Our London Vacation, Summer 2018

It's been far too long since our trip to England and there is no time like the present to write it down. Especially since Kiersten is on bed rest, there really is no time like the present because we have the time. And we finally got all the pictures from Scott's good camera so there is nothing holding us back.

May 16 we left DC to cross the pond to jolly old England. We arrived in the evening and were welcomed by a cold burst of air upon leaving the airport. Scott's brother had arranged for a car service to drive us to their parents flat. We arrived an hour later, around 9:30pm local time, and shared the big news of our pregnancy with Mackenzie's help. The news was very well received and then we rushed the kiddos to bed. 

Off we go again! We are the definition of a jet setter family.

Sleeping hard. It took several days to adjust to the 5 hour time difference.

May 17 we took the day easy. Scott's Dad took the day off work to show us around their neighborhood, Swiss Cottage. It is very quaint and seems to have all the amenities one could need including a terrific playground and water feature for the kids a few blocks away. The weather was exactly what you'd expect, chilly, breezy and in the mid 60s. We were in heaven.

Early morning stories with Grandpa.

An iconic red double-decker London bus.

By lunch time these girls were hungry and tired.

She fell asleep in Scott's arms. That almost NEVER happens!

A rousing game of Qirkle that night. Kiersten reins supreme.

Friday, May 18 we took the Tube into downtown London and saw some of the major attractions. Big Ben (covered in scaffolding unfortunately), Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Had no idea they were all right there. We didn't go into any of these places except the little cafe in the Abbey for lunch. We made our way to the parade grounds and the neighboring St. James Park which housed a fantastic playground. We let the girls run wild for about an hour while the moms rested and the dads chased. Next door was Buckingham Palace which was crawling with tourists. We opted to go home and to get to the nearest Tube station we walked through Green Park. London has so many beautiful green spaces it's hard not to fall in love.

Watching some ducks at St. James Park.

Seriously this playground blew us away.

The quintessential 'cousins in a tub' photo...for posterity.

The next day, Saturday, was also the day of the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. We had zero interest in this which ended up being a good thing for us. The first order of the day was to attend a one of a kind story time with the amazing Ms. Marcia at the Primrose Hill Community Library. We had a lovely time singing and dancing and helping to get story times there off the ground.

Grandma and Grandpa took all three grandchildren home while the parents went back to Westminster Abbey for a tour. Normally there is a long queue (we're so British now) but due to the wedding, we walked right in! Gorgeous inside and so full of history. We had a scheduled tour of Parliament at 3 so we were on a bit of a time crunch. The tour of Parliament was utterly fascinating. Helped us to understand a little bit better about our own governmental origins.

Near the end of our tour the bells rang for about 30 minutes signaling the wedding had ended. That was pretty cool.

Inside Parliament.

These girls loved the water feature near Grandma and Grandpa's.

Sunday was a bit of a mad dash out the door for church but two black London cabs helped us get there on time. Mackenzie wasn't keen about Nursery so Scott stayed with her while Kiersten attending the rest of the meetings. After church we traveled back to the flat by Tube which took almost an hour.

Monday morning Grandma and Grandpa went to work and the rest of us went and found a petting zoo! ...after riding many modes of public transportation with a million other people. That afternoon we met an old friend of Carey's at the Naval Museum and had lunch at a fun pub.  That evening for dinner we went to a popular pub in Camden Town where we partook of an authentic British meal complete with fish and chips, mushy peas and sticky toffee pudding.

Outside the Naval Museum.

Inside the fun play area. She did not want to leave.

Lunch at the pub.

Authentic British cuisine.

This is what sticky toffee pudding looks like for those who don't know. We didn't.

Riding home on the double-decker London bus.

Tuesday and Wednesday the real adventure began. We rented a large van and with right side drive and left side of the road traveling, we drove out to Stow-on-the-Wold for a little country getaway. We had lunch at a terrific pub and saw the sights. Our Airbnb was an old converted church which was fun and the little town was quiet and adorable. 

Our pub for lunch.

Yes that is really the name of the town... village?

Pub food!

These trees grow perfectly into and around the door frame of this old church.

Our little woodland fairy.

