We stumbled upon the fruit and veg market in barcelona and it was incredible. I have never seen such lovely, delicious fruit at such good prices. The boys especially loved the fresh fruit smoothies-there was a smoothie stall near our hotel and we stopped by at least twice day. If only the markets in leicester looked like this.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Don't try this at home..
The day we left barcelona was the feast day of St. Joan and to celebrate there was a festival of catalonia culture at the waterfront. As part of this festival there was some sort of gymnastic competiton between village teams. There were 4 teams each with different colored sashes and they took it in turn to build structures out of team members. Each structure was topped by small child who must have been very brave. Sam suggested that we should try this at home ed group-I think not!!
Happy boy
This is one happy sam after a fab vacation in barcelona. He had at least one ice cream per day, not to mention pastries at breakfast. He was delighted to find a toy store that sold not only lego but warhammer, needless to say he spent most of his money there.
Smile
Two happy parents as taken by one happy son. We all had a fab time in barcelona and can't wait to return.
Friday, June 06, 2008
The rain in spain..
had better fall on the plain and not barcelona as we are off there shortly. Matt had vacation time to use up and we thought we would get our family vacation in now before the schools get out for summer. He went to a conference there a couple of year ago and liked what he saw so we are off there shortly. We are all looking forward to it, from what we have read it sounds like a lovely city with lots to see and do. Sam is very excited not only is there a beach but also an aquarium but more importantly three Games Workshops!! We have promised him a visit to one of them but we are not spending our whole vacation playing warhammer 40K.
Other than pouring through guidebooks and doing 'schoolwork' things have been prety quiet here. There have been several field trips with our local home ed group and next week we have something almost everyday. Sam and I are both looking forward to the session with local author Chris D'Lacey- he writes fantastic children's books about dragons and we are both big fans.
We have finally tackled the backyard-where the dogs have destroyed the grass we have laid a bark chip path ending in a bark chip seating/play area. It looks really good and grass is starting to grow back in the bald patches which is great. Hopefully in a months time it will be sea of green rather than a sea of mud. Matt has also laid the floor in the utility room and it looks fantastic.
Matt is away for work this weekend so tomorrow sam and I are heading into town so he can play a little warhammer and I can indulge in a little retail therapy. Sunday we plan to tackle the playroom to make it less of a dumping ground and more of a space we can use.
Other than pouring through guidebooks and doing 'schoolwork' things have been prety quiet here. There have been several field trips with our local home ed group and next week we have something almost everyday. Sam and I are both looking forward to the session with local author Chris D'Lacey- he writes fantastic children's books about dragons and we are both big fans.
We have finally tackled the backyard-where the dogs have destroyed the grass we have laid a bark chip path ending in a bark chip seating/play area. It looks really good and grass is starting to grow back in the bald patches which is great. Hopefully in a months time it will be sea of green rather than a sea of mud. Matt has also laid the floor in the utility room and it looks fantastic.
Matt is away for work this weekend so tomorrow sam and I are heading into town so he can play a little warhammer and I can indulge in a little retail therapy. Sunday we plan to tackle the playroom to make it less of a dumping ground and more of a space we can use.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
An audience with the Dalai Lama
Sunday, along with thousands of others in nottingham, we had the opportunity to listen to the Dalai Lama speak about the environment. It was part of a week long lecture series that he had at the nottingham arena and sunday afternoon was set aside for children to ask him questions and do presentations of poems and songs they had written about the environment and their concerns. Sam had entered a poem in the competition but he didn't win, perhaps it was just as well, he would have been nervous reading it out in front of so many people.
The event was one of those once in a lifetime things, it isn't very often that you sit only 6 rows away from a world leader. He seemed so friendly and approachable and genuinely interested in what the children had to say. M and I both really enjoyed the event and while I think that sam appreciated the uniqueness of the occasion I am not sure that he got a lot out of it, mainly because he could not really understand what the Dalai Lama was saying. His english was very good but he is very softly spoken and even the grown ups had to strain to catch everything. He seemed a very wise and thoughtful man and Sam and I are going to now read up on his teachings and tibet and tibetan buddism.
