Goodbye, London

Last picture sent by the tour guide, Carolyn. I know we were very lucky to have such a good tour guide posting pictures almost every day. Thanks to everyone who supported Shay with dollars, prayers, and encouragement! I'm sure it was a trip she'll never forget!

Now all they have left of their excursion are two very long plane rides. Bet they sleep all the way back to Colorado!

Greenwich

Last day. They are sad, parents are happy. Friday, they went to Greenwich, had a guided tour of Windsor Castle, saw the changing of the guards. They took a river cruise on the Thames and had Bangers and Mash for dinner with Banoffee pie for dessert. Sounds yummy, eh? I'll give you some journalling and some photo updates when Shay gets home. (I know these pictures are hard to view.) I can't wait for show and tell!

Loving London

Thursday was the biggest day on the agenda. The list is too long to even list, but here were some of the London highlights:

Buckingham Palace

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

Hyde Park

St. Paul's Cathedral

Piccadilly Circus

Covent Garden

Trafalgar Square

London Eye Millennium Wheel

Dinner at Hard Rock Cafe.

Whew! I'll bet they are beat.

Oxford

The kids saw how wonderful and posh college life can be when they visited Oxford University. They then went to Moo Moo's for famous milkshakes.

Holy Trinity Church

Shakespeare is buried in Holy Trinity Church. Beautiful, rich history here!

Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Travelling from Wales to London, Shay and her clan stopped at Anne Hathaway's thatched cottage (Shakespeare's Wife).

Caernarfon Castle

The tour was lucky to get a last minute free tour of Caernarfon Castle in Wales. This is where Prince Charles had his coronation.

Beautiful weather, once again!

Shay will be home in 3 days, but who's counting??? They are heading to London via Oxford today.

The "Long Name" Village

The kids visited the city in Wales with the longest name in the world. It has 27 letters (see it on the building sign) and is abbreviated: Lanfair PG.

Ferry Across the Sea

Yes, I had a delay in postings. I thought I would die because my internet has been down for almost a whole day! Technology....

Anyway... the kids crossed the Irish Sea aboard a 3 hour Ferry and arrived safely in Holyhead, Wales.

Newgrange

One of the Ireland highlights, the Newgrange tomb. This structure was apparently built in 3,200 BC, before the pyramids and Stonehenge! Great, rich history in this beautiful country!

Guinness

Ireland is known for their Guinness (a kind of beer), so it was fitting for the group to tour the brewery. They had a great view of the city at the end of the tour. No, they didn't allow sampling. I'm sure Shay and Graham would have loved a chance to take a stand for the Word of Wisdom!

Dublin

The kids stayed in a swanky hotel in Dublin and saw the sights of the city! Looks like good weather is still following them!

Blarney Castle

Well, they are halfway through their tour. I'm happy, they are probably sad.

Here is a photo of the group standing outside the Blarney Castle. Shay is third from left. They all kissed the Blarney stone. This is significant in that now they will have eloquence. Significant because they are teen-agers. :) The Blarney stone is in the tippy top of the castle, hundreds of feet up. Glad they are all alive to tell about it!

The skies are blue, they are now in Dublin for two nights.

The Ring of Kerry

The group toured along the Ring of Kerry, a popular country costal route in county Kerry, Ireland. They also visited a sheep farm and watched sheep dogs at work. Don't worry, Grandma, I'm sure Shay remembered to pick up some fiber!

The Cliffs of Moher

No visit to Ireland would be complete without a pass by the Cliffs of Moher. I don't know if this is the correct picture of the Cliffs, but it was one of the main attractions/stops on Friday. Luckily, all students are still alive and well!

The Sea at Ballyheigue

A chilly dip in the sea was the evening activity during the group's stay at Ballyheigue. Looks like the skies are blue and they are having a wonderful adventure! Shay is 4th from left.

Shay Visits Ireland

Well, we shipped our daughter off to Ireland with the Middle School travel group. She left on Tuesday and it is a bit quiet and lonely around our house! There is no direct communication with the kids (tell me again why I agreed to this?) because in the past it has caused more problems than it has solved. We do get daily updates of their excursions and pictures to keep us sane.

They are on an amazing adventure, touring in Ireland, Great Britian and Wales. Keep checking the blog for more updates as they move around this beautiful part of the world!

