A magical London Christmas

We are here!

After years of planning and talking about this adventure, we are here, jet lag has subsided and its every bit as magical as we had hoped.

We left Sioux Falls at 1:15pm on Friday, December 20th and had a relatively uneventful journey. Our flight out of Minneapolis departed at 5:40pm, we had dinner on the plane followed by teeth brushing and goodnight gummies. The kids were so grossed out about the teeth brushing part in those little bathrooms, I can't say I blame them. Greta and Piper slept, exactly as I had hoped. Sully, on the other hand had a really hard time turning off his brain. His personal TV kept him awake, and the two year old in front of him who was wide awake the entire flight didn't help either. Neither Dave or I slept much, either. We arrived on time and met our driver as planned, he delivered us to the Notting Hill flat around 9:30am. We had some time before the apartment was ready, so we walked down Portobello Road and to Gail's Bakery for a very jet lagged breakfast. The kids barely ate, Dave and I had no problems adapting to the new food. We made it into our flat and we all crashed for 2 hours, we woke the kids around 3pm and they were disasters, oh my gosh, especially Sully. We pulled it together and walked along the market in search of things to make our flat as Cristmassy as we could, it was a really fun way to explore our surroundings. We ended the night with melt downs at Pizza Express :).

On Sunday we made our way to the Churchill Arms restaurant via a double decker bus, much to Greta's delite, then to Winterland where we visited Santa and connected with Sarah, our sitter, who was darling and really nice and engaging with the kids. While we were waiting for Santa (1.5 hour wait), Piper fell fast asleep in the stroller. It was actually great timing as she was having second thoughts about Santa and isn't entirely sure bout him yet. After the visit, we played a few games, it was very unsuccessful, ending with lots of tears, but they were so hard and expensive. We made our way toward the Natural History Museum when I realized all kids had to use the potty. So we snuck into a very fancy hotel near Hyde Park, the Dorchester, to use the loo. We made our way for a quick photo and then back to our neighborhood for dinner at the Electric Diner and then bed.

Monday morning started with Dave's phone being on the fritz. We found place in central London who helped us and then went to the Apple store for a better charger. We happened to be adjacent to Carnaby Street which was a nice surprise as it was on our list of things to explore later that day. We had lunch in SOHO and then back to the NHM for a merry go round ride, which the kids loved. We went for dinner at a family friendly joint near our place, it was just ok. The kids were terrible. Like coming of out their skin terrible. And then in the next minute, Sully and Greta were speaking Spanish with the waitress and in that moment, they redeemed themselves. Piper fell asleep during dinner, once again, good timing.

Tuesday was Christmas Eve and we made it a day about Auntie Julie. We woke up and went to the NHM for our scheduled ice skate, which was so charming. We started out slow, but when we got the penguins, life got better for all of us. We raced around the Christmas tree and loved our 50 minute session. We ended it with a quick lunch and then tried to tackle Harrods with no success. We came home to regroup before going to Kew Gardens which was every bit as magical as I had hoped. There were lights and music and merry go rounds and helter skelters and snacks and we were loving life for the first 45 minuets, and then the kids fell apart. We finished the walk and left hungry and cold. We wandered through the area and found this most charming Christmas Eve restaurant where we had pizza, pasta, wine and tapas, it was just right...until I realized I had lost my credit card at the gardens. :( We had to deal with that when we got home. It was a magical and memorable Christmas Eve.

Christmas day was so low key, exactly what we needed after our 5 nonstop adventure days. The kids opened their gifts and stocking and stayed in pajamas until about 5pm. I did 4 loads of laundry and we regrouped. Dave and I gave each other a 1 hour walk break and it was so good for both of us. We both took in the sites and enjoyed some peaceful time. We decided to venture out for dinner to see what was open, turns out not much. It was still good to get fresh air. I spotted a place that looked like it had a pizza on the window but it turns out it was a pita and we were at a middle eastern restaurant with a prix fixed menu. Ha! Not exactly ideal for our situation, but we made due and it was fun for all. We returned and watched a family movie and enjoyed having a day for just being together, it was lovely day.

