Zane: 1st day of 2nd grade

Here are some pics from Zane's first day of 2nd grade. We got there a bit early so the boys could play on the playground (and hopefully run off some energy so he won't get in trouble on his 1st day). He had to pose to show off his new OSU backpack and insisted on pushing Logan up to the lines. There he met his new teacher, Mrs. Ng, and head off to his classroom. I can't believe he is growing up so fast!!! Let's hope he has a great year!!

London: Day 3

Our last day in London was a short one, so we just left one big attraction for that day. We got up early, loaded our luggage on the bus, hit Starbucks and headed off for St. Paul's Cathedral. It is amazing and none of my pic do it justice. I couldn't even manage to get a pic of all of it from the outside. It is just too big. The dome is amazing. It is very tall and beautifully painted, but I was most impressed by all of the mosaics depicting Biblical scenes. They are made of millions of little pieces, but done so well that they look like paintings!!! Talk about artistry and craftmanship!!! We climbed up the 5oo some odd steps to the top of the dome and checked out the city from there. It is by far the best view of the entire city. Once we come down (completely worn out!!) we caught the tube to Picadilly Circus to find where we would catch the bus. After securing our location, thanks to a friendly local, we found a tavern to have lunch in. Our British friends made us promise to eat "real" English fare before leaving London. It wasn't open quite yet, so we hung out in the Rainforest Cafe for a bit and then hit the tavern for lunch. I ordered fish and chips as instructed and Jer had bangers and mash (Irish sausage and potatoes). The food was very good, but I'm not sure my arteries will ever be the same!!! After that we loaded up on the bus for a very long ride home, but it was well worth the trip!!!

London: Day 2 (afternoon/evening)

OK, so I am determined to get caught up on this blog and stay that way (we'll see). So, back to London. After our morning in the Tower we grabbed some lunch and then checked out some more sites. As we were crossing the Tower Bridge we took the tour. It started on one side of the river, went up 300 some odd steps, checked out the sites from the top and came down on the other side. From there you can go down below the bridge and check out the machinery used to raise the lower (road) level when they need to let bigger ships pass through. It is very impressive and massive machinery!!! From there we strolled up the wharf and crossed back across the Thames on the London Bridge. We checked out The Memorial that was built to remember the great fire of London that destroyed much of the city. From there we strolled a bit, crossed the Thames again and went to see Shakespeare's Globe theater. It is not the original theater, but is an exact replica built not far from where the original stood. The tour was very interesting, as was watching the workers prepare for a performance they were having that evening (which unfortunately was sold out). They wanted the recreation to be as close to the original as possible, so it is held together with 12,000 wooden pegs, has the thatched roof (with sprinklers for safety) and walls made of mud and goat hair. The original floor was made of crushed acorns, but too many people were allergic, so they replaced it with cement. It amazed me to learn that originally it cost only 1 cent to stand in front of the stage, 2 cents to sit in the seating and 3 cents to sit in the box seats (the beautifully painted boxes at the front surrounding the stage). It didn't make sense to me that the most expensive seats had the worst views, but evidently the people who sat there came to be seen, no to see. From there we strolled the wharf some more, then got ready and had a nice dinner out. Very good Italian food and some fabulous tiramisu!!!

London: Day 2 (morning)

