Happy Spring!

For the last two summers, Ava and I have started the "not too cold" season by building a fairy house for Buttercup, Ava's fairy. The last two days have been over 60 degrees (which is July weather!) so up went the best fairy house yet! Ava makes a pretty cute fairy doesn't she?

Eli came in while I was making dinner last night to inform me that his sister was on the roof. Nah, I thought...
Oh yeah. And because she looked in no danger of falling, I went ahead and took some pictures before ordering her to carefully climb back down...which she did with the speed of a spider monkey.
So, because I lay claim to more curiosity than common sense, I told her to do it again so I could video it. She scaled the fence, shimmed down to the shed, jumped on the roof of that and scaled the garage roof... ground to rooftop in just over 2 minutes. By then half the neighborhood had turned out to watch this crazy mother videoing her 5 year old climb a garage roof. Ava, enjoying the attention, sits up, waves, and starts to blow kisses. That was it. I told her to quit showboating and get off the roof before someone calls the cops or CPS.
So, she now has to settle for fence tops. At least that limits the audience...

St Paddy's Day!!!

I was lucky enough to get to go to Dublin with a girl friend from work for St Paddy's day...and wow, we had a blast!
Here's Temple Bar on St Patrick's Day night...crazy busy! Crazy fun! Funny enough, there weren't a lot of Irish people running around. It was mostly tourists...but it was still a great time!
Having a pint in the glass tower at the Guinness factory.
Somewhere in all that chaos, there was a parade going on... no way was my five foot tall self gonna see it!
Rachael (on the right) and I met up with a couple other people from Lakenheath while we were there!
Nothing says happy St Paddy's day like a dude dressed as an Irish chick...rock on man...
This is Trinity college where the Book of Kells is kept.
Me and Rachael LOVE cotton candy. I think we waited in line for almost 30 minutes...yummy...it was worth it!
I thought this was Dublin Castle...it isn't. I don't really know what it is. Funny enough though, while I was out running one of the days we were there, I got lost and kept finding this place. It took me an hour to find my way back to the hotel. That was some run!
St Stephen's Green...isn't it pretty?
This little girl was no older than Ava and she could dance this amazing Irish jig...it was incredible!
Shopping on Grafton Street...not that we could afford anything!
The view off the O'Connell Bridge at sunset.
On our last day, we took a day tour up to Belfast. The city was just like any other charming European city... except for the crazy political unrest...
Here I am writing on the 20 foot high "hate fence" separating the Protestants from the Catholics.
This is a mural in the Protestant projects. Here, the police just let the people rule themselves... kinda like Marshall law (by the people). Our guide said that every person in these homes gets their money illegally. Funny, there were bikes and kid toys and flower boxes at almost every house... but I guess thugs and dealers have families too...
Downtown Belfast. What an awesome trip!!!

My little auction buddy

Last weekend, Eli stayed home with Daddy while Ava went with me to an antiques auction. I showed her how to bid by holding up the paper as we weaved between people and furniture looking for things we might want. I have wanted a glass front book case secretary for ages, but they are usually so expensive in stores!
But, there it was. The perfect one at the auction house, just begging me to bid on it. So I did. And won! Ava was so impressed that she wanted to start bidding on everything. A life size (and I do mean life sized!) Buddha statue, an antique bed pan, a naked nymph garden statue... we settled on some pretty Egyptian plates that she bid on and won! And, in winning those plates, my girl was hooked! We talked about artwork, how to tell Victorian from Jacobean furniture, and dovetailing. I'm pretty sure I lost her somewhere around the wood oxidization talk...but no matter. Ava spotted a set of 6 porcelain dolls that she wanted, so I told her to bid. She did...and...
...now I have a troop of creepy little dolls that like to turn up in strange places in my house. A couple of days ago, I came upon her scolding Eli's dinosaur for scaring her babies. Dinosaur spent much of his day with his nose pressed into the corner in time out. Eric and I finally got tired of the dollies running free through the house so they have been banished to Ava's room where they usually are suffering from various and horrific ailments that Drs Ava and Eli treat by giving them medicine, sticking socks on their hands and feet (bandages?), and hanging them from the blinds (traction maybe?). Just as long as they don't start practicing obstetrics... I don't think I can handle too many more dollies sharing our house!