Need a smile?

One of my friends owns her own photography studio and Chloe and Summer got to go in and "model" for her. It was such a fun opportunity! And look at these pictures. They totally make me smile.

6 bins later

Yesterday I tackled the job of organizing all of the clothes stored in our attic. I thought it would be a simple job I could finish before the kids came home from school. Wrong. Even though the clothes were already somewhat organized in bags and boxes, it took me ALL DAY to sort through everything. (When you have five girls you tend to collect a lot of little girl clothes.)

But now everything is just like I want it. Each size has its own bin. And I have a system of rotating the bigger hand-me-downs for Summer and Emily. I can't tell you how good it feels to check this chore off my list.

Slimy, yet satisfying

Yesterday I cooked okra for the first time in my life. And my kids ate it! Amazing. Simply amazing. And I loved it. It was tasty and super-easy to cook. (I just put it in some water and brought the water to a boil. Boiled it for a couple minutes. Drained the water. Seasoned it with salt. And served it to my children.) I was a little worried that my kids would balk at the texture. (Okra is rather slimy.) But they thought it was cool. Now, we have a new go-to veggie in our repertoire.

And I think we'll plant some in our garden this summer. I bet home-grown okra is even better.

Lunch

I'm not a huge salad fan. But I've discovered that it tastes much better if I eat it from a pretty red bowl. :)

I heart hats

One of the many things I discovered in London is that hats are awesome. I don't know if it's a European thing or a London thing, but a lot of women on the tube were wearing hats. It totally makes sense: if you're going to be out and about in the weather you don't want your hair to get messed up. But put a hat on and you're good to go. And they are cute.

But I don't really have any hats. So, I decided to try again with THIS pattern (with a different type of yarn and a couple adjustments to the pattern), and I'm loving my new hat!

Can you even tell that I spent about 2 1/2 seconds styling my hair this morning? (If the answer is yes, please don't tell me.) :)

Invitation idea

I had to share the invitations I made for our primary's baptism preview fireside. I got the idea from one of my friends a few years ago.

I think they turned out really cute. (Although I probably should have scraped the "Ivory" label off the soap.) Oh, well.

The end of our trip to London

Our last day in London was a whirlwind. In the morning we traveled to Camden Market and the British Library (where we saw the Gutenberg bible, Jane Eyre written in Charlotte Bronte's hand, some hand-written scores by Mozart and Beethoven, and lots of other incredible things). On our way back we stopped at Kings Cross Station and visited Platform 9 3/4.

At 5:30pm we met my Mom, Audra, and Aunt Sue at St. Paul's church. (Where one of the scenes from "My Fair Lady" was filmed.)

Then we had a delicious dinner and got to go see the musical "Oliver" at the Theater Royal Drury Lane.

Oliver was AWESOME, and so was the theater. I could just picture a Jane Austen character sitting in one of the boxes. :)

(Image from HERE)

Then we had one more night and a delicious breakfast at our hotel, the Hyde Park Towers.

And that's the end of my London travelogue!

Windsor Castle

When we were planning our itinerary we had to decide between visiting Windsor Castle and Hampton Court. We decided to see Windsor Castle and I'm so glad we did. (Although someday I really, really want to see Hampton Court as well!)

At Windsor you get a great sense of both the past and present-day monarchy. From the outside it looks like a medieval castle, but because it is a current royal residence it still functions in modern times. One of my favorite rooms in the castle was St. George's hall-- the site of formal state dinners held at Windsor. I was also impressed with the amazing art collection. It felt a little like visiting the National Gallery all over again.

On the Windsor property is St. George's chapel. King Henry VIII was buried here with his wife Lady Jane Seymour. Lots and lots of history!!!

After touring Windsor Castle we stopped at a little pub called the "Horse and Groom" for some fish and chips. Yummy, yummy! (Have you ever tried putting vinegar on your fish and chips? So good!)

Big Ben, Parliment, & Westminster Abbey

To see Big Ben and Parliment in pictures is awesome, but in person you really see the intricacies of design. I could sit and stare at them for a long, long time.

We attended the Evensong service at Westminster Abbey and it was one of my favorite experiences. The building itself was so beautiful. And to experience it in a setting of worship was really special. Instead of merely being a museum or a monument to man's achievement and history, it became something higher and holier. I think that buildings like Westminster Abbey can only be fully appreciated in a religious setting. It's there that they fill the measure of their creation.

The British Museum

I think I need to learn a little more about world history to full appreciate the British Museum. There was lots and lots of really old stuff there. REALLY OLD. But even though I didn't quite get into the exhibits it was still fun just being with my family. One of the things that made this trip so special was being able to experience it all with some of my family.

