Goodbye London

Shouldn't I be packing, cleaning like mad, or at least sleeping?? Of course the answer is yes, but I had to end with one last blog from London. Our movers are coming this morning in just an hour or so, and then our internet will be gone. One more string of pictures to share, one more ode to London Life.

We've sold all our furniture (or at least most of it), ordered our electricity off tomorrow, and arranged for a friend to take our car. What more is there left to do, other than the 100 thank-you cards, the one last sharing time for church, the base boards and walls in the living room (and on and on)!?

Here, Samantha models on her bed as I take pictures of it to post online for sale. Cute girl not included (but you can have the binky if you can wrestle it away from her,please!). We're delivering it tomorrow, last thing in the house to go.
One last "sleep" in the pool last weekend. She will miss making beds
This one was from awhile ago, but I love it. Did I already post it? Maybe I did. Anyway, I thought it was cute to see Samantha get so excited about the move.

Okay, let's fast forward a few hours now. Movers came (an hour early! gasp!), interrupted my nostalgic mood and my blogging (no fair!), packed (quickly) and left (taking every last utensil and dish so I had to eat bread and butter and jam using my finger as a knife just now). Now I sit in this empty house, with every sniffle and cough (I've got a cold-- again, no fair) echoing in the emptiness around me. No more wistfulness about leaving, there just isn't time for reflecting right now. I have doors to wash, shelves to dust, and floors to mop.

But I will leave you with my quick lists that I've been saving to post right as we go...

Things I will miss about London:

-- The accent, the inflections, the British way of speaking the "Queen's English." I love it. It has always sounded so proper and posh to me. I will miss hearing quirky English words like shattered, nappy, bunged up, gutted, lovely, brilliant, and garden.

-- The green, green, green loveliness. It is always beautiful and green here, even in the middle of January. The trees may lose their leaves, but things always seem to look fresh and vibrant.

-- Castles. I've visited enough that they seem a bit "old hat" to me right now, but let's face it -- I'm a romantic. I dreamed and dreamed of the time when I could see a REAL castle. I will miss all the majesty and grandeur of a castle or a palace or a great manor house. They just don't build 'em like that in Idaho, ya know?!

-- Country drives. Again, it's the green that draws me to the country here. But there's also the "oldness" of it all, the history in the surroundings. I love driving by an old stone fence, wondering about the people who built it and how frustrating it must have been to put it together.

-- Walking to the store. It really is quite convenient to have a little built-in community so handy. Post office, pharmacy, groceries, banks, restaurants... all just a 5-7 minute walk (okay, more like 10 mins with the kids). I will miss it.

-- London cabs. They are so peculiar looking! I remember seeing them in movies and I thought they were old school. But nope. They're real, and they're funky (and according to Brian they are not so comfy to ride home in when it's so late at night).

-- London North Ward. Our little church community here is something I will cherish and long for, I'm sure. I have struggled in my calling with the Primary children, mainly because I've felt quite taxed with my own two kiddies. But I love, love, love those children, and our little ward. The members are so warm and caring. The numbers are few, but every person counts and every kindness really seems to mean something. I will miss being a part of it, feeling so valued and appreciated.

-- Lavendar. Samantha and I have learned "Lavendar's Blue" and we sing it as we go out to the shops sometimes. There is always some lavendar plant spilling over someone's garden fence, looking so cheery and blue. Sammie can recognize it now, and we usually pick a little sprig to smell as we walk.

-- Our cozy flat. It's a bit tight at times, but I've really enjoyed our stay in this flat. It's been a good home for us. I don't like to see it so empty now, sniff sniff.

Okay, and now, before I get all teary and weepy over all the things I will miss, I better add my other list...

Things I will NOT miss about England:

-- Trolley carts at the grocery stores. They drive me CRAZY! They are "all wheel drive" so there's basically no good way to steer them. I put my back out any time I have to push a cart in the grocery store. Plus, you have to deposit a 1pound coin to even use the stupid things. Do you know how many times I have not had a coin and had to go in (kids in arms), buy something, and make change just so I can get a stupid cart?! The only place with NORMAL, FREE carts is Cost-co, of course.

