London, Continued!

I literally needed a few days off from Blogger. It had caused me extreme frustration. :) But, I'm back, for another attempt at posting pictures of our trip. (Side note: I'm now finished with this post, and I HATE it when Blogger takes out all of my spaces between paragraphs. Does anyone know a solution for that?)

DAY FOUR:

This was by far one of my very favorite days. (I'll probably say that alot...but it really was!) We spent the entire day at Hampton Court Palace, exploring the castle that used to be home to King Henry the 8th, and many of his wives. :) It was so much fun, and the girls (and moms) learned alot!

Here's a picture of it from the water (before we entered)...

We started the day with a picnic on the lawn, with YUMMY sandwiches and lots of pictures (of course!)...

We got to tour the "Queen's Apartments", and were guided by real characters from that time period. We even got to meet Queen Catherine!

This is an awful picture because we weren't supposed to use cameras, so I wasn't using a flash...but you get the idea! The girls were amazed to see the real queen!

We got to tour the kitchens of the castle, which were HUGE! That was quite an operation long ago! They had food out to show how things were made, and the girls enjoyed pretending to be a cook in the castle.

We also spent alot of time in the BEAUTIFUL gardens. Seriously...I couldn't believe how beautifully kept everything was. There was a maze to go through that dates back hundreds of years, there were fountains, flowers, and lots of picture spots, once again!

Here is my way-too-big traveling partner. :)

We ended the day with ice cream before the long trip back home. It was another fun day!

DAY FIVE:

This was another day of touring, with Jenny and I and the four girls. After a LONG day at Hampton Court, the little guys (Parker, Carter, and Trenton) needed a long day of napping. So, we took off with the girls to see the Tower of London!!

This was a fascinating place...and so huge!! This is where many famous people (and some not so famous) were kept as prisoners of the king or queen. One of my favorite things was to see the actual carvings these prisoners put in the walls of their cells while they were there. SO amazing to read a literal piece of history.This was also the castle where some of the royalty lived too. So, there was alot to learn and see, once again. Our entire trip was so informative, and it was very neat to see the girls be so interested in learning---and really remembering---so many facts from history!

We tried the "Beefeater Tour" first, which is known for its "blood and gore" entertainment...but since the girls were shaking in their boots at the first stories of beheadings, we opted out and did our own kids' tour instead. :) We still got a picture with a Beefeater, though!

We got to try out the armor and weapons from long ago, see the crown jewels (which were QUITE sparkly. :), we saw the changing of the guard, and stood where the beheadings of people like Queen Anne Bolelyn took place. This is taken from where they stood...

After a FULL morning of touring the Tower of London, we decided to take our chances at the British Museum and see how the girls would hold up with more touring. Another amazing and HUGE place. We barely covered one section of one floor...and we were all exhausted! And, ironically, we learned all about Greece in the middle of Great Britain. :)

Don't they look just like Greek gods from the Parthenon?

And now comes another highlight of the trip for me. Drumroll, please...

We saw the Sound of Music!!! And, it was EXCELLENT! I even cried twice because that's how much I love that movie. :) The girls had a great time, and sang the songs the rest of the trip. And, yes, Kendyll is still singing them almost daily.

Can you tell from these "day by day reports" how fully packed our days were?! We soaked up every minute we could and went from morning 'til late night every day. Our next two days were all about relaxing...

DAY SIX:

Today was a "girly" day, with babysitters hired for the boys. We took the big girls to "high tea" at the Orangery at Kensington Palace. It was quite a treat!

Kendyll has decided that real tea (and the treats that come along with it) are right up her alley! We brought some English tea home with us as a souvenir, and I fell in love with cinnamon tea too.

Look at the spread that Kendyll and I ordered! Mmmmm!!!

Here is my dainty little tea-drinker trying her first sip. She likes it!

And, this is a group picture with a purpose. Please look closely at the pants that Kendyll is wearing. They will be important to a story in just a minute...

After tea, and spending some time walking around, we decided to go see the famous Harrod's department store. Amy offered to take the four girls home, so Jenny, Stephanie, and I could shop a little. Harrod's, by the way, is totally overwhelming and amazing...everything from high end formalwear, to toys, to sushi and groceries. It has it all!

When we were finally making it to the top floor, our cell phone rings and it is Amy. She proceeds to tell me that they have had an accident at the tube station and Kendyll's flowy gaucho pants have been stuck in an escalator!!!! As she was getting off the escalator, her pants got caught in the teeth, she fell down, and people who didn't see her began tripping over her. She was screaming and crying...and Sweet Amy sacrificed her own body to protect my daughter from being completely trampled by covering her up, while trying desperately to rip the pants loose. Eventually, a random stranger came and ripped her pants out of the escalator.

