England: Week 21 - Thanksgiving

We decided to travel on Thanksgiving day so we had our dinner the Sunday before.

The kid's table :)

Thanksgiving just isn't the same without lots of family so we adopted a few people.

Kelli had three friends from EFY.

Our adopted brother, Nate came.

Frankie showed up.

And the Dominey's came.

It was a bit of a different Thanksgiving because we had to explain to half of the people there WHY we celebrate Thanksgiving. Dad talked about the pilgrims and I felt that we should be coloring pictures of indians and making hand prints to put on a turkey. It was a lot of fun to remember how it all got started. We also had tell our English friends what each dish was. It was awesome!

We also went around and had everyone tell one thing they were thankful for which was my favorite part. I always like to hear what people say.

After dinner we had to work off all the food so we had room for pie and cheesecake so we pulled out Wii Just Dance II.

Olivia, Paige, Kelli and George

Front: Frankie, Nate, Angela
Back: Kieri, Olivia, Kelli, George, Erin and Alice

England: Week 20 - Stoke-On-Trent (aka dish city)

On Friday, Mom, Dad and I got up early and drove a few hours to a little city called Stoke-on-Trent. Here we met up with half of the Relief Society ready to shop at this tent sale. Many of the famous brands of nice English pottery is sold here. Things like Spode, Royal Dalton, Burliegh, and Portmarion. I must admit I was cranky with I got there. I had gotten up at 5am to travel hours only to stand out in a line, outside, in the cold for another hour with a bunch of crazy people.

THEN (oh yes, then), I went in to the secondhand store (pre-tent sale) and looked around. Plates that are usually $30 a piece were a lot cheaper in the store. THEN I went to the tent... The sales were incredible!!!! I got the cutest dishes! 

We went to a few other places as well. I ended up with:

16 dinner plates (8 dots, 8 checker)

24 salad plates (8 dot, 8 christmas, 8 white)

8 bowls (red dot)

8 mugs (red dot)

1 serving bowl (black dot)

1 white serving dish

2 baking dishes (black dot)

1 crystal pitcher 

Can I just say, I'm excited?!

(I've picked up a few plain white dishes since and can't wait to go dish shopping again next year!)

England: Week 20 - Veteran's Day

Veteran's Day

November 11, 2010

One thing I really love about the English is their respect for those who have served in their military. Two weeks prior to Veteran's day and Remembrance Sunday everyone pinned paper poppies to their shirts to remind them of the sacrifice of others. We decided to take time to look at a local RAF WWII airfield. My other post about Remembrance Sunday is here.

That night Erin, Kelli and I went to Norwich to see Boys Like Girls in concert. It was so much fun!!! They opened for an English band called Kids in Glass Houses. On the way home we saw Boys Like Girls' limo and followed them for a while. 

England: Week 19 - Germany

Germany Day 5

Our first stop was Malmedy, Belgium.

For those of you that saw Saints and Soldiers, this is the opening scene of the movie when the Americans are massacred. 

For more info on the Massacre (and you should check it out) click here.

This is a picture of the place. The others are of period photos.

Photos of the WWII museum

Kelli ready for war!

A memorial to the german soldiers of WWI

One of the tanks that stalled while traveling. Called a Tiger tank and the germans just left it.
The wounds in this thing are incredible. You think about what came at this and yet there is just a dent in the side. 

Henri-Chappelle American Cemetery in Belgium. 

The Henri Chappell American Cemetery covers 57 acres, and rest 7,992 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives during the advance of the U.S. armed forces into Germany

Our trip back was on a ferry again. This ride was a bit more... bumpy.

Map

England: Week 19 - Germany

Germany Day 4

Trier: Oldest city in Germany.

We visited at night and it was beautiful. We did a bit of window shopping and looked at the old buildings. We spent most of the day at the Volleyball Tournament with our Lady Lancers.

To view a map click here.

England: Week 19 - Germany

Germany Day 3

We took a lot of the day and traveled around Belgium.

Our focus was several WWII sites.

It was awesome!

Random German church

These markers show the path that General Patton took from Utah beach onward. We saw quite a few of them in our journeys.

This memorial called Mardasson Memorial was erected near Bastogne, Belgium to honor the memory of the American soldiers wounded or killed during the Battle of the Bulge.

Girls in the pretty leaves.

Foy, Belgium

For those of you who know Band of Brothers, and those that don't, this is a monument to Easy Company. Amazing to see the forests that these guys fought in and to see fox holes they dug.

The cemetery pictures are of German soldiers that died around Bastogne. Each marker has several names on it. The tank is from the city of Bastogne.

Belgium bakery

One of our last stops was the Luxembourg American Cemetery. Each cross represents one soldier. This place touched me greatly because of the living that were present. Soldiers from Ramstein AFB were there in uniform on a field trip of sorts. I was struck by the awesome moment it was to see current soldiers honoring those who fought for them.

Some soldiers of note that are buried here include General Patton (yes that's right). He died in a car accident in American but wanted to be buried with his men. Thus here he lies. Also a Day G. Turner (Medal of Honor recipient) To learn about his story (which is awesome) click here.

At the end of the day we went to Emma's to get dinner. They served MASSIVE portions of everything. We don't look very cute but oh well. 

To view a map of where we went... Click Here.

England: Week 19 - Germany

Day 2 in Germany

Location: Ramstein Air Force Base (aka biggest base in Europe)

Also has the only US Mall anywhere near here. It was HUGE! Biggest BX I've ever been in. It had everything. It was hear that I fell in love with the fragrance Beyonce Heat. You can see the "mall" in the background.

Everything is better at Ramstein AFB including their gyms. They have several apparently. We spent a lot of our time at Kelli's Volleyball game. Erin and I were their cheerleaders and we had fun embarrassing ourselves cheering for our girls. They loved it though so we kept screaming.

They did a great job and fought hard!

England: Week 19 - Germany

November 3-7, 2010

We went to Germany for Kelli's Volleyball tournament (and of course to tour)

This trip to the mainland we took a ferry. We left from Dover, England which can be seen in the pictures below. 

The drive through France and Germany was absolutely beautiful! Fall was in full swing and the trees were gorgeous!