Our trip outside of London

We left London and proceed up to Gratham to see some friends, stop there for dinner (fish & chips) and met up with Jan and Nigel Dann who drove us all around for the remainder of our visit! I have no photos of the Boones (Emma and Will--he was Kenneth's last companion) and their cute little twins....but we had a great time with them that evening. Bright and Early the next day we drove out to Chatsworth House. You'll have to google it for great photos because as we drove up it was covered all up on the outside for cleaning!!! But it was beautiful anyway, I love Derbyshire I could move in a minute!

The veiled lady, craved out of marble, and you can see through the "veil" and see her face, and yet it is all out of marble. AMAZING--probably on of the most stunning things in Chatsworth House.

I just loved the shape of this desk and chair!

Tried to get the stair case didn't quite work too well

Can you imagine this as your house! People still live there!

Long hallway in Chatsworth.

Dinning Room

They have a marble hall full of cravings in marble. If you have seen Pride and Predjuice (the Kera Knightly version) this is where they filmed Mr. Darcy's house!

Gardens were AMAZING!

Check out that tree.

Jan and I by some HUGE leaves.

We left Chatsworth and met up with the Gregsons! Our dear friends from Wymount Days!
This is Karen and Spence, she knew him when he was 2!

Saul and Mani Gregson! I knew them as little babies, they've grown up so much!

Our last day, leaving Lincoln (my 2nd area of my mission). Jan, Jared, Spencer and I out front of their house. We did drive around Lincoln, but it rained a lot when we did, so there aren't any photos. We had a blast and I want to go back ASAP!

London

Big Ben!!!

The London Eye, so regret not going here. We went to Kensington Palace instead, the one regret of the trip!

We had to take a photo of the "old" double deckers. We did ride one but it was an newer one but we got up on top and right up front!

M&M'S world was 4 levels of AWESOMENESS! We loved it, if only the T-shirts weren't so dang pricey we would have bought some for everyone. They were super cute!

Big Ben, Parliament!

Disney Store

Lego Darth Vader, all LEGO!

Angry Birds!

Spencer bought one of these bears as his "big" purchase! Hamely's is famous for their bears!

Olympic Countdown

Queen Victoria Monument right outside of Buckingham Palace.

We found it! Unfortunately the market is only on the weekend!!

Hyde Park Chapel! right in the heart of London!

Tower of London, if they ever said "Off with their head" it was usually done here! This is also where the Crown Jewels are kept. You can't take photos of those, but they are so worth the trip! AMAZING-we loved the Tower. Can't wait to go again!

Hampton Court Palace! Home of King Henry VIII. So beautiful down there in Surrey, well worth the 30 mins train ride from Waterloo Station.

Hampton Court

Spencer sitting where King Henry would have sat for a feast!

Gardens at Hampton Court were amazing!

It's Been a While..Summer 2011

--For some reason photos are taking forever to post so I'll do another post about England later today---

I haven't posted anything on the blog for ages now. Time when Mother was here went by so fast and we did so much. Then summer hit which to be honest was quite a slow summer. The sun came out a few days and we really didn't do much until the end of July. We went on the branch temple trip to Stockholm. We spent a week at the temple, and we really didn't leave the temple at all. There is housing there for families and that's where we stayed. The kids had fun just hanging out with cousins and friends. The youth went to the temple 2 times a day and Kenneth and I switched off mornings and afternoons.

After that Spencer and I headed off to England for a week. That was so fun, as you can see from the photos! Now we're back into school and schedules so maybe there will be more updates as we go along!

Was so great we loved it! Especially seeing it in London!

Golden Coach at the Royal Mews, very worth the visit!

Had to take this photo for the Bonds!

Spencer by Tower Bridge

William loved the swing at the little playground!

All the primary age children at the temple trip!

Mia on the teeter-todder with cousins!

Back to Reality

My mother has been here for the last 4 weeks! We've had such a glorious time. We've ran away to Denmark for a weekend, driving all around Stavanger and introduced my mother to the wonders of living right by the ocean. The weather could have been more accomidating, but that did stop us from having a fantastic time, or stop my mother from becoming best friends with a lady in her favorite shop! After much chocolate was consumed it is time to get back to reality. Mom is flying over Stavanger as I type on her way to a short stop in Heathrow then onto Calgary. I think Dad will be ever so glad to have her home, but we will miss her greatly over here. Everyone should have a mother like mine, one to come and clean your garage, upstairs, do ironing, laundry and still play match and do puzzles with the children. Sit up and tell funny stories for the grandchildren of life when "she was young" you know the "olden days". We have so many photos I don't know what to upload for you, here are a few to enjoy!

The Queen Mary 2, HUGE Cruise ship!

Mia loves to clean! Grandma was always busy cleaning around the house Mia joined in!

Mia on the 17th of May.

William is NOT giving up Grandma's drink!

After church on Sunday, Spencer's 2nd of passing the sacrament. William is asleep when this photo was taken.

Waking up as we leave from church.

Tuba Man

Grandma is here! HOORAY and yes the plane was able to take off even with all her luggage! We are so excited to have her here. So come and take a peak every now and then and see what adventures we will be up to!

Espen has joined the school "marching band" of sorts. He is going to play the Tuba!

He was at school from 10-2 on Saturday learning how to play his Tuba! They had a little concert for parents as well. It was so fun to watch those cheeks puff out when it was time to play!

So proud!

Puffy Cheeks!