Belated Merry Christmas

Having arrived home from Mexico late on Saturday night, we celebrated Christmas yesterday instead. After opening all our presents, thank you very much everyone, Tom disappeared into his bedroom to start the marathon Lego building frenzy that Christmas always brings, Lily was off playing with her American Girl doll, cat, dog and rabbit, Nick started reading one of his books after transerring all his golf clubs into his smart new golf bag and I was itching to start downloading music onto my smart new ipod. Having consumed some champagne the meal was thankfully a success and we got started on the red wine. Now we just have to write our thank you letters to y'all.

Feliz Navidad from Mexico

We flew out to Playa del Carmen, Mexico on Saturday 20th December for a week in the sun, this was our first meal out after a day in the sun - guess who forgot to take a hat on holiday?

After a couple of days lounging on the beach we ventured out in our hire car for a drive to Tulum. This is an old Mayan ruin similar to Chichen Itza only much smaller and a much shorter drive. It was funny getting into a manual car again after driving an automatic for 18 months, also the car had no power steering and even though it was a very small car it was really clunky and hard to drive. Got used to it very quickly though, unlike Nick, who managed to stall it once. heeheehee, so glad I didn't do that.

Another day spent lazing on the beach, building sandcastles and jumping waves and then on
Christmas Day we went on a boat trip out to a reef for a bit of snorkelling. This was great fun and even Lily had a go and enjoyed it. On the way back, Antonio, our man in charge of the boat decided to have some fun...

and went really, really fast bumping over all the waves and wakes from other boats. Flippin 'eck, I thought I was going to throw up, we were getting bumped about all over the place, I'm surprised one of us wasn't thrown overboard, I nearly lost my hat and was feeling quite sick, however as you can see Lily was loving it....She is happy in the picture, honest.

Happy Birthday John

Just thought I'd write an update today and take the opportunity to wish my big bruv a happy 40th. I can't believe he is 40, this means mine is creeping up on me too. How old must my parents feel if they have a son who is 40 ??!!! Yikes.

This week has seen Nick at the doctors with a swollen face (think John Merrick, not really). His cold got worse and had got into his sinuses or something so he needed drugs before we went off on our hols on Saturday. The Dr's kindly obliged and he came home with cough medicine, painkillers, antibiotics and decongestant.
He had a 'corridor party' at work yesterday which he kindly volunteered me to reheat a huge tray of turkey for. Needless to say I was not best pleased. After a hasty telephone consultation with my mum and Kate S (cooking goddess of Montgomery-soon to be lost back to Australia) and a look at Delia Smith's web page I went ahead and reheated it. This was not a success but thankfully I haven't heard about anyone not appearing at work today due to food poisoning. I'm guessing I won't be volunteered for this job ever again. Fortunately I also took in a lemon cake which I am pleased to say was a success.

Tom had his first game of football with his new team last night, and after a nerve wracking 40 minutes of play his team, Brazil, won. He did really well and has come on a lot since he first started playing.

Today I went to see 'A Christmas Carol' the musical at the theatre along with Tom and his classmates. It was a great production although not really my choice. Tomorrow he and Lily both have their christmas parties at school and lucky me, I get to help out at Tom's. Yay.
Luckily Nick and I are out for dinner tomorrow night, so that will be something to look forward to (and due to Nick taking all those drugs, he's driving so I get to have a glass (or 2) of wine.)

I'll take this opportunity to say Merry Christmas to y'all as we are off to Mexico on Saturday for a week of rest at Playa del Carmen. We are all really looking forward to it, although the weather forecast looks like it might be raining most days. I reckon I can cope with that though because it's going to be about 30C. HoHoHo..

Wally of the Year Award

We went to the christmas party last night and had good fun, unfortunately I am now suffering from a mild hangover.

