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!

Saturday- Hampstead.

The stroll to Hamstead Heath with my girl. 

Parliament Hill with my babe. 

Taking in the view. 

Group photo. 

Mmmm, chicken nuggets and chips.

Sunday- a Herne Hill market sausage saves the melt down. 

The epic game, unfortunately Chelsea took the lead in the end.

Monday- the brave patient. 

Tuesday- Brighton Beach. 

This girl and her ice cream.

Cool weather = matching souvenirs.

Sunny weather calls for matching shades. 

Parmagrin after this rendezvous. 

Wednesday- The Tower Bridge. 

Toddler chasing with a view. 

Pip's popsicle break.

A pretty awesome playground.

Dinner prep on our last evening together. 

Thursday- managing all three on the Underground like a boss. 

Three top walk at the Kew Gardens. 

Matching spider face paints. 

Kew Garden Pavilion. 

Friday- introducing the kids to the British pubs on our last day. 

Cheers!

Piper likes fish and chips about as much as Dave does. 

Dough balls, Sydenham Hill, City Centre, Horniman Museum, The Polka Theatre, and more.

The adventure begins!

After so much planning and trip prep, we are here! We arrived in London on Saturday after an overnight flight which actually went better than I had anticipated. Greta and Sully slept for most of the flight while Piper only slept a few hours, but was very manageable the whole time (except for a 2am scream session - ugh). We had a car waiting for us at the airport which was really nice as we were able to skip the Underground and train drama. We all slept in intervals and poor Sully got carsick. The driver was less than impressed. After we got settled and cleaned up, we walked to a favorite spot of Dave and Matt's for dinner and turned in early.

Sunday was spent at the Herne Hill Farmer's Market for perusing and lunch followed by an amazing stop at Brockwell Park. It was fun to see the kids play alongside the local children, listening to the different accents was so charming. It was a great introduction to the train and an easy first day. We returned in time to grill burgers that evening.

Monday was spent at the Horniman Museum with an amazing view of downtown London. What a treat that was. We had lunch at a take away counter and sat at picnic tables near an open space for the kids to keep themselves occupied by chasing pigeons. I can still hear their giggles and screams of delight. Dave and I took the train to Brixton to a British Pub for beers and burgers. It was so nice to get away and have some adult time.

We ventured in to London on Tuesday. Its about a 30 minute commute from here. We navigated quite well, major thanks to Matt and Cassandra for the extra sets of hands and eyes. We saw Big Ben and did the London Eye before finding ourselves on the Jubilee walk being entertained by street entertainers, the merry-go-round, and cotton candy. It turned into a really great day. Matt and Cassandra stayed in London while Dave and I made our way back. Its been great to give each other breaks.

Hyde Park was on the agenda for Wednesday. We arrived in time for lunch at the Serpentine Cafe and then a walk through the park. Cassandra and I broke away to a small shopping area for a bit while Dave and Matt managed the kids. We hit up Hamley's flagship store on our way home which was overwhelming for all, as you can imagine. After we returned home, Dave and I went for dinner at The Paxton, a restaurant about a 15 minute walk from our 'Holiday House' followed by (too many) glasses of wine on our patio with Matt and Cassandra.

On Thursday we went to a darling children's theatre called the Polka Theatre where we watched a play set to many different instruments called 'Hatch.' The kids all sat really well and we all really enjoyed the afternoon out. Matt and Cassandra had another date night while Dave got Pizza Express to go and hung with the kids. It was a much needed quiet evening after several full days.

We went into London again today (Friday) for a duck boat tour which was really fun, but the kids were busy, especially when we were stuck in traffic. After the tour, we went to a street festival for lunch and then came back early, just in time to miss a pretty decent rain.  Dave and I had a date night in London, we strolled the streets and saw '42nd Street.' We were giving a standing ovation and the man next to me was in a single seat and commented to me about the talent. I agreed with him and he said one of the main characters was his daughter. It was so awesome, he was so proud.

