Dressing Up Again for Greg

Last Thursday as Greg and I were headed to the High School Awards Ceremony, Greg commented that this was the 3rd time in 3 weeks he had to get all dressed up for a school function. First was the tennis awards dinner, then National Honor Society induction, and now the awards night. We made him dress up and I have to say that I wish more parents would have done the same. About half of the award recipients were dressed in jeans or shorts and sandals. I don't get it. Your child is being honored for something and they look like they just rolled out of bed. Honestly I don't think Greg was too upset about getting cleaned up.


Last year, he got the President's Award for being on honor roll and not having any disciplinary infractions. He didn't received any other awards even though he had the top grades in most of his classes. This year he received the President's Award and the Spanish award for the top male 10th grade Spanish student. He was happy about that.


The basement waterproofing project is complete, but now we have the mess to clean up in the basement. It is a slow job but definitely worth it to have a dry clean basement. I'm still having coughing problems due to a cold and the inhalation of concrete dust.


Got to love this picture of Crosby watching the French Open. She got right up to the tv and was watching the news ticker on MSNBC. When we switched the channels she started watching the tennis ball. Today was Sydney and Crosby's vet visit to have their stitches removed. Yea!!

Casey is home next weekend. Can't wait to see her even if it is only for a short visit before she goes back to school.

National Honor Society Inductee

Last night was the National Honor Society induction. They only took 10 students out of 81 eligible. Greg looked so nice all dressed up. Hey, no baseball hat either.


We were able to convince Greg, Ivan and Collin to pose for a picture with Mrs. Gougas and Ms. Weirbowski.

Picture Recap

A couple of weekends we went up to see Casey and took a little day trip to the Ben & Jerry's factory in Burlington VT. Considering it was a weekend and the factory was working, we still got to see the plant and have a little sample of ice cream. The thing that amazed me the most is that every day each employee goes home with 3 containers of ice cream. Pretty cool. The tour guide said that they use the ice cream to barter for services from other businesses (i.e. the plumber). Nice picture of Casey and Kevin.


Last weekend Tom and Alicia were up from North Carolina. We stopped by to say hello and Tom asked if we were interested in their desk unit. It's a nice one so we said yes. It ended up in Casey's room and looks really nice. So Casey, don't worry, we didn't go through any of your stuff. We just moved a few things around, did some serious vacuuming and dusting and left you a big box of things to go through.

The kittens loved the open side window. Casey, your computer was on because after I set up your computer on your new desk I wanted to make sure it was running. Everything's cool.


Finally, today we started our basement waterproofing. The basement is carefully wrapped in plastic to prevent the concrete dust from getting all over everything. Unfortunately, we probably should have wrapped the entire house as there is concrete dust on the first floor as well. After this is complete on Friday I will spend the entire weekend dusting and vacuuming. Hopefully we will end up with a very dry basement.


Behind the plastic curtain is all of the furniture and stuff from our basement. Hopefully this will spur us into getting rid of some of the excess.

Animusic

It's called Animusic. Both the music and the animations are created digitally. Here's a Wikipedia link that explains the process.

Day 4 - Last day in London

Our last day in London and we decided to explore. Larry was up and out early and we met up in the lobby only to find out that he had purchased front row seats for Wicked that evening. Wicked was at a theatre just around the corner from our hotel so we were passing the marquee everyday. We were thrilled.

We headed to Victoria Station and took the train to Piccadilly Circus. There we split up and Casey and I wandered through a bunch of used bookstores and an outdoor market. We made our way to Covent Garden which was a very busy area of London. Larry and Greg headed another direction looking for sporting goods stores.

We decided to meet up at Harrods for an afternoon of shopping (expensive shopping I might add). Everything at Harrods was so expensive. In the bedding department, a small throw pillow was $100. Sheets ran about $500. We went to the famous pet department which was closed (wasn't too impressed with what we saw through the windows either). They are supposed to have exotic animals but we didn't see them. I was going to buy Kitty a new collar but $40 was way too expensive.

