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Farming aspirations

Last day of the Easter holidays, and the last holiday for a while where I will have so much time to spend with the girls. Despite that sadness,we are all looking forward to getting back to the school routine. The girls are missing their friends and teachers and we are missing having the daily structure...and some free time!  The whole holiday has been a bit manic and so this weekend we have tried to calm it down a little with some success. We've had a lovely long weekend, with a great mix of quiet time, parties, bonfires and friends to play.

Yesterday was Izzy's 6th birthday party. While I can happily say I was organised enough to get it arranged, invite people and get a caterer sorted, I'm ashamed to say I confused everyone over the timing and put 3pm on the invite and then told everybody who confirmed that it was a 3.30 start. This meant we had a staggered but amusing start, and the party stretched out a bit longer than planned for some.  Izzy had a lovely time and I was reminded yet again that kids don't need lots of planned activities - a few friends, lots of balloons and plenty of sugar are the only ingredients needed! The final ingredient for Izzy's party was to buy some temporary tattoos, show them how to use them and then stand back. They then took it in turns to cover each other in dodgy tats - nice.

After the sugar rush of yesterday, today was intentionally quiet. The girls took this to heart and set about planning the day such that they didn't have to get dreessed until at least lunchtime. Izzy was especially pleased when Mum rang, realising this meant a request for an episode of Call the Midwife was probably going to be granted (and was!).  This afternoon Abi asked if we could go into the woods at the bottom of the garden and look for tracks.  Wellies on we headed off and had a wonderful walk, climbing through the undergrowth, wading upstream pretending to be explorers and finding lots of evidence of the local deer. Unfortunately just as we were turning for home Abi managed to jab a stick into her lip which promptly burst and started to bleed all over us. As ever had it not been for the blood we've have been ok but it was too much and she burst into tears. We made it home with no further mishap until she realised it was exactly where she sucks her thumb - oh dear!

None of this has spoiled Abi or Izzy's love of outdoors.  Glenn and I stood and watched them yesterday playing in the garden making mud pies in the pouring rain.  It reinforced everything we already know about why this house is so perfect for us and as the days grow longer and warmer it gets ever better.  Life is good. 

Final point on Abi's farming aspirations after the recent week at Fifi and Grumps.  Tonight she told me as we walked Scooby (no sticks this time), that she would be busy this week getting the sheep moved.  She has "about a million" sheep apparently on her farm, although she moves them in blocks of 4-5,000 to "make it easier". Add to this the "million chickens" which "luckily only lay about 100 eggs a day", 10,000 cows (for milk), horses, pigs and goats, it's all very busy.  The feed bill is "very expensive" and while they do have "one quadbike to help on the farm, one of the workmen keeps using it so it's rarely available".  Final component is the vegetable patch, where they grow "carrots and sweet peas in just over an acre".  While Abi told me about her farm, Izzy provided a running commentary on how the number of helpers on the farm makes a big difference to how fast they can move the sheep. Such wonderfully vivid imaginations and truely a farm to aspire to!

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