Car boot sale, flowers, and food

Yesterday, we visited the Dales with the boys, Uncle Brian, and Nana. I've been many times, but still couldn't point to it on a map -- I also don't really understand what 'the Dales' is, but I guess it's a portion of the country that is grouped together because it's even more gorgeous than the rest of the country. There are beautiful villages with rock walls throughout and a river (or many?!) that runs through them. Yesterday, we stopped at a car boot sale (my first!) in Bedale. It's sort of like a flea market, but the sellers are, for the most part, just individuals who have stuff/junk/treasures to sell -- they pull into this grassy field, park in rows and then sell stuff out of their trunks/boots. It's sort of like a huge garage sale! Across the road, the church was hosting a flower show and serving refreshments as a fundraiser. It was so fun to watch all of these older women selling delicious homemade cakes, scones, sandwiches, etc....and it was fun to support the cause. ;-)

After the car boot sale, we continued on to Leyburn for a food and drink festival -- my kind of event! There was all kinds of fantastic food -- I ended up having a spinach and cheese pie, a chocolate and strawberry crepe, AND some black currant ice cream (my OB is going to die at my next appointment when she sees how much I've gained). Ellie had her first pickle -- a spicy one, no less -- and she seemed to like it. She didn't want another one, but she had a few bites and given her recent hunger strike, that's a pretty rousing endorsement!

Ellie loved walking around the festival, meeting new people and their dogs. She was particularly interested in a 15-month old boy. They just stood looking at each other, calling each other 'baby' -- then Ellie tried to give him a hug and he pushed her down (she took it as a compliment). It was actually pretty funny to watch the exchange because Ellie was talking up a storm and the little boy just kept saying 'baby' -- he was a good 3-4 inches shorter than Ellie, but she'll have to get used to shorter men if she keeps up this growth pattern! Ellie's other highlight of the day was the New Orleans style brass band -- she walked right up to the front and danced for the audience -- I guess she didn't get any of her mother's stage fright!

After enjoying the beautiful weather and tasty food for a few hours, we headed home, but not before Thomas jumped on the trampoline. He was so brave! With the help of some bungee cords, he was at least 15 feet in the air and didn't seem to mind at all -- guess it helps that he thinks he's Spiderman!