I am glad that we went and I am glad that sam had the experience, it has broadened his horizons and helped him to understand what a varied and interesting world we live in. After the talk we went to the tibetan marketplace that had been set up, it was full of lots of interesting sights and smells-the food smelled delicious, if only we had had time to stay and sample some!
The event was one of those once in a lifetime things, it isn't very often that you sit only 6 rows away from a world leader. He seemed so friendly and approachable and genuinely interested in what the children had to say. M and I both really enjoyed the event and while I think that sam appreciated the uniqueness of the occasion I am not sure that he got a lot out of it, mainly because he could not really understand what the Dalai Lama was saying. His english was very good but he is very softly spoken and even the grown ups had to strain to catch everything. He seemed a very wise and thoughtful man and Sam and I are going to now read up on his teachings and tibet and tibetan buddism.
I am glad that we went and I am glad that sam had the experience, it has broadened his horizons and helped him to understand what a varied and interesting world we live in. After the talk we went to the tibetan marketplace that had been set up, it was full of lots of interesting sights and smells-the food smelled delicious, if only we had had time to stay and sample some!
Pull!
Tony & Christine brought a long rope camping and the children (both big and small) had a blast playing tug of war. The game went on for about an hour and at one point all the children camping on the field were involved. Not sure who had more fun, M or the children!
Taking a break
Sam almost at the summit of Thorpe Cloud. The moutain was littered with sheep and Rogue and Miko were both dying to be able to get a little closer to them.
Are you sure this is safe?
Sam and I crossing the famous stepping stones on the dovedale trail on our trip the weekend before last. Just after this we tried to get miko across and the poor baby was not very happy. She hates getting wet and felt very sorry for herself when she finally got to the other side! Rogue on the other hand willing jumped in the stream and swam across.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Almost there
Matt and Rogue heading up the summit of Thorpe Cloud-we all climbed the mountain but sam and I stayed just below the summit as it was wet and slippery and we didn't fancy taking the quick way back down!
The summit
Matt and Rogue on the summit of Thorpe Cloud. Matt is holding Rogue very tightly as just out of shot is a sheep with whom Rogue wanted to get better acquainted!
Cousin Zeldy at camp
Cousin Zeldy (the big brown one) had to go to doggy camp while her mom and dad went on vacation. Here she is playing with her friends.
This post was created by Miko and Rogue
This post was created by Miko and Rogue
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Climbing the walls
By the end of the session he was climbing like a pro. A future cat burglar or super hero-what do you think?
Preparing to climb
Today C and D took us to the home ed climbing group in nottingham. The boys had a blast and the instructor was extremely patient. He nearly lost it by the end though as three of the boys are warhammer mad (including sam) so that was all they talked about! Sam had a ball and is very keen to go again and for us all to go as a family. While he was climbing I was able to get in some too. I climbed with two of the dads and my arms now ache! I had fun and am keen to go again, it was nice to have a little me time.
Making a robot
This week at home ed group the topic was robots- so sam was in his element. Eoin, J's dad and Martin I's dad helped the children to make robotic bugs. Here is sam soldering his together. The bugs were a great hit, especially with our dogs who didn't know what to make of this thing wiggling across the floor!
Friday, May 09, 2008
Indiana Bones
We have decided to rename Rogue, Indiana Bones as he has spent the last two days excavating and burying the bone that nana and grandad gave him at the weekend. The new flower bed and veggie patch have been well explored for places to put the precious bone. It is now a disgusting black color-I just hope he doesn't manage to sneak it into the house and bury it in our bed-his usual bone burying spot.
future super model?
This was when he was still enjoying the walk. He ran out of enthusiasm as he got hungry and thirsty. We hadn't planned on being out very long so didn't bring any supplies-next time we will go well armed with drinks and trail snacks.
Mom & Dad as taken by sam
We went to Swithland Woods at the weekend and got totally and utterly lost due to lack of sign posts! It was a beautiful walk though and Rogue made friends with a cow (complete with nose touching) and Miko ran into her first friend, Gia the bull mastiff. She and Gia met at puppy class back when they were both much smaller!
new cousin
The puppies have a new cousin-her name is Issa and Dad and Amy adopted her about two weeks ago. She had a rough start but seems to be settling in well. She is adorable and no doubt already starting to boss around her very large afghan brothers!
