Harrod's Department Store

At 11:00 we got off the train at the Knightsbridge Station & started toward Harrod's Department Store. I found an AWESOME store along the way called Accessorize!! I bought 2 hats there. SO CUTE & SUPER CHEAP!!!

Mom mentioned wanting to go to Harrod's, so we worked it in the itinerary. But I had no idea what Harrod's was. Holy Cow!! This department store is massive! It covers an entire city street block & looks like a museum. It's gorgeous! So picture a store the size of an entire city street block & then add 7 stories to it. We're talking 7 full floors of shopping goodness! The bottom floor is completely dedicated to accessories: purses, shoes, jewelry, scarves. . . designer brands! And the whole place was set up like a museum. There was an Egyptian room with purses in it & Cadence & Baba got their picture taken in front of King Tut.

While mom & dad shopped in the accessories, Trek & I took the kids to the 4th floor which is the TOY HEAVEN! Did I mention this place is massive? Talk about FAO Schwartz on steroids! You could totally get lost in there. In the toys they had little stations set up for the kids to try out the toys they were selling. The girls had a blast here.

Lorien loved the wooden puzzle table:

Cadence played in the "toy snow" (yeah, weird stuff. . . I kind of wanted some):

Taya got lost in the lego section & had fun playing with the Buzz Lightyear made out of legos:

Then we found a table where you could play with 2 remote control demolition cars. The girls were wrecking them all over the place. I was panicking, but the workers were egging them on to crash harder! What a fun place to work!

You could very easily spend hours here if you enjoy shopping. We had a blast. Before we left, Cadence wanted to pose with the Lego conductor.

Fun on the Train

At Epping we hopped onto the train/tube & rode it straight into downtown London. We have always preferred the subway systems in Europe. They are GREAT! It's so much easier than trying to drive around. The girls LOVE the subway. Taya loves standing & holding on to the poles & Lorien just snuggled up to Baba & loved him the whole ride.

Big Uh Oh!

So we got up this morning as planned & got ready for a busy day in London. London is about 2 hours away from the base, so we packed up our trusty camelback with all the necessities needed to survive a full day in London (diapers, wipes, formula, bottles, water, & snacks), got the kids dressed & ready, & headed out for Epping Train Station about an hour away. As we were pulling into Epping Trek asked me to grab something out of the camelback, & to my utter dismay, the camelback was NOT there! We had left it at the base in the rush of getting everyone in the cars. NO bottles, NO food, NO water, NO diapers. Talk about a mother's nightmare. How were we going to survive the day? Luckily we found a cute little grocery store in Epping that had everything we needed. I bought a couple bottles & formula, a pack of diapers, & wipes. We were set. We put it all into my dad's backpack (which we DIDN'T forget) & we were off. . .

Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Mom & Dad Gone? Oh Where Oh Where Can They Be?

So we arrived at Wimbledon Tennis Stadium around 2:00 pm. We were supposed to meet my mom & dad there at 3:00. Their plane arrived at the Heathrow airport at 1:00 so we figured we'd give them 2 hours to get their luggage, rental car, & meet us 10 miles away. My dad is an amazing tennis player. He's played tennis his whole life (& even attempted to teach my brother & I how to play) & loves it. It's been his DREAM to go to Wimbledon in person. This was special for him. I was SO excited to get to see him in his own little paradise.

The problem was. . . . they never showed up.

3:00 came & went. . . 3:30. . . . 4:00. . . .4:30! Where could they possibly be? The kids were getting restless. They got sick of the tennis pictures & the gift shop, & now they were getting bored of the cafe. 5:00. . . .5:30!! No sign or word from my mom or dad. Trek & I were panicked. What happened? Did something happen to the plane? Are they okay? Did their luggage get lost? Where were they? None of our phones worked in England so we had absolutely NO WAY to contact one another.

The plan was to wait until 5:30. If they didn't show up, we were supposed to take off for Lakenheath AFB without them. So we did. I was panicked the entire 3 hour ride. (Yes 3 HOURS! We hit London rush hour. Talk about miserable!) I had a silent prayer in my heart the entire ride home. I just wanted my mom & dad to be okay.

We arrived at Lakenheath at 8:40 pm & just as we walked into our hotel room, the phone rang & it was my mom! They were 2 miles from Wimbledon when 2 of the tires popped on their rental car. They had to knock on a person's door & ask to use the phone. They waited on the side of the road for 4 hours!! The tow truck picked them & the car up & took them BACK TO THE AIRPORT!!! Poor mom & dad. Not only were they jetlagged, but they had been in the hot sun for 4 hours & wound up back where they started. I was just relieved nobody was hurt. They left the airport in a new rental car at 10 pm & arrived at Lakenheath around 12:30 am. We were all exhausted, but happy to be together as a family safe & sound!

