For his 40th sam and I gave Matt an afternoon at Silverstone driving a caterham. It was a timed slalom event and he had a ball. It was also absolutely freezing so sam and I watched from the warmth of the car!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Start your engines
Here is Matt at the wheel of his new favorite car. He really enjoyed the driving event and his only complaint was that they didn't let him take it home!
He shoots, he scores..
unfortunately into the wrong goal!! Sam had a soccer tournament this weekend, it was for all the cub scouts in the district and sam played with his troop. The reason he scored two own goals was that he didn't realise that afterhalf time the teams switch ends and frankly neither did I! Guess we should have gone over the rules a bit more than we did. His teammates were not upset and all the matches were played in the spirit of fun so sam wasn't upset either. He really enjoyed himself which was the main thing.
We have been afloat a lot lately and life is good on the boat. With all those windows she is a real suntrap and it is lovely to sit there and watch the world go by. We get on really well with school work on the boat, it is really condusive to learning, especially science with all that wildlife floating by. We have joined the gym at the marina as they have a great children's progamme. There is a supervised fun sporting activity each afternoon and sam has been to three different activities so far and enjoyed them all. The best part is that while he is playing matt and I are able to go to the gym. It feels good to be getting back into shape.
We have been afloat a lot lately and life is good on the boat. With all those windows she is a real suntrap and it is lovely to sit there and watch the world go by. We get on really well with school work on the boat, it is really condusive to learning, especially science with all that wildlife floating by. We have joined the gym at the marina as they have a great children's progamme. There is a supervised fun sporting activity each afternoon and sam has been to three different activities so far and enjoyed them all. The best part is that while he is playing matt and I are able to go to the gym. It feels good to be getting back into shape.
Friday, March 13, 2009
The smart birthday boy
Sam's bday was the 2nd and we met up with Matt's parents in London the weekend before to celebrate. We went to lunch at the Royal Society of Medicine which was lovely. The food was delicious and they treated the birthday boy like a king. After lunch we dumped our bags at the hotel and then spent the afternoon wandering around london, surprisingly ending up at Hamleys where sam was treated to some birthday lego by nana and grandad. We picked up nibbles at M&S and then headed back to the hotel to chill. It was a lovely day.
The following day nand & grandad took sam to the Imperial War Museum while matt and I went to the Royal Academy of Art and did a little shopping. We missed the monster but it was nice to have a little grown up time. Sam enjoyed the Imperial War Museum and getting to spend time with his grandparents.
Sam had a "It is my 8th birthday" badge on his blazer and everywhere we went people wished him happy birthday. On the train home we were upgraded to 1st Class because of his badge and they gave him a goody back! How cool is that! I think that I am going to make him where that badge everywhere from now on!!
The following day nand & grandad took sam to the Imperial War Museum while matt and I went to the Royal Academy of Art and did a little shopping. We missed the monster but it was nice to have a little grown up time. Sam enjoyed the Imperial War Museum and getting to spend time with his grandparents.
Sam had a "It is my 8th birthday" badge on his blazer and everywhere we went people wished him happy birthday. On the train home we were upgraded to 1st Class because of his badge and they gave him a goody back! How cool is that! I think that I am going to make him where that badge everywhere from now on!!
Happy Birthday!
Sam was very surprised by the birthday cake that nana brought and very pleased to find that it was a top gear cake! The restaurant treated him like royalty and he lapped it up.
Nana cuddles are nice
After a long day in London, and with very sore feet we retired to the hotel for a picnic and champagne. Wish I could say that we all slept well but the boy bounced around all night, excited about his new lego! Shame because it was a very comfy bed.
Bugatti Veyron
Despite everything we did over the weekend I think that seeing this was just about the highlight for sam. It is one of his fav super cars and he couldn't believe it when he saw it parked just off oxford street. He was very respectful and didn't run up and touch it unlike half the adults who spotted it. I think he was secretly hoping that one of the top gear guys would suddenly appear, hop in and drive away!
