Our First Day in London

We just got back from a fantastic two week trip traveling around London and Ireland, and I'm going to be posting lots of pictures over the next few weeks. It will be to share all of our experiences with anyone who is interested and also so I can write everything down while it is still fresh in my memory.

We left home on June 14th at 6:45pm on British Airways and 9 1/2 hours later landed at Heathrow. This was the first time the boys and I have ever been on a flight that long. Since it was an overnight flight, I was really hoping that we could get some sleep. Connor was really the only one who did. He stretched out over Chris and Spencer and pretty much slept the entire flight. The rest of us managed about 2, maybe 3 hours of sleep. 

We landed at 9:30 Saturday morning and breezed right through Immigration and Customs. I had pre-ordered us passes for the London Underground (subway), so we hopped right on it and made our way to our hotel. Before we left home, I had google-mapped directions on what Underground (also called the Tube) lines we were suppose to take, so we were all prepared on what we needed to do. Taking the Underground was so easy and we loved it all week long. There was a station extremely close to our hotel which also made traveling around the city super easy. 

This is our hotel we stayed at for our week in London: K+K Hotel George in Kensington.  

It was really nice and very quiet and we would all recommend it. It wasn't right next to the super touristy parts of London, but since it was so close to the Underground, it was very fast to get to where we wanted to go. 

And on that first day, I really hoped we could get somewhere fast. A few months back, I was researching the internet to find out about different things we could do in London. I came across an event called Trooping the Colour, which was being held the day we would arrive. It is a celebration of the Queen's birthday. They have a parade earlier in the day, then at 1pm the entire Royal family would make an appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the Royal Air Show. I knew that we could not make the parade, but was really hoping that our flights would arrive on time and that we could make the appearance on the balcony. 

We arrived at our hotel and Chris' parents, Pete & Sue, were already there. Their flight arrived a few hours earlier than ours. We got our hotel room early, brought our suitcases up to it, and then it dawned on me. It was 12:10pm. If we left right then, we just might make it to the balcony appearance. And yes, I had google-mapped directions from our hotel to Buckingham Palace so I knew exactly what we were suppose to do. (I had made us an approximately 2-inch thick itinerary for the trip with all kinds of information and google maps. We were not going to be able to access data on our phones, so we had to go old-school and use paper maps.)

So we all left right then, and hustled ourselves over to the Underground. 20 minute ride later, a short walk through a pretty park and we arrived at Buckingham Palace with about 15 minutes to spare. We got up really close to the gates, but decided to back up a bit so we could see without the gates obstructing our view. 

And then they opened the doors:

They were all there. I'm not sure who the people on the left end of the pic are or the gentleman next to Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice. 

I seriously couldn't believe that we have been in the country approximately 3 hours and we were seeing the Royal Family! Talk about a once in a lifetime opportunity. 

There were a few different flyovers, but this one was my favorite.

About 20 minutes later it was all done and they started to leave. 

A closeup of William and Kate. She looked beautiful.

After they left the balcony, we crossed the street and I had Chris take a picture of us to prove we were there! And actually this picture isn't too bad considering we pretty much came straight here after being on a plane for 9 1/2 hours. 

We thought everything was all done, but the police came through and told us all to get off of the streets. These guys came through next and we were super close to them.  

Front row, I could have reached out and touched them when they walked past me. 

After they passed us, the policeman still had us stay back and then these guys appeared:

We had no idea what was going on, but they waited until this car came out and escorted it out of the area. I realized this must be someone important, so I just snapped pictures. I didn't know who I was taking pictures of until I got to a place were I could look at them. 

And it was....

Prince Charles and Camilla! 

They left and then this parade went by us. It was pretty long and they were pulling cannons. 

After that parade, everything was finally done. We decided to try and find someplace to eat because we were all starving. When we were wandering, we came across these guards. I found out later that this is Prince Charles' house.

We did finally find a little cafe to eat, which was good because it started pouring rain about that time. And all of us forgot to bring our umbrellas since we ran out of the hotel so fast to get to Buckingham Palace. 

