Visitors...we LOVE visitors!

Again, my apologies to the faithful followers of our blog. I am very behind on my updates! We have been very busy in December and January - mostly hosting visitors, which we love to do. Updating the blog, however, tends to get neglected when we are busy so I am sorry and this entry is dedicated to the visitors we had and the amazing holiday season we shared with them.

After arriving home from Munich it was time to get the house ready for our first guests. On December 22, we welcomed Grandma and Grandpa Mueller back to London for Christmas. We had a great week with them! I promised I would not "over-program" the week with sightseeing, museums or other outings. Instead we just spent a lot of quality time together at home. Kate loved baking with Grandma and the boys taught Grandpa how to play FIFA 10 on the Wii. Grandpa also had a go at playing proper football with Jack in the backyard. I am not sure we have created a footie fan, but Grandpa was a good sport and Jack had a blast teaching him all of his "moves."


On Christmas Eve we had some Santa's Helpers come over for dessert and drinks. John Vlahos assisted Santa in putting together the kitchen and football table. Lindsay Vlahos exhibited great assembly skills as well, handling the art easel with ease! Colleen sat back and directed the worker bees. Christmas morning came early as usual with the kids starting the "can we go down yet?" pleas at 6:00 a.m. We held them off until 7:00 a.m. and the house was full of laughter, squeals of delight at the many gifts left behind by Father Christmas. Team Vlahos joined us for dinner - turkey, beef tenderloin, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad and vegetables. It was a feast and a great Christmas was had by all. Lindsay and John surprised us with our very own Arsenal Corn Hole Toss - converted from an OSU version. We cannot wait to add that to the garden and enjoy many spring/summer nights playing corn hole!



The only planned outings during Grandma and Grandpa's visit was to the Winter Wonderland Festival in Hyde Park and the boys took Grandpa to an Arsenal match. We had a nice sunny Boxing Day to enjoy the festival and the kids had a great time running from ride to ride begging us to stay longer. The cold finally took its toll and we retreated back to the comfort of the Lodge. Grandpa had a great time at the Arsenal Match and probably heard more than he ever thought he would about Arsenal's players, stats, etc. from Jack.




On December 28 we sadly said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Mueller. We had 4 days to clean house, wash the guest room sheets and prepare for the next visitors. On December 31 we welcomed Mama and Papa Rock back to London. We had a great time on New Year's Eve - we had a Mexican Fiesta with our friends the Milanis. London seems to lack any real good Mexican food so it is something we crave now and again. We had several pitchers of margueritas, fajitas, pork carnetas and lots of salsa and guac. At around 9 p.m. we had each of the kids swing at their own pinata. John insisted on each child having their own pinata - "there will be no tears on New Year's Eve." At 10 p.m., just after the pinata carnage in the driveway, Mama and Papa arrived. With drinks in hand and the kids on sugar highs we watched the fireworks over Parliament and rang in 2010!




We had a great visit with Mama and Papa. Again, no real sightseeing was planned but we did take in some great theatre. We saw "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" starring James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Adrian Lester and Sanaa Lathan. I even introduced my Mom to the wonderful world of stage-door stalking. We succeeded with Jame Earl Jones' autograph - and he made off with my sharpie! We also took the kids to see a production of "The Gruffalo" - which the kids enjoyed so much and made it fun for all of us. We also hosted a cocktail party for the faculty and students in town for Loyola's School of Law London Comparative Advocacy program. We did some shopping and again, just enjoyed a lot of quality time with Mama and Papa. The week was not over-programmed, but sadly went by too quickly.

London has gotten a lot of snow this year. Naturally on the day Mama and Papa were flying out, Wednesday 6 January, we were getting more snow than I can recall ever seeing fall in London. Rather than have me try to brave the weather and the less experienced drivers we called a taxi to bring them to the airport. The captain told the passengers there was about a 10 minute window when the snow stopped long enough for the plane to get de-iced and up in the air. They made it - just barely.

Meanwhile at home I was again washing the guest room sheets and towels because also on January 6, my cousin Carrie Chase came to town. Carrie is studying abroad this year and decided to visit London on her way to Barcelona. She and her friend Sam stayed with us for a few days and managed to walk all over London on various tours they found on the internet. A very clever and inexpensive way to see this city.

Carrie left us on January 11, starting her adventure in Barcelona. I again had four days to tidy up, wash sheets and towels and welcome another visitor to the Lodge. On Friday 15 January we welcomed our niece, Emily Snow for a visit. For her high school graduation, John and I bought her an airline ticket to London. I also took Emily to Paris overnight. We had a great time and it was a blast for me to be a tourist in London for the week and visit a lot of the favorite sites here.



We shopped at Harrods, went to see "Les Miserables" and "Legally Blonde" and visited Stonehenge, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, The Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum and we had an evening tour of Buckingham Palace. I introduced Emily to yummy pub food - bangers and mash, steak pie and fish & chips. We also discovered her fondness for cider...I did not corrupt my niece. She is 18 and legal to enjoy pub offerings! We ate and drank our way through the Borough Market and enjoyed spending the day with Brian Dondanville and Caitlin Lynch, who are students at Notre Dame studying here for the semester.


In Paris we visited Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and we shopped and ate our way through the city. We had a lovely time and I miss having her here...but not for long since Team Snow will be coming over in June. Emily left on January 24 and I have just now resurfaced from more laundry and catching up with emails, basically getting back into my routine.

We are looking forward to welcoming more visitors in the next few months - Lissa, Jim and Tessa Christman, the Kennedy Family, Dorothy and Joel Chase, and Laura and Scott Simpson. In June we will welcome Team Simmons and Team Snow to the Lodge and in July we return to the US for our summer visit. In August we welcome the Ali and Chernik families...who will be next?!

Thank you everyone for continuing to follow our crazy lives over here - we are still enjoying London and are happy to share our life over here with anyone who is willing to visit!

CHEERS!