

on a regular basis.

Venezia-- the end.

2011-12-18T12:22:00.002-07:00

Our hotel.

The night before, when we returned to our room and turned the lights on, there was a huge bug on our bed! I was freaked. I don't know what it was. I made Alma chase it down and kill it. You bet I double checked our bed before climbing in. Also, slept with my hair tightly secure on my head.

And some how I was able to still sleep that night.

Breakfast from a cute little bakery/coffee shop.

We didn't ride on a gondola. Having had the experience punting, we thought it might just be a little too stressful riding on a small boat again with squirmy children and it was really expensive. So we'll save it for the next visit...maybe without the children.

Carnival masks everywhere.

St. Marks Cathedral

From everything we saw on our trip, this place took my breath away.

And again, no pictures allowed.

The whole ceiling was beautiful mosaic gold tiles and when the light it just right, it practically glowed.

It was gorgeous!

Cade & Ross chasing the famous birdies.

I asked Alma if we wanted a picture of all the birds on us and he was basically disgusted that I would even ask claiming the pigeons has multiple terrible diseases.

Yes, Alma and I put our 'love lock' on a bridge. And we had Cade throw the key over the side of the bridge in the water.

Then he wanted us to go get it.

Our hotel when we picked up our baggage to leave.

Then back on the water taxi and to the train station.

We caught the over night train to Paris and had a better experience--though Cade did puke again.

Then through the channel to London, where we caught a Taxi instead of the Underground.

We were in a mad dash to make our shuttle and with the Strike that was going on in London, it slowed us down but our driver got us there on time.

I ended up leaving Cade's backpack full of his favorite toys at the airport (where we caught the shuttle). It was a sad day. But luckily, they mailed it to us and the only 'casualty' we had on our trip, were my sunglasses when we were in Alexandria. It's a good thing I had packed extra two pairs.

It was such a great experience.

Next time we go to Venice (hoping there is a next time), we'll be sure to ride a gondola and visit the Venetian ghetto (+ so much more)

Cade turns 3yrs old.

2011-12-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe my wild, energetic, funny, cute little boy has turned 3years old!

What a blessing he has been in our life; in my life.

We had a quiet celebration.

These were the invites.

(I'm pretty proud of myself. I did make them)

We played a game and put together "transformers" --lego monster trucks.

We ate pizza for dinner and a 'pizza' birthday cake for dessert.

(the pink is supposed to be red for the 'sauce' but I ran out of red food coloring before it got red enough)

Happy Birthday to my silly ~~little~~ big boy, Cade.

(who lately has been falling asleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed each night. I'm fine with this because I like to cuddle with him, but Daddy doesn't like it. Perhaps he's a little jealous?)

Venezia-- day one

2011-12-18T08:50:00.000-07:00

Going to Venice has always been a dream of mine.

And it was just as enchanting as ever.

Maybe because we had just wandered around Greece, Turkey, and Egypt but both Rome and Venice were very clean.

Right outside the train station, we hopped on a water taxi to take us to our stop near our hotel.

We dropped off our luggage and went wandering around the streets of Venice.

Streets are more like alleys, even narrow and occasionally dark.

Then amidst all the narrow walkways and water, we'd end up in an open square called a Piazza.

The Grande Canal.

As we were wandering, we'd see street accordionists playing the most beautiful music and we ran into this guy too.

I could see myself spending a lot of time here.

It's so dreamy.

Roma

2011-12-17T06:33:00.001-07:00

My advice before taking a trip to Italy--especially Rome,

prepare your self-esteem.

Everyone was walking around with their olive complexions, looking like models with their impeccable fashion sense.

From the Colosseum, we walked to part of the old city's ruins called Roman forum.

Cade wanted to push Ross in the stroller but the cobblestones was making it difficult.

It was a beautiful day. You wouldn't think it was the end of November. By the afternoon, we were shedding our clothes off because it was starting to get warm and all the while, the Italians had their fur parkas on and bundled up in their fancy scarves because they thought it was cold.

The Spanish Steps.

The Pantheon.

As I stepped in, I was blown away.

It was incredible.

Trevi Fountain.

So beautiful.

And so crowded.

I had coins to toss in the fountain, one for each of us, but I didn't feel like trying to push through people and we had one more stop to make.

I managed to walk down one step and followed suite with a lady next to me, and threw the coins in the fountain over every one's head.

I'm certain I almost pegged a lady, four times but they did all end up in the water.

And just like in Roman Holiday, here is "The Mouth of Truth".

We were so lost and couldn't find this place.

We ended up at this park on top of a hill.

It wasn't all bad being lost. We got a great view of the city's skyline at night.

We eventually found it, with the help of friendly Italians.

It late when we got there and the place was closed.

But luckily it was outside the building and were able to see it through the gate.

We met our bus at the Circus Maximus, where the chariot races were held.

It was a nice evening and we were in the perfect location to end our trip in Rome.

Rome-- Colosseum

2011-12-16T11:54:00.002-07:00

You know the saying, "When in Rome, Do as the Romans do."

So we ate Pizza and went to several Gelaterias.

Everything we ate in Italy was absolutely delicious.

The Colosseum was a must see on our list.

We spent quite a bit of time there.

I don't know what Cade was doing here.

Part of the old Roman city ruins across the way.

our first day in Rome-- the Vatican.

2011-12-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

I love Rome. I love Italy.

I didn't know how much I could or would for that matter.

Never thought much about that country.

It was always France, Germany, even Spain. Not a whole lot of thinking about Italy.

I know now, I'd live there and love it.

The question is, do I love Rome more then London?

I'll get back to you on that one.

The weather in Rome IS much nicer though. This will be a hard decision.

While we were there for 2 days, we took the tourist bus around.

It took away so much stress that the metro or other buses would bring. And it definitely was cheaper than a taxi would be.

I would highly recommend traveling around the city this way. (London also has these kinds of buses. We haven't taken one around yet but I think we will soon now)

Our first stop after getting off the train from Civitechia (where our cruise liner docked) was our hotel, which was conveniently close to the train station, to drop off our bags. Then we decided to check out the Vatican first.

2 hours isn't nearly enough time. You'll need at LEAST 4hrs.

So this is Cade with earbuds provided by the bus. They give a little commentary on things around the city while your traveling. Behind Cade is the Colosseum.

