Ava's World

Little kids and cameras are an instant attraction, and since the invention of digital cameras (and deleting) the attraction isn't really harmful. Ava has developed the art of "stealing the camera" and taking a few thousand pictures around the house. As I looked through the pictures that she took a thought came "this is how Ava sees the world." So here is a taste of Ava's 3.5 year old world. . .

City of Bath

We took a weekend trip to Bath near the end of March and we had a blast. Helping out on the financial side was Cotswold Centre. Its a military base with mobile homes for rent, you can spend the night for only 10 pounds! That's crazy cheap, plus you have a kitchen to cook your meals in.

Our first evening we drove to Castle Combe Village, also known as "The Prettiest Village in England" It was the most darling place, with century old walls, named homes and a cute little church, which housed one of the earliest working clocks in England (installed before 1500.)

The village has been the back drop to a few movies throughout the years and so we decided to support the film industry and buy 2 loaves of cake (lemon and banana.)

The Manor House is a luxury Hotel surrounded by 26 acres of parkland. I can only imagine what the price of a single night would be to stay there. We walked some of the grounds and gardens, and saw a beautiful red wood tree, sculptures, and waterfalls.

Day 2 (after setting off the fire alarm during breakfast) we packed up and headed to Bath. Our first stop was the Royal Crescent. This is a row of 30 houses built between 1767 and 1774. It is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture found in the UK. The building is now residential flats, offices, a museum and a hotel. Each flat is 3 stories up and 1 lower basement.

When I first heard about Bath and the Roman Ruins I thought back to Trier Germany and the "Roman Baths" that were uncovered there. LAME-O (I really didn't enjoy it.) So last year when my brother and sister in law were visiting they mentioned Bath and I completely steered them away from the idea (because I thought "what's the point?" and "we don't have enough time") I completely regret my actions. Bath is amazing! There are fully intact pools, foundations, plumbing, drainage systems. . . I couldn't believe the difference between Trier and Bath.

This is the entrance to the Roman Baths. We all got walkie talkie telephones to hang around our necks and listen to narration of Bath history. Even Ava had her own "child" phone with kid friendly facts.

Our last stop was at the Bath Abbey. Cathedrals are starting (unfortunately) to become "you've seen one you've seen them all" but it was beautiful and I tried to get some interesting pictures. This was a great, quick trip for us.

Busy Busy March

March has been a busy month, and with the nice weather we have been having playing outside has been easier than ever. We fed the ducks, swans and geese down by the river in Mildenhall village.

We took St Patrick's day by storm and made rainbow pancakes! Ava's favourite were the pink ones, they were eaten first, even though they all tasted exactly the same.

Dave took Ava to the park and out for lunch while I got my hair cut and colored.

Dave found a remote control speed boat at the base thrift store. We took it to the river and let Ava be the skipper. She had a blast spinning it round and round in circles.