Carrie came to visit! Hooray! It was short, but sweet. She brought along her friend, Jessica, who was an excellent guest and child entertainer! We went into London on Friday night in the late afternoon, hopped a double-decker citybus from Oxford Circus through Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, and got off near Parliament. Strolled back past Buckingham Palace, where we hopped a black cab to the restaurant. We met up with cousin Laura and my friend and ex-coworker, Jenn (in London for work) for a nice girl's night out.
It was so nice to visit with my big sister-- I missed her terribly. The boys did as well and it was so nice to see her spend some QT with them. That said, it made me miss Graham and William loads. Bryce and Ellis are going to have a blast with them in August when we get back.
Once again, I am so far behind in the blog so I will let the photos speak for themselves. There are lots!
Big hugs on the River Cam. The day they arrived we took an afternoon stroll along the river.
Popped into Sidney Sussex College for a peek
I waited outside with the buggy. That door was made before the dawn of the pram.
Restricted view
We stopped in Westcott House, a Church of England theological college. It was just as pretty as all the other Cambridge colleges, but not related to the university.
Also popped into Jesus College, which I've documented previously. The cows were on Midsummer Common so every time we walked into town we got to see them chowing down on the grass. We also got to play Dodge-the-cowpat.
Oooh, pretty flowers!
Punting!
Wacky kayaker trying to fit into the little hole in the building
Under the willows
St. John's College
St. John's College Chapel
On the double decker bus in London
Carrie was reprimanded for not looking excited enough, so here is take #2
Saw this in a public toilet and did not have a "Why didn't I think of that?" moment.
Ben
The London Eye
Parliament
Carrie trying to master the art of photography with the iphone
Happy sisters!
Side view of the Eye
Buckingham Palace
Carrie's fancy sea bass. Thankfully they fileted it for her so she didn't have to look it in the eyes while she ate.
Carrie, Laura, & I at the pub
An empty King's Cross station late-night
SCORE! The Easter Bunny found out about the grand opening of the new Poundland and decided to stock up on candy for all the good little boys and girls.
First time in Pembroke College-- lovely!
More Pembroke
And again...
Ellis likes it, too.
Lovely gardens in Pembroke, too. Are these little berry things future pine cones?
And Carrie gives Graham shit for making face in photos... where does he get it I wonder?
Carrie and Jess bravely setting off on the bikes... only to return 20 minutes later because it was raining. Wusses! (In their defense, it was COLD and windy)
Trying to play Memory with Ellis around is a challenge!
Awww, big brother loves him anyway! (Those of you who know our family well may be reminded of a photo in my parents' house of me "hugging" my cousin Aron at about the same age.)
It's a head-butt of love
Trying to crack one of his chocolate eggs on Easter
Stephen's college roommates, Loz & Norma, rented an awesome farmhouse in Derbyshire (Peak District) as a family getaway. They are English but live in Norway with their three lovely children: Lewis, Natalie, and Oliver. We mooched our way in for 3 days and 2 nights and it was little of everything. Seriously.
We were on a farm in a converted barn, so there were sheep and cattle, etc. (Not in the barn, silly.) There was a bouncy castle. Yes, you heard me. And a trampoline. And a covered, heated pool. That's just the beginning.
The day we got there it was in the 50s, green, and "spitting." By the time we left there were 8 inches of snow on the ground and blustery winds. For the first time in my life I built a snowman and went swimming within a half hour of each other.
Loz and Norma's kids are old enough to be left alone without worrying that they are choking on mud (ahem, Ellis) and old enough to kind of almost be trusted with our boys, which was just lovely for being able to put our feet up and relax a little.
Thanks again, Loz, Norma, and Co. for having us AGAIN. (They hosted us in Oslo in 2010!)
Side note: As I write this (and I am way behind!) Ellis is taking his time learning how to walk. He is a fantastic cruiser but prefers not to let go. However, he has gained a vocabulary of like 30 words in the past week I kid you not. I swear he keeps gurgling things that sound like full sentences and I have to do a double-take. Wasn't it yesterday when he was losing stuff in those thigh creases and cooing at me with a toothless grin? What's happening?!
Hello! I like it here!
Oliver, Bryce, Ste
Oliver, Bryce, and wait, who let the glass bottles by the pool? Still don't know how to behave 25 years later...
Chillin' rustic-style on the farm
Note bouncy castle on the right. Sadly Bryce didn't want to go on it without me and I think I was too big for it.
Baaaaah! (I think this was Ellis's first word)
Oliver being a cheeky monkey
Ellis not-so-happy (that is some serious bottom lip action!) and...
... 15 seconds later he's fine.
Ollie and Bryce sharing the wheel
"C'mon Ollie, put your back into it!"
What're you looking at?
Fearnley family with all the milky cows
Welcome to Derbyshire (pronounced Darbyshur)
On the way to Blue John Caverns
The Williams/Richardson gang
The minerally deposit known, appropriately, as "Miner's snot"
This is what they were mining for: Blue John, a semi-precious mineral
I had more than one Goonies moment and almost got my head bashed into the rock by my husband after the tenth time I told Stephen that "down here it's OUR time!"
Trying to keep dry in the misty mist!
Mmmmm, pub lunch. Cheese and apple chutney sandwich.
What happened to the bouncy castle?
Loz flipping Ste the V's
Ste standing on an imaginary snowboard, apparently.
.JPG)