Cade with a scratch on his forehead and his nose. Poor kid.

Poor boy. He's got a little ouchie.
(You'd think we abuse our children...just to clarify, WE DON'T)

The entrance to the Vatican is on the opposite side of the Basilica with a huge brick wall surrounding it.

On to the Vatican Museum.

Which was huge. It just kept going on and on. I loved it.

The first part is dedicated to the time the Romans spent in Egypt.

I think we might have seen more Egyptian artifacts there than while in Egypt.

Cade was having a hard time while we were going through the museum until he finally fell asleep. And then we all felt much better.

This mummy was incredible.

I don't like taking kids to museums. You never can casually walk through and read about everything you'd like.

And then there's the problem with them touching everything in sight.

This is why Cade wasn't enjoying it. We wouldn't let him out of the stroller.

The art and architecture was a dream to see. Ceilings were completely filled with paintings.

Incredible mosaic floors too.

A huge bronze statue of Hercules.

A fresco from a ceiling.

There were several cracks in the ceilings that had to be protected.

The Sistine Chapel was incredible. No photography allowed.

If it weren't for the timing and Ross beginning to get fussy, I could stay in there for hours.

While we were in there admiring the ceiling, another man was too and hadn't been watching where he was going and fell down a step. It could get dangerous.

The last Sunday of every month, the Vatican gives free entry.

But we went on Saturday.

When we were waiting for our bus, it was dark out, we were at the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica and bells started ringing, nuns and priest of all ages were walking to Saturday night mass. It was a very cool experience.

Egypt: Alexandria

2011-12-16T08:46:00.001-07:00

The city named after Alexander the Great.

Presidential Palace where the president used to live until the Coup d' etat in Jan 2011 when they got rid of the president and let the military take control of the government. That is why there were protests in Cairo when we were there. The people wanted the military to step down so elections could take place.

We drove around the city on a bus waving at the friendly people and stopping at lesser fascinating sites until we made it to the museum (no photos allowed).

In 1998 explorers discovered ruins of a "lost city of Cleopatra" off the coast in Alexandria. At the museum they had a lot of these artifact on display and an explanation of what they are going to do with the remaining submerged city.

There's also a lot of Roman artifacts since they played a huge role in some of Egypt's history at one time.

In the dark, damp basement they had an actual mummy with it's canopic jars and several different mummy coffins with each layer raised a little to see how it was put together.

Our last stop was to the catacombs.

Seriously something out of a movie. An Indiana Jones movie.

No photography allowed again.

We went about 50ft. underground on a spiral stairway with small short steps. It wasn't steep at all, just daunting. It kept going down and down and down.

I'd say this was the coolest thing we saw in Alexandria.

It was a Roman burial graveyard. There aren't bones down there anymore but the tombs are still intact.

At one point while in there, we had to balance on these 2X12 wooden planks with about 4ft of water underneath and tombs around us. They seemed to spread out in all directions and kept going. In some places the wood would bow and water would seep over. I had Ross and Alma was holding Cade, who oddly slept through the entire thing. I was a little frightened I would lose my balance with Ross in the front pack and end up in the water and luckily the water wasn't disgusting but clear and looked fairly clean (not that I wanted to fall in).

It all was insanely cool. Again, we couldn't take pictures.

Egypt: Cairo

2011-12-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

From the pyramids we ate lunch at a 5 star restaurant/hotel.

The building was very fancy.

Then we went to a place with a gigantic statue of King Ramesses II.

Right when we entered the museum, a man was right there in my face bothering me to take his picture. So I did. Then he wanted money. I should have known better. What don't I not understand about the word ignore?

Luckily, there was a lot of people and a line out the door, so I just went with the flow and followed the everyone else.

His name on a cartouche.

Another smaller sphinx with his face on it.

Then to our next stop.

We got to go into an actual tomb (but couldn't take pictures)!

No mummies down there.

Carved Egyptian pictures all over and writing. It was cool.

Like I said, wild dogs were everywhere.

On to another pyramid. The sun was setting across the desert. It was so nice. And the perfect tempature was perfect.

Policemen

From there, we went further into the city. Saw the Nile but it was getting too dark and the pictures didn't turn out. We stopped at a papyrus factory and saw how it's made. And another shop, where I picked up a few turquoise colored Scarabs, for luck.

When we got on the bus that morning, each of us were given a bag full of snacks and water. By the time we were ready to leave, we still had the majority left.

I saw a women holding a small baby right outside our bus and was asking for money from passerbyers. Since we didn't have any

cash left on with us, I went out and gave her the bag filled with food + extra snacks we had brought.
When I hopped on the bus, she had given it all to 3 other kids who I hadn't seen near by. They had already started feasting.

Just a cute photo of Ross while on the bus.

Egypt: Cairo. the pyramids.

2011-12-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

Before we left the ship for our excursion in Cairo, we were warned to ignore, ignore, ignore.

Having just experience pushy merchants in Turkey, I was a little nervous. How could it possibly be any worse in Egypt? We weren't very good at this ignoring and brushing people off business.

We rode the bus for 3 hours from the port in Alexandria to Cairo.

The kids hated it. I don't blame them.

After crawling all over us, and being completely wild, 20 mins before arriving, they both had fallen asleep.

I don't know what I was expecting Egypt to be like.

A lot of desert, a lot of 'oil money' floating around.

There is a lot of desert, of course.

Our bus even drove through a little spot of the Sahara.

But this country is anything but wealthy.

The country's economic and political issues have only making situations worse.

We were in Cairo when all the riots were taking place but stayed clear of Tahrir Square.

I only wish it was safe to walk the streets.

I would love to experience the lives and customs of these people and learn more of their rich Egyptian history.

It was all fascinating.

We had an excellent tour guide.

She talked about everything about the country, including the main religion, Muslim.

I think the whole time we were in Egypt, I only saw about 4 women without a head dress on and mosques are everywhere.

She also explain why there was so much rubbage on the ground.

Apparently the sanitation company in Cairo went on strike for a week a couple of months before.

With 8 million people in Cairo alone, after that week, the city was a dump.

Garbage everywhere.

After getting a driving tour of parts of the city (which was much more impressive than driving around Athens), our first stop was at the Pyramids of Giza.

I don't think I need to say it but I will,

they are AH-MAZING!