I'll help you open that says Miko
As you can imagine, Sam's birthday started early and with a huge pile of pressies. Here he and miko are coming to grips with one of them.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Making beautiful pictures together
Matt's sister and her family joined us on the boat this weekend. It was the first time we have had overnight guests and it worked out well. We sailed a couple miles south of lincoln and the boys all got to help work the stamp end lock. We moored for the night near the village of washingborough and after walking the dogs went in search of the pub. It was a lovely sunny afternoon so we enjoyed a drink in the garden while the boys played. We spent a quiet evening with the boys engrossed in Indiana Jones while the grown ups chatted.
The boys all got along really well and delighted in spending time together. This picture is of sam and benjamin drawing-benjamin drew a pic of sam while sam drew a tank facing friendly fire!
If you are looking for a unique present check out this website-www.bhdolls.com, it is run by my cousin's friend and there is nothing else quite like this out there.
The boys all got along really well and delighted in spending time together. This picture is of sam and benjamin drawing-benjamin drew a pic of sam while sam drew a tank facing friendly fire!
If you are looking for a unique present check out this website-www.bhdolls.com, it is run by my cousin's friend and there is nothing else quite like this out there.
James looking very grown up
My nephew James who is very nearly 4. He is a sweetie and seemed to enjoy his weekend on the boat. He and Sam and Benjamin had an Indiana Jones fest, watching all but Temple of Doom (worst of the 4 in my opinion).
Yee Haw!
Spent a lovely day last friday with some of our oldest and dearest peterborough friends. We met up at Sundown Adventure Land which is only about 20 min from the boat. It is a theme park for the under 10s, full of great playgrounds and a few rides. It was lovely to see Sarah and her girls, especially my goddaughter G (she is the one in the white coat). Sam and C spent the whole time rough and tumbling. After enjoying the park they all came back to the boat where g kept asking to go to sea!
Friday also happened to be my birthday and the boys took me out to dinner to the chinese restaurant at the marina. The food was fantastic and sam ate nearly the whole half a cripsy duck on his own! He is really getting a taste for seafood and was most upset that we wouldn't let him order the lobster!!
Friday also happened to be my birthday and the boys took me out to dinner to the chinese restaurant at the marina. The food was fantastic and sam ate nearly the whole half a cripsy duck on his own! He is really getting a taste for seafood and was most upset that we wouldn't let him order the lobster!!
Crazy driver
Here is mr. crazy looney driver, all I can say is that given the crazed look on his face I am certainly not teaching him to drive!!! That sounds like a job for his dad.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
A beautiful morning
The sun is shining, the ducks are swimming are floating by nibbling on the bread we have thrown out for them, the boat is warm and the dogs and the boy are asleep. It is nice to sit here and just soak in the atmosphere. We have had a nice week, just pottering along-a bit of school work and a bit of fun.
We started Sonlight Core 3 a few weeks ago and are both really enjoying it. The emphasis is american history and the readers and read alouds are based on that theme. It has sparked some interesting discussions on imperialism and slavery. We have also restarted the Cambridge Latin Course, doing a little each day rather than just once a week. This works much better and sam is actually excited to do it each day. We are also doing daily math drills to hammer home basic math facts. Sam can add and subtract fractions but often forgets more basic operations. He has also started a daily journal to try and encourage him to write more and to improve his handwriting.
Have a sunny day everyone!
We started Sonlight Core 3 a few weeks ago and are both really enjoying it. The emphasis is american history and the readers and read alouds are based on that theme. It has sparked some interesting discussions on imperialism and slavery. We have also restarted the Cambridge Latin Course, doing a little each day rather than just once a week. This works much better and sam is actually excited to do it each day. We are also doing daily math drills to hammer home basic math facts. Sam can add and subtract fractions but often forgets more basic operations. He has also started a daily journal to try and encourage him to write more and to improve his handwriting.
Have a sunny day everyone!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
This and that
Not a lot going on here at the moment-just the familiar comfort of routine. We spend our morning doing schoolwork and our afternoons running errands, walking the dogs and bringing order the chaos that is the house. When we aren't here we are on the boat doing the same thing. We have been on the boat quite a bit lately and going to be there a lot more over the next few weeks. We all really enjoy our time afloat, if only the broadband connection was quicker. We don't spend much time on line, hence the lack of blogging lately.
Sam is getting excited about his birthday, I can't believe in just over 2 weeks he will be 8. He is a sweet little imp and a joy to be around most of the time. He is still heavily into lego and is getting very good at making programmes for his lego mindstorm robot. He is moving up to cubs very soon at is excited at the prospect. Several of his friends are also moving up so at least there will be some familiar faces.
