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Somerset!

After 5 fun packed days in Somerset a sense of quiet descended over the house.  We got back last night, put the girls to bed and then smiled to ourselves this morning as 7am passed, 8am... 8.30... Izzy finally came down looking a bit bleary-eyed at 8.53am, followed by Abi at 9.10 - a minor miracle for her!  They have had a ball over the past few days, playing in the river, helping Fifi and Grumps, spending lots of time with Ben and Laurie and (most importantly for Abi) catching up with the pigs!
 
We planned to do a number of touristy things while we were there which we achieved - we visited Dunster castle where the kids got to bang the dinner gong and hear all about Victorian kitchens, we went to Dunster Show where we spent a fortune on the funfair and Glenn taught the kids a thing or two about archery (popping the balloon in the end!), we had lunch at the seaside (well, looking out over the Bristol Channel - almost the seaside).  We also spent lots of time catching up with family and eating mountains of cake - very nice.  The weather was as kind as you might expect for a summer holiday in the UK - what more can we ask for?!?
 
We got home to a house that is progressing slowly - you can no longer see our steels which is a definite plus, but we have scaffolding again as we get ready to install solar panels.  This next week is another lull in the eye of the main storm - as of Monday our kitchen gets taken out and we embark on 4 weeks of camp style cooking in the playroom using a microwave, camping hob and loads of initiative - can't wait...
 
The summer holidays have suddenly started to fly by with only 2.5 weeks now until they are back to school.  Izzy is very keen to get back and into Year 2 with all the social opportunities that will offer.  Abi is worried she hasn't done enough over the holidays and will find it difficult. I'm worried we won't get all the school uniform in time having looked at the website today to find that the vast majority of the new Juniors sports kit Abi needs is out of stock - arghh. Glenn is siding with Izzy and looking forward to a bit of peace and quiet in the hose again! 
 
I've been enjoying having some time away from work and the chance to both reflect a bit on my first couple of months and make the most of some lazy time.  It's also the chance to finalise details on kitchen etc - it's certainly having an impact on our bank account if not on the house as yet!
 
The girls have been inspired by all the recent athletics and gymnastics on TV.  This meant Ben, Laurie and Abi trying to hold Izzy above their heads in a team gym display, as well as everyone practising headstands in the garden.  I can declare that Amanda has the edge over everyone in this event so far!  Amanda and I took the four of them onto the Quantocks on their bikes which they loved.  They clearly didn't get the point about riding around puddles which meant that by the time we got back to the van (no major mishaps other than Izzy having her normal off) they were covered in Somerset red mud - another set of clothes destined for the bin then.  Glenn and I followed this up by taking just Abi out on her own - Izzy opted for the comfort of Amanda's house for the day.  We had a lovely ride and Glenn spent some time talking Abi through how to ride some of the trickier parts of the path.  Sadly it's clear she has more skill than I do in this respect already, although whether that's because she hasn't fallen off yet I don't know.  Laurie on the other hand ended the weekend by riding into a tree and bumping his face - guess he could do with some lessons too!    
 


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