Reunited

GG and Grandpa arrived!! GG and I walked to school to surprise Audrey and what a reunion it was:

We went out to The Three Tuns, a local pub (finally, Jor!), and had what my father-in-law has declared to be "the best pot pie...ever"--and I agree! 

After spending the night spread out on the floors of the house on AeroBeds, we woke up and made a spontaneous decision to spend the night in London. After taking the Tube to Paddington Station (we don't have a car anymore), we chatted with a train station attendant and got advice on where to look for a decent hotel. We happened upon The Cardiff Hotel, just a block away from the station--small and quaint...and expensive enough to remind us that yep, we're in London!

We had two tired kids...

...but we dropped our bags off and kept on truckin'. We took the tube to Westminster station and, since it gets dark so early, had a beautiful "night" walk around Big Ben, the London Eye, and the Parliament Building. Prior to moving, Audrey and I did a little image search of England online and she really took to a beautiful photo of Big Ben. Her excitement when we rounded the corner and saw the tall building was awesome--another reminder that we did the right thing. 

I was so happy to be able to share a piece of London with my mom all the way back in California, too. Thank you, Apple! We love you, Mom!

Even having travelled Europe before, we were all still in awe at every turn--do we really live in England now?? 

We also stumbled upon a Christmas Faire along the river past the London Eye.  £2 ($3) gets you a photo with Santa...I gotta get on this gig next winter! 

It was a long and wonderful night with my in-laws and we're getting ready to hit the streets of London again today (and hopefully get some homework done with Audrey). We're hoping to explore Westminster Abbey, The Tower of London, Picadilly Circus, and whatever else the kids can handle--they did really well yesterday, so fingers crossed! 

Our internet should be installed on Wednesday, but I'm hoping to go to Cafe Nero in Henley to update the blog on Monday. For now, thank you Cardiff Hotel for providing the Wi-Fi for today's post!