Cornwall

We were fortunate to have our friends Kati and Brett (and their two cute little buggers) come and visit us last week. It was so nice to see some familiar faces from home here in London. It almost makes you forget where you are when you are with your friends. Kati even said that she kept forgetting to take in the scenery because it was as if we were "home" back in the states rather than in England. We headed out to the coast, Cornwall to be exact (a 5+ hour drive with 3 kids under the age of 3 in the car) with Brett as the brave navigator. I have to say that he was cool, calm and collected during the entire trek. Not an easy fete with pouring rain, three car seats and oh yeah, driving on the opposite side of the road! I sometimes have trouble just following the road when I'm walking it, nevertheless trying to drive it. ha

The southwest coast of England is gorgeous. Not a bad location for Charlotte's first ever beach experience. Reminds me of a mix between the cliffs of southern California and the rocky Maine coast. Even a bit of rain couldn't spoil the scenery this breathtaking. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Happy Birthday

And... she's 1! Little miss sunshine turned 1 today and though so cliche to say,it is amazing how quickly the first year seemed to pass us by. While some days were long (think of sunset at 3:30 pm, winter and lots of rain), this past year has been so insanely fast - I am finding it difficult to wrap my head around the fact that Charlotte turned 365 days old today. Reflecting upon this time, both Tim and I have gained many a new life lessons/insights into our new life as parents. A few of these are as follows:

1. Waking up before the sun rises isn't always a bad thing, especially when the alarm awaiting you has a giant grin on her face
2. "Free time" is a term we no longer use - it's easier that way
3. Kids are a lot of work, but knowing you are helping to shape their future makes each moment worthwhile...and a little bit scary
4. calling your spouse mom-ma-ma-ma or dad-da-da-da sounds really normal after a few days
5. We're going to start selling empty boxes and label them as "toys"
6. We don't have a car, but can easily identify the 2012 model strollers
7. Boogers and messy diapers lose "grossness" when they belong to your own child
8. (Off-key) Singing in public is totally acceptable when it is labeled as "Rhyme Time"
9. No one can make her laugh like her dad
10. We wouldn't trade a single day of it

Happy birthday, peanut butter...

celebrity (near)sightings

What a productive 10+ months we have had here in London thus far. To date, we have personally seen John Goodman (old news, walking along the Thames back in February wearing a fabulous grey sweatsuit), Ricky Gervais (power walking in a Hanes tee and mesh shorts, walkman in hand), Chris Martin (no big deal - just the lead.singer.of.Coldplay running along my street) and Boy George. Okay, this last one is up for debate. This most recent sighting was last weekend at the Sir Richard Steele Pub in Steele's Village while casually enjoying a beer and feeding Charlotte dinner. Don't judge, children are allowed at pubs. And we weren't technically IN the pub, we were seated outside in the concrete garden. Back to the story... Upon his entrance, Tim and I (eyes wide open) glanced at each other and stealthily turned away to plan our photo opp. After further review and Tim's paparazzi moment, I concluded that it is NOT a one Sir Boy George. Tim and Charlotte swear it is he, as Google (old reliable Google) confirmed he once lived in walking distance to this pub. And Charlotte couldn't take her eyes off of his striped pants and platform shoes. Can you blame her? You decide.

*Add Tim Burton to the list...ate brunch with him on Sunday. Okay, not "with" him... but he was sitting at the table next to ours.