Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Wednesday and Thursday were nice relaxing days at home and Wednesday night we met Andy at Piccadilly Circus again and wandered around snacking on food.

Friday I was starting to fight a cold so we stayed in most of the day.  Then we left around 2.30 and went to St. James Park.  Alex wanted to visit "a new park" so that's what we did.  We walked around and thankfully there were a lot of ducks, birds, and swans for the kids to look at.  We wandered for about an hour and found a great playground with the kids' favorite.....SAND.  The kids played while I sat and read and around 4.15 Andy met up with us.  We headed to the South Bank to walk around and hope the food trucks were around like they were a few years ago when we were here with my parents.  Unfortunately they were not, but everyone was hungry so we ate at Wagamama.  Food was good, weather was good, company was good.

Saturday morning we left for the country side.  We had to get a rental car at London City Airport then drive out for a couple of hours.  It's so beautiful out there and we found the area where Andy's ancestors are from, and even a town named Cold Higham.

Friday

 Saturday

Tuesday

Today we went to the science museum, which is my favorite! Kids had a great time with all of the hands on displays. They also got fancy new sunglasses.

Monday we played pin the tail in the morning and then mom decided she needed a day to do what SHE wanted. So, we went to the mall in Stratford. I even found a Pepsi with ice at KFC! After a lot of retail therapy momma went home happier!

Saturday night pizza!!

We explored the Docklands museum and surrounding area as a little outing. The museum was actually quite well done and interesting.

Andy is still gone and no one is very happy about it, least of all me.  I've been just making it through the days and not sleeping great, so posting has been down the drain.  Here are some pictures.

WEDNESDAY

 THURSDAY

This morning we were lucky enough to meet up with another friend from home, my neighbor Lisa.  She and her husband are in town for a conference and she joined me and the kids at the Natural History Museum.  The first thing we saw walking up to the museum was the Butterfly house, which, unlike the free museum, you had to pay for.  My kids do love that stuff, so we went for it.  Lots of fun, beautiful butterflies, and lots of chrysalises opening to watch.  It was fun.  Once we got into the museum we headed for the dinosaurs area and then on to the crystals.  The area with the minerals and crystals was huge and very interesting.  So much cool stuff in that museum we will have to go back a few times.  It was lunch time after the museum so we went to the nearby Carluccios which we know to be a good italian restaurant and very kid friendly!  Just what we needed!

It was really nice to get to know Lisa better.  We had a great morning!  Our afternoon was lazy and our plans tomorrow include more laziness.  We will see how that goes.

Monday was a fun day with my cousin Lori and her family.  We met up at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park and I made the older kids play catch with my kids!  hehehe!  It worked great and the kids seemed to have a fun time in the sunshine.  And it was nice for me to be able to sit and chat with Lori.  We decided we were hungry and headed across the street to the Marriott hotel's secret entrance to the Roofnic......a pop-up restaurant on the roof.  Apparently the bouncer shouldn't have let us by because when we got to the top the employee came over and quickly told us that children weren't allowed!  He said that because his colleague made the mistake that he would let them stay (and the fact that no one else was there), but "for future reference" they couldn't come in.  No worries dude, we won't be going back!!  They were supposed to open at 10.  We arrived at 11.  Apparently the chef hadn't arrived yet.  They didn't ask if we wanted anything at all and didn't seem like we were wanted. They did have some yummy looking desserts and we ordered 1 each and enjoyed them with some water.  The weather was nice though and the kids enjoyed just hanging out.

We were going to say goodbyes and the Parr family was going to go to the Globe, but kindly said they would change their plans to go to St. Pauls cathedral so that we could join them.  We saw a Pizza Express right across the street and since no one got a proper lunch, the kids were hungry and we saddled up for a quick lunch.  It was a nice place to sit down, chat, and use the restroom.  After lunch we went to St. Pauls and enjoyed the beautiful cathedral.

My kids were pretty exhausted by then and ready to go home.  It was so nice to catch up with all of them!!!  Good times!

