Day out with the Ongs

We'd made many trips to London since moving due to the short train ride plus the reason that Adrian has the annual ticket, thus making travelling more economical. Today, the Ongs treated us to lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant. (They said it was to make up for Adrian's birthday and you (A&V) really shouldn't have). Alan picked us up from the tube station and Luke was fast asleep in his car seat holding on to his umbrella. Lavigne said to me, 'Luke is soooo cute!'. He was indeed.

I'd never eaten Viet cuisine before so it was a first for me. The food (my camera refused to work then) was really good and we stuffed ourselves full with crispy vietnamese rolls filled with king prawns, Feudal roasted beef, Pho, a refreshing Hanoi rice vermicelli topped with grilled chicken in a light sweet and sour sauce, fried fish and quail curry. Thank you Alan and Val for that lovely lunch! We'll definitely patronise the restaurant again.

Our husbands took the children to a museum closeby while Val and I went off to run some 'errands'. I had to buy some tights for myself and the girls so we went for a bit of retail therapy. I finally managed to find a pair of pretty gloves for Louisa from Mothercare. Yay! Then it was off to Chinatown to get some Chinese buns and egg tarts, roast duck for dinner at Val's and some bits from a chinese supermarket.

My school had a Sparkler Party yesterday and Louisa and Lavigne were each given 2 sparklers. Louisa wanted to give Luke one so I brought all 4 so they could play with them in the evening. The children were a little scared and apprehensive to hold the lit sparklers but when they (Luke and Louisa) saw that they were quite harmless, they decided to have a go.

While at the Ongs, the little ones zoomed across the hall to and fro at top speed in Luke's nifty little car - Luke in the driver seat, Lavigne at the back, sometimes on top!!! and Louisa in front. I kept having visions of the car overturning, Louisa being thrown off and Lavigne flying across the room. But children being children. They have no fear.