quietly making noise

Say fromage!

2010-02-10T22:45:00.001Z

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Catch me if you can!

2010-02-10T22:43:00.001Z

Sam trying to avoid having his picture taken in front of the Arc.

Sent from my iPhone

Newst obsession

2010-02-10T22:40:00.001Z

Sam bought a rubix cube with his vacation money and has hardly put it down. He is determined to master it. Matt has given him some pointers as I can't do more than one side!

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Snowy morning

2010-01-09T21:09:00.001Z

Snowy morning
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

A beautiful sight to wake up to..

2010-01-09T21:08:00.003Z

A beautiful sight to wake up to..
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Thank you auntie c!

2010-01-09T21:08:00.001Z

Thank you auntie c!
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Bionicle bike

2010-01-09T21:07:00.003Z

Bionicle bike
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

A snow spa treatment for rogue

2010-01-09T21:07:00.001Z

A snow spa treatment for rogue
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Chase the snowball!

2010-01-09T21:06:00.001Z

Chase the snowball!
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

We love snow!

2010-01-09T21:05:00.003Z

We love snow!
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Rogue having a snowy snack.

2010-01-09T21:05:00.001Z

Rogue having a snowy snack.
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

All snuggly warm!

2010-01-09T21:04:00.003Z

All snuggly warm!
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Robin Hood or Matt?

2010-01-09T21:04:00.001Z

Robin Hood or Matt?
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Ping!

2010-01-09T21:03:00.001Z

Ping!
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

2010-01-08T21:03:00.001Z

Sent from my iPhone

2010-01-08T21:02:00.001Z

Sent from my iPhone

2010-01-08T21:00:00.001Z

Sent from my iPhone

Ping!

2010-01-04T19:10:00.001Z

Sent from my iPhone

Robin Hood or Matt?

2010-01-04T19:09:00.001Z

Sent from my iPhone

Learning to aim

2010-01-04T19:08:00.001Z

The boys went shooting again this weekend and had a blast. They had both improved since their last session and are looking forward to their next one . They are all ready for s country lifestyle, now all we need is a house in the country .

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Christmas at last!

2009-12-29T20:13:00.001Z

Here is a very happy Sam on Christmas morning. Notice those lovely slippers, I made those! Xmas morning started about 5:30 in our house, which was earlier than we grown ups would have liked! Santa was very good to us all and Sam was delighted with all his pressies. The boys helped make Xmas dinner, which was goose and amazingly we ate on time. It was very yummy looks like becoming a family tradition.

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A White Christmas !

2009-12-29T20:12:00.003Z

There wasn't much but Sam enjoyed it nonetheless . Here he is driving his new rc car.

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A happy boy with his new bionicle

2009-12-29T20:12:00.001Z

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Thank you grandpa and grandma

2009-12-28T18:59:00.003Z

Thank you grandpa and grandma
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Among other things grandpa and grandma sent sam this very cool watch.

Wow a camera!

2009-12-28T18:59:00.001Z

Wow a camera!
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

The look says it all I think

Yipee

2009-12-28T18:57:00.001Z

Yipee
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

A new motion sensor for the wii remote so we can have fun with wii sports resort.

Christmas cake

2009-12-25T19:43:00.001Z

Sam and I made the cake and the boys decorated it. Iooks yummy and sam said it tasted nice

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Trimming the tree

2009-12-18T07:44:00.000Z

The tree is now up and the house decorated. Almost done with the
shopping and all cards have been sent. We are almost ready for the big
day, just waiting for the food delivery on Monday!

Three generations

2009-12-18T07:40:00.000Z

Last Saturday we met matt's aunt and grandmother for an early Xmas
celebration. It was lovely to see them and Sam really enjoyed
listening to nan's stories from her girlhood.

Christmas Baking!

2009-12-11T22:26:00.000Z

Today we started our Christmas baking and a yummy time was had by all.
We made chocolate chip cookies and biscotti . Both were declared yummy
by my sous chef, who was in charge of quality control.