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
stirring it up
Here is the monster making bread on on field trip to Green's Mill Nottingham last week. He had lots of fun exploring the windmill, grinding wheat, making bread and playing in the park. Rather than making a conventional loaf shape he made it in the shape of a warhammer tank! It got a bit crispy round the edges but he said it was very yummy.
smile
Sam and friends on a recent field trip to Wollaton Hall for a session on mini beasts. We had a great time, though I am not sure the bugs and creepy crawlies would agree!!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
two years and only just unpacked!
We have just celebrated our two year anniversary in this house in some respects it feels like we have been here forever and in other like we are still newcomers. It was only at the end of the summer that we finally unpacked all the boxes in the playroom-talk about procrastination!! This weekend we spent lots of time in the garden and ripped out the front lawn and replaced it with blue slate. Not only does it look a lot better but it also means one less place to mow! Not that there is much to mow in the back thanks to the dogs and the boys.
The last few weeks have passed in a bit of a blurr-there is so much going on at the moment, not all of it bloggable. We have kept occupied with all of our usual pursuits-home ed group, normals, field trips, dog walks and mystery shopping. Sam and I have spent a lot of time mystery shopping the last two weeks-I had nine jobs that involved sitting in pretty shiny bmws and lexus but sadly did not get to buy one. Sam and I both agreed that we prefered the lexus-lots more comfy inside and lots more gadgets.
We have also been glued to bbc iplayer watching Dr. Who. Come saturday at about 7:20 we are all snuggled on the sofa eagerly awaiting it to be uploaded. The new season is good but the last episode left us all wondering where captain jack and torchwood were and why didn't they ride in to the rescue. We are all warming to Donna, she is bossy and motherly but still not Rose. Just hope this season is not the last for David Tennant-he will forever be known as the Dr. no matter what he does so he might as well carry on and make gobs of money.
Sam and I are very excited as we have just booked tickets to see Eoin Colfer in Nottingham in August. He is the author of the Artemis Fowl series that we both love. We have listened and relistened to each book and are interested to see if Eoin is as entertaining in person as he is in print. Matt enjoys the books as well but hasn't had the chance to listen as much as we have. ( Racked up lots of miles doing the bmw and lexus jobs) It is nice to see sam so excited about an author and reading.
The last few weeks have passed in a bit of a blurr-there is so much going on at the moment, not all of it bloggable. We have kept occupied with all of our usual pursuits-home ed group, normals, field trips, dog walks and mystery shopping. Sam and I have spent a lot of time mystery shopping the last two weeks-I had nine jobs that involved sitting in pretty shiny bmws and lexus but sadly did not get to buy one. Sam and I both agreed that we prefered the lexus-lots more comfy inside and lots more gadgets.
We have also been glued to bbc iplayer watching Dr. Who. Come saturday at about 7:20 we are all snuggled on the sofa eagerly awaiting it to be uploaded. The new season is good but the last episode left us all wondering where captain jack and torchwood were and why didn't they ride in to the rescue. We are all warming to Donna, she is bossy and motherly but still not Rose. Just hope this season is not the last for David Tennant-he will forever be known as the Dr. no matter what he does so he might as well carry on and make gobs of money.
Sam and I are very excited as we have just booked tickets to see Eoin Colfer in Nottingham in August. He is the author of the Artemis Fowl series that we both love. We have listened and relistened to each book and are interested to see if Eoin is as entertaining in person as he is in print. Matt enjoys the books as well but hasn't had the chance to listen as much as we have. ( Racked up lots of miles doing the bmw and lexus jobs) It is nice to see sam so excited about an author and reading.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Why is it..
that when you are spring cleaning the house always looks worse half way through and you wish that you hadn't started the job. M was working this weekend so decided to start a spring clean, including carpets. Borrowed a Vax from my neighbor and sam and I set to work. I think the toughest bit was clearing his bedroom floor-everything is now piled up on his bed in a mountain so high that there is snow at the summit. I am so not looking forward to putting everything back. Spring cleaning his room will take about a month! In the spirit of the clean I did my drawers and wait for it...my car!! I am ashamed to say to say that I can't remember the last time I washed my car let alone vaccumed it. Sam was in charge of cleaning the trim and he did such a good job that I treated him to lunch at McDonalds. He has been a big help this weekend and really enjoyed using the carpet cleaner. Have decided that we will invest in one, just not sure which one. The Bissell seems to get good reviews-has anyone out there got one? If so would you recommend it?
