"Portobello Road, Portobello Road" - sung not spoken.

When I was a little girl I saw the movie "Bed knobs and Broomsticks," from that time forward I knew I had to see Portobello Road. When we moved here, the first thing I wanted to do on a Saturday was visit this historic treasure. I had visions of my childhood dream coming true, it did, but alas not as I had imagined. My reality was more like......a child on her scooter screaming and getting pushed around, a child on Hubby's back screaming and getting bumped into, and us getting the heck out of there ASAP. Bummer. Big bummer. This time when I went it was child free and it was AWESOME. Portobello Road is the largest antique market in the UK. I bought a cool 1900's-ish pendent to put on a necklace. Love it! Gucci and Great had a good time meandering through the crowds, checking out the stuff, and enjoying one fantastic German frankfurter. Mmmm.

This one is for you Cynthia. There is a shop here that has antique sewing machines all over for their decor. The minute I saw this I knew that mom's cousin Cynthia would love this shop, not for the clothes, but for the decor.

Crowds and crowds of people come squishing and squeezing around looking for neat-O collectibles and antiques. The weather was raining the whole time we were there and the place was still packed, imagine what it is like on a nice day!

One of the perks of Portobello Road has got to be the live musicians. My brother Tyler the hippie musician extraordinaire would go ga ga for this place. Love, love, love it.

We skipped out of Portobello Road and met John and the piggies at the Tower of London for a bit of history. Gucci originally stepped up to the chopping block backwards, I asked her if she wanted her butt chopped off? She didn't. I would have. After a little coaching as to the proper way to get her head chopped off Gucci positioned up for the picture. Perfect.

Little Miss Thang posing by the Tower Bridge. It is rumoured that when the US bought the London Bridge they actually thought that they were purchasing Tower Bridge. Ooops!

Tower of London built by William the Conqueror when he conquered England and became the first Norman King.

4 generations if you are including the camera lady :)

I LOVE this chapel inside of the White Tower. I think that the white rock, archways, and the simplicity of this chapel is breath taking. I was completely mesmerised by it's beauty.

This child's suit of armour is what my Blue One needs to keep him from dying before the age of 18. The large suit of armour holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest armour in the world. This armour was made for a man who was 6'8" tall. He was one big dude.

When London had it's great fire almost all of the original Tudor wood burned down. This Tudor wood at the tower of London is one of the only originals remaining in London. This particular building is occupied by the constable of the tower and is where certain prisoners have been detained. In WWI 11 men were tried in private and shot by firing squad for espionage. In WWII Hitler's Deputy, Rudolf Hess was detained here for 4 days. He was the last person to be held at the tower.

After seeing all of the armour and the crown jewels we headed home for a special dinner invitation at Hugh and Mary's son Lee and DIL Philomel's home. Phil is amazing, we met each other at Hugh and Mary's Sunday when they had us over for dinner.

There are some people that you connect with so quickly that you wonder if you knew each other before you met. When John and I bought our house in Bountiful our neighbour across the street from us saw me out in the front yard, marched across the street, threw her arms around me, and said "My name is Red." The connection was instant. I have felt the same with Hugh and Mary. Hugh is from Scotland and does the best American accent ;) Mary is from the UK and has the best laugh in the world and has spoiled us evil with her amazing baking.

Hugh had jumped online before the dinner to find out more about Utahn's. He and Mary told us that Jello in the UK is called jelly and wanted to know what kind I liked. I love that Utah is associated with Jello :) Phil chatted with her brother about having Utahn's over for dinner, he told her that he had a friend from Utah and that we don't drink anything with a stimulant in it like coffee or tea. Phil already knew that we didn't drink alcohol from our dinner at Hugh and Mary's so she had a lovely sparkling fruit drink for us. Phil asked me if we were Mormon's and if that was why we didn't drink, I told her yes. Dinner was carrot and coriander soup (coriander is cilantro), salad, chicken and veggies with maize, and Mary's chocolate cake with cream and the most amazing peaches and cream toffee tarts EVER. Dinner was amazing and the company was wonderful.

All in all it was a busy but very fun day.

A Little Shopping and a Little Disco

Doesn't my 80 year old grandma look like she belongs in a cafe in Paris? Honestly, the woman is a Rock Star!

