New Forest Camping July 2011

We had our annual camping trip to the New Forrest, with two other families with kids. Much fun was had by all!


We went to a village festival one day, and the kids were SO excited by the rides, but even more excited when we told them that they could go on one.



It is never possible to get all 6 kids in one picture, all being happy - this was our best attempt.

Summer in Oxford

The fact that I'm posting our Summer pictures in mid-October may give you the hint that I'm just not keeping up with this blog so well any more. Life is busy.

On the up side, Sophie has discovered that she LOVES being bounced by William on a bouncy castle.

William's 4th Birthday

William's 4th Birthday was celebrated with Jenny, Seb and Simon, who all came to visit William (and us) on the day. There was some balloon bopping! He also had a party in the local park with 8 friends. Andrew devised and lead some great games, including 'chuck the wellie' which the kids loved. William had a picnic lunch with a dinosaur cake. Thanks to Great Uncle Barry and Aunty Linda for the ukelele!

William graduates from nursery

The kids all looked very grown up and very little at the same time. Primary school starts in September.

Lake District July 2011

Isn't it great when your best friend on holiday wants to do exactly the same thing that you want to do?




William and Megan found that muddly puddles are the best things to play in, and if there isn't one around, then they'd just find a stone to sit on together, as an ideal location to eat, or fish, or just watch the world go by from.
















We had a lovely holiday in the Lake District, staying near Coniston, which was mostly spent playing in streams, lakes and ponds. With three families coming together (the Marshall's, Stacey's and Brown's) we numbered 6 adults and 7 kids. I'm already looking forward to meeting up again next year.

Wood festival, May 2011

Shortly after our return to Oxford, we spent a weekend camping at a small, green, local, family-friendly music festival, called Wood. They have a cycle-powered film tent, loads of activities and a solar-powered stage (risky thing to do in the UK!). The weather was lovely though and we spent lots of time in the kids tent doing activities. I'm not sure that we heard any music at all, except for a kids song-writer and singer called Nick Cope (we went to both his sessions) but much fun was had by all, trying to relax a bit.


One reason Andrew was particularly keen on this festival is that you were encouraged to cycle there. I agreed, on the condition that as it was his idea, he could carry both kids on his bike. The Oxford Cycle Workshop organised a group of people to travel down together, choosing a very pleasant route and supplying a picnic. The festival organisers gave us all a free beer when we arrived. I was pleased to survive my longest ever cycle (3.5hrs).

Even though we traveled by bike, we still brought quite a load of stuff!
(A van took all our gear, so that we didn't have to carry it all on our bikes).



William made something (?with a face on it) to carry along in the parade!



Sophie enjoying a bit of English camping, and her first ice cream.

Home

It is lovely to be back in our own home. The weather here has been better than that we experienced in Australia - that will teach us to leave! The garden has grown into a wild meadow in our absence and so William and Sophie has spent the bank holiday weekend helping us mow and weed. I chopped a few branches off one of the lilac trees and brought them inside. I love being able to pick flowers from my own garden. ☺ Now I just need to visit the garden centre and buy some new plants - what fun.


We found out today that William has been accepted at our first choice of primary school, St Andrews, which is a short walk from our house. He starts on Monday 5th September – what a big boy! I already excited and nervous for him....what on Earth will I be like on the day? He seems pretty calm about the idea though.


My step-Grandmother, (also called) Jo, came and stayed with us for a night last weekend on her way to Heathrow at the end of a holiday. It was lovely for her to meet Sophie and we all enjoyed being tourists in Oxford together for a day. As she has extensive experience minding her seven grandchildren, she was great with the kids.


On the Monday bank holiday we went to Blenheim Palace to watch the falconry and jousting - lots of fun! We enjoyed a picnic lunch there with friends (Rae, Maeve and Edward) as well as a train ride and the kids and I enjoyed doing the hedge maze.