Last night's Doctor Who was a big hit here for two reasons. One, the monster looked a bit like a bionicle, inspiring sam to go off and recreate it and two-whoever wrote the episode clearly had the same latin books I had as all the characters' names were identical! Fancy Caecilious ( I know that isn't the correct spelling but you get the gist) and his family meeting up with the doctor-that certainly didn't happen in my text book! I wonder how many other people of my age sat there last night and shouted "hey, I know that guy-he was in my latin book"?
My sonlight order should be here on monday and I am looking forward to seeing all of the books we will be reading come septemberish. The selection this year is fantastic and we are both enjoying the readers and read alouds. Several of them have been books that I enjoyed as a child and it is nice to see sam enjoying them too. The Littles, in particular was a big hit, I even ordered a few more books in the series as he wanted to know more. If only he was as keen on math! We have been doing mental math everyday and he is getting better and he is remembering more and more sums without having to count. We need to revisit telling time though as he seems to have forgotten! I am sure that if I could somehow relate it to warhammer he would have no trouble remembering.
Last night's Doctor Who was a big hit here for two reasons. One, the monster looked a bit like a bionicle, inspiring sam to go off and recreate it and two-whoever wrote the episode clearly had the same latin books I had as all the characters' names were identical! Fancy Caecilious ( I know that isn't the correct spelling but you get the gist) and his family meeting up with the doctor-that certainly didn't happen in my text book! I wonder how many other people of my age sat there last night and shouted "hey, I know that guy-he was in my latin book"?
My sonlight order should be here on monday and I am looking forward to seeing all of the books we will be reading come septemberish. The selection this year is fantastic and we are both enjoying the readers and read alouds. Several of them have been books that I enjoyed as a child and it is nice to see sam enjoying them too. The Littles, in particular was a big hit, I even ordered a few more books in the series as he wanted to know more. If only he was as keen on math! We have been doing mental math everyday and he is getting better and he is remembering more and more sums without having to count. We need to revisit telling time though as he seems to have forgotten! I am sure that if I could somehow relate it to warhammer he would have no trouble remembering.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Out for a drive
Watch out Captain Slow, hamster and clarkson, these two are after your jobs!!! They road tested this tractor and subjected it to top gear challenges.
Building a den
Today we met up with S and the girls at a farm centre half way between leicester and peterborough. It was smaller than we expected but the children had fun, especially in the den building area. Sam teamed up with C to create a den built of massive pine branches and old xmas trees!! It was lovely to catch up with them all, G, my goddaughter is so grown up now and a very chatty little lady of 2.5. Sam had great fun with the girls, especially C. He was delighted to learn that A loves top gear too so they spent ages discussing various episodes. It is such a treasure to have good friends like these, friends that sam known since he was born and who hopefully he will have in his life for a very long time.
A trio of sam creations
Sam loves lego bionicles and love nothing better than to make his own versions. Here are three of his latest.
Finally finished Grandpa!!
After an unprecedented three months Sam has finally finished the jedi star fighter with hyperbooster ring that grandpa and grandma gave him for xmas. It was the ring that held him up as it was very complicated but with a little daddy help it all came together.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Back in the saddle again..
and it is good to be back. I had to take a short blogging break due to the lack of a computer. My laptop came to a sad end after a glass of wine merged with the keyboard. Thankfully it was covered under the household insurance and I am now the proud owner of a fujitus siemens amilo. I have only had if half a day but apart from the fact that it is running vista it seems okay. All food and drink are banned from the immediate area as are drooling dogs! When rogue sees food he drools more than niagra falls in full flow.
