Fifteen Years In...

This weekend, John and I celebrated our fifteen year anniversary.  I mean, we REALLY celebrated... without children!  Our anniversary was on Thursday, and Friday morning we dropped the kids off at school and headed straight into London where we enjoyed sightseeing sans kids for 39 hours!

Before we departed, though, I gave John a little anniversary gift.  I had wanted to write him a song (as I had for our wedding), but nothing had come to me over the last couple of months.  Then, while he was out of town the week before our anniversary, the inspiration came.  I wrote "Fifteen Years In" to commemorate our special day.  Then, with the help the husband of a good friend, I was able to record it and get it onto a CD the night before our anniversary.

So, on Friday morning we departed (knowing that our kids would lovingly be cared for by the Ottos while we were away) and went straight to our fabulous hotel near Buckingham Palace.  We were greeted with champagne and a lovely room with a roaring fire.  We spent the afternoon shopping and eating (Burger & Lobster... yum!) before heading back to get dressed for our night out - dinner at a Michelin star restaurant and off to the theatre to see War Horse.

On Saturday, we SLEPT IN, as we were in the most amazing, comfortable bed in the world.  Then we headed out into the SUNSHINE (yes, it was only a little over 50 degrees, but it was gloriously sunny) and went to take a tour of the House of Parliament.  It was a perfect tourist adventure without the kiddos, followed by tea with a view of Big Ben.  We strolled through St. James Park in the sun (did I mention that it was sunny?) back to our hotel where we grabbed our bags and changed for dinner out.  We stopped at a Sardinian restaurant en route back to Maidenhead, where we arrived to find our children sleeping (ahhh...) peacefully at home.  (Thank you to our friend Omo for taking the last shift of watching the kids at our place on Saturday evening!)

The kids had a great time.  (This was Ryan's first sleepover at someone's house who was not family!)  We had a wonderful time together and were able to recharge our batteries in the sun a bit.  (I told you it was sunny, right?)  Fifteen years in... we can't believe how quickly the years have flown by... and I can't wait to see what the next 15... 30... 45 years bring!

In Tom's studio on our anniversary eve...

       

Hotel "41"

Heading out for dinner & the theatre

New London Theatre

In our room in the evening...

House of Parliament

Sunshine in St. James Park

Is spring finally here?!?!

Here's to 15 more...

Spring Break

This week, the kids went back to school after a 3 1/2 week spring break.  I really do enjoy the school schedule here... long Christmas and spring breaks (plus an additional one week "half term" break throughout the year), then a shorter summer.  This spring, we headed straight to Greece for six days when school got out, then spent the second week having playdates and sleepovers and outings (including going to see The Croods, which was really cute).  The third week, the kids did a theatre camp, where they worked six hours a day to pull a fantastic production of Oliver! on the Friday afternoon.  Then Lane went to pre-seasons rounders this past Monday (and Ryan had a playdate) and we spent Tuesday just hanging out.  (Honestly, it may have been my favorite day of the whole break!)  Here's a review in pictures...

Easter Monday - Natural History Museum

A beautiful day at Buckleberry Farm!

Sunshine = smiles (Of course, it snowed again 2 days later...)

Uncle Ira came to visit, so we were off to Windsor Castle!

The kids LOVE Uncle Ira (not just because he buys them ice cream)!

Oliver!

Making new friends....

Bletchley Park - and I'm OVER cold, rainy outings!

Last day before summer term started... bike ride in Holyport.

Lane's New Do

Here she is... Lane with her new (short!) haircut...

She looks like such a big girl now!  We are BOTH really happy with this new look since it is so much easier to take care of (a lot fewer knots and tangles)!  In addition, we were able to donate her hair to the Little Princess Trust (they make wigs for kids with medical issues), which was an added bonus!

Greece

During the first week of the term break, we went to Greece.  We knew it was early in the season, but we knew it would be warmer than the UK!  It's surprising how "warm" the high 50's and low 60's feel when it's been a long winter.  (It just snowed again here two days ago!) 

We stayed at an all-inclusive resort... which meant it was a nice, relaxing five days.  I actually read three books while the kids played in the indoor pool and at the kids' club.  :)  We made one day-trip into Thessaloniki to see the sights.  Because there were so few tourists in the area, it was hard to find a tour group (the city was about 45 minutes away - expensive by taxi and not advisable by car), but we managed to join on a German tour! 

Here are some of the highlights...

The first day was sunny and lovely!

The kids couldn't wait to go to the beach!

 

Look, Dad, a giant pineapple!

We saw The White Tower in Thessaloniki...

... and the Byzantine acropolis...

... and the catacombs in St. Demetrius...

... and the market.

Anyone want a bird?  On a plate or in a cage?

It has become a tradition to find gelato wherever we are!

View of Mt. Olympus from our room

Easter

After a relaxing week in Greece (will post later), we enjoyed being back in town and at Jubilee for Easter Sunday...  

He is risen!

We were looking at pictures of Ryan sleeping IN this Easter basket when he was only weeks old.

Egg hunt for Legos and Jelly Bellys.  (Um... he's eating the latter.)

I can't get over that porcelain white skin!

Off to church...

We enjoyed the afternoon with the Otto family.