...Summer has been and gone. If you blinked you may have missed it. Tomorrow is back to school day for us all (except Andy, who has trotted off to work over the holidays leaving us asleep, or at best still in pyjamas!). I have mixed feelings about the girls going back to school - on the one hand I like the routine and order of the school week, but on the other I will miss them. I can't believe that I have children in Years 2 and 4 - where does the time go? Six weeks seemed like such a long time at the start of the holidays, and I now can't believe it has gone already. We've had such a lovely time, and our feet have barely touched the ground. We had the first week in Pembrokeshire (in glorious sunshine), then the girls went to my parents' house for a few days, then Andy had a week off and we pottered around here, then I went to stay with my sister and her boyfriend for a few days with the girls, then back to my parents again, then last week we went camping with our lovely friends Sophie and Greg and their girls. Phew, I'm exhausted, and need to go back to work for a rest!
We had a fabulous time in Northumberland at my sister's new house. She lives in a lovely village near Gateshead, and we went to Tynemouth beach, into Newcastle, and to a fabulous museum called Seven Stories, which is a 7 storied building with each floor devoted to different themes in children's books. It was a really lovely place, and our favourite floor was the floor which explored the relationships in children's books set in the countryside with animals as the characters. It sounds very specific, but incorporated Winnie the Pooh, Wind in the Willows, Animals of Farthing Wood, plus many many more. If you are in the area I strongly recommend it - there was something for us all, not just the children, and it was really good fun.
From Rachel's house we went to stay with my parents and spent a day on my Aunt and Uncle's canal barge. My uncle (who will forever more be called Cap'n Dave by us all) let the girls steer the boat, and I got to do the locks with my aunt. The girls definitely got the easy job! We had a lovely restful time and then came back to chaos and a pile of washing ready for camping a day later!
View from the galley (kitchen to any landlubbers) window on the 'Rallus'.
View from the front of the boat as we were just about to set off for a trip along the canal. The pace of life was just lovely, and people were so friendly. We got chatting to one family in a lock who had 8 month old twins in their car seats on the roof of their barge. They were having a ball watching all the leaves pass overhead.
Last week we headed off to the Gower in Wales for a week's camping, and stayed at the best campsite I have ever been on. It was right by the sea and had amazing views (when the mist lifted - we were there 3 days before we saw past the headland!). The girls all went off together to the beach and filled buckets with crabs and whelks - they spent hours bent double, peering into rock pools. We went to some lovely beaches, got cut off by the tide and had to wade through a river after climbing a sheer bank of trees with no path, then I jumped a ditch and fell in (which lightened the mood considerably) and had to squelch back to the car caked in mud. It was a real adventure and was actually quite exciting (in retrospect!). We went back to the tents for a shower and fish and chips, so a good end to the day. The girls did heaps of bike riding, crazy golf, and body-boarding and I swear they have grown several inches since the start of the hols.
3 of the 4 girls in a typical holiday pose - peering into pools!
All 4 showing us their 'firework display' with the free glow-sticks that they were giving out at the camp shop.
Our campsite from the headland.
I couldn't not show you these bargains while I'm at it - the prettiest make up I have ever seen for the princely sum of 50p from H&M, and Delilah - the latest addition to the family, acquired for less than the price of a large glass of wine in my local!
I hope if you are going back to school that it isn't too much of a struggle getting up in the mornings. My new term resolution is to have everything ready the night before, but I bet it lasts less than a week! I've got a huge joint of pork in the oven and am trying to have a chilled out evening with the girls before the chaos starts again!
Cathy XX