40th Birthday!

I turned 40 in April. I have to say, it ended up being the best birthday I have ever had.
Tom and I spend the night before in Park City, then had breakfast in Salt Lake.
We went to pick up my amazing birthday cake later in the day. I have a recurring dream where I go into a pet store and see that they are selling tiny little elephants, lions, giraffes, etc., small enough to put in a 10 gallon tank. I go crazy buying all these tiny animals. It's my favorite dream to have. Anyway, Tom found a baker who made a special cake for me, representing that dream.
We had a party that night, which is always fun. We had friends from our old neighborhood and from our new neighborhood. We played silly games, ate that great cake, and just had a really nice time.
Tom spent weeks and weeks before the party (with the help of Alesha) creating a book for me. He contacted family and friends and had them write down memories of us together, or whatever they wanted to write to me. They put these in the book and added lots of pictures. It did not arrive in time, and in fact still has not arrived, but I am really looking forward to reading it. It is the perfect gift for sentimental me.
One great surprise during the party was the arrival of our friend, Lance. Lance and his family are very special to us. Due to military obligations, he has been away for a year at a time, three times in the last four years. Neither Tom or I knew he was coming, so it was really a joy to see him walk into the room.
Evan and Kaelin, who are talented artists, each drew me a picture for my birthday. I will take photos of them and get them on here. Evan drew my favorite car, a Porsche, and Kaelin drew a cute animal picture for me. I could not have had a better birthday. Tom really outdid himself. A huge thanks goes out to Tom and to my friends who helped me shop for party clothes, stayed over with my kids, and came to the party.












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London, Part 1

On March 25th, Evan, my Mom, and I went to London with a small study abroad group from Evan's school. We were there until the 31st. We spent every day going, going, going, from about 7 am til 10 pm or later. Some nights we didn't get to bed until midnight, only to get up and do it again the next day. It was a fantastic experience, I was so fortunate to be able to be there with not only my son, but also with my Mom.
We had a great tour guide, James, who grew up in London, as did his parents. He was able to tell us so many great stories that you wouldn't necessarily get in a guide book. He arranged for our dinners and took us to eat where the locals eat. We had fish n chips one night (where the fish comes with skin and a tail!), Indian food, Japanese noodles in a shop next to the Tower of London, Bangers n Mash, Hummus, ate Pasties in Bath, Sandwiches by Windsor Castle. It was interesting to see how small the portions were, yet it was really enough food to satisfy.


Evan was not amused by the Bangers n Mash.

We saw gorgeous works of art by Monet, Van Gogh, Picassso, and so many others. We saw Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (and learned that the reason you see "Hark!" in his plays is because at the theatre, it was standing room only and was crowded and loud so in order for the patrons to know when they needed to pay attention, the actors would yell "Hark!" so people would stop and listen. So, when you read Shakespeare's plays, say "Hark" loudly before you say the following line in it's proper volume. :) )
We heard stories about WWII. During the war, Hitler had guide books to England and would aim for certain well-loved areas to be bombed. The Londoners love St. Paul's Cathedral. During the war, James said that the people would come out of their houses in the mornings and the first thing they would check was to see if St. Paul's Cathedral was still there. In fact, they had men stationed on the roof of the Cathedral, and if any incendiary bombs landed on it, the men would run over and kick them off the building before they caught it on fire.
We heard interesting anecdotes from recent history. When the Chunnel was being built, Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister. Apparently she was not a big fan of the President of France, Francois Mitterand. She decided that when the Eurostar entered London, it would arrive at Waterloo station (Waterloo being where Duke Ellington's army defeated Napoleon, ending Napoleon's rule). Pretty much a slap in the face to the French arriving in England whenever the took the Eurostar across the chunnel. (The Eurostar no longer arrives at Waterloo station.)
The only way the trip could have been better is if that dang Icelandic volcano would have erupted while we were there, so we could have stayed longer. Although we were constantly seeing amazing sites, I'm sure if we were there for a month, we still wouldn't have seen it all. These are just a few of the 500 plus pictures we took on the trip.
Trafalgar Square. The building to the left is the Art museum.

Westminster Abbey
House of Parliment
You've got to get your picture in a phone booth!
Windsor Castle. Although it is not in the picture, the flag was being flown that indicated that the Queen was there that day. We saw the Crown Jewels too.
Garden in the moat area.
St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle (see the flag being flown in the distance?) I walked on the grave of Henry the 8th here. Dancing on the grave is frowned upon, I'm sure.