-- Sausage. I have yet to find an English sausage I am fond of. Not sure what it is, but I just do not care for the sausage here.

-- Driving on the left. And driving on the ridiculously narrow streets. And driving with speed cameras. And driving with Brian pointing out all the speed cameras and speeders. And the dumb UK driving test that I failed three times, no joke! Basically most things that do with the techinical side of driving, I will NOT miss.

-- Two kids in the city. It's a rough, tough place to be trekking around with my baby-kids. I don't like the stairs, or the Tube, or the buses, or the traffic in general. It's hard work getting around. As much as I enjoy all the things there are to see and do in the big city, getting there makes it not so enjoyable.

--Too much rain. Last year, it poured a torrential downpour on my birthday (which is just over a week away, btw!!) I slept most of the day that day (was newly pregnant and jetlagged). I wasn't too bothered, but I did find it noteworthy that in all my 30+ years of existence, I don't think it has EVER rained on my birthday. Except here. I'm all for some rain, and I do understand that it's the rain that makes my "green, green, green" possible. But somtimes enough is enough. It's clouding over out there right now, to punish me for writing this.

Anyway, I better get going -- dustbunnies are waiting for me. Next post will come to you from the great Gem State of Idaho!

Wimbledon finals

What can I say about Wimbledon? It was amazing! We had tickets for the women's singles finals, the men's doubles finals, and the women's doubles finals. So... we got to see the Williams Sisters play for the title. For those who don't know tennis (maybe my mom?), the Williams Sisters are Serena and Venus, both from the USA. They've been at the top of the championships all over the world for several years now. AMAZING players, both.

We rooted for Venus, she was the defending champion from last year. She is quite well spoken and gracious with the press. On the court, both she and Serena are great to watch. Since I don't have much time, I'm just going to add a whole string of pictures, then a few of my observations at the end...

A few things about Wimbledon:

-- The tickets cost A LOT for center court, finals play. We were in the nosebleed section, but our tix were the biggest splurge we've had over here in the way of an "event." To even get tickets, we had to register in a lottery several months ago. Then they sent us the opportunity to get tickets, listing what our possible option would be if we choose to purchase it. We decided to do it, knowing it would be on Brian's birthday, and knowing it would be our last hoorah.

-- The audience really IS THAT QUIET! You know how they show it on television and it looks like the crowd is just hushed and awed? Well, the crowd IS really hushed and awed. In fact, there was an elevator out in the hall, around the corner, quite a ways from where we were sitting. Every time the bell would ring for the doors to open, it was actually quite annoying -- too loud! Someone's cell phone rang and people were "shshhhing" the offender.

-- Amid all the quietness, there were the occasional cheers and yells "Gooo Venus!" or "Way to go, Serena!" These were usually followed by more shshhhing. One enthusiastic fan couldn't resist shouting out "Use the force, Serena!" Even the shshhhers had to laugh at that one.

-- I was just fascinated with the ball boys and ball girls. Wow!! For those who don't know tennis (mom again?), the ball boys are the ones who get the balls off the court after each play. They are SOOOO fast, and so discreet. They have quite a system of passing balls up and down the court without getting in the way. I wonder how old they are, and how they get that job?

-- They didn't have a screen showing the "close-up" shots of the players. I really wish they would have, because it would have been nice to see the players faces as they rallied back and forth. They did at least put the final ceremony on a screen, which was nice to see.

-- During the final ceremony, the commentator asked Venus "That must be hard for your family to have both of you in the finals at once. They must be torn as to who they should cheer for." Venus replied, "Yes, I'm sure it's very hard for them. But I like to think they're secretly hoping I'll win!" It was cute.