We started off day 2 of our trip having a very nice "English country breakfast" in our room over looking the river. Then it was straight to Starbucks (we were ridiculously thrilled to see one, or 10) for fuel for the day and walked under the Tower Bridge to get to our first stop of the day. We arrived at the tower early so I took advantage of the time to peruse the gift shop, where we got Zane a sword and shield that you can decorate with Edwards crest (or the OSU brand) and Logie a plastic axe (because that is what all 2 year-olds nicknamed BamBam need). I got a decent pic of some of Henry VIII's armor here (he seemed a bit obsessed with protecting the royal family jewels!!! We spent the rest of the morning in the Tower of London (over 3 hours!!). It is not one tower, but many towers actually. They had an audio tour so that you could go at your own pace, which I have found to be what I prefer. We started out in King Edwards tower, where they recreated his bedroom as he would have had it in his time. From there we went to his father's tower where you can see where Henry VI died in the chapel there. His official death record says he died of melancholy, but I've never known melancholy to give you a bleeding stab wound??? The next pic is of the White Tower, which we toured last. They had a very cool exhibit going on there called "Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill". It was all about how he hired the first smiths to make armor (for him and his horses). It was all amazingly detailed (and of course they would not let us take pics of it). From the 2nd tower we went to one of the many towers were prisoners were kept. You can see where many of them carved their names and dates of imprisonment (among other things) in the walls. From here we went into a tower that they used for defense and got to see (play with) some of the weapons and armor from their day. There was a sheet of chain mail that I picked up that amazed me. I don't see how anyone could wear a full shirt of it and stay upright!! From there we went to the Jewel House, where they actually keep the family jewels (there was a diamond the size of an XL egg and many more not much smaller, but the wouldn't let us take pics of course) behind doors that are more than 2ft. thick. I didn't want to embarrass Jeremy, so I refrained from messing with the guard, but it took alot of self control. After the Jewel House we went to the courtyard where the Governor's House (the man who oversees the running of the towers) is located. If there were important or sick prisoners they often had to stay in his house with him and his family. Across the way is a monument built on the spot were many of the executions took place. You can see of the writing that Anne Boelyn was one of the lucky ones executed here. From there we went into the Beauchamp and Bloody Towers were many of the prisoners were kept. There were many carvings on the walls and a display telling about many of the notable figures that were imprisoned and executed there. It was very interesting, but also very disturbing to hear what very little it took to get yourself imprisoned there. It was altogether very fascinating and something anyone going to London should see, if you have 3-4 spare hours!!

London: Day 1

Hey all, sorry it has been so long since I have blogged. I am a slacker. These pics are from the first day of our London trip. Jeremy and I went for our anniversary and actually got to go by ourselves. Our good friends John and Vikki kept the kids. We had to be on SHAPE that morning by 0615 to board our tour bus. We traveled by bus about 2 1/2 hours to Calais where we boarded a ferry to England. The ferry ride was 90 min. and gave us a chance to eat and shop while on board. The ferry docked in Dover, so we got to see the White Cliffs of Dover and the Dover Castle above them. From there it was another 2 hours to London, on the wrong side of the road!! I almost got ran over countless times because I was looking the wrong direction for oncoming traffic! We left from the hotel and went to try our luck at using the tube (subway). It was amazingly easy and we quickly found our way to Picadilly Circus to pick up our London Passes. From there we wandered on foot for a bit and checked out some monuments and located Scotland Yard on our way to Buckingham Palace. We did not tour the palace because of a lack of time, but the gates and fountain out front are beautiful. From there we made our way over to Westminster Abbey. They will not let you take pictures from the inside, but it was amazing (and my favorite). It blew my mind to think of all of the people buried inside those walls. There was an audio tour that was very interesting. The monks that originally ran it attended 7 church services each day (one in the middle of the night for a couple of hours and one monk had the job of making sure that the others stayed awake!!) From there we wandered about a bit, checking out Big Ben, the Eye (the big ferris wheel that we were told not to ride!!) and the House of Parliment. After that it was back to the tube to head to the hotel to change for the show that evening. Thankfully the tube was only about 2 blocks from the hotel and 1 block from the theater because I did not make the best footwear choice for dressing up for the show. Jer and I had forgotten to eat lunch and didn't have time for dinner, so we grabbed a quick appetizer at a restaurant across from the theater. We went from there to the Apollo Victoria Theater to attend a production of Wicked. I told Jer that this is what I wanted to do for our anniversary and he reluctantly agreed. In the end though he thought the show was fantastic!!!! The last pic is of the stage before the show began because you cannot take photos during the performance. The actors were great and it was a wonderful evening.