The snow is now more or less all gone, there are a few lumps around here and there but they are far and few between. The boy is desparate for more snow, seems he didn't get his fill of snowball fights! The snow is lovely but it would be nice to have a little warm spring weather.
Sam is getting excited about his birthday, I can't believe in just over 2 weeks he will be 8. He is a sweet little imp and a joy to be around most of the time. He is still heavily into lego and is getting very good at making programmes for his lego mindstorm robot. He is moving up to cubs very soon at is excited at the prospect. Several of his friends are also moving up so at least there will be some familiar faces.
The snow is now more or less all gone, there are a few lumps around here and there but they are far and few between. The boy is desparate for more snow, seems he didn't get his fill of snowball fights! The snow is lovely but it would be nice to have a little warm spring weather.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Out the front window
It looked very peaceful this morning, it is amazing how the snow dampens the noise.
Searching for food
This little guy followed us around watermead for quite a while. He was very bold and hopped right up to us.
Out the front window
This is what it looked like after a couple of hours of snow. We were on the boat when it started snowing and after a hairy drive made it home before the snow showers got really heavy. I am glad we got home when we did because I don't think the road was gritted. It took our poor neighbor 4 hours to do a 32 minute trip!
sam making a snow dog, rogue acting as the model
Sam spent a long time making a snowdog and rogue was happy to sit and be his model.
A big one with daddy's name on it!
It was a very lopsided snowball fight-matt and the dogs vs. sam. The cats and I stayed inside and watched the the whole thing. Everyone was thoroughly soaked when they came in but a good time was had by all.
Rogue leaping on a snowball
Here is rogue, mid leap trying to catch a snowball that matt has thrown him!
Enjoying the snow
The two dogs playing in the snow, miko looks like she is smiling! They boy really enjoyed themselves-eating snowballs was their fav activity.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Which way?
We are just back from a fantastic week skiing in Garmisch. The slopes were virtually empty, the people friendly and the food good. After a bumpy first day sam really enjoyed himself and couldn't get enough of the slopes. Despite not skiing for over 10 years I was not as sore as I had thought I would be and really enjoyed the challenge of getting back some semblance of form. Matt was perfect from day one and relished being back on his snowboard. The last few years he has skied rather than boarded and has missed it.
Garmisch is a very family friendly destination and more like your local neighborhood ski run rather than a big resort area. Most of the other skiers were german with the exceptions of the americans who not only have a base there but also a special ski resort for the armed forces. Each afternoon after skiing we went to the main konditeri (cake shop) for yummy cakes and by the end of the week they knew us! Sam received extra chocolates and smiles with each visit and that was typical of everywhere we went. All of the shop keepers seem to keep a jar of sweets to give to the children and thus sam enjoyed visited shops even more than usual!
Our apartment was lovely, would have gladly moved in full time if we had had the dogs with us! Matt especially liked the underground garage which meant that the didn't have to defrost the car each morning.
All in all we had a fantastic time and would happily go back!
Garmisch is a very family friendly destination and more like your local neighborhood ski run rather than a big resort area. Most of the other skiers were german with the exceptions of the americans who not only have a base there but also a special ski resort for the armed forces. Each afternoon after skiing we went to the main konditeri (cake shop) for yummy cakes and by the end of the week they knew us! Sam received extra chocolates and smiles with each visit and that was typical of everywhere we went. All of the shop keepers seem to keep a jar of sweets to give to the children and thus sam enjoyed visited shops even more than usual!
Our apartment was lovely, would have gladly moved in full time if we had had the dogs with us! Matt especially liked the underground garage which meant that the didn't have to defrost the car each morning.
All in all we had a fantastic time and would happily go back!
Heading toward daddy
Here is the boy on the second day. We went up to the zugspitz which involved two very scary cable car rides but was worth it because the skiing was great.
Mastering the turn
At the start of the week sam could only just turn but by the end he ws trying to do parallel turns. If only we could hit the slopes every weekend!
End of a long run
Here is our speed demon at the end of a long run. It was a couple of kms from top to bottom and sam loved every minute.
