Bath and the Surrounding Area

After the go, go, go pace of London, we headed west on a train the quaint city of Bath. Our B&B was great, http://www.brooksguesthouse.com/, and the town was so small that we could walk everywhere. The town is known for the Roman Bath House that is near the center of town which is a natural hot spring. We ate at some great restaurants and took a day trip from there to some of the surrounding small villages and sites. We visited Stonehenge, Avebury (like Stonehenge only larger), and the villages of Lacock and Castle Combe. All 4 stops on the trip were amazing. In the 2 villages, you really couldn't take a bad picture. I've already picked out a few to enlarge and frame for the house. These were two perfect English countryside villages. I felt like I was walking around a movie set. These two villages, in fact, have been used in many movies including the newly released Harry Potter (more to come on that later). The two stone monument sites are truly amazing. Just walking among the stones is humbling. They are not entirely sure why either site was built and that adds to the allure of these sites. Of course, pictures don't do justice but here are a few of the hundreds we took. I won't bore you with all 1,600 we took in the two weeks ;o)

The Bath Abbey (at this point we realized every town has an Abbey)

Mary Poppins anyone??

Avebury-part of the remaining outer circle of stones

Largest stone at Avebury

Stonehenge on a rainy day

Stonehenge with the Gucki

A street in Lacock

Typical home in Castle Combe

The Roman Bath House

and finally me in front of a very large horse carved out of the hill. It is white because the ground here contains chalk. There are about 6 of these horses throughout this area.

Wordless Wednesday

London and Great Friends

We have been fortunate enough to have Hart and Valerie in our lives for several years now. Hart works for the State Dept. and is moving every couple years to different countries working in the Embassy. We visited them in Prague a few years ago which is a gorgeous city. They moved to London last year with their two adorable boys. They were gracious enough to let us invade their home for 4 days at the start of our trip. London is a busy, bustling city. We hardly sat the 4 days we were there. We did all the touristy things like the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, the British Museum, West Minster Abbey, the Tower of London, etc., etc. All of these sites are amazing and very cool to actually step foot into these places that are so old. I forget sometimes how "new' America is. Some of my fondest memories of London are the none tourist things we did. Steve and I went to Gordon's wine bar one night and had a blast. It is actually in a wine cellar and candle lit. They served great wine, cheese and bread in a very unique setting. We took pictures but they turned out horrible because of the lighting. Playing cards one night with Hart and Valerie was a blast and so was the cricket game with them (although I still don't understand the game...could be because I talked to Val the entire time :O) There is so much history in that city and we barely scratched the surface.

Trafalgar Square

Parliament Building

The London Eye

Steve-o in the phone booth

 

Good Ole Big Ben

Abbey Road

 

The Tower Bridge

Me and the Beefeaters at the Tower of London

Steve and I in front of Buckingham Palace

The changing of the guards

Thank you Hart and Valerie for a great time in London!! We miss you!!

Almost Insomnia?

So why the long silence you ask? Steve and I just got back from our whirlwind 2 week UK trip. The trip was amazing, and I have lots to share with loads of fantastic pictures but I have to get them all organized before I can share with you.

In the mean time...I. can't. sleep. Can I tell you just how annoying this is.! Let me start by saying that I have never had a problem sleeping before. When Steve and I first got married, he really thought there was something wrong with me because I can hit the pillow and be asleep a minute later. That is not an exageration either. I've always been a morning person so I would get up around 8:00, at the latest, when I wasn't working. I needed 7 hours of sleep and I was good to go. Now it seems that I don't go to bed until way later than I should because I try to cram everything in after Ava goes to sleep. Then the little dear is up at 6 the next morning. OK so 6 hours should be good right? Well when I finally do get to bed, I am up at least twice to pee and then it takes forever to fall asleep again. I think I'm averaging a solid 4 hours a night. In my book, that sucks!! I guess my body will just adapt. Hopefully something will give and I can catch a good nights sleep soon. Until I get up some England/Scotland pics, you'll have to look at a few Ava pics :O)
 

Ava aka: the Cougar

Two of my girlfriends had babies in January. It works out well because we all have babies pretty close in age and while they don't play together, they do like to stare at each other. Friday, Amy came over with Carter and they played in the kiddie pool in our backyard. Before they came over I was telling Ava that her "boyfriend" was coming over to play and later that night we were going over to Colleen's to see her other "boyfriend", Sean. Ava is 10 months and Carter and Sean are 5 months, so Steve and I started joking that she's a cougar going after such younger men. I think a new nickname has just been born ;o) The poor kid has about 20 already. Here are a few pics of Ava and her younger men.

Seaside

There is a small town about 10 minutes east of where we stay in Florida every year called Seaside. It is the perfect small beach town. We have never stayed there because it is ridiculously expensive but every year we visit. There are small shops and a great little gelato place that we indulge in every year. There are plenty of artists, boutiques, and cafes for every taste. Everyone in the town bikes everywhere. Steve and I rented bikes there one year and rode along the coast and then back to Seaside. We always joke that we will move there and I will teach in the little school and Steve will design websites for all the stores. Maybe that will happen some day...

Family Vacation #1

For the past 2 years, we have taken a family trip to Santa Rosa Beach in Florida with my family. It's been a great time to relax and let the cousins play together. My stepbrother, his wife, and 3 girls live in KC, so we don't get to see them that often. This year there was one more little girl to add to the mix. The guys got to golf, the girls shopped, and we all enjoyed the sun, sand, and ocean. Ava loved the sand and the pool. We can't get her to stop splashing in the tub now. It's so nice to slow down for a week and enjoy spending time with the ones you love.