Evie got dressed up in her fanciest pink sparkly skirt in honor of Lala and Grandpa and by the end of the day had ditched her shirt completely. This started a several day fight over whether or not it was necessary to wear a shirt (it was).
Fun topless times with Grandpa and Elmo:
After a good night's sleep, we hopped on the tube and headed to the London Zoo. Evie and I got to skip the line with our Zoo membership and waited patiently for Lala and Grandpa to come through. Waiting patiently is not Evie's strong point.
Finally!!
I didn't take very many pictures at the zoo, unfortunately, but I did catch the highlights: the water park and the 'I'm not sure I want to do this' moment with Grandpa and the sheep in the petting zoo. It was a fun day and the first time that Evie really enjoyed and paid attention to the animals at the zoo.
The next morning, after a brief argument over the fact that she couldn't wear her banana smeared and dirty pink sparkly skirt, Evie decided that, in fact, her hot pink tutu was a better option (with a shirt, I insisted) and made us all some tea.
Then, off to the National Gallery and Portrait Gallery we went!
Dancing in the National Portrait Gallery:
Evie and Opie:
Absorbing the culture:
The Blur's first escalator ride out of the stroller:
Taking a break with Grandpa:
Trafalgar Square, where you're not longer supposed to feed the pigeons, but everyone does anyway. You can't quash Mary Poppins!
Our next big adventure was in the Cotswolds, where we went for our friends Victoria and Eddie's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding in a beautiful setting and we were lucky that Mom and Dad came along and took care of Evie for us while we partied the day and night away.The bride and groom!
The wedding was in a historic hotel called Tortworth Court, which housed a lot of controversy in its time and was completely run down and derelict before someone came along and restored it in the 90's. It was set in the middle of some pretty impressive botanical gardens and also near a prison (we haven't figured that part out yet). It was a great setting for a wedding!
Jim was there, too:
Cool super star dance moves:
Even cooler super star dance moves:
The next morning, after not enough sleep, we embarked on a tour of the grounds with Master Naturalist Mom/Lala. The horrible maps of the grounds caused a few disagreements about which tree was which, but we managed to identify a few.
Evie preferred playing under the trees.
Dad with scenic background:
Back in London, Jim arranged for us to come visit him at work and have a tour of the Olympics site. Our visit also coincided with the '2 years to go!' celebrations.
We got to wear some super stylish apparel during our visit and were able to get an up close look at all of the incredible buildings that are being completed for the 2012 Olympics. We also got to visit Jim's landscape design project and it was really exciting to see what he has been working so hard on all of these years (now that it doesn't look like a big dirt pile).
Next to the aquatics centre:
On the site of Jim's project, across the canal from the stadium.
Official visitors:
Dad looked dapper in his PPE:
In the Olympics version of a limo:
Admiring the stadium. Soon after this, we fixed Mom's cockeyed hat:
We also had a visit to the London Transport Museum. Unfortunately, it was during this trip that we managed to lose spare Dou Dou. But other than that small disaster, we enjoyed looking at the old tubes and buses and learning a little bit about the history of transportation in London. Evie was a little creeped out by the mannequins on the buses and tubes, which was understandable.
Evie and Lala with the fake horses. Evie was much more interested in looking at the miniature versions of everything.
Evie and Grandpa next to an old steam engine. Evie was not a fan:
Taking a break in an antique tube (also the site where Jim spilled champagne and was reprimanded by a museum person at his holiday party last year):
Evie 'No Hands' Bus Driver:
Evie Enthusiastic Taxi Driver:
Next up: Scotland!