Earlier on in the week I got the carpets professionally cleaned as they were quite grubby then within 36 hours of having them cleaned Nick managed to spill red wine all over the place. He has now been named Official Wally of the Year. I seem to recall it was his pint of milk that was spilt all over the carpet earlier on in the year and also his (or maybe it was Caroline's) pint of dark beer. Something of a trend here, I think.

Christmas is coming

Well, I have finally finished my christmas shopping (at least I think I have) and all the parcels that need to be sent to GB have gone and the cards are on their way today. Now I just have to wrap up everything and keep it all hidden from Tom & Lily.
Nick & I were at our first christmassy function yesterday afternoon and we received our first xmas cards of the year on Saturday. Next 'do' is on Thursday night.
There isn't really much else going on at the moment, still golfing and playing tennis, still going to my personal trainer (still not seeing much in the way of a stunning new body though - which is a bit disappointing frankly because Kate has turned into skinny minny). I should have slipped her some extra fattening food when she was here for dinnner on Friday night.

Walking in Memphis

I must remember to upload my photos in reverse order, this is from Saturday at Tupelo Buffalo Park. We got to feed the animals including the buffalo you can see in the picture. We were the only visitors there, obviously not that popular a destination so arriving at 9am was not required. Never mind, we had fun and were able to go and meet Tim & Deanna at her parent's house for lunch. They live in Hamilton, Alabama which is about half hour away from Tupelo. We had home made pizza and breadsticks for lunch - all made by Deanna at her father's pizzeria , Dinelli's Pizzeria in Hamilton (just in case you are ever passing through).

Above you can see the King of Rock n Roll looking cool, and no, we didn't buy the glasses afterwards, we rather cheekily put them back on the shelf after the photo.

That's Lily and I in our Elvis poses outside of Graceland. I think we all found it a bit of a disappointment and not being Elvis fans made it all the more of a let down. The house wasn't nearly as big as I was expecting and to add to the cramped feeling it was very overcrowded with crazy tourists (and us.) Although we did get a bit of a laugh at some of the fans.

Memphis is right on the border with Arkansas so we drove over the bridge and into Arkansas so we could tick another state off of our itinerary. I think its a bit of a cheat as we only stayed there for about 20 minutes while the children played in a small park before going to our accommodation for the evening. I didn't get a postcard so will have to go back if I want to count it for my stats. As it was Thanksgiving Day not even the visitors centre was open.

This is the famous 'Beale Street' in Memphis. As you can see it was VERY quiet. A poor choice for spending Thanksgiving Day. We had been warned by everyone who has already visited that there really isn't much to do in Memphis. Well, if you combine that with visiting on Thanksgiving Day there is nothing at all to do in Memphis. Oh, well, live and learn.

Below is a video Tom took in the car while we were travelling and they were bored. There is no sound unfortunately as it's taken with the old camera which Tom & Lily have the use of. Perhaps a career in film beckons.

Happy Thanksgiving

On Saturday Nick went round to Tim's for the day to watch the Ashes on DVD so Tom,Lily and I went to the cinema to see 'Bolt'. This was quite funny and we saw trailers for a couple of good movies coming out next month. When we got home from that we watched High School Musical, well, Lily & I watched it and Tom played with his Lego. Thought we had better watch the first one since HSM 3 is now out. Quite liked it so number 2 is now on order through Netflix. We are currently waiting on the Peter Sellers Pink Panther to arrive, I reckon Tom will like it very much.
On Sunday we took Tom golfing, he did really well for his first time out on the course and is keen to play again. Apart from that we have done nothing of note this last week. I did almost kill us all on Monday when I put the gas fire on and forgot to open the chimney vent. Big oops. Luckily I happened to mention that I thought I could smell something 'like something is burning' and Nick said - did you open the chimney? This happened a couple of times last year as well but I normally noticed the smell immediately, not this time, so all the windows and doors got opened up for a half hour or so to make sure there was no nasty gas left in the house.
The children finish school today for their Thanksgiving holiday, they look like they could do with a break from school, especially Lily, she looks really wiped out. No early morning school run for me tomorrow which is good as we have friends round for dinner tonight....

