2007 England Tour, Part 3

Friday, June 2nd was the first ever England game at the "New" Wembley stadium. It was a friendly match -- England v. Brazil but the whole country was very excited.

And, since there was football, we headed out to Rich's oldest (as in known the longest not age wise....) friend, Dean, in Aylesbury.

Dean, proudly sporting England's flag and jersey before the game.

Dean and Jo (his wife) put on a really nice BBQ, good company and lots of talking (mostly by their daughter Emma! LOL).

The boys fell in love with their dog Molly -- a really nice, very large Golden Labrador. Which is good since my parents have 2 large dogs too!

In the end, England drew 1-1 -- Brazil got a last minute goal in added time to tie it up. But, apparently, it was a good game! David Beckham had been recalled to the England squad and played well enough to play later a bit later in the Eur0 2008 Qualifier the next week.

ENGALUND, ENGALUND, ENGALUND!

We spent the night at Dean & Jo's, and spent a leisurely morning chatting and drinking tea. Then, we headed back to Nanny & Grandad's.

The boys played a bit in Nanny and Grandad's back garden.

Then we headed out to play at Ruislip Lido.

There was a playground on the beach with lots of play structures...

Josh found his favorite....

Then we had some ice cream (of course...)

Played in the sand a bit more,

One last climb on the climbing frame,
and headed back home to Nanny & Grandad's house.

If you've ever wondered what Sandy Balls is, stay tuned for part 4!

2007 England Tour, Part 2 -- London

On Thursday, May 31st, the weather was (finally) beautiful! We were supposed to meet our friends Wajid and Michelle and their two girls (similar ages to our boys) in the city, and spend the day with them. However, Waj's work got in the way and they had to cancel.

We decided to go to London anyway.

Enjoying bananas bought from a fruit seller outside the tube.

We headed down to the Tate Modern.

The Tate is a free publicly funded museum. They do accept donations. Here are the boys making a 3 GBP donation.

They have activities for kids to do so it makes it more interesting for them.

Before I realized no pictures allowed! Oops!

And, Waj, Michelle and their Girls were able to come down and at least meet us for lunch. We sat outside and the kids played on the grass -- well, Josh and Ambryn did, Sam and Leila acted like tired 2 year olds! LOL!

Our boys with Waj & Michelle's girls!

After lunch, the boys wanted to see where the Queen lives so we headed down toward Buckingham Palace. It was a nice day, so we decided to walk.

We stopped for ice cream.

And to watch the London Eye and grab a look at Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

Of course, we had to have a picture taken inside a phone booth.

Stopping for a rest in St. James' Park. It was really beautiful!

Buckingham Palace. We didn't stop for tea. We were in a hurry to get back home before rush hour!

Then we headed home. It was a lot of walking! Very tiring, but lots of fun!

Sam on the Tube on the way home. Fast asleep before the 1st stop!

Josh (and Mom and Dad) were pretty tired too!

We had a great day in the city! It was a beautiful day! London is one of my very favorite cities. It's so exciting and there is so much to see and do. I can't wait until the boys are a bit older and we can do and see more!

Stay tuned for Part 3!

2007 England Tour, part 1

We arrived in London early Saturday morning (5/26). And for ONCE it was not raining when we landed! Yippee!

However, that situation soon remedied itself once we got to Nanny & Grandad's in Northolt!

Going to the library in the pouring rain!

We did manage to amuse our selves on the rainy Saturday by going to the library and to the local shops even though it was raining!


Sunday (5/27), we went up to a pub for lunch in Windsor to meet up with Rich's God-Parents.

Again, pouring rain and freezing cold! At least we were indoors!

While at the pub, the boys made friends with the publicans dog!

And, never to fear, we got a break in the rain and went out to Hayes to ride the trains!

About twice a month , the model HO Steam Train club has rides at the low low price of 20 pence a ride around the track. It's heaps of fun and the kids really enjoy it!

There were not many people there this weekend -- perhaps the rain kept them away?

Sam, Rich, Josh, Nanny, Grandad riding the trains!

On Monday (5/28), the weather was horrible! We went to Luton to visit friends up there. We had planned on going to one of the many parks around but since it was only 40 degrees, strong cold winds and pelting down rain, we had to choose an indoor activity.

We went to see the Shuttleworth Collection of air planes. It was really interesting! Seven or eight hangers filled with air craft, motorcycles, carriages and cars from early aviation, both World Wars and into the present. I foolishly, forgot my camera, so I wait for the link to our friend's pictures to post!

edited to add: Okay, here is the link to Ian's website with some pictures from our trip to Luton and the Shuttleworth Collection! Enjoy!

Tuesday (5/29), we met up with some more of Rich's parents friends and the weather actually brightened up enough for us to have a quick game of Cricket (this was a favorite past time this go-round!)

Josh and Sam playing cricket in the alley behind Nanny and Grandad's house.

Wednesday, we went swimming in the morning, and then Rich and I managed to go out on a date in the evening! We did a real "date" thing went to Pizza Express (very yummy) in Ruislip, our old stomping ground.

When we weren't off trudging around, the boys had fun playing at Nanny & Grandad's. They loved feeding the birds our left over toast from breakfast, crusts from lunch and whatever else the boys "decided" not to eat!

Another favorite past time: Watching the washing!

Sam was fascinated with watching the washing machine go around!

There is more to come! This is just a beginning! I think it's all I have in me for today!

I'll post more tomorrow!

Just Call Me Farrah Oprah LeBlanc

Okay, so I know I just got back from holiday and you are all dying to read about it, but I had to post this first. Our trip will take a while and several entries. We're all jet lagged today so this is about the extent of what I can handle!

My friend Sheila from Maya's Mom turned me on to this. These are my celeb look alikes....

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I can live with Farrah Fawcett (pre botched face job)... And Yael Bar Zohar (who ever she is....)

But Oprah? I mean, she is my hero, but I would not describe myself as her celebrity twin!

And Gregory Hines and Matt LeBlanc? Seriously!

Perhaps I should find another picture!


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