London & Scotland 2012

We decided to spend Spring Break this year in London and Scotland. London because I love it and Scotland because Maddie studied all about it last year in school. It was so much fun showing Maddie all around the city that Josh and I love. First thing we did was go on the London Eye.

And search for Peter Pan around Big Ben.

We then went to the Tower of London to explore.

Maddie loved the Crown Jewels....

....And hated the crows.

I love this city so much because I did a BYU study abroad program here in college. Maddie wanted to see where I used to live.

3rd floor window on the left, top bunk bed. It was the coolest thing I ever did.

Josh came over to visit me while I was studying there and that is where he proposed. It's so strange that 11 years later we went back with our daughter and took a picture at the very spot he got on his knee....

Because it is where he proposed, we named daughter Miss Madeline London Harris. She loves hearing the story about how she got her middle name because it is where her dad asked her mom to be his wife. :o)

Classic London photos

We got to see some theater shows while we were there. Maddie was VERY into the Lion King. She didn't seem to notice that we were in the second to last row because she had her trusty binoculars.

We also got to see Shrek.

Maddie rolled down the grassy hill at Kensington Palace. Just for fun.

When you travel with a kid, it changes your whole plan of how to tour a big city. I never would have known that the Princess Diana Memorial Children's Park in Hyde Park was so awesome. Can you find Maddie on this big ship?

We then went to Scotland. Maddie knew ALL about the bagpipes.

And I knew ALL about William Wallace.

When I went to Edinburgh all those years ago, the only thing I remembered about it was that it was FREEZING and WET. Well, it is still freezing and wet. So freezing, in fact, that Maddie cried. She learned her lesson that when Mom says to wear her big warm coat, she needs to listen to me instead of fight me. :o)

Then we went even further north, to where it is even colder and wetter, so we could try to find the Loch Ness Monster. We stayed in a castle lodge that didn't have heaters or hot water. I felt like I was camping, and we all know how I feel about camping. :o(

Maddie is absolutely terrified of Nessie.

When we were on the boat, she kept her eyes on the water the entire time. Bug eyed. She swears she saw Nessie not once, but two times!

On the insanely long plane ride home I asked her what her favorite things about London were. She said the Underground (subway system in London), which happens to be one of my favorite things too. She became an absolute pro at the end of the trip and could have gotten around perfectly fine without her mom and dad, I'm sure of it.

Good thing my mom taught me how to keep kids busy with lots of little things. If it had just been Josh and I, we would have slept on the trains and in the airplanes and at the airports. But Maddie was never tired. So we did lots of puzzles....

....And played never ending games of Uno....

....And sewed.

It sure was a great family vacation.