The last couple weeks have been full of the usual kind of stuff-school work ,seeing friends, home ed group, drooling dogs and dsing. Both Sam and I went through a my sims phase, it is so addictive! Now we have both made it to level 4 we have cooled off it a bit, he is currently in warhammer mode and I am embarking on spring cleaning. M is working this weekend and I plan to blitz all of our clothes closets and if I am feeling really brave sam and I may tackle his room. He has run out of space to display his lego creations so an overhaul is in order.
The last couple weeks have been full of the usual kind of stuff-school work ,seeing friends, home ed group, drooling dogs and dsing. Both Sam and I went through a my sims phase, it is so addictive! Now we have both made it to level 4 we have cooled off it a bit, he is currently in warhammer mode and I am embarking on spring cleaning. M is working this weekend and I plan to blitz all of our clothes closets and if I am feeling really brave sam and I may tackle his room. He has run out of space to display his lego creations so an overhaul is in order.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Math made fun
Sam received a ds for his birthday and he has been glued to it ever since. His fav game is star wars but two days I finally managed to get him to play brain training. He is now hooked and will willingly play the math training exercises! This can't be the same boy who thinks the whole subject was created just to make his life a misery. He wants to get his brain age down below 80 and I am sure that after a few days playing he will be able to. He doesn't look on it as doing math though and is actually keen to do the adding and subtracting. A huge thank you to the inventor of the game-now if I can just get him off of it long enough so that I can get my brain age down!!
The week started off in a very relaxing fashion I spent sunday with the girls (my antenatal class friends) at eden hall day spa to celebrate two 40th bdays and the fact that we have been friends for 8 years now. I had never been to a day spa before so didn't know to expect. It was absolute heaven, I can't remember when I have spent such a relaxed and chilled day. We did a few exercise classes, had a very yummy lunch and lounged by the pool and in the saunas. It was great to catch up with the girls, none of us could quite believe that it has been 7 years since we all sat uncomfortable and pregnant in jesca's living room. M and Sam seemed to have survived the day without me okay, think they spent the day working on their warhammer board and mouching around.
The week started off in a very relaxing fashion I spent sunday with the girls (my antenatal class friends) at eden hall day spa to celebrate two 40th bdays and the fact that we have been friends for 8 years now. I had never been to a day spa before so didn't know to expect. It was absolute heaven, I can't remember when I have spent such a relaxed and chilled day. We did a few exercise classes, had a very yummy lunch and lounged by the pool and in the saunas. It was great to catch up with the girls, none of us could quite believe that it has been 7 years since we all sat uncomfortable and pregnant in jesca's living room. M and Sam seemed to have survived the day without me okay, think they spent the day working on their warhammer board and mouching around.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Separate but equally fun vacations
We are all back now having enjoyed two very different vacations. As you can see from the pics below M when to the arctic circle while sam and I went to florida. M went skiing with friends from work and by all accounts had a wonderful time. The photos show an amazing landscape and the stories he has to tell are very entertaining. He saw the northern lights which was quite a spectacle. He has said that the skiing was the best that he has ever experienced. This was very rugged skiing, they would ski up the mountain, often in virgin snow so that they could ski back down. It was very hard work by all accounts and M has the bruises to prove it!
Sam and I on the other hand had a much less taxing vacation in holt florida visiting my dad and stepmom. Holt is up in the panhandle, near pensacola, this part of florida is jokingly called lower alabama as it has a lot more in common with that state than it does central and southern florida. It is very rural and every second car was a pick up! Most of the houses are brick which you don't see in the rest of florida. In someways it reminded me very much of north carolina. It was wonderful to see dad and amy as we haven't seen them in almost two years. Sam was thrilled at getting to stay with grandpa and grandma for a week and when we weren't out doing things he and dad had fun just doing guy things like walking the dogs and messing with stuff. Dad had a bday party and invited my stepsister and her family as well as family friends whom I had not seen since we were all stationed in germany together. My childhood friends shawnee and tina were there and looked much like I remembered them, except that we are all now grown up! Tina has a 7 year old son, parker and he and sam had a ball. Together with sam's cousin hayden (5), the three were inseparable and spent the afternoon tumbling about like puppies. It was so nice to catch up with shawnee and tina, seems like just yesterday we were in grade school together. Sam really took to shanwee when he learned that she is a manager at target! His first words were "Can you get me a discount?"!! Thankfully she saw the funny side. Auntie C was able to come up and it was so good to see her and to catch up properly. She was only able to stay the weekend as she had to get back to work so it was a short but sweet visit.