Thursday was Boxing Day, we had a lazy morning. I had an idea, lets try to find Sully some new shoes and check out that mall we had heard a lot about. Terrible idea, turns out Boxing Day is basically the equivalent to Black Friday in the States. We would never think ever of bringing our kids Black Friday shopping in Sioux Falls, and here we were in London with our kids in a busy crazy mall. Oh, and did I mention it was raining and windy and the umbrellas we purchased on Portobello Road were cheep and broke in like 5 minutes? Fortunately we found a 5 Guys and we were all recharged and better. Major save. We came back to our neighborhood and found shoes and came home in time for our sitter. Dave and I ventured out on our own which was good for us and good for the kids to do their own thing. We explored and saw SIX the Musical, which was incredible. We even stayed late (because I was last in line at the bathroom) and saw a couple of stars. We came back to our neighborhood for an amazing Italian dinner and returned home around 11 to a successful evening for Sarah and the kids, except that Sully stayed awake waiting for us. Oh well, it was worth it.

Today was a kid day. We slept in and did some homework here before going to The Museum of Transportation. We had lunch there and the kids had a great time running around stamping their guide cards and playing in the double decker busses and trains. Dave probably had as much fun as they did, checking out the history of The Underground. We finished up and came home for dinner at the flat, onion soup, leftovers, and wine. A regrouping night at home with shows and a chance for me to catch up on this blog.

It's been a great adventure so far. The kids are doing quite well considering we are constantly on the move and getting so many steps in. Its so good to not have the pulls of home life and to just be together. We are thankful we have one more week together.

Airplane situation.

Saturday morning- breakfast at Gail's Bakery. 

Portobello Road Market- grocerys to start the week. 

Sunday- Churchill Arms

Santa 

Learning the ropes of the The Underground.

Monday - SOHO

This Merry Go Round saved our day for a cool $25. 

Tuesday, Christmas Eve- Natural History Museum ice skate. 

Bus love- ride to Harrods's. 

Mistletoe.

Our charming Notting Hill street. 

Our flat.

Kew Gardens

Christmas Day HH.

Dinner. 

Pip.

Date Night. 

SIX

Our tube stop. 

Outside the Museum of Transportation. 

The beautiful decorated city. 

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a couple of things in between.

It seems with a late Thanksgiving, the holidays feel condensed this year. Well, that and the Munce family is preparing for a big family holiday to England, so some celebrations have been rescheduled in order to get it all in. We are all feeling the business, but it has been fun to celebrate and be together, and the icing on the cake? As soon as Friday, December 20 rolls around, our only commitment will be to our nuclear family for 14 days straight, and for me, that is the very BEST present I could ever ask for. 

Thanksgiving was really nice. We had a small group as neither of my brothers or their families were with us, it was a very casual day. My aunt and uncle and one cousin also joined us for part of the day. We gathered at 12 for a meal and then continued the day with football, a puzzle, a talent show, and cousin mega fun. The kids have a so much fun. Most people had left by 3 or 4, but the Olivers stayed until the bitter end at 9pm when the entire Munce family hit the sheets, hard, but with a clean house and full hearts. 

We followed up Thanksgiving with a weekend of gathering with friends who are like family. We hosted my St. John friends here on Saturday for happy hour appetizers and drinks while the kids destroyed the basement. And the following weekend, we spent almost every waking minute with family starting with a Connelly ladies Christmas brunch on Friday, followed by a staycation for Dave and I downtown which included Christmas shopping, eating, drinking, and sleeping- yes, it was as amazing as it sounds. Saturday afternoon was Miles' birthday and then we watched Hudson in the DAPA performance of Frozen Jr. We celebrated Christmas with my family on Sunday morning with a brunch at my parents house. Sully had a piano recital on Sunday afternoon and did so well. We are all so proud of him, but Dave especially, his heart almost swelled right through his chest when Sully finished his piece. 

Last but not least, we celebrated Christmas with Dave's group last evening (Monday) and we are all recovering today. What a whirlwind of events and celebrations and gatherings. Life is good. 

Thanksgiving.

Munce crew. 

The bowl of noodles found under my seat by the carwash
people. This was after my preclean. Too funny not to
share and document. 

Connelly Ladies Christmas Brunch. 

Connelly family Christmas. 

Mustache fun. 

Family photos with Mr. David. 

Very professional 😍.

AA Inc. Party. 

My lovely little G, growing up so fast. 

Fam photo, notice the shoes Greta picked out for Piper.

Stairsteps- Piper-4 Greta-6 Sully-7

So proud of these three amigos. 

