Monday 4/12
Oh man. It was a rough night for both boys. And I woke up completely beaten. Oh Monday. And I had made no plans for the week. So we decided to take the morning as it came. We started off by reading and cleaning. The boys were so peaceful and it was really nice to do yoga and our lesson that morning.
By 10am we had finished our routines and the house was clean. So I asked the boys if they wanted to see their favourite superheros. They said yes so we got ready and headed out. We made our way to Marylebourne for the morning.
We made it to Madame Tussauds by 11am. There was a bit of a queue but it was manageable. This is included in the Merlin Pass that we have so we wanted to try it out since we can come whenever we want. I was expecting just a boring wax museum but I was wrong!
At first it was just celebreties and fun photo areas. But it was also very interactive. The boys loved being able to touch everything and interact with instruments. They loved seeing Ed Shereen and Harry Styles (since we listen to them so much at home).
There was a movie section and then a history section. James and George loved how many buttons you could press to hear music. James was so cute when he held hands with David Attenborough.
We enjoyed our time as we walked through the museum. They spent ages playing the drums together. This museum definitely gets a five star from me so far!
Of course they loved the superhero section. Apparently the Captain America was wearing the authentic uniform from the film! We then queued to see the 4D film. It was fantastic! The boys loved it but afterwards James did tell me that he wanted to sit in the seat with no effects next time.
Another fun section we went to was the 8 minute ride that took through the different time periods of London. It was so fun and I actually learned a lot! The boys really wanted to do it again haha! We will just have to come back.
The final section was Star Wars. The boys don't really know about Star Wars but they are a little familiar with it so they did like it. Especially the light sabers. It felt like being in a a Star Wars film in real life. The figures are so life like!
I am sure when they are older and look at these photos they will definitely appreciate it more. `but for now it was light swords and cool robots haha!
George fell asleep as soon as we got in the buggy. He was so exhausted! We walked through Regents Park and enjoyed the cold London afternoon. After 20 minutes we made it to the zoo. I had promised James pizza as soon as we got there so we shared a delicious pizza.
When George woke up we headed straight to the giraffes. James said I could pick first this time and I had missed seeing the giraffes. And since it was so cold out they were all huddled inside. It was nice seeing them so up close.
Our next stop was to the Rain Forest. The sloth was on the move and was drinking the mist that was coming out of the sprinkler. We then went downstairs to the night time creatures. We saw so many of them. George loved the armadillo that went around in a circle for about 5 minutes haha!
The next choice was to Tiny Giants. On our way there the lions were roaring so we ran over to see. We found the lion that was walking around. We followed him and he literally roared in our faces. It was so cool!
We spent the last 15 minutes in the Tiny Giants building. The boys love their invertebrates. We stayed there until the last possible minute. We love the zoo so much!
We then headed out as the zoo closed. As tradition requires we went to Wendy's. We had some frosties and then we set off. The tube was so busy. I am surprised we were able to squeeze in!
We finally made it home as soon as Matt did as well. They wrestled for a good while. That night for family prayer George started saying it before we decided who was going to pray. It was the sweetest thing ever.
Tuesday 5/12
Well the night was worse than the last. It was really bad. So when we woke up I told myself we needed to stay home so I could catch up on things for my mental state. I felt like crying and felt so tired. I could not regulate well. So we took it really slow.
George woke up from his morning nap at noon so we had some lunch and then watched the Ninjago film together. James is obsessed and I love being in his world. At 3pm we headed out to go to Ethan's house for our playdate. The walk should have only taken 5 minutes but turned into 20 minutes full of meltdowns from each one of us. Oh boy... But we finally made it and went straight into play.
There were lots of injuries during the playdate but we made it through in one piece. George loves exploring Ethan's house as James plays. Ethan and James love running around so much.
We then walked back which went a little better. Back home we wrestled and danced in the bedroom. I was so tired but they were having so much fun. I love it.
When Matt came home we quickly ate and then went back to wrestling. George was so affectionate during wrestling. Checking if everyone was okay every 2 minutes haha! He is the sweetest. We then ended the night with Yoga and a maths lesson and then snuggled up in bed (going into battle...).