Our week with dad went by very quickly-we went out on his friend joe's boat and were lucky enough to see dolphins, we went to the air force museum at eglin airforce base and the naval air museum at pensacola. The naval air museum was fantastic-fully of lots of shiny planes and fun things to do. If you ever get up to pensacola it is well worth a visit-www.navalaviationmuseum.org. We also did a bit of retail therapy-including three trips to target! If they ever open a store over here we will go bankrupt. Between target and the outlet mall sam and I managed to spend all of our bday money and have some nice things to show for it. He spent most of on lego (big shock I know) and games for his new DS lite. I bought some jewellery, clothes and books. Overall though the best part of the trip was being able to spend time with dad and amy-sam and I both enjoyed that the most. Thank you guys for a wonderful visit-we love you!!!
Sam and I on the other hand had a much less taxing vacation in holt florida visiting my dad and stepmom. Holt is up in the panhandle, near pensacola, this part of florida is jokingly called lower alabama as it has a lot more in common with that state than it does central and southern florida. It is very rural and every second car was a pick up! Most of the houses are brick which you don't see in the rest of florida. In someways it reminded me very much of north carolina. It was wonderful to see dad and amy as we haven't seen them in almost two years. Sam was thrilled at getting to stay with grandpa and grandma for a week and when we weren't out doing things he and dad had fun just doing guy things like walking the dogs and messing with stuff. Dad had a bday party and invited my stepsister and her family as well as family friends whom I had not seen since we were all stationed in germany together. My childhood friends shawnee and tina were there and looked much like I remembered them, except that we are all now grown up! Tina has a 7 year old son, parker and he and sam had a ball. Together with sam's cousin hayden (5), the three were inseparable and spent the afternoon tumbling about like puppies. It was so nice to catch up with shawnee and tina, seems like just yesterday we were in grade school together. Sam really took to shanwee when he learned that she is a manager at target! His first words were "Can you get me a discount?"!! Thankfully she saw the funny side. Auntie C was able to come up and it was so good to see her and to catch up properly. She was only able to stay the weekend as she had to get back to work so it was a short but sweet visit.
Our week with dad went by very quickly-we went out on his friend joe's boat and were lucky enough to see dolphins, we went to the air force museum at eglin airforce base and the naval air museum at pensacola. The naval air museum was fantastic-fully of lots of shiny planes and fun things to do. If you ever get up to pensacola it is well worth a visit-www.navalaviationmuseum.org. We also did a bit of retail therapy-including three trips to target! If they ever open a store over here we will go bankrupt. Between target and the outlet mall sam and I managed to spend all of our bday money and have some nice things to show for it. He spent most of on lego (big shock I know) and games for his new DS lite. I bought some jewellery, clothes and books. Overall though the best part of the trip was being able to spend time with dad and amy-sam and I both enjoyed that the most. Thank you guys for a wonderful visit-we love you!!!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
A very yummy birthday cake!
My little boy is now a grown up 7 year old and celebrated the day with a very yummy ice cream cake!
Taking the first bite!
The boys dived for the chocolate covered strawberries as soon as sam blew out the candles!
Hanging out with the blue angles
If you are ever in the panhandle do not miss the naval air museum, it is fantastic. It is fully of lots of pretty shiny planes, an Imax theater, a cool restaurant and what's more entry is free. Dad, Sam and I had a fun morning here but could easily have spent all day.
A boy's best friend
Dad's friend Joe took us out on his boat and sam and zeke the puppy were inseparable. Could be something to do with the fact that he kept feeding him corn chips!
Fresh tracks
This is what the mountain looked like after they all came down. M's tracks are on the right.