Kendyll was crying and crying and Amy was comforting her, trying to make sure she wasn't hurt. She eventually said through sobs, "My mom is going to be so mad that I ripped my pants!" (I felt awful when I heard this, that she would actually be WORRIED about that in that moment!! What kind of mom am I?!) Anyway, poor Amy. Poor Kendyll. The employees came to file a report and they chilled for a little bit before proceeding to the subway train. What a dramatic ending to such a great day! I felt awful that I wasn't there with her, but I was also so thankful that she had Amy to take care of her. Apparently, she wasn't too traumatized, because she got right back on an escalator the next day (although she never stopped "hopping" off while holding her pants up to her knees!)

And, she was completely fine by the time we got back to the house. She had already called Mark to tell him all about it, and by the time I saw her, they were all four ready for their fun sleepover at Trinity's house!

What a memory that day will be. :)

DAY SEVEN:

Saturday was spent with the husbands and daddies, as we all took a trip to Buckingham Palace for a tour! The Smiths and Ownbys had not done that yet, since the queen is only gone two months a year, so it was fun to get the whole gang together for the fun. We had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe first, and I laughed at how much my London friends enjoyed their American ranch dressing, good Cheeseburgers, and french fries!!

We toured all around inside the palace, and even got to see the dining room set up for a formal royal dinner. That was crazy to see the detail that goes into setting the table for such an event. We learned all kinds of crazy things like how many hours it takes to get ready, how many cooks and servers it takes, how much food they go through, and how many wine glasses and pieces of silverware each person has! CRAZY!! The kids got to write a letter to the queen at the end of the tour, and Kendyll is truly hoping that the queen reads hers. :)

We had dinner at home, and had some awesome entertainment from the fairies (who mostly just giggled throughout the play they "wrote".) It was good to get to spend some time with Mike and Mark that night, as we all doubled over in laughter at Jenny's stories. :) This was her last night in London, and Kendyll and I were very sad to see our new friends go. We enjoyed our time with them so much, and it was perfect to have tourists to experience London with.

This was a sweet picture from that evening too. Right before Ashlyn and Kendyll were going to bed, we found them reading their bible to each other. Ashlyn would read a page, and then Kendyll would read a page. It was adorable. And, Amy and I realized through a conversation with the girls about what they were reading, that they did not know "Amazing Grace"! So, Amy decided that it would be a good time to teach them. So, there we were--at midnight--singing Amazing Grace with our girls. Such a sweet time. :)

DAY EIGHT:

This was a relaxing day. We slept late, got up and got ready slowly, I went grocery shopping with Amy (quite an experience!), we all ate lunch together, and then Kendyll and I threw a birthday party for Carter, Parker, Trenton, Ashlyn, and Trinity! We had already missed many of their birthdays while they've been gone, and we were going to miss Ashlyn's in a few weeks, so we brought the party to London! Kendyll was so excited about this part, and it was a fun time to celebrate these sweet kids who we love so much!!

After the party, Kendyll and I hit the town to do some souvenir shopping. The Smiths and Ownbys had a going away party to attend, so me and my traveling buddy spent hours shopping at Hamley's toy store, H & M for clothes, and the souvenir shop for our family presents. It was such a fun time with just my girl...especially since it was almost time for us to go home. :( It rained most of that day, as you can tell by Kendyll sporting her raincoat.

We came home and spent the night talking and staying up late---again. This was one of my favorite parts of getting to be in London. The nights spent talking to Amy, or Stephanie, or both. It was so good to catch up with them so much (probably more than we ever got to do when we lived in the same city!) Girls, I will treasure those times and can't wait for you to be back to do it more!!

DAY NINE:

This was our last full day in London, and we had seen most everything that was on our list. So, we were thankful to receive free passes to the King Tut exhibit from Mark's brother, Chris, who was the marketing genius behind it all. :) It was quite interesting and the girls really loved learning all about the Egyptians, the pharoahs, and the words and symbols on all the artifacts.

We took a boat over to the exhibit, and carried our lunch with us. Our intention was to have a picnic...which ended up happening in the middle of the boat instead, due to hungry children. :) It took a lot longer to get there than we first thought, so we changed our plans and came back home a different way. :) Before we left for home, though, we stopped at Starbucks for a snack and coffee (or hot chocolate if you're six) treat. (By the way, Kendyll took her own camera on this trip and took hundreds of pictures I still haven't even downloaded. But, here are a couple that she took with my camera, that she REALLY wants me to put on the blog!) Here they are:I've been missing my Trinity hugs since I've been home. They really are the best. :)

And, Kendyll took this one of me and Steph too. The kids were all crazy busy, so we got home in time to drop them off with a babysitter, order them a pizza, and take off on our OWN nice dinner without kids!!! It was such a fun evening, with just Stephanie and Amy. We had long talks without any interruptions, and got to feel like grown-ups for a night. :) It was worth every penny of the babysitting money, especially for my last night with them.

