"Big" School

Today, Lauren started big school and I am struggling a little with the whole concept of having a child at school and all the responsilbility that comes with that, but I know we will take it in our stride, just like the thousands of parents before us!!
Earlier this morning I was telling Lauren how proud Mummy and Daddy were of her and that this was the start of a great big adventure; I have to admit that I had a little tear in my eye as I looked at this beautiful little girl, all grown up and wondered were the last 5 years had gone?

Lauren's sheer excitement regarding her trip to school meant an early start at 6.30 a.m. "just checking when it is time to go to school mummy?", the putting on of her uniform at an equally early hour and the constant questioning, "is it time to go yet?"
School is only a short 5 minute walk away and we were warmly greeted by Lauren's lovely new teacher who ensured that the parting was brief and painless for all!
I picked her up a short time later and she was full of school chat on the walk home and is looking forward to it all over again tomorrow!

Here are a few photos of Lauren in her uniform - I can feel a scrapbook page coming on!!

Officially over....

To offically mark the end of Lauren's summer holidays we headed up to the North Coast yesterday and spent the day in Portrush. We couldn't have picked a better day, the sky was blue and the sun shone as we set off on our journey, which included a quick stop off at Logan's coffee shop for "eats!"
First stop in Portrush was Barry's amusements, (which always seemed bigger and better when I was a child!!) where we tried and tested most of the rides, unfortunately I didn't get to go on Barry's Big Dipper as there were no other volunteers in sight!




We were also treated to some aircraft displays in preparation for the airshow due to be held this week-end, judging by the practise flights it looks like it is going to be a good one!! (hope the weather isn't a washout!)


I didn't have the right lens on my camera for a close-up shot but you can just about make out the planes to the left of the church spire.

Last night I completed my first scrapbook page in ages, anyone who knows me knows that I used to be some-what fanatical about this past-time. Unfortunately I seemed to develop what is known as "scrappers block" and hadn't scrapped a photograph for about 8 months!
I have taken some advice form a fellow blogger and scrapper (thanks Jo), cut my pages to a smaller size and went for it...and this is the result. It is a bit of a scraplift from the recent issue of CK magazine and I think I am happy with it.

Playing catch-up

First, apologies for not blogging for ages, mainly due to computer/internet problems, holidays and the amount of washing and ironing produced from said holiday!! Secondly, let me apologise in advance for the length of this post which I fear my be long!

Let the catch-up begin:

1. We spent 10 fab days with Roy's brother and sister in England and enjoyed, good food, good wine and great company! Fortunately we saw very little of the torrential rain those back home in NI were subjected to and we even managed to slap on a bit of sun-cream on 2 occasions - imagine!
Like anyone with young families, finding things to do is a must and so we found ourselves visiting the Cotswolds Wildlife Park, where the main attraction seemed to be Roy's bright yellow polo shirt, and the resulting wasp sting - ouch!, Legoland(where unfortunately we did see rain)







...and Leeds Castle (near Maidstone and not Leeds as the name would suggest).




We even managed to squeeze in a play park or two,



plus the added bonus of having your cousins on hand 24/7 made for 2 very happy little, if not a little exhausted girls.

2. My baby turned 2 on the 24th August, she is growing up so fast that it shocks me and along with turning 2 comes the tears and tantrums, the fight for independence and the pure joy at her increasing ability to communicate with us. We had a small party with family and Peppa Pig featured heavily on the gift front, along with the cutest little wooden cot for her baby and her very own "bawbie" just like her big sister, (it's not actually a barbie but a Fisher Price Snap 'n Style doll - it keeps her happy changing its clothes and brushing its hair)




(I am puzzled as to why Lauren only has a vest on in this photo)!!

You may recall in a previous post the fact that Amy had been refusing to go on her swing, thankfully that notion passed on holiday and on her birthday she actually asked to be put into her Jungle Gym swing!



3. I have become a rockstar and formed my own band!! No, I haven't gone completely insane, we bought the Guitar Hero III game for the Wii and I have spent many an evening developing my rock career and earning money to buy new guitars and band members!
Also on the entertainment front, I finally got round to seeing Mamma Mia, what a great film and I couldn't help but sing along to the songs. I would rather have seen Meryl Streep marry Colin Firth but that's just me personally!
I am a big fan of musicals and we went with friends to see Joseph in the Grand Opera House starring Craig Chalmers from the BBC's search for Joseph "Any Dream will do" and Tara Bethan from the search for a Nancy "I'd Do anything" It was a truly fantastic performance and the atmosphere was electric.