Hard at work

2009-11-25T02:36:00.000Z

At home ed group this week the children decorated t-shirts for the
Blue Peter Send a Smile appeal. The t-shirts are going to be used as
hospital gowns for children in India who are having cleft palate
operations at the charity clinic run by western doctors. By providing
them with gowns, the clinic is able to use the money they would have
spent buying them on more operations. Doing the t-shirts at group was
sam's idea but all of the children really got behind the project. In
the end they decorated over 20 shirts. I am so proud of my little guy
for thinking of others!

What a thoughtful son

2009-11-25T02:23:00.000Z

I have the most wonderful little boy. On Monday I came home from home
ed group tired and cranky. I went upstairs to change my clothes and
came down to find this note and these cookies and a cup of tea waiting
for me! How thoughtful is that!! I love my little guy!!

Three happy boys !

2009-11-17T21:27:00.000Z

Beautiful Fall Day

2009-11-17T21:26:00.000Z

As it was sunny and fairly warm and Matt wasn't working we decided to
take the dogs up to Bradgate. We all had a lovely walk and Sam had a
ball climbing over all the rocks!

Still no luck with selling the house but we remain hopeful

Remembrance Day

2009-11-09T18:36:00.000Z

This Sunday Syston had the annual Remembrance Day parade. Sam marched
with his cub pack and looked very smart . He managed to sit through
the church service with minimal fidgeting and really seemed to take in
what the day was all about. I was very proud of him for behaving so
well .

For Sale-One Gently Used House..

2009-11-04T18:45:00.002Z

As the market is finally picking up we decided to bite the bullet and put the house up for sale so that we can move to Lincoln. It has been on sale for 24 hours now and I have spent the whole day wondering why after only one day on the market the agent hasn't phone with a list of prospective buyers. I am not a patient person, can you tell? I know it could be weeks or months before we get a viewing and that is going to drive me crazy. I have no control over this part of the whole process and I hate not being able to do anything to get the buyers through the front door. The carpets have all been professionally cleaned and the walls all repainted and rooms decluttered as much as possible, so I think I can talk up the house if I could just get someone through the front door. I know it has only been 24 hours and I need to chill but that is sadly not in my nature.

We are viewing a few houses in Lincoln over the weekend just to get a feel for what is up there should this one sell. It looks as if money goes a bit further up there so we should be able to get a much bigger garden for the pups and sam. They all need more room to run around.

Other than painting and cleaning we haven't been up to much-just the usual schoolwork. We are both enjoying learning about the Revolutionary War and has you can see from the pic below had fun reinacting a battle or two. I would love to take him home and show him the sites for real-I know he would love Boston and all the museums in DC.

Reinacting the battle of Lexington and Concord

2009-11-04T18:07:00.000Z

We have been learning about the Revolutionary War so as it was a wet
and miserable afternoon we decided to play soldiers and reinact the
first battle. It was not really a fair fight given that Sam had a tank
and lots of men while I had just a few guys and two dinos! He had
remembered a lot about the battle even threw in a few characters from
Johny Tremain for good measure. Home Ed is fantastic !

It's tough being Rogue!!

2009-11-02T18:14:00.000Z

Homemade fish and chips

2009-10-31T19:44:00.000Z

As it was Friday yesterday the boys cooked dinner. Not only did they
make homemade fish but they also made homemade chips. It was very
yummy!!

An old favorite makes a comeback

2009-10-31T19:39:00.000Z

Sam rediscovered his Lincoln logs yesterday . He spent ages building
this fort and had a ball.

My handsome men!

2009-10-24T15:15:00.000+01:00

Today the boys had their first shooting lesson. They were clay pigeon
or skeet shooting so animals were harmed. They both enjoyed it and
Matthew was a very good shot. Sam managed to hit a few of the clays
buy could do with being a bit taller and bulkier. They are both very
keen to go again and despite my complete lack of hand eye coordination
I may have a go next time. Tomorrow they are trying fly fishing- so
there could be fresh fish for dinner!

Fire!

