Tennis... please check out the last picture!!!

Sunday was another gloriously sunny day in London. We met some friends in Clapham for a picnic and some tennis. These are the girls: Jemma, me, Kath, and Karla.
This is Nigel, you know the guy in the middle, and Kath.
Just hammin it up, and wishing I was playing a real sport like baseball!
Chris and Nigel... Chris was our tennis pro for the day.
Here's Mike and Brad... neither of whom were very good!...
But I definitely took the cake for worst player of the day! Please check out my form, I think I even missed the ball on this wild swing!
And for your enjoyment, I've blown up my face from the last picture... I guess my mom wasted her money on those lessons when I was 8!

Girls Night Out

Last Friday I went out with some girls from work, Kath and Gemma. We met some of Kath's friends for happy hour and then went to dinner at this incredible pizza place called Fire and Stone. It was great to be out with girls!
We went to a Gomez concert. None of us knew that much about the band but we all really enjoyed it. Their sound was sort of rock/acoustic... I'm sure you can look 'em up on itunes, they had a really cool sound.

Testosterone Anyone???

A few nights ago Brad made himself this steak dinner and then sat down in front of Magnum P.I. and ate in his boxers. Words cannot express how much I love my husband, especially in those moments that he declares, " I am a man and my testosterone cannot be stifled!"

A Bit of Romance

Brad must have been in a romantic mood on Tuesday night because he suggested a picnic in Hyde Park. I think that when you've been deprived of sun for months, and then you get a week straight of it, you can't help but hear birds chirping... see rainbows... and perhaps get a bit romantic!
We packed up sandwiches and some Mint Kit Kats and then headed for the park. We found ourselves a dry piece of grass and enjoyed the evening basking in the glorious rays!
Good job hubs!!! Great thought, well implemented... the perfect romantic gesture!
Just playing with the flower icon on our camera... takes cool close up shots!

A Perfect Saturday

As Spring blossoms Londoners slowly begin to creep out of the warm comforts of home and venture outdoors again. Last Saturday was SUNNY and beautiful. Nature beckoned and we answered. We set out for the southbank to explore and see a photography exhibition. Look at us, all grown up, drinking coffee!!! Coffee is new for us, we are in the early phases of learning to enjoy it without becoming addicted to the glorious feeling of the caffeine jolt.
We found an unexpected park right outside of the Embankment Tube Station. London definitely does it's green spaces right! Check out the flowers in this park that we randomly happened upon.
What a beautiful backdrop! Ughhhh, the city is so alluring when the sun comes out (too bad that is only about 10% of the time)!
We crossed the Millennium Bridge, and got this great cityscape, on our way to the photography exhibition at the Southbank Center.
James Ravilious took pictures of the unspoilt, rural area of North Devon. His pictures ranged from breathtaking landscapes to everyday scenes of English families watching football. Brad and I both really enjoyed the exhibit, James captured everyday life in the countryside exquisitely. Brad even enquired about buying a photo but, unfortunately, they were all way out of our humble price range!
After the rural exhibition we decided to step back into contemporary London life and enjoy the wiles of the southbank center's carnival like atmosphere.
These are just a few of the street performers out that day.
Finally, we strolled to Westminster Tube Station, passing the London Eye on our way. London's sky doesn't look like this very often... which increases our appreciation of it exponentially when it does!

Life Lost

My computer broke... I'm not sure what else to write. My hard drive corrupted and I lost 85% of my pictures and data. My honeymoon, London photos, photos of my old classes, it seems like my whole life... gone.
We're going to send the hard drive into a recovery specialist when we get back to the states but for now I'm left heartbroken and worried about the lost memories. Brad is being a rock as ever, thank God for him! All I can think is, why didn't I back everything up?

