Friday, July 31, 2009

Piggy back!


Piggy back!
Originally uploaded by mattamsam
Sam getting a piggy back from Charlie at Burghley on Tuesday. It was lovely all being together again but we did miss miriam and the boys.

Sun at last!


Sun at last!
Originally uploaded by mattamsam
The boys and the dogs at Maplethorpe Beach last weekend. We spent last saturday exploring lincolnshire and ended up at the beach. Although we didn't have any beach stuff everyone had fun running up and down the beach and jumping in the waves. Rogue tried to eat the waves while miko didn't like getting her paws wet.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

I confess..

It is our fault that it has rained non stop for the last 24 hours. It is all because we bought sam a new pair of sandals. Perhaps if we had bought him the doc martin's that he really wanted it would be blazing sunshine right now!! I am pleased to say though it is now 2am and it has finally stopped raining. I honestly can't remember the last time I was so wet. Sam and I went into lincoln today and despite the umbrella got soaked and my red leather shoes got so wet that my feet are now also red. I think it is going to take them days to dry out.

Apart from the rain we are having a good week. Monday sam had a summer camp session at the Apple Store. He spent 3 hours learning how to make movies using imovies and had a ball. As parents were not allowed to leave the store (liability issues) they also gave us a session on movie making, it was easier than I expected and sam and I have spent quite a bit of time this week playing around with imovies. `I will try and post the fruits of our labors when they are fully edited. Next week he is doing a session on iphoto so watch out for a blog post with lots of enhanced photos! While I realise that the whole point of these free sessions is to encourage parents to buy software and hardware they are a great idea as we never would have played around with any of the programmes in ilife. I generally just download pics and load them on to flickr and have never thought about playing around with them. Sam really enjoyed the session, not least because he got a free t-shirt.

Tuesday we met up with the boys at the Garden of Surprises at Burghley House. Thankfully we sun was out so the children were able to splash around in the water park. It was lovely catching up with everyone, especially Lisa and her family who are over from the states for the summer. We all missed Miriam and the boys but are looking forward to seeing them when they move back from Ireland at the end of the month. Sam is very excited about Alex coming back as he will have a friend in lincoln-he already has all sorts of plans for the two of them.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Jamming in London


Jamming in London
Originally uploaded by mattamsam
One of the highlights of C's trip was getting to go to see Jimmy Buffett play at the Empire in London. Matt was supposed to join us but couldn't get the next day off and being a sunday there was no way to get back by train after the concert. So matt very kindly stayed with Sam while C and I went. The venue is an old music hall theatre and can't hold more than 2000 people if that. We were in the stalls which was all standing and managed to get very close to the stage. We got to the venue a couple of hours before the concert and had fun waiting in line with all of the other crazy parrot heads. We were amazed at how many people there were, how many of them were english and how sober they all were! At a typical jimmy concert back home most people have had such fun tailgating that they are are bit worse for wear by the time the concert starts. The concert was amazing-jimmy played for 2.5 hours straigh and everyone was singing along. I think he was really taken aback by the amount of people and the level of adoration expressed by the audience. He has promised to come back next year-fingers crossed that he does and fingers crossed it is still at the empire. Having seen him in two small venues seeing him somewhere huge just wouldn't be the same.

Heading to Margaritaville


Heading to Margaritaville
Originally uploaded by mattamsam
Jimmy and Mac chatting before the next song. I have never seen a group of musicians who look so unlike a group of musicians. Mac looks just like grizzly adams.

Up close and personal


Up close and personal
Originally uploaded by mattamsam
I took lots of pics but this is the best of the bunch. I forgot to ask matt how to use the video setting on the camera so didn't get any video footage. I still can't believe how close we were to the stage-any closer and we would have been on it.

This is how it works Dad


This is how it works Dad
Originally uploaded by mattamsam
On C's last day here we ventured up to Magna-a science museum that has been created in an old steel factory. It was very interesting and there was lots of hands on stuff to do. Sam really enjoyed the water section, especially the scale model of locks. Sadly we didn't have time to try out the fab looking playground but hope to get back up there this summer.

Firestorm


Firestorm
Originally uploaded by mattamsam
A very cool firestorm that the boys created at Magna.

Sam aka Huck Finn


Sam aka Huck Finn
Originally uploaded by mattamsam
The monster fishing back when it was still summer! He natters the whole time he is fishing which is why he probably doesn't catch much!

Trying to catch dinner


Trying to catch dinner
Originally uploaded by mattamsam
Sam and C doing a quite bit of fishing at the marina. Sam managed to catch a baby dace and a baby roach-we threw them all back.

How many cubs will fit on a boat?

The annual cubs boating trip with the boys trying to see how many of them will fit on one boat.

Still dry-just!


Still dry-just!
Originally uploaded by mattamsam
Sam had his annual sailing trip with cubs recently. This year due to complete lack of wind they took the sails off theboats and let the boys row. What they lacked in rowing skill they made up for in enthusiasm. They all had a ball and as you will see from the pics below nearly everyone ended up in the water on purpose.

Getting back on board


Getting back on board
Originally uploaded by mattamsam
Not long into the session boys started falling in accidently and then once they discovered what fun it was on purpose. Sam is the one in the blue jacket and orange life jacket and after the first 10 minutes seemed to spend more time in the water than in the boat. He was absolutely soaked and he and matt walked home rather than get the car wet and mucky.

What happened to the boat?

By the end of the session all of the boys were in the water mucking about and having a ball. They all claimed that the water was lovely and warm but I have my doubts.