2009-10-24T15:08:00.000+01:00

Learning to aim

2009-10-24T15:07:00.000+01:00

Playing warhammer with Sam !!!

2009-10-21T20:33:00.000+01:00

It is Friday which means the boys cooked!

2009-10-16T21:41:00.001+01:00

Sam wanted to make Japanese food tonight so he and matt made salmon
sushi, veggie sushi and chicken and salmon tempura. They had a great
time and the meal was delicious. I think next Friday they are going to
do a Chinese meal. Sam has announced that he wants to make Christmas
dinner and wants to start this weekend with christmas cake.

Veggie sushi

2009-10-16T21:34:00.001+01:00

These are the yummy veggie sushi rolls that the boys made for me. Sam
really had fun making them.

42

2009-10-11T14:32:00.000+01:00

The monster at the launch of the 6th Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
as written by Eoin Colfer with the blessing of Douglas Adams' widow.
Never seen so many people in bathrobes!

One of the reasons we made shoofly pie

2009-10-10T20:12:00.000+01:00

As part of his chef badge for cubs Sam had to make a sweet of some
type. One of the books that we are reading for school, The Skipjack
School, mentions a dessert called shoofly pie. I knew nothing about it
except for the clip of the song attached. My mom used to sing it to me
when I was little, except that she only knew about three lines but she
sang them very well! Anyway Sam and I were both intrigued about it so
we decided to make it for his badge. It was easy to make and was very
yummy. It is a lot like treacle tart only sweeter if that is possible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4guFKB5FeuE

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Sam's shoofly pie

2009-10-10T19:53:00.001+01:00

Sam and Miko looking very cute!

2009-10-10T06:59:00.001+01:00

Sam' homemade pesto and pasta

2009-10-10T06:57:00.001+01:00

Sam is currently working on his cooking badge for cubs and the first
task was to cook a two course meal . He made pesto ( which was easier
than I thought) and pasta for the main course and bruchetta for the
first course. They were both yummy and he has decided he would like to
cook every Friday. I think next week he plans to enlist Matt's help to
make sushi.

Sam's homemade bruchetta

2009-10-10T06:51:00.001+01:00

Enjoying Le Merce

2009-09-24T17:46:00.001+01:00

Fun on the beach!

2009-09-24T17:45:00.001+01:00

Drawing in Pompeii

2009-09-23T14:57:00.000+01:00

Even boys in Pompeii had Lego !

2009-09-23T14:55:00.001+01:00

Our whistle stop tour of Florence

2009-09-23T14:53:00.000+01:00

Unplanned beach stop

2009-09-23T14:51:00.001+01:00

Off on a cycle adventure around Barcelona

2009-09-23T14:50:00.001+01:00

Drawing together in Rome

2009-09-23T10:25:00.000+01:00

A drawing lesson in parc guell

2009-09-23T09:37:00.001+01:00

My very handsome men on our vacation

2009-09-23T09:36:00.000+01:00

Blogging on the move

2009-09-12T17:24:00.000+01:00

Just testing to see if I can blog via email from my new phone. The wonders of the modern age!
Sent from my iPhone

New school year, new job, new toys

2009-09-12T06:42:00.002+01:00

Happy September! Autumn has snuck up on us, the mornings are cool and at the moment the days are warm. We had more of a break from school work than I had planned but it refreshed us and now we are back at work. Sam is enjoying Math for a change, he really likes fractions and will willing do a few pages of them in his math book. Think he must get this from matt because fractions were not one of my fav things in elementary school. He is also coming on well with his spelling and handwriting. He may not necessariy know how to spell a word but he can now recognise that it doesn't look right and will then go look it up. We are in the middle of Sonlight 3 and really enjoying the American History. I think the visit to the Franklin Museum made it come alive for him and now he is keen to read all about it. I am certainly learning alot, colonial life, especially political life was much more complex than I had thought. The biography of Franklin that I am reading is really good, there is so much more to the man than the kite and the lighting story you learn about in school.