(though not breath-taking. probably because we've seen them so many times in photos, etc.)

All we wanted to do, was gaze at this marvelous ancient architecture but with every step we took we had to watch our back. and to the left and right. and in front of us.
Locals were everywhere trying to con you into giving them money.

First example-
On the way to get a camel ride, the local asked us if we'd like a ride and before we could respond, grabbed our camera, walked with it to the camels. All of us got on the camels even though Alma wasn't planning on riding at first. They put their own turbines on our heads for the photos. He took some pictures and then demanded money.
The pictures turned out great though and it was a lot of fun.
We definitely paid too much. Which was entirely our own fault since Alma converted all of our small dollar bills to larger Euro bills the day before and had nothing else to give.

As we were making our way away from the area with all the camels, men kept trying to get us on their animal.

Everything just moved so fast.

Before I knew it, a man picked me up and put me on his camel. Which at first he was lying down.

We got a picture taken again, for a price. That's when the camel decided to stand up and I let out a loud squeal. This is why I look so silly in this photo.

When we finally got up to one of the pyramids, a man was yelling at people to not climb it. Which from what I saw, nobody was. But with this, we assumed he was some kind of tourist authority or something. So when we took notice of him. He approached us and gave us things that we didn't want, all saying he wouldn't except money...blah, blah, blah. Yeah. He really did want our money. And when we tried to return his "gifts" he got mad and then began asking for dollars, euros, the Egyptian pound, Cade's toy car. I was very annoyed. I began to walk away. Since he wouldn't take these items back, I still had one in my hand. And when Alma followed me, he chased us down and grabbed the thing out of my hand, claiming that we were thieves or something because we didn't give him any money for those things we didn't even want. What I should have done was dropped them at his feet to begin with but all I was thinking of, was to just get away. I'll admit, it was a scary having him chase us.

Because of all that nonsense, I can't remember if I actually got to touch the pyramid. So sad.

Definitely didn't get the chance to admire up close only from a distance in the safety of our bus with dirty windows.

Near the Pyramids of Giza is the Sphinx.

This too, was an amazing site.

time on the boat.

2011-12-14T04:54:00.000-07:00

A turkish basar

2011-12-13T10:24:00.005-07:00

this is how the Turks spell bazaar. and taksi is how they spell taxi.

For this stop, we decided not to go on an excursion. Instead we heard of a great bazaar near the port. We set out in search of it.
The morning was a little chilly but we had a great walk along the Mediterranean Sea and even found a playground for Cade. Though it was a little questionable, therefore didn't stay long.

Like I mentioned before, most of the ports are not in the best part of town, this one is an exception. We were very close to downtown and nice shopping.

We were a little cautious since this was the first time we'd ventured away and not while on one of the tours with other tourists all around.

When we approached the bazaar, we didn't know we were even in the right spot-- until two men approached us. Do you know how frightening this could be?
They started talking to us about rugs. (I think our pale skin made us a target) We weren't interested but they were VERY pushy. But when they mentioned pillow cases and table cloths, I began to falter. They quickly convinced us to come to there shop, 'just to have a look'. This is their selling tactic.

They started leading us up some stairs to their shop. Alma and I were starting to get nervous.
Both men were carrying one end of the stroller up the stairs, so it's not like we could easily back out.
Thoughts of the movie 'Hostel' started coming to mind.

We got to the shop and with a breath of relief, they really were rug merchants. Plus, when we walked further into the shop there was another American couple in there too (possibly from the same ship). So we felt we could sit a little more calmly. Of course looking back on it, we probably didn't need to be so alarmed. A lot of the shops were on the top floor. That is why salesmen are outside trying to bring in customers.
As we sat down we kept telling them, we weren't interested in rugs at the moment. We still had a long journey ahead of us and didn't know how we'd manage to travel with one. But they insisted on laying out one after another (trying to persuade us) until they finally got the hint. And only worked on selling tablecloths to us.

They brought me a small glass of orange tea that tasted like warm tang, and a sugar cube. Cade kept trying to drink the tea, and it was a little distracting and trying to prevent it from spilling all over. So I handed him the sugar cube and he was then content. Alma gave me a bad look but he's not the one that might (was) going to end up with tang all over him.

We ended up purchasing 2 beautiful pillowcases and 2 table cloths. I've very satisfied with the choices.

One of the men helping us (there was like 7 in there and our kids attracted all of them to us. One even kissed Ross. ON BOTH CHEEKS. I was about to do some Kungfu), said that he spent a little time in the U.S. while he was in the Turkish Air Force and showed us his memorabilia ring. I let slip that my husband is in the Air Force. Nice Melyni. That's the way to keep a low profile. Alma gave me a lecture afterwards. I don't blame him for feeling the need to.
But it proved to be safe and helpful at the next place we went to.

I mentioned something to the man about one of the bowls they had in their shop and asked him where I might be able to find some like that. He said his brother-in-law has a shop in the bazaar and when we were finished here, he'd take us.

Because everyone in the rug shop was related in one way or another and while we were at the pottery shop he help me with my purchases (and later on something else happens that day), I'm convinced the majority of the shop owners in the bazaar must be related.

The pottery shop was also on the second floor of a building but this one had an elevator. The man help us get our stroller in and then ran up the stairs to help us get it out (the elevator was very narrow and we had to squeeze in). He did the same thing as we were leaving the building.

I picked up 4 medium decorative bowls and 4 small ones for cheap. The lira is less than the dollar and the euro is big money for them. Most shop owners would except any of those currencies.
When we went to pay, the man that had been helping us spoke to his relative behind the counter. They weren't speaking English so all I understood was the word, 'NATO'. Then he turned toward me, pointed to some plaque on the wall, which I didn't get a good look at, and spoke in English but did not understand anything except that we get a discount.
I put this and that together and came up for a reason why he gave us a discount.

After leaving the pottery shop, we walked around a bit more then began to make our way out of the bazaar but bumped into one of them men from the rug shop (the one who kissed my boy. errrggh). I made the mistake of making friendly chat with him and he talked us into 'just looking' at his cousins leather shop. By this point it was just annoying. And he wouldn't give in when we told him we weren't interested in leather jackets or anything else in the shop.
So when we finally escaped, we felt the need to just get out of there for good.
There were a lot of vendors out in the streets trying to sell things and would push their product in your face if you tried to ignore. We had enough and hopped on a horse driven carriage (that we probably paid too much for) to take us back to the port and avoid any more disturbances. As a perk, we got to 'people watch' as we rode past. At outdoor cafes, people we smoking hookahs. Instead of the after meal coffee or tea, how about an after meal hookah instead?

