Betty's Tea Room, York, England

So this little lady and I got to go on a mommy daughter bonding date on our second day in York. I couldn't think of a better person to try this place out with. It was an experience to have once. The rooms in Betty's is inspired by the magnificent Queen Mary Cruise liner and they have been in operation since 1920's. You can find Betty's History here. 

Ladybird wore this mask the whole time it was a gift from her daddy.

Cheers.

Fathers Day Interview

I was inspired by Kate and Kahn's blog for a Fathers Day interview.

                                Ladybird and Zeke Bear ( 4.5 years old and 18 months old)

me: What's your daddy's name?
Ava: Matthew L. R.

 me: How old is he?

Ava: 8 or 7 or 18 umm maybe 14 and 12

me: He is 30

Ava: What?! He is 30?! Wow!



me: Tell me what Daddy looks like.
Ava: He has brown hair

me: Why is your daddy smart?
Ava: Because he is in the Russell family

me: What's his job?
Ava: To protect the American flag

me: What does he do when he's at home?
Ava: He sits around all day

me: What do you like to do with him?
Ava: Play with him

me: What are your favorites?
Ava: Eating sweets, playing around with Ezekiel 

me: What is your favorite thing to play with Daddy?
Ava: Everything, princess and knight, dragons and unicorns, um sleepovers, and uh and playing um watching TV. I also like when daddy reads to me.

me: What is Daddy's favorite food?
Ava: Gyros

me: What do you do that makes your daddy happy?
Ava: Color for him

me: What makes daddy sad?
Ava: If we don't keep daddy company, or if there is something he is looking for at a store and its not there. (Honestly I think this answer is for what makes Ava sad?) Oh also when me or Ezekiel are sick.

me: How do you know daddy loves you?
Ava: Because of his heart.

me: How does he show you he loves you?
Ava: That's a good question, well because he has a heart and mama that's my answer.

Ezekiel is to young for this interview but he loves his daddy immensely and it shows when Matthew walks in the door from work and Zeke drops what he is doing and runs to give hugs and kisses.

Cheers. 

York, England Part Two

Our second day in York was Packed with a capital "P" there was so much to see and do. I am still impressed with everything we did on Saturday. Here it is:

First we went to Clifford's Tower which is part of our heritage pass and was built during William the Conqueror reign and is the last standing piece to the York Castle. We walked all the way to the top which was no easy feat we climbed up and down a narrow, winding stair case with Bear strapped to his daddy and Lady holding onto me. I will say the view at the top was worth it. 

Inside Clifford's Tower.

The view from the top.

After Clifford's tower we went to York Minster for a tour but it wasn't open yet so we rested and ate cupcakes at this adorable cupcake shop called Crumbs, with a view of the Minster. Then we headed to the National Railway Museum the best part was it was free to the public and the museum it self was amazing and worth the walk. We also got to walk along the York Wall. After the Museum we finally went to the Cathedral and took part in a tour. Sadly at this point I was worn out and so were the kids.

We had a great day exploring York and I will leave you with these gems. I feel incredibly thankful for these two.

Cheers.

York, England Part One

I have been wanting to visit York since I read Secret Garden a few years ago when I was nursing Ava as a newborn and I had a lot of time to read especially at 2 AM for those late/early feedings. The setting of the book is in York and they cross through the Yorkshire Moors also another dream to see them and especially when the purple heather is in full bloom and all you see for miles and miles is a sea of purple. But I will tell you more about that later. The kids and I had been home from Florida a couple of weeks and we wanted to get away as a family and Matthew booked a hotel the night before we left and off we went. York has so much history and was just so beautiful! The first night was a Friday so we got there in time to scoop out the city center and eat a delicious dinner. This also marked the first time we were on a mini holiday and neither Matthew nor I were in school. FREEDOM!!!! Yup, that's right I am officially done with school I am a college grad!! 

The cutest thing ever a family of Geese and their goslings.

Even before moving to England I had heard about Betty's Tea Room in York and knew I had to visit. I have to admit I was really excited to go try their scones. 

The York Minster is where Roman Emperor was crowned. How cool is that?

This crazy man climbed up this very steep hill while holding onto a four year old and a 17 month old. Both weigh about 30 plus pounds. Good news daddy made sure they made it all the way to the top and they were all very proud of themselves. Zeke Bear and Ladybird cheered  and threw their hands up in victory!

Cheers.

Barcelona la tercera parte

Our third day in Barcelona was just as filled as the previous two days and for good reason there was still so much to see and do in this beautiful city. I have an ongoing mental list of things I want to see and do and one of them was to attend Carnival celebrations. For those of you that don't know what carnival is, it's basically these massive parties, street parades and dancing with bright colors for an entire week before lent. Typically catholic cities have these festivities before its a time of fasting. I probably oversimplified this but if you want more info read this Wikipedia page because of coarse when ever in doubt got to the wiki. 

I have always thought attending Carnival in Rio would be amazing but I don't think that's a trip with kids and its to far. So while we are here in Europe I searched for where Carnival was celebrated and Spain was one of them. However even though I have wanted to do this and have even researched it we had no idea we were in Barcelona for Carnival. It was very serendipity and although it was all week long we kept missing the parades finally we planned accordingly (thank you husband) and we got to see this amazing parade. I felt like a local and it just affirmed to me why we live in Europe it's to have experiences like this. We feel very blessed. 

These beautiful brightly colored women were dressed for the Bolivian Carnival celebrations. (We caught the ending but at least we got to see the costumes.)

The plan was to go to the Picasso Museum because it just so happens the first Sunday of the month admission is free but had we gone to the museum we couldn't do the zoo. So we gave up a little culture for the happiness of our kiddos. So we went to the Barcelona Zoo and neither of us regretted it, it is a fantastic zoo.

 A few weeks ago on Instagram I posted a hippo picture because it reminded me of one of my favorite songs from Madagascar by Motto the macho Hippo so I had to take a selfie with Motto. Although, I don't think I am his type.

My husband has the best sense of humor and one day he learned about Capybara's and ever since then wants to give one as a gift; this is because when these animals are babies they look like guinea pigs and when  they grow they grow to be a size of a hog. He just thinks it would be hilarious to give a cute and cuddly animal and then in a few weeks it would grow to be around 146 pounds. This was the first time we actually got to see them in person. This photo is for my family. When he told them about these animals and his plan they all laughed for hours. I am laughing now just remembering this story.

So after the zoo we made our way to the Born Cultural Museum where the parade would start. There is so much history in Barcelona also known as Catalunya. Catalunya was a country until Spain took it in a war a long time ago. Anyway this particular parade was all about the battle and how they lost but they want to make Catalunya independent again. At least I think this what it was about the whole thing was in Catalan which is like a mix between Spanish and Portuguese (in my opinion anyway.) Read more about Barcelona's fascinating history here.  

I will always remember this night although ladybird did not really enjoy it. In fact she cried for the part of the parade she said the noises where to loud. This is where a nice man in the crowd stopped his wife who was walking in the parade to take off her balloon that was tied to her wrist to give it to Ladybird. It cheered her up and for the rest of the night Matthew and I danced, sang and clapped our hands with the rest of  Catalunya.

Cheers.