Amazing view
Just one of the amazing views that M saw on his trip. He had to ski up the mountain to see this, then skied back down to catch the boat back to the lodge.
Off out on an adventure
M is just back from his skiing trip to the arctic circle and he had a ball. He went with a group of friends from work and they stayed in a brand new lodge near Tromso in Norway. Each day a boat took them out to ski up and then down the nearby mountains. He was lucky enough to see the northern lights. He has said it was the best skiing he has ever experienced.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Posing at the Medici fountain
This was one of our last stops-amazingly that balloon made it all the way home.
Degas' Dancer
We did a whistle stop our of the Musee D'Orsay mainly to see the art deco rooms which of course where closed! Sam enjoyed seeing this young lady though.
A very rogue like pose
This is just what rogue looks like when he is attacking one of his stuffed animals!
Hanging out with the ancients
We made second more leisurely trip to the Louvre on our second day, mainly to see the Code of Hamurabi but as luck would have it it had been taken away for a special exhibition that wasn't yet open. We had to make due with these cool reliefs from the palace of Sargon.
looking impish again
Our second day started with a trip to Les Invalides where we saw Napoleon's tomb and tons and tons of armour and weapons. None of us had been before and it was well worth the visit, especially if you have a little boy who is into swords and spears and knights.
Medieval beauty
A very atmospheric shot taken by M, you would never know the place was teaming with people.
Stately Stained Glass
This is the main chapel at Sainte Chapelle, an amazing medieval church very close to Notre Dame.
The parents as taken by sam
Here we are after a very long day sightseeing-we had just finished our first trip to the Louvre and were off in search of dinner. We had been up since 4am which is why both M and I look shattered. Sam was still full of energy at this point! Must be something to do with all the chocolate I kept giving him.
Ready to leap
You would never know that just moments before he complained of being tired and needing to sit down for a rest!
Looking very impish
Here is Sam full of energy after a quick trip round the Louvre. Not sure which he enjoyed more, wandering in the museum or leaping on the pillars outside!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Introducing his beaver pack to warhammer
Last night Sam completed his hobby badge by giving a short talk on warhammer to his beaver pack. He had spent a lot of time in the morning working on his presentation and even gave V & C a run through when they came over. I was very proud of him for standing up and talking so well to the group, he seemed so grown up!
Now how do I make hydrogen?
M and Sam have had lots of fun recently learning about the periodic table. Using marbles, fingers and the periodic chart, sam has learned about various elements and their isotopes and how to make them.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Sam's latest Craze..
is top gear. Ever since we discovered BBCiplayer and I showed him a clip of top gear he has been hooked. It is a sad day in our house if there is not a new episode to watch!! M and I enjoy watching it too and I think sam's fav bits are the cars as most of the humor goes over his head. Thank goodness we don't have a tv because there is a new channel called Dave that seems to show top gear almost non stop! Poor V knows all the words to every episode now as her dh and ds watch it all weekend!!
We have been very busy since my last post-visiting friends, home ed group, playing warhammer and delivering phone books. Formal school work has happened this week but there has also been lots of practical work-counting, writing and organising. Sam has been a huge help to V and I in delivering 549 phonebooks. He has been in charge of making sure we had enough books for each street and marking them off as they were delivered. He was such a big help and very patient! The nice sunny weather helped to make the job easier, not sure it would have been as much fun in the pouring rain!!
The theme for home ed group this week was china an chinese new year and I think everyone had fun. Between the three of us, V, C and I there were tons of activities for the children to and everyone had lots to take away with them at the end of the session. The biggest hits were the homemade kites, dragon headresses and the great wall made of sugar cubes. Children love making things from sugar cubes and suprisingly eat very few of the cubes while constructing!! I think that if we could fit them into every session the children wouldn't mind. The moms might thought as the mortar that holds them together (icing sugar and egg whites) is a pain to clean off the tables. The theme of the next session is toys and games and I am pretty sure that I won't be able to work them into that.
We are on a paris countdown here and are all very excited. We have drawn up a short list of places that we want to visit so that we don't miss anything out on our flying visit. I keep hoping that being the the glamorous setting of paris will help me to forget what a big birthday I have coming up. I can't possibly be as old as it says on my passport, I still haven't figured out what I want to be when I grow up!