I'm pretty sure on the right side of this photo is an unfinished highway they were building. Even though you can't see it, it's very close to the Sea.

Right after we made it to our stop, we got approached by another vendor, he claimed to have such a great deal on Lacosta shirts, yaddayadda. I'm 100% sure they weren't authentic. At first we tried to ignore him. Then when we acknowledged him to tell him nicely to go away by saying we weren't interested, he pushed his 'great deal' harder. He was offended that we would pass up his offer.

next stop, athena

2011-12-10T07:39:00.001-07:00

or as we know it, Athens.

We again, hopped on a bus and got a driving tour of the city of Athens. But I'll admit, it was rather boring. For the exception of a few ruins we drove by without stopping.

We did stop briefly at the Panathinaiko Stadium, to look at the outside of it. While we were there, we watched as two old Greek men got into a loud argument. And that made the stop worth it for me.

I was expecting a long steep hike to the Acropolis.

I'll give you an idea, there were people at the top with wheel chairs.

It wasn't a difficult climb, but I'm just a little curious how they made it to the top with them. (It wasn't a smooth walk up. There were rocks to climb over)

Sadly, the Acropolis was probably the most over-rated tourist attraction we saw.
It was the one thing I wanted to see the most. Possibly my expectations were higher because of that. And that they were restoring the site. So we couldn't get the full dynamics.

The Acropolis is the hill.

On the hill there is the Temple of Athena and the Parthenon.

(and more but those two are the one that are still mostly standing)

Just below the Acropolis on the way up, is the theater which is still used for some ceremonies, etc.

The entrance.

The view looking down. This supposedly is the rock that Peter the Apostle preached from on his visit to Greece.

(Parthenon on the left, Temple of Athena on the right)

Below the Acropolis. There were several other ruins.

In fact every time they dig to build something, they end up discovering some ancient artifact or ruins.

Back on the boat in the harbor to watch the sunset.

The thing about taking these excursions with the ship is that where ever you go, it's really crowded because everyone from the boat, that went on the specific tour, is there. And because there's so many people, they make the trips and stops shorter. Therefore, you don't get much time exploring, relaxing or whatever you'd like to to at that particular place.

But I've come to the conclusion that for certain tours it's probably safer to go with a tour group and it's also nice to get a the explanation of the site or ruins.

If we were skilled travelers, we'd be all over going out by ourselves. There were taxis lined up right outside the port just waiting. The problem is, the harbor isn't exactly in the nicest areas. So the drive might get a little pricey.

Greek mythology has always interested me

It was all amazing to see.

First stop, Olympia.

2011-12-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

We were ecstatic to finally get off the boat.

But WOW! What a shock.

When you imagine Greece, these kind of images come floating dreamily to mind, don't they?

(those photos are from the greek islands--now that's where to go!)

I'll just say, it's obvious the country is going through financial trouble.

It was weird. There were dogs just wandering around everywhere and anywhere (this was the same in every country we stopped at, except Italy).

We hopped on a bus and drove to the ruins of Olympia and where the first Olympic games were held in 776 BC and continued every four years until AD 393.

The site was incredible.

These are the ruins of the temple of Zeus.

The column standing was built for the 2004 Olympic games held in Greece.

I think the statue of Zeus was eventually taken by the Romans (don't quote me on that).

Right here would have been a huge decorative fountain.

This entrance to the stadium was reserved for the athletes.

Pieces of columns that have fallen over from the Temple of Zeus.

Shells were used in their building material.

Olive trees were everywhere.

(We only brought our handheld camera, for convenience, (remember my juggling act? we broke down and got a new one) and I'm not very satisfied with how the pictures turned out, but I think this one might be my favorite)

From this site, we took a quick shopping stop and picked up a book with photos of 'then' and 'now' of the ruins. The best thing bought there. And one of the shop keepers just gave Cade a gift, a little toy donkey.

i'm on a boat. yeah.

2011-12-09T10:22:00.001-07:00

We settled in nicely on the ship.

For the 10 days, the crew & staff were so friendly.

Our steward even greeted us by name each time he saw us.

It was awesome.

There's this place on the ship called, "Kids Club."

I'd say it's almost like a daycare and it's free.

At first I was hesitant taking Cade there.

But once we did a couple of times, it worked out for everyone.

Everyday, Cade requested to go there.

They did such a great job with the children.

Since it was 2yrs and up, we still had Ross on our hands so it wasn't like Alma and I could go relax in the hot tub together. But you know, that's alright.

There were days we were on the ship all day.

This did not mean we were at all bored.

There was plenty to do.

One thing was to watch all the new release movies. They played non-stop on the T.V. in English, Italian, French and German. When there wasn't a movie we liked or already saw on the English channel, no worries, just switch to one in a foreign language. And now I've seen all of 'Green Lantern'. Did I understand what was going on for most of it? My little knowledge of Italian, French and German, didn't get me far and yet we still watched. It was a great time.

There was always some kind of activities lined up around the ship, not to mention the swimming pools filled with water straight out of the sea.

I had packed shorts and summery clothes but we hardly wore them. I guess I was expecting it to be hot. But the extra clothes ended up just taking space in our baggage.

Compared to England, the weather was gorgeous and we were able to catch much needed vitamin D.

The clear blue water was also gorgeous. I could stare out in it all day probably.

Something I learned from our trip-- always carry binoculars while traveling no matter where you go.

There was also an All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet and it was free.

There were only 3 places you could eat for free on the ship, every other restaurant/bar you had to pay (and there were a lot of choices).

Between the bread that tasted like pretzels, crepes, soft vanilla ice cream and Alma's all he can eat bacon everyday for breakfast, you can imagine where we decided to eat for every meal (not that that's what we ate for every meal). Even though the food was good, it wasn't so good for my waist-line.

Don't be frightened (in case you were). That's a window. No. He's not going to fall off the ship.

This is an active volcano off the coast of Italy.

Only a small part of the deck. There was three large swimming pools, a kiddy pool and 4 hot tubs.

Cade painted up as a puppy dog enjoying some ice cream.