Brrr, its cold (for a change)

No photos to show but we had a fabulous lunch with friends on Sunday.
Tim & Deanna came round with Willa and Ethan and Quan & Dustin came round with Dustin, Seth, Kelie & Rian so we had a full house.
Having learnt from past lunches I decided to just serve the children with hot dogs or hamburgers otherwise no one eats anything - is British cooking that different from American?
The adults had lamb with spuds and roasted veg so that was easy as it was all cooked in the oven and there was no stove top shenanigans to worry about. Pecan pie was for pud (obviously not homemade) and then cheese for afters. All served up with copious quantities of red wine. I finally feel fully recovered from the afternoon.
I felt very tired on Monday but did manage to play tennis and have a 15 minute run on the treadmill. I think I lasted until 8.30 before calling it a day and going to bed.

Yesterday it was really cold here and today the temperature did actually drop below freezing, and when you are not used to it anymore it feels even more cold than it should do. The kids got hot milk in their cereal this morning to cosy them up. After school we had a trip to the uniform shop to buy Tom some long sleeved shirts for school and I bought them both vests this morning when I was out.
Tom & I saw a coyote this afternoon while we were driving to the uniform shop. Poor Lily didn't manage to see it though so we had to play down the excitement factor, well I thought it was exciting anyway - I've never seen a coyote before, have you?

Saturday

Yesterday was Tom's school play - Let's Hear it for America. He played 'child 1' and had four lines to say extoling the virtues of the good ole US of A. It was all very patriotic and american but the children all did well and it does them good to get up on stage in front of all the parents. Two of the children had solos to sing and both were very good.
I haven't done very much this week although I have started my christmas shopping.

Nick and Tom went to some drag races this morning, they rev the engines so much they actually do wheelies when they start the race. Caz, it looks like it was actual drag racing as opposed to what we went to see one day a long time ago in Crail. Funny.

Remembrance Sunday

Tom and Ethan looking very smart at the Remembrance Sunday service yesterday.

Ray, Nick, Shaun and Anne-Marie.

Bethan, Jess & Lily.

You don't get many Remembrance Sundays back home that look as glorious as this. It was a beautiful day and a decent turnout at the cemetery for the service.

Tom had his last game of football on Saturday morning, his team reached the semi finals but they lost 2-1. He is signed up for the indoor season starting in December and has agreed to cut back the gymnastics to one day a week. Kate and I had a really good game of golf on Thursday last week, the weather this time of year is just perfect for outdoor play/sport. Not what you want to hear if you are reading this in rain lashed Britain, I know and I'm sorry but it really is lovely here just now. Come and visit.

I am trying to get all my christmas shopping done at the moment and am fairly organised, looking forward to putting up the tree next month.

Monday again

Well, we had a lovely weekend up at Oak Mountain State Park, you can see our cabin in the picture above - just up the hill behind the pavillion. It's very near to Birmingham so only takes about an hour and a half to drive there. This is great as as much as I like our weekends in Destin the three and a half hour drive to get there is a pain in the butt.

This is the view from our cabin veranda early on Saturday morning. We went shopping in Birmingham in the morning and then Tom & Nick spent the afternoon biking around the park while Lily and I went for a walk in the forest around the side of the lake. Sunday morning was spent doing the same and then we packed up and headed home for a very late lunch at Carrabas. We all had big pasta meals and spent the rest of the day trying to digest the food - I for one was exceedingly full up and had to lounge for the rest of the day.

You will have to ignore my comments on the video because you can see the jump after all.

It's a very small jump, but it's a definite jump.

An Apology

I shall start this post with an apology to all those who do follow the blog - seems I may have upset you all, or should that be y'all? Glad to hear you are reading and keeping up to date with all things stateside though.

