Adventures with O-pa

My father just spent a week visiting us in London. M calls him 'O-pa' as that was the way she pronounced Grandpa when she first began talking. She can say Grandpa now but O-pa has stuck and I quite like it.

We had a great time with O-pa and wanted to share some pictures of his visit.

They got to playing golf straightaway as M was given this set for Christmas from O-pa.

They quickly made up the game stair golf. The rules are quite simple- you start way at the top of our house (we roughly have 3 flights) and count your strokes to get down to the bottom. Lots of exercise included in this game!

Adventures out of the house included a visit to the fantastic Battersea Park Zoo. We had been before- actually one of the first weekends after arriving here in London. The weekdays are the way to go as we almost had the whole place to ourselves. The animals that live at the zoo are mostly small and you will see a few that you've probably never seen (or heard of before) before.

The great part about the Battersea Park Zoo is that there is an amazing play area. It has sand pits, water play, climbing equipment, swings, games, a few small rides and even a huge fire truck for kids to play in. On a beautiful day, this place is tons of toddler fun!

The one downside of the zoo is the lack of yummy food so when you go be sure to bring a picnic or if you are starving, grab a hot dog from the stand just down the path from the entrance like we did.

Another day with O-pa was spent at the London Aquarium. Of course we had to stop for a picture with one of London's most famous landmarks before heading inside.

The aquarium has some pretty incredible tanks with sweet friends swimming around like this guy (cue The Jaws music).

The penguins were fun to watch as they were diving in and shooting straight out of the water while we were there.

We also spent time in our favorite parks. Most days when at our favorite playground in Hyde Park, we see the Queen's cavalry heading out to pick up Her Majesty or attend to other royal duties. 

Had a snack at our favorite cafe and fed the birds in the pond.

And of course we had to show O-pa what we do after it rains.

He joined in on story time.

And showed M how he likes to take selfies.

Madeline loved playing with her O-pa and we were so happy to have you here Dad! We look forward to our visit to Colorado this summer where we can get M on a proper golf course and teach her how to wade in a river! xo