Saturday, 30 July 2011

Summer '11

I can't believe it's almost August and I've been very slack at getting a post done. Guess with the summer holidays things have got busier and there just hasn't been time to sit down, go through the photos and think back on what we've been doing. I'll try and do justice to some of our news, visits and activities here but I'm quite sure that a few will be missed!

At the beginning of the month, Beth took her Rainbows promise. It was all very relaxed as that week they had a trip to the park for a picnic tea and games. As you can see from the photo, she wasn't too fussed about recording the moment for posterity!

Toby, not to be outdone, had his sports day. He loved it and every day since has been asking
to go to sports day again. I think he would be very upset if he grasped the concept of 'yearly'! Every child got to go in every type of race. Amazingly there were very few tears from any of them (not bad considering there were close to 30 kids ranging in age from 2.5 to 4.5) and they all had great fun, even the weather was nice. Toby won the obstacle race. :)

Around Easter time, Beth stopped going to gymnastics. She was
very good at it but she just wasn't that fussed by it. There was a lot of sitting round waiting for her turn and she didn't really know any of the other children.

A couple of her friends go to dancing once a week; very informal and it sounded like a good replacement - nice to try a few different hobbies! Anyway, we started going and she seems to enjoy it. I think she sees it as a social activity over learning dance moves - perfect! To finish the term, all the classes held a show of works for the parents. I think she enjoyed dancing for an audience but it was hard to tell since she was literally frowning with concentration for the entire recital!

Finally I thought I'd get in a bit about the veg patch. We've had quite a lot out of it so far and I think some of it would have done quite well in a 'big veg' competition!! Our first cabbage was 2.5kg without the outer leaves, I
picked a beetroot that was over a kilogram and nearly half a kilogram of french beans (now in the freezer).

We're already sick of courgettes and I suspect pretty soon cabbage will loose it's appeal, especially since we still have 20 of a similar size waiting to be picked!! I think our neighbours may get to share out good harvest (whether they like it or not).

Friday, 1 July 2011

The Peaks

Sunday was beautiful - temperature of 28°C (82°F), blue sky, fluffy white clouds and no wind. We decided to have a day out in the Peak District with a little walking, rock scrambling, ice cream eating and small picnic.

Steve and I used to go up to the Peaks quite often when
we were at uni - a drive, a wander and a pint at the pub. Sunday was a little different, ice cream instead of a pint, but probably much more fun. Despite the hour drive, we'll have to do it again soon.