St. Louis

The girls and I made our annual St. Louis trip the weekend of November 16 to visit the Winters family. It marked six years since Dave Winters has been gone. It's amazing how much has changed, the kids are all so grown up. Stacy and I often reflect about how the only challenge is the travel as once we are together, the kids take care of each other and get along SO well, we are fortunate for that.

We left on Friday afternoon and had a very seamless travel day, arriving at about 3pm, in time for a quick snack and short playtime before taking a meal to the fire station in Dave's honor and then going to family night at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in downtown St. Louis. We did crafts and toured the theatre before seeing Stomp, which is a show I have always wanted to see. Greta and Piper were so exhausted that they fell asleep half way through the loud and rambunctious performance, one on my lap and one on Stacy's. It was very entertaining and fun.

We got up on Saturday morning and hung while the kids played. Stacy booked me a massage which was amazing and exactly what I needed. When I returned, we loaded up and headed downtown to this new ferris wheel and diner. We went on the ferris wheel and then ordered lunch and freakshakes, which are $20 milkshakes, filled with everything from cupcakes to cotton candy to cookies and candles. It was quite a treat. After lunch we returned and went for happy hour with Stacy's boyfriend, Mark and then went for dinner with Stacy's good friend Erin. Saturday was a good day.

The girls and I returned on Sunday afternoon, another seamless travel day.

We spent some time looking through old photos from over the years, specifically the ones of our frequent trips to see each other. It is amazing how the kids have grown and have grown up together, how much we, as adults have grown up. The tired looks in our eyes in the earlier years when the kids were little, to the photos of us making time to get out without the kids and find some time to do adult things. It is great to have good friends to share these phases of life with. Until next time!

That's a full car! 

Girls' row at Stomp.

This, my friends, is a Freakshake. 

Sugar sister heaven.

Dinner out. 

Family photo. 

Joe, Sam, Greta, Tom, and Piper. 

First annual Friendsgiving.

The trivia group which has evolved into one of my favorite friend groups did Friendsgiving this year. The Barkers hosted and Rebecca flew in Oprah's favorite turkey and made all of the fixings. It was lovely evening sitting in their charming dining room surrounded by good wine, good friends, and loads of laughs. To top it off, we celebrated Kris's birthday which was the following day with two kinds of pie and 48 candles, that was a smokey situation for a few minutes. It was soo fun, I'm always so sad when its over.

The gals.

The guys. 

The turkey carver.

The birthday boy. 

Great turns SIX!

Greta manages to remain my child who is growing up before I even realize it. I mean, she turned six and can vividly remember taking photos of her in my room when she was 6 months old, her beautiful big blue eyes, so curious, and her cheeks, the sweetest cheeks. Her health scares, skin issues so bad as a three month old, followed by allergies, asthma, etc. She is a fighter, a peace keeper, smart as a whip. She asks intelligent questions and is the most 'go with the flow' out of the five of us. I fell asleep with her last night in her room and she fits perfectly into my body, curled around me. Before we fell asleep, I asked her how it felt to lay so close to me and she replied 'it just feels good, mama, because I love you so much.' She wondered how I felt, and in my mind I was thinking about how safe she must feel being so connected with me but when she directed that question to me, I realized how safe she made me feel. So I told her, 'I feel safe.' and she responded with a squeeze. I love her so much.

Greta has blossomed into an amazing kindergartner. After a really difficult 8 weeks of tears at school drop off, she now loves it. She loves to roll her 'rs' and sing songs in Spanish. She still prefers to be dropped off through the office, but otherwise is great. I'm so proud of her. The week she turned six, I let her and Sully walk home from the bus by themselves each day, she loves the independence its given them and prefers to take the long way home so they can be in charge of themselves for longer.

We celebrated Greta numerous times during the course of her birthday week, as we should have. We had a family party for both girls on Friday, November 1st, followed by her friend party on Sunday, the 3rd, and finally, dinner at her favorite place (Red Rossa) on her actual birthday November 5th with our family and a few extra special guests (grandma and grandpa banana, maggie and anna). We had a great week, opened dozens of gifts and so many treats and cake, we lost track of all of the sugar intake (and are still detoxing ;)).

Greta gave Grandma Banana a makeover and she
is officially her mini me.

Greta was certain we could accomplish a DIY unicorn cake.
😂😂😂

Family birthday party fun. 

Friend birthday party fun with a store bought cake. 

School gals. 

November 5th, officially SIX!