Spring Break in Amsterdam 4.12 - 4.15

We arrived in Amsterdam on Easter Sunday. Our room (at another amazing Hilton) wasn't ready so we enjoyed some free drinks on a patio that overlooked a canal.
Once we got into our rooms and cleaned up a bit we popped over to the Executive Lounge... that's right... more VIP treatment! Check out the cute Easter treats we found!
In the last couple of months I have realized that now that I am 25, alcohol is not the enemy that it was when I was 15! I have been trying to 'acquire a taste for wine' so that I'm not the only dork at the table not drinking for the rest of my life. Wine was free in the lounge so I tried to develop my taste for it...
Clearly I'm not there yet!
After the Executive Lounge we made our way to the Anne Frank House. The line to get in wound around the corner and we were going leave(because John Shamshoian doesn't do lines) but then we struck up a conversation with 3 guys from Israel. Talking to them put life into perspective. They told us about how the things we only see on the news affected their lives personally.
We enjoyed the beautiful canals on our walk back to our hotel. The lights shining on the water create an enchanting atmosphere that reminded me of how lucky we are to be able to travel and experience this life that God has given us.
Pretty cool huh, we found this on our way back to the hotel... it's even spelled the right way!
On Monday morning we set out for the VanGough Museum... but not before I took this picture to prove to future generations that Brad and I don't always slum it when we travel :)
This is the lookout from the patio of the Hilton... ahhhh wish I was there relaxing right now!
Okay, so here we are in the foyer of the VanGough Museum. We just couldn't contain our excitement (My dad is faking... I'm not, I love VanGough!).
Here are some of my favourites. Please keep in mind that I risked life and limb (and getting kicked out of a museum) to get these... have I mentioned that I love the rush of sneaking pictures???
My dad actually risked himself for this one... it's my favourite painting. Good job After taking lots of ridicule for not enjoying museums (ie not enjoying culture) this is my dad... appreciating art. He outlasted us all at VanGough. When this picture was taken we were all begging him to leave... he was doing this to spite us!
Amsterdam is a city of bikes, literally hundreds of thousands of bikes. I took at least 2o pictures of bikes but this one was my favorite. It makes me long for SLO and lazy Saturdays riding around eating Raspberry Pinwheels.
After the museum we took a canal cruise. It was incredibly relaxing, I actually caught a little shut eye on the boat. Amsterdam is a beautiful city and this is perhaps the best way to enjoy it.
After a long day cruising the canals, we ate dinner in the Executive Lounge and then relaxed in our rooms. Late in the evening my dad, Brad and I went down to the bar/patio and enjoyed some complimentary drinks. These were my favourite hours of the whole trip... we were not on a tour, not appreciating art, not trying to find anything... just relaxing, enjoying each other's company!
The curtains in our room were letting a bit of light in and this is the image that it cast on the ceiling. It makes me think of light pouring out of heaven... an image of Grace. Brad thinks I'm silly for putting this in but... I like it so, maybe someone else will too!
On Wednesday morning I was melancholy, knowing that this was my dad and Shelly's last day with us.
We set out to go shopping and found this chicks along the way. Shelly and I raced to take pictures...
here's my dad and Brad looking on, probably talking about how silly their wives are!
As we wandered around I took some pictures of street signs so to document how crazy they were... these serve as a constant reminder while I'm in London that I should be thankful because here, at least I can pronounce the names of the streets I can't find!
Ever a real estate man... the boys are just checking out property prices.
Brad's fascination with Mou prompted me to take this picture of a painting we found while window shopping.
We spent the day meandering through the city, shopping and eating our way through Amsterdam.


Despite its obvious shady side, (which I decided not to blog about, although we did see it on Tuesday night) Amsterdam is an enchanting city. We had an amazing 12 days with my dad and Shelly. Words cannot express how excited I was when they came to London or how sad I was to see them go. My only solace was found in the fact that John Paul gets marries in 2 months (HOLY COW) which means that I'll see my family soon!!! We are so blessed to have families that we can't wait to get home to... we love you all!