A family activity later that day.

Decorating cupcakes.

SWIMMING!

modes of transportation--the beginning

2011-12-07T14:15:00.001-07:00

7 trains, 3 underground/metro, 1 ship, 1 horse driven carriage, 3 camels, 1 taxi, and about a dozen buses.

To begin our travels, we took the bus to London.

The perfect start to our long journey is for Cade to get sick and vomit all over himself and Alma on said bus. We are beginning to think Cade has motion sickness.

Luckily it was mostly water and didn't smell, or else someone else (me) might have also gotten sick.

Now, there wasn't much more vomiting (thankfully) on our trip, but this foreshadows on how we felt the majority of the time. One thing after another to make it almost impossible (for alma and i) to relax.

I'll plainly say,

traveling with kids is hard.

Especially on long journeys.

Having said this, we still had a fantastic time.

I will try to recount our Powell family adventure traveling abroad and of course, with a load of photos.

It's definitely an experience to share.

---Trying to capture everything about our trip & having to narrow my amature photography down a ton, our 8gig. memory card filled up (don't ask me why we didn't bring an extra. It has something to do with the main man in my life. seriously, how much room would a little little memory card take up in our suitcases?) and so I had to delete some of the not-so-good photos more than a couple of times and then our battery died (both we packed two and do not have an european charger. Maybe something to invest in?). If it wasn't for those two things, there ~~probably~~ definitely would have been a lot more photos snapped.---

Arriving in London, we hopped on the underground (piccadilly line) for about an hour. Being on the bus for an hour and now on the subway, it's not easy for a 2 (almost 3) year old who apparently was feeling much better.

After getting to Pancreas Station, we hopped on a train, riding through the English Channel and 1hour 15mins later stopping in Paris.

Our train was late and it wasn't so easy navigating through the underground of Paris and stairs around every corner. Between carrying the boys and HEAVY suitcases, we got a work-out in.

Riding the Metro at rush hour is just a little stressful, especially since we were in a time crunch (our last train was late + trying to find our way around). But we made our next train and could finally relax (or so we thought).

We had a compartment to ourselves (but only after paying more euros. Alma had reserved a 'shared compartment' online and afterwards realized it was probably a mistake. Can you imagine what the two men in the other compartment would have felt like if our family, with 2 small children, were all stuffed in such small space for 16 hours?).

The night on the train was rough. It was rickety and bumpy and wasn't the cleanest. At first we wouldn't let Ross crawl on the floor but no matter how much we tried to prevent it, he kept falling off the bench. So we gave in because you know, we could only do so much and we were on the train for a long time and the kids were so wild (or just being their normal selves but everything felt worse than it probably was).

So glad that the majority of that time was spent sleeping----well, not me.

Alma and Cade slept on the very top bed. Which was very high off the ground. Cade's very frightened of heights.

*see photo below for proof*

Even though he was between the wall and Alma, just knowing he was that high off the ground, I wonder how he was even able to sleep.

And Ross. He wanted to be held all night long.

Would I do it again? Definitely NOT with children.

But looking back, it was a little humorous.

Notice the seatbelts from the bed to the ceiling. Those are to help you not fall off the bed. It's a long way down. You'd probably wake up before you'd hit the floor.

After getting off this train in Rome, we hopped on yet another (by luck it was the right one. I pushed Alma to get on it. Then he was stressed we were on the wrong one. he should just go with my instinct, or my knowledge) to the town civitechia, which was a hour away.

Then a short ride on a bus to deliver us to the Jade (our ship's name).

We couldn't get on the Norwegian Cruise Liner quick enough.

It felt like paradise coming from what we'd just been through.

The first thing we did was wash the grimy train off us all.

And then soak it all up.

confession #2

2011-12-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

2. Taking pills (vitamins & medication) makes me feel old. I've never been very good at taking them consecutively. Except when I was pregnant. I popped prenatals religiously.

2011-12-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Rome, Venice.

Do you really want to hear about our trip?

confession #1

2011-12-03T09:24:00.001-07:00

We have a big basket full of socks but only use the ones on top. We rarely reach down to search for a different pair.

some stuff about life. lately.

2011-11-14T14:50:00.000-07:00

Cade talks very well. His sentences are for the most part, understandable. But there are a few words he has trouble with. Chripmas tree, compoo-ker, elegator (christmas tree, computer, elevator).

Ross still doesn't have any teeth, but he can climb the stairs. This is making me nervous.

We've finally finished watching 'CHUCK' season 4 (I told you we were behind. Don't even ask about 'The Office'.)

Cade's go-to bedtime story has been Superman.

Anyone else enjoy watching X-MEN first class?

I've recently had 3 different conversations with different women who claim they loved being pregnant....{**silence with a look of annoyance on my face}

I signed up for the Paris Marathon. I've been nervous since. It's not until April 2012.

I tried glitter-blinging a pair of my shoes. It didn't quite turn out. Not unless I wanted to leave a trail of glitter everywhere I went.

We'll be on the cruise ship in a few days! We hop on a train in London tomorrow which will take us to Paris. Then if time is with us, we'll walk the 3 miles to the next train station (if not, we'll take the Metro). Then on to Rome and to a town along the coast to catch our ship. This is very exciting! Especially since I have never been in a country that everything isn't in English (not counting the time we crossed over into Mexico. which was very scary, btw). Alma suggested I brush up on my French. My reply was, "All I need to know is, 'Excusez-moi'." (Most french people know English, so from there we can ask directions, etc). I turned to Cade and repeated it to him. His attempt to copy me came out, "Excuse me."

:) ....exactly, Cade.

Signing out
&
Happy Thanksgiving!

Veteran's Day: 11/11/11

2011-11-12T01:12:00.001-07:00

It was a cold blustery fall day. And even though it was 1pm, the fog was thick. Something you'd see at six in the morning everywhere else. But this is England and in the fall/winter this is the norm. The fog can stay all day and it wouldn't be unusual.
The weather conditions didn't stop us from visiting one of two American Cemeteries in England (the other located south west of London).

11th hour, 11th day, on the 11th month---the armistice was signed in 1918.

(Obviously it's not the same as the 11th month, 11th day and the 11th year but in both, there's 6 ones---so I'm just going with it.)

What better way to show our respect for the country we love and miss so much, than to show our respect for those that served and lost their lives for it.

