Bury St. Edmunds

This post should be before London....we went to Bury on Sunday with everyone.  It was a beautiful sunny day and we enjoyed all the beautiful flowers and sights. We ate at a really good Tapas restaurant and then had coffee from Starbucks. (this post should be done a week ago, but time got away and I was pretty busy).   

We picked the perfect time to show off the gardens in Bury.  We walked in the Abbey gardens and in the Cathedral.   Weather was perfect and we stopped off for ice cream too!

London

Tower Bridge

Prince Charles and the boys live here.

Big Ben and the House of Parliament

We took everyone to London on Monday.  We started out right on time and when we arrived at the tube (train) station the car park was full.  We drove about 2 minutes down the road to Theydon Bois and found the last parking spot!!!  Rob and I joked through out the day that the car would be clamped or gone when we return, but it was right where we left it!!  The tube/train ride in was fun and we actually didn't get lost. We went straight to the hotel Tracy was going to stay at to drop off her bags then we found a nice place to eat lunch, Garfunkel's .  I won't forget to mention....it was a typical rainy London day but that didn't stop us from the bus tour.  We rode the Original Sight Seeing bus and boat tour and saw all of London.  We also saw some protesters around the House of India and then at Parliament. They were protesting about some things happening in Sri Lanka.  We had a very long and exhausting day but it was fun too.  

Cambridge

We took Mom, Dad and Tracy to Cambridge Saturday. It was a beautiful sunny day and we went on the perfect day to see graduates walking around!  Each of the 32 colleges that make up Cambridge University graduate at different times.  Kings college is the largest of the schools and Trinity College is the most well known, 20 some of the noble prize winners graduated from Trinity.  Cool fact.....Prince Charles' body guard received a higher grade in final exams than he did!!!   We went punting on the Cam and saw the backs of the colleges and enjoyed a relaxing boat ride.  We ate lunch  outside at Don Pascal's and watched people at the market.   We also enjoyed looking in the shops and the girls found a Build a Bear in the Mall!!  Rob and I told the girls they could get an outfit each for their bears/stuffed animals. It's been a while since they have been in a build a bear store....they were like deer in headlights looking at all the clothes!!!   It didn't take the girls long to pick out an outfit and I'm sure they will remember the store is there. 

Ely with Mom and Dad

I took Mom and Dad to Ely today to see the market and the catherdal.   We have had beautiful weather, sunny and in the 60s.  Perfect weather for sighting seeing.  We were only in Ely for about an hour and a half. We had enough time to shop for fresh produce, get a drink at Starbucks and see the Catherdal.   

Memom and Papa arrive

Papa and the girls having a tea party in the back garden.

Jenna talked Memom into helping her rollerskate.

Mom and Dad...aka Memom and Papa arrived yesterday to visit us for two weeks!  We were all very excited to see them but the girls were so excited....I don't think Meghan has stopped smiling. Jenna has stopped smiling today, but only because she is tired from getting up so early.  The girls woke up this morning looking for Memom and Papa, but with the traveling and long day yesterday Memom and Papa were still sleeping.  We have some fun trips planned and beautiful sights to see with Memom and Papa and Aunt Tracy (aka my sister is joining in on the fun on Friday).

We had big news for everyone this week.....we are expecting baby #3!  I'm very early in the pregnancy, 4 weeks, but so excited and feeling pregnant!  I will show off belly shots starting at 8 weeks and will post one every 4 weeks, if not more often!

Riding bikes in the sunshine

This weekend spoiled all of us in East Anglia with some of the most beautiful sunshine and warm weather. But before I get to what I am actually blogging about.....warm weather in the UK doesn't actually mean "warm"....it means it was in the low 60s!  

We have been working with Jenna on riding on a two wheel bike...or I should say...she decided she wanted to learn to ride on two wheels, so Rob took the training wheels off and Jenna started practicing.   Jenna is most comfortable riding her bike in the Dominos parking lot. She is still nervous on the sidewalks and needs to learn not to turn the handlebars when she is looking behind her (she falls).

  

I really hope this weather sticks around for the next few weeks!!!  That will give us nice traveling weather while Mom, Dad and Tracy are visiting!!!  Did I mention....they start arriving Tuesday!!!!!

