Mind the Gap... My London Adventures in 2004

This month marks the five year anniversary of the best trip I've ever taken!  Just for the record, I want to note there is a distinct difference between a trip and a vacation in my mind... Vacations= beach, relaxing/ Trips= go, go, go.  I've had some great vacations too just a different ball of wax.  Anyway, I digress...While in grad school a few girlfriends and I decided on a whim to buy tickets to London over Spring Break.  We stayed with friends and did a whirl wind, sleep deprived, four day tour of the mother land.  I think I'm in desperate need of another one of these and maybe that's why I wanted to reflect on some of my favorite memories from that time.

The three photos above were taken at the airport.  We were giddy with excitement and anticipation.  For me this was my first (and only so far) trip outside of the U.S. (unless you count Canada but I'm not sure that actually counts).

What would London be without seeing Big Ben?  After our Red Eye flight into Hethrow we immediately unpacked, showered, and headed into the city to check out Mr. Ben, WestMinster Abbey, and the London Eye.  I think we were going on about two hours of sleep.  But I remember feeling so invigorated.

We enjoyed the London Eye at dusk.  We got to meet some fellow tourists from Texas of all places.  I just couldn't get enough of this fabulous city and the great accents (not the Texans, the British)

I'm sure the locals thought we were the most annoying Americans but we just had to all cram into that phone booth.  It was calling our name:)

After a full day of sightseeing we decided to take in a show.  I don't really remember how we came down to deciding on Mama Mia, but forever after the music of ABBA has been associated with this trip!  It was the PERFECT play to see as the upbeat music kept us awake (that and our pile of munchies that we obnoxiously chewed on during intermission) and the lyrics were then stuck in our head when we were on the tube, went to Oxford, visited the Globe Theatre, and toured the queen mum's home.  This trip had absolutely no drama.  It was just pure, sleep deprived fun!  

The photo below was taken during intermission of Mama Mia by the poor lady whose lot it was to sit next to the loud American girls.

Here we are in Oxford.  What a great town.  I felt smarter just being there.  We visited the libraries and the chapel behind us was said to be where "Alice in Wonderland" was written.  It was a rainy foggy March day and we ended that evening by going to a local pub and enjoying conversation.

Molly and I struck a pose above with some of the guards of Windsor Castle.  Our tour guide, Moe, was a delightful little man whose accent alone would have made the tour unbeatable.

This picture was taken on our final day in London at our friend's flat.  It was a Sunday and after church we took a drive through the countryside.  We were exhausted.  How we managed to stay awake still amazes me.  I think it might have had something to do with the massive amounts of chocolate we ate.

So to the girlfriends who accompanied me on this trip of a lifetime I say thank you for the memories!  I hope to do it again some time.  This time others are welcome to enjoy the experience with us.  New friends, husbands, family... but I just know it will never be quite like that crazy trip in March of 2004:)

Calgon Take Me Away

I remember when I was a little girl those commercials for Calgon Bath Oils... at least I think that's what they were.  I distinctly remember the young mother of children soaking in a bubble bath jacuzzi tub having her "moment" of solace as the turmoil of her busy life melted away... all thanks to Calgon.  I used to think those commercials were super cheesy.  Truth be told, they probably were to some degree, but at moments like this in my life I find myself uttering those words, "Calgon, take me away!"  Yes, take me to a warm soaking tub with no noise, no poopy diapers, no work or work politics, no laundry to be done or husband to get through school.  Yes, if Calgon can do all of that I will not only buy it, I will become it's official spokeswoman!

It's not that life is bad.  I am aware that I have it pretty good.  I have a beautiful baby, a kind and loving husband, a good job, and a nice home.  But February just brings out the doldrums in me.  Every year around this time I find myself wishing Spring would hurry and arrive already.  Perhaps that's why I proclaim May to be a month of celebration!  It's not necessarily because it's my birthday, more likely I'm honoring the season of Spring and ready to go out and enjoy life.  See, maybe I'm not as egocentric as some thought;)  At any rate, I've decided if I'm ever rich enough February will be my month to go on a yearly cruise, preferably somewhere tropical and excellent so I can come back with a fantastic tan and impress everyone (okay, maybe I am egocentric a little bit).  Maybe if my doctor prescribes it for mental health reasons I can have insurance cover a bit of it.  What do you think?  

