I didn't love, love, love the dress...

I mean, it's pretty and all, just not quite what I hoped for. I read that the hips were padded, and my question to you is: why? I did like the tiara, and read that it's Cartier, on loan from the queen, of course.

(Isn't Kate just so sweet? I was actually tearful while she walked down the aisle because she was so emotional.)

Tommy woke us up this morning and since Eli was up with Lizzie for two hours last night, Tommy and I came down at 7:30 and started watching television. Until 10:15, the most exciting thing we saw was the Beckhams waiting in line, sort of like normal people, to get into Westminster. I don't think Tommy is as excited by the experience as I was by Lady Di's wedding back in 1981, but I suppose he's not as old as I was. (He does like princesses, however.)

Did anyone else get the urge to attend an event at which one must wear a hat?

Tommy claims to be excited for the kiss, which is still 25-30 minutes away, but he's fallen asleep on the couch and may miss it. (Seriously, the jet lag is killing us.)

Palm Springs

We spent the last week of our vacation in Palm Springs with my parents (at a friends' condo). It was a bit of a forced march by me, but I was adamant that we spend some time somewhere warm after the cold and dark London winter.

At the end of the trip, everyone agreed (even my mom, who had a cold while we were there) that it was a great week. Palm Springs is gorgeous, the weather was perfect although a bit windy, and we had a wonderful, relaxing time. Tommy spent a large part of each day in the pool, Eli and I went for runs, we went to the art fair or street fair or something like that downtown, and we hiked in Indian Canyon (that might not be the name).

It's really beautiful there -- the mountains are so close.

Going for a walk.
Playing with Grandma before a swim.

Lizzie was a bit sick while we were there, and her thick coating of sunscreen makes her look even worse in this picture.

The hike (I use that term loosely as it was more like a walk, but Tommy did really well).













At a playground in Palm Springs.


On their way to the pool.






A quick, unintended nap.

Back to London...

So this post is out of order, but I've gotten a few emails today asking about our trip home. We left Seattle on Sunday at about 7pm. The flight was great -- both kids slept fairly well, the flight attendants were really helpful and nice, and the flight itself was smoother and nicer than our flight to Seattle. We arrived in London at 11:30am on Monday and while we all felt pretty horrible on Monday, the afternoon was really sunny and nice and we played outside. The kids were in horrible shape and were in bed by 6:30.

Lizzie was up again from 11:30-1:30, and Tommy was up from 1-3:30. I woke Lizzie up at 9:30; it's 10 now and Tommy is still sleeping. I'm hoping we're back on schedule sometime this weekend.

Two photos of the cruise and EM'S WEDDING!!

Sorry to begin the wedding post with two pictures of the kids in the shower but look how cute they were! There was no tub on the boat, but they both really liked showering.

A few wedding photos. Libby Pratt took these...

Em and Mom and Dad walking in together:

Em & Sid, of course:
Sid & Lulu:


Tommy spent the reception in fountains. He had a lovely time.

This photo is out of order -- it was at dinner after the wedding.

After the ceremony was over:

Just being cute:

Uncle Andy's visit!

Uncle Andy was in Seattle for a conference while we were there, and we had dinner together. It was really great to see him, and his nephew and niece were especially delighted. Lizzie liked it when he fed her straight sugar (hold the strawberry). Tommy learned how to play games on Uncle Andy's iPhone which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Fourth Birthday -- the Space Needle