27 April 2008

Friday.

Our first day in London was a little rough. The flight over was great - very smooth, comfortable ride, Will slept most of the time. Everyone around him on the plane thought he was so cute when we were taking off and he said, "We're goin' up! We're goin' UP!" Funny, though, they were not as impressed upon landing, when he shouted, "We're goin' down! We're goin' DOWN!!" But anyway, we landed at Heathrow at 6:10am London time, which for us translated into 1:10 in the morning, our time. Of course we could not check-in to our hotel until 3pm, but they did store our bags for us so we could do some exploring. We call it, Extremely Tired Zombie Americans Take On London. We did a lot, though, including the National Gallery, where we saw several famous works of art - including DaVinci's Virgin of the Rocks, Van Eyck's The Arnolfini Marriage, and Van Gogh's Sunflowers. We found an outdoor cafe in Victoria Embankment Park, where for our first English meal, Jack ordered the "American Breakfast." This was basically just eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast, and, for some reason, baked beans, which I have honestly never been given with breakfast in an American restaurant. The English seem to think we are a bean-loving people. Our room still not ready, we wandered across the Jubilee Bridge to the southbank of the Thames. There we boarded the London Eye, a rather big ferris wheel type observation ride. We really enjoyed the ride, and when our pod reached the top, we were able to see a beautiful panoramic view of the city. For dinner, we wandered into a quaint little English market (imagine, if you will, a 7-11), grabbed a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and yes, because we are on vacation and all, some jelly. All-in-all, a great first day.

25 April 2008

Made it!


After about 6 months of planning and 12 long hours of traveling, we are finally across the pond in London! We are all running on about 10 minutes of sleep in the last 24 hours (except Will, who pretty much slept for six out of the seven hours of our flight from DC to London!), so I am somewhat unable to blog properly tonight... I just wanted you all know we have made it safe and sound, and will present a more proper blog post tomorrow.

21 April 2008

La Dolce Vita.

Had a great time with the fam tonight at Buca di Beppo... John's mom, brother Ed, and niece Jodie are visiting from NY for a few days. The Pope Room was taken, we ate in the Wine Room with Frank Sinatra.

12 April 2008

The Planet had visitors!

Sean, Lisha, Reed & Diane have been spending the week in Florida, and today they stopped by the planet. We ate, swam, went out for ice cream and strolled the park. It was a nice time... thanks for coming, guys!

06 April 2008

Gardens of Busch.

Since Leah & Jack didn't get enough excitement in Chicago, Karen and I decided to take the kids to Busch Gardens in Tampa for a couple of days. We had a great time... Jack and Ashley rode the "big four" roller coasters - Gwazi, SheiKra, Montu and Kumba, and we experienced the new Jungala attraction on opening day.



































And how could I forget... the kids saw their very first concert!

31 March 2008

On their way back!


*waiting for flight home, midway airport, chicago


The kids finished up the weekend visiting the Adler Planetarium, Museum of Science & Industry, Chicago History Museum, Tommy Guns Garage Dinner Theater, The Field Museum, and the Brookfield Zoo. On their way back right now...

29 March 2008

Today's To-Do List. (updated with more pix)

Wake up call at 7:30am. Board bus and head for the Sears Tower Skydeck. Visit the Art Institute of Chicago. Lunch and tour at Eli's Cheesecake Company. Take a bus tour of the city. Enjoy some free time at the Navy Pier, including a tour of the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows. Watch the Chicago Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks at the United Center. Watch as Chicago turns out it's lights. Call your mom, tell her you are NOT taking any pictures. Listen while mom weeps, then roll your eyes.


*Thanks Wolf & Kerri, for the iphone shots! Thanks Steve Jobs, for the iphone!

28 March 2008

Bet your bottom dollar...

... you lose the blues in Chicago!































And they are off. We got the kids to the airport at 5:45am this morning and they boarded their flight to the Windy City with much excitement! I was able to capture a few shots at the airport, and I am hoping for some emailed iphone photos over the weekend to share. They have an extremely fun-filled, non-stop tour of Chicago planned!

Leah & Jack, we miss you but we know you are having a great time exploring a new city! We are beyond proud of you for being so brave and adventurous!

27 March 2008

Celebrating Spring, Preschool-style!

Today Will's preschool held their annual "Spring Fling"... complete with bubbles, flower hats, painting, little piggies, goats, bunnies, ducks, and pony rides!

19 March 2008

Cool School of the Week!



MyFox Orlando | Cool School of the Week

Each week one of our local news stations broadcasts their morning show live from a different "Cool School of the Week"... and this week Page was chosen! Actually, they filmed down at our Orlando branch, but they invited our middle schoolers to participate. Definitely watch the video and look through the pictures and see if you recognize anyone!

**Nice pass, Jack. That guy couldn't catch a cold if he were naked in a snowstorm!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

17 March 2008

I guess the diet starts tomorrow.





































May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks.
May your heart be as light as a song.
May each day bring you bright happy hours,
That stay with you all year long.
For each petal on the shamrock
This brings a wish your way
Good health, good luck, and happiness
For today and every day.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, People!



15 March 2008

Dancing with the Stars.















Despite the rainy weather, the Pirate & Princess Party at Disney was a hit! Gheghe, Leah, her friend Christy, and I rode many rides, watched a great parade and fireworks, and the girls even danced the night away with Flounder!

10 March 2008