England 2011

Most of you know that Chad, Drew, and I took a vacation recently to England.  My mom, dad, brother, and cousin Craig went too.  Most of you also know how anxious I was about traveling with Drew (it's about 24 hours total!) and about how the the 6 hour time difference would affect his sleep.   Well, I'm happy to say that he did much better than expected!  The flight was hard, not because he was fussy or had ear pain, but because he is an active 15 month old and didn't want to be still.  But with so many helping hands (thanks mom, dad, Erik, and, of course, Chad) it wasn't too bad.  Basically, Drew was happy, it was the rest of us that felt a little stressed trying to keep him entertained.   And if the time change affected him at all, it was for the better... the first night he slept from 8pm - 10am!

At the airport, on a much-needed leash 

 Meeting the Captain!

As always, England was awesome!  Mostly because of my amazing family, but also because of the country itself.  I grew up going to England every other summer, so I have many fond memories, and it really holds a special place in my heart.   It is such a beautiful country!  I love the lush, green countryside, and the colorful, beautiful gardens.  And of course I love, love, love London…the history, the architecture, the shopping, the pubs, the hustle and bustle, and especially the people watching (Europeans are just so cool!).
  
Chad and I went to London two days.  Besides just walking around and taking it all in (which I loved doing), we took a hop-on, hop-off bus tour which was the perfect way to sight-see, and we also were able to go to Wimbledon (which was awesome!). 
  

Some London pics...

(True to England's reputation, we were rained on during most of our sight-seeing, so sadly I don't have many photos from our London days)

The Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben

The Thames River, and the London Eye

Buckingham Palace

Me, Michael, Anthony, Chad, Erik, and Craig, 
at the first of many pubs

Wimbledon!

This is a hill where you can sit and watch 
the center court game on a big screen

John Isner (doesn't he look just like Chad in this pic?)

The town of Wimbledon
This picture doesn't do it justice…
such an amazing part of London!

Wimbledon at night

But there is so much more to England than London... we explored the cute city of St. Albans and village of Harpenden, which were near Aunty Wendy's house (where we stayed).   Then the entire family spent a long weekend in the countryside, in an amazing little village called Castle Combe.  This town is literally untouched by modern-day anything (hard for me to explain but just see the pictures that follow).  We also went to the historic city of Bath and another old quaint village called Lacock (some of Harry Potter was filmed here, and Pride and Prejudice).

 Bath...

it was busier than London!

On our way home from Bath we stopped at a little berry farm and 
picked the most delicious strawberries ever!
I think Drew and Chad had the most fun of all of us!

Castle Combe
(the village where we stayed)

The main reason for the family trip Castle Combe was to celebrate Nanna's 80th birthday!  It really was a special day.  Nanna is truly one of the most amazing people I know, and I am so very blessed to have her as not only as my grandmother, but also a role-model.  I aspire to be like her...she is so kind, generous, elegant, gracious, and fun-loving.  Here are some pictures from her birthday celebration…

The singing of a hilarious song written by Aunty Anne

Lastly, some family shots...