Wednesday 6/12
It was a rough night but not as bad as the night before. It might have been because I lowered my expectations haha! Regardless, it went a bit better. When we woke up we had one hour before heading out the door. Luckily, Matt was working from home so he helped us as we rushed around. We got on the tube just in time. It was at this point I noticed that Matt had put on one of George's wellies on George and the other one was James's! Oh well haha!
We ran to St James's Church and arrived just a bit late. My friend Elizabeth comes to this church and always let's me know when the stay and plays are. This was Christmas themed so I was excited to be there with the boys. The Church is so beautiful. It was so good to see Elizabeth. I loved chatting with her. James and George bad a blast exploring all the toys. We had some yummy Christmas snacks too.
Then it was time for singing. The boys were so focused. And when it came time for dancing they danced as well. George and James soon began to wrestle. They love getting physical so much haha!
Once the session was over and everyone started to leave the boys ran around the empty space. Their little friend Daniel joined in. They giggled so much.
We soon said goodbye and went out to the playground behind the church. George refused to put a coat on. He does run warmer as a person I guess…
James and George had so much fun with the 15 minutes we spent here. They quickly made friends with the other boy who was there. I had a fun time talking to his mum. We soon had to say goodbye and we flew to the tube station.
George napped as we made it to our next destination. We made it to my friend Larlee's just after 1pm. She fed us lunch and the kids played around a bit.
Her Christmas tree arrived so we decided to put it up and see how it went. The boys were so helpful as we set it up. I had the best time chatting with Larlee. She is a star of a person! I love her so much!
When little Charlotte was up we got ready and headed out to the Natural History Museum just up the street. I love how close she lives to it! Also, I love how she forces me to take photos with the boys. Makes my heart melt when I have the memories to look back on!
We first made our way to the Dinosaur section. We wanted to see the T Rex. And it did not disappoint! The boys loved seeing the Christmas jumper and hat on the T Rex. We will have to come back to see it again!
We went through the rest of the dinosaurs. George had the biggest smile as we saw all the dinosaurs around him. It was less busy since it was 3pm but still a crazy amount of people.
The next section we went to were the Arthropods. James loves all the creepy crawlies! The bigger the better haha! Not me… But I love how much they love learning about them. We then said goodbye to our friends.
Our last stop was to visit the Titanosaurs exhibit. It did not disappoint! It was so interactive and informative! The boys loved watching the animation as they introduced the new titanosaurs we were about to see.
And it was massive! The Patagotitan was the largest creature to have walked on earth! Crazy! The boys ran up to it and gave it the biggest hug. They were in heaven!
We walked around and explored how life was like for the biggest creature that ever lived. It was fascinating to learn about it. Since it was only us in the exhibit we lied down underneath this giant dinosaur and just stared up at it as we cuddled. This was amazing. Such a gift. The boys didn't want to leave haha!
I wished we could have stayed for forever but it was after 5pm now and rush hour had begun. The boys gave the Patagotitan one last hug and then we headed off. We walked to the nearest station with a lift and then prayed that the trains were not too busy. They were. But we made it home in one piece!
At home Matt was done working and helped James build the new Lego set he got from the museum. But soon both boys ran to the bedroom and started a wrestling match.
Slowly more and more clothes came off as they warmed up. James and George absolutely adore each other. You can see the adoration that George has for James as they play together. They are each other's greatest gift. We did our nightly yoga and then got into bed. We snuggled up really tight.
Thursday 7/12
The night was so tough. It was tough for George which meant it was tough on me. I wasn't ready to wake up that morning. The boys wake up with smiles. They seem to recover from the night better than me haha! At least we didn't have any rush that morning so we took it as it came. George wanted to nap at 10am! So he did. When he woke up we had some lunch and then headed out the door.
We were meeting my Bulgarian friend Maria and her son Jacob at the Museum of Water and Steam. They were there first as our bus was late. James had some beans on toast in their cafe to fuel up for the afternoon.
The boys went everywhere. I really love this museum. It's rarely busy so the kids can just run around and be kids. As they play I love reading about the history of water and how it is worked on today. They have 5 doll houses that represented how life was like in each century. James and I went through each one and compared them to our lives now.
