London - 4th of July

We met up with Randy in London to celebrate the 4th of July.  We weren't exactly in the US, but we were somewhere English was spoken and nothing like celebrating our freedom from Great Britain in London!  We stayed in an apartment close to Hyde Park so it was easy to get around via the tube.  We spent our first day, 4th of July, taking in the sights on the Big Bus and getting dinner at Hard Rock Cafe.

London eye with Big Ben in the background.

Big Ben and London Eye in the background. 

Happy 4th of July from Hard Rock Cafe.

Hailey and Aaron stopping to smell the flowers.

Hailey and Aaron playing around in Hyde Park.

The next day we headed to The Tower of London, which can be a little gruesome in certain parts since it was known as a place of torture.  We tried to steer clear of them but did walk quickly through one part that had all the torture devices on display.  We kept it short and didn't say a lot about what we were looking at but it was a little more challenging with the older two that could read.  The girls were interested in the crown jewels and Aaron was very interested in all the weapons they had on display.  This was probably one of the first places we toured that Aaron was interested to the point we had to drag him out.

Kids ready to see The Tower of London. 

Kids having fun on one of the cannons.

Kids with a guide at The Tower of London.

Sydney and Hailey outside the Crown Jewels display.

We stopped for a picture of London Bridge before meeting up with some friends from Minneapolis that happened to be in the London the same time we were.  There were many concerts taking place at Hyde Park and our friends from Minneapolis happened to have two extra tickets to Jon Bon Jovi.  I was not comfortable leaving the kids in the apartment on their own so Randy took Sydney to her first concert.  They both had a great time and while Sydney enjoyed herself, she said it was too loud when they were close to the stage.  Her first concert was seeing someone that mom and dad listened to growing up and is a big name in music industry, but to her it was listening to live music in Hyde Park.

Kids and London Bridge.

We met up with the Kleve's, friends from Mpls, that happened to be in London the same time we were.  Our kids had never met one another but it didn't take long before they were playing in the park.  They made up their own game which was a cross between cricket and baseball.  Aaron also had his own pit stop on the way to first base and some rules were made up as they went, especially when it was adults vs kids.  The kids, or Mind the Gap, team won against the parent.  It was great to catch up with them and spend the night in the park together.

Aaron, Hailey, Joe, Matt, and Sydney.

The next day we had tickets to go on The London Eye.  We purchased our tickets ahead of time so we didn't have to wait as long in line.  It was finally our turn to head into a capsule and see London from above.  The views were great and air conditioning was an added bonus.

Getting a view from above on The London Eye.

Big Ben and Parliament from London Eye.

Kids enjoying a ride on the eye.

Sydney taking a turn behind the camera.

We also made it to Buckingham Palace to see changing of the guard.  It was neat to see the pop and circumstance, but I couldn't believe the number of people there to witness.  The crowds were 3-4 people deep and everyone was vying for a position to see the action.

Buckingham Palace - changing of the guards.

We also stopped by M&M world since we thought the kids would love it from the last time we were there without kids.  They were amazed by the wall of all the different colors of M&M's.  We selected an assortment of M&M's and made our way out to find a place for an ice cream treat.

Kids with the green M&M.

What better place for an ice cream treat than the Haagen Dazs restaurant.  We each ordered our own dessert and I don't think there was anything left except for Aaron's smoothy.  Our sweet tooth, Sydney was very excited for her selection and just wanted to get the picture taken so she could dive in.  Hailey our healthier eater opted for fruit flavored ice cream.

Who is ready for some yummy dessert at Haagen Dazs Cafe?

It was a great weekend in London, but it was time to head home.  Sydney was off to skating camp the following week and I had few days before our next guest arrived.