Here the traditional first day of school picture that we started last year.
This year she is in real desks and she does not have to share supplies.
Here is Jackson's first day of pre- pre-K. For some reason he was trying to be Superman.
August 25, 2008
First Day of School
Today was the first day of First Grade for Jenna. She had picked out her clothes a few weeks ago and was ready to go.
Here the traditional first day of school picture that we started last year.
This year she is in real desks and she does not have to share supplies.
Here is Jackson's first day of pre- pre-K. For some reason he was trying to be Superman.
Here the traditional first day of school picture that we started last year.
This year she is in real desks and she does not have to share supplies.
Here is Jackson's first day of pre- pre-K. For some reason he was trying to be Superman.
August 23, 2008
While we were away...
The kids went to my parents in San Angelo while we went to Europe. They spent the time riding bikes, playing in the swimming pool, going to the park and riding the "tractor". Here are some pictures of their time at Granddaddy's and G Mommy's.
Then a few days before we returned from Europe the kids got to have sleep overs with their cousins. Jenna and Rylee stayed at my sister's house and Reese and Jackson spent the night at our house. Here are some pictures of Jackson and Reese's adventure which included most of their time in Jenna's room.
Then a few days before we returned from Europe the kids got to have sleep overs with their cousins. Jenna and Rylee stayed at my sister's house and Reese and Jackson spent the night at our house. Here are some pictures of Jackson and Reese's adventure which included most of their time in Jenna's room.
Europe Part 5 - Summary
All in all our vacation to London and Paris were great. We didn't really relax but that's OK because we got to see some sites that we have been excited to see for over a year during our planning. We survived without really knowing too much French and we even survived the different "English". Here are some examples of the things we joked about between ourselves during our trip:
With all the construction / face lifts going on several signs around London said that "this door is alarmed" or "this scaffolding is alarmed." - Really became an inside joked about what the door was really alarmed about.
Everything in London was Mind the Gap or Mind the Stairs. This was really just another word for watch but we would find the humor in it at the end of the day when we were exhausted from walking.
When you almost miss your train back to London from Paris, you must still fill out a Landing Card to get through British Customs even though you aren't landing anywhere.
If you convert the currency and gas tank size to US standards a gallon of gas in London is approximately $8.96 / gallon and in Paris is approximately $9.43 / gallon. This is part of the reason we rode trains everywhere or walked.
When purchasing anything overseas, just don't do the conversion to dollars because you will become depressed that you are paying $15 for a club sandwich you would pay $5 at Subway.
Make sure that you purchase the right train tickets in France. They will get you on the train and when you get off the train. Didn't happen to us but we were in the cabin with an individual that didn't purchase a ticket and they will write you a ticket.
We had enough money left over in our vacation fund that I was able to buy myself a belated anniversary present. My Dyson Animal. Now I understand how dirty my carpets really were with all the dust from our old vaccuum.
With all the construction / face lifts going on several signs around London said that "this door is alarmed" or "this scaffolding is alarmed." - Really became an inside joked about what the door was really alarmed about.
Everything in London was Mind the Gap or Mind the Stairs. This was really just another word for watch but we would find the humor in it at the end of the day when we were exhausted from walking.
When you almost miss your train back to London from Paris, you must still fill out a Landing Card to get through British Customs even though you aren't landing anywhere.
If you convert the currency and gas tank size to US standards a gallon of gas in London is approximately $8.96 / gallon and in Paris is approximately $9.43 / gallon. This is part of the reason we rode trains everywhere or walked.
When purchasing anything overseas, just don't do the conversion to dollars because you will become depressed that you are paying $15 for a club sandwich you would pay $5 at Subway.
Make sure that you purchase the right train tickets in France. They will get you on the train and when you get off the train. Didn't happen to us but we were in the cabin with an individual that didn't purchase a ticket and they will write you a ticket.
We had enough money left over in our vacation fund that I was able to buy myself a belated anniversary present. My Dyson Animal. Now I understand how dirty my carpets really were with all the dust from our old vaccuum.
Europe Part 4 - All Things Diana
A trip to London and Paris wouldn't be complete without a tour of all the things Diana, Princess of Wales. We saw St. Paul's Cathedral where she married Prince Charles, we saw Kensington Castle where she lived after her divorce. We walked the Diana Memorial Walk in London.
The memorial at Harrod's in London including the diamond engagement ring that was rumored to be for Diana.
When we visited Paris we had to go by the tunnel were the fatal accident occured. Above on the bridge is a make-shifted memorial for Diana.
The memorial at Harrod's in London including the diamond engagement ring that was rumored to be for Diana.
When we visited Paris we had to go by the tunnel were the fatal accident occured. Above on the bridge is a make-shifted memorial for Diana.
