Seeing everyone from work was fab - they've all done so well and had come in from all corners of the country (and in one case the US) to be together. We also had Charlie (9 months) and Tom (12 weeks) to play with, and try not to get broody over...
Dinner was a bit emotional with Deb having not been well, but she's in great spirit and between this and other stories of the trials and tribulations that life throws at us all I came away feeling truly blessed for all that we have. We have our health, our happiness, wonderful friends and family and an amazing house to call home. We really should take every opportunity to be thankful.
Abi and Izzy have both had a less tiring week at school - I think we are getting back into a routine again. On Monday I went to the school to listen to a presentation on 'The best 2 years' designed to ensure you feel compelled to stay for years 7&8 at Thorngrove rather than heading off to a senior school or the state system. The choice of the 'right school' has been increasingly on my mind and so for me it was good timing. I had pretty much convinced myself that we should at least look at the state system given we have some very good choices on our doorstep. The challenge is of course knowing whether the girls would thrive in a much bigger school at 11 or 13, or whether they would hate it and we would undo all the good work to this point. The best state school (academically) is St Barts which has an annual intake of 250 - basically that's about the same size as the whole of their current school! The trouble is the choice then in the private system is either St Gabriels (I would need a lot of convincing) or somewhere further afield.
In reality we have to consider what the girls need and will do best in. Given Abi is adamant she is going to be a shepardess it's not that straight forward. We have found a perfect agricultural school for her, but unfortunately they only take boys - typical! There doesn't seem to be an equivalent school for girls. There are also a number of options at 16, but nothing in between. She may well change her mind, but seeing her at the Show last week, and with the pigs and sheep this weekend make me wonder whether she will. She also got quite cross with Izzy and I through Countryfile this evening for talking during the One Man and his Dog final - not allowed apparently! I'm not even going to start to think about what we do if one of them wants one type of school and the other wants something different - double trouble! As ever, choice can sometimes be a benefit and a challenge.
So we got home this afternoon and everyone headed off to do something they love - we picked up the dogs and I took them out for a wonderful long walk through the fields and woods. We managed to pick a route with few people out and about and so had the woods to ourselves with the leaves just beginning to turn and fields full of pheasants - much to the dogs delight! Glenn spent a happy couple of hours swapping the letters on my new car from silver to black then washing it and making it look lovely (more thankfulness for a husband who enjoys washing cars!); Abi was playing with her wooden horse and Izzy was tucked up in a comfy corner swapping between her book and Minecraft - something she is getting quite into. She was very chuffed today when I found an article which showed her how to build a golem - she raced off to do it and now has "extra protection even though I'm keeping it on day mode to finish my house" - whatever that means?! We all came back together for a proper Sunday roast and pudding. The dogs favourite meal of the week as they always get the leftover meat, my favourite meal as we all sit down at the dining room table. For once we even managed to do it with no arguments - reasons to be thankful indeed!
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