Bath, England

The Bath House

On our way back to London, we stopped in Bath for a few hours. We jumped on a tour bus and took a ride around the city.














Ryan and his boss at the restaurant where we had lunch.

We were so blessed to be able to go on this trip! Ryan's boss definitely spoiled us and made sure we had an amazing experience!!

London- Part 2

The National Gallery- we saw works from amazing artists including Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Turner, and my all time favorite Monet. I also discovered a painting I Love called "the Virgin and Child Embracing"by Sassoferrato.


The Portobello market in Nottinghill.I love these colorful row houses! And the market was so fun. I'd love to go back some day.

Cadence showing Hayden's sign in Nottinghill.


St. Paul's Cathedral. I made it part way up the stairs, and Ryan climbed clear to the top.

Natural History Museum

We went to see WarHorse in London's theater district. We love to see plays and really enjoyed this production.

After some time in London, we drove out into the country so Ryan could meet with some clients in Stonehouse. It took us a while to get out of London, though. We rented a car in the train station next to our hotel. After about 45 minutes to get the car, we got in and the gas tank was totally empty. we then spent the next 45 minutes trying to find a gas station that wasn't in the restricted congestion area. Right after getting gas, Ryan accidentally ran into a curb and blew out our tire. We then waited an hour for a tow truck, got towed and waited for the tire to be fixed. It took about 4 hours to get about 10 miles from our hotel where we originally started. Thankfully Ryan's boss, who was riding with us, has a great attitude and made light of the whole thing, teasing Ryan all day ;)

The next day Ryan spent a morning in meetings, and Ryan's customer's wife, Ann, took me on a 4-5 mile hike through the English countryside. (She had asked me if I wanted to go on a little walk, ha ha!) We may have gotten lost and ended up hiking way longer than anticipated, but it was amazing! She also took me to their house. It's very quaint. Along with most people in the area, they have a wonderful garden, because things grow so easily here.








One of the great cottages dotting the countryside.

A small mailbox built into the half wall will Queen Elizabeth's initials.

After some lunch and a quick nap, Ryan took me to see the Great Witcombe Roman Villa Ruins.

That night we went to dinner with Ryan's clients in a beautiful little town called Painswick.

Painswick Abbey.

I couldn't get over how incredibly beautiful and peaceful the English Countryside seemed. Ryan was excited that our hotel was in Gloucester right by Cooper's hill where they do the cheese rolling!

Hello London- Part 1

Ryan got put on a new account at work and now he travels to London a couple times a year to visit with customers there. He took his first trip in July 2014. We had enough sky miles saved up for me to tag along. So, we left the kids with Sean's family for a few nights and with Steve and Darlene for a few nights, and set off for England.

We spent some time walking all throughout London. We saw Big Ben,

Charles' Dickens' old house,

Buckingham Palace,

Proof that we actually saw a guard at the Palace, even though we didn't hang out to watch the changing of the guard.

Another day we went to The Tower of London and Tower Bridge. We saw the Crown Jewels (they don't allow pictures inside). They are absolutely amazing, but I couldn't help thinking that you could feed a small country with how much they have to be worth. 
   


We just happened to be coming out of the Tower of London when people were lined up on the street to see the Tour de France come through. We got in the crowd, waited an hour, and ended up being right in the front on the curb when the racers came through. They went by in about 45 seconds, but it was pretty awesome!


Kensington Palace where Prince William and Kate live. We didn't see them anywhere....













Hyde Park is so beautiful. We took a walk through the park, and it is one of my favorite places.

Ryan and Jeffrey.

Double rainbow in Hyde park. We also happened upon a Backstreet Boys concert going on in the park. We stopped and listened to them sing "Backstreets Back", then moved along.


Southwark Cathedral, where Shakespeare worshipped.

View of Big Ben on the bridge over the Thames.

We went to Westminster Abbey, but it was Sunday and they were having services so we didn't go inside.

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This is a picture of the second hotel we stayed in right downtown. It's the St. Pancras and it is incredible! This is where Ryan's boss likes to stay so we were lucky enough to be able to stay in such a fancy place. Bonus they have the best sticky toffee pudding, which I completely fell in love with. This hotel was even in part of Harry Potter!

Brooklyn Turns 2!

 

 This little beauty turned 2! I always say this, but I can't believe how fast time flies. She is a super fun 2 year old that loves trying to keep up with her siblings. Isn't she just adorable! She has definitely melted a lot of hearts!

 Hayden and Cole helped me make some doggy cupcakes for the party, because Brooklyn loves doggies!

 We had a family party at our house. Uncle Darin, Uncle Sean, and Aunt Natalie's families, and Grandma and Grandpa Woodland all came. 

 Her favorite present of the day was her bubbles from Caitlin. She loves bubbles!

Brooklyn is loved by so so so many people! She brings so much joy to our family and we love her so much!

More Randomness :)

 Brynli and Brogan came with us to the spring birthday party at Thanksgiving Point. They got to pet animals, ride the train, do a craft, and have so much fun!

The last week of school each class did a dance performance out in the field. We got to go watch and cheer on Hayden. Brooklyn was so happy when she spotted Hayden and wanted to stay with her.

 Brooklyn loves brownie mix, just like her Momma!

 Brooklyn and Daddy enjoying some ribs.

 Cute girl with missing teeth headed to gymnastics!

 Silly silly boy!