We woke up this morning and prepared for a nice morning at church!  Andy made us an (almost) full English breakfast with eggs and bacon and tomatoes and toast.  We got ready and figured we had to leave the flat by 9 to make the 10am meeting.  Not quite like Utah, is it??!!?  We took the DLR and tube and discovered that we really liked the area around the tube stop for the church.  Probably need to go exploring.  As we were about to turn the corner to go up the street 2 young girls in skirts approached us and asked if we were looking for the LDS church.  I think we look the part!  We said yes and they told us that they tried to get in but all the doors were locked and no one answered the buzzer.  We thought maybe it could be stake conference so we skipped out and headed to the Columbia Road Flower Market.  It was a lot of fun and there were so many lovely flowers for quite a good price!  Made me wish I had an English garden to work in.  I bought a white calla lily for my kitchen table and it's beautiful.  There were a lot of other fun shops that I will have to go back and visit.
We made our way to the train station and happened upon a Donut shop with baked donuts.  Yes, we bought some, yes they were good.  We rode home and had a lazy afternoon watching football and tennis.  Andy had to leave for the airport around 2.30 so the rest of the afternoon was me and the kids and a grouchy Alex.  Indian dinner the kids struggled to eat.  Then coloring contests and love note writing.  Wow, I'm ready for them to go to bed!
Andy is on his way to NYC to get his visa worked out.  It's a long story, but I'm cursing the idiot border patrol guy at London City Airport.  He thinks he's SOOOOOO important!  I'll work on adding Andy's pictures later.  I'm tired!

It was fun to have a day to explore with Andy!!  I told him he could choose what we did for the day since he doesn't get to be out and explore as much as we do.  He chose the Borough Market which is a terrific "farmers market" and Portobello Road Market, which is cool stores and junky stalls.  We ate a lot of yummy stuff in Borough Market and I wish the kids had decided to try more, but alas, they held out for crepes in Portobello.  One of our favorite stores there is all "Made in England" stuff like scarves and coats and cufflinks and bowties and other manly gear.  I bought Andy a pair of cufflinks from there a couple of years ago when we were here.  Alex wanted a bowtie and although he chose one that I didn't love, he loves it and is excited to wear it.  I think he will look like a stud.  Or a total nerd....not sure which!  The manager of the store was so kind and hilarious and played with the kids and made it a very fun time!  And Andy couldn't resist a colorful pair of socks.

Since we were already half way to my favorite store, Boden, we decided to go for it.  It was amazing and I wanted one of everything in the store!!  Unfortunately, it's very much out of my price range so I purchased a skirt and a linen tunic.  I'm not going to say how much they cost.  I don't want that documented forever!

It took quite a long time, over an hour, to ride the tube back in.  It's very crowded on Saturdays with more limited service.  But we made it home in time to chill, make a good dinner, and have a restful evening.  Also, they finally came and changed our sheets and towels and cleaned the flat.  Which feels much better!!  Made me pretty excited that I don't have to clean a toilet for 2.5 months!!

Andy took all the pictures today.  Use your imagination.  ;-)

Today was a lazy morning because Samantha slept in.  Alex and I played cards and did some laundry and dishes.  Once Samantha woke up we got ready and went to the park.  Poor Samantha made a bad choice and decided to wear flip flops while riding her scooter to the park....which we have said many times not to do.  I think she learned her lesson because she fell off her scooter courtesy of her bad shoes.  Thankfully, it wasn't a bad fall and resulted in only a couple of scratches.  After lunch we had some chill time (Samantha watching Once Upon A Time and Alex and I watching Home).  I even snuck in a 30 minute power nap!  We left a little before 3 to take the tube to Piccadilly Circus to meet up with Andy.  He had a meeting up there so we decided to enjoy the afternoon.  The weather was amazing again and we strolled around Covent Garden and ate at the Shake Shack.  Once again, let me state how expensive it is here!!  4 hamburgers, 1 lemonade, 1 milkshake = $32 pounds which translates to about $50.  This is why we grocery shop and eat in the flat most of the time!!!  More healthy too, I suppose.
I've been wanting a new fragrance so that when I get home and wear it I will be reminded of my time in London.  I was planning on just getting some Nivea body spray from Boots or something, but Andy knows how much I adore Orla Kiely, so he took me to the shop.  The clothes, while beautiful, were WAY too expensive for me, but they had a fragrance that I really liked, so I got that.  I'm quite picky about perfume so I was surprised I liked it right away.  It was more than Nivea, but not hideous.   At least that's how I justify it to myself!  After a few more shops, including the comic book store, we headed home.
A few showers later everyone is clean, feeling better, and relaxing before bed.