Riding the Ferry & the White Cliffs of Dover

Well, we're off to London!! We woke up at 4:00 am & took off a little before 6. We drove all across Germany, Belgium, & France & wound up on the coast of France in the port town of Calais. The ferry system is SO organized. I loved it. We drove up to our "row" #83 & waited patiently to drive onto the boat. We drove on & parked in the lower boat & then walked up the stairs into the fun part of the boat. The girls were in heaven. There was a kids room with toys, arcade games, & a TV playing Tom & Jerry cartoons. There were restaurants & cafe's all over the place. It was SO MUCH FUN!!

The kids loved hanging out the windows & looking over the English Channel. It was kind of a gloomy day, but it was still very exciting for them. People watched us & always commented on "FOUR KIDS!!" It makes me laugh: "You're a very busy lady." "Wow, 4 kids! Are you done?" "You're CRAZY!" "They're ADORABLE!!" I love my 4 angels!

We bought each of the girls their own orange fanta, & then bought some sandwiches for lunch. The ferry trip is 1 1/2 hours so we just hung out & watched Tom & Jerry. When we pulled up to England, I didn't realize we were coming in at the white cliffs of Dover. I've heard about them in poems & stories, but never thought I'd actually see them. Our pictures don't do justice. As you look across the ocean, all you see are these HUGE white mountains across the way. They get bigger & steeper as you come closer & they are gorgeous. They are pure chalk (which is why they're white). They were amazing to look at!

I was happy to get off the boat (I got a little seasick). England is an hour earlier so we were excited to gain an extra hour on our adventure. We were meeting my mom & dad at the Wimbledon tennis museum, which was still 2 more hours away. So we hopped back in the van & drove off the boat into one of the scariest situations ever: DRIVING ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!! Trek was great though. It was only weird for an hour or so, then you kind of get used to it. So off we go. . . for another Potter adventure!!!

But I'm not tired. . .

During naptime, I will sometimes look at Lorien & ask her if she wants to take a nap. Her response is ALWAYS no, but sometimes she just looks like she could use one. Today she looked really tired after lunch so I asked her if she wanted to lay down for a few minutes & she very defiantly told me she was a big girl & that big girls don't take naps. I told her I loved my "big girl" & that she didn't have to take a nap. She ran upstairs to play in the toyroom, but after about 5 minutes of banging & jumping noises, there was sudden silence. I ran up to see what was up & this is what I found. My sleeping little angel in the middle of the floor, dead to the world & snoring! What a sweetheart!

When she woke up I wanted to take a picture of her pretty new haircut that she got today. Doesn't she look adorable?

Quilt

I finished my quilt top today. I can't believe I finished it before we started packing for the move. I was so scared that I wouldn't get it done & it would just get lost & ruined in the boxes. I'm going to fold it up nicely & put it in my purse/carryon when we leave here just to keep it safe, & then as soon as we can find a fabric store stateside, I'm going to get the fabric for the backing, batting, & binding. As soon as I get the backing done, Mamoo promised that she would come for a couple weeks to help me actually hand quilt the 2 layers together. I think I'm more excited about that than anything!!! And then I'll have a completed "sick quilt" to help "heal" the sickies when they're sick. You can only use the sick quilt when you're sick. It will be saved special for that. I'm SO excited I actually finished something I started. Hooray for me!

I WANT CHOCOLATE!!

Bladen REALLY likes chocolate chip pancakes!

Another One Bites the Dust (literally)

You know. . . I thought Lorien was hard on clothes. I didn't think stain treating could get any worse after what she did to her clothes each day. And then I had TAYA! Making a mess of clothes is a daily ritual for the little she-devil. I have never had to throw away so many clothes in my life. This kid doesn't just stain her clothes. . . she destroys them. We went to pick up Lorien from school & she fell in the one & only mud puddle on the playground (of course). Then she spilled chocolate milk all over her lap at lunch, & red pasta sauce at dinner (even while wearing a bib). I washed & washed & washed. Another pair of pants BITE THE DUST!

Crazy Hair Day

This week was Dr. Suess week & each day of the week, the kids had a "themed" day. Thursday was WACKY HAIR day. Cadence begged me to do anything & everything I could to make her hair super crazy & noticeable. So in honor of Dr. Suess, I made Cadence the cutest little "who-do" I could. I had 3 bendy braids on the sides & back of her head & then 2 straight up braids on top. She was ADORABLE!! Everyone wanted to take pictures with her all day long. She loved every minute of it!