Well, the pampered chef stuff arrived late yesterday afternoon so I have spent this morning sorting it all out and delivering all the orders. I also made bread and a lemon cake - already had a (very large) slice of it and I don't mind bragging but I think it's the best one yet. Also made a pot of soup which I have just had a bowl of for lunch and it was delicious too. What a masterchef.

Not much else to tell you about this week as we have had a quiet few days. It's been cold - actual frost on the ground this morning when I took the children to school. Tom had a school trip to the Hyundai factory yesterday and Lily is off to the zoo on Friday. I've had a tennis lesson and my session with the personal trainer yesterday was a nightmare. I was sweating and feeling faint and could barely do any of the exercises - shocking. Hopefully I will feel alright tomorrow as I have another session tomorrow after golf.

Sometimes I wonder if anyone reads this other than my parents

Well, last weeks Pampered Chef event went well, with the girls ordering just over $500 worth of stuff. This meant I got $90 free product and a load of other discounts for hosting the party - now I am waiting on a huge parcel to arrive some time next week with everyone's stuff in it.
On Friday it was Lily's school play-Wack a doo Zoo. Lily had a singing part and performed well. There is a video at the end of this entry but be warned it's a bit wobbly.
Nick got back from Washington on Saturday with loads of washing and lots of work to catch up on. Sunday saw him working and me taking the children to the Pumpkin patch so Tom could get a pumpkin.
On Monday Lily's class had a school trip to the theatre to see Charlotte's Web, I got to go and see it too - it was fab. Luckily, I managed not to cry at the sad bit and therefore didn't embarrass myself or Lily. Unfortunately I missed out on my tennis lesson, which reminds me I still need to buy a racquet.
Last night was the school Fall Festival so I took Tom & Lily up to that. They got to run around with their friends for a couple of hours and play on various bouncy castle type things and a climbing wall while I wandered about chatting to various friends and finding lost parents for a couple of the children.
I have been trying to upload the video of Lily for the last 2 hours and it's just not happening so I am afraid you will have to do without. Sorry.

Weekly Update

After the trip to the pumpkin patch the pumpkin had to be carved. Luckily Grampy Les was here to help out. Once that had been done it was off to Scott & Emma's for a leisurely Sunday afternoon barbecue.
The finished product along with Lily looking scary later on that evening.
Along with taking Les & Les to see Tom at gymnastics and soccer during the week we went to Destin for the weekend. The children had Thursday & Friday off school so we got an extra day at the beach. It was great fun chilling out on the sand and watching the dolphins swim past us all day long. A few friends were also down for the long weekend and we were all staying in the same place so we were able to sit out and drink a few glasses of wine and eat a few nibbles while the mosquitos nibbled on us.
The Les's left last night to catch a flight to New York this morning before boarding the Queen Mary II tomorrow for a posh way to travel home, saw the brochure - it looks fab. Hopefully the weather in the Atlantic is kind to them.
Nick is in Washington this week and I am hosting a Pampered Chef event tonight (www.pamperedchef.com ) so I have been cleaning the kitchen this morning (it was long overdue).

Girls day out at the Pumpkin Patch

While the boys and Nana went to Tuscaloosa for the American Football, Lily and I went to a pumpkin patch with Emily, her friend from school, and her mum and little sister, Annie.
We had great fun, the girls enjoyed riding in the cow train and sliding down the bouncy slide as you can see.
Colleen looks like she was having fun going down the slide as well. We also got to feed sheep, race piglets, see some calfs (called Burger & Whopper) and goats, chicks and rabbits too. We picked our pumpkins and had lunch there too. After lunch the girls played in a corn box, which is a sand box filled with corn instead of sand.
After our visit we went back to Colleen's house and she took the girls out on Sid for a ride. It was a great day out. When we got home Lily and I made pizza and salad for dinner and I had a glass wine and then we played princess pairs - which Lily inevitably won.

