Shelby's Assembly

Shelby's 4th grade class put on a play for their assembly. The scene is a courthouse. The 3 Bears are trying to sue Goldilocks for damages and emotional pain. The truth is that Goldilocks was innocent- the 3 Bears are Frauds!


Shelby was the judge.


The "Judge" listens carefully to each person.


"Money, Money, Money- must be funny.. in a rich man's world!"


Shelby even got an award for outstanding work in art.

Good job, Shelby! We're proud of you!

Madrid Boys

Jake got the ULTIMATE present this year for his birthday. A trip to see a Real Madrid Soccer Game IN MADRID!!! (When we opened his "clues" on his birthday, he was so excited.) The best part was that his favorite friends went as well. (It was even more fun to see/hear his friends when he told them. They had no idea- the parents knew and consented- but the boys were clueless!)


Joe, Julian and Jake in front of our house- ready to head to the airport.


At the stadium- our team is in white.


Jake, Julian and Joe
Julian's dad and Danny went along for the ride. Joe's dad supported them from here. (He came over to our house on the evening of the match in his Real Madrid Jersey.)


Danny and Jake

Real Madrid won the game!


The next morning they were able to take a tour of the stadium.


Julian supports Liverpool- so he isn't a huge fan of the "Best Club of the 20th Century."


Now that is a big trophy.


Danny and Jake (I don't know who had the most fun on this little trip.)


Sitting in the team seats.


Ready to ride the Go Karts!


All the BOYZ- (Who looks happier- the big boys or the smaller boys?)
Joe, Jamal, Julian, Danny and Jake (too bad Danny doesn't have a J name...)


Ready for some Ben and Jerry's ice cream!

Thanks Joe, Julian and Jamal for making this such a great trip!!!

JO BROZ.

We took our four eldest to the Jonas Brothers Concert. It was great. The perfect concert to take kids to. We had excellent seats, the music was fun, it was completely clean, and these people are talented! (Plus- since I am around my children all the time- I knew all the songs.)


Shelby waited patiently while eating ice cream.


Nick, Joe and Kevin- the Jonas Brothers


Joe singing, Nick on the piano, Kevin on guitar. (The musicians that toured with them were very talented as well.)


Shelby, Jake, Kailey, and Diane (with Claire on my back).
We all had a great time!

LONDON- the Romantic Version

A week after my escapade to London with Kailey and Kirsten- I went again! This time with my sweetheart. We had a great weekend in London.

Highlights include:
* Time at the London LDS Temple. (I love going to the Temple!)

* More time wandering around this fascinating city.


Danny near Buckingham Palace. I thought these light poles were so cool! (Can you see the crown on top?)


Saw a parade. (We just kind of happened upon it.)


Danny on the walking bridge across the Thames. You can see St. Paul's Cathedral (which we explored.)


Diane at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. (It has been recreated to be as close to the original as possible. Great stories on the tour! Let's just say I don't want to be a Penny Stinker.)

* The fire alarm went off in the early evening in our hotel! That was a fun adventure. Everything was fine.

* Les Miserables- the show was fantastic! We saw it years ago on Broadway (when Kailey was a baby- it was our first Broadway show) and thought it was fabulous then. It was even better than I had remembered!

* Time spent with my favorite person ever!? PRICELESS!

Kailey's Day in London

For Kailey's 13th Birthday, she chose a day in London over having a party. (Who wouldn't?!!) So, Kailey, her good friend Kirsten and I had a fun filled day exploring the city.


First stop- CINNABON! (Kirsten had never tasted this delectable treat...)

Second stop- Abercrombie and Fitch. (Sorry, I will NOT add the photo of K and K with the cute boy with his shirt completely unbuttoned here. It is however hanging on Kailey's wall- so you can come over and see it.) It was a very interesting 90+ minutes at this establishment. Let's just say, I enjoyed people watching and found it fascinating to watch the employees. (Every single one is beautiful and their clothes are all worn in a certain fashion.) I was happy to see Kailey and Kirsten really think through their purchases and they spent much less than I thought they would.

We enjoyed wandering the streets, spending time in Hamleys (a VERY fun toy store!) and just being in London.


After lunch at Subway- we went to see Mamma Mia! (Fun! and I don't think the girls caught the stuff that made me cringe.)


We finished off the day at the London Eye. (You can see it in the background.)

Before we got on the London Eye- we had the 4D experience. Heard the birds- felt the wind- even got rained on!

