Back to School

Ok, so I am behind with the posting here, but anyway....

Ben had a new haircut......

And Jasmine made sure I didn't forget to leave out her curl.....

I say this a lot, but I can't believe how much the kids have grown up - I mean, just over the summer even, they both seem somehow more.....more like actual people.  I know that sounds odd, because of course they are people, but any mother with kids will either get what I mean, or will one day get what I mean when it suddenly happens to their own children.

So, Ben enters class 3 and Jasmine class 2.  She was a little apprehensive about leaving class 1 because she liked her teacher Mrs Lincoln so much, and also because she heard through the school grapevine, that once you are in Year 1 (Class 2), there is a lot less free play.....but she was also excited about being in a 'big' class, cause that means she's not amongst the youngest anymore.

They have been excited about the prospect of having hot lunches for the first time - and to be honest, despite the cost, I am also relieved.  No more having to struggle to get Ben to eat a balanced packed lunch because he doesn't like cheese, or ham, or jam, or nutella, or cold food such as pasta/sausages/sausage rolls and lots of other things he refuses to eat.  It also means much less to do in the morning (or the night before).    And we have looked through the menu and decided with Ben in advance, which of the options he is going to eat (or at least try).

So a big 'YAY' for hot lunches!

Devon part 4

The kids' favourite place to hang out...on the kitchen counter.  And with a view like that, who can blame them!  Just wish I could've hoisted mysef up :-)

Snuggling with granny Pat.  The wonderful granny Pat who, makes up and writes stories just for them, plays olympic games with them in the garden (and even at 76 years of age, still has a go herself!), helps them stage magic shows (and lets Jasmine be a clown rather than a magician's assistant - because Jasmine would prefer to dress up in granny Pat's too big trousers than in glitzy, girly clothes suitable for a glamourous assistant!).  Granny Pat who bakes cakes with them, lets them eat all the sausages and pizza they want and teaches them about the various flowers and creepy crawlies in the garden.  They do love their granny Pat :-)

Devon part 3

waiting for the ferry to Salcombe.......

gorgeous views on the ride over

raiding the dressing up box at 'The Winking Prawn Restaurant'  Jasmine ate a half pint of prawns, shell on.....

Ben ate yet another sausage and chips (pretty much all he ate during the entire holiday!)

digging for water

who's that handsome boy there?!

that water was freeeeeeezing cold!

Jasmine warms up on the rocks after lots of frolicking in the icy sea

sampling yet more delicious Salcombe Ice cream whilst waiting for the ferry home

Jasmine and daddy enjoy a chat on the way home

Jasmine being, well....Jasmine!

having a cuddle to keep warm.....

The tide had gone out too far for the ferry to drop us right back into Kingsbridge, so we had to walk a good 20 mins to get back to where we'd parked the car.  Needless to say, the amount of walking we'd done tha day really did me in!  We had our promised meal of fish and chips (sausage for ben! and a side of mushy peas for me - which I was told was a distinctly northern thing!).  You can't stay by the sea and not have fish and chips!  We got ours from the famed 'Cod Father'  :-D

Jasmine's Birthday Part 2

So, part 2 of Jasmine's birthday is the actual day she turned 6.  Nick has been taking them both to school in the mornings, allowing me to sleep in a little longer and not have to rush out for the morning school run.  He emailed me when he got to work to say "Mrs day showed me the writing that Jasmine did yesterday, she wrote loads and loads about her birthday and how fantastic it was, Mrs day also congratulated here on how neatly it was written and announched that Jasmine had sweets for everyone in front of the whole class"  I can just picture how wide the smile on Jasmine's face was at that! 

When they got home, after having a bath immediately upon entering the house to remove the mud from football, she sat down in her new, fluffy, red dressing gown and opened all the cards she received......one. by. one.  She insisted on reading every word of each card (with me helping on the longer, poetic ones) and only then, did she open her parcel from Aunty Dawn - stopping once again to open each of the 3 cards included in the package, before getting to the gifts themselves :-)  I love how the cards were just as important to her!  She also received some money in a few of the cards, and when asked what she wanted to spend it on, there was no hesitation.  "Some Clothes!"  she announced.  "from Monsoon".   Ahh, that's my girl!  She has her heart set on some cute earmuffs, a scarf and some gloves from the Accessorize section, so guess where we are going at the weekend :-)