It's hard to believe that Nana and Papa's nearly three week visit has ended! They have been busy, and spent lots of great time with us and the kids. After their initial flight out of the US was cancelled 24 hours before they were due to leave, they arrived around 2 PM on Friday and were greeted by Brad. Drew and I got home from his music class not too long after they arrived. He was really upset because he thought they were arriving right after he got out of school, so he was happy to see them! The girls were equally as excited when Daddy and Papa collected them from school and walked in and saw Nana!
Saturday, the girls and I went to Zumba and Brad, Papa and Drew went to football and then Lauren and I were off to a birthday party. Saturday night, we had a gathering at the Garden Shed, which was super fun! Brad's parents were able to meet several of our friends here in London, as well as several of Brad's work mates. It was a great night and the kids had a great time as well. Lauren, Alison, Booey and Patrick had a funeral for a dead pigeon they found under the table. They named him "VIP" (Very Important Pigeon.)
Sunday, I taught Sunday school and then we went for Sunday Roast at our favourite spot the Crooked Billet! Nana and Papa enjoyed it just as much as we do! It was a pretty warm sunny afternoon so after finished eating, we were able to sit in the sun while the girls climbed the trees and Drew rolled down the hill.
Monday was a lazy day, Nana rested.
Tuesday, Nana and Papa went to meet their Finnish exchange student at Hampton Court Palace.
Wednesday, Nana and Papa took Drew to the Natural History Museum. They all enjoyed it a lot. Drew does really love the dinosaurs!
Friday, Nana & Papa went to the V&A museum and had a great time exploring all the wonderful exhibits there. Nana found some beautiful jewelry.
Saturday, Papa took Lauren to the British Museum. I think they had a good time together seeing the Mummies and visiting. We had a low key day because Brad was resting up for the big event.
Sunday was the big day: THE MARATHON!!! Brad was out the door around 7:30 and we were somewhat lazy and headed out around 10:45. We met our friends at the Northern Line, and we were waiting and waiting and finally they announced that the train was closed because of an animal on the track, which meant that we had to re-route ourselves through Wimbledon. Thank goodness for Anise who directed us how to get where we were going! We had to change our plans of where to see Brad because he was already past where we were planning to see him at Mile 14, but we were only waiting at Mile 21 for about 3 minutes before he ran by!!! I almost missed him!!! As soon as we saw him, we were back on the train heading to the finish line. It was pretty crazy because a lot of other people were doing the same thing. The kids all got a little bit freaked out because this guy jumped off the train just as the doors were closing.....not so smart. And it was REALLY crowded. We finally found Brad in the family meeting area!!!! He was feeling pretty good, but tired of course. We all headed back to the train and back to Wimbledon to get something to eat. We settled on pizza at Frango Manca. A guy bought us a bottle of wine in exchange for the sunshine balloon. Totally random!!
Monday, Helen and I went to Wimbledon Village to do a little shopping. We found a few things to buy and had a fabulous lunch at this french cafe.
Thursday, Helen and I had a reservation at Fortnum & Mason for a proper afternoon tea, upon the recommendation of my friend Helen. Wow, what an amazing place. It is one of the oldest department stores in London. There are doormen holding the door, and on the ground floor is the most amazing display of food and drink you can imagine. There was an entire wall of jams, over 100 different varities, including grapefruit. An entire section of chocolates, and of course the teas. There were teas that were made for the wedding of Kate and William and many other royal events. The tea room was absolutely gorgeous. We opted to get one savory offering and one sweet. The sandwiches were the traditional sandwiches of cucumber, coronation chicken, egg salad, salmon and ham. The scones were AMAZING!!! And the desserts were equally amazing. And they also had an entire table of cakes to try. We were stuffed with goodness. And of course we each had our own pot of tea. After we ate, it was time to shop!!! We took the stairs so we could check out the other floors. Each floor was full of fabulously beautiful items, including silver fountain pens for the bargain price of £400. And then we spent quite a bit of time on the ground floor selecting some yummy food to try.
Friday, Brad took the day off and he and Papa went to the British War Museum.
Saturday, Nana and Papa took Alison to the aquarium, which they all really enjoyed. Saturday night, Brad and I went out for a friend's 40th birthday party.
Sunday, we all went to Richmond to meet up with Anna and her family. Anna is a Finnish exchange student who lived with Brad's family over 20 years ago. Anna is married to a Brit and they have lived here about 15 years. They have a son Harry who is just about the same age as Drew. We had a nice long lunch at a really cool pub right on the green in Richmond, and then we went for a walk down by the Thames. Brad and I decided to take his parents to a proper Indian restaurant for dinner, as they have never tasted proper Indian food. We took them to Wimbledon Tandoori in the village and they REALLy enjoyed it!! We tried many different dishes and I think we have changed their views on Indian cuisine.
Monday was a bank holiday, so we had a lazy morning and then Brad took his parents and Lauren to KFC (how could they be here and not go to KFC??), and Drew, Alison and I went to Pizza Hut. Brad took his parents to see the Wimbledon Tennis stadium and the kids and I went to Wimbledon Park for awhile.
Tuesday was Nana and Papa's last day here, so they had a nice lunch in town. I made shepherd's pie for dinner, which was a hit. I ususally make chicken pot pie for Papa when he visits, but I figured I should make something more British!
They got picked up early on Wednesday morning. Drew and Alison were awake, and they were both really sad that Nana and "fluffy beard" were leaving. They had a great visit, and we really enjoyed having them here!! Papa said the trip far exceeded his expectations, and we are so thankful that Nana was able to make the trip and got to do so much!
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