I'm making up for it though, lots of pictures for this post, in slideshow form again. I'm going to try to talk about everything that I have pictures of, so either skip to the end to watch that first, or read it all first. Either way. =]
My brother turned 20 on October 10th, he got the best birthday ever this year: 10-10-10. Seriously. Not fair. On his birthday, I went into London with Selena and her friends Lauren and Kiv. We were going to see a band from Beaconsfield [not far from here] play a show that night, but also wanted to hang out in the city while we were out there. We went to a couple arcade-type places, which was cool because I got to see all the games that are the same here and at home, and the ones that are different.
We had lunch at a TGI Friday's, which is one of my favorite restaurants back home, so I was THRILLED! And, it was decorated with a ton of American sports stuff, like a old-school Mighty Ducks logo. I was a happy camper there!
One of the best parts was getting to meet up with Allister, an old friend from home who is studying for a year in London. Allister and I probably haven't seen each other in 5 or 6 or more years [since sometime in high school], but it was so great to meet up with someone else who "gets it" about what I'm missing. And I couldn't have met up with anyone who "got it" more than Allister, since he lives about 6 streets away from my family at home!
This past weekend, Marika and I went to London to go to the Tower of London, which I know I went to when I was here with People to People when I was 12, but I don't remember a lot of. It was great to get to go back as an adult and see it all again, and maybe this time I'll actually remember more of it! =] Another reason that going here was such a big deal to me was that my Aunt Monica, whom I stayed with while I was in Ohio this summer, LOVES King Henry VIII, and I've been on a mission since getting here to find her a great Henry postcard. Since the Tower of London was where Henry kept his prisoners [including a number of his wives], there were BOUND to be postcards and souvenirs of him aplenty there...and there were! There were some really cool ones, but I stuck with the post cards for her and a charm for my charm bracelet for me. I did see some postcards that I'm positive are in my People to People scrapbook in a box at my parent's house, which goes to show you that they keep the same ones for at least 10 years. King Henry VIII's armor was there, which was super cool to see, because he was rather large for his time.
Anyway, the Tower is spooky, pretty much all the way through. When you think about the loooooong history the place has, it's hard to not realize how spooky it is! So many people were prisoners there [a lot probably for reasons that wouldn't be considered "good" nowadays]. One part that really stuck with me was The Princes in the Tower, which I don't remember hearing about before. Supposedly, these brothers were taken to the tower after their dad, the king, died, and they were seen a few times after that, but never again. There are 3 people who are suspected of possibly killing them, if they were actually killed. I like mystery things, so this was super-interesting to me. But I also like solid, for-sure endings, so I don't like that there's no conclusion about how these poor boys died. Also, it's confusing to read about because everyone had the same names, and people have a lot of titles that are used to identify them. I feel like I'm still in school when I read about these kinds of things!
I also have always been really interested in Henry VIII and all his wives, and this kind of history was always so cool to me, from a social perspective, not from a fighting and political aspect. It's nice to be able to "study" things the way you want to and not the way schools and textbooks force you too. =]
Anyway, the Tower was a lot of fun, but now my cousins Jason and Dawn are mad at me for not going to a cheese sandwich place near there that they went to and insisted was life changing. Sorry guys!!!
In other news, fall has definitely started here, but I think it might be confused with winter, because it has been COLD here recently! We had a few weeks where it barely got above 40 or 50F during the day, and the nights are obviously colder than that! Taking Bindi for a walk has involved a lot more layering up, including but not limited to coats, scarves, gloves, arm warmers and beanies. BRR. I asked Penny and she said it's not usually quite this cold this early in the year, so I'm guessing winter will only get worse. No snow [yet] but I'm kind of hoping that it snows before the end of the month, at least once. Of course, once it starts I'll want it to stop, but oh well!
While taking Bindi for walks wasn't 100% my favorite thing at first, I've really started to enjoy it because it gives me a chance to explore new places around where I live. There's a great area just down the street that's all enclosed where I can let her off her lead and she can run around. It's beautiful right now with all the leaves, but I've been told it's even better in the spring, so I'm excited for that. I've gone the other direction with her a few times too, and found a HUGE wooded area/open area that is absolutely beautiful. We just don't have these kinds of things in California...they're all "national parks" or trails, at least where I'm from. Plus, going on long, meandering walks has been some great exercise! That's my excuse for not working out, at least! =]
Halloween was pretty low-key. Ellie decorated a LOT a few days before, and we just took the decorations down today. We carved pumpkins and Selena was here for that too, so she did one. Penny's a HUGE Elvis fan, so Selena made an Elvis pumpkin for her that turned out pretty awesome. I was really impressed with what Harry, Kari and Ellie did with theirs, I think all 8 pumpkins looked great. The kids got two each, and then Selena and I each did one. Harry ended up staying at a friend's house on Halloween night, and both of the girls decided they didn't want to trick or treat, so we stayed in.
The past week, Penny and Kevin have been in California/Las Vegas, so I've been in charge. No one has been injured and nothing is broken, so I'm feeling that it's gone well. =] Ellie's been a little sad, but we've made it and Mum & Dad come home tomorrow, she's very excited! Ellie had "Roman Day" at school today, and she got to wear a cool costume to school for it. She liked it so much she didn't want to change when she got home! There are a few pictures of her goofing off before school this morning [which I'm sure she'll be mad about when she sees, but oh well!] Selena's been over most days while Penny and Kevin have been gone, she's been great in providing me with grown-up company. Also, we're determined to finish the 1,000 piece puzzle the girls started on the kitchen table a few weeks ago, so secretly, I think that's why she keeps coming back! ;-] We decided we HAVE to finish it before I leave for Christmas...December 14 is the deadline! I think we'll be done before then because we [mostly Selena] made awesome progress on it this past weekend and week.
I know this was a LONG post again, but here's your reward: Pictures!
