January 2017

January was a dark and cold month in the UK. The days are so short, with grey skies turning dark as early as 3:30 in the afternoon! We had a slight dusting of snow but nothing compared to what we are used to in Utah. We don't miss the shoveling, but the kids miss playing and sledding in the fluffy powder of Utah.

Santa brought a pasta maker this Christmas for the kids and they were 'keen' to try it out (that's UK speak for excited). They learned how to make pasta dough from scratch at a cooking class last October so here they are putting it into practice. They rolled out their own dough and made their own ravioli! Turned out to be a very tasty meal for them!

One Saturday in early January we ventured into London to check out the new Lego store. This store just opened in November 2016 and is now the largest Lego store in the world. We tried to get into the store a couple days after Christmas but there was a long 'queue' (line) to enter the store and would have been over an hour wait. Just to enter the store! Fortunately there was no line the day we went in, and we timed it so we arrived just as the store opened. The store is located in Leicester Square as pictured in the first photo below.

This is a replica of the Tube made out of Legos. Lego passengers are a Buckingham Palace Guard and Shakespeare.

This is a two-story replica of Big Ben made out of Legos!! And the clock actually shows the correct time!

Telephone booth made out of Legos

After the Lego store we ventured over to St. Paul's Cathedral to take in another London site that we had not seen yet. Just outside of the cathedral was a public square with table tennis available for any passers-by. Rachel and Carson gave it a 'go' (try) and had fun chasing the ball all over the square.

St Paul's Cathedral

Here is what our snow dusting looked like from our back yard. A bit different from the several feet of snow on our deck in Utah.

The kids took another cooking class in January and this time learned to make meatballs with cous cous. Won't be long until they are making dinner for the family!

December 2016

December was a lot of fun and very busy! The kids started their 4-week school break in the middle of December so we hopped on a plane and joined John in Spain for a week (he was there for a conference). We spent two days in Valencia then took a train to Barcelona for 4 more days. Such beautiful cities! And fun to try speaking some Spanish! It reminded us a lot of San Diego. Also found some great paella and tapas, YUM. The only bummer was the weather, we had a few breaks from the rain but not many.

Dunkin Donuts in Valencia!

Eating at McDonalds in Valencia

We found a great park in Valencia where the kids tried out all kinds of fun exercise equipment. 

On to Barcelona: a much bigger city then Valencia. We stayed in the Gothic Quarter which was a maze of narrow streets that could barely accommodate a car. It was fun to wander around - many shops, restaurants, and bakeries.

The kids wanted to see the beach! It was cold and windy but they didn't care.

We went to see the family performance of Handel's Messiah at the Palau de la Musica Catalana. It was a gorgeous theater and the performance was just amazing. Even the kids joined in singing the Alleluia Chorus!

Placa de Catalunya

Arc de Triomf

We ventured a bit outside the main part of the city to see a new cathedral called La Sagrada Familia. What an amazing cathedral!!! Designed by Gaudi in the late 1800's this cathedral has been in the building stages for about 150 years. It is due to be completed in 2026. It is absolutely amazing inside and out, not enough words to describe it.

This is what happens after the kids get dragged around a city in the cold rain for the day and have to suffer through a local market - La Boqueria. Grumpy faces. Fortunately their stay in Barcelona wasn't all bad - we were able to see Rogue One while we were there, in English even! 

The kids were much happier making sand castles then looking at local architecture and markets.

We arrived home from Spain just in time to prep the house for Christmas! Our Christmas visitor this year was Grandad who made the trek 'across the pond' to join us for 5 days. It was great to have him here.

Our Christmas Eve meal was at the oldest pub in England, over 900 years old. Delicious food!

On Boxing Day (Dec 26) we took Grandad to see a National Trust site called Cliveden. Beautiful gardens and a large house that resembles a castle, it is built on a hillside that overlooks the Thames River valley. Good to get out and see some sunshine!

The next day we took Grandad into London and fulfilled his wish to get into the London Eye! The lines were just crazy but it was worth it, quite an amazing view from inside that little gondola. Grandad's inner civil engineer came out and we had to discover what was holding this thing up. Turns out there are 6 strong cables keeping the whole thing in place. Must be well-bolted to the ground!

The Tea Room at the Imperial War Museum is an excellent place for a nap.

Having fun with reflections on the Tube.