The 3 of us headed in to Covent Garden's for a little shopping and a bite of lunch. We settled into a literal "hole in the wall" restaurant where they serve crepe's. Best I have ever had. We all ordered a savoury crepe and a sweet crepe and we smacked our lips with delight as we munched away.

The Blue One has burrowed himself into his "Linus" (the name I have lovingly given his blanket) to avoid the cold and refrain from pulling my hair out.

I almost bought a set of these rings. Okay, that's a total lie, seriously though, who wears these? Gucci found a way it could come in handy. Maybe I do need one?, just for emergencies though.

We finished up our shopping and headed back home to pick the Pink One up from her Valentine's Disco.

5 tell tale signs that the Pink One has had a good time at the disco:

1- her hair that was once in a beautiful bun on top of her head is now in a pony tail.

2- the sequins on the front of her dress are now missing.

3- the pink ruffles have 2 distinct grey spots where knees would be.

4- she is sweaty from head to toe.

5- when asked what she did at the dance she reports that she performed 2 dance moves, twirls and the worm. The worm explains the grey spots on the knees.

The Pink One loved the disco, and I was pleased that she had a good time.

I really do love this piggy. I met with her teacher at the school for PT conferences, she told me that the Pink One is advanced in her academics and is advanced in her social skills as well as having perfect manners. She told me that she knows the right times to tattle, ask questions, and share information. The teacher also told me that she has great empathy, and that she incorporates all of the kids in her play. I was VERY proud. She said that the Pink One is advanced in her writing, reading, shares beautifully, and that she has great creativity. She also said that ALL the kids LOVE her American accent and that kids in the older grades who don't even know her know of her and know her name. That explains why the older boys are hugging on her, which I brought up with the teacher :) I am very hard on the Pink One at times, but it is only because I know what she can be, pretty typical mom. It is always nice as a parent to hear that your child is doing a good job at school and that the teacher and students enjoy her. Love you squishy pink thing.

Valentine's Day

When Gucci and Great arrived they came bearing gifts, which we loved. Who wouldn't right? Among the gifts that were brought with them was a gift from the Pink One's "special friend" Thomas. Thomas is so cute you could simply eat him up. The Pink One was thrilled to receive a special Valentine from him, including his picture.....*snicker-snicker*

Thomas gave the Pink One something that every girl dreams about having......removed. Seriously, almost every girl I know wants her brows waxed, her nose perfected, and laser eye surgery to rid herself of glasses. I laughed myself silly, what else would a boy pick out? The Pink One loved them and I got a good side ache out of it.

Thomas also sent plenty of sweeties and trinkets to keep her entertained for hours. Thanks Thomas for thinking of your "special friend" across the sea.

The Hubby cooked us ladies a most delicious Valentine's Day dinner of salmon, bangers, asparagus, Elder flower soda, shrimp, cheese trays with salami, and cheesy potatoes with rashers. Seriously amazing.

Hubby out did himself and bought us girlies a very posh cake that cost WAY too much money. I personally think he is nuts, but apparently I am worth a very posh cake so I won't argue it :) The Pink One was given her own posh cupcake, which she loved.

Hubby bought a me a beautiful bouquet of lilly's and roses.

Posing with the Hubby and my very posh cake and flowers.

The Valentine festivities topped off with a 15 year tradition of him giving me a new watch. The new Baby G was super cute in the colours of pink and purple. But....... since I just had a pink one a couple years ago it is being exchanged for a yellow, orange, or lime one. I gave the hubby some cuff links which he has started collecting. All tokens of love aside, I am completely blessed to have an AWESOME hubby. I think we are lucky and rare that we have a completely honest and open relationship, neither of us are perfect, but we are always working together. Thanks Hubby for spoiling me evil for 15 years.

They're Here

After months of eager anticipation......THEY'RE HERE! Gucci and Great arrived and spent the first day doing exactly what we expected, resting. It was so much fun to see their cute little faces walk through the door and give us all a big squeeze. I am blessed with an amazing mom and the most freakishly fantastic grandmother in the world. Sunday evening we went over to neighbour Hugh and Mary's home for dinner, it was a lot of fun to introduce my family to them and to mingle and munch.

It is true that day 1 was restful, but, I wasn't going to allow that to be our continued pace. Days 2 and 3 were spent in Bromley at a store called Primark where we chatted, we ate, and we shopped. Perfection. On day 4 we finally ventured into London central and thus the "tourist" London began.