After browsing through a lot of departments, we headed across the street to a Lebanese restaurant. We all decided to have something different. Casey had Falafal and lamb and okra, Greg had spicy chicken wings and lamb kabobs, Larry had a mixed greens salad and chicken and mushroom in mustard sauce, and I had hummus and chicken curry with almonds and coconut. Overall the food was very good but Greg didn't care for lamb.


After lunch we walked to Hyde Park where we split up once again. Casey and I walked down to the Prince Albert statue and then went to the Princess Diana memorial fountain. The fountain didn't look like much from afar but up close it was striking. The circular fountain took twists and slight turns and the water rushed and was calm. It was very lovely.
Next we met back together at Harrods and had sweets at the Chocolate Bar that we had discovered earlier.

Casey has a chocolate beverage that was basically an expresso size cup of melted chocolate. Greg had the Venezuela hot chocolate. Larry had pistachio ice cream and I had a white chocolate strawberry milkshake. It was all very yummy.
After indulging in such rich sweets we decided that instead of taking the train back to the hotel, we would walk off all of the calories. It was a very long walk and it took us by many of the foreign embassies.
Back at the hotel we packed our suitcases as we had an early wake up the next morning to catch the ferry to Calais. Then we were off to see Wicked.
The show was fantastic and such a treat. I highly recommend that you go see it if you haven't. After the theatre let out, Casey and I walked across the street to Victoria Station to stock up on Cadbury bars before leaving London. Casey also got a Cadbury Egg McFlurry at the McDonalds in the train station. It was actually pretty good.

Day 3 Tower of London and Spamalot

Continuing on with Day 3 brought us to the Tower of London. We had driven by this during our Sunday morning tour and we were really looking forward to this tour. The weather was cold, but not rainy.
Tickets in hand we entered the Tower and right away got on a Yeoman's tour (aka Beefeater). The yeoman was fantastic. He was so personable and had a loud booming voice. Did you know that in order to apply to be a yeoman, you must have at least 22 years of military service, have reached the rank of warrant officer, and have been awarded the long service and good conduct medal? It takes months of mentoring before a yeoman candidate is allowed to conduct tours on their own. Like I said, ours was fantastic.

Our first stop on the tour were the gates that led to the Thames River. The gates in the picture shown are at the top of about 8 steps that led into the water. Prisoners for the tower were brought up the Thames to this gate (Traitor's Gate), led up the steps, and led to the tower. Anne Boleyn came up these steps.

From here we were led across the tower grounds to the public beheading place. There is a memorial to those who were beheaded here. The Memorial read "Gentle visitor pause awhile where you stand death cut away the light of many days - here jewelled names were broken from the vivid thread of life - may they rest in peace while we walk the generations around their strife and courage - under these restless skies." All of the executions took place within a few yards of each other and included Jane Boleyn, Catherine Howard, and more. Following the stop here we headed to The Chapel Royal.


Sitting in this beautiful chapel, we were quite surprised to learn that buried beneath our feet were many of those who were executed. The reasoning for this was that the king did not want these people to be made into martyrs so after they were beheaded, they were carried into the chapel and buried so that the public couldn't get to the bodies.


In the center of the chapel was a very large sarcophagus. We were all expecting to hear that someone important was buried there. That was not the case. It turns out that during the middle ages when looting was rampant, the huge gold fountain that currently is in the back of the chapel was "buried" in the sarcophagus. Unfortunately, the keepers of that secret all died and it wasn't until the chapel was being renovated in modern times that they learned there wasn't a body in there at all but rather gold.


This was the end of the yeoman's tour, but there was still quite a bit to see. One thing that really amazed me was the suit of armor made for Henry VIII. Let's just say that he went out of his way to protect something he obviously felt was his "biggest" asset. It was almost pornographic in appearance.

We also saw the Crown Jewels and many more signs of opulence and wealth. We walked along the walls and took pictures of the Tower Bridge (quite an awesome sight). We also toured the room where in 1483 Edward IV's sons 12 year old Edward V and 9 year old Richard were taken by their uncle. The boys disappeared and their uncle was crowned King Richard III. It wasn't until 1674 that the remains of the princes were found. To this day, mystery still surrounds their disappearance.

