There are SO many pictures to share, the best way I know how, is a slideshow of course!
First, we let them attempt to recover from jet lag. Seriously--it's a beast! Then, we had an Easter Egg Hunt (see previous post) and they delivered all the American goodies they brought for us! If you lived in another country, what do you think you would miss most? Well, one thing we miss is Ranch Dressing! I mean, what else do you eat raw broccoli with? That's what I thought! So now thanks to our special mixture, we can make Hidden Valley Ranch to our hearts content!
Sunday was great! We got to show my parents what an ordeal it is to get to church, but how worth it it is for us. The people there are wonderful! They were very welcoming and kind. I was especially grateful to have my Mom there though, because she was willing to play piano for me. It was nice to have a little bit of a break.
Our first foreign adventure was to Chatsworth House. The pictures are first on the slideshow. It may look a little familiar. It's been used in movies like Pride & Prejudice (as Pemberly) and The Dutchess. It is a fantastic estate and the Gardens go on forever! They had an Easter Egg Hunt on for the kids. Atley and Holly were very attached to their maps and loved finding all the different eggs inside and outside the house. See if you can spot a few in the pictures!
Our next adventure was York. York is an old medieval city. It had buildings that are still standing from the 1400's! That's like the beginning of time! The architecture was stunning, and the shopping even better. My Mom and I enjoyed shopping for hats and looking in all sorts of specialty shops. It was reconfirmed that my Mother is my hero when she bought a fancy hat. Doubly so when she wore it to church last week. How cool is she? My parents tried their first fish and chips, we rode a double decker bus tour, and enjoyed wearing ourselves out!
On a short break we enjoyed showing Grandma and Grandpa the nearby park. The kids love the slide and can't get enough of it. Luckily it stopped raining for a moment so we could enjoy it!
Another blessing of having my parents here and wearing them out, is Ian and I got a couple chances to sneak out after the kids were in bed and have a date. It has been WAY too long since we had a date. We went mini golfing and had a blast being silly and taking funny pictures with the scenery.
The big part of our trip consisted of traveling, by train, to London. After getting lost and not being able to find our hotel, we arrived and everyone needed a rest. The next day we took another bus tour so we got a general view of all the sites. We saw the Tower of London, Big Ben, The Houses of Parliment, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Baker Street, Regent's Park, and a whole lot of London we didn't intend to see (because we got lost). It was exhausting, but it was fun!
We left jolly 'ol London and took a 4 hour train ride north to Edinburgh, Scotland. What a difference. They may technically be in the same country, but these two places were so different. While in London we had a hard time picking out the specifics of English culture, Scotland screamed it at us! We saw kilts in every window, tartan this and that, and the coolest castle yet! The Scottish crown jewels were really a sight, though they don't allow you to take pictures! Sorry folks, you'll have to take a wander over there for yourselves and check those babies out. We enjoyed more shopping (what can I say) and even an American restaurant. It makes me laugh sometimes what other people think is American. They usually do a pretty good job though and this place was great. Free refills...yeah! That's American!
We came back to Sheffield and did a little more close-to-home exploring. The Sheffield Botanical Gardens were awesome, especially since it's spring.
All in all, we had a WONDERFUL trip! The kids really got a unique chance to travel with their Grandparents and bond with them. Today Holly told me that she wanted to go to the train station and pick up Grandma. She said "she has to visit with me!" Well, that sadly has come and gone, but luckily for her, two weeks more and she'll have another Grandma and Grandpa to spoil her rotten. Bring it on!
