PHL to LHR

The kids and I had a great week on the east coast but on Saturday it was finally time to say 'goodbye' to Grandma and Grandpa.

Since we had so many bags we asked the car service to send a minivan. It turns out they sent a mini-bus instead. The kids are seriously stylin' in their seats.

Hurricane Irene was fast approaching and many flights were cancelled but luckily ours was the last flight of the day to take off. Since I'm not the greatest of fliers this was a bit unnerving, but I figured at least we were headed in the opposite direction. It was raining pretty hard by the time we took off and there were some big bumps on the way up but in general it was a relatively smooth flight.

Once we got seated, a flight attendant came by with Paddington Bear activity bags for the kids. Growing up I was a big reader of the Paddington books so this definitely brought a smile to my face. It's also so...British.

Both K and C slept for most of the 6 1/2 hr. flight. However C did wake up with about an hour to go and she was not in a great mood. It turns out she didn't feel well and those Paddington Bear totes...well, only 1 made it off the plane with us.

As we were landing, C was repeatedly screaming *loudly* "I want the iPad". Yes, the whole plane could hear. J and I were ready to bury our heads...um yes, we have lost all control of our children and their media habits. Not to mention the irony of her screaming about an iPad.

Once we arrived at Heathrow we got through immigration pretty easily and piled all of our bags on two carts. Unfortunately there was mix up with the car service who thought our flight had been cancelled. When our driver finally arrived he looked at our bags and just shook his head. Apparently this was a 2 taxi job. But he was determined to make it work. This was definitely not the safest ride from the airport. Bags were piled to the top of the cab ceiling and K and C were on our laps. But we made it. Here is C waiting at the apartment building door with all of our stuff (6 large checked suitcases, 6 carry-on bags plus 2 car seats and a stroller).

The temporary apartment itself is really nice. It's a 2-bedroom complete with washer/dryer, microwave, dishwasher, air conditioner and wifi. Ah, the modern conveniences we can't live without. There is a small grocery next door which is super convenient and there are lots of restaurants and coffee shops just a few blocks away. The location is pretty central as well. Here is C & K playing in the closets.

I think we're definitely going to enjoy our short time here.