We finished up the Tower visit with a snack of hot fish and chips and sat outside the tower overlooking the grounds.
After awhile we made our way back to the hotel and rested before a quick dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant and a train ride to the theatre to see Spamalot. Awesome show - loved it, loved it, loved it.

Day 3 - Packed full of fun

Day 3 we were up fairly early and headed to the restaurant for the continental breakfast (same food as Days 1 and 2 but filling). We walked around the corner to Victoria Station and took the train to Monument Square. From there we walked across the bridge to the Globe Theatre replica. There was a nice museum about Shakespeare and the history of the Globe Theatre. When our tour was finally called, we toured the theatre. A group of school children were there performing a Shakespeare play. We learned a lot about the theatre and how fire destroyed the original one - a cannon shot during a performance met up with thatch roofing and destroyed the building.

While it was nice to see this, I think it would have had more of an impact to see an actual performance onstage. Unfortunately we were there during the off season and no performances (other than school children rehearsing) were taking place.

After the tour we walked across the Millenium Bridge and caught the train to Tower Hill where we would visit the famous Tower of London.

Day 2 Wimbledon

From the time we decided to go to England, it was always planned that we would do everything we could to get to Wimbledon. I knew that Greg would be thrilled to see it, but I have to admit, it was something that I really wanted to see as well. So after our morning bus tour around London, we decided to catch the Underground out to Wimbledon as it wasn't too far outside of the city. Casey wasn't feeling well so she decided to have a quiet afternoon in the hotel.

Greg, Larry and I boarded the train at Victoria Station and headed towards Wimbledon. We weren't quite sure which stop to get off at because there were 2 Wimbledon stops. Larry asked the man sitting next to him who was part of a large contingent of "football" (soccer) fans heading to a match. As we was trying to figure it out a very nice woman sitting across from us told us to get off at the station before the Wimbledon station and walk up the hill. We were amazed at how helpful the English were.


Anyways, the footballers all got of the train 2 stops before us and we got off and walked up the hill towards the complex. We arrived at the complex and headed into the gift shop where everyone gathers for a tour. The tour was slated for an hour later but we had the chance to go through the Tennis Museum. This was a really nice museum and very well thought out. Greg loved this part of it just as much as the actual tour of the complex.
Finally it was time for our tour and we ventured out into the cold, windy, rainy England afternoon. We didn't get to go into Centre Court as it is under construction - a roof is being added to the stadium. However, we did get to see most of the outer courts, the BBC media room, the player interview room, the locker rooms, and the players entrance. We also went inside one of the larger court stadiums.


It was amazing to me to see the outer courts and how little room there is between the courts. It looked as if there was only room for one or maybe two rows of folding chairs. The picture with the 2008 on the grassy hill is what is affectionately called "Hinman's Hill" in honor of Tim Hinman, England's only chance to win a Wimbledon title in previous years. This is the hillside shown on tv where people take picnic lunches and watch the day's matches on the big jumbotron tv.

Another cool site was the row of tennis figures dressed as ancient chinese soldiers. The statues were really large and a very good representation of the players. We were told that the soldiers will be leaving this year and going to the actual player. There was Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, and more.


These pictures don't really show how cold it was, but it had to be about 40 degrees with driving wind and rain at times. After the last stop which was inside Court 2, we headed to the restaurant for steaming mugs of hot chocolate and chocolate muffins.

Following a quick snack we walked back to the train station to head back to the hotel. Two stops after getting on the train, all of the footballers joined us. The soccer match was over (they lost) and everyone was heading home.

We met up with Casey who enjoyed a quiet day of reading and resting. That night we had dinner at Big Uns. Casey and I had fish and chips. They were just okay. We would have better ones the next day at the Tower of London.

Day 2 - Bus Tour Around London

Our bus tour around London continued with a drive through all of the sides of London. We drove past St. Dunstans church which is the oldest church in London. There is a statue of Queen Victoria in the niche. The picture isn't the greatest because it was pouring down rain and we were on the bus.




