London Life Pity Party

Here we are on week five of our ten week stint in London. And we are having such a great time. We have been to almost every park in this city and walked probably over 100 miles since we have been here. Crazy, right? And I'm starting to get a little home sick. I am fighting it and telling myself this is such an amazing opportunity and you need to enjoy every second, but I'm starting to cave. 

Let's be honest here, I'm not known for my optimism or my extremely positive attitude. I wish I were but I think my family would more or less call me a worry wart. I am often known to be in a continual state of stress. And what relieves that stress you ask? Well, for some it is shopping, for others it is food, but for me it is sunshine. All I need is some authentic UV rays on my skin and a blue sky above my head and my cortisol levels drop down to normal. Guess what London has little to none of? Sunshine.

It has been gloomy and cloudy here for 75% of our stay. Not to mention we just suffered a long cold Boston winter complete with hurricane sandy and blizzard nemo. Boston winters are not known for their kindness. It is June people, almost July, and I have seen only glimpses of my wonderful, beautiful, golden ball of gas. I don't know what to do. I am going crazy. My poor children. I need some sunshine STAT. I can't do five more weeks of this without some drastic changes in the weather. 

I have also started charting how much money we spend each day in dollars.  This is not helping the situation. This place is way too expensive. I order groceries and spend like $100 dollars and literally get like nothing. I live out of a mini fridge and I don't have a vacuum cleaner. Yes, I do have maids that clean the apartment once a week, but can you imagine what life is like with a crawling 8 month old who puts everything he finds in his mouth, even his own poo (don't ask I'm not ready to laugh about it yet)? It is not the life I am used to that is for sure. 

I miss my people. And all my people are together in my wonderful sunny California heaven of a house. Oh how I wish I were swimming with my little devilish cherubs and eating all of Holli's gourmet dishes. And what I would give for a healthy Kelsie smoothie laying out on a raft listening to a little country music? They are going to the beach this weekend. Oh, the beach (sigh). 

OK pitty party over. Now I will just take my stroller down three flights of stairs, fight with the elevator door hoping it doesn't hurt too bad as I am smooshed trying to get my stroller in, and then enjoy my frizzy hair as I deal with unexpected rain showers and a cloudy stroll down a touristy crowded street.

At least I get to spend my days with these little gooses.

Fathers Day

 

Father's Day weekend 2013 was so much fun. First of all we have the best Dad in the world and second of all he took us out to the country to celebrate.

We decided to leave early Saturday morning and took a train out to the Bath area. Specifically, we planned a little trip to a manor turned adventure safari park called Longleat. The train ride went perfectly. The kids always like riding the train and I always like the quality family time we get to enjoy on our train rides. Ellie especially loves stories. Short stories, long stories, good stories, or bad stories, she is all about the stories. My favorite is when she decides to tell a story. She is really good. Her stories have a beginning, a middle, but she will kind of cut them short and just say the end whenever she feels like it. We need to work on an end. She is so imaginative these days. I love how she will always encourage the story teller by saying, "that was a good story" at the end. She often will even tell you what to include in your story, which makes it easier. She will say, "Mommy tell the story about Ellie's bean goes in the mud and Ellie cries". And then I will just make up a story about a little girl named Ellie who drops her bean in the mud and so on. I love it, we do it for hours.

 

 

Leon booked this cute little bed and breakfast outside the resort for us. It was called the Bath Arms and it was absolutely lovely. We stayed in the peacock room where everything from the chairs to the bed to the light fixtures was peacock themed. I was charmed.

 

We dropped off our bags and headed to the safari park. I was a little confused when I saw this. Apparently in the 1950s the Lord of Bath was having trouble keeping up the Longleat manor and had to figure out something to bring in funds. His idea: wild animals. He brought lions, elephants, cheetahs, ect in and people would pay to drive their cars through to see the animals and they still do. We opted to take the bus. The monkeys like to take windshield wipers and different treasures from cars, so it was a good idea not to take a rented car through. Anyway, the safari park soon turned into an adventure park in this Lord's backyard. Can you imagine one of these on Downton? 