Now that I've lived in another country, I have an emotional understanding of what we mean when we say or sing, "Proud To Be An American." Not in a prideful, I'm better than everyone else way. Just feelings of deep adoration and respect.

We carried around a small flag and before we left, we placed it in the ground of a random headstone. Cade was so concerned about leaving it. We explained why we left it there and he said, "Oh!" like his 2 almost 3 year old mind really understood. He's such a sweet kid.

In the photo above, I'm pretty sure Cade was trying to bite Alma's head. And I think it's funny.

Love.

2011-11-08T06:31:00.000-07:00

Rollerskating

2011-11-03T05:56:00.000-06:00

Yesterday after the gym, we hit up the skate rink for some 'mommy and me' skating.
Remember my new friend I mentioned a while back?
We meet up at the gym daily (+ to hangout other days) and Cade and her son are now the best of friends.

Peterborough

2011-11-02T07:33:00.000-06:00

A hour away and through the Fens, we made it to Peterborough (peterboro).

What's the best thing to do the day after Halloween?

Go to a catholic cathedral on All Saints Day.

Here there's the former resting place of Mary, Queen of Scots. She was buried here in 1587 but removed to Westminster Abbey in 1612.

Also Queen Katharine of Aragon (Henry VIII's first wife) is buried here.

After Katherine died, Henry thought it was going to be too expensive to have her buried in St. Paul's Cathedral in London, so Peterborough had the closest cathedral to where she was living at the time.

I am very surprised how simple her tomb is.

While we were there, we walked through the town centre.

Stopped for a little treat, browsed H&M and on to the craft store.

a cheeky monkey and a prime.

2011-10-31T19:11:00.001-06:00

For Cade's pumpkin, we copied a pirate face from one of his shirts.

Then we made a Mike Wazowski (from Disney's 'Monster's Inc.')

Right after carving mine, I grabbed it from the wrong place and popped it's face right off. We had to perform immediate face surgery and put a few nails in to hold it together.

Alma's pumpkin is huge.

Our pumpkins didn't last very long this year. The day after carving, they were already beginning to wilt.

By Halloween, I wanted to barf at the sight of them. I would have thrown them away the day before Halloween, but I wasn't about to touch them.

One night we found a snail crawling on one of them. At least Cade thought that was cool.

Every time we'd walk by, Cade would point to each one,

"Cade's pirate, Mike Wazowski, Mommy's, Daddy's."

And pretty soon he'd just say, "Mike Wazowski's not doing very well."

When the wilting began, we was the nastiest looking one of them all.

{I love how Cade gets excited about things. It makes me happy}

We did a little Trunk or Treating.

Our 'Cheeky Monkey'

Cade loves 'Transformers'.

He's Optimus Prime.

There was a kid with a Bumble Bee costume. Cade was quick to point it out.

He prefers wearing the mask like this. and standing like that too.

We spent the weekend with Halloween candy and the Transformer movies. I think we watched Transformers 3 like three times.

2011-10-31T16:20:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-25T09:12:00.000-06:00

I gave a talk in church in July. Which I had two weeks to prepare. The topic was specifically about Pioneers.

Our ward split last month.
Which is both great and not so great.
It's good, because now it's not so claustrophobic in our one hall church building and this means we have enough members here to split (or getting it approved finally went through) but the sad thing is, this means we don't get to see the other old ward members regularly :(

Last Wednesday, I got called to speak. again. for the upcoming Sunday.

Alma was not asked. again. Just me.

I don't mind so much getting up in front of the congregation and speaking.
What makes me nervous, is the kind of reaction what I've prepared, will be received.

I just spoke to these same people (only smaller amount of them) only a few months ago. What does the Lord possibly want ME say to them?

The topic was faith. There's so many directions to go and the topic is so broad.

I juggled a few ideas in my head, but nothing seemed right.
When I finally decided, I knew the reason why the Lord chose me, or the counselor in the Bishopric. Either way, I needed a lesson. And the Lord knew it.
I think I work better with less time to prepare or just don't procrastinate therefore causing stress.

So anyway, here I am, putting it out there for everyone to read.

I have a lot of quotes and examples because the people are better inspired than I, and they word it so well.

---------------------

When you get a moment today, look at the beautiful faces of your children. Some are still little and others might be grown, but from the first time we held each one of them and even before their arrival, we knew we only wanted the very best for them in all things.
Especially in terms of Eternity.

Quoting M. Russell Ballard, “Oh how important it is for parents to understand the eternal plan of our Heavenly Father, as he sends his spirit children here and entrusts them to us for a few short years. Just think of it! Within every human body dwells a living spirit born to our loving, eternal heavenly parents. When parents know this, they can better guide their families by focusing upon the eternal relationships and the true purposes of this life. No thinking parent would ever allow any verbal or physical abuse of their children to creep into their home and destroy the destiny of their eternal family.”

As in the Family Proclamation to the World, states, it is our sacred duty as parents to “rear our children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live.”

We’ve repeatedly been warned from our church leaders that there has never been a greater need to prepare ourselves and our family from the evils of this world.

Just as we wouldn’t let a day go by without them brushing their teeth, we shouldn’t find excuses or be relaxed when it comes to practicing and teaching our children to live the principles of the gospel daily.

M. Russell Ballard continues, “Some parents become so expert at filling every physical desire for their children that they begin to suppose that all is well in this life and that their eternal stewardship is progressing right on schedule. I have noticed that some children living in too much luxury can lose their sense of spiritual values and misplace their eternal priorities. I believe that we must pause and take a careful inventory to determine how well our families are doing spiritually. We could ask how well are we feeding, nurturing, training, and exercising the spirits of our children; or how well have we taught, trained, loved, and inspired our children to build their spiritual muscles and strength? We are given many teaching moments, and the Church has given us the special family home evening to help us accomplish this purpose. Remember, eternity is now, not a vague, distant future. We prepare each day, right now, for eternal life. If we are not preparing for eternal life, we are preparing for something else, perhaps something far less.”

Elder Kevin Pearson from the Seventies, said, “As parents, we have been commanded to teach our children “to understand the doctrine of … faith in Christ the Son of the living God” This requires more than merely recognizing faith as a gospel principle. “To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone” True faith must be centered in Jesus Christ. “Faith is a principle of action and of power” It requires us to do, not merely to believe…”

We need to act.