The cafe was nice, and I was starving so I think anything would have tasted good at that point! 

After that, we made out way back to our hotel and relaxed and unpacked for a bit. Then we decided to explore our neighborhood and find something for dinner.

This is a pretty alley that was across the street from our hotel.  

We ended up eating snacks at the Earl's Court Pub and watching news coverage on their TVs of the Queen's appearance. We still couldn't believe we saw the Royal Family on our first day! 

We went to bed pretty early that night to get rested for the rest of our trip. 

Day One was a fantastic start to our grand adventure! 
Look for more blog posts in the next few days.

Thanks for visiting me! 

Another Year, Another Mustache.

I can't believe I haven't blogged in over a year and my last entry was about Connor's awesome spring Mustache picture.  Even though I am a bad blogger, I'm still an awesome mom because we are back with Mustache Picture 2013 Edition.

This year's Mustache Spectacular wasn't planned for months like last year. No contracts were required this year. We decided to give it another go during Spring Break. Connor found a leftover mustache from last year when he was cleaning his room and asked if he could wear it for this year's pictures. I told him I didn't care, but he couldn't cause any distractions at school with his mustache. 

The school photographer even got into the spirit by suggesting the fantastic pose you are about to see. And Connor said she even let him look at his picture after she snapped it, which is usually not allowed and probably explains the bad school picture phenomenon so many of us have experienced. 

So prepare yourself for the new

2013 Magnificent Mustache Picture.

I think Connor captures the essence of the Mustache, don't you? He has a certain youthful hipster look that I'm sure is the envy of all of the real hipsters out there. You know, a cool vibe with a little nerd thrown in for good measure. 

They gave us a choice of many different backgrounds and we couldn't just pick the regular traditional background. So we purchased the CD that gave us all of these wonderful options: 

Artsy Connor

Nature Connor

"Monet" Connor

Farmer Connor

Abstract Connor

Bluebonnet Connor

(Texas State Flower)

And lastly,

Patriotic Connor

See how wonderful they all turned out and how we couldn't just pick one. I'm partial to Farmer Connor. Although Patriotic Connor is a close second. And I really like Artsy Connor as well. Which one is your favorite? 

And since I blog so infrequently, if you are unfamiliar with how this all started, scroll down to the entry before this one to read all about it.

Thanks for visiting me! 

And stayed tuned for Mustache Picture 2014! (Connor already has plans.)

I am the Most Awesome Mom of the Year.

Yes. It is true. I know it is still early in 2012, but I have declared myself the most awesome mom of the year.  I think you will agree with my awesomeness when you read what has garnered me so much, well, awesomeness. 

This all started back in December, 2011. The boys were on Christmas break and we decided to head over to Dallas to go the fancy mall. (I call it the fancy mall because they have one hallway that has all of the fancy, expensive stores; i.e. Versace, Oscar De La Renta, Gucci, etc. One of these days I want to actually walk into one of these stores, but I'm afraid I would look so completely out of place. Anyways, I have completely gone off on a tangent so back to what makes me the most awesome mom of the year.)

We went to the fancy mall because they had a special train display for Christmas that I had heard was really fun to see. Here is a picture of the boys in front of the train display. 

The train display was interesting, but not very big so we didn't spend a lot of time there. That of course means there was more time for shopping. This fancy mall has one of our favorite stores in it called the Paper Source. So we head to it and this is were my journey to the most awesome mom begins. 

Connor found this package of mustaches that he really, really wanted. There was one for each day of the week. Even though it was only a week before Christmas, Connor gave me his puppy dog look of "pleeeeaaaassse mom" and I bought them for him. 

This is what they look like:

These are not just any ol'fake mustaches, no they are Stylish Mustaches! (My particular favorite is Thursday's, The Weasel.) Connor was so happy to have these that he opened the package as soon we left the store and walked around the mall sporting the Monday Herostache.

