Maybe a car was a bad idea?

So - our bad luck with the car continues...Wade went out early Sunday morning to head to his before church meetings and found our car with a busted out window, stolen GPS, and multiple dents down the side. Nice. Yeah, I know...why the heck was the GPS in the car? We're usually pretty vigilant about bringing it with us, but we just forgot this time and viola...this is the result. So, I miss my garage and am mad at London in general today! We're in the process of trying to get in touch with our insurance company and get things ironed out - but they're on US time and only work weekdays! Hopefully the garbage bag/replacement window is keeping out the rain!

The London bus tour from hell...

OK - it wasn't quite that bad, but we left the house with the sun shining, not a cloud in the sky, and ended up having rain, hail, thunder and lightning and wind by the time we were through. Not exactly ideal conditions for a ride around the city in an open-top bus! We decided while mom was here, that a bus tour of the sites was the best way to show her around and see the things we hadn't seen yet. It really is fun - and a great way to see a lot in one day as it takes you by all of the major attractions. You can hop on and off at anything you want to see up close. If only the weather had cooperated! Despite being soaked to the bone and freezing, we did get to see a lot of great sites...We started out happy, excited and DRY!Big Ben and Parliament...you can also see the "London Eye" in the background.Wade trying his best to keep Noah dryParliament and Big Ben again from the Thames Tower Bridge...sorry not the best picture! I was being pelted with hail!Rain's not all bad...it brings rainbows!
At the gates of Buckingham Palace which I have to say wasn't all that impressive, especially when it's raining. My kids looked thrilled, don't they?

Poor Drew was done with this idea by the end!

The London Temple

While my mom was here for a visit earlier this month, we made a trip out to see the London LDS Temple. It's about and hour away from us - out in the countryside. Wade actually works out of a different office 1-2 days each week that is only a few minutes away from the temple. So we decided to meet Wade out there one of those days and take a look around. FYI: for those of you who aren't LDS, and are wondering what the heck a temple is...here's a link: http://www.lds.org/temples/faq/0,11264,1904-1,00.html


I was amazed by the extent of the grounds! The temple itself was relatively small, but it was set in an expansive park like setting. They also have a visitors center and buildings full of rooms that can be reserved for the night if you need somewhere to stay. Very cool and different than any temple I've seen before. I should've taken more pictures of the grounds and not so many of my kids, but here's what I've got!

What do your kids sleep with each night?

A lot of kids have an attachment to something special they like to sleep with each night. Drew has the infamous "Jarry", a little lamb that he latched onto at about 3 months old. Addie has her "thumbie" a little pink bunny blanket thing, but lately she's been changing it up a bit. Now she goes to bed with any number of strange and not usually traditionally comforting items. This is what she had a few nights ago.

1. 2 combs
2. 1 plastic frying pan
3. 4 rocks
4. a swatch of the fabric I'm using for couch throw pillows
5. 1 transformer (hiding under the fabric)
6. 1 wooden snake
7. 1 bag of foam curlers

What can I say...the kid is weird...especially when it comes to sleeping. Look how we found her a few nights later...

Noah

I just have a bunch of pics that I want to post of my sweet Noah. I just love the kid! For my own benefit...at 10 1/2 months, Noah is about 21 pounds, crawls and pulls up to everything, but still isn't standing or walking (yea!). He continues to be the most low key of the three kids. He loves to "help" me load and unload the dishwasher or watch the washing machine spin. Otherwise you can usually find him playing with some kind of a wheel...on the stroller, one of the kids toys, Addie's scooter, etc. Noah still isn't a big fan of the bottle or any kind of baby food, which keeps us joined at the hip, but is starting to actually eat some of the food I put on his tray rather than just play with it. I'm hoping by the time he's 12 months he'll be eating enough table food that I can wean him and he won't starve! Anyway - I love his little guts and that he's not in as much of a hurry to grow up as the other two were at this age. Still - he's growing up way too fast for me!

Kew Gardens

One of our favorite new places here is Kew Gardens. It's only a 10-15 minute drive if the traffic is reasonable and it's beautiful - and huge! We've been there twice and haven't even come close to seeing it all. Here are some pictures...

We went once while mom was here for a visit...Addie took this picture!

There 's a great garden themed indoor playground too - great for rainy London afternoons which we have a few of!