Tower of London, Tower Bridge & Borough Market

Going into the Tower of London felt a little like stepping back in time. I could just imagine it in medieval times when it was the sight of so much passion and intrigue. And it made me really thankful to live in 2010!

We took the Yeoman Warder tour, which definitely lived up to its billing to "entertain with tales from the Tower; pain and passion, treachery and torture, all delivered with a swagger and a smile!" (see HERE for more about the Tower of London.)

(Me standing on London Bridge with the Tower Bridge in the background.)

One of our greatest adventures was going to Borough Market. I have never seen so many food vendors attract so many people!! It was crazy! After wandering around the market for a while we finally settled on getting organic veggie burgers for lunch. They were pretty good, but I kind of wished we had explored the website before we went to get an idea of what all was available. Because pretty much everything is available!

St. Paul's Cathedral

Before going to London I had heard of St. Paul's Cathedral, but I had no idea it was such a magnificent building. As we walked in and around it I couldn't help but say, "Wow. WOW." It is beautiful. And to think that it was built in 1710 and survived the Blitz during World War II. St. Paul's is one of those buildings that I wish could talk and tell us it's own story. It sure would have a story to tell!

These doors, which are 9 meters tall, are only opened on ceremonial occasions (most notably the wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles.)

We climbed the 530 steps to the Golden Gallery and were able to see an incredible panoramic view of London. We were blessed with nice weather our entire trip. It was a bit cold and windy at times, but it didn't rain.

Red is my favorite color

Red is my favorite color. And there is lots and lots of red around London. Their telephone booths, buses, and tube signs are all red. Just one more reason to love London.

Mountbatten Festival of Music

One of the (many) highlights of our trip was going to Royal Albert Hall for the Mountbatten Festival of Music. I've seen high school and college bands perform before and have been impressed. But they are nothing compared to the Royal Navy. I think I watched much of the performance with my jaw dropped. They performed a wide variety of music-- from hymns to big band to movie themes to traditional marches. And the drum line was INCREDIBLE. I took a little video with my camera, but for some reason I can't get it to load. So, click HERE to see a snippet from the 2009 festival. The precision of the drum line will amaze you.

(image from HERE)

(image from HERE)

Trafalgar Square & St. Martin in the Fields

No visit to London is complete without a stop by Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, and St. Martin in the Fields church. These sites just scream "history" to me. One of my favorite things about London is that it is a very modern city that has retained much of it's old-world feel. There are old, historic buildings and monuments everywhere. And for a girl that loves all things old-fashioned, it was heaven.

(Me with one of the famous lions of Trafalgar Square. They really are quite impressive.)

The National Gallery (housed in this awesome building) contains paintings by the most famous artists in the world. Van Gough, Monet, Renoir, Vermeer, and Rembrant (just to name a few) are all shown here. (If you're interested in checking out the 30 highlight paintings in the gallery click HERE. The website also has a listing of the paintings by artist. Click HERE to see their collection.) Seeing all the brilliant works of art made me want to study art history. Going into the museum I knew practially nothing, but I left inspired.

This church is the famous St. Martin-in-the-Fields. We attended a lunch-time concert here that I absolutely adored. (A piano, flute, and clarinet trio.) And ate lunch in the Cafe in the Crypt.

(The interior of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Image found HERE.)

I went to London and saw the Queen

One of our first stops in London was Buckingham Palace. When we got there we noticed that the Windsor flag was flying, which means the Queen is in residence. We watched the changing of the guard and while we were waiting to cross the road in front of the palace we saw the Queen. She drove by in a Range Rover and wasn't more than 20 feet away from us. I'm a fan of Queen Elizabeth II and was thrilled to get to see her. Even if it was just for a couple of seconds. :) And seconds after she drove by the Windsor flag was changed for the Union Jack. We guessed that she was off for Widsor Castle. (Which we visited later in the week.) It was an exciting start to a tremendously exciting vacation.

(Me and Abbi in front of Buckingham Palace.)

(In front of the gates to Buckingham Palace.)

(Me in front of Green Park, right by Buckingham Palace.)

I cannot exagerate what a wonderful time we had in London. It was the perfect trip. We saw most of the major sights, ate super yummy food, attended some excellent concerts and theater productions, and soaked in every single moment.

Stay tuned for more pics!!

Ready to Go

My bags are packed, my house is clean (or at least as clean as it gets with 5 girls and their friends at home on a snow day), and I am just w.a.i.t.i.n.g to go to London. I am so excited I just can't sit still. And I'm not being very productive because I've already "checked out" and am on vacation. David will be home in a couple hours and then it will be time to pack up and head to Abbi's, where we are meeting so we can drive to the airport together. But I feel like a kid on a long road trip. "Are we there yet?!"

I'm ready to go!!!!