fish and chips mate

well im back and kinda resting from our trip to london. overall, the trip was great. im going to get the only negatives out the way. and those were: crappy weather and some lady pretending to be a beggar...i'll explain in a few. as i stated the trip was alot of fun. last year we got off to a funny but odd start. whenever we visit the UK, we rent a flat for the week as it suits the kids and we have room for our niece to sleep over as well, plus its reasonably priced. the bestest thing about the flat is they send a car out to get you from the airport which saved us the embarrassment we endured 2 years ago when we got on the wrong train. we took the train that was more like the train people would take to go to the store, movies, etc...not carrying a shitload of luggage and thus taking up all the room. 'bloody americans' they must have thought. the funny yet odd part was when we got a message informing us of the 'carrier', or minivan as we would call it, that would be picking us up on time. please read in your best british accent. this is the message as we heard it...

'mr and mrs morris, there will be a black people carrier out front to get you and your belongings.'

the first thing that went through my head was 'what kind of racist shit is that?!' i quickly realized she was basically saying the the carrier of people would be out front and it would be black. we then got a pretty good laugh out of that.

but back to this trip. first off, the weather was cold, gloomy, depressing, annoying, and rainy. we were more annoyed than an owl with pink eye. even when the sun made two brief appearances, i swear it was colder those days. maybe most annoying of all was while walking around town in the rain, the dye from my jeans stained my white socks and white shoes in that light blue denim color that is an okay color for lucky brand jeans but not for white tennis shoes or socks. (sorry for that long ass sentence. wow) plus i hate walking. well actually i hate walking that much in that annoying mist of a rain for long periods. i mean, i dont walk. im an american. i use that moving sidewalk at all times in any airport that has them. if they dont have them, there's a 50-50 chance i wont make my connection.

so, on to the faker lady. i would classify myself as a giving person. meaning i like to give/help when i can. when it comes to people i come across on the streets, i dont get into that whole internal debate about 'i wonder if this guy is going to use this money for a beer, maxim magazine, pork rinds, etc' or whatever else habit people dont want to support. although there was the time in san francisco where a guy told me he would verbally abuse his wife for a dollar. i thought that was over the top. anyway, as i was saying, i like verbal abuse...no wait, i like to give/help people. BUT...my desire to give actually has limits. it has to. if there is no limit, i myself would be in need of asking for a couple bucks. i love how the bible says it, 'our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.' so not always saying yes to every request is necessary and wise. okay got it? i like to give/help but not in ALL cases. so, the family and i were navigating the london streets and had just walked out starbucks and were trying to decide if we were going to take a double decker or a cab when this lady comes up from behind and says 'excuse sir, could i have some money for something to eat?' first off, i had some trouble deciphering what she was saying simply because of her accent. it reminded of hieroglyphics being verbalized. i cant even begin to tell you what it was. also, its been said many times before 'do not judge a book by its cover' and i for the most part believe that to be accurate. but that adage was a pile of shit in regards to this case. she looked like she was in good shape and was well kept. she didnt smell like bologna and her clothes were pretty nice looking so i processed this all along with the odd feeling swimming in my gut. which mind you, trumps everything. i looked at her from behind my glasses and said 'excuse me.'...

her- can i have some money for something to eat (as she motioned to the burger king while asking still managing to confuse me)

me- uhh (remember my gut is telling me no) yeah hold on

--i reach into my back pocket and grab 3 pounds(just under $6 US dollars) then hand it to her

her- umm, this isnt enough

--i cant even explain to you the dismay i felt. it was more so from the way she held the money between her fingers. what i gave her was 2 coins equalling 3 pounds and she held them between her fingers like she was holding a picture or a negative up to the light.

me- excuse me?! ( im now pissed. im madder than a horse with a UTI (urinary tract infection). i leaned in closer hoping i had misunderstood what she was saying)

her- well this isnt enough. the meals cost at least 6 pounds

me- well make it enough

again i cannot explain the degree to which i felt spit on. its like she would have done better by taking the money, kicking me in the balls, then running off, screaming 'stupid american' in her difficult dialect. i dont even remember how our conversation ended but she was soon asking my wife for money. she gave her some, then complemented her for being pretty (which is true but a total suck up comment). this lady soon was asking us to take her into the store next door and buy her some 'nappies' aka diapers. we had large bills on us but as i said, the alarm in my belly had went off and i wasnt going to drop another cent in any currency on this faker. not only was she being intrusive, she turned down a gift and if one is truly in need AND asking for help, saying no isnt applicable. im glad i didnt actually have to see this girl again because i was really bothered for the next hour by the atrociousness of it all. stuff like that really gets to me and it didnt even matter that i didnt know the lady.

anyway, enough about crappy weather and crappy people, the trip was fun as hell. i dont get to see my sister and her family all that often(well maybe once a year to be exact) and its good for our kids to keep in contact and hang out with each other. wow the magic of email. i couldnt imagine navigating my way around the net when i was 8, 9, or 10 (the ages of my daughters and niece)

here are some of the highlights of our trip. sorry to inundate you with photos but this is actually cutting it short. meaning i have tons i want to post but i'll probably just have to make a post in a few days of just photos. but for now...





a memorial dedicated to prince albert. the gloom and doom of the day made the gold of the statue really sparkle.




in hyde park. this place was huge and i got tired walking the thing while several others ran or rode their bikes around.





everyone at the IMAX. they said i couldnt take pictures here. im usually a 'law abiding citizen' but when it comes to people telling i cant do something as ridiculous as this, i simply cant help myself. i pretty much took the pic because they said i couldnt.






there ended up being about 75 pigeons gathered for bread from my kids.i






hyde park again





me and the boy






my son impersonating one of those pestering loud cell phone talkers






my middle daughter blowing out her berfday cake







my oldest pumping iron








i thought this one was the funniest







the station we relied on to get around. my sister first told me the train system was crazy and she likened it to a bowl of shi...wait thats what i likened it to. she said it was like a bowl of spaghetti noodles ; )














kiera representing my oxford beanie







me and my niece














i was walking down the street and saw what appeared to be a bible open out in the rain.







in hyde park again.







the train as it dropped us off in oxford







me and the boy. he chose these glasses because i had a pair similar. we barely used them though.







fish and chips are only good in england






this was my second favorite shot of the trip. i tried like hell to get this pic the way i wanted it, but between the rain, the bus schedule, and some lady strolling her baby in my way, it took three different days to get it done.







my 1st cousin josiah







i really like this shot as well.







we were in this store, well my wife and sister were in this store and i was just trying stay entertained. jadyn put this wig on and i felt compelled to take this pic.







my son, aka rod stewart, decided he'd get in on the fun as well. the people of the store said i couldnt take pictures in the store and, well, you know what im about to say.








my girls giggling as always and my son pestering as always








my sis and me. this was our last night in town and i was dead tired. for some reason i didnt adjust to the time change, i started out fine then progressively got worse. i told my wife i look/felt like frankenstein.






my beautiful sister and wife after dinner








this was my favorite shot of the trip. for whatever reason, im always able to get great shots of jadyn. i get good ones of kiera as well and hardly any of the boy, but i always get good ones of this cutie.







okay so not always per se. haha. i was like jadyn what in the world are you doing? she replied, 'just taking a picture dad. sheesh relax already.'...she gets the smartass-ness from her mother. thats my nephew on the right. it was actually the first time i had met him. he's cool as hell and my son kept asking if he was coming back to our house. they played catch with all his stuffed animals and sammy of course took to him immediately.