We have been very busy since my last post-visiting friends, home ed group, playing warhammer and delivering phone books. Formal school work has happened this week but there has also been lots of practical work-counting, writing and organising. Sam has been a huge help to V and I in delivering 549 phonebooks. He has been in charge of making sure we had enough books for each street and marking them off as they were delivered. He was such a big help and very patient! The nice sunny weather helped to make the job easier, not sure it would have been as much fun in the pouring rain!!
The theme for home ed group this week was china an chinese new year and I think everyone had fun. Between the three of us, V, C and I there were tons of activities for the children to and everyone had lots to take away with them at the end of the session. The biggest hits were the homemade kites, dragon headresses and the great wall made of sugar cubes. Children love making things from sugar cubes and suprisingly eat very few of the cubes while constructing!! I think that if we could fit them into every session the children wouldn't mind. The moms might thought as the mortar that holds them together (icing sugar and egg whites) is a pain to clean off the tables. The theme of the next session is toys and games and I am pretty sure that I won't be able to work them into that.
We are on a paris countdown here and are all very excited. We have drawn up a short list of places that we want to visit so that we don't miss anything out on our flying visit. I keep hoping that being the the glamorous setting of paris will help me to forget what a big birthday I have coming up. I can't possibly be as old as it says on my passport, I still haven't figured out what I want to be when I grow up!
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Happy Feburary!
Last week was a busy week here and it is hard to believe that is feb already. The week started off with our first syston home ed group of the year. Our theme was Winter and it was a very busy session. We had 19 families and about 35 children! Needless to say it was a very loud session, especially as a majority of the children were boys of between 4-8. One of the activities was to make a rain gauge out of 2L soda bottles, most of the boys however thought it was much more fun to use them as swords and light sabres. Despite all the sword play there was lots of concentrating and lots of learning going on and I think everyone had fun.
The rest of the week passed in a blurr-two trips into the city centre, one to do mystery jobs and the other so that sam could play warhammer. Despite not being an official game day he managed to find someone to play and beat them. I am not sure it was really a fair match though as the other boy was outnumbered two to one. In the end he conceded the match as sam had killed most of his army.
Sam and M had their first science lesson-M is teaching him all about the periodic table and the various elements. They used marbles to represent the protons, electrons and ions. Sam really enjoyed it had came away saying what great teacher daddy was and how much fun he made the lesson. They had their second lesson today and I think just as much fun was had. Today they looked at states of matter and hydrogen atoms I think.
This week promises to be even busier than last with visits to friends, birthday parties and lots of bits and pieces going on. I don't mind though as very soon the three of us will be drinking champagne as the eurostar whisks us to paris (okay sam won't be drinking champagne-he will have to settle for sparkling apple juice). I am being thoroughly spoilt this year as we are going to paris for two nights to celebrate my very big birthday. Maybe it won't seem so bad that way. I certainly don't feel old enough to be the number that I am about to be.
The rest of the week passed in a blurr-two trips into the city centre, one to do mystery jobs and the other so that sam could play warhammer. Despite not being an official game day he managed to find someone to play and beat them. I am not sure it was really a fair match though as the other boy was outnumbered two to one. In the end he conceded the match as sam had killed most of his army.
Sam and M had their first science lesson-M is teaching him all about the periodic table and the various elements. They used marbles to represent the protons, electrons and ions. Sam really enjoyed it had came away saying what great teacher daddy was and how much fun he made the lesson. They had their second lesson today and I think just as much fun was had. Today they looked at states of matter and hydrogen atoms I think.
This week promises to be even busier than last with visits to friends, birthday parties and lots of bits and pieces going on. I don't mind though as very soon the three of us will be drinking champagne as the eurostar whisks us to paris (okay sam won't be drinking champagne-he will have to settle for sparkling apple juice). I am being thoroughly spoilt this year as we are going to paris for two nights to celebrate my very big birthday. Maybe it won't seem so bad that way. I certainly don't feel old enough to be the number that I am about to be.
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