Mom and Dad's visit--Part One: London. . .

My mom and dad were our first visitors to our new UK home. . they flew into Heathrow on July 21.  It was the first time out of the States for both of them.  Keith and the girls and I went down to London the night before so that I would be able to meet them at the airport; their flight got in around 6 am our time.  It was wonderful to see them come out of the terminal and to have my first hug from back home be my parents!!

We headed back to the hotel on the Hoppa Bus--the shuttle bus transit system for Heathrow.  It was early so the girls were still asleep, but I snuck in and grabbed Hannah and Maggie to come out in the hallway for hugs.  After breakfast and some showers, we grabbed the Hoppa back to the airport to catch the Tube (London Underground train) into the city.

Since Mom and Dad would be fighting jet-lag, we planned on just doing some sightseeing on one of the double-decker buses.  It was the girls' first trip to London as well, and they were insistent on riding one!  Here are the pics from London:

At the hotel

On the Hoppa bus

Dad getting friendly with the "locals"!!

The sight-seeing was just too much for her!!  Luckily, she is getting really good at stroller snoozing!

We hadn't planned on seeing the British Library and just happened upon it. . my mom is a school librarian, so she was thrilled!

St. Pancras International train station

Platform 9 3/4 of Harry Potter fame at St. Pancras train station. . .we decided to walk (a LONG way) to get to it and were all a bit disappointed that it wasn't grander!  But at least we can say we have seen it!

This ship in a bottle was a statue. . so it was as big as maybe a car.

Shot of Thames, London Bridge, and the HMS Belfast.

London Bridge

London City Hall (one that looks like a helmet) and the Gherkin Building (one that looks like a torpedo)

The London Eye on the left and County Hall on the right--on the Thames.  Keith and I stayed at the Marriott in the County Hall building when we came over for our house-hunting trip.  It was very nice. . thank you, Caterpillar! :)

Close-up of Big Ben

The Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace--built for Queen Victoria, the longest reigning monarch in British history.

Outside of Buckingham Palace. . .it is only open for tours in August and September.

In front of Buckingham Palace. . like this picture, even though we aren't looking in the same direction!!

Hannah reading the paper on the Tube.

"British things" I like. . .and things that are changing. . .

It is fascinating to hear the words that the girls are genuinely picking up with a bit of an accent. . .the vowel sounds in their words are definitely shifting a little!  For example, instead of saying "paht" for pot, I noticed Maggie now says "pawwt". . .don't know if you could understand my phonetics there, but it is cute when she says it!

I catch myself saying "lovely" and "for a bit. . ." and "a bit of" a lot. . .we have officially switched to using "holiday" for vacation (like it better anyway!). . .Keith now always pronounces "route" as "root" (it comes up a lot at work when they "rowt" issues) even when it's not Route 66.


And we were watching a movie set in Philadelphia the other night and we both realized that the driving scenes looked like they were on the wrong side of the road!!

I continue to have a bit of  a love affair with the different words for things. . .right now, I am liking:
knackered=worn out
bin it=throw it away
whilst=while (so fancy!)
elevenses=small snack around 11 am--like tea/coffee and biscuits
touch wood=knock on wood
one-off=doing something once. . .like "Do you go to that restaurant all the time?"  "No, it was just a one-off"

A new friend said the rain was "tipping down" the other day. . .I think that was what she said anyway--with the accents, it can be quite difficult to catch sometimes!

Maybe the cutest one of all, though, is that Charlotte now says "Hello" without the H sound. . we are working on " 'ello luv". . she'll be the most British Brummel of them all!!

First day of school. . .

Our first day of the 2011-2012 school year started off with a bang. . .and a thud!  I decided that we didn't have enough going on with starting school and all, so I got up first thing and fell half way down the stairs.  I landed pretty hard on my right arm, back and bum. . .blacked out a little and got nauseous from it.  At this point Keith figured out something was wrong but I assured him that I was just going to go all the way down stairs to the bathroom in case I got sick.  Bad idea!  This is where he takes over the story because I don't remember the next minute or so.  He went back to get Charlotte, who was fussing, and I went on to the bathroom.  That's when he heard the thud; I had walked to the bathroom and passed out, falling backwards and hitting my head on the door to our Harry Potter closet.  He came down to see me out cold on the floor.  I woke up to him trying to wake me. . .scary stuff!  He insisted on taking me to the A&E (Accident and Emergency Room) after we took the girls to school.  All was fine. . .I had a CT scan and everything. . .all clear.  I wasn't keen on getting the scan, but I am glad that I did because my head hurt pretty badly last night.  Today, I am feeling really beat up and sore. . .and realizing that I am getting older because I don't bounce back like I used to!!

