London!

Okay, so believe it or not, I have been working on this post for a month now. I just have been so busy, I could not get it finished. So here it is, the long-awaited post from our few days in England. There are so many pictures here, sorry. I left so many out just to spare you. It was a wonderful trip, but way toooo short. We'll have to go again soon!

This first picture tells why this whole trip came about. Our friend, Sean (middle), was receiving the priesthood, so we decided to head across the pond to be there for the big moment.

Here we are at Warwick Castle. Some areas date back to the time of William the Conqueror (1066). Wow! That's old! It was really cool to hike all up and around and through this old and fascinating building.
This is Halle's favorite picture from the whole trip. Notice how I encouraged Rod not to actually touch the sword! Can you imagine all of the germs on that thing?!?!
The interior view of the castle was pretty incredible also.

This portion of the castle was where William the Conqueror established a fort for monitoring the surrounding area.

The River Avon. It was more breathtaking than this picture shows.

Rod and Paul outside of the church where Shakespeare is buried.

The River Avon again. It was such a cool place. There was a park on the other side. There were boats going up and down it. A kayaking class was taking place. It was just a relaxing area.

The burial spot of Shakespeare.

Here we are outside of Windsor Castle. This picture is taken in front of just one corner of the castle. It was so enormous!

Here we are having our picture with a "Bobby". Poor guy, he probably gets so sick of people doing this.

The rest of the gang. Shauna, Paul, Sean, Mary, and Merrell.

I thought these gargoyles were pretty cool. Not what I would have expected. They had a life-like quality about them.

Here is the front view of the castle. It was foggy, so the picture isn't too good.

We look like tourist for sure! Riding the Tube was our main form of transportation.

Our first stop had to be to see the mission home. Paul's old stomping ground. It was a nice clean place to use the potty!!

Time for the classic Red Phone Booth picture! Where's the hand sanitizer?!

Leftover from the war, these marks, caused by the bombings, serve as a reminder.

Harrod's. I was amazed at the size of this store! My mom says they have the best chocolate she has ever tasted! (Of course we wouldn't know, because she wouldn't share!) Next time I'll have to get two boxes.

Of course we had to take a ride on a red, double-decker bus.

While we were there, the Tamil Tigers, decided to hold a protest. Unfortunately, it made it difficult to get to the area by Parliament. In the end, this protest caused Rod and I to miss seeing the inside of Westminster Abby and the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to go back!

The good ole Tube!

Picadilly Circus. It was Spring Break over there, so it was CROWDED!

Paul was nowhere to be found, so Shauna borrowed Rod to snap a cute picture. (He is much more photogenic than Paul, anyway!)

My first Real Fish and Chips experience! Not quite what I was expecting. It looked like they had taken the whole fish and battered and fried it. Despite it's appearance, it was really good!

Rod and I went to see Les Mis one night. This picture was taken right afterward. The show was so good. I loved it!!

Hyde Park was so big and extremely beautiful.

I forced Rod to get a picture with a Red Phone Booth. This is as far as he would go though!!

Royal Albert Hall

Shauna and I at Tower of London . Here we are standing in front of the Tower Green, where Henry VIII beheaded his annoying wives!! Hopefully, Rod and Paul weren't tempted there!!!

This guy is a Beefeater (no one really knows where that horrible name came from). He was our tour guide and did an excellent job. He has been in the Bristish Army in service to the Queen for over 22 years!

Tower Bridge

Rod and Paul outside of the Tower of London.

Unfortunately, this is as close to Westminster Abbey that we could get. We arrived 15 minutes late to go inside. Dang Tamil Tigers!!

Big Ben

Buckingham Palace Kennsington Palace. The statue is of Queen Victoria.

Kennsington Gardens. Rod loves stuff like this. These gardens will be incredible when everything is in bloom.

We went to see Wicked. Okay, so everyone in our group loved it, except Rod and I. It was good, but just not great. Maybe it had something to do with having just seen Les Mis.

The trip had to come to an end sometime! Here we are on the Gatwick Express, off to catch a flight home.

Thank you to all our great travel companions. Thanks to Paul and Shauna for letting us tag along. We had a great time.

A huge Thank you to the best parents in the world. Watching my kids for a week is no easy task. Thank you for ALL that you do for me. I love you!!