Running around National's Field

Here are some great pictures from the National's Customer Appreciation Day at the stadium. They let all the season ticket holders on the field to run around the bases, in the dugouts and in the bull pens. It was very cool!

Daddy and Lily in the dugout.....

Lily not looking at second base....


On the home stretch.....
Mommy and Lily in the dugout....

The whole family! This is when Lily was her happiest and dancing to all the music. It was great, everyone kept checking her out and laughing so hard. I think the National's outfit helped but she is pretty cute.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

Our last main event in London was to visit Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. This hundreds of years old pub now has been visited by FOUR generations of Bowers, Lily's Great Grandparents, Grandparents, Parents and now Lily. See this link for the history of the pub:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_Olde_Cheshire_Cheese

Lily had a great time and gave me a good "cheers".

... and of course, Lily charming the bartender.

The London Eye

Ok, so Lily had a great time on the big ferris wheel but it took her a bit to appreciate it. First, story and snack time.... We referenced Mr. Bear in earlier posts but please meet Mr. Bear. We still don't know who gave this to her so if anyone knows, speak up! It is her favorite stuffed animal. Its just weird how they pick one over the others. Mommy and Daddy have grown to love Mr. Bear too. ( :
Eventually Lily got the hang of it and noticed she was 100s of feet in the air.




A random street performer....



A family photo...

London town, Lily and Daddy: Part Deux

Of course the English phone booth since they do look pretty cool....
Then lunch with Daddy's friend from college, Jerramy, who just got back from a group that helps to ensure that "ex-pats" are registered to vote in the US (for Obama). ( :


Then to Royal Albert Hall....

Daddy and Lily in London Town

Daddy and Lily had lots of fun while Mommy was working. First they went to see friends of the family, Vicki and her two children-Annis and William. Daddy had fun watching the Simpsons with the kids as Vicki took Lily for a walk where Emma Thompson gave Lily a kiss and a cheek pinch. (Emma is Vicki's neighbor. Too bad, no pictures.) Annis and William each gave Lily a piano concert and she was so impressed!! Thanks guys!

Then Daddy went to the park and realized Cara's worst nightmare--BIRDS! Lily does not have the same phobia and loved it! This is the pond at Kensington Park.


Then off to the best playground in the world! (OK fine, not Disney World but this is free and less anti-communistic.) But seriously, this is the Lady Di memorial playground. It was gated but as long as you have a kid you are in. This is the pirate ship...yup, a pirate ship, gaaaaaaaaaar.


Going down? OR attempting to go up the slide?

Kensington Park, London

The family stayed right near Kensington Park which houses Kensington Palace as seen above. It was wonderful for Lily to run around in and had a huge kids park. This is the first day we ventured over there when the whole family could go before Mommy had to work.

This one is my favorite since the "Please Keep Off Lawn" sign seems to frustrate Lily....

Of course, this little girl was a bit rambunctious as she ran towards Lily as fast as she can to hug her and took her down. Lily can hold a grudge but eventually shared her Mr. Bear with her which is her favorite animal (named with originality from Mommy and Daddy.) Then the little girl took Mr. Bear kidnapped and ran away from her mom as Lily freaked out. We eventually got Mr. Bear back. Lily will think twice before sharing Mr. Bear again! (Ok, she later shared with people in the airport so we think she has forgotten.) This picture kind of describes the situation perfectly. The little girl was actually nice but this makes her look like a bully....

All about Bristol...

Although these two Super Grandparents weren't actually in Bristol, Lily got to see them a week before. Grandma Gwen is originally from Bristol and Grandpa Phil met her while he was in the war. Lily had a great time seeing them and even posed for this little picture! Anyway, they are the reason we headed off to Bristol, UK for our first stop.


Below is a video of us at the largest Organic festival in England. You will see Lily, Cousin Caroline, Mommy, a Bristol friend, Cousin Rob and Bill (Caroline's boyfriend). It was great fun trying all the different herbs (pronounced WITH a hard H over there) and the different cheeses, meats and perhaps more than a few ciders. Bill is an amazing Chef so it was neat to walk around with him if you could catch him!




Then the next morning a proper breakfast, made by Bill of course. Lily would not try the Black Pudding and Mommy only took a small piece. That is it for the both of them, but at least they tried!



Bristol V. Bath Rugby Match for a pasty and a thorn! (Translation: a pastry meat filled pie with a Black Thorn, the local cider.) This a great local "derby" or rivalry. Bristol lost but it was still fun to see.


This was Lily's favorite part of the game. His name is Brizzly and is Bristol's mascot. I believe he is sponsored by the local cider which is always good for the kids. Early marketing at its best. Joe Camel has nothing on these chaps.


Of course, we had to stop by a pub for one after the match. It was funny, it wasn't even really odd that Lily was in a pub at all. There were kids playing all over the place. Ahhh, England.



Finally closing the night out with a delicious lamb that Bill cooked all day. They certainly eat a lot of lamb over there. The guy in the middle is Dan (Rob's BFF).




Thanks to our Bristol cousins for everything! They were so great to make sure we experienced Britain properly!

Chateaugay week of Cousins..

So Lily was starved for attention once again as we visited upstate NY. (ha ha) We had a great time and Lily had an even better time. Here are some pics:

"I just have one more load and I will be finished here.....give me a sec Ma!"

She was loving the hammock RIGHT before we got the camera...of course. Here are a few of her cousins, Sammy and Patrick. Sammy must have been pretty special since Lily gave him three eyewitnessed and unsolicited hugs. It was really cute!

Ahh, playing drums on Baby Sean (Erin and Derek's boy)...so cute! Sean is such a happy baby!!

Lily laid down on this ottoman and Anson invited himself to take a nap. They did not take a nap but its a good shot anyway.