Kings and Queens for two days

Well, we officially had the whirlwind weekend of a lifetime!!

On Saturday the community centre behind our old flat where I worked for a few years had its 70th anniversary celebration, which included a visit from HRH the Earl of Wessex, otherwise known as Prince Edward (Prince Charles' little brother!) It was a rare treat to meet a member of the royal family and see the community where we spent so many good years brought together in celebration and joy.

Prince Edward, second from the right

But the real treat of the weekend was our trip to London to meet Mr Tumble! The Make-A-Wish foundation organised the whole thing for Adam, and it was as magical as they had promised it would be.

It started Sunday morning at 07:30 when we got into the taxi to go to the airport. The flight went really well, and the crew even gave Adam a little bear toy and a bag of sweets to share with his brother and sister. The sweets came in handy getting Agnes to sit still for a minute at a time! We landed in London and got into a car that took us to our hotel--the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel! It was amazing, beautiful and so posh--and what's more, they mixed up the rooms and gave our room to someone else, so then they put us in the Westminster Suite on the top floor!! We had so much space to spread out and so many TV's to enjoy watching! :)

Our free time was spent searching for food, wandering along the Thames, playing on playgrounds, riding in the London Eye, and taking pictures. Here are a couple from the first day:

 Adam on the "Big Wheel", aka the London Eye

 Adam and Agnes enjoying "Statue Man"

The family in front of the Houses of Parliament

Monday morning was an excited blur, eating a quick breakfast and then waiting for Adam's "special car" to arrive. When it did, it was the longest, most beautiful Chrysler stretch limousine I had ever seen (and the only one too)!!

Caleb was super excited too!!

So off we went in the limo, first through London and then out to Surrey, where we met up with some other families and finally, after more than a year of anticipation...Mr Tumble himself!!! The real Mr Tumble, who spent an hour with everyone singing songs, talking to everyone, doing some of the characters and then giving autographs and taking pictures. He was so sweet and personable, just like I imagined him to be. And the volunteers with Make-A-Wish were so wonderful, they really looked after everyone and made sure we were having a great time. I can't say enough good about the whole thing.

 "Hello, hello, how are you?"

 You can see from Adam's "wings" that he's transfixed, as is Agnes in front of him!

A short video of Mr Tumble doing his thing, and Caleb getting into the act too!!

Sadly our time with Mr Tumble ended all too quickly. We left and got back into our special car (which we casually referred to as "the Limo" all day as if that were our normal ride!!) and headed back into London. Our driver, Gideon, dropped us off at the Rainforest Cafe, where we had a fabulous lunch and watched all the exciting life-size animals move and roar. After the boys ate their weight in ice cream, we got back into "the Limo" and headed to the London Aquarium for our afternoon treat--seeing all the fish, sharks, eels, rays and penguins we could manage before our feet gave out!

Caleb got up close and personal with a crocodile!

After the usual dinner, bath and bed routine, we all slept like logs--worn out by the excitement of being VIP's for a day and meeting our very favourite Mr Tumble. Ah, sweet dreams for all!!

So that pretty much ended it...we had another stellar breakfast Tuesday morning, took a short walk, some photos and had another play on the playground before hopping into a car and heading back to the airport. And real life. It was all so wonderful to have that experience, all of which Adam thoroughly enjoyed. He loved the taxis, the food, the walking, the fish, the Eye, and most of all Mr Tumble. After all he's been through this last 18 months, to "give" him that trip was amazing, and to be given the ability to enjoy it with him without worrying about anything...well, that really was priceless.

Thanks again to the Make-A-Wish foundation, for helping us to forget for two days and feel like kings and queens. And for giving us one very happy boy.