August 17, 2008
Europe Part 3 - Normandy
On Saturday we when took a train to Caen to take a tour of the D-Day beaches in Normandy. The town of Caen dates back to the 14th century and 75% of the town was destroyed during the days before and after D-Day. The main thing that survived was the stone church because it was used as a landmark for the pilots to know where to drop the bombs. We started the day with a tour of the museum which details the timeline for all the different countries that were involved in WWII. Then we all loaded up in our Mercedes mini-van / SUV to tour all the different buses.
You can click on the pictures to make them bigger. The first one is the museum. The second one is a stack of books that were in the Caen library that had a bullet had gone straight through it during the battles. First we visited Arromanches-les-Bains which is where the British set up their blockade once they landed on Gold Beach which is the fourth picture. The next picture is what was left of the blockade that they created roads to unload the ships with supplies to continue to liberate France. If the see the next picture of the guns what you can't see if that the entire side was destroyed by a bomb. This is the sight of the third Jennifer falling incident. This was the most embarrassing because our group as well as several other tourists saw this.
The 7th picture is Omaha Beach. What you can't see is the huge cliff that the American troops had to climb. This was taken from the American cemetery. When we arrived at this 2nd most visited American cemetery there were a group of veterans and the bell chimes were playing the Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful and Taps. It was very moving and you couldn't help but get misty eyed. In this cemetery all the crosses align in a row whichever way you look at them. Teddy Roosevelt, Jr was a medal of honor recipient that is buried in the cemetery.
The 13th picture is a closer look at the beach on the west side. The next set of pictures are from the Pointe du Hoc which is in between Omaha and Utah beaches which were the American beaches. This is American owned land that is the most perserved. The craters from the bombings are still evident. As you can tell how huge they are by the 6'5" Jason is in the center of the crater.
This by far was well worth the money. It was the right mix of history and beauty. It makes you thankful for all the men and women that served our country past and present.
You can click on the pictures to make them bigger. The first one is the museum. The second one is a stack of books that were in the Caen library that had a bullet had gone straight through it during the battles. First we visited Arromanches-les-Bains which is where the British set up their blockade once they landed on Gold Beach which is the fourth picture. The next picture is what was left of the blockade that they created roads to unload the ships with supplies to continue to liberate France. If the see the next picture of the guns what you can't see if that the entire side was destroyed by a bomb. This is the sight of the third Jennifer falling incident. This was the most embarrassing because our group as well as several other tourists saw this.
The 7th picture is Omaha Beach. What you can't see is the huge cliff that the American troops had to climb. This was taken from the American cemetery. When we arrived at this 2nd most visited American cemetery there were a group of veterans and the bell chimes were playing the Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful and Taps. It was very moving and you couldn't help but get misty eyed. In this cemetery all the crosses align in a row whichever way you look at them. Teddy Roosevelt, Jr was a medal of honor recipient that is buried in the cemetery.
The 13th picture is a closer look at the beach on the west side. The next set of pictures are from the Pointe du Hoc which is in between Omaha and Utah beaches which were the American beaches. This is American owned land that is the most perserved. The craters from the bombings are still evident. As you can tell how huge they are by the 6'5" Jason is in the center of the crater.
This by far was well worth the money. It was the right mix of history and beauty. It makes you thankful for all the men and women that served our country past and present.
Europe Part 2 - Paris
After 5 days in London we took the high speed train to Paris. The train ride is a little over 2 hours and goes under the English Channel. The London train station is just a few months old and is really nice. The Paris one is a little older and not as nice. Our hotel was a couple of blocks from the Arc de Triomphe. It was the first thing we saw after we got off the Metro. This is the only day that we didn't have rain on our trip. Here are some sight seeing pictures from Paris. You can click on them to make them bigger.
Notre-Dame de Paris, Louvre, us in the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Jennifer in Versailles Hall of Mirrors (right after falling again), Versailles, Sainte-Chapelle stain glass windows, Place de la Concorde marker when Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette lost their heads, the view from Place de la Concorde of Champs Elysees (and yes we walked the whole way to our hotel), Eiffel Tower, Statute of Liberty flame, Opera Garnier, metro station, Jim Morrison's grave, Chopin's grave and our hotel balcony.
For our anniversary we had dinner at the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. It had rained that morning so everything was wet still by evening. We had dressed up for the dinner and what did I do, I fell on the last step of the Eiffel Tower. Little did we know that this would be a trend for France. Of course I was wearing a white shirt so not only were my pants wet my shirt had black on the back and all on my arms. We get to the Eiffel Tower and it loses some of its romantic charm when you have armed military walking around. It started to rain while we waiting for the restaurant to open. By the time we got to the restaurant it had stopped. The rain did cause the top level to be closed so we didn't have the opportunity to do that. After dinner we did see a beautiful rainbow. After the Eiffel Tower we took a tour of Paris on bateau mouche down the Seine. When we got off the boat it was right at 10 pm and every hour after dark the Eiffel Tower has a sparkling show of lights. We didn't get a picture of it but it was pretty. Here are pictures of our dinner and our views of the Eiffel Tower.
