Yea! The long-awaited day finally came!

The CTR rings finally came! Riley is in his first CTR class at church (children ages 5-8) and has been anticipating and not-so-patiently waiting for his first CTR ring. I've never seen such a huge smile! Here pictured are Riley, Sophie and Lucy's hands...Riley may be the little brother, but his hands are already larger...and Lucy (without a much coveted ring) just wants to be a part of all the excitement, whatever it is at the moment!

We had a rip-roaring game of UNO tonight. And luckily both Sophie and Riley each won a round right at the beginning! We're trying to teach the kids the just have fun and that winning isn't EVERYTHING...it's an ongoing venture. However, pretty successful tonight, Yeah! It makes for a much happier family time together.

London Temple

Our beautiful little kiddos on the steps of the London Temple. We walked around the Temple grounds which were absolutely gorgeous. And since both the temple and the visitor's center were closed, we had the place to ourselves!

Michael and I on a cool little bridge. Sophie took this picture and did a very good job, don't you think?!

We loved the little pond and, of course, there happened to be a duck happily swimming. It had all the kids excited and stole little Lucy's full attention. When we all were walking away, she stopped giggling at the duck to wave goodbye, and gave her best shot at "quacking". We'd never heard her do that before! It sounded pretty funny! (made her daddy proud!)

My handsome English gentleman next to the entrance sign. I love that the grass is so green here...even in the cold of January!

Sophie and Riley as guards on either side of the London Temple sign. (everything else was closed...this sign was about all there was to do!)

We drove to the London Temple after our Stake Conference. We figured since we were half-way there already, why not?! We arrived around 2pm and the visitor's center didn't open until 6pm that evening. We opted not to stick around. We plan to return later...when it's a bit warmer, too! Maybe the scaffolding will have been removed by then!

Oxford Natural History Museum

It's been so cold lately, that an excursion indoors was a welcome idea! We chose...The University of Oxford Museum of Natural History. It was a hit...and free! Sophie, who reads well, and Riley who sounds things out pretty well, had a great time actually learning from reading about the animals on their little placards. The dinosaurs are always a favorite!

We saw a real live one of these in Africa last fall, but this one we could pet! (or "stroke" as they say here.)

This excursion prompted a showing of "Night at the Museum"...can you guess why? The bones and size of this creature are pretty incredible.

We had to finish our bagels/paninis before entering the museum. They kept our hands warm while we walked the short distance from the center of town.

Sophie and Riley showing their "teeth" smiles! (a little prettier than the "only lip" smile they used in the photo before!) The museum, pictured behind, is a lovely building! Supposedly there is a stuffed dodo bird there. However, we never found it, just a painting of one....sigh.

Special thanks to our photographer, Michael, who, unfortunately, was behind the camera in every shot! Next time, babe!

Sherwood Forest

Riley's not quite sure what to think of the pink-haired doll!

On the last day of the year we visited Sherwood Forest, of Robin Hood fame. It was maybe the coldest day of the year, as well. Despite our waxing/waning illnesses and medicated fevers, we enjoyed the pretty scenery. But our fingers and toes were almost frozen by the time we made it back to the car and got it warmed up! We had a quick look at the Old Oak Tree, one of the oldest living trees in the forest, like 1600 years old! (just try to count those tree rings!) It had stakes tied to it, to hold up its very heavy branches! Our family "friend", Christy came along for the ride...she sure wished she had a coat to wear! We hope to visit here again in the spring/summer where we can also have a go at the archery station!

A visitor from the States...JULIE!

My sister, Julie, came to visit over the Christmas holidays. We thoroughly enjoyed having "Aunt Ju-Ju" here and loved showing her a little taste of England.

We took a quick Sunday afternoon drive to Stonehenge...serendipitously on the Winter Equinox, even! I now understand what all the hooplah is about a bunch of huge stones. It was an amazing site and although very windy and cold, enjoyable!

One of the MANY photos we all took that day! So pretty with the sky just turning pink.

We also ventured into London...a must-see! Here, Sophie and Riley posing with a Constable in front of BIG BEN! (I think the officer's name is "Bobby") J/k

Jules looking ever so striking next to a phone booth.

We missed the changing of the guard, but still loved to be at Buckingham Palace.

We strapped on iceskates and gave the whole skating thing in Hyde Park a try. No one was any good, but we got around the rink...once, each!

I'm sure we'll have great memories of this adventure!

Back in downtown Oxford...a little sightseeing and a taste of one of our local favorites, Pasties. (Christy --a little family friend/joke--came along, but didn't get to taste. She was so mad, her hair stuck straight up in the air! Freaky, true to form. :)

It was getting dark and so we didn't get many great shots of the buildings. This one had cool lighting behind it. There is so much historical architecture to see...and it's really pretty.

We, of course, had a wonderful Christmas, too. It is all worth any kind of hassle to see the excitement in my kids eyes! I love that!

And in between sharing new strains of illnesses with each other, we did get out to go walking a bit. It was definitely a Jolly Holiday with you, Jules! Thanks for visiting. You're welcome back anytime!

Sheffield

Frosty morning as we drove down the little lane of Bolsterstone.

Out the gate and such pretty frost all over the trees...even a spiderweb! Mother Nature can take my breath away!

Our hosts, Nadine and Patrick. Such cool people. They made us feel so at home and they absolutely loved having the kids around! Phew!

In the kitchen...where magic happens! Wonderful meals! ...that reminds me, we still need to get a few recipes from Patrick!

Their dog Broady...named after Broadhurst Castle where he was found! Lucy was enthralled and followed this little doggy everywhere she could. Once a little too far...into a corner...uh-oh!

Feeding the ducks at the reservoir. We stopped to get some bread, much to the ducks...and goose's liking!

Lucy and her Daddy.

We didn't stay out too long, because we were freezing! But the views were outstanding. All of the stone construction was beautiful.

Downtown Sheffield...we were reminded more than once that it was not a tourist town...but we still found lots to keep us entertained!

An outdoor carousel...

a museum for the steelworks which Sheffield is most known for , including a giraffe made out of stainless steel silverware! So cool!

The Winter Garden...an indoor habitat for over 2000 species of plants, hand watered! And just because it was indoors, doesn't mean it was very warm!

The arches inside the garden were really cool, made from a type of wood called Larch. Just an FYI!

Very cool fountains to take pictures by!

Back at our basecamp...ready to go for a walk! Such a beautiful and peaceful place.

The flat above the garage is where we stayed...complete with kitchen! We couldn't have asked for better!

The view from the house...absolutely beautiful!