Through the eyes of the child. That is how I looked at the city of London. Been here many times, but I saw it differently this time.

On the last leg of their trip, we decided to go to see the cites of this city, and because Charlee wanted to see where the Queen lived. She loved the double decker red buses, that she referred to as “bunk buses.” So, after driving to Reading, we took the train to Paddington Station, “where the bear lives, GoGo.” Her little face was pressed up against the window the whole ride. Took the underground to Piccadilly to get the hop on hop off bus. A great way to tour a city. You see everything. We stopped off at Buckingham Palace. Charlee loved the guards, but she couldn’t understand why they were not waving back at her. And she asked about their hair. I explained it was their hats. All during this time, Drew was just taking all the sights and sounds in. His little face watching everything. We walked to wear the guards on horses were. She waved again, wanted to pet the horses, and when we got ready to leave, Charlee didn’t want to go. When I asked why, she said, “I want to see the horse poop.”

Could not wait to go on the big Ferris wheel. It was a beautiful day, and you could see everywhere. She was hoping to see all the way to Arizona. I told her to face West and look real hard, and just maybe she could. It seems all of London is under construction, even Big Ben was covered with scaffolding. But at least she got to see the clock part. Had lunch on a boat on the Thames, asking why the water was yellow. “Did someone pee in it?” What is up with my granddaughter and bathroom functions.

Did all of this in about a day and a half. And we walked everywhere. Her little legs keeping up with all of ours, Drew in the stroller. But what a perfect way to see the city of London. Through the eyes of a child. Through the eyes of my Charlee, and the innocent eyes of Drew.

While Mikey and Angela went to Paris to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary, we took care of the kids. Almost 5 year old Charlee and 17 month old Drew. After a couple of days of showing them around Mermaid Quay and Cardiff, we surprised them with a trip to Legoland. I don’t think Drew really fully understood what it was all about, but Charlee was so excited. And even more so when she found out we were staying at the park in the Castle Hotel, in the Wizards Room. It had a bin full of legos, and a lego wall for them to create whatever their imaginations allowed.

I remember when Angela was Charlee’s age and my mother took us to Disneyland. I thought about that as I held her hand and we walked through the park together. Like she did with her Grandma Honey all those years ago. We watched a couple of stage shows, including a Repunzal puppet show. It was an interactive one, and Charlee clapped, and yelled and danced to the music. The prince was dressed in a leather jacket and called The Fonz. I laughed out loud at that one.

There were some limitations on the rides she could go on, but the ones she did, she really enjoyed. She drove a lego car and got her drivers license, did the Storybook one and saw all of the lego characters. The big guy went on the merry go round with her, and several others. Poor Drew only went on 2 of them….the train and the sky ride, but it really didn’t seem to bother him. As long as he is fed, he is a happy camper.

It was a special time, especially for the big guy. Living in the UK these past few years, he is so limited on the amount of time he has spent with them. So, these past 7 days have been really important.

As we left yesterday, Charlee told us Thank you, and exclaimed, “this was the coolest!” How much more can my heart swell!