Sourpuss

People have been asking me what my favorite part of our trip was. It's hard for me to say. I love London and Rome, but we just weren't there at their best times of year and with just a month to plan, some things weren't ideal as far as our lodging was concerned. I felt very responsible for everyone having a good experience, and so much was suboptimal that I just didn't think it was the BEST TRIP EVER. But here are some good things:

1. Fourth of July in Salt Lake was the most fun I've had on the 4th in a long time. We went to a SL Bees game and watched the fireworks after. The day before was spent at the swimming pool, eating good food and having fun together.

2. Two new things for me--the London Eye and actually going inside the Colosseum. I don't know why I'd never been in the Colosseum before, but this was my first time. It was quite cool. They had an interesting exhibit about gladiators. The London Eye was much more fun than I thought it would be.

3. It was fun to be with the kids and see different aspects of their personalities. J has a great sense of style. She was our photographer, taking 2,000 photos. K was paying close attention to how we made transitions--buses, trains, etc. He's becoming more independent and figuring out how to find his way around, in many ways. M has R's sense of humor and ability to entertain. I wish I was filming him when he was reading out of our Italian phrase book or when some random Roman came up to us on the street and, without missing a beat, Max said, "Can't help ya. Don't know what you're sayin', Muchacho."

So, you know, I wouldn't say that it was a terrible trip, but I feel bad because I know that it could have been better.