My Toys Moved to Atlanta

Remember nine months ago when my toys moved to London? Well, yesterday they moved back to Atlanta. The movers came and packed up all our toys and stuff and sent it on its way. The house looks pretty bare now.

After all our stuff was gone, McKenzie turned to Mama and asked, "Is this our house?" It is for two more days.

Clapham Common Ward

Today was our last Sunday at church before we go back to Atlanta. We said goodbye to all our friends. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've told you much about our ward: the Clapham Common Ward.

Our ward is a pretty small ward, and a very diverse one. There are a lot of people who were born in Africa, some who are from Jamaica, a few born-and-raised Brits, and a handful of Americans, like us. And for semesters at a time, there are exchange students from BYU who come to the ward to help out.

Our first Sunday here, there were about 70 people in Sacrament Meeting. These days, it's probably closer to 90. Mama plays the piano in Sacrament Meeting and is in the Primary Presidency. On many days, she would play the piano in Sacrament Meeting, teach the lesson in the older Primary class (there are only two classes: one for those less than 8 and another for the older kids), lead Singing Time, and run Sharing Time. When BYU exchange students are here, they often help as primary teachers and sometimes take over the piano playing.

My Primary class has about 3-5 kids in it. I'm the youngest. The next youngest is my friend Kae (he's 6). When I showed up, he was so excited not to be the youngest anymore that he took me under his wing and helped me out.

Daddy teaches in Elders Quorum. His days aren't quite so hectic. But he tries (not very successfully) to keep me and McKenzie entertained on Sunday afternoons while Mama takes a nap after her busy morning.

Anyway, we said goodbye to all that today. I'm excited to be able to go to church with my friends Benjamin and Riley when I get back to Atlanta, but I'll miss my friends here in London.

Thames River

We're down to our last week before we go home to Atlanta, so we've been cramming in some last minute sightseeing. This last week, Mama took McKenzie and me to the Victoria & Albert Museum and to Buckingham Palace. Yesterday, we took a boat ride down the Thames.

We rode on the City Cruises line. We got on at Waterloo Millenium Pier and cruised out to Greenwich. Along the way, we passed the HMS Belfast, the London Bridge, the Tower of London, and the Tower Bridge, all sites I've experienced close up.

It was raining the whole time, so it was hard to take pictures, but it was still fun. When we got to Greenwich, we checked out the National Maritime Musuem. We had been there months ago, but it was cool to go back. One thing I'm really going to miss about London is the museums. There are a lot of them; they're really cool; they're free; and they have fun stuff for kids.

Bekonscot Village

Saturday was my birthday. I turned four. To celebrate, we went to the Bekonscot Model Village in Beaconsfield. To get there, we took a train to London Victoria, then a bus (a double-decker) to Marylebone Station, then another train to Beaconsfield. Bekonscot is the oldest model village in the world. It's big, too. It had a model zoo, model churches, and model country clubs and a golf course. My favorites were the model trains. They would stop at the stations for a few minutes as if to pick up passengers, then they would move on. McKenzie's favorites were the model playgrounds, complete with slides and swings.

After we got home, we had a bunch of friends over for dinner and birthday cake. You can read about that on Mama's blog.

Besides getting to ride on trains and double-decker buses and getting to see the coolest model village, I got some other things for my birthday. I got a toy pirate ship, some books to read, and a new train. I wish I could have a birthday everyday.

See Jane Run

Mama's been teaching me how to read. I think I'm getting pretty good at it.

Covent Garden

On Saturday, we went to Covent Garden Market. To get there, we took the Northern line to Leicester Square and transfered to the Picadilly line to Covent Garden. (For you out-of-towners, here's how to pronounce Leicester.)

The Covent Garden tube station is one of the few stations that doesn't have an escalator. You can either take a lift or the stairs. We didn't feel like waiting in the queue for the lift, so we took the stairs. As you turn to go up the stairs there's a sign that says that there are 195 stairs. Daddy looked at Mama with a look that said, "You up for this?" Mama nodded and up we went.

195 stairs is a lot of stairs. It was easiest on McKenzie. Mama carried her half the way. I climbed all 195, but admitted to being tired. Daddy didn't admit as much, but he was breathing heavier than I was.

There are some shops at Covent Garden Market, but the coolest bit was the street performers. The best were these two jugglers.

After Covent Garden, we took a bus over to Hyde Park. We got ice cream cones, ran around a bit, and then walked along the Serpentine. It was a beautiful day; a perfect day for a walk in the park.

English Countryside

We experienced a bit of the English countryside yesterday. Daddy's friend from work, Clive, and Clive's wife Jen invited us out to their place in Goring. Goring is about an hour train ride west from Paddington Station.

Goring is a beautiful little village along the Thames River. We walked along the river for a bit and then had a little picnic by the riverside. We played fetch with Clive and Jen's dog, Saphy. After the picnic we fed the swans. That's Saphy in the picture, helping me feed the swans.

After the swans, we walked to a village pub and had some hot chocolate. It was my first British pub experience (or any pub, for that matter). Village pubs are more like little cafés: good places to sit and chat and have a beverage.

After hot chocoloate, it was time for us to go. We had so much fun in Goring, we slept like logs all night.