Apparently I have 82 children

Some time ago, probably 4 months by this point, Anna informed me that she had two sisters Ladge and LaBone (I prefer to spell LaVone - with a v pronnounced as a b, but Drew said it is spelled the other way).  Ladge and Labone(I have given in to this spelling because I think he is probably right) have become very important members of our family.  Anna talks to them all the time, celebrates their birthdays (albeit almost daily),  buckles them into the car, plays with them in the bath, I overhear her talking to them when she is in the other room, and she discusses their goings on and conversations with her friends.  She has even named one of her dolls Ladge (it is a doll my mother gave her that came with a name tag reading 'Anna' this past Christmas).  She sleeps with Ladge every night.  You might say that if that were the case I would only have 4 children.  Serious did I just use the word ONLY and four children in one sentence!  I guess it is all perspective because 4 out of 82 seems like a really small number, ya know?  Anyway, my other 78 children I have been informed periodically are named "the other Ladge" and "the other LaBone" and "the other Ladge" and "the other LaVone" (maybe some of them arre spelled this way) and "the other Ladge" and "the other LaBone" and that there are 80 of them.  So 80 of them plus the two that I actually remember having is what brings us to 82.  By the way, Drew says he does not believe in the other Ladge and the other LaBone.  Kind of harsh not to believe in 78 of your pretend children, but to believe in two of them, I mean if I were a pretend child, my feelings would be pretty hurt if my father didn't believe in me!  In his defense though, they do seem to only come around occassionally.  Anyway, I look at it as I have somewhere in between two and 80 additional children.  It is a good thing Drew and I are still in school, I sure think we are going to need the extra money!

Ladge"the doll" Mudgett photo curtesy of Anna

Crushing of the car...

Olympics Part 2 - Road trip to the bronze

The following video is of a true fan, albeit it was actually at the first game we went to...

The Olympics Bronze Match was a bit further away than the semifinals so we decided to book a hotel room.  ROAD TRIP!

Pit stop for dinner, Anna's yogurt choice

We arrive at the hotel

Our Room

Breakfast and a lecture

Racing in the halls

Olympics!

Much needed binoculars as you can see we don't have front row this time. We actually sat further back than our seats because they were in the sun, this way we were nicely shaded, it was a hot day.

The teams in action and the entire empty side of the stadium

Enjoying the game, notice the slight dimple on her forehead, yep 6 weeks ago that was a little bruise

Look closely and notice a little bird on the field, this was a quite a highlight during the game, which only had one goal scored during the additional minutes at the end of the game

They had healthy snack options, Yeah!

Anna's choice, of course the line was SOOOOO long, shouldn't this tell people something, more healthy snacks stadiums!

This one can only be called the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat

Canada Celebrates!

Our Souvenir, bonus, it is also a scarf 

 Anna gets a gold for the biggest wedgie 

How I found Lizzie passed out during our car ride

Stop off at the mall for some dinner

And a bit of exercise, dirty floors, but kids having to sit the entire day, earned it.

The Olympics! Part one - USA Vs. Canada

So we bought tickets to see USA vs. Canada it was a late game in Manchester so we hesitated but then we got a great deal, 4 tickets 45 gbp total, so we took it!  Here are some highlights...

we leave at 3:15

excited to hit the road

Arrive at Trafford shopping center in Manchester and get to watch massive screen so as not to miss any events whilst waiting for dinner

Dinner at Pizza Express, don't let the name fool you it is actually super super slow, but also pretty high end pizza

bags searched and bagged again after a quick pat down, we go to our seats

Lizzie LOVES the seats in stadiums

Our original seats (we arrived like right before the game notice the crowd

Supporting our team, again, notice the crowd, this is the Olympics people

Lizzie in her Olympic Medal

The players enter the field

Anna discovers that when things get interesting it is a bit louder than she likes, also these are our second seats, a few more people

Lizzie basking in the glory that is stadium seating

Our final  seat location, first row

Anna is enlightened to the fact that when it gets loud you can scream as much as you want , all the sudden, its not such a bad thing after all

USA wins!

Celebratory Family picture

Shuttle bus ride back to our car, we sort of parked at the complete opposite end of the mall and it is probably one of the biggest malls I have every been to, think Tysons Corner (at least that is what it felt like whist walking it)

I thought, lets just check to see if the mall is open because walking back to the car is going not be horrible if we have to walk around the entire mall, it would make it about 3 times as long to walk!  Guess what, 11 at night and they were open, thanks movie theater!  People have to get out of the mall somehow after a movie right?  Score!

It is a completely empty mall, less us a a few random people every once in a while, kind of has the feel of the movie manaquin

A special treat on the way home for super tired girls who are remarkably upbeat Fries a la McDonald's

Check out the size of that fry!

We ventured home leaving the mall at about 11 arriving home at around 1 am.  They did fabulously well and we had a great time!  It was even more special to see USA not only play but win!

From face palm to smile

So we have not made it to the temple in a LONG time.  Last time we went I was pregnant with Lizzie who is more than one, and we had to leave shortly after we arrived due to the need to puke.  So, it was pretty exciting to have a chance to go.  The Preston temple is an hour and a half a way, so travel means a large amount of time for a babysitter.  When we got to the temple this is what we found:

Closed for maintenance, oh yeah we did get an email about that, but since we rarely go we kind of didn't pay much attention

After we phoned my friend who was watching the kids she said, well, go enjoy your day.  So we decided to do a bit of exploring

We went Charity shop hopping and I found this outfit (I need to hem Jeans, but they fit well)

Drew scored a brand new pin striped suit fits great all for 6 pounds

There was a very loud and enthusiastic drum group with a very animated dancer if you look closely you will see him in the middle

A romantic lunch at subway 

A whole lot of loot, it ended up being a fun day, not exactly what we expected but a fabulous day 

A HUGE thank you to Angie and Eric who took care of our kids, in so much that Anna didn't want us to be back and Lizzie was passed out cold when we arrived.  We love you guys!