Trooping the Colour

I saw the Queen!  For reals!  And Kate and Harry . . . and a bunch of others!  Every year there is a parade in June to celebrate HRH's birthday.  There are seated tickets for the main event, and every year I have applied for said tickets, to no avail.  Until this year!  I was granted the maximum allowed three tickets.  Scott wasn't keen on going and this just happened to fall on a weekend where we had family in town, so I invited Scott's aunt and cousin visiting from the states to join me for this royal day out.

The Mall lined with the Union Jack

 Queueing, the British love a good queue

Fascinators and hats of all colours and sizes!

The Prince Charles carriage, carrying Kate, Harry and Camilla!

The Prince Andrew carriage, carrying Andrew, Beatrice and Eugenie

 Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II . . .

 Much pomp and circumstance . . .

 Some of our Utah Ashton family, Julie and Meredith

 Love this bobby's crooked schnoz

 I loved all the top hats and formalwear

10's for Madeleine

Madeleine is 10!  Hard to believe my girl has hit the double digits!  It's been 10 years of joy with this girl.  She is kind and considerate, hard-working, a doer over a talker, funny, stylish and totally and completely her own girl.  She is the glue the keeps her brothers together, and I think they would both agree they are lucky to have such a wonderful sister.  She is an amazing girl, and we had so much fun celebrating a decade of Madeleine!  

First up was to fulfil a promise we made long ago that she could get her ears pierced when she turned 10.  She also wanted to have a family birthday dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.  So we made a fun afternoon of it.  

On the tube to get her ears pierced!  

At the accessory shop in the hot-seat choosing her very first pair of earrings!  

Ear one!  

Ear two!

The BEST reaction ever!  

Before  . . . . and . . . . after!

Hanging in Leicester Square with her new jewels.  It was a bit of a surreal moment for me here with her.  We live in London.  Not a new fact, but somehow this moment it struck me that my kids are growing up in London.  Sometimes that fact takes me by surprise.  

Rainforest Cafe 

The actual birthday celebration at home with a cake I made myself.  It was my first attempt at fondant icing, and as long as you don't look too closely it actually turned out pretty great!  

 Happy Birthday, Madeleine!