 

Ellie loved all the animals. She is such an animal lover. She even had the guts to feed the birds. I was dying. One of the birds got its beak so close to her neck and I about had a heart attack whereas she was very calm and collected. Just call her Fluttershy. (if you got that joke, kudos)

 

Daddy and Ellie in front of the giant castle playground. It was so fun for all of the family.



Jetty and Ellie escaping the rain inside the play tent.

 

 Ellie's favorite part was the feeding of the giraffes. She really likes Madagascar and calls all the animals by their Madagascar names. She was so happy and couldn't believe how close she was allowed to get. She saw Melvin's purple tounge too.

 

Ellie and Mommy with Marty (the Zebra)

 

 

Daddy and Ellie feeding Melvin

The Elephant

Alex and his cubs from our view on the bus

After our day at the park, we headed back to the inn. It was getting chilly and naturally we found ourselves on the lawn enjoying some Cadbury hot chocolate. Perfect end to a lovely day.

 

The next morning we went down to breakfast. It was our first time at a bed and breakfast, so we weren't sure what to expect. We found a charming little cold breakfast set out complete with chocolate pastries and English ham and cheese. I was perfectly content when we realize that we are suppose to order a hot breakfast too. And it was amazing. Leon ordered the full English breakfast, while I got the eggs benedict. We are still dreaming of that breakfast and that charming little inn. We decided to take a walk in the country and enjoy the sights. Unfortunately it rained the whole time. But we made the best of it and danced to the music Ellie decided to make with her little sticks. We just had the best time. I love this little family of mine and all our little adventures together.

 

chocolate croissant



Eggs Benedict

Full English



Ellie with our breakfast

 

Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square. Home to the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, Canada House, the Lion statues, two fun fountains, and one big military statue. This place is always hoppin and alive. I especially love it on a warm, sunny, summer day. I especially love everything on a warm, sunny, summer day. This place screams tourism, but that's OK because we like tourists. They always ask us questions and we love that we can usually help them. Its fun to start up a conversation and find out what they are doing in London-town. It is only about a mile and a half from our house so not too bad of a walk. We walk a lot. I bet we walk about 3-5 miles on average a day. I partly do it because I love to see the city and I partly do it because I don't want to pay for the tube. I am so cheap. But it is good exercise and I am all about a healthy and fit family.

We have taken many a trips to Trafalgar Square the past few weeks, but this was the first. In fact, the first time I came to London in the summer of '06 this was one of the first places I came. I also came to Trafalgar square to watch the '08 summer Olympics on the big jumbo tron when I was in London on study abroad. They had set up little aquatic performances and I remember seeing little kids swimming in the fountains. I always dreamed of one day letting my littles swim in the fountains. Apparently there are now signs that say no swimming, so I let Elle dip her toes in. It is now tradition. Whenever we go to Trafalgar we stop and dip our toes in. I kinda love it. She kinda loves it. And I'm sure Jet loves it too. 

This little girl of mine is the definition of fun. She is always running around singing songs and doing funny little dances. We have danced our way through London and turned this town upside down. I love my little side kicks. They make getting around this city a whole lot harder, but they sure do make it a lot more fun too.

Toes in the fountain

Trafalgar Square

Ellie being Ellie

She really likes to run around the fountain. And she really doesn't like to wear shoes.

Add caption

Tradition

The Gherkin

I have probably mentioned this a million times before, but Leon currently works in the Gherkin. This is an iconic London building that is located in the heart of the financial district of the city. It has 39 floors and a really posh bar on the top floor, where you can enjoy amazing views of the entire city. 

One day the kids and I decided to pay pops a visit at work. He gave us the VIP tour and we took pictures for your viewing pleasure. The kids had to stay on the viewing deck because they weren't allowed in the bar, but I ran to the top to take in the whole experience.  There is this amazing skylight in the bar that is the top of the building. I probably should have taken pictures of the actual snazzy bar, sorry.

We even got to see his office, which also has an amazing view. This boy is quite spoiled this summer. Have I mentioned he goes out to eat everyday for lunch (this is a two hour process in Europe) and they have a budget of 50 pounds. That is like $75 for lunch...for one person. Mind you, I don't even spend that much on groceries for the whole week. The kids and I sit at home and eat peanut butter and jelly or grilled cheese. And often they also take him out to dinner where the budget is 75 pounds ($100) per person. If he stays at work past 7pm the company chef will provide dinner. And they help themselves to the breakfast cart every morning. 

Not to mention, Leon loves the work. He says he could stay all day and never get tired of it. In fact, he has to force himself to leave because he wants to play with the kids before they go to bed. He really loves this job.

Here are some shots of his life at the Gherkin.

Mommy and Jet at the viewing platform

skylight at the top of the Gherkin

Tower Bridge from the top of the Gherkin

Tower Bridge from the viewing platform. Its to the left of that cute little monkey in my arms.

The office

Leon and Danny in their office

Daddy loves to play with the kids at work

28 and Feeling Great

June 11 1985.

 

So happy this day happened. My sweet husband was born and this world would never be the same.

 

Have I mentioned I love him to pieces?

 

Best man I know. I am the luckiest girl in the world to have married him.

 

He gets better and better with age.

 

Leon turned 28 on Tuesday and we celebrated by making him breakfast in bed, taking cookies to the office, and then having dinner down by the river. Leo loves his big boy job and I love seeing him in action, so I use every excuse I can to get into the Gherkin. This time I made some chocolate cookies and brought some pretty deliciously cute monkeys to say Happy Birthday, so they let me in. Later that night we went to dinner at a restaurant on the Themes and had this amazing salmon sufflet with asparagus ice cream, succulent quail, and yummy chicken pie. And of course we finished off the night with some chocolate from Tesco.

 

Happy Birthday love. Thanks for making my world a happy place. I love you.

 

Breakfast in bed. Yes Ellie still loves to rub ears when she relaxes

Leon's office view



Better lighting. That is Leon's desk. His office is sooo nice.

He look what I found on our menu!

Just the Globe across the river

 

Dinner at Upper Themes

Love this guy

Why can't pictures ever capture how beautiful something really is? St. Paul's at twilight is outstanding.



The London Life

We are in London and I have taken so many pictures!!

I don't even know how to sort them or where to start so I'm just going t o picture vomit them out.

If I know my family, I know they love them some pictures. So, I will try not to include ones that I've instagramed (brittanyjohnson10) and I will give you a visual tour of our lives the past two and a half weeks.

We have a London flat, which means we are cooped up ALL the time. Therefore, I must leave. Rain or shine, the kids and I are out and about exploring the city. For some reason my kids are so much better behaved when we are out, especially Jet. He will ride in the ergo and take in the sights perfectly peaceful. It is the only thing keeping me sane this summer. London with littles is much harder than I anticipated.

So here goes:

Ellie says, "zha know where my Daddy works? Right there" and points to a picture of the Gherkin. This building will always have a special place in my heart, no matter where we end up.

 We make this walk every morning as we take Dadd-o to work. St Paul's means "almost home" to us Johnsons. It is a sight that never gets old to me and one that is starting to mean more and more as it is playing a bigger role in our memory making this summer.

Sometimes Ellie gets grumpy and won't get out of her stroller and pose for me. Maybe I take too many pictures. I was so born to be that mom who takes too many pictures.

Fleet Street. Once the industrial capital of London, now the home of the Johnson clan.

 Sometimes I drag my kids to museums. I love that in London some of the best museums on earth are FREE. I cannot say no to free knowledge folks, so here I am in the Tate Modern with my little monkeys in tow. They are actually surprisingly good, most of the time. I try to tell Ellie about the art or artifacts and sometimes she listens and other times I just hand her fruit snacks and say, "go get it girl" while I selfishly indulge my artsy tooth.

Jet and Jackson Pollock. I bet Jetty would have loved to help Mr. Pollock create this piece. Spilling things all over other things is his specialty.

Well at least she has seen a Monet.

She liked this little beauty. Anything that resembles a monster is fascinating to her.



It was cold. But we had to stop at the graffiti skate park. I took a picture at this exact wall five years ago. I did some great posing but I never looked this cute.

 Some days in London are sunny. Emphasize the some. I love London when the sun is out. In fact, there might be no other place as magical as St James park in the summer sun. People are laying out, conversing, laughing, eating, exercising, living life and it is magical. The trees are bight green and the park is screaming life as the swans paddle through the pond and the ducklings waddle around in the grass. Ah,perfection I tell you.

Anyway, we walk to St. James park often. Sometime I try to run with the stroller, but a jog in that area during the summer tourist months never ends a jog. More of a frustrating walk. We like to picnic in the park and play at the playground.

Oh, Hello there Benjamin. So glad to see you on such a fine day.

St. James Park

The princess and her subjects at Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace

Ellie with our best friend Robyn Meise at the playground

 

 

We also live near the Victoria Embankment and Ellie especially loves to watch the river. She thinks it is so pretty even though it is disgusting and super dirty. She will always want me to lift her up and I am terrified that she will fall in, so I only let her get this close.

 



Ellie by the Themes (still too close)

 

One of my favorite museums here in London is the Imperial War museum. I am kind of in awe of the two world wars and especially grateful to the amazing men who sacrificed so much for my freedom (which is getting less and less by the day...thanks Obama). We made the mile or so walk one day, only to find that it is closed until the end of July. So we decided to get ice cream and play on the grass. The museum is surrounded by beautiful gardens and we relished in our adventure. We can't wait to go back and actually go inside. Until then we will eat chocolate.

 



Ellie and the Imperial war museum

Our treat

Then I took my kids to my favorite bargain store in London. It is safe to assume this is the first of many stops to this little gem.

 

Other days we like to learn. Some days we learn about the history of London, some days we learn about art, some days we learn about animals, and some days we learn about science. I am somewhat of a biologist myself, having earned my bachelors in the field at BYU a few years ago and I was in heaven at the natural history museum. I was so excited to relearn all the things I studied so hard back in Provo. I even got to go on and try to explain them to Ellie. Woohoo A+ for Mommy. We learned about how plants get energy, how clouds get rain, and mommy's favorite, all about the human body. Then we went to see Butterflies. Ellie even got to hold them. I think this was her favorite part. She really wanted to hold a pink one but she settled for purple and blue.

 



The London Natural History Museum

Oh yeah, did I mention we learned all about dinosaurs?

Butterflies like me.

Butterflies like Ellie too

It tickles her hand!!

 

Since we were in South Kensington, I just had to let her play at the Princess Diana Memorial Playground. I had never been in before because one is not allowed in without kids. Let us just say this place is amazing. It was a perfectly sunny day and the park wasn't too crowded. There were like five different themed lands to play in and a huge pirate ship. We played in the sand in the hull of the ship for at least an hour. As a mom, I can honestly say there is nothing like a good park these days. Give me a good park and a warm summer day and you won't hear me complain.

 



"I will be Izzy and you be Jake. And Jetty can be Cubby"

playing un the hull of the ship.

she finds friends wherever she goes

Kensington gardens and my favorite pond in all of England. Many a thoughts about my Leon happened while I ran here. This place is so special to me and I'm so glad to share it with my kids.

We are loving every second of our time here. But we love and miss you all. Hope you enjoyed a few of our adventures. I'll keep posting if you keep reading.

 

xoxox

Britt