Avery's Turns 10!

 Avery turned 10 years old on Sunday and we had a really fun weekend to celebrate.  He first had his 2 closest friends over for a sleepover on Friday night.  Avery got a new Wii game that he had been wanting, so he was excited to play it with his friends. 

Then on Saturday, afternoon we took the kids for a drive....and surprised them with a visit to the WB Harry Potter Studios in Leavesden, England.  This is where much of the filming took place for the movies, and where most of the existing sets and props are now stored.  Since I'm a big fan of the Harry Potter books and movies, this was a bit of a present for me too :-).  Here'as a few pictures from our tour...it was amazing!

While waiting to get in, we saw one of the places where it all began...in the cupboard under the stairs.

 One side of the Great Hall all set up for a Christmas feast

 Inside the Ministry of Magic

What does butter beer taste like? Extra creamy cream soda...with lots of froth on top!

Outside No. 4 Privet Drive

 Diagon Alley

At the end of the tour we got to see the enormous Hogwarts model...breathtaking. 
Overall we were so impressed by the tour, I already want to go back!  Definitely, one of the highlights of England. We finished off the night in the gift shop of course, and left with a "few" magic wands among other things.  Avery got a cute "Seeker" baseball cap.

 

Avery finished up his birthday weekend with a relaxing day at home to recover from the previous 2 days. 



Halloween in the UK

Last year we chose not to participate in Halloween here because we didn't know what it was like.  We stayed home to hand out candy and only had 2 trick-or-treaters.  The kids don't have school during the week of Halloween, so there's no celebration at school.  In general, we've discovered that trick-or-treating is not as common here, by some it is considered begging.  Many people choose not to participate due to religious reasons, but an even more common viewpoint is that it is "American" tradition and they don't want to succumb to the commercialism.  That being said, there are a few people that choose to participate in trick-or-treating.  The grocery stores have halloween costumes for sale (much cheaper than in the US), but all the costumes that I've seen are of the scary and bloody variety...no princesses or cartoon characters here.  Though some would say that the traditions of Halloween are American, I would say that the way the British celebrate it is very different from America. 

We were encouraged to try trick-or-treating by a few people this year who said that their housing developments participated.  The girls wanted to dress up and we were invited to a friends house in one of these developments.  The children had a lot of fun, but if you're used to trick or treating in the US....it was a bit sad.  I would guess that about 10% of the houses had candy for the kids.  Because so few people participate, the way to know for sure who is hospitable is to look for a jack-o-lantern in the window.

I have to say that Halloween isn't my favorite holiday...the resentment that the British have of the commercialism of it all is shared by me to some extent.  But being here, and seeing how it is done differently, has helped me to appreciate what is good about this "American" tradition.  I love that Halloween is an excuse to get dressed up in costume.   I love that trick-or-treating is a reason for us to interact with our neighbors.  We are all caught up in our busy lives, how nice it is to go around and see all of our neighbors once a year.  I totally recognize the religious reasons to object to Halloween, though I choose to see the holiday not as a celebration of evil, but a seasonal community tradition with a bit of spookiness mixed in.

I'm so glad we got out to try trick-or-treating here.  It has helped me gain perspective and appreciation for our own celebrations at home. We had a lovely evening with friends tonight.  We were sprayed with mist while we walked, so we came back to our friends' house for a hot cup of tea and the Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin video. Celebrating time together with friends and family....a good old American tradition. Happy Halloween everyone!

 

Paris in October

We just got back from our 4-day Paris adventure, and we're all so glad that we went.  We had a wonderful time experiencing the Parisian culture, seeing the sights, and collecting artwork. Yes, at first there was a bit of culture differences to get used to...experiencing some stereotypical French unfriendliness, but most of our experiences were very pleasant especially as we got farther away from the Eiffel Tower.  Our hotel was a couple blocks away from the Eiffel Tower so we were able to see this world renown icon every day...such a treat, especially at night when it is lit up.  Also, every hour after dark, the Eiffel tower "sparkles" with flashing lights for about 5 minutes.

We took the Eurostar train from London right into Paris, which was a nice relaxing journey.

