Here We GO. . .

I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years! We had a great Holiday and everyone is enjoying 2009 so far. I didn't make any New Year's resolutions because I don't keep them. I've got a lot to blog about about so here goes. I had a great holiday, my mother and I flew over to England to spend a couple of weeks with my sister, Aimee, who had a baby in November. His name is Alfred Ronald Holden. (It's a very proper English name!) We flew over Christmas morning so everybody ripped open presents very fast and then I was off!!!



We flew out in the afternoon and got to England the morning of the 26th!! (Long flight!)


England is very beautiful, but my most favorite thing I got to see were these two guys my nephews, Paddy and Alfred!



The minute we landed it was GO, GO, GO!!! We went everywhere I need to get a map just to remember all of the names of the places we went to. So here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip. England is very interesting, we speak the same language, but we really don't. I sounded like a redneck compared to there proper dialect. I found it quite hilarious they don't use the word restroom, but you ask, "Where is the toilet?" I guess we are a little more discreet over here.



My Toilet Pictures!LOL (The French Bathroom is a little dark, Toilette)

This is the village of Canterbury, it is about 15 minutes from my sister's cottage, these are shots of the town, the Canterbury Cathedral, the Nativity (observe the white Joseph and Mary with the black baby, Jesus. HMMM) The Mini Cooper, these are like Slugbugs over here and you would have to yell out MINI everytime you saw one.



My brother-in-law, Phil is an actor and was in the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He played Doc, I mean Sarge, for copyright purposes. He is in the red vest and my sister, Aimee is in the purple vest. (even though she wasn't in the show) The show was great and I'm so glad I got to see him at work!!!



We went to a couple of castles, Dover Castle and Leeds Castle. Dover castle was closed, but we got to walk through Leeds. It was very beautiful and OLD!

Dover Castle (The Germans flew over this on their way to bomb London, one of the only castles not damaged during WWII)


Dover Castle from another view, it sits on the White cliffs of Dover. Did you see the movie, Robin Hood w/Kevin Costner? These are the white cliffs they came back to after the Crusades!


Leeds Castle-this one had a moat and was very beautiful, it must be so nice to be royalty,(my family knows who's Queen at this house!!) (I have lots of pictures of this, but to long to post, I think you get the jist)


A closer view of Leeds Castle, they were having a wedding there and these are the groomsmen out front(I think they could've dressed up a little better) Leeds castle is an active castle, meaning you can stay there, have banquets, etc. The last owner didn't want it to be JUST a museum.

The Leeds Castle mascot, The Black Swan. After getting really close I found out they are very mean and will attack.

King Henry VIII was walking around the castle, he told me to keep my hands off of his jewels. Notice I look a little taken aback.(Pervert, no wonder he had so many wives, they probably couldn't stand him!)


One Sunday after church we drove to the shore of the English Channel, notice the windblown look. It was so cold, Europe was having record breaking freeze while I was there so almost every picture I have my coat on. BRRRRR!


Does this need any commentary, I think not except that Robert Pattinson was in London over the Holiday!


This is Paddy and me in front of someone's Flat. There homes are right on the street and they paint their doors different colors which I love!! I would love to have a flat over there. FUN STUFF!


I just wanted a picture with one of those BIG FANCY English hats they wear to weddings!


This was a sunset that I captured one evening, the sun was a bright orange, it was so beautiful poking through my sister's hedge.


Mom, Aimee, Alfred, Paddy and I getting ready to celebrate New Year's!


Aimee and I--We went to a village to a party with some of their friends, they played Musical chairs with kids and then the adults. Guess who won, OH YEAH--USA 1, England 0!


Alfred's cute little bear pullover, it looked like we were carrying a teddy bear around.


We went and spent a day in London, I will go back and spend more time there one day, but we did enjoy the day we had. We took the Train from Canterbury and then rode on the Tube(subway) to get where we needed to go. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. Quite crowded didn't get to see a lot, but was very cool!


The Queen Mum was not in the Palace that day, the England Flag has to be flying and it was just the Union Jack!


Practicing my curtsy in case I ran into any Royalty!


Sneaking in a shot of the Guards as we walked by. I think they were suspicious of me!


Hyde Park, very big and very beautiful!


The Burberry Store, I had a bag all picked out, but I knew Fred would've had the divorce papers ready by the time I got home! LOL


Aimee and I at the Pub for lunch!


A Shout Out to my home state, ARIZONA!! WOO!! WOO!!

Hey look it's Big Ben! Did you ever see the movie, European Vacation with Chevy Chase, well if you did the movie is a lie. There is not a round about going around Big Ben, but we did drive on the biggest roundabout in the city.(a little crazy)


Westminster Abbey


The London Bridge(a little bit of Trivia, all of the bridges over there are called London Bridge)


It was a great experience to go over there, we didn't just do tourist things, but I got to see how my sister lives each day and to experience what it's like to live in a different country. I loved it, but I'm so thankful to live here in our beautiful country. My mom and I spent one of our last days there taking the ferry over to Calais, France. (I think my brother-in-law was trying to get rid of us) It was quite an adventure!

First off, we were only going for the day, it's a 45 minute ferry ride from Dover to Calais. Did you know you can see France from England? It was cool! So our boat was delayed because someone died, makes you want to travel on Sea France doesn't it. So we make it over to Calais with a couple of hours to explore, let me tell you it was soooooo cold, I thought I had hypothermia and we were going to have to amputate my toes. I have to tell you the best thing about France was the pastries, we stopped at a little pattisserie, Pattissirie de Fred. The bakery was named Fred, I found this funny. We wanted to go to Paris, but it was crazy expensive and with the money exchange even more!! Next time!


Aimee also blessed her baby, Alfred while I was there and what an incredible experience it was. The Spirit was so strong that day and the Gospel is truly the same no matter where you go. Her ward was very nice and very welcoming to my mother and me. Thanks for the Great time and the memories I'll always have!! I Love You Guys!



My ride home! Coming home from vacation is always bittersweet, but I'm so thankful for Fred and my mother-in-law, Nancy, for putting up with my children for 2 weeks so that I could enjoy spending time with my sister. Thanks and I love ya!