Even though she was at the school last term for a bit, and even though she is officially a Year One student, if we were in the US, this would have been Maggie's FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN!!! 

And Hannah, our brave and accommodating girl, started yet another new school when she joined Maggie at Saint Peter's Catholic School as a Year Three student (2nd grade)!  That's two different preschools and three different grade schools so far for her!

They both did really well and came home with big smiles and stories to share.  Hannah already knew some of her classmates from church, but also told me about some other girls that she played with or sat by.  And Maggie was thrilled with the fact that she had older kids in her class.  They combine the Year 1 and 2 (K and 1st grade) students and split them into two classrooms which then come together in different combinations throughout the day. 

The two girls whose faces you can see are Hannah and Georgia, her friends from church.  The other girl is a classmate.

Maggie and Jenny, who was new after Maggie last term.

Our little blue-eyed big girl.

In the scrum to hang up bags--she was glad her hook was between Georgia and Hannah.

I take it as a great sign that today, on the second day, Hannah went running in when the whistle for her year group sounded--she barely remembered to say bye to me!  I look forward to a great year at St. Peter's!!  

French toilettes. . .

Apparently it is completely normal for men to be wandering around the women's bathrooms.  Sometime the bathrooms are truly unisex, but mostly they were Dads helping their daughters.  But my girls were a little confused. . .Mags even went back out and checked the sign on one of the doors to make sure we were in the right place!

And another new thing at the train station public toilettes:

 

Our first pay toilet!  It even had a ticket booth and turnstiles to walk through!  There was a woman mopping the floor and monitoring the bathroom, but I think it is a little ridiculous that we had to pay almost $1.00 each to use the bathroom!  I have never liked the whole concept of tipping the (usually singing) women who offer me strange lotions and hard candy in bathrooms in the US either.  And they are never at fancy places where it might be expected--it's always at places like the Sandwich Fair or the Wildhorse Saloon, etc.  Oh well, when in Rome (or Paris). . . 


I had been warned by a few different people that French bathrooms are never very clean, so I am glad that we were at Disneyland for our first experience.  Disney is immaculate no matter where you are in the world!!

Legoland Windsor. . .

This year for Maggie's 5th birthday, we decided that it was too short of notice to plan a party and instead offered some other options to celebrate the day.  She decided on Legoland near London in Windsor.  Maggie and Hannah had been to Legoland in Chicago with Mom and Dad, and they had both really enjoyed it.  So I booked the trip, with an overnight stay and plans to head to Windsor Castle the second day.

OF COURSE, after weeks of dry, sunny weather, it poured that weekend.  For anyone who watches golf, it was the weekend of the British Open in Sandwich (about 2 hours away), so you saw the rain.  And to make matters worse, even though I am an obsessive planner, I missed one very important detail: I assumed it was an indoor facility like it is in Chicago. . oh no, it was more like Great America. . .a full-on theme park and all outdoors.

Even though I had not dressed the kids for chilly and rainy British weather, we still managed to have a good time through the chattering teeth and the obnoxious ponchos (pronounced "panchos" by the Brits).  The sun even managed to show its face in the afternoon.  And most important of all, Maggie was satisfied that her 5th birthday had been done justice.  Here are some of the pics:

Not the greatest picture. . but the only one from the train.

The birthday girl takes the wheel!

Charlotte enjoying the playground. . and looking way too much like a big girl!

Miniature golf in the rain!

Such a great daddy!  Keith braved the water slide with the older girls!

Panchos!

Hannah decided "Heck with it!" and headed for the fountain & water playground!

People dryer. . .thought this was a great idea.

LOVED LOVED LOVED the Lego scenes!

Buckingham Palace--we went there the next weekend and this is spot on!

Big Ben, Thames, etc. .

Maggie's usual "cheese" face. . is Hannah posing?. . .and Charlotte at the beginning of her ice lolly stupor!

The two offerings from the States.  .JFK Space Center and a launch pad below.

I think this one was my favorite--it looks so real!