Kailey and Kirsten 4D.


Big Ben with K and K.
London is gorgeous at night as seen from the London Eye.


Another view of Big Ben and the Thames.

We HURRIED to the airport and made it safely home to Dublin. What a great day.

HALLOWEEN 2009!

This was our first Halloween where the kids went separate directions. All the big kids trick-or-treated with their friends. Danny took Emery and Madison and I stayed home and handed out candy. (I was a little sad that Mimi wasn't with me in her Snow White costume!)

A 50's Soda Fountain Girl (Shelby), A Princess (Madison), A Fairy (Emery) and A Mermaid (Claire)


A Ladybird (or Ladybug - Kailey) and a Fairy Witch (Kirsten- she's got wings!)


Jake and his frightening crew (Jake is the first on the left with his scary Venetian mask)- Thankfully I know these boys and they're good kids!

Jake's class at school had their assembly and were the Celts. (The first Halloween fans.) They did a great job and we especially enjoyed the rap.

This is right in the middle of the rap!

At Sutton Park School, there is an assembly each month. After the class presentations, awards are handed out. We were quite surprised when Jake got one! What subject did Jake excel in, you ask?!!! P.E. of course!

Jake and Madison with Emery holding the certificate.

We're proud of you buddy!

The Vatican

(Actual post- end of October 2009)
On our last day in Rome we went to the Vatican. Vatican City is actually a City-State - almost it's own country (although it is surrounded by the City of Rome). It is very small- 110 acres and has a population of approximately 900 people.

Vatican City as seen from the Castel Sant Angelo.

We went on a tour of the Vatican Museums and had this little British tour guide (she was about Kailey's height)who was fabulous! She told us that if we walked through all of the Vatican's Museums we would walk over 9 miles. (We walked almost half of that!)


The kids listened really well and answered questions, too! (Our guide was impressed. This is definitely a first for the Carrell family.)


Jake with a modern art sculpture of the world in the Vatican Gardens.

Before we even entered the museum, our guide gave us an overview of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. She told us some fun details and had us look at a book where we could see the painting up close.

Emery and Claire took the book around for all to see.

We saw some amazing things! The tapestry room was incredible. I thought the Raphael paintings were amazing. (And his women looked like women whereas Michelangelo's women had some serious testosterone in their blood...)

Us with some of our favorite heads.


Here is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It really is amazing. (However, Danny wasn't overly impressed.)


Us- looking at the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel.

We also walked through St. Peter's Basilica which is huge and ornate and elaborate. I got to see the Pieta (a sculpture of Michelangelo's of Mary holding the crucified Christ on her lap) and it was incredible. That man could do amazing things with marble...

Shelby is rubbing St. Peter's foot (it's good luck).


The Carrells in St. Peter's Basilica (don't look too close- we're blurry- this is what happens when strangers take your photos...)


St. Peter's Square at night. (You see the Basilica and the Pope's apartments are on the right.)

Rome- the Gladiators and More...

While we were in Rome we stayed in a great little apartment and had a kitchen, etc. We enjoyed it and so did the kids. While we were there, Madison found that she really enjoys nutella- preferably by the spoonful.


So, our tour guides (Danny and Kailey) found this place where you could go and be GLADIATORS! It sounded like fun...

Here are our gladiators. (Notice the tough fighters- and then there's Kailey. The only gladiator with fashion sense.)


The cheering section.


Our gladiator trainer really made them work! They had to stretch and get ready for some heavy fighting.


They had to do some cool maneuvers.


Jake is running the gauntlet.


After the initial stretching and warm-ups another family arrived. Raj (the dad) and Adam (who is Jake's same age) from Michigan made it really fun for the dad and son in our family.


Sword fighting practice.


The boys were having such a great time!


See what great form our fighters have?


Danny and Raj have armor on and are ready for combat.


Danny versus Adam, Raj versus Jake


Father against son...


Now Danny appears to be Poseidon.


The mock battle- Raj and Danny - they used padded swords so no one was injured.


Adam and Jake fight to the death (not really- but it was almost that intense!)
The gladiator experience was great! We would highly recommend it!


We are at Castel Sant`Angelo. It was originally a mausoleum for the Emperor Hadrian but was later used as a fortress for the Pope. It has a great view of Vatican City.


There's also a Merry Go-Round right next to the Castle and the kids had a great time- especially Madi. She didn't want to get off her horse.