The first week, Cade pretty much got Mimi and Poppa to himself. He was able to spend time gambling on their tablet ;), honing in on his lacrosse skills with Poppa, and playing lots of cars and blocks. While the kids were at school, we did grocery shopping, saw the kids school, and did a little shopping. I have also found that having three adults in the evenings when dealing with car pools, homework, and studying is a whole cry better than only having one (or two if I am lucky and Bryce is in town!)
The first weekend that Bryce was home and able to come with us, we headed to Dover Castle
and saw the Cliffs of Dover. BEAUTIFUL!
The King and Queen even paid us a visit!
Then, the week that the kids were off and Bryce was traveling, we headed to lots of sites around the London area. First stop, Hampton Court Palace (where King Henry VIII lived!) A couple of the things I love about Hampton Court....1. it is close! 2. There are people dressed in period costume that you can ask questions, take tours, and get pictures with and 3. Once a month, they actually cook in the kitchens for people to see and experience. I have not actually seen this yet but I think it would be pretty amazing to experience.
The new movie out called "Jack the Giant Slayer" was filmed in part here. The day we went, they were interviewing the cast members about filming, etc. I just happened to walk past Stanley Tucci. Of course, I realized too late who it was so I didn't get a picture but it was pretty awesome nonetheless!
The next day, it was off to Windsor Castle. Unfortunately, the Queen was not in residence that day but that did not stop us from having fun. The kids were asking if it was true that you could do anything to one of the Guards and that they would not do anything in return. I said, "Yes, that is probably true. They may not be able to do anything to you but I certainly would!" Needless to say, they didn't try anything. We did get to see the changing of the guard and that was something we really had hoped we would witness.
The next day we caught the train into London (all by ourselves I might add) and did a Double Decker Bus Tour. I thought it was going to be totally cheesy but I was TOTALLY wrong! We really enjoyed it. We were able to see anything in London that we wanted in one afternoon, got to ride on a bus to do it, could hop off and back on at any time (buses ran every 15 minutes), there was a free river boat tour (we didn't even make it to), and we had hilarious tour guides that shared all sorts of details and bits of info for us. We saw where Mozart composed his first symphony at the ripe age of 8, saw where Elton John and Margaret Thatcher live(d), saw the street that they used to make the set for Mary Poppins, and so many other neat places.
Buckingham Palace. The Queen was in residence but apparently forgot she was supposed to invite us in to tea. Certainly just a mistake I am sure.
This building is called the Shard because it resembles a Glass Shard...duh! :)
We drove across the London Bridge and it didn't even fall down!
London Tower
Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament
We could have hopped off and visited any of the sites more in depth but I think we really just enjoyed hearing about each of the places and enjoying the sites. Funny story...after we ate lunch, the waitress gave the kids helium filled balloons. Cade loved his but we left it on the stroller on the bottom floor of the bus. Tanner brought his upstairs and held on to it while we were driving. Just as we had stopped and were waiting for a traffic light, the balloon hit a sharp edge and popped. I have never seen so many people jump and duck at once. It scared us all so badly. Nothing like thinking you are the center of a shoot out on a tour bus. Certainly got our hearts pumping!
That was Friday so Bryce finally got home from his trip to Indy. Saturday we decided it was a good day to head to a park we had heard about. It is in Cobham and it is called Painshill Park. It was a lovely park and we enjoyed exploring some of the trails and letting the kids run off some steam.
The swans (there were at least 20-25 of them). These two came after my Mom...they are NOT docile creatures!
Sunday we were able to celebrate my Dad's 65th birthday. We loved having a yummy dinner and his favorite carrot cake for dinner.
We loved, loved, LOVED having Mimi and Poppa for two weeks and couldn't believe how fast the time went. It was a much needed visit for me and we were so grateful to be able to show them our home, visit wonderful places around London, and eat at some really yummy restaurants.
Thank you Mimi and Poppa for coming and spoiling us again. We can't wait to see you this summer!
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