I now have a new job as well, I am officially matt's secretary, in charge of managing all the paperwork etc. that is generated from his private work. He has only just started so things are very quiet but as he and his surgeon colleague establish themselves it will get busier. As I am not his secretary he had to get me a proper phone so at long last I have my own iphone. It is compeletly addictive and I wonder how I ever got along without it! Sam keeps trying to get me to buy game aps but have so far refused-he has a few games on matt's phone and can play pacman on mine but I am not buying him shot 'em up games. He has enough of those on his ds!

officially a cub scout!

2009-09-03T21:02:00.001+01:00

officially a cub scout!
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Productive Day

2009-08-31T21:09:00.003+01:00

Having had a lovely relaxing weekend on the boat we came home today and had a very productive day cleaning and tidying. We were on the boat from friday until today as matt was on call. He worked most of friday, all of saturday and most of sunday. Sam and I went into lincoln to games workshop on sunday so he could play warhammer. M and the boys met us there (as did matt) and a good time was had by all. Sam won the game and was over the moon that Al and Conall had come to join him. M kindly took sam back with her for the afternoon and Matt and I had a very relaxing afternoon reading the paper and pottering about lincoln. Sam had a ball at Al's house. It is so nice to have them in lincoln, sam loves having a friend on hand to play with.

Today it was back to leicester, back to housework and laundry! Got lots of both done today while the boys had fun painting space marines and chilling in front of the computer. We are at home for most of this week, hoping to get lots of school stuff done. Sam and I are really enjoying sonlight at the moment, especially after our visit to the Franklin House. We have had lots of interesting discussions about what makes a patriot a patriot and if violence is ever justified. Only wish we could take a field trip to visit boston and philadelphia and dc.

Our plum tree had produced lots of plums this year so tomorrow we are going to try our hand at plum jam and plum chutney. I am not very good at making jam and have never made chutney so should be an intersting experience!

The old married couple

2009-08-20T21:53:00.001+01:00

The old married couple
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

How did we get so grown up? Seems like yesterday we were students here in london, often ending up here after an afternoon in the Long Island Iced Tea Bar.

Please let me go for a swim dad.

2009-08-20T21:51:00.001+01:00

Please let me go for a swim dad.
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

It was a lovely warm day and sam was very keen to go for a dip in the fountain in trafalgar square. Needless to say we didn't let him!

The Franklin House

2009-08-20T21:50:00.001+01:00

The Franklin House
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

About a month or so ago I read The Genesis Secret by Tom Knox- a Dan Brown type thriller where an archaeologist and journalist save the world from an ancient and unspeakable evil. The book opens in the Franklin Museum in London-which I assumed was a made up place. Imagine my surprise when sorting out places to visit on our trip to london I googled and discovered that it was a real place! I have lived here over 16 years now and have never heard of it-though it turns out that the museum only opened 3 years ago and the house was almost derelict in the late 80s and early 90s. It is now run by the Benjamin Franklin Trust and is a fantastic museum. You can only go round on a guided tour led by Polly Hewson who was Franklin's landlady's daughter. We were the only visitors and she spent the whole tour engaging sam and drawing him into the story. Neither of the boys usually like guided tours, especially ones led by historical characters but this bowled them over. There weren't many artifacts in the house but Polly's acting was so vivid that you didn't need objects to appreciate and enjoy the house. Franklin was a much more interesting and complex man than I realised and bought a biography him while we were in london and am captivated. If you are in london you must go to the Franklin Museum-it is an amazing experience and well worth the entrance fee. The website is: www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org

Playing the water harmonica

2009-08-20T21:31:00.001+01:00

Playing the water harmonica
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Our trip to the Franklin House was rounded off by a chance to look and touch some of his inventions. This is sam playing the water harmonica-the first musical instrument invented by an american. The sounds is a bit like running your finger along the rim of a glass and possibly an acquired taste. Apparently some of the greatest composers of the 18th century wrote pieces for the water harmonica-who knew!

An old married couple again!

