London

So, I am running a little behind.  And I feel the nearing pressure of Tgiving and Christmas and I am feeling more pressure.  I even took off from taking classes until January so that I could effectively get organized and that isn't really helping anything at all.  I just have more time to get less done.  How is that possbile?

I can't lie, having Eric home working from a home office all day has been an adjustment. I love it, and at the same time, I feel like I am not effectively getting things done I should. He is suffering the same dilema, after 21 years of a schedule of PT, Formation, Lunch from 1130-1000 pm and COB no earlier than 5pm, it has been a transistion for him to set a new schedule.

For this I pray alot. I pray that God keeps us in perspective, that we realize what a blessing this job is, that after so many years of Eric being away, this oppurtunity was afforded to us.

Ok, so why all that above?  Just me rambling because I have mini deadlines running thru my head. This post is long overdue! We took this trip over Veterans day, so yes, a little behind.

So the Fam headed to London!

 Eric and I visited London in November 1996.  We flew Space A to Lakenheath, England and spent Tgiving Day walking around London. I wish I had some of those photos here with me in Germany!  I was six months pregnant with Zachary and was wearing the strangest outfit. A red soft maternity outfit that I remember was just so comfy, and then a burgundy long wool coat.

In the pictures, well,  I don't need to say anymore, just imagine bright red, bulging stomach and a burgandy wool coat. This was one of those times I asked Eric if I looked OK before we left and when we got the pictures back he realized maybe he should of actually "looked" at me before saying, Ya, you look great.  YEP. We will leave it at that.

Back to our current London trip, we decided to take a bus trip because it was the simplest, easiest to do with five family members. Now we know the dealio on driving to London and plan on going back in the Spring or Summer.

We boarded the bus at 9 pm and the plan was to drive thru the night. I thought this would totally work because the kids would just go to sleep on the bus. I didn't "think" about the two young chics sitting behind us that were drunk when they boarded and continued to their little party until another Mom got up and basically ripped their heads off, and then they went to sleep.  Go MOM!  We all thanked you!

So everyone fell a little asleep until around midnight, where we had to deboard the bus and go thru customs in Calais, France.  We got a cool UK stamp in the passports and boarded the bus.  We drove a little further and that is where we drove our bus onto a huge ferry.   As you can see below, this ferry is no joke. Sooooo many bus's and cars loaded on this ferry, I was shocked. You then climb to the upper decks and find a lounge seat.

During this time 90 minute time on the ferry, the kids were grouchy and arguing with each other, we finally scored some loungers and went to sleep for the last 30 mins.

As the ferry was pulling into port it was still dark. By the time we loaded the bus and pulled off the ferry it was daybreak and I realized we were pulling away from the White Cliffs of Dover.  I didn't have my camera ready and was still half asleep, so I really was not happy about that.  I think we may have had a rookie tour guide, because this seemed like something he should of mentioned.  But, everyone did end up seeing the White Cliffs of Dover, and it looked sooooo cold.

I fell back asleep for awhile and woke up as we were driving thru SOHO in London. I managed to take a few pics while driving, but I was mostly excited because I could read everything!  YES, a trip in English makes things so much easier. And England is just so cool, it reminds me of home.

As we pulled into London, we went past the Westminister Abbey/ Big Ben and the House of Parlimant. Sorry for the blur, it was thru the window as we were driving!

Next, we headed over to the Tower of London.  Our tour guide was Irish, and he was so funny, he definately had the kids attention.  If anyone is familiar with the Showtime series "The Tudurs", you know how significant the Tower of London really is. Many of King Henry's wives died here, and at this point the tour guide was telling us that in London, it is believed that this area is haunted.  It was kind of sad, because this is the oldest part of London, yet all around it new weird looking industrial type buildings are being built.  Eric and I totally got the signifigance of the Tower of London from watching the series, but it is much to risky for the kids to watch.

We boarded back on the bus and headed out for a two hour tour of the city. This was sub-par mostly due to our German bus driver getting lost over and over and over again. We actually got pulled over by the London police right in front of Buckingham palace, the kids thought that was funny.  Our tour guide for London, (not the tour guide that started from the beginning) was a great story teller and kept he kids interested. He dabbled a bit on Jack the Ripper, and really held the kids attention. Minus the bus driver getting us lost so many times, it was informative. In the drivers defense, Buckingham Palace was set to have a Veterans Day celebration on Monday. Because of this, they had many of the normal roads closed, so it just threw everything off.

Once that tour was over, we got off the bus and loaded up on snacks.  This was one thing that our family does that I feel is pretty intelligent.  London is NOT cheap. The kids stomachs never seem to be full. So I packed a huge rollaway cooler and put it under the tour bus. Every stop we made, the kids could get in and pull out some carrot sticks, cheez its, cheese sticks, PBJ's, or whatever they felt like.

So, we loaded up all of our bags, and then it started down pouring. Luckily, we each had an umbrella.

We walked for seven hours. It rained off and on.  We saw most of the sights, and here is a picture reel of most of our day.

LOVE this picture of Avery

And of Zachary!

And somehow we didn't get one of Nicky. Mostly because he is in that awkard stage and had NO interest in getting in the red telephone box in front of strangers. So he stood in the rain:(

We lost Zachary in Covent Gardens looking for a Mexican restaurant someone had said to try. In typical man fashion, Eric and Zach went seperate ways looking for it, and once you get in the square, realize how many people are truly here.

So I took a picture of Avery while they found each other and we stayed by the giant Christmas tree.

The norm in London, but just so cool to us

Zachary's rendition of singing in the rain, at this point we are all tired and getting goofy

Near Buckingham Palace

Thank goodness for snack bags!

Buckingham Palace, again, Nicky is not to thrilled to take pics in front of people. I remember being in that stage!

This was my personal favorite of the London Trip. This is the Westminster Cathedral. Most people go to the Westminster Abbey, but this was the actual Catholic Church. There was a wedding happening inside, and this old car was waiting to take the Bride and Groom away.  It was a beautiful church, we sat and prayed and listened to the music, and blessed ourselves. It really was my favorite of the trip.

The family leaving, at this point the rain was getting ready to start again

Just a random picture of a building, London is just so cool everywhere you go

A true Scott, skirt and all. The kids thought this was so cool, and how cool my Great Gpa England was also a true Scottsman!

Avery loving the pink taxi

The family in front of Westminster Abbey Cathedral

Westminister Abbey Cathedral

Tired and two hours before our bus pickup, we stopped and ate at Garfunkels.  Avery was so tired.  Eric had a traditional pot pie, Zachary had fish and chips. Nic and Avery had a kids meal and I had a chicken breast with salad and potato. This meal cost us $130.00!!!! GULP....now you see why we brought our cooler.  London is VERY expensive, and even street food was the same or more.

After dinner, we walked over the Tower bridge and got some breathtaking shots at night. This is Eric's handy work!

I snapped this picture while waiting for Eric as he barely made it to the bathroom in the underground tube station. That pricey dinner we just had, hit him pretty hard!

The eye of London. Our tour guide told us that this was only supposed to be here for a couple of weeks. However, it brings in so much money they have kept it thru the Olympics, etc. It was about 30 dollars a head to ride on this.  We opted not to this trip since it was drizzling.

Unfortunately, this is the only fam picture we got.  Eric had set up the tripod in front of Big Ben, and with the crowds it was so hard to get it timed and taken before someone walked in front of it. This actually is a zoom in (why our faces are so grainy) But the memory will always be there, love the picture of the kids!