Hey everyone! It's Jill again. I hope you are all having a good week. The weather is beautiful in London this week. It has been sunny and in the high 70s.

The past couple of weeks have been a blast! My dad was here visiting for 18 days - I was very fortunate that he was able to stay as long as he did. You need more than a week to really experience London and its surroundings anyway. Here he is arriving at Victoria Station to start his journey through London. I was so excited to see him!

Believe me, we did it all! We started off with a walk through Richmond (I think my dad was impressed with the area). Then we were off to the main London sites: Buckingham Palace, Changing of the Guards, St. James Palace, 10 Downing Street, Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben, the Parliament, London Eye, Embankment footbridge across the Thames River, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, and the Tower of London.

The next day we went up to the center of London with a stop at Harrods in Knightsbridge. We spent pretty much the entire day there. We had lunch (along with a Krispy Kreme doughnut) and walked through the store for hours. Our next stop was Piccadilly Circus. My dad liked Piccadilly better than Times Square in New York. We made quite a few trips back to this area during his time here.

There's a picture of us in Piccadilly Circus. Another area we saw more than once was Oxford Circus. This is one of the best places to shop…and we did just that.

Saturday is a big market day in London…everyone goes to try and find that rare item that no one else has. We decided to go to Portobello in Notting Hill (my favorite) and we bought tomatoes and plums. The next day we had our southern lunch - two tomato sandwiches each and a plum for dessert - it was wonderful!

The next day was one of the prettiest days we have had in London yet. My dad and I took a walk through the park and down by the river in Richmond. There were so many people hanging out on the grassy lawn you would have thought there was a concert starting soon. We have discovered that this is definitely the thing to do on a pretty weekend.

During the first week my dad was here we went to Paris for a couple of days. We took the Eurostar train through the beautiful French countryside. We saw the famous Mona Lisa in the Louvre Museum, the Opera House, and the Eiffel Tower on our first day in Paris. We also took a nice walk up Champs Elysees to the Arc d' Triumph - it was a gorgeous day without a cloud in the sky. The second day we shopped at Galleries Lafayette, walked around the Moulin Rouge area, and went to the Notre Dame Cathedral. Here we are on the Eiffel Tower.

Back in London we decided to go find the US Embassy. You would not believe how many police were there with big machine guns and barricades surrounding the building. On the same street there were many other countries' embassies, but no one was guarding any of them. We also went to Wimbledon. I tried to get tickets for the Championship in June, but the guy told me that I would have to sleep out on the pavement a night or two before the match - I can't see that happening.

One day we went to the Parliament to see a debate. In the House of Commons (like our House of Representatives), they were debating the Energy Bill and in the House of Lords (like our Senate) they were debating Higher Education. We were hoping to see Tony Blair, but he wasn't there. However, it was a good experience to be able to sit in the public gallery and see how the debates are conducted.

We didn't rest much at all - we just kept going and going. One night we saw Anything Goes, a West End Musical. It was a GREAT show and very lively. The whole entire cast could tap dance. Very cool! A couple highlights for my dad were going to the Prime Meridian in Greenwich and to Kensington Palace. We also toured the Winston Churchill War Experience.

Towards the end of his trip, we took a train to Oxford. We decided that you cannot live in this town without owning a bike. There were hundreds of bikes leaning against every building. There are many different colleges that make up Oxford University. The area is a very typical England town with old and pretty architecture.

It just so happens that my cousin Marissa arrived in London the week before my dad left. She is here visiting her boyfriend for a few months, and we got together for dinner a couple of times. Here we all are on the way home in a tube station one night - what a small world!

I am not telling you how many times we ate at my favorite Mexican restaurant in Covent Garden while my dad was in London, but we did eat at Harrods three times. We didn't forget to have fish and chips at a pub either. This is mandatory if you visit London - along with riding in a red double-decker bus (make sure you ride at the top and in the front).

We tried to calculate the amount of miles we walked on his trip. You will never guess what we came up with…72 miles!!! If you visit us, bring your walking shoes. London is definitely a walking city - no matter how much public transportation they have.

I think my dad really enjoyed himself. If you ask him to name one of his favorite things he did while he was here, he will probably tell you his morning coffee and newspaper. We have a café at the top of our street, and on nice days they open the sliding door and you can sit outside on the sidewalk. I like to go up there and sip on a coffee while watching all the people pass by…you never know what you will see.

My dad is now back home safe and waiting for the credit card bills to roll in. It was really hard to see him go. It's nice to be able to go to the train station to help with luggage, but it is so hard when the guy in uniform blows his whistle for the train to depart.

Brad has been very busy with work (as usual). He went to the US for a company training conference in Orlando, and got to stop by to see his family on the way. He was only home for a couple of days and the time flew by way too quickly.

He was so excited to get to see his family for the first time in four months. He also said that our nephew Landon was running around all over the place. Before we moved he was barely crawling. It is a good thing he got to go home and stay in the house he grew up in one more time - his parents just sold it. They lived there for over 30 years - many of you probably have some good memories there. Their new house is beautiful and we are really happy for them. He said it was very hard to leave again, but good news - we will be back home in a couple of weeks. We hope to see all of you then!

His work conference went really well. He said that it was a great learning experience, and it was good to see everyone in the company in person - he usually only talks to them online or on the phone. It was also nice to get to know everyone on a more personal level.

I have some AWESOME news to update you on…her name is Kaitlin Elise Glawson. She was born on May 5th. Congratulations Christie and Jacob! She is so beautiful and we can't wait to see her!

That's all folks. Amy and Clarke Burns will be the next to come and visit. We are looking forward to it! Don't forget to take a look at our new London, Paris and Oxford pictures. And remember, we love hearing from you, so keep signing our guest book. Also, if you have missed an update, take a look at the other updates link. The next update will be after our trip home (June 3rd - June 13th) …until then. Take care! See you soon!