This morning both kids just wanted to sit around and "be lazy".  The weather was so glorious that I couldn't let that happen.  I showed them a picture of the Diana Memorial Playground and they immediately wanted to go.  We all got ready and left the flat around 9.30.  It sure took us a long time to get there via the DLR and tube!  We didn't pop out of the tube until around 10.20, but the kids enjoy the journey, so it isn't a big deal.  Just surprising when you google the playground and it's 6 miles away.....you think to yourself, "that should be 6 minutes away".  Not so my friend!  Life in the city!
The playground was really fantastic with a large pirate ship and lots of soft, cool sand to play with.  The kids spent the majority of their time in the sand and getting water to make castles.  I enjoyed digging in as well.  There were lots and lots of nannies there and they were actually all cute and sweet with their little ones.  A lot of school groups as well.  After an hour and a half we grabbed some ice cream cones and wandered Kensington Gardens.  We came across the pond and watched the water foul for a bit and then played catch on the grass.  We walked over to Kensington Palace which the kids had NO interest in.  I looked up the entry price and it was definitely steep enough to steer me away considering the lack of interest.  We decided to exit the park and get back on the tube and on our way out we saw the parked helicopter that had landed an hour earlier on the lawn near Kensington Palace.  We saw a crowd of people and went over to see the fuss.  We just missed the occupant getting in but I asked and it was apparently Prince Philip.  Kind of cool!
After getting home we had lunch and turned on a movie for a bit of a rest.  Alex had plenty of rest after the movie and wanted to scooter to the park.  So we did.  It was such a nice day and soon after we arrived school was let out and the park filled up.  Then the ice cream truck pulled up!!  I was on FaceTime with my mom so I handed the kids my smallest bill (10pounds) and told them to get a small cone.  They took advantage of my good nature and my absence and each got 2 cones!  1 double and 1 single scoop.  Samantha graciously handed me 2 pounds back!!!  Needless to say, I was quite upset and they don't get any kind of treats for the next week!  Little farts!
Poor Andy probably wanted to go out after work, but I was so tired and ready to be in, so we had dinner and kids will have an early bedtime.  Good day overall.  Ready for the weekend!!

Today was a bit of a lazy day.  I've been feeling flabby and horrible because I haven't exercised for a little over a month so this morning while the kids were playing at the playground I jogged and did some bodyweight exercises.  It's been a while......I'm sore!  Thankfully it's quite a good area for working out.
When we got home we chilled and then had lunch.  After lunch we met up with Andy and went to the mall to the Tiger Store.  It's a great little do-dad store and we were able to pick up a few things that we have needed like tape and a cutting board and some toys for the park.  Annnnnddddd, since we bought toys for the park the kids wanted to go back and play.  Mommy was tired, but we went ahead and the kids found some friends to play with.  I ended up chatting with one of the mums from India and I enjoyed that.
The afternoon was relaxed as well.  Andy got home, we had dinner and then walked to the large grocery store about 13 minutes walk away.  It was nice to see a bit more of the Isle of Dogs.  We bought more than intended at Asda (it's owned by Walmart so it's definitely the cheapest around), so we took the bus home which the kids loved.
We shall see what tomorrow brings!