Cool and dudey
Here is the monster heading down run 1 on the Hausberg lift. It was a great intermediate lift, much nicer after the fresh snow we had on matt's bday.
Quality DS time after a hard day skiiing
The boy chilling in the living room after a long day skiing. This was a very comfy sofa for resting weary limbs on after a hard day on the slopes.
View from the kitchen
This is the view I had when doing dishes, I could just make out one of the ski runs in the distance, what an incentive to finish the dishes!
View from the bedroom balcony
This is the view from from the bedroom balcony, wouldn't it be wonderful to wake up to this everyday.
The dining area
Here is the dining area-very typically german-we had something similar when we were stationed in germany. Sam had great fun sliding around from end to end.
The amazing tub
This is the tub in our on-suite bathroom. The bathroom was amazing and the tub big enough to fit all of us! The boys had a nice soak every evening after skiing.
For Anna
A beautiful snow sculpture at oberamergau of an angel playing the cello for sam's friend anna.
The boys at Linderhoff
On our last day we visited Linderhoff, the lovely little palace built by Ludwig II. This photo reminds me of a similar visit made by my mom and dad and I when I was about sam's age. We went to the better known palace of Neuschwanstein, also built by Ludwig. As I recall we went in the dead of winter, with snow all around, but dad took us up the summer path! It was a steep winding path covered in snow and took us twice as long as the winter path would have done. It must have been fun though or I wouldn't have kept the memory all these years.
Atlas
The amazing statues at Linderhoff again as taken by matt. Linderhoff is a lovely little palace built by Ludwig II of Bavaria as his personal retreat.
Frozen stream at Linderfhoff
A beautiful shot from Linderhoff taken by matt. Linderhoff was even more beautiful than I remembered.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Look what I got dad!
We did manage to save some pressies until later in the day and here are the boys opening the last few.
Rogue guarding the presents
I think santa asked rogue to guard the presents and he did a very good job!
Can't wait to get riding
As soon as he opened this he was determined to get us outside so he could ride it. As it was cold, dark and 6am we made him wait until later in the day.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Happy New Year!!!
Okay, I know it is several days late but better late than never! I must apologise for my lack of blogging over this festive season, my only excuse is that we have spent the better part of the holidays on the boat and the mobile broadband connection is slower than molasses. We have a lovely xmas and new year, despite matt working most of it. Having the boat made a huge difference, matt didn't have to spend xmas in hospital accommodation, instead we were all able to celebrate together on a warm and toasty boat. I am pleased to report that santa was able to find the boat and left the boy lots of nice goodies.
We are all enjoying life afloat, it is so peaceful and quiet at the marina and the dogs enjoy long walks along the tow path. Matt's parents came up yesterday and we took boudicca out for a spin. We sailed her down to lincoln and back, it was the first time we have taken her out since she was put back in the water. Matt really had fun and it was interesting seeing lincoln from a different perspective.
Sam spends his time on the boat doing lego, ds-ing, drawing and reading. We have had long xmas break from formal work so we have to get back on track, at least until we go skiing. We are all very excited about skiing and matt checks the weather in garmisch at least 10 times a day!
I hope you all have a wonderful 2009, full of great happiness. We had a mixed year last year and hope that this year is a little less eventful!
We are all enjoying life afloat, it is so peaceful and quiet at the marina and the dogs enjoy long walks along the tow path. Matt's parents came up yesterday and we took boudicca out for a spin. We sailed her down to lincoln and back, it was the first time we have taken her out since she was put back in the water. Matt really had fun and it was interesting seeing lincoln from a different perspective.
Sam spends his time on the boat doing lego, ds-ing, drawing and reading. We have had long xmas break from formal work so we have to get back on track, at least until we go skiing. We are all very excited about skiing and matt checks the weather in garmisch at least 10 times a day!
I hope you all have a wonderful 2009, full of great happiness. We had a mixed year last year and hope that this year is a little less eventful!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Talented young men
Sam and Charlie discovered how to balance balloons on their tongues-with this much ingenuity they are both no doubt bound for MIT!
Xmas with the boys
Our xmas celebrations started with a bowling party on the 23rd with the boys, except Al and Conall who were missing due to illness. Lots of fun was had by all and it was wonderful to catch up with everyone one.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Oh what a month!
