Janie Kate is 4!

Janie is such a little Princess lately. She had a fun birthday- we skyped with Curtis because he was in Utah for the week. Janie opened one gift in the morning, and then we had cake and ice cream and the rest of her gifts that night.
Janie's favorites at 4:

Candy: Fruit Snacks, Haribo's, or anything gummy
Food: Cottage cheese
Book: How to Be a Ballerina
Movie/t.v: Max and Ruby and Dora!

Jo Jo turns 7!

Jonah is 7 today. We had fun. We had a breakfast celebration because CJL had to Germany today. We had waffles, bacon, and OJ. Sang Happy Birthday and Jo opened all of his gifts right after breakfast, which he was so excited for. He got an American football, a Harry Potter Book of Monsters, a BYU shirt, 3 lego Olympic Minifigs, a pencil case, and a large Batman Lego set. He also will be getting a Viktor Krum wand but it isn't here yet.
Jonah's favorites:

Candy: Tootsie Rolls still
Color: Blue
Food: Chicken
Book: The Count of Something
Sport: American Football
Ice Cream: Eats it with milk poured over it
Best Friend: Spencer Lee- still!! Nicco Vargus is his best buddy in the country though!!

We went to Krispy Kreme donuts with the Ferreira girls today, and we sang to Jonah there as well. And then Nicco and Seb Vargus, Jude Nels and Andrew Stanworth came over, and we all sang to Jo after dinner and ate his American Football cake. Happy Birthday my Kissy face Bear. Still as kissy as ever.


Me: Hey Jo, do you want to watch Chariots of Fire? It's about two Englishmen who go to the Olympics.
Jo: Are they Jamaican? (ha ha, Cool Runnings is in the LaClaire dvd library!)
Me: No, they're English
Jo: Are they American?
Me: No they're English
Jo: Are they British?
Me: laughing-  Yes they are.

15 Happy Years

August 20, 1997

August 20, 2012

The Thames from Emirates Air Line- looking northeast

The Thames and O2 arena- looking southwest

Today was a super fun day. Curtis worked from home, and had only one early phone call. We loaded everybody up and drove to Hampton Court for a River Cruise on the Thames. We got off at Kingston, ate some hotdogs from a cart, window shopped a little bit, went potty, and came home.  Later, Curtis and I went into London for dinner at a Brazilian restaurant up in Greenwich at the O2 arena- the Rodizio Rico. Then we took the Emirates Air tram for a ride over the Thames river. It was gorgeous day, which turned into a gorgeous evening walking and riding around the city. It still feels surreal to live near a city like London. It was a night of making new friends too. Curtis was talking to a  Portuguese waiter at Rodizio Rico quite a bit. He would come and bring us the meat fresh from the fire (which is the best thing about Brazilian BBQ!) and chat for a bit. Curtis mentioned that he served a mission there, and that sparked some conversation about religion. As we were leaving he shared his email with Curtis, and a desire to come to come to church sometime. I guess he used to see LDS missionaries in Brazil when he lived there.
On the tram, we sat in the car with another family with one little boy. We were kind of bummed because we wanted to make out. But then the woman asked her husband if he thought we would die if the car fell off the tram, and that led to a conversation with this couple. We chatted until we got off the tram, and Curtis and Santa (the husband) exchanged info.
Got our own tram car on the way back and made out. Then we heard a voice from above asking us to keep our feet off the seats. That guy got a good show tonight:) Curtis politely asked him to stop watching us make out.
On the underground on the way home, we sat by a family with a little boy who looked Sadie's age. We were waving and smiling at him, and the wife pulled out her phone and showed me a video of him playing at home. Then I pulled out my phone and showed her a picture of Sadie. I think her jaw dropped to the floor when I told her that we have 5 children. As they got  off the underground she gave me her number and name. They are from Beijing area.
Came home and watched the first half of Harry Potter 6 which features Surbiton station at the beginning. We took a good look around tonight while we were at the station and it really is OUR Surbiton station in the movie!! That makes me smile alot.
One thing I will say about the 15 Anniversaries we have had together is they have never been the same. Whether we have been eating raw chicken from Carl's Jr., or moving (or both!), or Curtis at the Portofino and me throwing up in a condo in New Jersey (or both!), or going to Wicked on Broadway or throwing a huge Anniversary Party for Sandy and Curt, or staying with lots of family in Hackensack, or driving across the country and just dying to stay in a Holiday Inn Express where there are hopefully no cockroaches,  they have been totally original, crazy, and us. I wouldn't have it any other way.  Here's to many, many more to come!