Windsor
We started the week with a much-needed relaxing day at our Windsor Airbnb. Mom completed the second of five planned loads of laundry, folded everything, put it away, and even managed to get some real estate work done. Five loads may sound excessive, but after traveling around Europe in Lightning McQueen with two small children, access to a washing machine that both washes and dries feels less like an appliance and more like a luxury resort amenity.
Nolan and Nina played well together all day, watched some TV, ate dinner, and took baths. Mom’s favorite part was simply watching them play nicely, which is one of those things that sounds very ordinary until you have a five-year-old and a three-year-old. Then it becomes a beautiful, sometimes rare event that you absolutely do not interrupt.
Nolan’s favorite things were watching TV and playing, while Nina chose sleeping with Mommy. That became especially relevant when bedtime turned into an absolute disaster and we eventually decided to make the best of it with a slumber party in Mom’s room. Sometimes you follow the bedtime routine, stay calm, and maintain boundaries. Other times everyone piles into one room and calls the collapse of the entire system a party!
The next morning was another slow one before mom and the kiddos walked into town to visit a local bookstore. We spent time looking through and reading books, then each kid picked out a children’s book. Nolan also chose a jewelry-making kit, while Nina selected a small piglet stuffy covered in pink and black spots. Nina would later summarize one of her favorite moments of the week as “buying a piggy,” which really captures the importance of this purchase.
We walked back to the Airbnb for lunch, then spent the afternoon playing, reading the new books, and making jewelry. Nolan got right to work producing pieces for the people in his life, and continued the following morning while Nina played independently. After dinner we had our weekly call with Yaya, then started winding down for bed. Thankfully, bedtime went much more smoothly than the night before. Apparently the slumber party reset worked, although we are not prepared to recommend it as a parenting strategy just yet.
After bagels and cereal the next morning, Nina announced that she was ready to go to the indoor play place. Mom got everyone organized while Nolan finished one more jewelry masterpiece, and then they walked the eight minutes to Mini Mundo. They initially had the whole place to themselves, which is basically the indoor-play-place jackpot.
The first room was an imaginative play village with a vet’s office, fire station, grocery store, and other little shops. Given all those options, Nolan and Nina decided to play van life. They took almost everything from the village and crammed it into the play van, although Mom noted that it was at least somewhat organized. It was an impressively accurate reenactment of our real lives in Lightning McQueen: take everything you own, fit it into a vehicle, and insist that you know where it all belongs. Sometimes they mixed things up by riding motorcycles and staying in an apartment, so even their pretend van life included an Airbnb break.
The second room had slides and nets and looked like a much larger version of an old-school McDonald’s play place. The kids were having so much fun that Mom ordered dinner there—pizza, chicken nuggets, and fries for the win! Nolan chose Mini Mundo as the best part of his day, and it was hard to argue with that review.
On the walk home, Mom stopped at the Japanese restaurant down the street to pick up takeout. While they waited for a delicious noodle dish, Nolan and Nina ate edamame and played with chopsticks. The noodles were Mom’s favorite part of the day, making Mini Mundo and Japanese takeout a very successful Windsor combination. Back at the Airbnb, everyone played and read until bedtime.
The next day, Coons returned from his business trip around noon. The kids were extremely excited to have Daddy back, which naturally meant lots of wrestling. We ate lunch at the Airbnb and spent the afternoon hanging out, playing, and doing some falls before ordering Thai food for dinner.
Mom’s favorite part was having the whole family together again, and Dad’s was coming home and seeing everyone. Nolan declared, “The best part of my day was having Daddy come home,” because our boy is a lover. Nina chose reading a book with Mommy. After a few quiet days in Windsor, everyone was back together and ready to move again.
Stonehenge
Leaving the Windsor Airbnb required plenty of packing, but eventually we loaded everyone and everything back into Lightning McQueen and hit the road. Our first destination was our favorite grocery store, Tesco, where we stocked up before heading toward Stonehenge to check out the rocks.
We ate lunch in the parking lot and then took the bus over to the site. We walked around Stonehenge before returning to the van, and both Mom and Dad chose the visit as the best part of the day. It is nice when thousands of years of history can hold its own against Tesco.
Nolan, however, selected reading The Jungle Book as his favorite part. Stonehenge has survived for several thousand years, so we assume it can handle losing this particular contest to a children’s book. Nina’s favorite was “saying sorry to Daddy,” which leaves us with very little information about the original offense but does suggest some sort of resolution was reached. The girl gives good hugs, so we’re sure Dad’s happy.
With the ancient rocks checked off, we climbed back into Lightning McQueen and drove another hour and a half to Lyme Regis. Our next Airbnb would be home for four nights, with Yaya and Auntie Maddi scheduled to arrive the following day.
Lyme Regis
Our first full day at the River House Airbnb was mostly about waiting for Yaya and Maddi to arrive around noon. Their arrival was the unanimous family highlight: Dad loved having them there and going out to dinner with the family, Mom loved welcoming them to the River House, and Nolan’s favorite part was having Yaya come.
Nina’s assessment of the day went in a different direction. Her favorite part was “getting those poopers out.” Travel broadens the mind, brings families together, and occasionally provides constipation. Sometimes getting one out is worth a highlight.
The next day we headed to the beach, where everyone walked along the shore hunting for fossils. Nolan loved finding his fossils and going into the ocean to swim, while Mom’s favorite part was watching the kids play in the water. She also loved getting coffee with Yaya and Maddi, because a family beach day is even better with a latte.
Coons enjoyed the fossil hunt and watching everyone play in the water, but he also enjoyed the important job of defending the family from seagulls. We watched the seagulls terrorize an octogenarian’s fish and chips plate at lunch so Dad had to serve and protect. He was rewarded with beer.
Back at the center of the kids’ day was, unsurprisingly, tackling Dad. Nolan chose wrestling with Daddy as another favorite, while Nina loved tackling him and playing the horse game. Between wrestling, falls, horse rides, and seagull protection, Coons’ return from his business trip had clearly restored the family’s full range of physical activities.
After a week that began with laundry and a disastrous bedtime, we ended it together in Lyme Regis with Yaya and Auntie Maddi, surf and sun, kids in the ocean, and Daddy standing guard against airborne snack thieves. Not a bad return to family life.
