June 2012

Nathan turned 16 on June 6th and spent the day with friends at Lagoon.   I can't believe he is 16 already.  He is becoming a fine young man and I am very proud of him!

Shortly after Nathan's birthday we headed to England!  We were met at the airport by my longest (I don't want to say oldest, in case it is interpreted wrong) friend in the world!  I have know Olivia longer than any of my friends,  I just wish it were easier to spend time together!  We had a lovely Sunday with their family.

 The next day they took us to our canal boat that we had rented for the week.  It is 5'8" wide and about 50' long.  It has a kitchen, two bathrooms and it sleeps 6.  We drive it ourselves through the canal system in England, which means operating the locks manually.  You can see the locks behind the boat in the picture below.  I really loved this part of our vacation.  The boat only goes about 3 miles an hour, so you get to literally slow down.  There were elderly people walking on the path next to the canal that were moving faster than us. It was fun spending time with the family in the boat and playing games each evening.

We often stopped in the canal side villages at the local pub, for some pub grub.  We met a couple of blokes who were living on their canal boats.  They met the night before and decided to meet today to have a loud shirt contest.  We happened to meet them at the same time, and David was wearing his Hawaiian shirt, so he was entered in the contest.  Some other lucky person in the pub got to be the judge, and Mike, in the Dragon shirt won.  We had a friendly lunch with them telling lots of jokes and stories and playing games.  We felt a little like meeting the crazy locals in The Three Broomsticks,  or even the Hog's Head when we were done.
The beautiful English Countryside.

After our canal week was over, we headed to the home of the Bard, Stratford-upon-Avon.  We stayed at a lovely B&B, The Forget-me-not.  We saw all of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust sites,  including Shakepseare's Birthplace, and Anne Hathaway's Cottage.  Do you like our shirts?  I think London was feeling the love.






          
 We saw three plays by the RSC while we were there.  King John, Richard III and Julius Caesar.

We spent a day at Warwick Castle.

It is a cool 1100 year old castle.  We saw several people we 'knew'.  Some of the RSC actors were there, the lady that taught Relief Society the Sunday before in Olivia's ward, our Stake President from our last stake, and a lady I took Shakespeare training with in Cedar city.  It's a small world.

 After Stratford we moved on to Bath.  It was a very windy day at Stonehenge.

We visited the ancient roman baths.  David & I also treated ourselves to a massage in the new Thermae Bath Spa.               

The Raven was one of the many pubs where we ate.  Raven tried their specialty, the Raven Pie.   We stopped in the town of Timsbury on the way back from Stonehenge.  We found the town library.  We had a lively dinner discussion in their pub.

The highlight of the Bath stay, was the Regency Ball.  It was held in the Guild Hall.  Jane Austen herself could have gone to a ball here when she lived in Bath.  We went to the dance class that afternoon.  We learned 11 new  dances.  Our dance experience really helped to pick these up quickly.

                            It was fun having the whole family there!

                        We were decked out in the latest Regency style.  

                       I'm so glad I have my own Mr Darcy who will take me to the ball!

 After Bath we were off for a short stop in London. The men folk were pretty tired - nap time in Hyde Park.

We saw the TARDIS, and a view of the city from the London Eye.  

We did the tour and exhibition of the Globe Theater before we went to see their production of 'The Taming of the Shrew.'

 The city had 50 painted pianos set up all around for people to play.  Raven is playing the one at St Paul's Cathedral.

 After London, David and the boys came home.  David had to get back to work, and the boys had Youth Conference.    Raven & I stopped by Kings Cross Station on our way to Paris.  On the Eurostar train we got our own private compartment!                             The first thing we did was take a Segway tour of the city.  It was a super fun way to get around the city and we found ourselves wishing we had them for the whole trip.

                                              Here is Raven showing off her calf!

The city of lights!

                      Raven looking very french on the Eiffle Tower.

 Raven and I had a blast in Paris.  We at yummy french food. (Pastries!)  We went shopping, had a Segway adventure, went to the Louvre, the Musee de Orsay, the Orangerie,  took a cruise on the Seine.

 This was such a fun family adventure.  I loved every minute of it!