St. Paul's Cathedral

After a LONG walk, I made it to St. Paul's Catherdral at the top of the hill. It's strange to see such a beautiful domed cathedral after walking through what's considered the financial district. But there it was in all it's glory. St. Paul's is where Charles and Diana got married and where Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington are buried.

No pictures were allowed inside the cathedral itself, but I was able to sneak in a few shots (no flash, of course) when the priests turned their backs.

You can climb the steps up to the whispering gallery where if you whisper something at the wall, someone can hear it perfectly all the way around on the other side. Since I was by myself, I couldn't test this out, but I hear it works.

I then climbed the steps up to the very top, the Golden Gallery, for an awesome view of London. All total...530 steps. And they go in circles. I was so dizzy after I came down so it was nice to be able to sit for their evensong service at the end of the visit.

We're off to see the Queen!

We're leaving this Friday for a 2 week trip to London, Paris and Amsterdam. VISA is sending a team of 11 people from the US office to VISA Europe located in Basingstoke, England for a week. Our original departure date was July 8th, one day after the bombings in London. So VISA rescheduled the trip for 2 weeks later. I have to admit I'm a little nervous about traveling to the site of the bombings so soon after the incident. Especially since John will be working for the whole week and I'll be sightseeing by myself. Uhh.... can you say, "TAXI!" ?

After London, we're taking the Eurostar across the Chunnel for a few nights in Paris. I'm so excited to tour Versailles and see how the other half lives! I read that Louis the XIV had a whole river redirected for his gardens.

After Paris, we're off to the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. And if I can fit it in, you know we'll take a detour on the way and stop in Brussels for some waffles and handmade chocolates. Rachel Ray can do it on $40 a day. Ummm....No guarantees here....

Picnic in the Park

We had our annual church picnic at Boothbay Park last weekend. It's always a fun time to gather with our friends and enjoy the sun. The kids had a great time and loved the playground. There were also crafts and songs thanks to Dave and Beni. And the desserts were a hit! Uh.... didn't get any pictures of Lauryn. She was running around having too much fun. We all had a GOOD nap afterwards.

Turtles!

We strolled through the Miami Bayside Market downtown and found tons of tiny slider turtles for sale. John has always wanted a pet turtle and we were so tempted to buy one or two or six....but imagining ourselves carrying them in a tank on the plane made us think twice. I don't think the other passengers would've appreciated that. I'm sure that the kids would've loved them, but I also discovered that turtles carry salmonella so it's not the cleanest pet around. I had a brief image in my head with some turbulence, turtle juice down my shirt and baby turtles wandering around people's feet. Not good.

Clam Chowder To Die For

While we were in Miami, we visited Joe's Stone Crab as planned on Miami Beach. It's a busy place with lots of people eating lots of seafood. While we were there, our waiter, who looked a LOT like Wayne Brady, pointed out 2 other tables of tourists from California. Our meal consisted of the following:
Assorted bread and butter
Shrimp Cocktail (they were humungous!)
Clam Chowder (Oh My Gosh - the best I've ever had. My mouth is watering just thinking about it right now.)
All You Can Eat - Medium Stone Crab
Large Stone Crab
Hashbrowns

Since the stone crabs are out of season, they weren't as good as when John was here in March. Our Wayne Brady waiter said that they have a huge warehouse on site that is filled to the ceiling with stone crab, flash frozen. It's enough to cover them for 3 years worth of business without ever having to go fishing for them again.

But I must rave about the clam chowder. Have you ever had something taste so good you think to yourself a day later, "It was awesome, but it can't taste that good again the 2nd time around, now that I've tried it." Well, we tried it again. We went back the next night solely for clam chowder (and decided to try their steamed crab, which was pretty good, too). But I have to say that the 2nd bowl of clam chowder was just as amazing as the 1st. I'm so craving it right now. It was creamy, but not too thick. It had a good amount of potatoes and clams and not too much to be overpowering. Yum! I'd have to recommend that over the stone crab. If I can order it and have it shipped, I probably would.

Miss Florida

The Miss Florida Pageant is here in Miami and apparently staying at the Hilton where we are. I've seen a dozen 7-10 year old girls running around in white wedding-ish dresses with tiaras last night when we were checking in. And then they were all swimming and running around the pool this afternoon. I haven't seen any of the adult Miss Floridas yet.

Lounging by the pool in Miami

So we got into Miami last night at around 9:30PM EST.

While John is at work, this is what I've done so far:

11:00am - Breakfast (room service of course)
12:00pm - Lounging by the pool and reading Rick Steve's London 2005 (in preparation for our trip)
2:00pm - Lunch by the pool (chicken ceasar salad and a virgin pina colada)
2:30pm -Lounging again
2:45pm - It starts to rain like crazy
3:00pm - Walking around the hotel for something to do. I found some very colorful friends.