2 Nephi 25:26

26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, … that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins

Daily prayer, Family Home Evening, church attendance, service to others, obedience to the Holy Ghost. Teach from the scriptures. Be the leading example in your children’s lives. Talk, listen, make time for individual and combined attention to share your faith and testimony, by telling them, also by showing them. The Lord taught with life experiences and so should we.

Ronald L. Knighton recounts an experience of learning by example from his mother at a young age.

“I remember a day when I was only three years old and my family was living in a humble two-room home with a dirt roof. My father was in bed, delirious with scarlet fever. There was a heavy storm outside, and my mother, four-year-old brother, and I were putting out pans, cans, and buckets to catch the water dripping through the roof. My little sister slept in a cot near my father.

When the pans, cans, and buckets were in place, Mother called my brother and me to her side and had us kneel in prayer. I am sure she had helped me pray many times before, but on this occasion it was different. I remember her helping me with the words of the prayer. They went something like this: “Heavenly Father, we really need Thy help. We need our dad to be made better. Please bless him to get well. We need our roof to stop leaking so he doesn’t get wet and cold and become more ill. We love Thee, Heavenly Father, and we always want to serve Thee.”

There must have been more said in that prayer, but those words of faith from my dear mother in the tender childhood years of my life have never left my memory. I learned the principle of prayer and its value in the home through the example and teachings of my faithful, obedient parents.”

Robert D. Hales says, “As (gospel) teachers, we want nothing more for our youth than for them to succeed. Sometimes we want it so badly we try to will it to happen. But we cannot will faith in our children. Faith comes from the inside, based upon our desire to receive it and to exercise it in our lives, that through the Spirit we will have abiding faith and show it in our actions…”

There is absolute truth in Elder Hales statement, “A Testimony is not genetic.”

Elder Kevin Pearson also says, “Faith is a spiritual gift from God that comes through the Holy Ghost. It requires a correct understanding and knowledge of Jesus Christ, His divine attributes and perfect character, His teachings, Atonement, Resurrection, and priesthood power. Obedience to these principles develops complete trust in Him and His ordained servants and assurance of His promised blessings.”

As parents we need to exercise and nurture our own faith. This will give us the ability to become more Christ-like and teach our children the true doctrine of faith.

“Faith in Jesus Christ is a divine gift that grows when nourished by belief in the word of God, obedience to truth, and diligence in doing good works" (Alma 32:27–43).

Faith grows as we become better acquainted with Jesus Christ and his teachings. Just as Peter’s faith was tested as Jesus invited Peter to come walk on the water. As long as we are focused on Christ and don’t let the outside influences like the wind or waves in Peter’s case, make us afraid, we can faithfully reach Jesus.

Matthew 14:28-31

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Often times it does take opposition to help strengthen us spiritually to remind us to rely and trust in the Lord at all times and also remember our purpose on Earth.

Elder Pearson also said, “There are forces that erode our faith. Some are the result of Satan’s direct influence. But for others, we have no one but ourselves to blame. These stem from personal tendencies, attitudes, and habits we can learn to change.”

“We constantly need to build up faith and overcome sources of destructive disbelief.”

What we want our children to be, we must be.

The best thing is that we are not alone in this Journey. Our Heavenly Father is always there.

President Brigham Young taught: “When we believe the principles of the Gospel and attain unto faith, which is a gift of God, he adds more faith, adding faith to faith. … But we must believe the truth, obey the truth, and practice the truth, to obtain the power of God called faith” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 56).

We can do many things through faith. It’s also through faith we receive blessings.

The Lord knows us. Our children and their individual needs were sent to us specifically. When you look at them, remember, they not only are special to you. They are precious spirits of our Heavenly Father. This is his plan.

Recently I happen to overhear a little boy; probably 8-9years old, after seeing a large picture of a man, ask his parent who He was. His father answered, “Jesus Christ.” The boy then asked, “Who’s that?” His father’s short reply, “It’s complicated.” Hoping to end the discussion but the boy did not. He was curious and asked two more times before his mother spoke up, ending the topic with, “You’ll learn about Him in school.”

We are fortunate to have good teachers for our children in primary, young women's and young men's, seminary, and other activities for the youth, but the home is where the most important teaching and learning should take place. We as parents must each assume the responsibility of teaching our children of Jesus Christ and the truths of the gospel.

If we do not teach our children to understand, as stated in Doctrine and Covenants 68:25, “the sin will be upon the heads of the parents.”

“We must carefully and conscientiously provide solid spiritual training for the eternal growth of our children. Thoughtful planning will be required because providing spiritual development for them is not quite as simple as meeting their physical needs.”—M Russell Ballard

I firmly believe the warnings our leaders that we need to now more than ever, do everything we can to help our children develop their “…shield of faith” so they will “be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” and reach their eternal goals and be an eternal family. (D&C 27:17 )

Notes:
The Family A Proclamation To The World
M. Russell Ballard, "Spiritual Development"
Elder Robert D. Hales, "Teaching by Faith"
Elder Kevin W. Pearson, "Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ"
Ronald L. Knighton, "Becoming Our Children's Greatest Teachers"

2011 pumpkin patch

2011-10-17T08:33:00.000-06:00

one down.

2011-10-10T10:48:00.001-06:00

I've admired this & this idea for awhile.
I wanted a little something in our home to show where we're from.
So I decided to make my own.

I had my little map of Idaho hearts cut out for a while just waiting to find the perfect frame.

Then I came upon this one from Crate&Barrel.

I had the other supplies. All I had to do was put it together.

Voila!

easy, easy, easy.
The hardest part was finding the frame. Then after receiving said frame, discovering the glass was cracked, calling the company all I had to do is wait for them to send me another one.

One project off my list---done (I still have 4 more projects to go before completely checking it off the list).

This was my first picture. Then realized there was way too much clutter and wasn't going to post, but decided to anyway.

1. fabulous peice of art 2. can't live in england without one of these 3. keys 4. alma's watch that I use sometimes when i go running 5. a block from one of cades friend's house that ended up in our bag and have been meaning to give it back 6. alma's wallet 7. my ipod 8. luigi's head 9. containers to put spare change in 10. American flag [gotta represent] 11. gum & coupons 12. our one and only cell phone 13. cough drop gum 14. my glasses 15. heater which water is pumped through to heat our home.