Kylemore Abbey

All 33 kids and chaperones outside Kylemore Abbey in Connemara, Ireland. Looks like they are having rainy weather, but having a blast. Shay is down in the second row, right. Please don't remind me how far away she really is! We really miss her, but are so thrilled for her to have this experience!

Flower Girl

Sydney was the cutest little girl at the temple. She was enthralled by the beautiful flowers and I think this picture turned out great! She is the niece of the groom. Ahhh... the innocence of children!

Beautiful Temple Grounds

Cary and I attended a wedding at the Denver temple this month. The grounds are amazing and the flowers were so beautiful. Spring is here, finally!

Nature Walk

Our friends just moved to a new house with 10 acres! The deer have been dropping their antlers and Shyanne came across this great find while hiking around the property. She was so excited and proud of her nature hunt skills! She and Jaelyn have been best friends since they were tiny girls in the playpen together.

I Do It!

Shay was thrilled to help Jayden with his eggs, though he was quite independent and wanted to do his own. She is so grown up now, not a little girl any more!

Eggs and Cousins

Why could I not get all 5 kids together in one picture? Well, they were far to busy with their creative egg coloring to care which way the camera was facing. We love having family here to enjoy holidays and every day together!

After Easter Sunday

We took some family pics the week after Easter. We were sick and had a blizzard Easter Sunday. This didn't stop the egg hunt, however, as the show must go on. I love this family picture because my girls look so grown up and Cary is his silly-dad self!

Blizzard of '09

We finally had this years blizzard, dropping about 18" of snow in 2 days. The girls were thrilled to be able to play in the snow and go sledding before spring really starts! (I think we had some spring days in January, as I recall.)

I was waiting with hot cocoa and a fire when they were through!

A Great Find!

I've wanted a china hutch for many years. I want one even more everytime I move my boxes of precious dishes to a new house! We've been looking around for a hutch and most of them are not quite my style, or way too expensive!

The one at the Amish Furniture Showcase was a mere $3600! Anyway... we found this one on Craigslist and it goes perfectly with my decor. I finally have all my candlewick, china and antique dishes together and out of boxes.

I'm not telling how much I paid because you'll be mad at me. :-)!

In Loving Memory

Our dog Ginger (left) passed away in March. She was not quite 7, and we're not exactly sure what went wrong, but she got very sick very quickly. We miss her very much. Chessie (pictured right) is doing well and getting lots of spoiling from the girls. We're hoping to have puppies again this summer. (!?!?!?)

Lovely Little Girls Love Fall

Our aspen trees were so gorgeous here this past fall. I love this time of year more than any other season. The girls were so patient as I made them pose, but they enjoyed the nature walk!

This Old House

Jarrett loves his new home!

This remodel project was so much more meaningful because now we have family living there!

The house on Westwood Drive was in shambles, to say the least, when we bought it. Lots of TLC, new roof, new windows, new doors, new stucco, new paint and carpet, new appliances, new light fixtures, new cabinets and countertops, made it into the most lovely house.

Take a look below for some great before and after pictures!

Amy and her family made it a home, as you can see by her great taste in decorating and her cute family filling the rooms with laughter and love.

Front of House Before

Outside of house before. Needs new roof, front door relocation, cement repair and a color update!

New Family Room

New Family Room. Better sized windows, painted the brick, nice ceiling fans and great carpet.

Old Family Room

Old Family Room. Note long windows and lovely painted plywood floor. Dingy brick on fireplace and wetbar in the left corner. Why did they have a wet bar two steps from the kitchen? Note also the kitchen chandelier.

New Bathroom

New Bathroom. Smaller double vanity with cherry cabinets, linen nook in potty area created by a new 1/2 wall.

Replaced tile with carpet/vinyl.

Main Bathroom Before

Main Bathroom Before. Too large vanity and ugly cabinets. Broken tiles on floor.

New Cozy Master

New Master Bedroom. Nice size with room to spare! Amy said this bed never fit in her old house. Note sliding door was repaced with big window.

Old Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom... before! Note the lovely wallpaper border and 'mauve' carpet. Sliding door opened into the front yard.

Shyanne's Baptism

Okay, so it has been a while since my last post... life gets in the way, you know! We are getting ready to sell the house I so painstakingly blogged (and decorated, and loved etc.), so I thought I'd start adding some family stuff.

Better late than never, I'm posting from last year!

Shyanne was baptized in November and we had Cary's family come out from Utah and Grand Junction to be here for her special day.

I'll gather some recent pictures and update more often!