So you are now thinking well this is a nice story Christie, but why does this make you the most awesome mom of the year? Because of this: 

On the way home from the fancy mall, Connor said he wanted to wear one of the mustaches for his spring school pictures. And here is where I get awesome! I told him if he can keep one of the mustaches nice and not used, he can wear it in the spring pictures. He doesn't believe me. So his older brother piped up and said "Connor when we get home write a contract and have her sign it and then she will have to let you." Those older brothers can be such instigators at times.


As soon as we get home, Connor quickly drafted the above contract and had me sign it right away. He hung the contract up on his magnetic board and picked Sunday's Hollywoodstache to keep special because we all know that is the most appropriate for a Spring Picture Day.


Well that contract and Hollywoodstache hung up in his room for a long 3 months. He was determined to call my bluff and see if I would really come through and become the awesome mom I was destined to be. And in the middle of March, Spring picture day finally arrived. Connor brought me the contract and Hollywoodstache with the picture order form and gave me that look of "is she really going to let me go through with this?" After looking at all of the information for a couple of minutes of uncomfortable silence, I said, "Let's go pick out a Hollywoodstache appropriate outfit!"


I emailed his teacher explaining that I had indeed agreed to this Hollywoodstache picture and I also included a note on the order form for the photographer as well. That morning Connor went off to school all ready to have his Hollywoodstache properly documented through the School Spring Picture Day. 


We finally received the pictures this week. And I must tell all of you moms out there that if there is any way you can get your own Most Awesome Mom award and have your kid wear a fake mustache in a school picture, please do. It is so worth it! He is so proud of this picture. 


So without further ado, I will now present you Connor in all of his Hollywoodstache Spring Picture Day Awesomeness: 

And here it is cropped in a little closer so you can fully appreciate the Hollywood mustache. 

Connor picked out his own clothes for the picture. He knew that he needed something dapper to go along with that stache. 


So that is my story of how I have wrapped up the Most Awesome Mom of 2012 already. I let my child wear a fake mustache for school pictures. 


(Full Disclosure: Spring pictures are not published in the yearbook and I did not allow him to wear the mustache for the class picture. These pictures are only for us and friends and family to enjoy. So no yearbooks were maligned with a kid wearing a mustache in his picture. Although I think that would be kind of awesome too.)


Thanks for visiting me and I hope you have enjoyed my tale of the Hollywoodstache, Spring Picture Day and Connor. :) 

Oops. I forgot to show the finished walls!

I realized that I never posted about my new walls being finished. We got this finished and then when right into the next project, so I got side-tracked a bit. 

I believe this is where I left off in my last post. The walls were going up and the finishing touches were being done so we could paint everything. The process ended up taking longer than what we originally thought, but we love, love how it turned out. 

TA DA......I am in love with our new walls. And the new paint. I ended up going through 8 different paint samples before I found the right color. It is Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige. 


Everything turned out just like I envisioned it would, which is good because Chris had some serious doubts about my vision. 

But he loves them too, which is really good because I didn't want to hear 'about the time Christie decided we needed walls and it turned out to be a complete disaster' for the rest of my life. 


It really is amazing because they look like they have been here all along. 


And I don't think I ever posted my canvas wall. 

I had this set of the beach pictures turned into canvas'. Thank goodness for Groupon. It took me a few months of getting coupons to buy all of these because canvas is expensive!  I got them from Canvas on Demand and they turned out really nice. Most of you will recognize these pictures from our Christmas cards last year. My sister-in-law Kathleen Frank took them for us last summer. 

Right after we got the walls finished, this was delivered. Actually two days after the walls were finished this ended up in my living room: our new wood floors! 


I will post about that whole process in a few days. One word pretty much sums it up though: Dust. 


Thanks for visiting me! 

We have walls!

We are moving fast with our home improvements. Ever since we bought this house, I wanted to change this:

The 2nd level is open to the family room and can get noisy. Sometimes it is hard for the boys to go to sleep because they can hear the television and sometimes it is hard to hear the television if they are upstairs playing. Or if anyone is talking downstairs it travels right upstairs so I really wanted to close up these openings. I had no idea how much it would cost or how difficult it would be. I decided to go ahead and get some estimates to see if this was a possibility for us or not. And thankfully it was very possible! 