Upon arrival, we took the metro and then walked several blocks to our apartment.  This was our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower along the way.

We were all really excited to meet up with Nicki (Sean's sister) and Mike shortly after our arrival, and then we walked over to the Eiffel Tower area to have a look around.

Walking along the Rue Cler marketplace.

 Outdoor seating for dinner...Mia enjoys some watered down wine. The nice thing about Paris is that most of the restaurants have outdoor seating year round.  Even if it's cold, they have heat lamps to keep you warm.

 



Later we went back to the Eiffel Tower, and then took a River Cruise along the Seine.

 

FRIDAY:

 

We began the day with a tour of the Louvre...which was just amazing.  We had a fabulous tour guide that entertained the kids with a treasure hunt and kept them very engaged along the way.

Venus de Milo

The Mona Lisa

 

After the Louvre, we found some lunch and made our way over to the Eiffel Tower to ride to the top.  Avery was very nervous, he is very scared of heights. You have to take 2 elevator rides to the top.  Fortunately, at the top, the elevator puts you into an indoor room, which put Avery at ease, though we were able to go outside from that room.

It was a misty day, so the view wasn't as good as it could have been, but it was still pretty awesome.

 

SATURDAY:

We enjoyed much of Saturday just walking around and enjoying the city. We did some shopping in the St. Germain area.  We ended up in a French GAP that had some really adorable kids clothes...so the kids picked up some new "fashions."

Waiting for the Metro.

Two staples in the French diet...baguettes and crepes.  We loved eating baguette sandwiches and crepes filled with chocolate and bananas.

After shopping and lunch we went over to Notre Dame and took a walk-through.

 More shopping on the narrow streets.

More chocolate crepes!

We then went to Luxembourg Gardens to feed the birds.

A very cold day in the gardens...

SUNDAY, our last day:

Alexa and Mia showing off their new Parisian fashions with Aunt Nicki.

Sunday was a gorgeous day! We went to La Basilique du Sacre Coeur...church of the Sacred Heart in Montmartre, and then walked around the surrounding area where local artists sell their paintings.  We stepped inside a few galleries, and watched the artists at work in the streets.

The girls were mesmerized by the artists at work.

We enjoyed a final meal with Nicki....probably our best French meal. From there we said our goodbyes and then went back to our apartment to get our luggage, taking a walking route past the Tower one more time.  Au Revoir, Paris!

 

Legoland & Buckingham Palace

Last weekend we drove down to London for a little escape. The kids wanted to go to Legoland again and I wanted to see Buckingham Palace. We hit Legoland first on Saturday and mainly did things we hadn't had the chance to last year. The highlight was seeing the entire mini-land exhibit which included all the sites of London along with other European villages and a Kennedy Space Center replica....all out of Legos!

Before going to Buckingham on Sunday, we got to see the Lego version....don't think I got this good of a view at the real thing!

 

The kids were excited to ride in the Fiat Lego cars.  This year Alexa was old enough to drive and she was thrilled!

 Though there were quite a few traffic jams....

 This year there is a new Star Wars Lego exhibit which was a lot of fun to tour.

Saturday night we stayed in a lovely Bed & Breakfast near Heathrow airport and then took the Tube into London on Sunday morning.  Though we arrived at Buckingham Palace 45 minutes before the Changing of the Guard, there was already a huge crowd.  So it was pretty hard for Sean and I to see much.  But the kids took turns sitting on our shoulders, so they got a decent view.  They are responsible for the pictures that you get to see below.

Much of the activity took place inside the gates surrounding the palace.  Because we were not right up against the fence, we got lots of nice detailed pictures of the bars.  This one below is my favorite.

 

After watching the Changing of the Guard, we grabbed a quick lunch and scurried to our 1:00 tour of the Palace.  It was quite impressive, especially the Jubilee display of the Queen's diamonds.  I loved seeing all the diamond tiaras and crowns that have been passed from Queen to Queen  for 100s of years.  Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside the Palace.  We were able to take photos as we exited the back of the palace into the garden.

Overall, a very fun weekend....though it was hard to go to school this morning!