In all my excitement about my fabulous gift yesterday I forgot to include a photo of the gift Maggie selected for me plus the gift she selected for herself :-) Can you guess which is mine and what is hers?
I think the Bambi snowglobe is a perfect addition to my Bambi collection.
Maggie's new bathing suit is adorable...the little skirt is not attached and is basically a little cover up for on the way to the beach/pool.
She can't wait until our trip to Florida to wear it.
Although the official first day of spring is not for another 28 days, the spring flowers are starting to show. 
The snowdrops are in bloom, daffodils are starting as are a few other random spring flowers. 
We did not have the weather extremes that many of our friends and family had this past winter {YEAH} but we are ready for the warmer, drier weather.
This afternoon we went to the indoor theme park at the large shopping mall about 45 minutes away.
The rides were OK, but it didn't seem to bother Maggie at all {she loved it all}
**edited ~ it is not a religious figure behind Maggie LOL, the theme of the ride was a desert scene so it is a man who tends to camels {whatever they are supposed to look like I guess}** 
Today is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Lent - the 40 days leading up to Easter was traditionally a time of fasting and on Shrove Tuesday Christians went to confession and were "shriven" (absolved from their sins).
New Orleans has Mardi Gras {Fat Tuesday} ~ undoubtedly one of the largest parties on Earth.
Detroit has Paczki's ~filled dough treats; one pastry alone contains about 420 calories and more than 25 grams of fat. 
Here in the UK.....we have PANCAKES!! - In past times it was the last opportunity to use eggs and fats before embarking on the Lenten fast and pancakes were the perfect way of using up these ingredients. The pancake has a very long history and featured in cookbooks as far back as 1439.
The kids are off school this week for their 1/2 term break so we are going to be spending time seeing the sites close to home. This morning the kids and I went to Rievaulx Abbey, located in North Yorkshire {about 45 minutes from our house}.
The abbey was founded by St Bernard of Clairvaux, as part of the missionary effort to reform Christianity in western Europe. Just 12 Clairvaux monks came to Rievaulx in 1132. From these modest beginnings grew one of the wealthiest monasteries of medieval England and the first northern Cistercian monastery.
The boys' school has an annual school cross country event in February. It was a not so perfect day weather wise ~ rainy with fog, but the event went as planned. Since the school is located here in the village I had a perfect viewing of the kids as they ran. { the course is the same way we walk with the dog} I was able to stand in the back yard and see the kids run below along the river. Everything is done by age groups and this year Andrew and Chris ran at the same time. 
The course is a little over 2 miles and both boys did very well. Andrew came in 1st place with a time of 13:08.
Christopher finished 16th with a time of 20:06. This was a HUGE accomplishment for Chris as this year he actually ran the course ~ last year he had a leisurely stroll :-)
I don't have a picture of Chris finishing as I missed him...I didn't expect him to finish so quickly! {I was busy talking to other moms!}
The weather here today was absolutely beautiful ~ sunny and 48, not bad for the middle of winter. While the kids were in school a few of us went to the spa town of Harrogate and had a great time. 
We started the day off with breakfast at this fabulous cafe(shown in the first photo), followed by some shopping and back to the same cafe for lunch {yes, it was that good}. 
The breads and baked goods are all made on the premises daily. Check out this small selection of goodies in the window.
The Police plan a world tour of arenas, stadiums and some festivals beginning in North America on May 28 in Vancouver, moving to Europe in September and October{ they are coming to see ME} , then re-crossing the Atlantic.
Some confirmed cities include New York, Boston, Seattle, Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, New Orleans, St. Louis, Toronto and Montreal.
They will headline the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee. Tickets for the North American leg will range from $50 to $225. A portion of proceeds will go to WaterAid, an anti-poverty organization that seeks to provide poor people access to safe water.
Yes it is true...they are BACK!! {We'll they haven't officially announced the tour...but we all know it is going to happen }Who knows when they will be here in the UK but I WILL BE THERE. Ideally, I'd like to see a couple shows but 1 will do. I will keep you posted on my ticket quest.
Once again the snow has missed us. The kids were quite upset this morning to see the weather conditions south of us and in London ~ lots of snow!! They did forcast snow in our area but it never materialized. We have had a few short bursts of snow but nothing of any significance , oh well...maybe another time.
Way to go COLTS!
We arrived as the tide was coming back in so the waves were great and the kids got stuck on the rocks for a brief time. 