Buckingham Palace

Victoria Monument

Buckingham from a distance.

Random pelican sitting on a bench at St. James Park. Had to pet it :)

All the single ladies, all the single ladies.

Changing of the Guard on horseback.

All the single ladies, all the single ladies.

Gucci and Great LOVED Westminster Abbey and were able to get a play by play of where the wedding would take place, where the bride would enter, the groom, where the families would sit, etc... This was a highlight for them, along with seeing the Coronation Chair.

Hullo?

In all his glory.

Beheading on the Thames.....dum dum dum.

No sooner had we seen the sights than it was time to race back to Chelsfield to pick the Pink One up from school. I think we were all happy to be heading home for much needed rest and some quality time with the piggies. All in all it was a very productive and successful first "tourist" day in London.

Super Bowl

Every year for as long as I can remember, Great's Super Bowl party has been catered by KFC. This year was no different. I mean, we watched the game on Monday, but the catering was the same. To go along with the KFC, I made some homemade salsa and took it over to share and burn the tongues off of our neighbour's Hugh and Mary. Hugh is from Scotland, Mary is from England and together they are my 2 most favourite people in the UK. Of course I had to stay and chat with them about our American football traditions, which also got me out of having to watch a vast majority of the boring parts of the game. Much to my pleasure, I returned home in time for the half-time show (which apart from the commercials is the best part). My visit with Hugh and Mary landed us a dinner invitation for Sunday while Gucci and Great were to be visiting, and our first invitation to a neighbours home.

KFC is a little different here, you have different side selections. We went with the corn, coleslaw, and chips.

The Pink One actually ate, and ate very well.

Hubby super stoked to watch the game.

Me super happy to have not prepared a meal.

I must say that I am not the best mom in the world, not even close, but my kids think I am funny. That's better than nothing.

I know that the Packers won, but I couldn't tell you the score. I could however, recall the half time show in its entirety :) Yet once again, I am grateful for a husband who doesn't care if I am by his side during the game, but more or less just popping in and out for the half-time show. Our little KFC Superbowl wasn't much, but it was a little piece of home, and home was good.

Oh No You Didn't! (said with attitude)

Everyday when I pick the Pink One up from school I asked a series of questions: How was school? What did you learn today? What did you eat for school dinners? and Did you make any new friends? Simple right? Well, the answers are usually as follows: Good. I don't know. Pudding that tasted like animals skins. Yeah, but I can't remember their names. This lack lustre description of school has led me to believe that A- she lacks any excitement about school. B- She has a terrible memory. C- She obviously isn't eating her veggies. D- She doesn't have any friends. The conversation usually ends there and isn't readdressed until the next day when the line of questioning is the exact same as the day before.

Yesterday my eyes were opened to what is really going on at school. After picking the pink One up, asking the typical questions, receiving the typical answers, we turned and headed down the walkway for home. All of a sudden and out of the blue a boy at least 1-2 grades older than her yells her name, comes running up to her with a big old smile on his face, she blushes and gives him a big fat illegal in our home HUG! His mom who is walking behind smiles and says "oh, Bless!" I on the other hand blush 8 shades of red and feel like I am going to pass out right there on the spot. The Pink One then says her fond farewells and starts to walk along. I'm too shocked to speak and am still feeling a bit flushed and faint. But fear not, another lad 1-2 years older sees her coming and starts to race her. She is laughing with him as he smiles at her and the pair of them race the whole rest of the way home until she yells out her goodbyes and he smiles and waves away. *gasp* Catch me someone because I am going down. I have never EVER been so shocked. My child who doesn't remember any names is fraternising. Nooooooo! The boys are totally into her. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap.

When I finally regained my composure we readdressed the issue of no kissing until you are in College and no getting married until you are 25 and have graduated from College. She smiled and acted like she was listening and would obey, but this little coquette is going to be a thorn in my side from now until she is safely married at 25. I am buying a baseball bat and a set of stick on tattoo's to scare away all the boys who come calling at our house. In the meantime, prayers, loads of prayers.