Things have been pretty busy in our house lately to say the least. The two major life changing events were matt and getting a permanent post in lincoln (yippee!!! and thank you to everyone who kept their fingers crossed!) and buying boudicca. We are all over the moon that matt now has a permanent post as lincoln's newest itu consultant, it means the past 6 months of worry and uncertainity are over. He has been in lincoln since july but initally on a locum basis but as of nov 28th he is there permanently. He likes the job and thinks there is lots of scope for growth and is looking forward to settling in there properly. Lincoln is a great city and we are all looking forward to getting to know it better and in time move there and make it our home.
The market is so bad at the moment that we decided not to sell the house yet but to buy somewhere for matt to stay while he is on call and when he has back to back surgery days and that somewhere is boudicca!! We had initally thought of a flat but all of the nice ones were out of our budget and came with too many restrictions about parkting pets etc. That is when we started exploring other options and came up with a narrowboat. Our good friends christine and tony who live on board there boat were fully of helpful tips and even came out boat hunting with us. Boudicca was one of the first boats we saw and despite seeing lots of others we always came back to her. She is so light and airy and seemed just what we were looking for. Everything fell into place and she is now ours and moored at a fantastic marina up in lincoln, about 10 min from the hospital. She has made such a difference to matt's on calls and going forward is going to mean that he does a lot less commutting. Sam and I are spending lots of time on her as well, whenever matt is on call we go up to keep him company. We have had a few teething problems with the heating but fingers crossed that is now sorted. We are looking forward to lots of family outings on her when the warmer weather arrives ( how long till summer!?) and to exploring the rivers and canals around the country.
Formal education has taken a bit of a backseat these last few weeks but sam has learned a tremendous amount about boats, going through locks, heating, engineering, geography and history not to mention water safety!
We have been so busy with sorting out the boat that xmas has jumped up on me. I am very behind with everything but hopefully it will all come together. All of sam's presents have been bought so at least the little guy is taken care of.
The market is so bad at the moment that we decided not to sell the house yet but to buy somewhere for matt to stay while he is on call and when he has back to back surgery days and that somewhere is boudicca!! We had initally thought of a flat but all of the nice ones were out of our budget and came with too many restrictions about parkting pets etc. That is when we started exploring other options and came up with a narrowboat. Our good friends christine and tony who live on board there boat were fully of helpful tips and even came out boat hunting with us. Boudicca was one of the first boats we saw and despite seeing lots of others we always came back to her. She is so light and airy and seemed just what we were looking for. Everything fell into place and she is now ours and moored at a fantastic marina up in lincoln, about 10 min from the hospital. She has made such a difference to matt's on calls and going forward is going to mean that he does a lot less commutting. Sam and I are spending lots of time on her as well, whenever matt is on call we go up to keep him company. We have had a few teething problems with the heating but fingers crossed that is now sorted. We are looking forward to lots of family outings on her when the warmer weather arrives ( how long till summer!?) and to exploring the rivers and canals around the country.
Formal education has taken a bit of a backseat these last few weeks but sam has learned a tremendous amount about boats, going through locks, heating, engineering, geography and history not to mention water safety!
We have been so busy with sorting out the boat that xmas has jumped up on me. I am very behind with everything but hopefully it will all come together. All of sam's presents have been bought so at least the little guy is taken care of.
Monday, December 01, 2008
The captain concentrating
Matt took to boating like a duck to water. He did a fantastic job keeping us on the straight and narrow-despite a crew who did things like drop a spike in the river, get the ropes wet and flood the loo!
Reviews of the river bank
This is the sort of view we had all weekend. It was so quiet and peaceful, that we hated to come back to dry land.
Getting to grips with the kitchen
The kitchen is small but has everything you need. The range is amazing and keeps the boat toasty warm.
Just chillin'
The dogs have adapted to boat life, though miko is not very keen on the getting on and off bit! Matt is going to build her a ramp because she is way too heavy to lift on an off each time.
Keeping an eye out for wildlife
This is rogue's fav place on the boat, he sat here all day watching out for birds and other wildlife.
Watching the world go by
Sam really enjoyed the weekend on the boat and spent most of his time at the tiler helping M. When it got too cold and rainy he came inside and played lego and and on his ds.
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