After we found out we were for sure moving back this year James and I sat down and planned out weekends and holidays and our move out date. Then we went to the kids and let them vote on options for Ascension Weekend. We told them we could go back to a favorite place or go somewhere new for the weekend. They voted and London it was…you can never go wrong with a weekend in London.
We figured it was about time to take them to a show or two so James and I narrowed it down and he spent the time to find good seats to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and Wicked. I was so excited to see Wicked since he had gotten me tickets the year we moved here that we had to sell because of the move. If you have a chance to take your kids to see Charlie and The Chocolate Factory I highly recommend it. It was fantastic. David loved it so much he was really bummed to learn he wasn’t going to Wicked the next night. I strongly encourage taking the time to read the reviews for seats in certain theaters because it makes a big difference. James and the little kids rode the double decker bus to see Big Ben while we were at the shows.

A trip to London for my kids has to include a trip to the Princess Diana Memorial Playground. A fantastic playground themed after Peter Pan. They regulate how many people can play at a time so it was crowded but not so bad. A trip to Harrods this time in London was awe inspiring as expected.

We even found a place similar to Freebirds—notice I said similar not better or the same ;). Burrito Café is literally just around the corner from Trafalgar Square and the National Portrait Gallery. If you go to the National Portrait Gallery pay for the headsets for the kids. It was good and explaining the art and helping my kids (and me) stay interested. James and Lainey could wander an art gallery for hours so the rest of us were amused by the funny tidbits and information the headsets pointed out to us. Mark LOVES chasing birds in fact that may be the only thing he remembers of his life in Europe. So of course Trafalgar Square was awesome to him. And this time he had his scooter to chase with he was in heaven.

Fish and chips, The Science Museum, Church, and the changing of the Guard were also on the agenda. What a pain to try to see the changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace in the summer. We got there about 1.5 hours early and we were the second row of people from the gates and still couldn’t see anything. So we went back the next day 2 hours early only to find they weren’t do it that day. Instead they were having parade practice for the Queens Birthday Celebration. Best mistake EVER, we watched the Royal Guard, Horses, and Band march and play for about an hour. My repressed high school band nerd loved it. My kids thought it was awesome and loved seeing all the subtle differences in all the uniforms.

All in all it was a lovely farewell “holiday” to London