James would stop every once in a while and we would read the information. He loved walking through the sewers. George loved the fact that he could touch everything.
We went through the engine rooms and saw the different engines used through the years. The boys loved trying out models and making them work. James and Jacob had a great time inside each room. They would explore every corner to make sure they saw everything. George was happy to follow them.
We then went outside to the Museum garden. We walked down different paths. James and George loved being outdoors even though it was freezing. Since we were the only people there they had it all to themselves. George was so happy. I loved catching up with sweet Maria.
We then said goodbye at dusk and made our way home. The boys had so much fun together on the bus ride. Once we got home we had some dinner and then watched some funny videos together. They were laughing so hard. I love having them cuddled up and laughing. Matt came home and soon after George wanted to go to bed. Hoping for a better night!
Friday 8/12
It was another rough night but we had so much planned for that day I couldn't really stop functioning haha! So we got ready as soon. aswe could for the day. James loved his lesson that morning. We made a Lord Garmadon box to help him with his CVC words and it was a hit!
We arrived at King's Cross just in time. We saw the amazing Christmas trees along the way. I loved the Harry Potter Tree. It was massive and perfect since this is where platform 9 and 3/4 is!
We then walked through St Pancras and saw the Christmas Book Tree. Each little bench had it's own story that you could lesson to. James loved it so much and didn't want to leave. I told him we could come back later to listen more.
Then we made our way to the British Library. We were meeting our Australian friends here. I love meeting up with Brittany so much. She makes me smile so much. The boys were so excited to get to this play space.
First thing they did was take off their shoes haha! James did loads of drawing that morning. I love how he is coming around to drawing on his own. George was so focused as he explored each area of play.
James and Ava had so much fun together. I love watching their friendship grow. Although James does miss hanging out with Ollie who is at school now. After about an hour we went to the next activity.
In the next event we decorated some animal masks. James and George had a blast and at the end traded masks with each other. They are so sweet to each other.
The next part of the event was sitting and listening to this fantastic story. It was so interactive and fun. James sat mesmerised and George volunteered himself every time they asked. I love how different and brilliant both of my boys are.
It was then time for lunch. We went to our usual spot next to the books and ate. They had so much fun sitting together. George just wanted to go exploring. So as soon as we finished we packed up and left. As soon as we got outside they ran off!
We took our friends to see the massive Christmas Book Tree. They loved it so much too. James was so happy to be back listening to the books. He has such a love for stories. We stayed here for a while with them until they had to head off.
James was in the book mood so we walked into the bookshop next door to continue. Of course, we left with a book or two haha! George had so much fun touching everything he could see.
Back outside we headed to the massive bird cage that has a lovely swing in the middle. The boys love this spot. They took turns swinging. They laughed so much together. Meanwhile my mind relaxed and heart filled up as I listened to a street preformer sing James Bay's song Let It Go.
Seeing their brotherhood is quite healing for me. I was so nervous when having a second child because I was scared that the second would be a victim to the oldest like it was for me growing up. But James is the gentlest and most loving older brother. I love seeing James's gentleness and George's strength. They complete each other in so many ways. It's one of the greatest gifts seeing that they are there for each other. They adore each other so much.
We moved on to the Christmas Market at King's Cross. It smelt delicious but we didn't get anything since the boys decided they would rather have a book then food. George fell asleep so we took our time walking around and seeing the sights.
James led me around as we saw things around us. We ended up walking to Gasholder Park so we could run around while George finished napping. I love this little garden. We call it the mirror maze because of all the mirrors. It is an amazing build.
As George slept and we played we decided to rest next to him and work on James's sticker book. We had such a good time together. I love James. And I love how anxious he was for George to wake up to share the love with him.
When George woke up we played around for a bit and then found ourselves watching a goose who had ended up getting stuck in the mirror structure because he thought he was seeing another goose! It was really funny!
We made our way back to the station and on our way learned about the moon. There were displays around King's Cross of photos from the Apollo missions. James loved seeing how the earth looked like from the moon and how different the moon is to earth.
