Cheese!

Sunday

Morning:

Jasmine jumps into bed with Joss who's up visiting with us!

Afternoon:

Plaster the kids in sunscreen so Nick can take them to Burford whilst mummy stays at home with Joss to cook dinner (well, dig for it first!)

ok, so that's a little excessive - but that's what happens when you let them do it themselves!

it's not small, it's a new potato!

Evening:

Wash the kids hair, then begin the arduous task of combing and drying Jasmine's (aka 'Rapunzel's')hair...

Our first, and only, bean pod!!!

Let's hope we get some more otherwise it'll be a case of 'one bean or two?' come dinner time!

The passing of a legend

I am absolutely devastated by the sudden death of Michael Jackson. I remember, as a child, trying to record his songs from the tv onto a tape - I'd sit really close to the tv and press the record and play buttons at the same time (all you other 80's kids will know exactly what that means!!!) and then playing back the badly recorded sound over and over again whilst singing and (trying) to dance along. No where near as sophisticated as the MP3's and digital downloads of today! MJ was truly a legend in both music and dance and I, for one, am mourning the loss of an icon. RIP Michael x

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Dennis!

We were honoured to be able to go and share this special day with Marlon, Diane and their beautiful family. We wish them a long, happy life together!

Up, up, up and awaaaayyy....

My first ever gliding experience. Was I nervous? Hell yeah!!!! The fact that just the week before a couple of people died in a gliding accident did nothing to reassure me.......but it was one of those things that I just had to experience and conquer my fear of. And you know what? It was so amazing I'd do it again - and I would even trust putting the kids in one (eer, maybe in a few years to come that is!) I would definitely recommend the experience to everyone.

all set!

I got to have a go flying the glider myself!

the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside

How does your garden grow....

Our plants are doing so well - we had to move some of them indoors because the weather has been so wet, but they are thriving in the

greenhouse-like temperature of the conservatory. Here we have peppers, courgettes, chillies, tomatoes, coriander, aubergine and broad beans. The tomato plants have been brought back from the brink of extinction as the lack of sunlight has really affected them. I don't have much hope for the pepper plant or the aubergines, but there is still hope - they aren't dead at least!!!

Unfortunately I have tried sowing lettuce seeds twice, but each time they are completely decimated by nighttime visitors of the slug variety......The spinach however, was very successful. So successful in fact, that we had a fresh supply for weeks. This is now exhausted (hence no picture) and I have re-sown some more seeds.

Baby Carrots

Potatoes

Shallots

Homework

Of course Jasmine doesn't get homework yet, but sometimes she'll do some work from one of her various workbooks that I bought to supplement her learning, whilst Ben does his homework. I think it's a good way of getting her used to doing some school work at home - and most importantly, she likes to do it because she feels included. Bonus!

Look how studious he looks!

Ben is learning fractions

Aaron's 21st!

Another birthday, another family get-together! Food, music, family and more food!!!!

me and the birthday boy (man!)

with his dad and sister

me, my uncle Darren and my sister

working hard!

my uncle Cary and his family

my uncle Clint, Jasmine and Nick

my grandmother and my cousin Shola

these pics always come back to haunt you!!!

Gail would be so proud, her son now a man, off studying at Bournemouth University. She did a good job :-)