Do you mind if I take a picture??

We didn't have a car in London so we used a stroller alot.  During one of our strolls to get from one place to the other, Sydney fell asleep.  I had no idea tha she had done this until someone stopped and asked if she could take a picture.  Silly kids...I guess she just needed some air. :)

Tuesday's Travel Log

Traveling with children makes for a very different experience.  Last time I was in London, I spent my days wandering the streets, and seeing alot of historical sights.  We did see alot of thing this time, but we also did alot of 'kid oriented' things.  I didn't get to see a 'broadway' show, but we still managed to fill our days with alot of fun. 

One of the things we particularly enjoyed was the Science Museum.  It was so big and so much fun that we actually spent about 1 and a half days there!!!  Did I also mention it was FREE!  In fact most of the museums, and alot of the attractions through out London are.  There were only a few things that we actually paid to experience...it sure would be nice if that was the case here in the states!

They had everything thing you can imagine here.  The kids (and me) were in heaven because they were encouraged to touch EVERYTHING!  One of our favorite spots was 'the Garden' in the basement.  It was especially designed for kids 6 and under.  They had a water area, dress up, blocks, slide, and lots of other hands on things the kids loved. 

There was so much to learn about, and experiment with everywhere.  The volume of information was amazing.  Another one of the kids favorite exhibits was "Plasticity".  It was all on the history of plastic.  How it was made, and what things were actually made out of plastic.  The whole exhibit was surrounded by a hundreds of Red long strips of plastic that the kids could run through.  I don't think I laughed so hard in a long time.  Just listening to their giggles as they ran back and forth and into the padded posts had me going for a while.

It really was such a neat place, and kept us busy all day long!

Oh How I Wish We Had Flowers Like This!

It seemed like everywhere turned there were beautiful beds of flowers all over London.  Although Daisies are my favorite..Tulips are up there too.  I think because they are my sisters fav, and they remind me of her.  I love Arizona, but it sure would be nice if the weather would allow us to grow beautiful beds of flowers like these!

Tuesday's Travel Log

Before we came to London, we made a trip to our local library.  I checked out every children book and travel guide possible.  The childrens books were fun because it gave the kids a little insight of what was there on a level that they could understand. 

The place that was on Caden's 'MUST SEE' list was the Tower of London.  It was originally built in 1078 by the current ruler of London.  Over time more towers were added, and then became a place where prisoners and traitors were sent to be tortured and killed.  It does have quite the morbid history, but the main reason why Caden wanted to go there was to see the Crown Jewels.  Unfortunately they don't allow cameras there so their beauty is captured in our minds.  It is kind of sad that something like that is only worn a few times.  So much jewlery gone to waste.  The other thing Caden found interesting was what they did with the royalties silverware and spices.  I forget what it is called, but they have a special gold plated thing that they lock them up in to prevent them from getting poisoned. 

Sydney especially loved the guards that stood outside the Jewlery, and the Yeoman or "Beefeaters" that gave us a tour.  There was even a special exhibit in the White Tower of all the different armory.  The kids couldn't believe it when they found a knight suit that was actually their size.  They also got to pretend to be guards of the Tower, and use different 'weapons' to keep out the 'bad guys.' 

Since we were so close to Tower Bridge we walked over there for the Exhibition tour. We got to ride an elevator to the top and walk across the top of the bridge.  The views were incredible.  Afterwards we went down to the engine room.  Caden really enjoyed seeing how the bridge actually worked, and what they had to do in order to raise it for the passage of boats.  It was such a great learning experience for the kids.   

My New Life

This seems to be on everyone's blog, but it really is something I couldn't pass up.  Stephanie is such an inspiration of what attitude that I need to have on my 'bad' days...because really...my life is wonderful.  I am thankful for my family, and my children.  Thank you Stephanie for reminding me how divine the role of motherhood really is.  For reminding me that life is truly a gift, and so are our children.  May we all strive to be a little better, and work a little harder to recognize the hand of the Lord in our lives!