We also stopped at St. Paul's Cathedral and it stopped raining enough for us to take some pictures. St. Paul's is incredibly beautiful from the outside. We were unable to go in because it was Palm Sunday and mass was being said. St. Paul's was designed by the famous Christopher Wren.


We continued driving around London and crossed the London Bridge and went past the Tower of London (more to come about that on Day 3). Again it was very rainy and very cold but most of the morning we spent on the bus. Our last bus stop was Buckingham Palace and it was there that we decided to walk back to the hotel and get ready for our afternoon trip to Wimbledon.

Tennis Season is Underway

Well the season is well underway and the weather is finally warming up for some nice days watching tennis. Greg is playing 4th doubles on varsity and the team is 4-1 only losing to Lower Moreland (always the powerhouse). Greg is 4-1 as well only losing to Lower Moreland. He is having a blast.


It's fun to watch him play as he really gets into the match. His partner is very quiet and it seems like Greg is the one who has to keep up the momentum. In his match the other day, the kids from Holy Ghost kept saying the wrong game score. Greg caught them on it every single time. The last picture is Greg and Alex talking with Coach A after winning the first set. On the far left is Greg's friend Ivan who plays first singles.

Day 2

We woke up fairly early and headed down to breakfast before our 8:30 am London sightseeing tour. Breakfast was a cold breakfast and because we were trying to save money on meals, we filled up on cold meat, croissants, cheeses, fruit, juices, and cereal. It was raining and cold as we boarded the bus for our tour.

Our first stop was the Prince Albert Royal Hall - the scene of many concerts and events. This was across from Kensington Park and the statue of Prince Albert that Queen Victoria had built following his death.
From wikipedia - "The Royal Albert Hall is an arts venue situated in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941.

The Royal Albert Hall is one of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, recognisable the world over. Since its opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from every kind of performance genre have appeared on its stage. Each year it hosts more than 350 performances including classical concerts, rock and pop, ballet and opera, tennis, award ceremonies, school and community events, charity performances and lavish banquets.

The Hall was originally supposed to have been called The Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed by Queen Victoria to Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences when laying the foundation stone as a dedication to her husband and consort, Prince Albert. It forms the practical part of a national memorial to the Prince Consort - the decorative part is the Albert Memorial directly to the north in Kensington Gardens, now separated from the Hall by the heavy traffic along Kensington Gore. The Hall also accommodates the second largest pipe organ in the UK (Liverpool Cathedral regains the title with the addition of the Central organ), and is the home of The Proms."



The statue of Prince Albert is at an entrance to Kensington Park. This statue was erected by Queen Victoria following his death from typhoid in 1861. The monument has only recently been restored and it is beautiful. It was raining that morning and we only saw it from afar, but a few days later, we walked through Kensington Park and were able to get an up close view of this beautiful monument. From what the guide said and various readings, Prince Albert would have hated having this monument in his honor.

Day 1 - A very long day

After Larry's nap and another room change (3rd for Casey and I), we headed out again. We walked along St. James park to Big Ben. In Parliament Square we saw Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the beginnings of a huge peace rally. To the left of Big Ben when viewing from the Thames is the British House of Commons. We walked across the Thames in search of food. None of us had eaten since the plane ride and we were all quite hungry. We found a quaint little Italian restaurant (Locale) and ate lunch outside.

While sitting outside eating, I noticed a building that was called General Lying-In Hospital Under the Patronage of her Majesty and her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales. Standing in front were 2 London bobbies.

After a pretty good late lunch we continued walking along the Thames toward the famous London Eye. I wouldn't go on the London Eye, but everyone else would have however it was very expensive. We decided to start back to the hotel and as we were crossing the Thames, the peace rally was crossing the other direction. It was a huge rally and very well behaved, all different nationalities with signs and loudspeakers. I got a kick out of the street cleaners that followed the rally to clean up after them.


We walked through St. James park again, stopped at the grocery for some food stuffs and headed back to the hotel for a restful evening. Early to bed, but time to watch some cricket on tv. It was the England/New Zealand test.