The Munce Family: Hampstead, Tottenham, King's College ER, Kinky Boots, Brighton, Tower Bridge, Kew Gardens, and Dulwich

Our full holiday continues this week with more adventures, a few melt downs, two unexpected ER visits and a farewell to Matt and Cassandra. Gees, no wonder I'm so tired!

Saturday was spent in Hampstead, a very quaint and picturesque suburb north of London. We were pleasantly surprised by a beautiful park, Hampstead Heath where Parliament Hill is found. Locals gather here to take in the panoramic views of London over picnics and to fly kites. It was a bit of a hike with the kids, but was well worth it. We found a spot for lunch before spending some time taking in the perks of the park. When we returned we went for dinner as a group a a nearby restaurant called the Wood House, named after the adjacent Dulwich Wood.

Sunday morning was hectic as Dave and Matt had to scramble to find spot to print football tickets while at least two of the kids were melting down. After all was said and done, the guys were able to get to a very exciting game (Tottenham vs Chelsea). They both agreed it was a highlight. Cassandra and I were manning the home front when Piper took a tumble off the couch and was inconsolable. Upon Dave's return, he and I ubered Piper to the nearest ER where all x-rays came back normal and we were sent home with instructions to follow up the following day if there was no obvious improvement.

Unfortunately, Monday morning Piper and I found ourselves ubering back to see Dr. Claire who reassessed and decided to go the nursemaids elbow route, fortunately this was the culprit. She was able to pop it back and in and Piper was immediately back to her normal silly, smiley, and feisty self. We were more than pleased with the care we received. We connected with the group at Crystal Palace Park for lunch and a maze walk before returning home and prepping for a date night. We had drinks at an old bank converted into a bar and then saw 'Kinky Boots,' which was an amazing show. We got home in time to have a glass of wine with Matt and Cassandra and to compose a hilarious post card to Sarah. Before we knew it, it was 2am! Yikes.

We took the train to Brighton Beach Tuesday morning. Brighton is a perfect seaside town one hour south of London with a pebble beach and a landmark Pier. We snacked on fair style doughnuts, bought souvenirs, played at the beach, ran into Darth Vadar, and Sully beat Matt in air hockey. This was basically a day of delight (although cooler than expected) for Sully, as you can imagine. We came home at dinner time and ordered out before heading to bed at a decent hour, for the first time all week.

Wednesday was Matt and Cassandra's last day with us and we spent most of it catching the tourist sights we had missed earlier in the week. We walked across the Tower Bridge before completing more of the Jubilee Walk until the kids couldn't take another step. Fortunately, Matt had the idea of the day by suggesting we take a water ferry to our next stop, high 5s all around once we were on the boat. We stopped at a park near the London Eye where the kids spent lots of time playing and just being kids. We had a BBQ when we returned home and enjoyed reminiscing about the days before. We really loved having them along. They were great sports, up for anything, and ready and willing to help when we needed it. It was also great to get to know them on a more personal level. We will always cherish this time spent with both of them. We miss them already.

We ventured out on Thursday to the Kew Gardens. I have to say, we navigated quite well on our own, thanks to Matt and Cassandra for helping us learn the ropes and giving us the confidence we needed to manage all three through the train and the Underground. The gardens were lovely. We had lunch, did a treetop walk and spent lots of time at the play area where the kids met a few new friends (Greta was so excited to introduce me to her new friend, Haddie Rose), got their faces painted, and loved an ice cream treat. Both Greta and Piper fell asleep on the commute home- success.

Today was our last day in London and we spent it close to home. We finally made our way into Dulwich Village. We explored and took it relatively easy in anticipation of our travel day tomorrow. Ready or not, Ireland, here we come!