Now I think I need a few other pieces of art to fill up the wall because it looks lame with only two up.

Blenheim Palace + half marathon

2011-10-03T09:43:00.001-06:00

Half Marathons

1. Teton Dam - Rexburg, ID - 2009

2. Top of Utah - Logan, UT - 2009
3. Isle of Wight - Isle of Wight, UK - 2011
4. Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, UK - 2011

We left early Sunday morning and 2 hours later we arrived at the Palace.

Sleeping in the car cramped up my body which was not a reassuring feeling.

But we arrived early enough to get my body stretched out.

And while we were getting out of the car and situated, I saw a lot of things that made me want to hurl.

Maybe I'm still an inexperienced runner, but there are somethings, to help with chaffing, that should betaken care in privacy.

A tube of vaseline goes along way but for one man, he used very liberal amounts applying front side and backside. in public. eww-y.

He wasn't the only one doing it either. It was all around me.

barf.

Hello.

There's bathrooms or how about jumping in your car. And now where are you going to wash your hands?

That's the first time I'd ever seen witnessed anything like that at a race. Again, maybe I'm still inexperienced (or maybe it's just England).

I am convinced that this was the hottest day of the year.

All Summer long it's been overcast, rainy and windy.

But today, it was sunny with maybe the tiniest breeze-- occasionally.

Except for the fact I had to run in it, the weather was beautiful.

And really, it wasn't too hot. Only in the mid-high 80s.

These past few week I've had a terrible cough and I'm certain I had/have broncitis. Having never had this before, I thought it was just a cold even though I was out of breath and coughing until nearly puking.

It's been terrible. And I never hauled myself to the doctors to confirm that that's exactally what it was or to recive medical treatment other than over-the-counter cold medication.

So running was brutal on my lungs.

It was hard, but finished with out collapsing and through it all, it was fun.

Blenheim Palace was given to John Churchill the 1st Duke of Marborough from Queen Anne around 1704.

The Story of John Churchill is that he was basically a nobody (meaning not of noble background) but from his royal service and friendship to the Queen, she gave him the title of 'Duke'.

It was a beautiful home and beautiful grounds (because I got view of it all).

Sir Winston Churchill was born here (by accident).

His mother (who was an American) and father were visiting his family and ole' Winston decided to come early.

Not only was he born here but he spent a lot of time at the Palace growing up.

His Uncle became the next Duke (because it passes down the the first born son, or daughter if no sons are produced).

Even as an adult he spent time there to relax.

From the Palace across the great lawn, there's a small town you can walk to (I wanted to but we didn't. A number of us were tired...that number would be 4 different people in our party). In that town there's a church Winston is buried in.

Being famous person in history and a 'war hero' he could have been buried in Westminster, St. Pauls, anywhere. He chose that small town. His wife is buried with him and a large majority of his family is there too.

[Pictures courtesy of Alma, except for maybe two]

Here are the boys getting ready to hang out with daddy for a couple of hours.

before the race began.

The boys walked up to the column.

The view.

Cade keeping a look out for Mommy.

After the race and right before we went through the Palace, I juggled the camera for like 10sec. trying to catch it, and nearly doing so but I was tired and failed.

Not even a year old.

RIP Canon PowerShot 300

It made me very sad.

The Home and gardens are amazing and soon my spirits were high again, though my body was still tired.

In the house there's a gigantic pipe organ in the library, which a man was playing.

It was loud and with a unique sound.

Almost like the music you imagine while in a haunted house.

These experiences are fun.

I'm glad I can be here with my family.

By posting about our trips, my intentions are not to brag or boast.

(when we haven't taken a trip, I don't know what to post otherwise)

I would love, love, LOVE it for anyone of you to come visit and get to share the experiences together!

2011-10-03T00:30:00.000-06:00

Let me introduce you to our newest addition to the fam.

2011-10-01T12:32:00.000-06:00

Our little wooden British guardsman.

He was an expensive little bloke.

I think he's going to like it here with us 'Yanks'.

England, you just keep getting better and better.

2011-09-26T13:33:00.001-06:00

And sometimes England surprises me. Found this baby at the shopping centre, ASDA (which is partners with Wal-mart). So naturally, I bought it. (sorry about the boob shot).

Wrest Park

2011-09-26T11:38:00.000-06:00

We took an afternoon this weekend to enjoy the first signs of autumn by walking the gardens at Wrest Park.

Here's a map.

The mansion on the property belonged to the de Grey family for nearly 700 years.

I don't know anything about them, nor did I stop and take the time to read their family's history.

This trip was specifically planned to spend time as a family.

And I could hardly put down the camera (that's not unusual). But to my defense, I didn't take as many as I normally do (though you probably can't tell by the amount I have posted).

We were only allowed in two rooms and the grand stairwell/entry of the house but even still it was breath-taking.

This is the "Orangery". Where they kept their orange trees. Now it's empty except for table and chairs where you can sit, chat and eat lunch. It was a beautiful building with lots of windows (the roof was completely glass) and natural light. I loved it. I imagine the studio of my dreams to be similar (except a lot smaller). I better keep dreaming, right?

The grounds were gorgeous with wooded areas to explore.

The property wouldn't be complete without a pet cemetery.

Which was located 'creepily' out in the middle of the woods.

Statues and pillars around every corner.

With a property like this back in the 1700's with beautiful gardens and wooded area with walking paths, I don't think I'd ever be inside (except in the english winters). I prefer being outside anyway but with television, computers, nintendo, etc, there's plenty to prevent my time outdoors. But those are only lazy excuses. And when I say lazy, I also mean for the lazy; meaning I can be sometimes. Especially when it's raining and it just might be (probably is).

But without children I'd be wandering those paths rain or shine.

It's a beautiful place.

Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

2011-09-19T07:15:00.000-06:00

Last week a few characters from the classic Sesame Street came to visit.

There was Elmo, Cookie Monster, Grover and 3 others I have no clue who they were.

Cade was excited, though I couldn't get any face shots, so you can't tell. And Ross wasn't impressed.

When the characters came dancing around the audience, Cade didn't let them touch him or get close. He ran right for me and wouldn't leave my lap from then on out.

Later on that day he told me that he didn't want Cookie Monster to eat him.

It must be because he's so sweet.