So much cousin time!

In the morning we decided it was our best chance of seeing Stonehenge so we made the two hour drive to see it. We opted to walk to the site from the Visitor's Center which is about a mile away rather than take the bus in hopes of tiring out the kids. Stonehenge in one word: Awesome. Not like cool but rather it fills one with a sense of awe and wonder. Probably our favorite part of the whole trip. The ride back to London on the other hand... we made it and that's all we're gonna say.

Airbnb for the win!

These girls were great. They enjoyed the sights a little differently than the adults.

Thursday was another low-key day. We went to Trafalgar Square and found the narrowest alley in London.

Iconic red phone booth. Do NOT go inside!

She could almost touch wall to wall.

This stop housed the Sherlock Holmes museum which we didn't get a chance to visit. Next time!

Friday, the grandparents took the day off so we could travel to Dover and see the famous white cliffs! We'd planned to take a tour boat out to see them but that didn't happen because that tour company had folded and it was very foggy so we probably wouldn't have seen anything anyway. What we did end up doing was a whole lot better. We made our way up to Dover Castle and explored it's many nooks and crannies. There are tunnels built into the hill that were converted into a military hospital during the Second World War! We were told it would take 3 days to see everything at Dover Castle so we hit the highlights. This unplanned adventure was another favorite part of the trip.

On the rocky beach of Dover.

They are just too cute to have one picture.

M learned how to truly sleep anywhere on this trip. A much needed survival skill.

Dover Castle!

Finding some nooks and crannies.

We walked down from the castle rather than wait for a bus.

Giggling on the Tube all the way back to Grandma's.

Saturday was our day. Just the three of us took a train to Oxford to meet up with some BYU friends who are currently living in Birmingham. We did a free walking tour of Oxford which was beautiful and tiring. The university is essentially the whole town. The campus buildings are spread out all over and we walked a lot to see it all. We had a picnic style lunch and then went punting which is like a gondola in Venice. Scott was our punter and by the end of the journey was doing very well.

Paddington Station is a proper looking train station.

Some of the buildings at Oxford inspired buildings or rooms for Hogwarts in the movies. Some scenes were even filmed here.

Walking tour wore her out.

Getting ready for some punting.

Right after this pic was taken, we lost our punt in the mud of the river bottom. Took several minutes to fight the current to get it back.

A well deserved gelato/ice cream treat from Sprinkles, a local ice cream haunt near the flat.

Sunday we rode the tube to and from church making it a very long but wonderful Sunday. There is a man in the Ward there who is a retired voice actor and he blessed the sacrament both Sundays. When he spoke, it was as if it were the voice of Heaven and it made us sit up and take note. No sacrament prayer has ever felt like it had more power or command than when this man uttered it. That afternoon we finally were ready to take our annual family photos. We wanted to have some iconic London in the background but realized the main focus is us so we took the pictures at the lovely Primrose Hill Park. They turned out wonderful as always.

First attempted French braid! They didn't last more than 5 minutes.

Handled Nursery much better the second week.

This year I'm sporting another baby bump!

Such photogenic girls.

Really getting into it now.

Monday was our last day in England and it was a busy one. We first went to King's Cross Station per Kiersten's request to take a picture with the trolley at platform 9 3/4. The queue at 10am was staggering and rather than waste our last day standing in line, we took a quick pic off to the side then went on our way. We next visited London Bridge and took the tour up top where there is a glass floor to look down into the water. The girls loved it! For lunch we went to another pub near the flat then went back to rest. That evening Scott and Kiersten finally celebrated their 7 year wedding anniversary by taking in a show. We saw 42nd Street which was absolutely delightful and the perfect ending to a wonderful vacation.

So we didn't make it to Hogwarts this trip. Maybe next time.

They had no fear sitting on this glass.

Trying to keep her awake after lunch.

Happy last night in London at the theater! And Happy Anniversary to us!

Tuesday just the Paraguayan Jacksons hopped on a flight back to the Colonies and ended our trip. Darren, Carey and their posey stayed for another week. We loved our trip immensely and know we left a few things to do for our next visit, hopefully next summer with baby number two in tow.