Father's Day

We all had a great day yesterday - pressies and cards for Daddy from each of our sprongs..

Lee was also happy as he finally got his onesie - had to of course, be a Star Wars one!

Lee spent time with the boys over at B&Q DIY club and then it was off to the in-laws for dinner and a lovely afternoon spent in good company.


The one sadness was my own darling Daddy who I miss so much...  I'd been over to the cemetary on Saturday and had a good chat and cry....

Luther Vandross sums it up so well....  LOVE this song.
Dance with my Father

A tournament well played..

Well, the official footie season may be over - (Oh God, now it's World Cup) but the tournaments have started and the Leigh Ramblers Under 8 Tigers put up a good fight at the weekend taking part in Hawkwell's Tournament.

Nicholas usually plays in goal for the team but on occasion he still likes to get out there on the pitch and plays as no.11...  He also manages to lift the team in some way which is great...

He's also a tough cookie, so when he gets hurt, as his Mum, I get rather worried seeing my boy hurt...

 But he's a real star and a got back up on his feet and carried on :)

It was scorching hot and they did really well, all receiving medals for taking part.

Way to go little man.

Merlin Productions...

It was all a bit manic last Sunday (when is it not)? but it all worked out and Alex managed to attend Merlin Productions' latest workshop.

He even collected his new official shirt.  Auditions for Snow White are next month... Ekkk!

Sooooooo brave...

I was a nervous wreck... not that I let my darling girl see that, as she was sooooooooooo looking forward to her first ever Rainbows sleepover last weekend.

So there we ALL were, Lee and the boys too at Guideacres in Benfleet dropping my little lady off to spend the day and night with her friends...

My best friend's daughter Niamh has just gone up from Rainbows into Brownies, and Niamh had promised me that she would take good care of Cassandra..

I don't recall being as worried about the boys when they went on their first sleepovers, maybe it was 'cos they were boys, or that they were 6½ not just 5 years old when they went.  But I now have a new found understanding of the concerns of Beaver Scout mums - as, as a leader, I get to take their precious children away for a night... 

Cassandra was apparently inseparable from her new bud Alesha...

Granny Owl had assured me (after a late text on Saturday night - I just couldn't hold out any longer) that she was fine, probably doing better than I was and she was just about to have some hot chocolate!

After flag down on Sunday morning I was very grateful for a big hug!

 I'm glad she had a great time, but also glad she's home :)

Little Fish!!!!!

Nicholas did it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was a big day in more ways than one.  Firstly I was sitting my current OU module exam in Chelmsford, but more importantly Nicholas was swimming at Garons as part of Team Blenheim in the inter-schools swim gala.

I was truly gutted that I couldn't be there to cheer my boy on, however Nannie went along to support him and a few of my friends that were also in attendance encouraged him too.  It all paid off as not only did Nicholas come 2nd in his front crawl race, he was part of the two relay teams that won.  So he was rattling with medals when he came out of school today!!

Not only that but.... TEAM BLENHEIM won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  promoted to division 1 next year..

Another proud mummy moment x

Summertime Photography scavenger hunt

Mum found a brilliant activity that both she and I are going to take part in a photographic scavenger hunt which runs from NOW until 23rd September 2014.

Idea is that over the course of the summer, you find and photograph all 21 items on the list!

1. A sign welcoming people to your home town (or a nearby town)
2. A garden gnome
3. Birds on a wire
4. A group of tourists
5. A rack of post cards
6. An urban street scene
7. A rural landscape
8. A tattoo on a person
9. A bakery
10. A photo bomb (someone found lurking in the background of photo; the lurker may have intended to disrupt the picture or may be doing it unintentionally, but the background lurker is a surprise to the photographer)
11. A horn
12. A mascot
13. A sunrise
14. A parade
15. A juggler
16. A sign in a language other than English
17. A lamp post
18. A water fall
19. A public garden
20. A bus (not a car, truck, lorry, camper or RV) with a picture painted on its sides.
21. A photograph of you with something representing the season (recognizing that the season will be Winter for our friends in the southern hemisphere). Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.

Full details can be found here: summertime-photography-scavenger

Can't wait to get started, although I'm thinking a waterfall may just be a tad challenging!!!

So proud of our young man..

So so proud of Alexander - his first day as a Scout yesterday.

Thank you Mum for sewing all his badges on his new shirt.

I'm forever blowing bubbles...

Nicholas had been looking forward to today for months!  He was first up and dressed in full footie kit before 7am!

Today was the day that Leigh Ramblers Under 8 Tigers got to play in a tournament at Upton park - the home of West Ham United FC.

Nicholas was the proud captain today and got to lead his team out of the tunnel and onto the pitch!

 Getting psyched...

Nicholas has an amazing goal kick...

  Organising the team...

Whilst Nicholas LOVES being in goal, he still also very much enjoys playing out on pitch too, so for one match, his team mate Ben went in goal and Nicholas got to tear around for a bit!

End of the day line up

West Ham ex player George Parris was on hand to present each player with their participation medal and certificate.

 My gorgeous boy and his proud Daddy AKA the Manager and Coach!

The "Official" Team photo.

Alexander and Nicholas and the rest of the siblings that came along to support their brothers did brilliantly too and it was indeed an awesome day for all those involved.