Sunday 11th April 2010

Spent a stunning afternoon with Andrew today.....he is very close to all my children and it was special for the whole family to have him with us for a couple of hours. First braai of the season complete with Boerewors and Lamb chops made it just perfect and Si was in his element standing over his webber once again :0)

Planning a trip to Thorpe Park....

Saturday 10th April 2010

When we opened our eyes to magnificent blue skies this morning we just knew we had to get out and enjoy the warmer weather. Loading the bikes on the back of Daisy (our new car) we set off for Deer Leap Park in West Hoatherly about 20 minutes drive from us.

Daisy with her name on the back (thanks to Tracy)

My gorgeous daughter photographed against a gorgeous sky

a family game of up and under after the picnic lunch

Soaking up the sun

Deer Leap Park is the best kept secret in West Sussex and comprises 240 acres of mountain bike trails which provided Si and the two older children with loads of opportunities to burn off winter energy and explore while Mum, Nick and I lay on our beautiful picnic blanket and soaked up the sun.

Phil riding the trails




I probably should have, but I couldn't resist giving it a go....with my trusty Phil just behind to catch me :0)

To say the wide open spaces with no crowds and warm weather rejuvinated my dh's soul is the understatement of the century and he actually made the comment that "life is good" in the car on the way home, oh how far we have come.....long may it last :0)

Tuesday 7th April 2010

This morning dawned with magnificent blue skies and just the slightest breeze which meant there was absolutely no way mum and I could resist a walk around Wakehurst Place. The children are on school holiday at the moment and they enjoyed the opportunity to get out and stretch their legs.

Meg and Nick enjoying the ducks sunbathing amongst the daffodiles

Photo by Megan

Photo by Megan

The boys caught in some rare quiet time by the lake

The very best of friends

Easter Sunday 4th April 2010

After a slow start it was out into the garden for Nick Nick to experience his first Easter Egg Hunt and while at first he wasn't sure what it was all about, with his sister and brother's help it didn't taken him very long to get into the swing of things. Such a cute memory.

My stash

Friday 2nd April 2010

On Wednesday Mum and I decided to take a cross country road trip and surprise Linda for her 40th birthday in Weston-Super-Mare. I have been planning this visit for a while and then when Cayne rang and said he was organising her a surprise dinner I just knew I had to be there, the problem was the exorbitant train fares due to the Easter weekend....fortunately the blessing of "Daisy" (our new car) solved all my problems and at 7am on Good Friday we set off.

After a surprisingly pleasant 4 hour drive I was standing on the Andrew family's driveway in the rain waiting for Linnie to peer out of her window to look at a dog Caylin and I had concocted in the park......to say she was BLOWN AWAY was the understatement of the century and I am so so glad that I was able to add a little bit of joy to her very special birthday.

Looking a wee bit shattered after a very long drive

The rest of the day passed in a blur of visiting family and friends and was finished with a superb dinner at Lin's fav restaurant. Saturday morning saw us all up early as I simply had to show mum Dunelm Mills in Weston before we started for home.....this store is AMAZING and is Mr Price Homezone only better - my mother was totally BLOWN away and I think we could have spent literally hours wandering around browsing. All too soon it was time to kiss Linnie goodbye and head home, such a lovely 24 hours and one I wouldn't have missed for the world.

The saying goes that time flies whilst you are having fun, and that is most certainly the case with mum's visit - can't believe that she has already been here two weeks, and that I have only done one blog post in that time ;0)

To catch up.......

Mum and I have spent a fair amount of time out and about shopping and have completed my spring terrace which is attracting all kinds of little butterflies and ladybugs, so lovely to sit outside on the rare sunny day and enjoy the flowers - it has been a long, cold, bleak winter.

Yesterday after a big rain shower we were blessed with this gorgeous rainbow

The fact that it became a double rainbow made it all the more beautiful

Nick Nick is the only one in the family who doesn't mind all the rain lol

The children have loved having granny with us and have spent lots of quality time cuddled up listening to stories and chatting about their lives here, it is quite heartening as a mum to listen to them (when they don't know I am around) and hear that they genuinely are happy living in England.

Nick Nick has LOVED having Granny's attention and really "plays" for the crowd :0)

We collected my new car on Tuesday and am LOVING it, I have called her Daisy and Tracy has made me the sweetest little decal which I am having made and which will be going on her back - the kids are enjoying all the space and even Si seems to have fallen in love.


Megan breaks up for two weeks Easter Holiday today and her and Gran are off for a girls morning in Lindfield tomorrow while I take Nick Nick off to baby group. Phil breaks up tomorrow and we have some lovely outings planned if the weather will just give us a break and stop raining for a short time.

So so lovely to have my mom with me, wish time could just slow down a little bit as her holiday just seems to be rushing by.

Monday 22nd March 2010

Just returned from a lovely long weekend spent at the Rockley Park Haven resort in Poole with my mum and the Viljoen family. Poole is approximately 2.5 hours South West of us on the Dorset coast and once again the prospect of a sandy beach was the ultimate draw card.

Friday saw mum, the children and I arriving well after dark having got lost a number of times on the way down, satnav is all very well when you can actually see where you are going, but England is renowned for it's traffic circles (some as big as 4 lanes) and I kept finding myself in the wrong lane, needless to say my stress levels where through the roof by the time we arrived so it was up to the restaurant for a much needed drink and dinner before an early night was had by all in preparation for a busy day on Saturday.

Unfortunately Saturday dawned cold and rainy, but as all Haven parks have really good indoor facilities the children were quite happy playing in the indoor swimming pool until we were joined for lunch by Rob's friends Debbie, Jonny and their children.

All 3 children were THRILLED to have Granny with us and were quick to jump into bed for a snuggle in the morning

Phil and 9 year old Caylee instantly hit it off and my son's first holiday romance quickly blossomed (eish). The children were all AMAZING and I can honestly say we didn't hear peep from them all afternoon, which was no small thing considering the size of the caravan that was at that point housing 7 adults and 8 children between the ages of 20 months and 11 years. Nicholas LOVED playing with all the big children and they were all in turn very good at spending time with him and including him in their games.

Megs and Donay spending some quality time over a game of cards in the caravan

Megs, Phil and Donay enjoying the water walkers on Saturday evening

Sunday dawned clear and relatively warm (12 degrees) so it was all into the car after a very speedy breakfast and down to the beach for a play, again the children were wonderful and while the grownups enjoyed coffee and newspapers on the beach they all played together so incredibly well. A late lunch back at the caravan was followed by more swimming in the indoor pool and some rock climbing before an exhausted group settled down for a chilled evening of pizza and dvd's.

After playing on the beach I realised I didn't have a change of clothes for Nick Nick so he ended up playing in the park in his sisters jumper.....looked like a little oompa loompa (lol)

All the excitement was simply too much for him

This morning after a relatively late start we enjoyed a huge big fry up together before heading home and back to reality....must say I really enjoy the 3 night weekend as I find going home on Sunday tends to break the weekend whereas having that extra night seems to finish it off somehow.

This is the first time we have been away with our close friends and it is definitely not going to be the last, as I have said the children all got on so well and it was more like being away with family than friends....such a FANTASTIC weekend guys, thank you so so much.