Week 2

So this week, there's no great need to go day by day. As anticipated, this week was much M-U-C-H slower than last week. Most of the settling in has passed and now we are onto more day to day activities. I'm doing some searching for a play group or friends of some sort. I haven't had a ton of luck yet, but I'm still working on it. I did get a recommendation for a babysitter from a friend of a friend and I'm VERY excited to say that Allie will be helping us out a few evenings a week. Steve has been working pretty late leaving the witching hour, dinner, baths and bed all in my court. Having Allie will make for a much less stressful night.

This week it rained a lot. It's not like Texas rain - Git 'er done kinda rain. You know, where it pours for a while then you can move on with your life. Nope, this just comes and settles in for a few days. Kind of like a comic strip where that black cloud just hangs over your head and rains on you. Except here it's drizzle. Not enough to require an umbrella all the time even. Just enough to make you stay in and wish you had bought more cookies.

So, 5 straight days of...whatever this rain is and the boys (and their mama) hardly made it out except for a few quick trips to the store. Finally Friday we said forget it and headed out in the gray mess for an afternoon at the park. There is a fantastic playground at Hyde park - complete with the largest beach/sandbox area you've ever seen at a park, lots of fun play stuff and even a huge ship! I would have taken pictures, but due to the weather, I left the camera at home, so I'll have to post later. Cade opted to swing for about 45 minutes straight which was perfect with me. I don't really dig sand anyway - so messy! Oh, and we were practically carried off by the birds wanting our sandwiches. One even landed on Cade's leg and tried to take it right out of his hand. Needless to say, Cade isn't a huge fan of birds anymore. All the way home he said "mommy, birds scary" Indeed Cade, Indeed.

Saturday was our big adventure for the week. We got up early for a pancake breakfast courtesy of McD's, then headed to the airport via the "Heathrow Express". It's the rather pricey new train that gets you to the airport in a little cushier style in 1/2 the time. There was no one on the train at 8:40 when we left, so they put us in "first class". Nice.

Next, we catch a shuttle to the car rental place. Isn't it always the case that 3 hertz shuttles pass before 1 alamo? Guess which we rented from. So we get there and the line is HUGE and not moving at all. We ended up spending an hour waiting for our car (so much for my master planned schedule).

So finally at 10:35am, we get everyone strapped in and begin the adventure. If you know me, then you know about 2 minutes in to this road trip, my armpits started itching. I've never been so nervous in a car in my life. But Steve did great (only hit the curb a few times) and we are all still in one piece!

So off to Stonehenge we go. It took about an hour and 45 minutes. Lots of highway, but some scenic English roads too. A fun drive. Really pretty. Unfortunately, all of my pictures are through a car window, but you get the idea.

We got to Stonehenge around noon. There's simply not a ton to say about the rocks themselves. They're rocks. Big ones. Cool to think about and hypothesize on how and why they are there. But still. Rocks.

The flying/attacking beetles however...now I have A LOT to say about those. I mean - what the? They were everywhere. You couldn't escape them. They were all over our clothes. In our hair. On the babies. Horrifying. I just. I'm glad it's over (the bugs I mean).

We decided to add a way point on our trip back to the airport. Windsor Castle. Unfortunately, our GPS can't read signs - like the one on the street it told us to turn on that says "no motor vehicles". So we could never figure out how to get "to" the castle. Just this pic from a distance will have to suffice.

We made it home about 4:30. Took short naps, dinner then bed. Allie came to babysit and Steve and I enjoyed our first night out....possibly ever since C2 was born. We went to a pub to watch the world cup - US vs England. It was utterly uneventful. The game ended in a tie. The food was mediocre at best. And we enjoyed every minute of it.

Sunday we trekked to Oxford street. Whew - what a busy place. Too much shopping even for me, so you can imagine what Steve felt like. I'm not sure, but one time I think I caught him trying to jam a fork in his eye to alleviate some of the pain. And by the way - if anyone who was part of the design of the London tube system is reading this blog - I have some serious bones to pick with you! Really London? Really? Even your stations with lifts (which are NOT MANY) have stairs too. It's impossible to travel with a stroller if you are by yourself. What about wheelchairs London? Crimmany.

So all in all, another great weekend. We'll see what this week has to bring. Cheers!