Yesterday they started by ripping off the ledges...

and then framing and building walls! 

Here is the back and what it looked like upstairs. 

 

They added soundproofing insulation, and drywalled everything.  

We have walls! I am so excited and hoping this helps keeps the noise from traveling up to down and from down to up a little less. 


Today they are finishing them off with the mudding and texturing, and then we are having everything painted.  I hope everything will be done by the end of the weekend and I will post more pics. 


Thanks for visiting me!

Home Improvements Are Happening Again!

Now that the holidays are over and our trip to Disney World is done :(, we are back to finishing up the kitchen. 


This is what we were left to finish:

We finally hired someone to come out and pull those three center cabinets out so that we can actually put those barstools under the counter. 

We also wanted to do something with this eyesore of a utility sink in our laundry room. This room is right next to our kitchen. The man we hired had the great idea to take the cabinet he was removing from up there, and put it here with a new granite counter top. He said he had a scrap piece of granite that would match our existing granite. 

He showed up bright and early this last Monday and got to work. 

This is right after he removed the 2 piece cabinet that would go into the laundry room now. 

Here is a pic of that cabinet pulled out. See someone familiar in the corner there checking everything out? She was so spazzy on Monday. She would want to check out what he was doing and would peek around the corner at him, but would not dare come close. And every time he would go outside to get something she would bark at him coming back in. All day long and he didn't leave until almost 6. You would think she would have got used to him coming and going after about hour 4, but nope. 

Here is the new cabinet in the laundry room with the new sink top just put in. Yea! Huge Improvement!

And now the cabinet with the third one pulled out and the new cabinet ends installed to give it a finished look. 

And here is the final product! We love it! I now need to get in there and refinish these cabinets and then the kitchen will be done. 

This was the only bad thing. When the cabinets were removed we found out what we were afraid of: no tile under them. The woman we bought the house from left us one box of this tile in the garage. I think it is going to just be enough to fill this space. I hope! 

One of the cool things we had him add were these pull-out recycling bins in the cabinet. We had this ugly, old trash can out for recycling and now we can hide them! 

And here is the new laundry sink and cabinet. Huge, huge improvement. 

 And of course when you start doing home improvements something will break and need replacing. Our dryer broke right before we started this whole thing. We had someone out to repair it and it didn't work and the next repair was going to be more costly. 

So we decided instead of fixing this dryer for the third time, we would just finish off our new laundry room with these:

We wanted to get stainless, but they cost so much more that it was kind of silly to do that. These are huge! I washed our king size bedspread yesterday with no problem. And with two growing boys, I think these are going to be so worth it! 

So that is where we are with the home improvements. I'm just waiting on the tile guy to come and fix the floor before I get into refinishing the cabinets. We have some more big projects we are going to do over the next two months, so stay tuned! 

Thanks for visiting me!

Our Disney World Vacation

We recently went on our fourth trip to Disney World and it was fantastic. We thought this might be our last trip for awhile, but both boys enjoyed it so much that I'm sure we will be back sooner than we thought we would.


This time we pulled the boys out of school so we could go during Disney's off season. Even though there was a pile of homework to do when we got back, it was so worth it. The lines were pretty much non-existent and the weather was just about perfect. It was a little too cold for swimming and we had a little rain on our last day, but other than that it was wonderful for walking around all day at the parks. It was so nice not to fight crowds and really enjoy our time there. One night at Magic Kingdom the boys rode Buzz Lightyear 6 times in a row. There was no line at all. They got off the ride and got right back on it. Amazing! 


I decided to try and make a little video featuring some of the pictures I shot and the ones we purchased through Disney Photopass. I also added in some video here and there, but I have to get much better at the video taking with my camera. I couldn't get it to focus a lot of the time so I need to be reading the manual and figure that out. 


There is audio on the video, so make sure you have your sound on. 


Here is it! I hope you enjoy it! 





Disney World February 2012 from Christie Ellis on Vimeo.


Thanks for visiting me!