Child's Play

We had an action packed weekend, but sadly no photos.

Tessa is over at the moment and pictures will be posted this week I promise!

Meanwhile, Charlotte is now master of her own destiny......

Didn't we have a lovely time the day we went to Richmond.

We jumped on the train this morning and went up to Richmond to see Laura and Ruby. It had been my intention to drive but Callum appears to think that when you go to London- you go by train. So - we went by train. It was great fun and they both behaved really well. Not a great pic but you get the idea.....



Laura made a lovely picnic which we ate in Kew Gardens by the Japanese pagoda.


There is currently a very impressive Henry Moore exhibition in the grounds - which Callum noticed shouting "urgh - what's that big brown thing?" on our way to the creepers and crawlers - a fabulous play area both indoors and out. The chilrden loved this swinging leaf hammock.

'What No Pictures of Charlotte in the Previous Post?"

A Wonderful Weekend.

Adam and Hannah were down this weekend to share in the sunshine, and what a glorious weekend it was. Here are some of the pictures (more to follow from Adam's camera later this week).

Adam was brave enough to go for a swim - blimin' cold apparently!

Guess Who's Walking?

Poor video quality takes nothing away from Charlotte's first few steps. You can imagin how delighted she was!

caterpillars and late summer sun

We're having the best weather of the year. Lovely days in parks and paddling pools. Callum spotted this caterpillar on a tree walking back from the barber yesterday. It will turn into the smerinthus ocellata -more commonly known as the eyed hawk moth. We watched it for ages - the blue tail was fascinating.
No pics of his "do" yet - but it is not drastic as the instructions to the cutter were something along the lines of "can you make it look as though you haven't cut it because his Dad really doesn't want it cut" .....!
The paddling pools are great fun now that the schools have started again and the littlies rule the roost once more.

Callum and Charlotte have started to play together properly- which is great fun for all of us!

And a random picture of bath time a couple of days ago for fun.

Go, Go, Go!

These two must have been exhausted!

High Altitude Golf

Yesterday afternoon Dad and I played golf at the highest golf club in England.

The view and the golf was spectacular!!

We were exhausted just walking from the car park to the first tee!

The course was littered with sheep (and associated by-products!). Guess where this drive ended up??

Kington Agricultural Fair!

Yesterday was great fun. We drove over to Kington for their annual agricultural fair. It was a really big event with lots to see and do, including scurry racing! I have some video of this which I'll post later, meantime here's a picture

Look how far Callum's feet are from the floor!

It was beautiful weather, just right for an ice cream.


Then back home to hang out.

A Carrot form the garden - nice.

Tea Cups and Butterflies

We are in Hereford for the weekend having arrived last night. Vic and I worked today and the children went out with Grandpa and Granny. It was been a beautifully warm day and it looks like they had a great time.

Trader Vic's

Our friends Kieron and Regi, run a stall on Brighton beach during the summer selling jewelry from Peru. This Sunday Vic covered for them so they could attend their niece's 3rd birthday party.


Unfortunately these are the best pictures - the power lead for the proper camera has gone 'missing'!

After six hours on the stall Vic came home with all the patter, and even 'sold' the children their tea!

I hung out with the children on the beach, which of course meant ICE CREAM!!!

Bank Holiday

We stayed local this weekend enjoying some rare sunshine. Highlights include a trip to Zippo's circus with Callum and his friend from nursery - Finlay. Charlotte stayed at home with her Daddy. The highlight for Callum was the clowns who threw spaghetti!
We were all grateful for the ice cream maker which arrived from Canada (with thanks to Rita and Bob). It was great fun to make (you fill the ball with ice and roll it around) was even better fun to eat!
Today was spent in the park behind the house with a picnic and two other families. The six children had great fun.
Charlotte loves the slide. The hat she is wearing was Callum's at about the same age. We have lost about 5 of her hats this summer. She pulls them all off. For some odd reason she is happy to wear this one - maybe it smells of Callum?

Boston Red Sox

Callum is well on his way to becoming a Boston Red Sox fan. The cap fits and he's wearing it!
And so is his Uncle Richard!Big thank you to Richard, Meg, Bleue and Saige for the super box of gifts.

More Holiday Adventure

After Findhorn we went to Rhona and Colin (Vic's aunt and uncle) They live just North West of Inverness on the side of a hill with cracking views.

This picture is taken from the living room window!

We arrived in the evening, and once the children were asleep we enjoyed a terrific meal.

The following morning we took a lovely walk by the river.

On guard.

This was a rather rickety bridge!

The six of us. I was not sure if Charlotte was going to fit into this picture, taken with the automatic timer. Clearly no need to lean as much as I did, but never mind.

Thanks to Rhona and Colin for putting us up, we had a great time.

Extreme Jumping around Findhorn

For some reason Callum really loved jumping around Findhorn..........

Findhorn

On Wednesday we drove the three hours up to Findhorn to stay with Tim and Christine who are very good friends of Chris and Norma. (Christine did all the wonderful flowers at our wedding).

On the day we arrived we spent the afternoon on the beach digging in the sand.........

.........and playing with dogs. The Golden Retriever is Rosie and belongs to Tim and Christine. The other one is Taylor who belongs to the boat yard and is absolutely crazy!

Rosie and Callum have a difference of opinion!

The following day Callum and I caught some crabs off the pier. Well, we only caught this one, but at least we got the photo!

We also had a quick look round the Findhourn Foundation. Check out the grass roof!

Thanks so much to Tim and Christine for their warm welcome and generous hospitality.