August 2014

Happy 16th Birthday, Megan!!

A birthday outfit - what a babe :)

Our Oxford House (Rental)

Emma took this picture on my phone - we liked to play games :)

Cutteslowe Park (near our house)

There we lovely paths through the park, with cute bunnies :)

I loved jogging on the Peace Mile around part of the park

Twice a week they had train rides in the park

Another ride on the zip line - it was Emma's favorite thing to do

Blenheim Palace (near Oxford)

We took Joshua to tour Blenheim Palace

Notice the swan on top of the Cascades

My favorite - The Secret Garden

 Oxford Castle

We toured what's left of Oxford Castle - over 1000 years old!

Original Castle

In the Crypt below Oxford Castle

In one of the prison cells

On the hill outside Oxford Castle (a well was inside the hill)

Bath

Jane Austen Museum

Amazing panhandler "statue"

The Roman Baths

My store :)

Between Bath and the beach - nap time :)

Weston Super-Mare Beach

London

The Tower of London

The Tower Bridge 

Emma and Zachary played at a park in London while
Joshua and Megan toured the Tower of London

Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey

Near Big Ben

The kids enjoyed riding on the London Eye while Eddie and I

waited with the car, which was parked illegally, as usual :)
Waiting for photos that Megan took...

The Marble Arch

Preston, England Temple; Lake District

Megan and Joshua did baptisms for family names here

Hiking after the temple in Helm Crag in the Lake District while Eddie had interviews

Last Times in Oxford

Walking down Cornmarket Street - pedestrian road with shops

Church and graveyard right downtown by the shops and buses

Our favorite shakes were from "Moo Moos"

Sand dog sculpture - amazing!

Memorial in downtown Oxford

I just loved the red phone booths and lampposts downtown

Congrats to Eddie on finishing his testing at Oxford University

 Traveling Home

We traveled to London on a bus and then by subway to the train station - lots of luggage!

We took the train to Paris - what a beautiful train station there!

Megan enjoyed the Eiffel Tower one last time

Leaving our hotel in Paris

Taking the train from Paris to Milan, Italy

At a cafe in Milan, Italy

Nice buildings next to the train station in Milan, Italy

I felt like the "bag lady" with all our bags and backpacks at the airport

Beautiful sunset at the airport in Milan

Zachary took this picture from the airplane as we were leaving Milan

Welcome Home!

Emma was so happy to see her friend again!
We all loved getting home to our own stuff and familiar surroundings :)

First Day of School

Zachary started 4th grade about 7 hours after getting home in the middle of the night

 Happy Birthday, Eddie!

Visiting Granddaddy in San Antonio

We celebrated his 97th birthday early since my parents are leaving on a mission soon -
it was so great to see Granddaddy doing so well, completely with it, able to walk,
able to play games and laugh with us, etc.  You're awesome, Granddaddy!!

Dinner to discuss the Family Trust with the Trustees

 Happy 4th Birthday, Emma!

Megan took this photo when we were still in San Antonio on Emma's birthday (Sunday) -
Megan took good care of Emma for us while we were gone 4 days!

Dinner celebration at McDonald's with Emma's friend on Monday
when we got back from our trip - Happy Labor Day, too :)

Celebrating at home afterwards