UK Trip: Day 1

Last week, Steve and I gallivanted around Great Britain with April and Matt.  I know, we can't believe it either!  Matt's graduation ceremony at the University of Edinburgh was to take place on Tuesday, and our generous family sent us across the pond to be there with him!

We flew overnight and once the 5-hour time difference was taken into account, we arrived at London-Heathrow around 7am.  We didn't sleep much, but we had a middle-of-the-night chicken dinner and watched movies.  I saw The Help, and I highly recommend it.

So our first full day in London was a Sunday.  We pumped our veins full of caffeine by means of some airport Costa coffees, and then immediately decided to find a Starbucks, which is much better than Costa.  Then Matt helped us purchase our oyster cards (for riding the Tube/ underground).

Our plan was to change at Matt's flat and then attend church with him at All Soul's.  We were excited for a chance to visit his new church home away from home... but the London fog got in the way.

After a dash to the pier to catch the Thames Clipper ferry, it turned out that the boats weren't running to our stop, Canada Water, because of the dense fog.  It was as thick as pea soup out there.  Or mash peas, if you want to be British about it (I'm dedicating a whole later post to food, stay tuned):

We wouldn't make it to church on time, so plan B was to pack a picnic lunch and head toward Hyde Park.  Here we are on the 20 minute walk from Matt's flat on Prince Street to the Tube station:

We stopped for Starbucks on Oxford Street and then arrived at Hyde Park:

After eating lunch we strolled around and came across a rose garden that was still in bloom.

How very "London", don't you think?

We eventually made it to Covent Garden, a large market that was all decked out for Christmas.  And I found a very promising sign that touted "Great British Food":

Bacon sandwich, anyone?  Perhaps some Bubble and Squeak?

By the way, 10 pounds is equivalent to 16.60 dollars.  For a bacon sandwich.  We spent a good deal of money on our Great British Food.

April and I found a cupcake bakery and bought some sparkly cupcakes.  We tried mulled wine and tasted teas at a tea shop.  I was this close to buying some Turkish Delight, and was wishing that our kids were old enough to read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

You can't go to London and NOT get a photo in a phone booth!

Can you spot the London Eye and Big Ben in this photo?

We had some pizza near Picadilly Circus for dinner, and then a very full first day came to an end.

Eight Months Old

Avery had a weight check appointment this morning, and she's hit 16 lbs!  That's just about 3 lbs. in the seven weeks since her last weigh-in.  She's up to the 10-25th percentile, and we won't have to go in for any more weight checks.  It seems that she was just biding her time and waiting for the solids before she got serious about eating.  Here's to mashed fruits and veggies!

Avery can also crawl like an inchworm, sit up by herself to play, eat baby biscuits, has one tooth, and loves to clap her hands (thanks to some very diligent training by her Mom Mom and Pop and her big sisters, while Steve and I were away last week, so I hear!)

Happy eight months, little girl.

The Bonnie Hills of Scotland

We're back to everyday life after spending a week in London and Edinburgh with Matt and April.  Many, many photos are soon to come...

Bid on a Mini Session to Help Jesse!

This Christmas, our friends Shane and Wendy are joining with Reese's Rainbow and Angel Tree to raise money to help with the adoption of a precious little boy named Jesse.  Please read about it on their blog here.

Wendy is offering fabulous goodies to those who donate to the cause!  This week, she is auctioning off a Mini Session with yours truly!  If you'd like to place a bid, visit Wendy's blog post and leave a comment.

sweet Jesse

Our Bouncy Baby at 7 Months

bath time!

Avery is closer to eight months at this point, but let's celebrate seven months for this post:

She is so CUTE.  Her favorite thing to do is bounce in her exersaucer or on her tummy.  While she bounces, she makes the same face she's making in the photo above.  And she flaps her arms so fast that my camera shutter can't keep up (again, see the photo above).  

Avery's bottom left tooth broke through on Monday.  She's eating food twice a day and is very messy about it.  As of last month, she's exclusively bottle-fed, so I'm learning what it's like to have a baby that's independent of me in that way (longer date nights, anyone?  Trip to Europe?  OK!)

Speaking of Steve and me leaving for Europe on Saturday, I almost cried last night when I thought about leaving my sweet little sugar pie honey bunches of a bouncing baby love-muffin.  I'm going to miss kissing her cheeks and nuzzling in her little neck and having her bounce on my lap.  This separation is going to take some prayer on my part and on your part!  Grace and Leah?  They packed their overnight bags this morning and asked when in the world they're leaving for their week of bliss at Mom Mom and Poppy's house.  

Avery lights up when she sees her big sisters, and Grace and Leah are the only ones that can get a laugh out of her!  She smiles at the drop of a hat, but laughing is reserved for very special and very funny big sisters.

Western PA Fall Adventure

The last weekend of September took us back to our old stomping ground, Grove City College. That magical place where I finally convinced Steve that he couldn't live without me  we fell in love.  Here are Steve and the other Rhos that showed up for the cookout:

Before the Homecoming festivites began, we spent a couple days camping with the Sanders' family.  It was our Sixth Annual Deterding-Sanders Camping Adventure, and we decided to celebrate in style.  Instead of our usual tent camping, we rented some great little cabins on a lake at Keystone State Park.

girls, girls, girls, girls, girls, girls, girls (and two cute boys)

 s'mores with peanut butter

cutie pie girl baby April, Avery's camping buddy 4LIFE

it was relaxing

the Deterding site

and the Sanders site

Leah and Mr. Kevin

all you really need to keep preschoolers occupied on a camping trip is a lake, some sticks, and an endless supply of rocks and pebbles.

waffles for breakfast on the porch!

Katie's Senior Photos

I did a senior session with my cousin Katie!  Here are some more photos:

Heather Grace Photography Blog.