Mind

It always amuses me at the slight differences in words used in England.  Yes we both speak English, but they use some words in a much different context than we would use here in the United States.  I even laughed every time I logged into Facebook...it wanted to know if I wanted to participate in translating FB into English (UK). 

Anyhow, one of the words that always gets me is MIND.  Here when I think of using the word 'mind,' it would be to tell my children that if they don't listen or 'mind' me then then they can get in trouble.  It is a word that basically to me means authority.  So when I continued to see this all around London...it just makes me laugh.

I would see it and immediately make me think that they feel like the child should be in charge and telling me what to do...not me.  Although I know that it really meant to "Watch your Child!"  and that is the difference.  Instead of saying 'watch' they say 'mind'...as in "Mind the Gap."

The other things the kids got a kick out of were

chips = french fries

nappy = diaper

lift = elevator

buggy or pushchair/cart = stroller

pounds & pence = dollars & cents

bobby = policeman

Do you know any more??

Tuesday Travel Log

I kinda laugh and roll my eyes when Shawn says he doesn't travel much for work.  I know he is comparing himself to the sales guys who are out of town for 5 days a week, every week...but when you compare it to most people...he still travels (atlease a couple days out of the month).  Now I am not complaining.  He has a great job, that of which I am thankful for.  I can handle it when he is gone, but it doesn't negate the fact that I still miss him.  Every so often we get the opportunity to 'tag a long' on his business trips. 

At the beginning of March, I got a call from him while he was at work.  They were setting up a training class in London, and wanted Shawn to be a part of it.  He wanted to know if I wanted to come and bring the kids.  The wheels started going, and we figured out how we could make it possible.  Between Shawn's job and my job with the airlines our kids have been blessed to go many places...and this was no different.

Shawn had a conference he was attending in Dallas.  He left on Sunday, Apr. 11.  Our plan was to meet him on Wednesday, and then fly out of Dallas on Thursday to London.  Plans changed when I called to list us on our flight (oh the joys of standby)...the flight we were hoping to leave on was overbooked and the chances of all 5 of us to get on the flight were not good.  Wednesday looked better so we decided to shoot for that and see what happens....little did we know what lie ahead. 

On Tuesday I got our bags packed, picked Caden up from school, and headed straight to the airport!  We arrived in Dallas that night, and met up with Daddy.  In the morning Shawn went to the remaining part of the conference while we hung out at the hotel.  We even were able to get some lunch with our old friend Lisa.  I hadn't seen her in forever.  It was great to catch up, and see her new little baby, Noah. 

Soon we were off to the airport yet again to see if we could get ourselves to London.  At ticketing, the agent told us it looked okay.  It was going to be tight, but we may be able to get on.  So we checked our bags, and had high hopes as we headed to the gate.  Our hopes were deflated when they paged our name only to tell us that there was no chance we would get on the 7:35pm flight. 

My mind started to reel.  I was bummed.  I packed our kids up and flew all the way to Dallas, and now I am going to have to turn around and go home.  My plans of seeing my kids playing in London were gone.  I now had wished that I would have just stayed home.  Yet we waited to see if the inevitable would happen.  Boarding came and went, and we were left at the gate.  Luckily there was a flight at 9:05pm...our last chance to get there.  It still looked bad, but we hoped against hope. 

I began following the two little ones as they ran back and forth the 'moving walkways.'  My eyes kept wandering over to the gate hoping to see our names would be 'cleared.'  Slowly one by one...IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED!  We were so happy!  We would get to London after all! 

They started boarding, and shortly after they made an announcement.  A volcano had just erupted in Iceland, and they would have to suspend boarding until they were sure it was safe to travel.  Soon they started boarding again...then stopped it again....and finally they were sure we could go, and boarded the whole plane. 

I sat down in my seat, and let out a sigh of relief. 

We actually we made it! 

I was so glad!  The flight went wonderfully. Thomas slept almost the entire time!!

Then we landed...they shut down the airport indefinitely.

That was when I thought to myself...What in the world did we get ourselves into!!

Our family seems to be traveling alot lately.  I figured that I would devote Tuesdays to share our Travel-Log.  If you would like to join along feel free!!