Abi & Izzy - the next 5 years

I'd love to say that this post will have loads of pictures of the kids together given this week has mainly been dominated by Ben and Laurie's visit, but no - getting a photo of all of them together now is almost impossible... and a photo of them all smiling together is definitely impossible. Givent his we have settled for a photo of Izzy and Chloe at the football, but more of that later. So despite misgivings from Amanda and Laurie (Ben was super cool about the whole thing) - the boys got on the train at Taunton and concentrated very hard on not missing their stop in Newbury. Thank goodness it all went to plan and they arrived safely on Wednesday lunchtime to much excitement from the girls. I had already decided that they could make camp in the playroom and all sleep in there, so without further ado they set to sorting out beds and bedding with no help from me - surplus to requirements!  I was very clear - just remember Glenn has a short fuse and running around inside...

Another whirlwind of a week - I'm looking forward to everything settling back to normal so that I (we) can all get some routine back in our lives. This time last week we set off on a bike adventure, the first proper one since before the kids were born. We headed to France with Simon and Sharron, only for she and I to discover that our first stop was actually Belgium. We should have clocked this - after all we knew we were going to go to the Menin Gate - but somehow neither of us had realised that this was not France... good job we weren't navigating! The weather forecast had looked poor and Glenn was in a quandry before we left as to what combo of gear to wear. I only have one set of bike clothes so for me it was a much easier decision. As it was although we left in rain by the time we reached the M3 it had dried up and by France it was warm again. We finished the journey complaining about being too hot - just can't please us! The Menin Gate was a really sombre...

Another busy week and tomorrow we head off again - who booked this ridiculously busy summer of activities?!? This time last week we were getting ready to head of to Port Lympne again. We last went 2 years ago for our 10th anniversary and we all enjoyed it so much that we decided we would go again. This time we booked into one of their new lodges, the Tiger Lodge. It's in a different part of the park from where we stayed last time, but still very central and of course (most importantly) came with the obligatory golf buggy. On the way there we stopped off for a BBQ with Helen and Simon and their 3 boys. I work with Helen so it could have been a bit one sided but the major draw for the kids was the fact they have a swimming pool. Given it was a hot sunny day (of course), this was the perfect situation and within moments they were all happily splashing around making the most of it. Quickly a whole bunch more people turned up, including a girl of Izzy's age who is most likely goin...

Mixed emotions this weekend. We got back at lunchtime from a couple of nights in Somerset having celebrated the 'last supper' - the last time we will all be together at Longaller before Mum and Dad move to their new house in Stocklinch. It was a lovely few days - the kids had already gone down on Tuesday so I followed on Thursday and then Simon and Audrey arrived on Friday afternoon to complete our little group. We had planned a BBQ on Friday with the intent that it was a minimal effort for Mum and Dad. We had conferred over What's App (although according to the kids this was 'talking behind Mum & Dad's back'!) to ensure we didn't end up with 10lbs of sausages and nothing else, and as if by a miracle we all arrived with the right stuff and the ingredients of a lovely meal. Simon made fab salads and chicken tikka, as well as the most indulgent fudge and caramel cheesecake. Amanda brought burgers, banana cake (for Ben) and I was tasked with sausages an...