Back at the train station I decided to let the kids play around in the family waiting area. It's a small little space but they loved it so much! As kids came and went they made friends with whoever came. It was fun to chat with their parents and find out where they were visiting from.
We explored the entire room and even did a bit of drawing. Then it was straight back to playing. We stayed here for a total of 2 hours! They were so happy together and with others. I was happy to let them play for as long as they liked.
Matt came to King's Cross after he finished work. He only was 15 minutes away on the tube so we thought we could meet here for dinner since the boys were so happy. And they were extremely happy to see their dad. They straightaway took him to the swing outside. They love sharing their favourite things with him.
We had sushi for dinner. James absolutely loves sushi and I do too. His favourite is sushi with salmon in the middle! Way to go James. George also loves a few bites. We then took Matt to the Christmas Book Tree. James was back to listening to more audiobooks.
Just after 7pm we got on the tube. It was just after rush hour so it wasn't too bad. The boys just sat on Matt the whole time. I love how much they love their dad. Matt is such an amazing dad. He gives the boys his all. He is their best friend and teacher. We got home and went straight to bed. I loved the bedtime snuggles.
Saturday 9/12
The night was tough and since it was the weekend Matt got out of bed first with the boys to let me slowly wake up. Matt's work had sent a massive Christmas gift from Fortnum and Mason. The boys loved finding each item that was hidden in the massive basket. I was in love with the basket itself! We soon got ready and hopped on the bike.
It was a rainy morning but we were happy to be cycling. George was mesmerised by the rain. James and I cuddled as we listened to the rain together. I love these bike rides together.
When we made it to the chapel James ran straight to his friends. He was. soexcited to see them all. And they seemed really happy to see him too! It was our ward's Christmas Brunch Party. It was fun. tosee everyone and to catch up with friends and we ate delicious food.
I then followed our boys as they played with their friends. It was really sweet to see then hang out around Jesus. I bet Jesus would actually love that. I loved listening into their games. I love kids so much and love learning about their worlds.
Then the primary kids sang a special musical number for the ward. It was so sweet. George was very cute and joined in. The primary kids then had some fun activities to do. But really all they wanted to do was run around. So that is what they did. George followed wherever they went haha!
As the party ended we all said goodbye and got back on the bike. We got home and George continued napping. When he woke up it was time to head back to the bike! Our next event for the day was going to the Swedish Church In London to watch the St Lucia Concert. We love celebrating St Lucía day and I'm so grateful our friends gave us some tickets to this!
To our surprise my friend Leah was there with her family so we sat next to them. The boys loved seeing their friends. James and I talked about Sweden and its traditions during the concert. He was so mesmerised! George was in a trance as well haha!
We made it through the beautiful concert without any disasters haha! I really enjoyed listening. Afterwards there were some Swedish refreshments. We chatted with our friends as our kids played.
We then said goodbye and got back on the bike. We made some extra stops to see the Christmas lights. There are so many to see! They boys were so happy with the adventure. When we got home we snuggled up into bed.
Sunday 10/12
It was a bit of a better night with the boys because this time I was up in the night… I just wish I could get some proper rest one day haha! We raced out the door and barely made it on time to church. James joined the kids as they sang during sacrament meeting.
Then it was class time. I love my little class and can't believe the year is almost up with all of them! I love them so much. George also enjoyed his time in nursery with his friends. I wish I could be in two places at once!
We headed home on the bike and the boys fell asleep. As soon as we got home we had some lunch and did some wrestling. The boys beg to wrestle any moment they are home. They love wrestling so much.
Then it was time to go back on the back and to the Chapel again. We sat and listened to the Christmas Devotional our stake was doing. It was so beautiful to listen to the talent in our stake.
James had such a good time as all his friends came over to say hi. George was mostly in his own world and also running off to visit our French friend Peter. They love him like an uncle!
After the devotional we had some refreshments. The boys were so happy to have more time to run around. I was so happy to meet a Peruvian that lived in an area I served in during my mission. We laughed so much together. Excited to meet up with her again. We then said goodbye and cycled back home. We snuggled into bed. I was so exhausted. I felt like my brain was melting. What a great state for my brain to be for Monday haha! We will see if I get above water and get some proper sleep!
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