Daddy's Ami

John and I are headed off on our first trip without the kids - ever. VISA has asked John to attend a meeting in Miami. He was there a few months ago with his VP and SVP and they went to Joe's Stone Crab. He came back raving about the stone crab. So with this opportunity to go back, he wanted me to go along and try the "best crab in the world" since the trip will be paid for, with the exception of my plane ticket. So, it'll be the most expensive crab in the world, too.

Lauryn was sitting next to me watching tv one night as I was on the phone with Yo and telling her that we're going to Miami. Hearing that, Lauryn said, "Mommy, not your Ami! Daddy's Ami!" I stared at her blankly for about 30 seconds. Then I had to laugh. John apparently had told her that he was going to "My Ami".

So anyways, John's mom is going to be staying at our house and watching the kids while we're gone. She's also going to be staying with the kids when we head to London a week after we get back from Miami.

*Sigh*, I miss my girls already....

Do you TIVO?

John's been wanting a TIVO for a while, so for Father's Day, I said we could buy a tivo. He found a guy selling a new one on craigslist that came with a $155 credit for the service, so he bought it. He was soooo excited. He's been playing with it everynight since. He saw a deal on the tivo site and bought another one....well, it was actually a free box, but you still have to pay for the service. How crazy are we?

So things we're tivo'ing right now:
Dora the Explorer
Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends
Blue's Clues
Kim Possible
Jackie Chan Adventures
NBA Finals
American Chopper
X-Men
Top Ten Ways to Win in Vegas
Oprah

I'll let you guess who's shows are who's.

Pig Tails!

I finally found a cute hairstyle for Sydney! The pig tails work! Before, I think her hair was so wild and out of control that she looked like a mop. I tried the headband thing and it just kept sliding off her head. And clips weren't staying in either. She actually looks like a little girl now!

Steppin' Up

Lauryn just completed her first year at Sea Breeze Preschool. Last Thursday the class had a Step Up Celebration and sang songs with motions for their families and friends.

All the kids learned and practiced their songs throughout the weeks before the big day. Lauryn was so excited to sing her songs to everyone who would come over to our house.

On the big day....we waited for her big smile and motions to the songs she had been singing nonstop for weeks. During the performance, I swear I have never seen her stand so still and so quietly for that long - EVER. Her hands were folded neatly in front of her almost the entire time.

We finally got a few shots of her doing a couple of the motions. That night, at home, she sang and did all the motions for us on video.

When we asked her what happened at school, she said that she didn't want all the other mommys and daddys to look at her, only us.

Here's one of the poems:
A Fuzzy Wuzzy caterpillar wiggled up a tree.
It wiggled long, it wiggled short,
It wiggled right to me.

I put it in a covered box.
Now don't go away, I said.
But when I looked inside the box,
There was a butterfly instead.

I could never make one, even if I tried.
Only God in heaven can make a butterfly.

Our little caterpillar is becoming a butterfly...

Father's Day Prayer

Sometimes at bedtime, Lauryn will pick a name from her nightstand (written on individual strips of paper, made with one of her teachers at our church's preschool class) to pray for specifically. Befitting of Father's Day, she happened to pick Daddy. This is what she prayed:

"God, please help daddy not to leave the toilet seat up and so I have to put it down for him everyday. Please help him not to leave his toothbrush downstairs."

Then I asked her to thank God for things that she loves about her daddy.

"God, thank you for my daddy. Thank you for letting him play with me and making me yummy food to eat. I love it when he makes me laugh and calls me 'Cutie'. Thank you for daddy being silly cuz I'm a silly girl."

Sydney and the Zippy

I was a little obsessed a few months ago about finding a new stroller for Sydney. I had been reading the message boards to find out what everyone liked and didn't like. There's a great forum on baby products that I like to check at Baby Bargains Book.

My history with strollers hasn't been too great. Our first was a Graco Metrolite that lasted about a year. I liked the lightweight frame and the large basket, but the padding was stiff and when the seat was reclined, or the infant seat was snapped in, you couldn't reach into the basket at all. It finally stopped opening.

Our second stroller was a Combi Z that I got off of ebay for $80. It was super lightweight, had a cupholder and decent padding. However, the basket was small and after a while the steering was stiff. We took it to DC and John broke the napper bar on it carrying it up and down the stairs to see JFK's grave.

My next one was the Maclaren Volo. I ordered it through a friend of a friend's employee discount at Babystyle.com. I paid about $75. Oh my gosh! I loved this stroller! It was light as a feather and mesh. The steering was amazing! No other stroller can beat the steering on Macs. It was perfect for when we lived in SF during our remodeling. Grandma Lucy would push Lauryn in it to go buy groceries.

So why did I need to buy another one? Well, when we had Sydney, I bought the Swan Snap N Go stroller frame from the same contact at Babystyle.com during a sale. I paid about $25 for it. And since we kept Sydney in her infant seat until she was 11 months old, it served us really well. It was light and had a large basket. The only thing I didn't like was that the basket was not easily accessible with the car seat snapped in.

