The Big 3-0

I left my twenties a few days ago.....Pearl Harbor Day....December 7!
How did I celebrate?? I went to one of the posh places in London. The Ritz-Carlton :)

There are a few of us with milestone birthdays in December--- 30, 40 and 50---so we decided it was cause for an excursion to the Ritz for a traditional tea. We enjoyed our finger sandwiches (mine were gluten-free!), fresh pastries and a wide variety of tea...traditional English, Moroccan mint, and an elderflower tea. Ooh-la-la! The Ritz was decked out for Christmas so the decor was simply stunning.

After tea in the lobby. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos in the dining room.
Our roomie for one more week, "CC", outside the Ritz.
My friend, Jas, and I. Our birthdays are 1 day apart!

Heavy Hearts

Our hearts have been heavy for the past few weeks as we received news of our WHM colleagues in Uganda---they are on the forefront of an Ebola outbreak.

Much of the team has been evacuated to the capital city of Kampala, but Scott and Jennifer (team leaders and doctors) have remained in the village---they are now separated from their 4 children. A catastrophic blow came on Tuesday when their friend and medical colleague Dr. Jonah Kule died from the virus. Their blog - http://www.paradoxuganda.blogspot.com/ - has been heart-wrenching.

The Ebola outbreak has made BBC News online and ABC.
The following article honors Dr. Jonah http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Germs/Story?id=3970795&page=1

Please pray for Scott, Jennifer and the Ugandan villages battling ebola.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!
Here are a few photos from the Halloween Party at church. We had over 300 people in attendance---it was hopping with all sorts of characters!

Nicholas helping "Gma" with the duck pond.
Pre-party at home with Mum.
Finally, getting some time on the bouncy castle with "Pops".
Dancing with his friends from Parent & Toddler. Nicholas gave a little jig here and there, but was really focused on his lollipop. His 1st ever lollipop...

Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens is one of our favorite places to explore in London...and we love introducing friends and family to the gardens.

Fun with Pops
Autumn Color at Kew. The most vibrant colors I have seen here in the UK. I have to say, nothing beats the Fall colors of America!
The Mediterranean Exhibit. Brought me back to Italy as we passed all of the olive trees.
A squirmy Nicholas.

Our favorite Animals

My parents arrived in town on Thursday so we planned some "grandparent-ish" trips. One of those being a trip to the Zoo!
Nicholas' favorite animals right now are monkeys. We read "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" before afternoon naps and every night before bed. We can recite this book in OUR sleep! He never fails to laugh or make a monkey sound so......we thought he would just love a trip to the Zoo. And boy were we right!

All day long we saw him curling his arms under his armpits and shouting "ooh, ooh". He was just mesmerized by these little guys below! They had an open environment so they were up close and personal to him! My parents were thrilled that there was a Meerkat exhibit. They are Meerkat Manor faithfuls!
And my favorite animals---alpacas! Barry knows I really want one or two for Christmas, but his practical side is taking over. He won't justify the $10-20K alpaca pricetag. :)Here is our group minus Barry as he was home on the sofa shivering----sick with the flu. yuck.
We had a great day and spent it with 2 other families.

7 Years and counting

October 15th marked our wedding anniversary!

We celebrated by heading to Windsor for a great French lunch at a restaurant Thameside. And we had a perfect view of the castle. We had 2 hours to ourselves to sit back, relax and enjoy. It was a treat!

Our anniversary luncheon was complete with a Starbucks run. A Hazelnut cappuccino for me.

"Auntie Jean" came over to play trains with Nicholas. She is a Thomas the Tank Engine expert so he was on cloud nine!

A Big Hello from the Little Man

Playing with Dad....