E..I..G..H..T..!!!

 Our little boy has turned eight!  That tiny little baby that was so chilled out and easy going, who got all his confidence from his big brothers as a toddler, who took the birth of Sophie in his stride even though it coincided with him starting school too, who is so sociable and has hoards of friends, both boys and girls.  Ethan, is now eight, where did that time go?  It all started with the obligatory lego building session.  He also had a scooter, and I had made him a minecraft creeper toy.

 We decided to go out to the Malvern Hills, which Sophie has renamed the "Mouldy Mountains"!! 

 We opened the car door, and they were off, just like a pack of dogs!!

 Stuart and I were very envious of Ethan's energy at running up this hill. 

 Sophie decided she was in charge (is it ever any different?) and if anyone dared to challenge this, most of Malvern knew about it!

 The views were stunning, such a clear day.

There was the usual rolling down hills, although I think they found it a bit bumpy this time around!

 Ethan, happily swinging a stick, and enjoying himself.

 There was quite a bit of cajoling of Sophie to carry on walking, but what a great view!

 We reached the top, which was a bit cold and windy, but once we found shelter in the lee of the hill everyone was much happier.

We returned home to cake and a birthday tea... 

...and of course to finish off the lego!!

Happy Birthday Ethan, wishing you a wonderful year ahead  of you, full of fun and friendship. xx

Making the most of the weather

 Last Sunday we decided to return to Clent.  Make the most of the weather and drink in the wonderful views.  Of course, we had to start off with some fuel inside us.  A bacon sandwich to beat all other bacon sandwiches ever, from the very popular Nimmings Cafe.  Really, for a January weekend I wouldnt have thought an outdoors cafe would have much trade, but it was busier than ever!

 Sophie did so well, walking off on adventures with her brothers for the whole time we were out, (until blisters stopped her)  And her brothers were so good at accommodating her in their adventures, even if it did mean they had to go very slowly.

 This time we remembered the drinks!

 My favourite moment.

 We had adventures with dragons, found the ideal spot for a hobbit hole, and had some lovely family time in the incredibly balmy January weather.

And so I have continued to make the most of the weather.  And managed an hour and a half down the allotment today.  I tried to find the wasps nest in the compost bin, but to no avail, but hopefully they will not return to it now.  I then got tired of pulling bindweed out of the strawberry patch, so moved on to clearing some beds.  Nearly finished one bed, I reckon we'll put pumpkins and courgettes in here, nice and sunny, and should be easy to dig in plenty of manure.

 Also pulled some parsnips to see how they had done (they were late going in, so wasn't expecting much.)  I guess they were a bit bigger than I anticipated, if a little curly! Also pulled the remainind carrots, not a single one was edible, eaten by I'm not sure what, but lots of little tunnels in the root.  So that's it, I'm done with carrots, I admit defeat!  Instead I will focus on growing more of the things we are good at growing, like beans, strawberries, onions etc.

Apparently the good weather is to continue this week, so I'll be out on my bike I hope, and also see if I can squeeze another allotment trip in there somewhere (if I'm not aching too much after that first trip down there for a good couple of months!)

Clent

 How can we have lived in the West Midands for the whole of our lives, and never visited the Clent Hills? We've known about them, driven past them, but never visited. We have really been missing out! Stuart came home from work yesterday, after his half day of work on a Friday. The sun was shining, there was a warm breeze, and he suggested we went to invesigate the hills. What a fantastic idea. I will let the pictures tell the rest, needless to say, we will be going back there many times in the future.

 The boys found a good sliding slope!

 The views were breathtaking.

 The colours were beautiful, and a glimpse at what it will be like once autumn arrives.

 Luke used Sophie's pushchair to go down inclines big and small.  We found him at the bottom of hills having used it as a go-kart!

 The highest spot.

 We reckon the green field on the hillside would be perfect for our hobbit hole!

We will be back!

Summery days #2

What to do on a balmy May day? The thought of joining with the masses of people in parks nearby did not appeal, but a walk in a wood, that always goes down well. Unfortuantely we couldn't get to the wood we wanted to go to due to lack of carparking. But we went on a bit of an adventure. Found a footpath sign, found a layby, and started walking! We came across the most enormous field, the boys enjoyed a good run around!

After generally missing the cow pats in another field (Luke was the first to find one with his foot!) we came across some more animals sheltering from the heat of the day.

The boys were concerned we would never find our way back again, so there were squeals of delight when we rounded a corner and found our little layby and car. So we settled down for the picnic in the shady knoll by the car.

And luck should have it, we found a pub on our way home, so stopped for further refreshments! This was the first time we actually saw any other people, so a wonderful, peaceful, natural, summery day out.