Grace's Dance Class

It was parent week at Grace's dance class. She loves it and can't wait to go every week!

Part of the class is ballet and the other part is tap. She will have a recital in May that they are practicing for now. Can't wait to see what that will be like!

He's Back!

Our elf, Micah, arrived for the Christmas season! 

The kids were so excited to see him when they woke up. He left them some gümmi bears and thanks to Pinterest some chocolate frosted donuts that looked like reindeer.

We know our years are numbered in doing things like this with the kids, so we are enjoying all we have with our little friend.

Even though they know that Micah is watching and "reporting" back to Santa, I tell them that our heavenly father watches them all the time. We talk about what the real meaning of Christmas is---Jesus' birthday!

I'll be sure to post a few more pictures of where Micah hides in the days to come.

Last Day in London

Our last day in London was a little on the rainy side. We decided to go to the Natural History Museum and soak up a little history. The museum architecture is just beautiful, inside and out. 

The best part about this visit was it was absolutely free! 

 Sweet moment 

 The museum was broken up into categories. The first section we went to was an amazing display of mammals.

 Love the lighting inside. It made for great photos.

 This is for my mom and dad. There was a display case with leaf cutter ants. They have dealt with these crazy things for years on their land and watched them destroy some great plants. Here is what their home looks like under the ground.

After over 4 hours in the museum (and we only touched a fraction of it!), we headed to the Christmas Market, Winter Wonderland in the Hyde Park area.

The kids were so excited!

 This market was huge! We decided to divide and conquer by sexes. Liz and I took the girls to a few "girly" rides, while the boys went on a huge maze house.

 It was a great way to end our vacation to London. People have always said what a great city it is, and now I know why!

I can't wait to go back in the future. There is so much more to do and see in this great city.

London: Day 2

We woke up to day 2 with nice weather and ready to explore more of London. The Greens were going on a Harry Potter Studio tour so we took to a boat ride to Westminster Abbey, more of Piccadilly Circus and some good pub food.

 The outside of the tower and part of the tower bridge.

 Me and my love.

 About to get on the ferry along the Thames River.

 The London Eye in the background. We didn't go on the eye this trip for a number of reasons...expensive and too many other things we wanted to do.

 Big Ben

It was beautiful!

 This is for you Dad S! 

Us in front of Westminster Abbey.

 I love this door! This is the oldest door in Britain; constructed around 1050

 Photography is not allowed inside the church. It was probably for the best because I was able to take in the beauty and not think of what picture to take next. The church was absolutely gorgeous and everything about it had an interesting story to go along. Loved this place!

 Outside of the Abbey

The kids did great while we were in the church for two and a half hours. Thankfully they had a good scavenger/"I Spy" hunt for the kids to do. At the end when they turned in the completed paper, they got a gold chocolate coin. (One of which I enjoyed with a nice glass of wine for dinner. ;-)

Now off to the greatest toy store...ever!

It was 5 stories of any kind of toy you could ever imagine. We had to just break it down by type and work around that so the kids wouldn't get to overwhelmed. It was crazy in there! The workers were buzzing around trying to sell the latest and greatest toys out.

One floor of the 5 they had.

Our kids are amazing travelers and did great on a full day of walking and sightseeing. We treated them to a toy of their choice. 

 AJ got a Ninjago Lego toy...the coveted white ninja.

 Her smile says it all...pink unicorn is perfect for her. 

Queen Elizabeth made out of nothing but Legos.

 We asked some guys at the toy store if they could recommend a good place to eat in the area. After a long day we were staving and didn't want to walk without a plan of where to go. They told us of a great treasure pub called Shakespeare's Head. It might of been one of the most unique places I have ever been. Only about 8 tables in the whole upstairs bar. Lucky us when we walked in and someone gave up their table to us! 

 Fish and chips, Indian curry and yummy Stella beer!

 Another day in London...successful!

Thanksgiving in London:Day One

For Thanksgiving we flew to London with the Green family. I was so excited to finally explore London!

When we travel we usually try to get an apartment to stay in. It isn't much more expensive, plus we are able to eat many of our meals there and not eat out so much. With how expensive London is, we knew it was a must.

Our apartment was right on the Thames river not far from the O2 arena where most of the concerts and events are held. It was about 10 minutes walk from the tube and not far from a few grocery stores. Perfect place to stay!

The apartment building.

Mason and Jackson hanging out.

 Kitchen

 Our view from the living room...the Thames River.

Our night view of the city and O2 arena. Gorgeous!

 Our tube stop by our apartment.

                                                      

Our first day there we did the Hop On/Hop Off bus. We got a good deal considering it was a ride around the city with interesting information about each stop.

Not sure we would do it again though. The tube is so easy to get around that it just makes sense to depend on that.

 Willow and Grace riding on the top of the bus.

 The Tower of London. The ring castle served the English and the British kings, among other things as a residence, armory, workshop, stores, zoo, garrison, museum  mint, prison, execution site archive and also the British crown jewels. It has been visited by tourists for 600 years!

 After walking around the tower and the bridge we made our way to the Princess Diana memorial park for the kids to play. Here is a seal on the path that leads to the park.

 The kids couldn't wait to play! Thankfully this park was safe with a locked entry so the kids ran free while the adults could sit and catch up with no interruptions!

 Had to get a picture of the red telephone booth.

 In Piccadilly Circus area (the Time Square of London) there is a M&M world. Who doesn't love chocolate?!

Here is a photo of a room with a dispenser of just about any color or flavor combination that Mars makes for M&M. The kids got to choose their favorite one.

 Jackson made a good choice of crispy ones, while Grace went for the pink...of course!

 Willow and Grace posing in front of the green princess M&M.

Warning: Stimulation overload! And there were 4 floors of this!

 Sorry for the blurry photo...but this is our Thanksgiving dinner.

We headed back into our neck of the woods and ended up eating at the huge buffet kind of place. We figured it had just about anything to eat and please 8 people.

 It was definitely a Thanksgiving to remember enjoying our first day in London.

Day 2 to come soon.