UK, Day 3: April Showers

After a day of nice weather on Thursday, Good Friday turned into a wet, chilly day.  Nothing terrible but more or less of an annoying, constant drizzle and mist.  This turned out to be a problem for Chris who meant to bring his contacts with him, but left them back at the flat.  Ava, however, was well bundled up - albeit a bit grumpy after waking up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep, and then being woken up for an early bus and train ride.

We arrived at the Royal Pavilion - the sumptuous, faux-Indian/Chinese palace for George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) - just after opening time, and before the hordes of French teenagers.  While we couldn't take photos inside, the kids' audio guide was right up Ava's alley.

Walking through the drizzle, we made our way down to the seaside to the Brighton Pier where we played a few games, spotted the Brighton Wheel (a bit to dull and gray to be worth going up), and had freshly fried donuts. 

We spent a lot of time wandering through The Lanes, and window shopping. 

After a short train ride to Falmer, we visited Abby's old stomping grounds at the University of Sussex, including her old dorm building, which overlooks some of the natural beauty of Sussex.  Alas, there were no cows hanging about today. 

There wasn't much on the other side of the Falmer train station when Abby was at Sussex, but the American Express Community Stadium (aka The Amex), home to Brighton and Hove Albion, now towers above the South Downs. 

Thanks to the fine folks at Brighton, Ava had a free Brighton jersey waiting for her at the reception desk, while Chris purchased a hat to keep the rain out of his glasses. 

Despite the cheering and songs from the home fans, the Albion struggled mightily against promotion chasing Norwich City for the first 30 minutes of the match.  Ava took this as the perfect opportunity for a much needed nap.  

She woke up in time for a half-time chicken and ham pie, and to see Brighton's attempts to score in the second half, but Brighton just couldn't find the back of the net, losing 1-0. 

To finish off our day, we took the bus to Covent Garden where we found another Shaun the Sheep. 

We had a late dinner at Belgo Centraal, where Abby and Chris enjoyed moules frites while Ava had roast chicken, chips, and actual fresh green veggies! 

Saturday will bring with it some adventures in London including a return to Stamford Bridge to see Chelsea take on Stoke City.  Hopefully the Blues play better than the Albion did today.

UK, Day 2: From Stamford Bridge to Bloomsbury

The song says we'll keep the blue flag flying high from Stamford Bridge to Wembley.  We did things a bit differently today starting with a stroll through Bloomsbury Square and going to Stamford Bridge later.

After sleeping in a bit (or a lot) we made the short walk toThe British Museum, which is really a museum about really amazing things stolen by the Brits.  

It was Ava's first visit and she chose to follow the children's trail on ancient Greece, which ultimately led us to the Nereid Monument and the Parthenon.  We also wandered around to see the Rosetta Stone and other ancient artifacts including mummies (which Ava found a bit creepy).

Taking the tube down to Chelsea (actually in the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham), we visited Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC, where Ava joined the squad for a team photo, and paid homage to the King of Stamford Bridge, Peter Osgood.

Next up was the Chelsea museum where we saw a plethora of Chelsea trophies including the European Cup. 

Our tour included EGGsellent puns and fun facts from our tour guide, and we also had some very special guests join us - Chelsea mascots Stamford and Bridget.  They walked around the stadium with us and stayed with us for an impromptu interview in the press room. 

We visited both the home and away dressing room where Ava got to sit where her favo(u)rite players sit. 

At the end of the tour Ava was given a special Easter surprise - much better than a plastic egg. 

Behind Stamford Bridge lies Brompton Cemetery (est. 1840), home to some of the people who inspired the names of characters in Beatrix Potter's stories, and home to some of Chelsea's founding fathers.

Our last stop of the day was Giraffe, where Ava had a delicious (albeit not very healthy meal). 

Join us tomorrow as we head south to Brighton and Falmer!

UK, Day 1: Back in London

After a long flight, getting through immigration, and a trip on the Heathrow Express, we finally made it into London.  The train dropped us off at Paddington where we saw the first, of what could be many, Shaun the Sheep statue.  This one was called Lambmark Larry and includes some of the most famous lambmarks in London.

