Puzzlewood Forest

We just visited the coolest forest.  Stepping into the woods felt like we were stepping into a magical realm with fairies, goblins, and wizards.  It took us a couple hours to drive to Puzzlewood and we even drove through a corner of Wales, but it was worth it.  I knew we were in for an adventure when the kids walking out of the forest were wearing their wellies and were coated in mud up to their knees.  Well, we didn't have any wellies but we did have ponchos with us and soap at home, so in we went to get muddy.  I was really hoping that the forest was as cool as the pictures suggested, and it was.  Every step was a new view and I wanted to get a lot of pictures of the kids in this really, really cool scenery.  

Cambrie quickly grew tired of stopping to smile, but luckily there were so many fairies in the forest we could photograph who didn't mind smiling for the camera.  Both girls saw fairies who were too shy to be seen as they flew behind a tree branch trying to hide.  I was happy that there were some brave enough to let me see them.

Apparently the forest has been used to film quite a few shows (and not all of them I recognize), Merlin, Atlantis, Jack the Giant Slayer, Dr. Who, and parts of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  JRR Tolkein used to spend a lot of time in the woods and used it for inspiration when writing the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.  It's not hard to believe any of those stories.  There was a meandering trail that took us through the woods, up, over, through, and around giant trees draped with moss, lichen covered rocks, and mushrooms aplenty.  The girls were having so much fun that they kept running ahead, and once or twice I wondered if they had been snatched by goblins since I couldn't see them through the undergrowth.  However, their ponchos made them pretty visible so that helped a lot.

Can you see the forest creature in the tree above Cambrie?

  The boys loved being boys and went running through mud puddles, across logs, and climbed up things they probably shouldn't have.  There was no way either boy was going to get through there clean, especially since Daxton refused to be held as we wandered through. 

Right at the beginning when his shoes were still clean. 

We took our time walking around and really enjoyed every moment hiding in there.  

Ultimately our tummies pulled us out and we were able to see how successful we were at keeping ourselves relatively clean.  Muddy shoe contest!  

There was a cafe on site which was fabulous since we didn't have to take our muddy selves anywhere public.  We all found something tasty, even Daxton who learned he likes melted brie cheese.  Such a fun excursion!

Kensington Palace

Back into London we go!  This time we went to Kensington Palace.  We had to take a detour to get to the palace and by the time we made it there we were hungry!  So instead of immediately jumping into the queue we found some protection from the rain to eat our picnic lunch.  Lunch was simple, but the scenery was fabulous.  It was so relaxing just to be sitting there in the park!  

At least until my kids made it a battle zone and started sword fighting...

and rolling down the hill...

and running down the lane...

  Their enthusiasm made a lot of other tourists stop, smile, and grab their kids to roll down the hills too.  We finally made it inside the palace, and I thought it was the perfect size.  It was smaller than Hampton Court which meant that my kids made it through without losing interest.  

They also liked what they saw here at this palace, such as the costumes.  Kelton said he wouldn't mind dressing as a courtier.  

And McKenzie's look says it all, "Please can I wear a pretty dress like that?!"  

Of course that came after the initial shock of seeing the dress styles and thinking, "What kind of dress is that?"  

Nana wanted to pose with the kids at the game table, but once she had them sitting they wanted to play a real game and we had a hard time getting them to leave.   

We left the main tour of the palace then headed downstairs to see the Diana fashion exhibit.  I was surprised that even Cambrie liked looking at all the dresses.  McKenzie wanted to know everything about each dress, where Diana wore it, when she wore it, etc.  Cambrie came home inspired and started sketching designs for some of her dolls in the same way Diana's designers sketched their ideas.  

The white gardens outside of the palace was really pretty.  Surrounding the main pond and flower garden was a tree-covered walk way with cutouts along it's edge to see the garden.  All my kids enjoyed taking time to stop and smell the roses.

The kids were worn out from their museum-ing, so we took them to the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground.  That was a huge hit!  If I lived nearby I would bring my kids there all the time to play.  There was a toddler-sized zone with a slide, climbing toys, and sandbox for Daxton, and there were a bunch of different areas for the big kids.  

The pirate ship was their favorite.  They could climb way up in the crow's nest, go below in the brig, and swing from all of the ropes on deck.  

There was a treehouse section where Kelton liked to run; a musical grove tucked away where kids could play music on chimes, pitch rocks, and other instruments; a teepee area; a climbing fountain; and trails where they could run and get lost without ever actually getting lost.  

I had to bribe the kids to leave the playground with pastries from a pastry shop we passed on our walk there.  I'm embarrassed to say that I was stopping more for myself than for the kids.  I saw those sweets and had been drooling thinking about them all afternoon. 

 Leesa and I definitely wore out the kids.  They all tried their best to sleep on the way home but it was a little difficult with two subway transfers, a train transfer, and a walk home from the train station.