I See London I See France...

A few weeks ago, BB came home from work and said something like, "Instead of going to St. George for our anniversary, what would you think about going to London and maybe France?"
~Really~
It was a tough decision - but I opted to cancel our two nights in Southern Utah in favor of a week in Europe. Yes, the timing was crap - this was mere months from Sina and family living in Paris. However, even without the benefit of Paris's soulmate being there to guide us, it was an incredible experience. I'll just let the {many} pictures speak for themselves...

If we look a little red in the face, it's because we just raced up the steps of the Eiffel Tower.

ok - we didn't race. But I think climbing them was still an accomplishment.

Arc de TriompheHonestly, I think I could have spent the entire day in the Louvre courtyard. Between the people watching and the a-ma-zing architecture, I could have just sat and stared...And then there was the inside of the Louvre...Victor Hugo's home was a decent place for a pitstop...Among other artifacts, they had a first edition Les Miserables. Notre Dame Cathedral was another place I would like to just sit and stare...After Paris, we headed to the English countryside

Warwick Castle is between 750 and 1000 years old. They have re-created the inside of the castle to make it as close to authentic as possible - they even use wax figures to exhibit actions that would be happening in different sections (e.g. washer women working, blacksmiths making weapons and tools, etc.) This was a saddle used by Queen Elizabeth IAnd somehow they managed to get Queen Elizabeth II to come pose for pictures...The back side of WarwickLeeds CastleThe English Channel - you can faintly see France across the waterDover CastleThis is in front of a cottage we stayed in in Lower Slaughter in The CotswoldsStonehenge - not just any old pile of rocks...Stratford upon AvonSo as we were walking down the street in front of Shakespeare's birthplace, I said, "Imagine you are young William Shakespeare and it's the 1500s and you are walking around this town. Do you ever stop to think that in 500 years, this entire town and basically everything about it will be dedicated to you?"

BB responded, "Yeah. If I'm Shakespeare I probably think that's how it should be."

Sadly, the one day we spent in London was rainy and cold. I guess that means we got the whole experience. We braved the weather and the sarcasm of the tourguide to ride on top of a double decker tourbus so we could at least see the main sights...

St. Paul's Cathedral Tower of London Tower Bridge English Parliament Building - Pictures truly do no justice to these buildings. We came out of the underground station to the spectacular sight of Big Ben. Westminster AbbeyThere was something really charming about the red phone booths - however they were usually emptyAnd now that I've stood on Platform 9 3/4, I can die happy :)

April Fools Joke??

I wish the sun would pop out and say, "Gotcha!"

The Big Number 6

OK - funny note. My daughter is not actually named Anushka. I've had quite a few people ask 'how do you pronounce your daughter's name?' or 'what is your daughter's name??' It's just a nickname... And, btw, we didn't name our son 'Diggity' either :)
SO - today was my girl's birthday but it has been a birthday celebration all week - and her actual party is yet to come!
One of her favorite gifts wasa pair of mocassins to go with the Pocahontus costume she picked out at Disneyland.Friday, we took advantage of Alta's free run after 3:00 and took Anushka skiing for the first time. She was her usual trooper self and hung in there even after a pretty spectacular, bone shaking crash.

With her two best buds out of town, we postponed her party for a week. However, the four of us did some fun miniature golfing on Saturday...
A few friends came by on Sunday for parfaits (Anushka is a fan of Fancy Nancy) - 'that's a fancy way of saying 'sundaes'...It was baby mania here with our friends - two newborns and one on the way (not from us)...

Everybody's Got A Laughing Place...

says Uncle Remus. "Trouble is most people don't bother to go and look for it." My definition of a laughing place is one that is good for the soul - just being there makes you feel better, more balanced. I have a couple. Tip top of the list is Crystal Pier at Pacific Beach in San Diego, California.

Many years before I served there as a missionary (how weird is that?!), San Diego - and more specfically, P.B., was 'the' place for me.So last week, we fled the inversion and 20-degree-weather and headed south. The weather was beautiful - the water was NOT warm. That didn't stop my brave little 5-year-old.
The kids loved climbing around on the rocks at La Jolla.
After a couple of completely perfect beach days, we headed to 'The Happiest Place on Earth" - it didn't disappoint.

Our kids' first ride ever was in search of the infamous Captian Jack Sparrow on 'Pirates of the Caribbean'.

Diggity dug meeting Winnie the Pooh (while Anushka was off getting wet on Splash Mountain).
They loved meeting all the characters.

My personal favorite princess that Anushka met was Jazmine (she was the nicest and seemed to actually like kids).

If you've never been to the Pixar parade at California Adventure, let me recommend it! It was a blast for the kids and the parents :)
Jedi training was also cool...
I have to just say how proud I was of Anushka. She is one brave kid - seriously, there was no ride she wouldn't try. Her favorites were Space Mountain and Tower of Terror. In the line for TOT, she was BY FAR the smallest person. I saw a kid that looked about 9 years old and he was the next smallest. They snap a picture of you while you're on the ride and almost all of the adults were squeezing their eyes shut or looking terrified - but my girl had a huge grin on her face. It was awesome!
Diggity and Anushka are really each other's best buddy - we had so much fun watching them together.

Definition of a Diggity

Curse Facebook! time sucking machine that it is... As always, I'll try to live up to the deli family and get some posts out there.
Today it's all about the Diggity Boy

Definition: little ball of constant energy requiring little to no sleep;

Climbs furniture, counters, toilets; Hides in cupboards, under blankets, and in plain sight. Likes to sing Jesus wants me for a Sun 'Blink'. Likes letter 'L' as in 'marshlallows', 'hot chloclate' Can be manipulated using reverse psychology especially when one desires kisses and hugs.

LOVES his big sis, Isaiah (he calls him 'MYsaiah), his racecars, Abi, Hunter and talking to anyone with whom he crosses paths.
His scary face

Happy Face

Funny Face

Mad Face

In a nutshell, he's a boy with the ability to make me want to drop kick him one minute and within a few seconds want to kiss him to death. We are crazy about that boy - potty accidents and all!