DAY TEN:

Well, this is when our trip came to an end. It was a sad day to have to leave our friends, even though we know they will be home in just a few months! After some tears, we all said our goodbyes, and gave hugs to last until Thanksgiving. :)

One of the presents we brought the girls was matching outfits...so, of course, the girls wore them to bid us farewell. Here they are before we left that morning. And, here is the official hug goodbye at the airport. The trip went so fast, but was so full of fun. It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us, and we are so thankful for the safe travel, and the wonderful memories we now have. We love our London friends!!!

Pussycat, Pussycat, Where've You Been?

...We've been to London to visit the Queen!!

Yes, that's right. Exactly fifteen days after our return, I'm finally blogging about London!!

What kept me from doing this? It was really the overwhelming feeling of trying to do our trip justice in a blog. I know how wordy I can get...and there are so many stories, so many sights we saw, and so many moments I want to record. Overall, I'm just very thankful for our trip, and incredibly thankful for the friends we visited there. :) I'm thankful for the amazing experiences Kendyll was able to have at such a young age...but yet, an age where I hope she will remember this trip even as she gets older.

I guess the best way to do this is day by day...

Day One: Involved flying, flying, and more flying, with some sleeping in there somewhere. Actually, Kendyll slept almost the entire way, after watching Horton Hears a Who, having a snack, taking some Benadryl, and doing some Ipod listening. She was an old pro on the traveling part of this trip, and it was so much fun to be all alone with my biggest girl.

Day Two: Began with our arrival in London, and what would later be named "Kendyll's favorite part of the whole trip": The reunion with her friends in the airport.

Seriously, when I saw Stephanie at the end of the walkway, my eyes began tearing up. But, when those three girls started running full-speed toward each other, and ended in a three-way embrace in the middle of the airport, I was completely bawling. Steph and I hugged too, while crying, and then we snapped their cute picture. It was truly a priceless moment, and I hope none of them ever forget it.

Next, we went home to Amy's house, driven by our chauffeur, Stephanie, who actually drives the weird London way VERY well! We were greeted by our other sweet friends, including our new friends from this trip, Trinity's cousin Kyndall, and her mom Jennifer. We sat down to a delicious lunch and my new favorite drink (Pimm's and Lemonade!!) And what did we do next? The same thing we would have been doing back home...the kids swam in the backyard!! It was so hot and sunny and not what I expected! We had to borrow a swimsuit because I packed more for the "cloudy" weather. :) They had so much fun splashing and jumping...it was like we had never been apart from these families.

Later, we got to accompany Trinity on her trip to get her EARS PIERCED! The friends huddled around her and comforted her as it happened. She looked so cute with her new gold balls, and Kendyll was very proud of her BRAVE friend, Trinity.

Oh, and we also had our first walk to the tube station...and our first tube ride in London. Kendyll and I learned alot by the time we left London, and it was cute to watch how well the Smith and Ownby kids knew the tube system while we were there. They could recognize which line we were on, where the stops were, and just acted like they had lived there all their lives!

Dinner the first night was none other than Fish 'N Chips, one of my favorite meals ever. It did not disappoint! Look at the grease on this sucker! Mmmmmm!!!

The kids stayed up late every night we were there, and the first night--even with jet lag--Kendyll and the others played and played, while the moms watched "The Other Boleyn Girl" to get us in the London mood. :)

Day Three: Sightseeing!!One of the blessings Kendyll and I received from this trip was a new friendship with Jenny & Kyndall. Since all of us were new to London, we did some sightseeing together, and had so much fun! Kendyll and Kyndall hit it off (as did their moms!), and were interested in alot of the same things, which worked great for touring London. Here they are reading their tour maps, and planning the day. Two peas in a pod, I tell ya!

Our first stop: The London Eye! (a huge ferris wheel that takes you up to see a bird's eye view of London...)

The next stop: A double-decker tour bus! Unfortunately, it was cold...and rainy...which led to sadness...but it also led to hot chocolate! And, that seemed to bring out the sun. :)Throughout the day, we saw everything from the Tower of London to Oxford Circus to Big Ben to Buckingham Palace, mostly from the bus seat. At Westminster Abbey, we got off, thinking we would just take some pictures. At the last minute, Jenny suggested we pay the money to go inside the abbey and look around. And, I'm SO glad we did it! It was one of my most favorite things (and we were there for HOURS!)

They had a kids' tour booklet for the girls to use, and I think the moms ended up learning as much as they did from it. I could seriously write an entire blog about Westminster Abbey...but I won't. :) Unfortunately, you couldn't take pictures inside, so I got nothin' to show you but the front...

We ate a quick lunch and continued our touring, only to find that the Tower of London was closing for the day. So, we waited until later in the week for that one.

We finished the day with a boat ride down the River Thames, and back home (successfully) on the tube. It was a FULL day of everything London!! Day Four: Will have to wait until blogger decides to cooperate. :) I'll be back...