Cambridge

A few shots from our trip to Cambridge in November.






2 very tired travelers
Emerson perked up for a solo shot


Below: Emerson in the courtyard of Clare College




The famous clock...of course I can not remember the name....
In Front of King's College

London Phase 2

I am calling this Phase 2 because the first half of London was Trey working and the kids and I exploring. Phase 2 was family time. So here are a couple of the shots from our time together. I decided not to add captions to each shot (as it would have taken me ages and this is already so late) so here is what you are seeing: Evening window shopping on Regent Street, a day at the museums, dinner with dear friends, Buckingham Palace changing of the guards, Trafalgar Square and our independent traveler at King's Cross Station.

The Silver Lining...London

My last update told you that I had a computer crisis that lasted the entire month of November. While it was endlessly frustrating to be without my computer for so long, this challenge did indeed have a silver lining! While I was unable to work my regular schedule the kids and I had the flexibility to go with Trey on a research trip to London. As soon as I realized my computer was going to be gone for a while we planned the trip within 3 days...got on the phone to book a hotel and walked down to Waverly Station to buy some train tickets. I checked out a book from the library and let Emerson decide what she wanted to do for the entire week. While Trey spent his days at the libraries reading the pages of Nehemiah's journals, Emerson, Ward & I got to see the sights.

Emerson's plan for Day 1- The Pirate ship in Kensington Gardens. This amazing play park is part of the Princess Diana Memorial Gardens. Because these beautiful gardens are the place that J.M. Barrie wrote Peter Pan there is a Lost boys theme to the park, complete with pirate ship, teepees, and wooden fort. We were so pleased to get to meet up with Laura and Sophie so that Sophie could play with my little reds. Laura filled me in on all the helpful tips for navigating the tube with 2 kids. We were blessed with blue skies and a great day.
The ship.


The top of the mast.


Emerson at the top.


Blue eyed baby.


Ward found a "lost boy" carved into the tree.

Having fun together.

Emerson's Day 2 Plan- The London Eye. The Eye was only about 2 blocks from our hotel. It surrounded by a boardwalk with street performers and very convenient to a park. It was a really fun day to play outside. Emerson and Ward loved the Eye, this is Emerson's primary memory from our trip. We all had an amazing day and there were so many fabulous pictures that it was very difficult to choose.

My world traveler.

Playin' it cool.

Hanging out under the "eye".

Look Mom, no hands!

Emerson pushing Ward on the swing.Emerson took the photo of Ward and I. I thought she did pretty well...Ward wasn't so sure.Emerson befriended the living statue.

Day 3- Playdate at Sophie's house. This was perfect timing as it was typical British weather, grey, rainy and cold. It was so wonderful to visit with Matt & Laura and it was so fun to have a day to let the kids just play and relax. We were sad that Jack couldn't play too, but of course being mid-week, he needed to go to school.

Computer-less

Just as I was gearing myself up to be a better blogger and post more frequently my harddrive crashed. I have spent the entire month of November computer-less. It has been a complete departure from our normal lives as I have been unable to work and being so far from friends and family the computer really becomes our life line.

Normally a hard drive could be repaired quickly, however my situation is somewhat complicated by my location. Because my computer is still under warranty in the US it seemed logical to send it to the US for repairs rather than pay in the UK....although now that my laptop is stuck in the customs system I am doubting that plan. My computer re-entered the UK on the 15th of Nov but has still not been released by the customs department because they are reviewing the paperwork (all 3 pages of it!!!). Trey has been working diligently which means I have rarely had the opportunity to use his laptop, giving me precious little computer time at all in the last month and have therefore been absent from blogging and facebook.

I am hoping that as we enter December the new month will bring good luck and the customs department will have a wonderful wave of Christmas cheer and send my computer on it's merry way. Here's to hoping!