4. Tomorrow is the start of September, GB, ballet, swimming, Jo-Jingles are all about to restart...and Lauren is about to start P1! She doesn't actually start until the 8th and seems to be excited about going, lets hope that is the case next week too. I'll post a picture next week of her first day at school.
Trying to entertain the girls this year has been challenging at times with the washout summer we have had. During a dry spell the other day, Lauren wanted to wash her bicycle and not to be left out, Amy wanted to wash her trike, out came the sponges and to be honest I don't who or what was more wet afterwards, the kids or the bikes? anyway, they had fun!



Well, that's it folks, congratulations if you have managed to stay with me! Have a good week!

Happy Birthday.......

Since my last post both Lauren and I are a year older and as there are only 2 days between our birthdays we celebrated with a special birthday tea on Thursday night, the highlight being the yummy chocolate cake. Due to holidays and other things, Lauren had her "official" party several weeks ago and was joined by school and church friends at Snakes 'n Ladders. Judging by the colour of their faces they all had a great time!



Roy and the girls sent me some beautiful flowers for my birthday and I have a new hairstyle!! for anyone who knows me, it's goodbye to the spikes whilst I grow my hair into a longer style.


Birthday Flowers

I don't normally like to post photos of myself but in case my children ever want to remember what I looked like without grey hair and wrinkles, I let Lauren take this photo of me.



....and just so she doesn't feel left out, here is one of Amy



The next big event sees Amy turning 2 towards the end of August. She is a Peppa Pig fanatic!! (and secretly, I have a fondness for Peppa too) and so I decided to make some Peppa Pig themed invitations for our forthcoming family gathering, it would of course have been cheaper to buy them but I had fun making them! I am posting a picture of the invitation especially for Auntie Jenni and Uncle Ben as I don't think Peppa would survive the trip to NZ!!



This weekend sees us heading off to England to spend time with Roy's family. Lauren is really looking forward to spending time with her cousins and we are planning a trip to Legoland, which Lauren loves while we are there. When we return there will only be about 3 weeks before Lauren starts school - but that is another blog post!!

I've moved my photos for the daily photo challenge to a separate blog my space. Have a peek.
Also in the world of blogging, the Hopkinson family who recently left Bangor for Nepal to be missionaries are recording their adventure. It's well worth a read.
Hopkinsons journey to Nepal

Phew! Marathon post over! I won't get a chance to post again before we go away so I thought I would leave you a "then and now" photo of Lauren - See you soon!


Lauren aged 6 days


Lauren aged 5

Climb every mountain

That's what I feel like I sould be singing! - I took the girls to Scrabo Country Park this afternoon, I never realised how un-fit I was until it came to pushing the buggy up a very steep incline up to Scrabo Tower (or Scrabble Tower as Lauren calls it) and climbing the spiral staircase up to the top of the staircase!! Surprisingly Lauren really enjoyed it and we had no "my legs are sore" moans or groans. Thankfully much needed refreshments were waiting for us back at the car. Here are a couple of photos





Hopefully we are going to visit Stormont Park tomorrow - its amazing what attractions lie on our doorstop that we don't make an effort to enjoy!

Thanks to my Mum who informed me that the little beastie in my previous post is actually a hover fly - as I haven't managed to participate in any of the her space/my space photo prompts of late I was delighted to find that today's word is insect and so I give you my insect (again)!!

Sunshine, Flowers and Sand...

We woke up to some beautiful sunshine and bright blue skies this morning so I seized the opportunity to get out into the garden and photograph some flowers - which I have to admit were not originally found in our garden but in a local florists window!!



I have no idea what this insect is that landed on the gerbera - any suggestions?


I met up with a friend and her 3 children at Crawfordsburn beach this afternoon, unfortunately by the time we got there the clouds were beginning to gather and there were even a few spots of rain! - thankfully not enough to dampen the enjoyment of the kids. Here are a few photos, I think their faces say it all!!







and a few more....








Amy bless her in her rush to run away from the waves fell flat on her face into the water, her expression told me it was absolutely freezing and being the good mummy that I am, I ran to her aid instead of grabbing my camera and photographing the moment. Alas, the fun had to come to an end when the drops of rain became a bit more persistent. Fingers crossed the good weather keeps up for a while longer.

Seeing Red

Her space : My Space (HS:MS) prompt for today - Red. A vivacious colour to indicate love and danger.