London with Ashley

How do I begin?? The trip over started with our flight from SLC to JFK. The in seat entertainment was broken...no kids cartoons. So I tried Go Go wireless on the laptop, it would stream for 15 minutes then stop for 15 minutes....aaargh. 5 hours, no kids movies, no nap. Flight from JFK to LHR. Ash falls asleep right after we take off. I mistakenly wake her when dinner arrives. All hell breaks loose, LOUD wailing, crying " I want to go home" " I want my own bed" " I don't want to go to London". One hour later still getting stares from other passengers...are you going to shut your child up anytime soon??? I finally lie to Ash and tell her that I will have the pilot turn the plane around and when she wakes up we will be back in SLC. We eat, she watches cartoons, we are only 3 hours from London and she only slept a total of 2 hours. I give her some Dramamine and she is out. I wake her when we arrive at LHR. More crying, wailing etc. " Hold me Mommy pleaseeeeee!" " I am so tired...my legs don't work!" We stand in the Customs line for 40 minutes before a kind Immigration Officer comes and pulls us to the front of the line. I think the other 700 people were tired of listening to her. Disaster.
Time change ended up not bothering her at all. In bed every night by 8pm, up at 8am no naps, just like home...aaaah:) My brother Craig cooked me wonderful meals every day. I drank wine with every dinner. Never had to wash dishes..I didn't want to come home:) We went to Legoland, rode the double decker bus, the tube, went to the playground everyday, the Sea Life Aquarium, visited Ian's sister and her family, visited Mark's Spencer Department Store and much more. Craig and Ian were great hosts and I can't wait to go back...perhaps just with Dave next time:)
We left one week later, flew from LHR to JFK. As we came closer to JFK to pilot announced were were going into a holding pattern...okay.....2 hours later "Well folks were are low on fuel so we are diverting to Newark to refuel, then we'll get new paper work and head back to JFK....thanks for your patience." Well we had a 3 1/2 hour layover in JFK....so much for that.
About 90% of the airplane missed their connection, we were all stranded until the next morning. Ash fell asleep again 20 minutes before we landed and I had to wake her up to get off the plane. More crying, more wailing....oh God here we go again. Yet again, the Customs Officials saved us by bringing us to the front of the line. I think the other 300 passengers were very grateful. We all shuffled over to Terminal 4 to find a comfy couch or bench. Once I had Ash settled she fell asleep immediately. 30 minutes later I felt so awful, nauseous, sweaty, yuck. I spent the next 4 hours running to the bathroom to vomit. Fortunately, I was next to lovely ladies from England who were willing to watch over Ash and our luggage, while I ran to the bathroom. They were true guardian angels.
Below is our slide show from London.

Legoland

At the end of August I bid for a long (24 hour) overnight in Orange County, CA. It was over a weekend and the plan was to bring along Dave and the girls and visit Aunt Cathy (Dave's sister). After a horendous flight with Madison screaming for freedom, we arrived to sunny 72 degree weather. We piled into Cathy's car and headed to Legoland for some fun! After yucky traffic and a 2 hour drive to go 50 miles, we arrived. The rides are perfect for small kids and waits were not to bad for a Saturday. We left when the park closed at 8pm and both girls quickly fell asleep....sweet silence:) We stopped for gas right next to the hotel and Cathy's car battery died. She had it towed in the morning and all was well. Maddie still screamed on the flight home...just not as long as the way over. She is officially banned from airplane travel until she is two...unless she is traveling with Nana and Papa...they can have her:)

Katie's Baby Shower

Back in June I hosted a baby shower for my fabulous sister in law Katie. She lives in Vegas so she came up for the weekend and we had the shower on Saturday the 19th. We had a great turn out of family and friends. Baby Taylor was born September 20th 2010, more pics of her later! We are excited to have a new cousin in the family, we love you!