My current takeaways- I had been so anxious about this trip, but it turns out the kids are so adaptable. We had a couple of nights of hard sleep and tired times during the day, but they have done really great. It is so cool to expose them to so many things. Dave and I are under no false illusions, Piper certainly won't remember this trip, but she will still see photos and hear of us talking about our memories. Dave is mostly on cloud 9 as he has literally been hoping for a holiday like this for years. We are excited about our future travels with the kids- the world is our oyster (card ;)).

Enjoy a photo overload below.

Departing Sioux Falls. 

We made it! First thing researched was Pizza Express. 

Sunday morning- Herne Hill Farmers Market.

Exploring the Dulwich Wood. 

Horniman Museum on Sunday.

Photo op with an ice cream bribe. 

Family photo at the Horniman overlooking London.

The walk downhill through the wood to our train stop (Sydenham Hill).

The girls fast asleep at our 'holiday house.'

Tuesday- Lollipops in London.

The London Eye tour. 

The Jubilee walk. 

And then we found cotton candy! 

Smiles ALL around. 

An unexpected surprise on our walk to the toy store.

Back at the holiday house-
the kids who live here have awesome things! 

Wednesday, mastering the train. 

Best friends, totally loving this experience together. 

Date night! 

Wrapping up our Sioux Falls portion of summer.

The Munce family is going on a European adventure to finish up the summer, so the last few weeks have been full of appointments, fun, and other last minute items.

Its hard to believe this journey is upon us. It is literally two years in the making. We are looking forward to making loads of memories. I will be keeping the blog updated while we are gone, so check in from time to time to see our adventures. 

Enjoy some end of summer photos...

Pavilion fun - 'meeting' our new series seats. 

Behind the scenes tour after a Wash Pav evening. 

3/4 of our 'trivia crew' rooftop at the Was Pav.
(the other two left a few minutes earlier)

Palisades hike. 

Grandpa Paul manning the grill/firepit.

Isaac and Sully on a hike.

Overnight crew.
The girls had a slumber party at the Munce house.  

The First Tee spectators keeping busy
while Anna and Sully take lessons 

The First Tee. Sully's first go at golf.
Fortunately Anna kept him right under her wing at all times ;).

The whole crew. 

Swimming lesson fun/disaster.

After months of anticipation, we finally got Sully and Greta signed up for swimming lessons.

The day arrived and both Sully and Greta were giddy. As soon as we walked in and met the instructor, Greta started to complain of an upset tummy (I immediately remembered her nervous stomach), she fought tooth and nail to hold back huge crocodile tears. I was shocked as she was the excited one and the one to rally Sully. Fortunately Sully had volunteered to go first, so I had some time to work on Greta's confidence. He and the instructor strolled off to find some toys and Greta looked at me and said she was going to get sick and literally threw up the next second- all over the pool deck. Ugh. Poor thing. I ran to the locker room for towels and was able to clean it all up pretty easily. She calmed down but was still insistent that swimming lessons were not on her agenda after Sully took his turn.  Brainstorming, I decided to encourage her to sit on the edge with me and put her feet in. I was hoping her love for water and swimming excitement would overshadow her nerves. It worked. Before I knew it, she was in the water (5ft) swimming between my legs and her normal silly self. She pushed back, just out of my reach and sank to the bottom, pushed off and came up for air and went back under. She was just under the water and was stuck...she opened her eyes as wide as possible and looked at me, the loudest scream for help that wasn't even a scream, just a look. I reached for her and she was too far away and the next thing I knew, I was going in. Fully clothed. I was soaked from my hair down. I grabbed her and we both got out, I was in slight disbelief as to how it all happened. No one else in the pool had any idea, it may have even been graceful, I don't know, but I've replayed it in my mind one million times since then. As you could imagine, swimming lessons were definitely not on her agenda after that.

Sully wrapped things up and did so so good, he was excited and had so much fun and it was Greta's turn. She was adamant about not taking a turn, but after diving for some toys and letting her steer the boat, she was in and off with Karen. Phew! I sat for another 30 minutes dripping in a towel before it was all over.

Much to their delight, they get to learn the 'froggy stroke' this week and both are thrilled (fingers crossed it is a much less eventful evening :)). Never a dull moment around here!

Sully- post swim. 

Greta- the master kicker, having so much fun.