2009-08-20T21:26:00.001+01:00

An old married couple again!
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

matt and I as taken by sam. I guess that blue dress wasn't as flattering as I thought.

My handsome boys

2009-08-20T21:25:00.001+01:00

My handsome boys
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Here are the boys waiting for the boat to take us back up the Thames . We had a fantastic time in Greenwich, there was so much to do that we didn't even see half of the sights. It was a blistering hot day and it was nice to be on the water, if only we had had boudicca!

An amazing ceiling

2009-08-20T21:23:00.001+01:00

An amazing ceiling
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

A panel of the ceiling from the painted chapel at the Royal Naval College. It was so beautiful and all the delicate plaster work reminded me of the sort of work that matt's uncle rick used to do.

The bank is coming awfully close

2009-08-18T07:07:00.001+01:00

The bank is coming awfully close
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Last night sam went kayaking with his cub scout pack and had a ball. He really enjoyed himself, especially the falling in! He fell in once and turned over once as did most of the boys. There wasn't as much falling in as there was on the sailing trip, mainly because this time they had two instructors telling them what to do and playing games with them. The canal was absolutely filthy and all the boys were made to take showers at the end. Sam was on an absolute high when he got home and he and matt spend the rest of the evening looking on ebay for kayaks!

Paying attention

2009-08-18T07:04:00.001+01:00

Paying attention
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Not sure what he is thinking here but I think that is his 'I'am concentrating look'.

Yikes!

2009-08-18T07:03:00.001+01:00

Yikes!
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Here they had to hold on to each other's kayaks and then each in turn stand up and say who they were and where they were from. When it was sam's turn he stood up, announced his name and then hesitated-you could tell he wasn't sure where he was from-leicester? Syston? Peterborough? so in the end he opted for Peterborough and everyone giggled.

Lego Master

2009-08-13T06:25:00.001+01:00

Lego Master
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Here is the monster putting together his latest lego set. It is some super duper power miner ship, complete with lots of aliens and power crystals. I recently won £500 in John Lewis vouchers from tickbox.net and we have all enjoyed spending them. Sam chose this lego set and we also bought a small tv for the boat. Matt has yet to choose something and I have spend a small portion of mine on make up. Matt and I are saving the rest of ours to spend in london when we go as the John Lewis there is much bigger.

Work in progress

2009-08-13T06:21:00.001+01:00

Work in progress
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

When we moved in we laid laminate in the hallway but over the last three years it has slowly gotten grubbier and smellier (thank you cats!) so we decided to pull it up and lay tile. This is the result. It looks fantastic and makes us wish that we had done it from the start. Hopefully this will make the house easier to sell when we do put it on the market. Sam has really enjoyed helping Matt and my father in law lay the floor, especially the grouting!

Bountiful Harvest

2009-08-13T06:18:00.001+01:00

Bountiful Harvest
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Our veggie garden seems to have thrived on neglect this year and we have had a good crop of lettuce, cabbage, peas, blackcurrents, gooseberries, blueberries and potatoes. These are the potatoes and they were especially yummy.

Piggy back!

2009-07-31T21:45:00.001+01:00

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!

2009-07-31T21:42:00.001+01:00

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.

I confess..

2009-07-30T02:02:00.002+01:00

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.

Jamming in London

2009-07-21T10:31:00.001+01:00

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

2009-07-21T10:23:00.001+01:00

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

2009-07-21T10:21:00.001+01:00

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

2009-07-21T10:19:00.001+01:00

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

2009-07-21T10:16:00.001+01:00

Firestorm
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

A very cool firestorm that the boys created at Magna.

Sam aka Huck Finn

2009-07-21T10:15:00.001+01:00

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

2009-07-21T08:02:00.001+01:00

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?

2009-07-21T08:00:00.001+01:00

How many cubs will fit on a boat?
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

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

Still dry-just!

2009-07-21T07:59:00.001+01:00

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

2009-07-21T07:57:00.001+01:00

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?

2009-07-21T07:54:00.001+01:00

What happened to the boat?
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

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.

Pox again!