Notre-Dame de Paris, Louvre, us in the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Jennifer in Versailles Hall of Mirrors (right after falling again), Versailles, Sainte-Chapelle stain glass windows, Place de la Concorde marker when Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette lost their heads, the view from Place de la Concorde of Champs Elysees (and yes we walked the whole way to our hotel), Eiffel Tower, Statute of Liberty flame, Opera Garnier, metro station, Jim Morrison's grave, Chopin's grave and our hotel balcony.
For our anniversary we had dinner at the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. It had rained that morning so everything was wet still by evening. We had dressed up for the dinner and what did I do, I fell on the last step of the Eiffel Tower. Little did we know that this would be a trend for France. Of course I was wearing a white shirt so not only were my pants wet my shirt had black on the back and all on my arms. We get to the Eiffel Tower and it loses some of its romantic charm when you have armed military walking around. It started to rain while we waiting for the restaurant to open. By the time we got to the restaurant it had stopped. The rain did cause the top level to be closed so we didn't have the opportunity to do that. After dinner we did see a beautiful rainbow. After the Eiffel Tower we took a tour of Paris on bateau mouche down the Seine. When we got off the boat it was right at 10 pm and every hour after dark the Eiffel Tower has a sparkling show of lights. We didn't get a picture of it but it was pretty. Here are pictures of our dinner and our views of the Eiffel Tower.
August 13, 2008
Europe Part 1 - England
On Friday August 1st we left for our anniversary get-away and our first accomplishment was to survive the 9 hour flight. Did pretty good, no fights for leg room and since we had our own TV / Movies / Games we did ok. We get through customs and stand in line for our metro card so we can get into the city. We get on the metro train and here is where Jason became 12 years old again. The train ended at a stop called Cockfosters. So I wasn't embarrassed until about 10 hours into the trip. We get to our hotel, drop off our bags and head off to a double decker bus tour. We had a good time until right before we hit all the major sites it starts pouring down rain. This was a theme for our trip - rain. It rained in some form or fashion every day.
Here are some London tourist attractions from our 5 days in London. Some of them you can tell it rained or that we got caught in the rain.
The Underground, double decker buses, Picadilly Circus, the Texas Embassy which was oddly near all the other countries' embassies, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, telephone booth, Big Ben, Winston Churchill, protestors across from Parliament, Parliament, sand sculpture at Harrods, Peter Pan, Rosetta stone, Trafalgar Square, Jason at the Tower of London, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Beefeaters at the Tower, Guarding the Crown Jewels, using the Royal Mailbox, London Cabbies, Downing Street (as close as we could get), Jason on the London Eye, and us ending our vacation on the London Eye.
Here are the all the castles or royal family related stuff.
Row 1 - Buckingham Palace, Row 2 - Windsor Castle which we visited on the Queen Mother's birthday so her grave was full of flowers, Row 3 - Kensington Palace (where Diana lived) and the Price Albert Memorial, Row 4 - Whitehall Palace now the Mounted Guard house
Something about London is that you can tell they are getting ready for the 2012 Olympics. All the tube stations are in the process of "engineering" which means they are making them step free. So this made for some interesting routes when lines were down over the weekends. All the buildings like Buckingham Palace, Harrods and countess others are getting facelifts.
Here are some London tourist attractions from our 5 days in London. Some of them you can tell it rained or that we got caught in the rain.
The Underground, double decker buses, Picadilly Circus, the Texas Embassy which was oddly near all the other countries' embassies, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, telephone booth, Big Ben, Winston Churchill, protestors across from Parliament, Parliament, sand sculpture at Harrods, Peter Pan, Rosetta stone, Trafalgar Square, Jason at the Tower of London, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Beefeaters at the Tower, Guarding the Crown Jewels, using the Royal Mailbox, London Cabbies, Downing Street (as close as we could get), Jason on the London Eye, and us ending our vacation on the London Eye.
Here are the all the castles or royal family related stuff.
Row 1 - Buckingham Palace, Row 2 - Windsor Castle which we visited on the Queen Mother's birthday so her grave was full of flowers, Row 3 - Kensington Palace (where Diana lived) and the Price Albert Memorial, Row 4 - Whitehall Palace now the Mounted Guard house
Something about London is that you can tell they are getting ready for the 2012 Olympics. All the tube stations are in the process of "engineering" which means they are making them step free. So this made for some interesting routes when lines were down over the weekends. All the buildings like Buckingham Palace, Harrods and countess others are getting facelifts.
August 1, 2008
And we're off...
We leave this afternoon for our anniversary vacation to London and Paris. Hopefully we can find moments to update with how we are doing, if not we will post lots of pictures when we get back!
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