-- We got to see Nadal practicing for the men's final. He's pretty amazing. Brian got a picture of him, somewhere above. Did anybody catch that whole match? I know it was on Sunday, but it was quite the grand finale! We saw the last 10 minutes and were glued (except for Spencer who wished he was sleeping).

-- Our babysitting cost just 5 pounds less than one of our tickets. (And I already mentioned our tickets did NOT come cheap.) Ah, the price for living the good life for a day. We really enjoyed ourselves!

Happy Birthday, Brian!

Brian's birthday was on Saturday, yay! Should we tell how old he is now? I guess those of you who know us well can do the math, right?

Samantha sings happy birthday to Daddy (we had the camera turned the wrong way, oops!)

We had a fun day celebrating, tried to make it a special time for Brian. We decorated the house with a special birthday banner and streamers. We got him some fun little presents (a book, balloon, flowers, snow globe of London, etc.). Samantha was very excited, and LOVED wrapping them and helping him unwrap them.
We also made him a delicious chocolate cake. Samantha was a GREAT helper...


And, as a special birthday splurge, Brian and I spent the entire day at WIMBLEDON! YAY!!
Of course, you've probably guessed Wimledon coverage will be in the next post!

"Lasts" in London

We've been busy this last couple of weeks, celebrating our "last" moments in London. It's hard to say goodbye to a place that has been our home the entire time we've been married. Let's just say, it's been a nice, long 4-year honeymoon! Here's a sampling of some of our fun times that may be our LAST while we're here.

Last play date with Abby and Sammy F.
Our friends Joyce and Charles are moving to Chicago the same day we move to Idaho. They're on holiday this week, so we had our last play time with their girls last week. It was so cute to see the girls enjoying each other, and sad to know it's all going to end so soon.

(I thought I got a picture of Other Sam, but I guess I didn't. oops)

Last trip downtown for lunch.
I took Spencer and Samantha down to my old work to meet my former colleagues for lunch one more time. It was brave of me, I think. Taking two kids on the Tube is tricky! Here Sam models her hands after holding the handrail in one of the Tube stops. Disgusting!

I didn't get a good group shot, but here's Caroline, holding sleeping Spencer. And here's Sam, by the London Eye -- 5 mins walk from my old work.

Last outing with Jeanette and kids.
We've been friends with Jeanette and her three kids- Stephen, Aaron, and Sophie-- since we first moved here. They've been at our house several times for dinner or dessert or just games. We had them over last weekend for pancake breakfast and an outing to Golders Hill Park. We will miss them. (Stephen didn't come, but Jeanette's granddaughter, Ellie, did...)
Snoozing at the park...
After flying the kite...

Last girls' night out.
I've really enjoyed my friendships with all the women in our ward at church. Of all the things I'll miss about London, there's no doubt I'll miss my friends the most. We've had a few little outings lately that have been really fun. This one pictured above was a delicious dinner at one of our friend's houses -- just for ladies, just for fun.


Last walks on the Heath.
It's been great to live so near Hampstead Heath. (Sammie calls it the "Heaf".) Here Brian suits up with Samantha for a walk to the Heath. He and she like to go on little outings to the Heath on Saturday mornings or sometimes even after work. Charles and Joyce just gave us their backpack -- a perfect excuse to get to the Heath again, Samantha thinks.

Last dinner with friends.
We had dinner with Tanya and Michael at their new house last night -- a great Middle-Eastern feast of lamb, tabouleh, hummus, pita, and rice, etc. Sammie LOVES Tanya and especially Michael, and talks about them all the time, even though they moved several months ago. It was lovely to see them again one more time before we go.
Spencer modelled their Scottish wig...

Last AMAZING dinner date at Lemonia.
No photos of this one; it would have been a bit tacky. Brian and I had a really nice dinner date to a place we've been wanting to try for quite some time. It was a classy Greek restaurant with VERY good food. We got full enough that I didn't eat anything the next day until 1 or 2pm. Delicious baklava, but I was too full to properly enjoy it!