We are staying in the same flat we rented three years ago, so Ava found everything to be a bit familiar.  After dropping off all our luggage, we made a quick stop to Coram's Field to visit the bunny Ava adopted, and which she named Carrots.  Carrots was napping but seems to be very well taken care of and shares space with his cousin. 

Although we went grocery shopping, Chris couldn't be bothered to actually make dinner so he walked to the nearby chippy and brought home dinner.  Ava loved it, especially the crunchy parts.  Obviously! 

Ava is looking forward to a busy day tomorrow including a special treat at Stamford Bridge.  Stay tuned as our adventures in London really begin.

Kitties Out, Ducks In

After several years of having a pink room with a Hello Kitty team, Ava requested that we switch things up.  After much debate, Ava chose violet paint, turquoise bedding, and a sports theme.

We also added a map that acts as a white board onto her closet.

The newest addition was the bat Ava was given at Angels Spring Training.

The next time around Chris will hire an electrician to deal with the electrical as his attempt to change out all the outlets and switches in the room led to an overhead light that could not be switched off!

Spring Comes Early in Arizona

While most of the country continued to bundle up and shovel snow, Ava escaped the 70 degree weather of Orange County to head to Arizona for 80 degree weather. 

Our first stop was to Tempe Diablo Stadium to see the Angels.  For Abby and Chris, this was their sixth Spring Training trip but first time visiting the Angels' stadium.  Despite their attempts to get Ava to cheer for the A's as her American League team, Ava has clearly chosen the Angels as her second team - a natural choice for a girl constantly surrounded by kids with Rally Monkeys and Mike Trout jerseys.

Arriving at the training fields early, not only was Ava able to get autographs from a number of players, but minor league catcher Pedro Pizarro even gave her one of his cracked bats.

At the game we met up with Grammy and Poppy, who were enjoying their first Spring Training trip. 

Checking into our digs for the weekend, Ava enjoyed the balcony and grounds at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass.

Most importantly, it was warm enough for Ava to go to the pool and waterslide  in the mornings and late afternoon.

You can't spend all day in the sun without getting some good food, and we enjoyed an evening out with pizza and ice cream.  

Ava gave in on Saturday and was willing to cheer for Abby's A's while we checked out the revamped Hohokam Park, the former home of the Cubs.  A special treat (more for Chris than for Ava) was getting to visit with Hall of Famer and mustache king Rollie Fingers (for a charitable donation). 

Every road trip has its hiccups, and ours included leaving a library book at our motel in Blythe on our way to Arizona.  Fortunately, the motel was able to find the book and we were able to pick the book up on our way home.  Or, maybe, Ava just wanted an excuse to visit the dolphin statue outside the motel.

We're looking forward to returning in 2016 when we plan on tailgating on the lawn at an A's and/or Cubs game.  Feel free to join Ava for that adventure!

Wintry Weather

Despite the fairly consistent warm weather in Southern California, Ava was able to enjoy a weekend in the snow with her friends Josh and Sarah.  After lessons and a warm up run on the bunny slopes the kids were able to ski all the way from the top of Snow Summit down to the bottom.  

Here's a little peek of how Ava did: http://youtu.be/Liw7NIdH-mQ 

The biggest life changing event of the past couple months was Ava breaking her tooth at school during recess.  Ava is such a trooper that she picked up the broken part of her tooth, threw it away, cleaned herself up, and didn't even say anything to Abby at pick-up.

Ava's little accident has done nothing to dampen her love for school, and she continues to do well in class and outside of class, where she recently ran 10 laps in the Brywood Jog-A-Thon in order to raise money for the school to purchase laptops.

Ava's love for sports has continued throughout the winter with trips to see the Ducks, the Globetrotters, UCLA gymnastics and basketball, UCI basketball, and even a winter visit to Dodger Stadium for the Dodgers FanFest.

Ava turned 7 1/2 in February and got to celebrate her half-birthday/Valentine's Day at school and at home. 

Girl Scout cookie sales have been going strong with Ava surpassing her goal of selling 400 boxes of cookies.  Thanks to all our friends, family, co-workers, and the OC Blues for helping Ava reach her goal.  With some of the money, the girls will be supporting The Water Project to help build wells for those who would otherwise not have clean water. 

Ava has had visits from all three sets of her grandparents including Grandma and Grandpa Cruz who came to visit from Hawaii, as well as the newest member of our family cousin Anthony.