Cyprus

Saturday was a "blah" day. Picture something that resembles rainy, windy, grey, and cold. Can you can see how it would be "blah?" We needed a little pick me up so we decided to head to the high street and check out a new take away fish and chip shop. Hubby stayed in the car with the piggies while I ran in to get our sweet delicious fried fishy goodness. I approached the counter, placed my order to a youngish fellow, who with a smirk on his face told an older fellow what I wanted. Okay, okay, I know that I scream American and to some people I am a novelty here, but I could sense that in this chippery a was a big novelty. At this particular shop they cook the fish fresh for you so you have a wee bit of a wait. As I was waiting I was looking at a picture on the wall in the shop of these fish all over the deck of a fishing vessel and hanging all over the nets. I noticed that the fish looked a lot like little sharks so I asked the older guy what kind of fish they were. He told me through a thick non-British accent that they called Rock and were in fact relatives of the shark family.

At this point in time he wanted to know where I was from and then he told me about himself. Fear not it was the older fellow so there was no ulterior motive. This fellow is from Cyprus, he came here to the UK in the 70's when he was a lad to find work and to go to school. At this time Cyprus became deeply rooted in civil war. Cyprus is the home to 3 main peoples, those from Greece, Turkey, and the UK (whom they were given independence from). In the 1960's/1970's Greek gangs formed and started trying to take over the Turkish part of Cyprus. The Turkish people retaliated which lead to the backing of Greece on one side and Turkey on the other. Things escalated to a raging civil war in Cyprus which is still continuing to this day! Cyprus has been divided in 2 with Turkey on one half and Greece occupying the other. I was shocked. You hear about civil war in Africa and the Middle East, but I had no idea that this was taking place in Cyprus. To be honest, I didn't really know that much about Cyprus other than the fact that both my parents went to Cyprus High School in Magna Utah :)

The younger fellow chimed in telling me that they always go to Cyprus at least once a year but recently talked "dad" into going to NY. He loved it. Since then, dad has loved Americans. I told them that I liked it in the UK but was accustomed to a more desert like climate. The son told me to turn around, look out the window, and that is what I would be seeing all year round with the exception of about 2 weeks in June. He told me that for those 2 weeks in June practically every person in the UK comes out wearing nothing. I am now imagining the pasty whiteness of 11.5 months of zero sunshine and then CA-BOOM practically nothing? *shudder* Gross. Our conversation of about 20minutes ended with me getting a discount and heading out the door feeling yet once again so grateful for the blessed life I have had.

I must say that this is the part of my adventure in the UK that I love the most. I have met amazing people from all over the world. I have met people from South Africa, the Caribbean, Russia, Scotland, Canada, Chile, and of course the UK and US. I love chatting with people and learning about their lives, cultures, and what has brought them here. Very cool. From now on I am thinking that I will have to patronise this particular chippery. I loved the fish, but more than that I am a fiercely loyal customer, and since they gave me a history lesson and a discount I will return!

Kippy Fun

I loved teaching Junior High School. I know mentally ill right? But it is true. I loved the kids, I loved the people I worked with, and most importantly I loved what I taught. One of the benefits of working at a job you love, with people you love, is the friendships that you make. One such friendship was formed with Julie. Julie and I both worked at the Junior High school for the 6 years I was there, and I had the privilege of teaching 2 of her awesome kids. Jess who I taught first is now married with 2 piggies of her own, and Cody who I taught 2nd is on his mission in Paris.

Julie and Lionel were able to pick Elder Kipp up from Paris and decided to visit London before collecting their son. Lucky for them, they had the privilege of staying at our 2 star, relatively noisy, bed and slightly stale donut breakfast. We were thrilled. My kids were so excited to have "guest-uh's" as the Pink One called them that they literally crashed for 2 days after the guests had left. Seeing my kids so starved for attention (for someone other than myself) made me feel a bit bad about what we had left behind, but I know that our adventure is for the best.

On day 1 I took Julie and Lionel around the London sights: Big Ben, Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace, Victorian Monument, St. James Park, Changing of the Guard on horseback at Parliament, Covent Garden's, and Trafalgar Square. I took them to my favourite Fish and Chip shop and had an interesting encounter with what Lionel described as a guy who looked like he was from "Diagon Alley!" The strange man bummed a chip off me and then asked if I had more salt and vinegar. Nope. I smiled and encouraged him to get on his way. We hurried back to pick Addie up from school. On day 2 we headed for the coast and Bodiam Castle. Adessa called home from school "sick," but really I knew she didn't want to miss out on the fun. We picked her up and headed off to the country. I don't think Julie will EVER recover from my driving. EVER. The kids thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with the Kipp's on the coast. Lionel and Julie have 5 grand kids which qualified them to be awesome surrogate "Nanny's and Granddad's" to my piggies. The adopted relatives collected shells with the kids on the beach and since the tide was low we were able to head to the nicer sandy part of the beach. On day 3 it was time to return the Kipp's to the train station to get back on the Euro Star and pick up Elder Kipp from Paris. We walked from my house to the train station, I got them pointed in the proper direction to get to St. Pancras Intl. station, I gave my hugs, I shed a few tears, and I said good bye. It is always sad to say goodbye when you have friends come and stay. I am doing fine, but loneliness hits much harder when company leaves.

