Father's Day started earlier than I had hoped - I opened my eyes at 2 am and noticed Jonah lying in bed reading on his Kindle!  That boy is a readaholic!  I told him to put it away and try to get to sleep - but his internal clock was off and he couldn't.  And then I couldn't get back to bed either, so we both stayed up for a while reading on our kindles before we finally fell back to sleep.  It was noon before we were all moving about and getting ready for the day.  The kids weren't aware of the plans, but I knew that today would be a highlight day of our trip for them.

And then we got an email and found out that our first floor/basement flooded!
The only saving grace is that our dear friends are watching our house and have it all under control - by the time we get back, it will be as good as new!  And as a glass half full kind of thinker, I'm seeing this as an omen that we got hit with a lot of water in our home today, so now we won't be flooded on our hike across England! ;-)

We took a series of trains and shuttles to Warner Brothers Studios to do The Making Of Harry Potter tour.   The kids were beyond excited.  Jonah and I have just spent the last few months reading the whole series and the whole family has watched the movies, so we were definitely in Potter mode.  We spent a good 4 hours touring the sets, flying on broomsticks, and learning about everything Potter.

By the time we made it back to London, it was almost 9 pm.  We ran (literally) to a veg. restaurant, Amico Bio, and got there just before the kitchen closed.  It was a great way to end Father's Day - sitting with my family, finally relaxing over some great food and a glass of Proseco.  It was after 10 by the time we left and took a 45 minute stroll home - a little jaunt compared to what we'll be doing in a few days!

It's now almost midnight and we're all finishing our journals before dozing off.  Our internal clocks are still not on London time, but our spirits are high as we think of the days and weeks to come.

Lara's daily observation: I feel like a teenager: slept until noon and then toured the Harry Potter set!   I'm flooded with gratitude for my family and friends.  Today whet my appetite for the adventure to come.

Olivia's daily observation: As we walked past the London Eye, Jonah and I had a great time pretending to be You Tubers with British accents!

Jonah's daily observation:  Even though it is Father's Day, I feel like I got the gift:  we got to tour the Harry Potter set!