2009-06-25T07:20:00.002+01:00

Just as sam got over his chicken pox, the inevitable happened, Matt came down with them. He has felt awful the last two days and has spent them in bed, which is not like him. Normally if he is not feeling well he just soldiers on but not this time. He is like a furnace to touch and alternates between feeling hot and cold. He has a growing collection of spots which so far don't itch. I have a squirt bottle of calamine on hand for when they do tough. I just hope that the feeling awful doesn't last the whole duration of illness, I would hate for him to spend the next week or so feeling like death warmed over.

Things have been pretty quiet here as we cancelled all sam's playdates and activities, not wanting to knowingly pass on the pox. As he felt fine we continued with school work, though at a slower pace than usual. We also spent the week at home, which I think is the first time we have spent a full week on dry land since getting the boat. As the captain now has the pox and won't be at work looks like we will be landlubbers this week as well.

Chicken Pox...again!!

2009-06-12T06:44:00.002+01:00

Things have been tootling along at what passes for normal in our house/boat. Schoolwork, clubs, playdates, soggy camping weekends etc until the attack of the chicken pox. This is the second time the monster has had chicken pox and so far thankfully it is very mild just like last time. He doesn't feel unwell which is good and hasn't been tempted to scratch the spots. We have cancelled all his activities for next week as we don't want to pass it on to his friends. He does love to rough and tumble with his buddies so I have no doubt that he would spread it among them. My big worry, though is him passing it to Matt who still hasn't had the pox. Fingers crossed he doesn't get it!

As I said life has been pretty normal around here-we had our annual home ed camp last weekend and only managed one night. The heavens opened the first night and our tent couldn't cope. It leaked in so many place it was almost raining inside by the the time we woke up. As the forecast was for rain all sat and sun we decided that discretion was the better part of valor and packed up and went home. Sam was dispointed to leave his friends but very glad to be warm and dry when we got home. To make up for the disapointment the boys went to see Terminator Salvation while the dogs and I had a lazy afternoon.

Sam has recently joined the local junior triathlon club and is really enjoying it. It has really improved his swimming and above all he is having fun. Not sure when he will do his first junior triathlon-there is one mid july not too far from here so if he thinks he is ready we will sign him up for that.

Auntie C is coming to visit at the end of the month and we are all very excited. By happy coincedence Jimmy Buffett happens to be having his first ever concert in London while she is here and we have managed to get tickets-yippee! I hope the weather is nice for her visit but knowing july over here anything is possible.

feathered neighbors

2009-05-15T09:25:00.001+01:00

feathered neighbors
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

The Ds are our feathered neighbors who seem to view us as their main food source. They come by at regular intervals to beg for food and lay siege to the boat if they don't get it. The dogs get very excited when they come by and rouge especially would like to get to know them better.

Mrs. D. on the roof!

2009-05-15T09:23:00.001+01:00

Mrs. D. on the roof!
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Here is Mrs. D laying siege to the boat. She and Mr. D are our constant companions and are very demanding. Mrs. D has been known to climb in the hatch if we aren't feeding her as often as she would like.

schoolwork in the sunshine

2009-05-15T09:22:00.001+01:00

schoolwork in the sunshine
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Schoolwork is much more fun on boat-it is so warm and sunny ( on nice days) that it is almost like being outside. We are doing the Incas at the moment and here is sam voluntarily reading the Incredible Incas from the Horrible Histories series. He enjoys the series as it covers the gorey bits of history.

madame looking cute

2009-05-15T09:18:00.001+01:00

madame looking cute
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

Miko looking cute and fluffy-the dogs enjoy being on the boat, especially when the ducks come to visit!

playing with an electromagnet

2009-05-15T09:17:00.001+01:00

playing with an electromagnet
Originally uploaded by mattamsam

This week at home ed group we had a 'bring a science experiment' session. Joe and his dad brought materials for everyone to make their own electromagnet. Here is sam with his creation picking up washers. He was delighted with his magnet and spent the rest of the day trying to pick up things!