Friday....week in review....

I still haven't finished blogging about my Germany trip but I am someone who puts things off until I feel overwhelmed...then I will get it done!hahaa  We have only been home from Germany for a week and a day and it feels like I was never gone.  Jenna was still out of school this week for spring break, so my cleaning was a slow process because I had to play Dora, read books, play baby sitters and hang out with a very sweet little 4 year old!  My time with just me and Jenna at home during the day is in the final year.....I registered her for Kindergarten yesterday and re-registered Meghan at Lakenheath for 1st grade!!!   Jenna was so bored this week playing and hanging out with me....I think her highlight of the day was when we went to pick up Meghan.   

I have been cleaning a little extra and getting the house ready for Mom, Dad and Tracy's visit!  We have a few more days and Mom and Dad will be here!  We are very excited and have some fun things lined up while they are here.  (Tracy is flying in a few days after Mom and Dad...fyi)

Rob's eyes are healing well and he is still excited about not having to wear contacts or glasses to see!  I can't imagination not being able to see without the ad of glasses/contacts and I'm so happy he was able to get his eye sight corrected and doesn't need anything to see!!

I've had a lot on my mind recently and life really is something you shouldn't take lightly......the day of our return from Germany I was informed an airmen from Lakenheath was killed in action in Afghanistan on April 4.  Wow, what sad news to hear after returning from a nice trip (my life was moving on while someone elses was falling down around them).  I couldn't place the name but yesterday my heart broke more when I realized I knew the airman's wife and kids.....the little girl was in Jenna's preschool class last year. Just think...... his kids won't get to grow up with him around.....never get a hug or kiss from him.....never hear I love you again from him....      This makes me thankful for the time I get with everyone in my life and I am so happy I take the time to do silly things with my girls, contact my family and just live;)    Pray for all our guys and gals downrange....and dont' forget the families they have left behind as well.

Happy Easter and Happy Birthday!

First, I want to say Happy Birthday to Kelly!  Hope you have an awesome day:)  Kelly is my SIL...fyi

Happy Easter to each and every one of you!   We have enjoyed a slow family day with lot's of fun with some candy thrown in the mix!!!  The girls.....actually Jenna, woke up at 630am and I made her lay in my bed with us for about 20 minutes. I then told her to go wake up Meghan and tell her it's Easter morning!  The girls rushed downstairs and found all the eggs the Bunny hid then started begging for candy!LOL;)

The girls and I went to our regular church service and really enjoyed a nice sermon. Our friends, Kristy and Ryan, went with us!  

When we returned home we ate a light lunch and played some World Tour video game....drums, guitar and singing:)   The girls also spent most the afternoon outside enjoying the cloudy, but not rainy day.

I want to eat certain foods on Easter, I probably can't remember all that Mom would fix, but my favorites have stuck in my head.  For dinner tonight we had Ham, rolls, broccoli, potato salad...and for dessert Angel food cake with strawberries, topped off with whipped cream...Yummy!   (for my family and close friends...you already know I love to eat and for my blog buddies....well I love to eat and I wake up in the morning thinking about what I'm going to eat all day..not just my breakfast!!)

I'm sure you figured out I took a break from blogging about Germany....I'm not done with Germany, so don't worry:)   I am typing on my new Macbook notebook and I don't have my Germany pics on the Mac...I'll finish up my Germany pics and blogging early this week.

pictures from Burg Lichtenberg

Trip to Germany part 2

I'm not sure how many posts I will do but I will try and include a lot of pictures. Germany is so beautiful and we had some awesome weather while we were there. Since Rob was there for PRK, we didn't do as much sight seeing as we would have liked but we did get to see some cool castles, Rob's old stomping grounds (Manneheim) and the local areas.
We went to two castles...Burg Nanstein and Burg Lichtenberg. Both were beautiful and I have to say the German castles are much different than the English castles. Both are awesome but the Germans seemed to have an advantage with having the mountains to work with....they found the highest point in the area and that was the spot for the castle. The English had to work with flat areas, so they built up land for the castle to sit on...but they didn't have the views the German castles afforded from impending attacks.
The pictures on this post are from Burg Lichtenberg.

fyi---Burg is the German word for castle...