Okay, you're right... I'm dreaming.  But for now, dreaming is what gets me through these wet and cold winter months.  

My little girl turns one!

I didn't know how exciting it would be to see my little girl turn one.  It was even more exciting than celebrating my own birthday, and for those of you that know me that's saying a lot considering I take a whole month to celebrate my birthday... I realize that this is slightly egocentric but that's a discussion for another day.  I would have given Ella a whole month of celebration too were it not for two reasons.  One, I might be setting the bar a bit too high for a one year old and two, Ella shares a birthday month with her father so I thought perhaps I should give him a little credit too.  So this year I threw a combined birthday bash in their honor.  We had friends and their kids over for what I called a "Presidential Birthday Bash!" in honor of Shaun, Ella, and all those presidents with birthdays in February.  We handed out american medals and resurrected my favorite game, the Question Ball, revised edition for married couples.  It was quite the fun evening.  Unfortunately, I was so busy hosting the event that I only got a few photos of the night.  Here's just one of Shaun and Ella blowing out their candles on their separate (but equal) cakes.  Also a close up of Shaun's cake to show I may not be an ace of cakes, but at least a can make a decent one.

Later in the weekend we threw Ella her own little family party with nana and papa.  Ella opened gifts from her auntie Stephanie, friends, and enjoyed wearing her PJ's from grandma and granpa C that night.  She got lots of books, a few clothes, a little bear, music maker, and ring thing.  She loved every bit of it but probably loved the cake best!

Oh she's such a poser!  With every day that personality grows.  She ran down the hall with her new clothes and turned around to show them off just in time for the photo above.  What a ham!  The outfit of course is from nana.

And if the cake is not enough, I'll try the plate too she says.

This face is saying "don't judge me".  I am entitle to dig into this cake with my bare hands and then stuff what I can into my mouth.

And this, this is the look of satisfaction that comes after digging into a triple chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  Admit it, you wish you could do it too with such style and grace!  But alas, such a right is reserved for the babies of this world.  And it wouldn't be a true 1st birthday without diggin' in:)

The first flakes!

Okay, just realize these past three posts aren't necessarily in chronological order.  I love these pics of our Little Miss trying to catch the first snowflakes in her hands.  She was so excited though I'm sure slightly cold.  We had to break out the camera and capture the moment!

A trip to Valley Forge

I'm a little backlogged on my blogging this month but with a snow day I thought I'd catch up while Little Miss is taking her ciesta.  The other weekend our little family headed north to see our good friends the Bonacci's.  Their little Pete is adorable and he and Ella got along great!  Ella is still what we like to call "assertive" but Pete handled it just fine with his way mellow demeanor.  Here she is again loving on Pete.  Some might say attacking but I prefer loving.  It sounds a little more gentle:)

In keeping with our love for George Washington this season, we took a trip to Valley Forge.  After seeing his homestead Mount Vernon a couple of months ago it was a stark contrast to think of the cold and bitter conditions he and the army were in at Valley Forge.  It's a place I'd love to go back to and explore even more when we have more time and the temperatures aren't in the teens.  Shaun enjoyed making Ella a militiaman with the bookstore apparel and play guns they had on display.  What am I going to do with him?

We enjoyed seeing our good friends and appreciated their hospitality!  Other than our trip to Valley Forge we also enjoyed good movies and visiting at the Bonacci home.  Yeah for friends and great historical places.

Snow Day Fun!

Actually, it might be more accurate to say "ice day fun".  We got a few inches of snow yesterday followed by a nice icing last night.  Not the best for playing but we decided it was Ella's first official snow so we would nevertheless venture out so she could have her first tackle with this great white stuff.  I just know she'll come to love this substance that will get her out of school (if she lives here) and beckon her for sledding and snowball fights.  Today she just screeched with joy at the sight of it and Shaun made sure she ate her first snow ball.  No worries, it wasn't yellow:)  Anyway, we just love snow days around here and we're training little Miss at an early age to do the same.

Big Milestones

Yesterday marked a special milestone in Ella's development.  Eleven months to the day and she started walking.  She's actually been taking a couple of steps here and there over the last week but yesterday she would take ten or more steps repeatedly.  So it's official~ though a little wably, my little gal is walkin':)  We got video and it's simply precious.  Hope you enjoy viewing her first

steps as much as we did.