Eventually, we thought we had kept Sydney in her infant seat far too long. Her legs were sticking out about 2 inches, so I got her a convertible...The Britax Roundabout.

So left with the only stroller I had, I put her in the Mac Volo. It was so easy to push and so light and small. I thought it was going to be perfect....Until I took her shopping one day at Stanford. She fell asleep in the stroller. But the stroller doesn't recline! She looked very uncomfortable with her head flopping and tilted forward. So I would walk around with the stroller's front wheels doing a wheelie. But doing that, I couldn't do anything else.

So...I finally got our newest stroller, the Zippy by Inglesina. I got it from Babycenter.com from a friend who works there. Thanks Fran! There's a toddler step on the back of it, and Lauryn loves to ride on the back. The padding is very comfortable and it reclines all the way. The steering is nice, but not as nice as the Mac. The only thing is that it's heavy compared to what I was used to. I think this is close to 18lbs compared to the Volo which is around 9 lbs. But it has an amazingly easy one hand close.

If you know Sydney, you know she can sleep just about anywhere, even now. When she eventually grows out of napping on the go, we'll go back to the Volo.

My next obsession is a diaper bag that actually makes life easier....

John says I have OCD. Do I though? Do I?

Kids and Bark

What is it with kids and bark? For some reason, they think it's food. Sydney obviously thinks that it's a new cereal and she's sitting in lots of it, so might as well try some. Lauryn used to do the same thing when we went to the park by our house.

This was taken when I went on a field trip with Lauryn's class this past Thursday. We walked to a nearby park, and the kids got to play and blow bubbles. Sydney and the other younger siblings watched and played as well.

Lauryn decided she wanted me to take pictures of all her friends...one at a time.

After the park, the kids got to have ice cream sundaes back in their classroom.

Lauryn's Preschool Birthday

Since Lauryn's Birthday is in the summer, we thought she wouldn't be able to celebrate it with her class. But to our surprise, her teachers always take a day right before the end of the school year to celebrate all the summer birthdays. Lauryn happened to be the only one. So we brought ice cream cups and treat bags for her whole class.

This picture shows one of her teachers, Mrs. Price, putting the birthday hat on Lauryn. Lauryn apparently had fallen and scraped her knee right before the party and was having a "moment". Our drama queen/birthday girl was so injured she couldn't enjoy herself until Mrs. Price put a band-aid on her knee. She was fine right after, and enjoyed her ice cream and passing out the treat bags to all of her friends.

Johanna's Birthday Party

We had a great time at Johanna's 4th Birthday Swim Party. Here is Lauryn with her friends Marissa and Ashlyn. Lauryn was so sad when the party was over. Now we have to look into swim lessons!

ALIAS - The Game

See my post on LINQ for a funny.

I've copied it over for easy reference:

This will only make sense to those of you who watched last night's season finale...(And yes, Lauryn was still awake at 11pm)

Tonight, Lauryn was playing on the couch pretending to bake cookies. A little while later, she asked me to play with her. Here's our conversation:

L: "Mommy, you wanna play ALIAS with me?"

A: "Huh?"

L: "Do you want to play ALIAS with me? You can be the girl who's sick."

A: "OK."

L: "OK!"

She went to get something and came back to me. She had a small play shovel in her hand.

L: "Ok, you say, 'What's that?'"

A: "OK." "What's that?"

L: "It's just water." "Now, turn around mommy."

She proceeded to poke her shovel into the back of my neck, making a 'chhhhh....' sound.

A: "AAAHHHHHHH!!!!"

She then left again, and came back with a small pink box and her shovel.

L: "Now I have to make your eyes red."

So she dipped her shovel into her pink box and then swept the shovel over each of my eyes. Then I opened my eyes really big and scary and roared.

She screamed and then started laughing. She told me I did a good job. I asked her who she was supposed to be, and she said, "I'm the bad girl."

She made me play "ALIAS" about 3 times before she had to go to bed

Barbie Bike Incident

It took Lauryn a couple of tries to learn how to ride her new Barbie bike. Our friends, Sarah and Jeff, bought her this bike for Bike Day at her preschool. On Bike Day, Lauryn was so excited when I dropped her off with her new bike and helmet. When I picked her up and asked how her day went, she said that everyone rode their bikes, but she didn't know how. And when I looked at the bike, it also had a flat tire...

So we practiced and practiced and she finally was able to ride her bike to the park all by herself.

Tom & Katie

Yes, I'm a semi-closet Oprah lover.

Today she had Tom Cruise on the show. Not sure why I felt this was significant to post. He seems to have a different girl everytime he's on Oprah. Last time he was promoting The Last Samurai and he was all about Penelope. This time he was all about Katie. How old is she??

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster

During our last trip to LA, I took Lauryn to Disneyland for a few hours. We tried the new Buzz Lightyear ride. You actually get to shoot at different targets inside the ride. At the end of the ride, you can find your picture in one of the consoles and email yourself the picture. Lauryn was a little scared in the beginning, but towards the end, we were defeating Zurg together!