punting in Oxford

Andy and Charlie have made it to Oxford, UK! After being left in my purse for several days, they finally crawled their way out onto the River Thames and went punting. Before we went punting, everyone was putting their cameras in plastic bags just in case we toppled into the river. Fortunately, we didn't tip or fall in (I would have been sorely displeased if we had), but if we had fallen in, Andy and Charlie would not have drowned. Apparently, cockroaches can swim and hold their breath for 40 minutes. They breathe through their sides--not their noses--which makes it tough to come up for air.

Back in the day, cockroaches were common stowaways on the wooden adventure ships. Sir Francis Drake once captured a ship that was overrun with million of cockroaches. Gross. Another ship, the H.M.S. Bounty, was so infested that Captain William Bligh (who apparently had a bad temper), rid the entire ship of the crawling "menaces" with boiling water. Thank goodness everyone in my punt enjoyed the company of Andy and Charlie : )

This weekend, they're going to London and (hopefully) Stonehenge!

Touring around the Parliament Buildings

Andy and Charlie were excited to spend some time touring around the Parliament Buildings late yesterday afternoon. As they dangled happily from my ears, they took in all the great sights as I took in the view like a tourist.

After a great afternoon, I packaged them up in a makeshift starbucks enveloup to send back to the United States so they can fly happily to England in a couple weeks!

A short day trip to Montreal, QC

My parents came up for the weekend, which was great because I hadn't seen them in almost six months. This is kinda hard for me because I'm quite close to them. Naturally I planned a swingin' weekend for them, which included a trip to Old Montreal. I printed out maps and planned exactly where I wanted to go... then dad showed up with a GPS. I'm adaptible, so I happily used it =)



This picture was taken in the Old Montreal market, which felt like somewhere in Europe! It was amazing, and Andy and Charlie had a blast.

Recent News release: Charlie and Andy make it to Canada

A surprise package was delivered yesterday to my door. Put on my bed actually. One of the great things about living with 15 other people: my mail gets inspected. Thankfully this package wasn't opened, for the peeping tom may have been disterbed with the contents of this envelope. They contained the cockroache earrings, Charlie and Andy.
Upon arrival, we started planning our itinerary: and made some amazing plans for my ol' friends... pictures around Parliament and the House of Prayer, and a trip to Montreal. I believe it is vital that I show them a good ol' Canadian time, and have even considered introducing them to poutine while in Montreal. I am inspired to keep them entertained for a while before they head off to England for a couple weeks this summer with Hannah.

Top News Story:: The Golden Cockroaches make it to PF Changs

PF Changs has a golden cockroache problem: