A breath of fresh FAMILY!

Last week my sister, Kim and sis-in-law, Tera flew from Oregon to visit!!

Only in my wildest dreams had I ever dreamt that these beautiful ladies would come visit us for a week in London, but thank goodness that sometimes dreams DO COME TRUE!
We had a spectacular time touring around London together. We went to the Tower of London, St Paul's Cathedral (during an Evensong service!), walked the Southbank, "flew" on the London Eye, shopped at Covent Garden and Greenwich Market, as well as in some fashionable boutiques in central London, and so much more!

We took a "day trip" out of London to Windsor Castle, just an hour or so outside of London. It was a gorgeous day and seeing a real castle was one of the highlights for the girls!

Before heading back into the city, we stopped at The Royal Oak, a great little pub - for some refreshments!Saturday was another beautiful day and we spent it hanging around Greenwich with Micah! We walked Blackheath and Greenwich Park, shopped the market and enjoyed dinner out!

Sunday started out gorgeous and we thought we'd enjoy a visit to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guards... The weather didn't last long though and after just 10 minutes of waiting, the skies opened up... and so did every one's umbrellas. In fact, the rain was so bad that the big procession was canceled and we saw a poor rendition of the Changing... we made the best of it though, despite the soaked shoes from standing in the rain for 45 minutes!

Micah had opted to wait out the rain under the shelter of a tree in Green Park, across the road from the Palace... apparently he is profiled for a terrorist though because he was approached by 2 police man, questioned, and even handed a written "ticket" with all of his personal details and his explanation for standing under the tree, by himself, in the rain, during the Changing of the Guards. Here is his mug shot!Sad, sad umbrella - we called it the taco because it had quite a few broken bones and looked more like a taco shape than a round umbrella. Needless to say, it was binned later that day! After the visit to Buckingham Palace, we walked to church, and then Micah took off to the NFL football game! Lucky guy! The girls went shopping and sight-seeing in the Covent Garden area... and along the Thames at night!

Micah took a couple of days off work so that we could all 4 hang out together, so we all went to Bath! We spent just one night there, but had a lovely time. We stayed at the Holly Villa, the same B&B that we stayed at last February when we went to Bath with Dj and Jen. Its a cozy little place and serves a wonderful English Breakfast!

Lunch at The Fine Cheese Company!

Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths

The Royal Crescent: Inside the Crystal Palace Pub where we had bangers & mash and fish & chips for dinner!

I just love sending letters from the red post boxes! Little Paddington Bear... taking a ride in Tera's backpack! She bought him for her 4-year old son and I just thought it was the cutest thing! Little Baby Pilgrim just might have to have a Paddington Bear too!

We arrived back in London just in time to have a fabulous, authentic Italian dinner at L'Arco (a place owned by one of Micah's co-worker's uncle... a real Italian guy). AMAZING food!!

This fabulous restaurant just happens to be around the corner from one of London's greatest theatres! We went to the Apollo Victoria Theatre to see Wicked. Though I had seen it before, it was the first time for Micah, Kim and Tera. It was just as incredible the second time as it was the first! On our last full day together, we enjoyed sunny London once again. We drank coffee, walked the Southbank, road the London Eye, gazed at glorious art at the National Art Museum, and even shopped with the big spenders at Harrods.

Thanks for visiting, Kim & Tera! We love you and miss you already!