Happy Birthday McKenzie

Yesterday was McKenzie's birthday. We spent the afternoon at Battersea Park. Battersea Park is a nice park in South London, just a few train stops from us. We walked around and sat on the grass and watched the ducks. It also has a cool playground with a really big slide.

After that we went home and had dinner and then cake. McKenzie got a princess cake. In case you can't tell from the picture, the cake has Belle (from Beauty and the Beast), Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella on it.

So, McKenzie's two now. When we ask her how old she is, she still says "one," though. I guess getting older takes some getting used to.

Home Sweet Home

Well, I'm back in London. It was great to spend a few weeks with my homies back in Atlanta. But it's also nice to be back where my toys are.

On the plane ride back to London, Mama asked me what would be the first thing I'd do when we got home.

"Play with my trains," I said without hesitating. Then she asked McKenzie the same question.

"Vacuum."

We got back to London Monday morning. We were pretty tired, and just happy to be home, so I skipped school that day. (Monday was the first day of the new term.) I went to school on Tuesday, though, and had a great time. On the way home, I told Mama about my day.

"I met a girl today," I said.

Mama proceeded to ask me a bunch of questions about her. I got grilled, really. Maybe next time I won't mention it...

Atlanta Temple

Mama and Daddy went to the Atlanta Temple this week. McKenzie and I hung out with Grandma and Grandpa while Mama and Daddy went inside.

Afterwards, we went to the tomatoes restaurant (aka, Sweet Tomatoes), my favorite restaurant. While we where there, I had the following conversation with Mama:

Me: "Mama, do you know what my favorite kind of water is?"
Mama: "What's your favorite kind of water?"
Me, chewing on ice: "The crunchy kind."

Stone Mountain

We went to Stone Mountain this week. Stone Mountain is sort of a shrine to insurgents from years past, back when Southerners thought insurgency was a good thing.

We took a tram to the top of the mountain, took a train around the mountain, rode a boat in front of the mountain, and generally had a good time. It was fun to hang out with my friend Benjamin.

Oh, and there were monster trucks there, too. That's something Southerners have never grown tired of...

I'm in Atlanta

We came back to Atlanta for a visit. We left London on Wednesday morning. It was a nine hour flight, but it was the best nine hour flight I've ever had. We got upgraded to business class. They had oversold economy so I think they needed to clear some space there. That, and the fact that Daddy has lots of status, meant we got to fly up front.

The other business class travelers must have been a little surprised, if not leery, to see us up there. McKenzie and I were really good kids, though. We ate a good meal, watched a few movies, and took good naps.

It's been fun being back in Atlanta. I've been hanging out with my friends Benjamin and Riley. I'll tell you about my adventures here, once I have them.

Church of England

We went to the Church of England yesterday. Before you think that we're switching teams, we had an ulterior motive. Daddy has a friend at work that goes to the Church of England. They made a deal: if we go to his church then he'll come to ours. Yesterday, we went to his church.

David's church is in an old building that was originally built in the 1400s, although it's been rebuilt since then. The sermon was about whether children should be allowed to take communion. Actually, it was more a matter of the vicar (the priest) trying to convince the congregation that it was a good idea. Afterwards, they took sort of a straw poll to see how everyone felt about it.

After church, David invited us to his house for lunch. He has a great house with a beautiful garden (garden = yard for you yankees). Here's a picture of the swing in his rear garden.

After lunch, David had a bunch of other friends from his church over for an Easter egg hunt. All the adults hid the Easter eggs and then we kids got to find them. I found a lot.

All in all, it was a really fun day. When we got home, Daddy asked me if I noticed anything different about David's church.

"The sacrament table," I said.

He was impressed at my astuteness. "Anything else?" he asked.

"The sacrament," I said, acknowledging that they hadn't passed it around. Daddy said I'm a smart kid.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone. We had a fun Easter here.

On my last day of school, I gave chocolate easter bunnies to my teachers at school, and one to the crosswalk lady that helps me cross the street on my way to school. She thought that was pretty neat.

Yesterday, we had the missionaries over for dinner. Mama cooked a gammon. If you don't know what a gammon is, that's okay. We didn't either. Mama went to the local organic butcher and asked for a ham. She got a blank stare.

"Do you mean a gammon?" the butcher asked.

Apparently, she did.

The gammon came uncooked. Mama soaked it for a few hours and then boiled it for another couple of hours. It turned out great. It was the best gammon I've ever had.