Ry flew straight to London after the game in New York and was there three days before I got there. It was so fun to hear of all the fun that he was having. He was able to stay in a castle in the country so he was about an hour drive to London. He had one day off and he made the most of it, he got up early and stayed in London all day and was able to see quite a lot of the city. And as you know Ryon he had a fun time laughing his way through London.
Although I was anxiously anticipating the experience London would be I was dragging my feet about going. I would have to leave Kayla! Every night I would hear of all the fun Ry was having and deep down part of me wasn't even looking forward to it at all. I had even warned Ry not to get his hopes up to see me until I called and told him that I was actually in London.
My sweet friend has a three year old, Grace, who is just a few months older then Kayla and she happens to be her "best friend in the whole wide world". Lucky for me she would be taking care of Kayla while I was gone, I knew that K would be so happy, well loved and taken care of. So we picked the girls up from school and drove to the facility to get on the bus that would take us to the airport. After my flood gates had opened and Kayla waved good bye (as though she wanted to say "Mom, go away now!") I was consoled until I got my act together and got on the bus. Of course it was all an act and the tears came once again and I felt like they would never stop. I think my pride got to me because once the bus started filling up I slowly pulled myself together. Even though it was so hard to leave her I am so glad that I went.
The first day the ladies got there we cleaned up after the brutal flight and went out to eat and just relaxed until it was late enough to call it bedtime. The next morning is when the excitement began, we got up early and walked through Green Park to watch the changing of the guard. We took the Big Bus around London and got on and off so we could see everything we could. A few of the things we were able to see were Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey (my favorite building, the architecture is amazing!!) We wrapped our day up early so we could go get ready to see our boys. It was so exciting to finally be with Ryon! That night we went on a river boat cruise down the Thames River with everyone on the team. It was a lot of fun and of course we couldn't get enough food so after we stopped to get yet more dinner.
Quick, funny story...Ryon checked into his hotel room and we took his bags up to his room and much to our surprise there was only one bed in the room. No big deal right? Well many of you know that when the team travels Ryon has a roommate who like Ry is tipping the scales well above 300lbs. Ryon called the concierge and told him about the problem and they assured him that it would be taken care of. When Ryon went back to his room the bed had been SPLIT apart into two TWIN beds!! Ha Ha!! I would have given a lot of money to see those two boys both snuggled ever so snug in twin beds. Needless to say because of this unfortunate thing Ry got to stay in my room.
The next day the team had meetings (BOO!) and so a few of us that have kids went to a toy store. I know what you are thinking, "why would you go to a toy store while you are in London"? But I am telling you, Hamley's was the coolest toy store I have yet to see, with a whopping 7, (count them) 7 stories I was drawn in! After spending WAY to much money on toys we hit up a few places to get some souvenirs. Once the boys were done we met up with them and toured The Tower of London, saw London Bridge, and we rode the London Eye. It was such a good day!! And to make it even better Ryon and I went to dinner and just enjoyed each other!
Sunday was finally here, game day! Well my head wasn't on the game at all, I had a mission, to get a few things that were hard to find at a souvenir shop, so a few of us went out to get what we needed. Luckily we got what we needed and ran back to the Hotel to catch the bus that would take us to the game. We watched our boys play in Wembley Stadium, which was such an awesome, once in a lifetime experience! After the game Ry and I went out to dinner and Ryon ordered the food. I should have known better! He thinks he is so sneaky and told the waiter not to tell me what the dish was and, oops!, the waiter announces our dinner plate and says the word Venison and so I simply didn't eat. He also ordered Duck which I tried and didn't like! Since I really had nothing to eat except for some soup I tried to order something else and the kitchen was closed!! So I spent the night listening to all the strange noises that my tummy can make when it is hungry. -Love you Ry!!
And the dreaded flight home!! I tried once again to sleep and No I didn't get one second of sleep! What I horrible way to spend 12 hours! Luckily I had a lot of friends to chat with and once Ry woke up he kept me company too!
The entire flight I had one thing on my mind...what would Kayla do when she saw me? When we went to Costa Rica we left her with my sister, Jan, and were gone for a week. When we got back it was in the middle of the night and we both climbed in bed with K and she woke up freaking out!! Wanting "my Jan" and not her mommy! So we left her to sleep and the next morning when she woke up she had nothing to do with her crying mommy for at least 3 hours! That was one of the most heart-shredding experience I have had to go through yet!!
Once we landed and were in our car we were cruising to get Kayla. When we picked her up she came running for us with her arms wide open, more excited then I had ever seen her, screaming "Mommy, Daddy!" Oh what a happy moment!!
