Tents in the morning

Fun in the morning....still in pajamas.
The new and improved Luke-built tent.....so much fun!

Thanksgiving Round 2

While in America, we would only have Thanksgiving once. But here, in England, we do it twice!! Christy and Matt's party was Friday night.....but Chris' college, Regent's Park, hosted a party Saturday night. It was in 3 single guys' apartment, i.e., not exactly child friendly, but plenty to entertain ourselves with. Luke and Caleb went through EVERY cabinet behind me (and there are many more not shown in the picture). I think everyone in the room was a bit fearful of what might be behind one of those doors. However, nothing incriminating was ever found! After inspecting each cabinet, we looked through a catalog, then we ate, then we ended up outside throwing the baseball.
Abbey and Caleb.
Lots of yummy food......we truly did the American tradition of eating lots this holiday. And all the traditional stuff too----turkey, sweet potatoes, dressing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, etc.

Thanksgiving Round 1

Christy and Matt (featured above), from Utah, are new to "our" building and hosted a Thanksgiving dinner in the community room Friday night. It was fun to celebrate Thanksgiving with people from the US (Virginia and Utah), Canada, Australia, Brazil, and China.
Here, Matt is teaching Chris about cheap English cider.
From left to right: Sacha (Australia), Vicente (Brasil), Luke, Lindsey (Utah), and Sebastian (Ontario)
Fireman Sacha in his every day attire---he only answers to Fireman Sacha

Lunch time

This is how we eat lunch 5 days a week. Caleb in his chair in the kitchen and Luke on the kitchen step. Here they wait.....
and wait...
and, Caleb plays peek-a-boo
and blows kisses.
Enough pictures....now for lunch!

Luke and Lindsey

A new family moved into "our" building in August and Luke fell in love with the 8 year old daughter who couldn't have cared less about him. But, the 5 year old, Lindsey, just watched as Luke followed her older sister around screaming (literally) for attention. Our little Romeo would beg to hold her hand, offer her flowers, and yell "how's your day?" at the top of his lungs every time we saw her--even far away. Thankfully, this phase passed as she rejected him countless times.

And now, Lindsey is our little friend. She comes home from school with Luke---or he with her--about every day. In fact, Luke asked tonight if maybe he and Lindsey could be a mama and daddy together someday. Someday 30 years from now, Buddy!!

Flexing and bath-time

A little pre-bath time flexing.....
They LOVE to take baths!

I just love pictures of these two in the tub!

Red Sox Wall of Fame

Many thanks to "Boston Mary" for the wonderful coverage of the Red Sox's victory. Big Papi came to our house this morning while Luke was at school and decorated his room with lots of clippings and pictures. Luke was VERY EXCITED when he got home from school and saw this corner of his room which has been known for housing many scary shadows at night. The days of the scary shadow man from Finland (as Luke calls him. strange, we know!) have ended and a new era has begun. Long live the Papi corner!

Cuties

Happy birthday, Jason!

Jason is 29 (for the first time)!!

Boys' day and Girls' Day

This is a church somewhere in the Cotswalds.....I can't say exactly where because I WASN'T THERE!!! That's right. I was away from "the guys" for a whole day! Abbey took me with her to a fancy hotel in London for afternoon tea. Meanwhile, Clark, Chris, and the boys drove around and explored.

They went for a hike here.

Abbey and I had a WONDERFUL time. We took the train to London, then we walked, shopped, and talked until our 2:00 reservation. Then the "tea" was incredible. They brought us a silver pot of tea, and trays of sandwiches, scones, and little desserts (which they replenished as needed). And, we got to eavesdrop on all the posh people around us toasting each other and giving multiple kisses on each cheek (as a 3-year old friend of ours taught us is the "euro-kiss").

Funny how the guys came back with buildings and grass in their pictures and we can back with people and yummy food in ours. Now what exactly does that mean about each gender? Hmmm....

Luke's view of the world....

We had our Brazilian neighbors over to play. Is this how Luke sees us? (oh, and yes, our apartment is the only one in the building with this type of ceiling. Apparently, MANY years ago a professor lived here and added the ceiling panels himself to cover up the concrete. I guess he didn't mind looking at the concrete walls around him---just the ceiling. Maybe he was Luke's height and found himself looking up all the time!!)

These boots were made for walking.....

...and that's just what they'll do. One of these days, these boots are gonna walk all over you!

Brother Bear

We had a really nice Saturday afternoon.....we met some friends at a pub to drink a pint while the boys bounced on the bouncy castle the genius owners have stationed right outside. Then we went back to their house and cooked while the boys watched "Brother Bear" - fitting for 2 families with 5 boys.