Day 2 we tried going to "The Five Bells" for dinner. We had heard that it is an awesome pub, but when we went in we found out that they don't serve dinner on Tuesday's. We left "The Five Bells" and headed for the "Bo Peep" 1500 Circa. The "Bo Peep" didn't serve dinner until 6:00 and it was 5:25, so we headed up Orpington High Street to a pub there. We went into the Pub and they don't serve children after 6:00 and it was now 5:55 so we left. Frustrated, hungry, and impatient we settled for a hole in the wall diner that served fish and chips, bangers and mash, steak and kidney pie, mushy pea's, basically all of the UK staples. The food was good, but the company was great. Being that Julie is a former RS Pres. we thought it was funny taking her picture outside of a Pub. Pubs here are really like restaurants that serve loads of alcohol, but it was still funny.

Thanks Kippy parentals for joining us, chatting, enduring my kids, my driving, my cooking, my incessant chattering, my tiny house, and our very different way of getting around in the UK. We loved the visit and are glad you were able to see London.

The Flash

The DC comic super hero "The Flash" is known for his super speed, super reflexes, and ability to violate the laws of physics. He has nothing on the Blue One. Scoff, scorn, and mock me, but it is true. Nicknamed "Wild Bill" in the NICU, the Blue One has proven to appear out of nowhere, scale dressers, beds, cupboards, and when the frequent injury occurs he merely wanders off bleeding or bruised, but usually without tears. I don't profess to be the best mom in the world, deficient is an understatement, but I try. I try really hard. The Blue One would have been a perfect Spartan boy. The Spartans would take their sons out of the home at the age of 7 and put them in military training until they were 18 where they would then transition into the army as a trained killing machine. Their strength, speed, and skill were unbeatable, you were 1st a Spartan, second a person. Well, the Blue One would have thrived in this rough and tumble society. Instead, he is stuck at home with a crazy mom trying to tame him. Exhausting.

Look at that face with those Hippo teeth. Sweet right? I love him to bits and pieces. Just yesterday I left the room to get my phone that was ringing. When I re-entered the room there he was with a palate knife in his hand and a look on his face that said "Oh CRAP!" I looked over and this is what I saw.......scroll down.

I know, I know, who would be dumb enough to leave out a palate knife? I can assure you I am not. This is where his "Flash" like ability to violate the laws of physics come into play, because I still have no idea where the dang thing came from. That would be my ottoman, scratched and scraped all over. Aaaagh! The scene was something like this: me purple faced and screaming "Blue One!!!" Seconds, it took seconds and he had done that much damage. A few days later we encountered this incident.......scroll down.

The Blue One is barging in on the Pink One while she is trying to potty, she hollers at me "Maaaa-om, he has a shaver." I run to snatch the thing out of his hand for literally the 100th time, producing it again from nowhere. What I see is a ring of blood around his mouth which is about to drip a big dark drop on the carpet. I grab him, he is smiling at me, snatch the thing out of his mouth, and try to wipe the blood off before it gets everywhere. I grab my phone to document it for dad since I can see everything is fine, and the toad starts to cry because I am wiping his face off. He had 3 little razor cuts on his lip, was bleeding profusely, but only gets mad and cries when I try to wipe the blood off. The little stinker. I am thinking that prayers are going to be the only thing to keep this one alive. Love him, but seriously!

Parenting is hard. Soooo hard. You don't want to stifle your piggies natures, but you also don't want them beating up other kids on the play ground. I am going to try to channel the Blue One's "Flash" like skills to be awesome instead of lethal, a work in progress I am afraid. Based on the many comments we have received at church I am not sure if England is ready for "Wild Bill," but ready or not....here he is.