The Happiest Place on Earth

If you didn't already know, Stella and Olive are two of the luckiest girls in the world. They have an Oma and Papa who adore them. They adore them so much that they insisted that they take them to Disneyland. Can you imagine? We had more fun than I can possibly explain. It was so awesome to watch Stella's little face light up at all the sights and sounds of the Happiest Place on Earth.

We can't thank Mike and Marlane enough for helping us create such magical memories. If it weren't for Marlane coming along, Nick and I wouldn't have had such an amazing time (and we also wouldn't have had a chance to go on Space Mountain together!).

As if we weren't lucky enough as it was, my cousin Krissy's pulled some strings and gained us entrance to both parks for free all days that we were there. How awesome is that?!

Many many thanks to everyone for helping make this trip possible and many thanks to all our friends who gave us good advice on things to do/see. The trip was spectacular and we have already started planning our next Disneyland trip!

–Liv

 Olive napped in the carrier every day for 5 days. What a trooper!

 Watching the carousel. It was REALLY hot outside!

 Our first ride at Disneland - the carousel :) 

 Olive is such a sweetie.

 Dumbo.

 Dumbo: Stella's favorite ride.

 Naptime for Olive while we go on "It's a Small World"

 California Adventures 

 My favorite part of Disneyland is the flashmob style dancing and singing that happens all over the park at random times. It's so festive!

 The Bug's Life ride.

 But mostly STELLA loved it :) 

 Cooling off in the Bug's Life water park.

 So.much.fun.

 My princess in front of the castle.

 Don't let her looks fool you - Stella was STOKED to get her picture taken with Ariel!

 One of Olive's favorite people: Oma!

 Did I tell you that Dumbo is her favorite ride?

 Yep, it is!

 The girls.

 The girls were given these special buttons to commemorate their first visit. Olive wasn't as impressed as she should've been...

 My lovely Mother-in-law/nanny/friend.

Phew! It's hard work having fun.

Iceland.

By Liv

I know what you're thinking, "Liv, when the heck did you go to Iceland? I thought you were living in Seattle now and are all settled?" Well, you're right. We ARE living in Seattle and we ARE settled, but over a month ago, when we left England to move back to America, we made a short stop in Iceland along the way. Call it our last adventure for a long time, if you will.

We stayed in Reykjavik, Iceland. We rented a beautifully renovated 1-bedroom apartment right near the center of town and settled in with our 8 checked bags and 4 carry-on bags that was the entire contents of our house in Oxford. Yes, 8 checked bags. Yes, 4 carry-ons. And a stroller. Crazy, I know.

Besides strolling through town and admiring how amazingly expensive everything in Iceland is, we spent some much-needed family time together and enjoyed the local zoo as well as the world-famous "Pylsur" (aka Hot Dog) stand that both Metallica and Bill Clinton once ate at.

Directly before our flight to Seattle, we made a day trip to the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland. The warm waters are rich in minerals like silica and sulphur and bathing in the Blue Lagoon is reputed to have healing properties, too. The water temperature in the bathing and swimming area of the lagoon averages 98–102 °F.

We had an amazing time at the Lagoon and would highly recommend anyone who visits Iceland to make a stop there - especially right before your long international flight!

 This store, "Stella" sold only the craziest looking pantyhose you've ever seen.

 Riding the carousel at the Zoo.

 Enjoying Pylsur at the most famous Pylsur stand in all of Iceland.

 No sink is too small for this girl!

 The Blue Lagoon's milky blue waters were very warm and calming.

 It was like being at the biggest spa in the world!

The tiniest spa-goer...

Wimbledon 2011.

By Liv

Nick is a member of a tennis club here in Oxford, so he had the option to enter a lottery to buy tickets to Wimbledon this year. He was lucky enough to land two sets of tickets to two different days. The first day (Monday) was a wash, literally. It poured down rain and we ended up not seeing a single second of tennis. The second set of tickets was for Saturday and it was perfect weather – it completely made up for our crummy first attempt at Wimbledon!

We had tickets to Court 1, so we were able to watch Nadal vs. Muller, Serena Williams vs. Maria Kirilenko as well as the Bryan brothers vs. Gonzales/Starace.

Even though we knew beforehand that children under 5 are not allowed in the stadium matches, we hid Stella in the backpack carrier and waited until she was asleep to sneak past the security in to our stadium seats. Even after she woke up and I held her on my lap, she was perfectly quiet and once the security man came over to inform me that children are now allowed, he then continued to say that he would allow her to stay until the end of the match (Federer!) since she was being so quiet. I think it's a sign that she will one day be playing on that court :)

 Day #1 was rainy, but this is where we WOULD HAVE sat if there were a match going on!

 

Yay!

The highlight of the day was her Wimby bear. 

 

 The princess in her seat up-high.

Wimbledon try #2: Bryan brothers vs. Gonzales/Starace

  Bryan brothers vs. Gonzales/Starace

 Sleeping through the first half of Nadal vs. Muller

 Rafa!!!

 Awesome seats.

 Enjoying Wimbledon's famous strawberries & cream.

 Her future's so bright, she's gotta wear shades!

Gabe & Kathy's wedding in Bristol, England.

By Liv

How lucky of us to be in England at the same time as our friends Gabe & Kathy's wedding in Bristol. The wedding ceremony was lovely and the reception was even more so. It was  held at a beautiful venue and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the groom's sister showed up as a surprise to everyone — all the way from America! What a perfect day for a perfect couple.

 Daddy & Daughter.

 We love our fascinators!

 The Swatzells.

 We were so happy to see Annie!

 And Stella was REALLY excited to see Annie, especially since she shared her champagne with her :)

 

Bambina.

 What do you think? I think they will make perfect parents!

 Nick & Gabe.

 Liv & Gabe.

A beautiful venue.

 Family portrait.

 It couldn't have been a better day for a wedding.

Bambina.