The older she gets the more fun it is to be around her. She is developing quite the little personality and is starting to do sneaky things that she knows she shouldn't. She got some blocks for her birthday. You know the old school kind that most of us had as kids. Well, the first thing my daughter does is see how far she can shove one in her mouth. She then decides to share with me. Hope there is no lead in that paint!!
Later the same day I was cutting up a watermelon. BTW, the kid is obsessed with fruit which will become clear by the end of this little story. While I was cutting it up she was playing very loudly in the kitchen with some toys. All of a sudden I realized it had gotten very quiet and I think we all know what that means. Ava was doing something that she really shouldn't be doing. I look over the edge to see my lovely daughter reaching into the trash can and using her fingernails to scrape bits of watermelon off the rind I had thrown away. Ewww!! Thank goodness I had just put in a new bag and it was the only thing in the trash can but still. Gotta love all the naughtiness she is now getting into. I can't wait to see what else is in store. Before she realized she was busted...
After she realized she was busted...this is her best innocent face. And notice her hand is still in the trash can!
While we were visiting there was also a small parade that had bagpipers. We were so excited to hear the bagpipes but by day 4 we had had enough!! Every place we went had someone playing the bagpipes and more often than not they were not good. 
In order to see more of Scotland, we took an all day trip into the highlands. Our driver was a young guy who was very interesting himself. We stopped to see Hamish the Hairy "Coo." (aka cow) He was quite cute. In the highlands, the cows have adapted to the harsh weather. The long hair protects their eyes and keeps them warm during the long winters. The highlands are also covered with sheep. These are a few of the friends we made along the way ;o) There little black faces were so adorable. 
Our farthest stop on the highlands tour was the infamous Loch 
Our last day, we decided to take a tour of the Underground City. A little creepy but still fun to explore. The only way to see the underground is to pay to go on a tour...a haunted tour. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate scary things. Well, our tour guide did her job well because she scared my silly. The underground is not well lit and the stories she told led my imagination to wonder a bit. I was happy to see daylight although it wasn't much daylight because it was raining. 
We spent the rest of our last day wondering the Royal Mile and picking up a few souvenirs. We had a long and very busy vacation. We are very fortunate to travel as much as we do. I know these are memories that will last a lifetime. I'm already trying to figure out where to go next but the little one will be going with us. Two weeks was too long without her. We also want to travel with friends. I love traveling with Steve because we do travel so well together but it was so nice to have Hart and Valerie with us for a bit. Friends will only add the to memories and the stories.
The first thing you notice when walking through this town in of course the Minster. At this point you should know that every town has a Minster (and an Abbey for that matter!) We ventured up the tower at the Minster and were very impressed by the views. The shot below if from the halfway point of the almost 700 stairs. The trek is not for the weak hearted but so worth it.
There is a very cute pedestrian street called the Shambles which has tearooms, candy shops and any other shop you can imagine. There was a great yarn shop there too but I didn't indulge. The street looked liked a set from a Harry Potter movie. I kept looking for 
I mentioned the Abbey earlier but this was a little different from the other Abbeys we had seen on our trip because this was only the ruins of the Abbey. It was gorgeous though. I could see having a wedding there if I were to do it over again. You can see in the picture below just how perfect that would be.
The last 2 shots are of an amazing dinner we ate at Cafe No8. Bistro and the city wall. It was so perfect. And talk about romantic! We ate out back in the garden and the food was to die for. If I knew I only had one meal left I would be on my way to York in a heartbeat. I'm drooling just thinking about it! From the bistro you could see the city walls that surround York. After dinner we climbed the stairs to the wall and wondered around York to work off some of our food and take in the city from a different point of view. York was a dream...