Forgot to mention we saw a black widow spider at the pumpkin patch - very cool.

Boys day out at the American Football

Nick, Tom, Les & Les and Tim & Ethan all went to Tuscaloosa for the Alabama v Kentucky game on Saturday.
It was a very long day starting with Tom playing in a soccer game before driving up to Tuscaloosa for the big game.
The ever wonderful Deanna had packed a fabulous picnic breakfast,lunch and dinner for them all. Nick was very impressed and keeps going on about the amount of food she had prepared, as you all know Nick likes his food. Apparently he would say 'wouldnt it be nice if there was some...and Tim would then delve into a bag or tupperware and it would appear. Sounds like I have a lot to live up to.
Anyway, they all arrived home about 11.30pm, tired but happy. Bama won 17 - 14 in case you are interested. Lily and I spent the day at a pumpkin patch with friends, at the moment I can't upload the photos for some reason so will try again later.

Battle of Britain 'do'

Last night was the annual Battle of Britain 'do', one of the official functions us Brits have to put on once a year. Above shows all the Brits that are based here at the moment along with Hywel, who was visiting AnnMarie. Ray,Kate,Nick,Sarah,Shaun,Marie,Hywel,AnnMarie,Scott & Emma.
As the evening progressed we became more relaxed and eventually...

quite drunk - if this pic of Nick is anything to go by. A fun evening was had by all including all the mosquitos who feasted on our legs. I was very sensible and went home at half 10 but Nick went on to Marie & Shauns house for a post party bash and is feeling slightly shambolic this morning so we are having a 'relaxing' day doing not very much.

Very funny

enjoy.

It feels like a busy week

I feel I've had a very busy week this week, on Monday I went to Pilates and Tom had gymnastics, Tuesday was personal training and helping at the school library then taking Tom to football in the evening, Wednesday was shopping, getting a pedicure and meeting Kate (UK)for lunch followed by taking Tom to gymnastics again. Thursday I played golf with Kate (Aussie) then we went for our personal training session, Lily had ballet after school and then Nick and I were out last night at a cocktail party held by the Rotary Club in Montgomery. Thankfully we were home by about half 9. This morning I have been to a boxing class and then I have chilled out at home, completed my tax return and relaxed for a bit before picking the children up from school. Tonight we are all going to the school's homecoming game (some american football game which is a big deal here) and tomorrow we are off to the Battle of Britain cocktail party. Phew.

It's not great quality because I had to zoom in, but you can get an idea of what Tom does during his gymnastics class. Can you tell what a proud parent I am?

I'm a soccer mom

Galaxy v Blue Thunder (who strangely enough play in green, weird or what?)

I've had a trying week, this week as technology has been conspiring against me. First of all I got locked out of my email account and spent countless phonecalls to the aol helpdesk trying to sort it out - which in the end they couldn't and I now have a new email address and spent about 3 hours yesterday creating a new address book and contacting people to let them know. To annoy me even more the new email address I created I don't actually like. The name I gave myself is just a bit too long and cumbersome. To cap it all off, Nick's email has just spazzed up as well so he is going to have to make up a new email address too. The most annoying thing is not being able to access any old or saved emails anymore and not having access to anyones email address. Luckily I had most addresses printed off last year when we moved out here so that wasn't as disastrous as it could have been.

My cell phone also stopped working last Sunday, it just totally lost its signal so I wasn't able to make or receive calls - luckily this didn't have a huge impact on my life as I don't really use the phone, it's just for emergencies and occassional calls/texts. It eventually starting working again on Thursday and there were no voicemails waiting for me so I guess no one had called me anyway.

This week I have been to pilates and a kind of boxing class along with 2 personal trainer sessions - check me out, little miss fitness or what ! Luckily, to combat all the good work I am still consuming plenty wine. Also went to a Pampered Chef thing that me new across the road neighbour held. Spent lots of money (but not as much as I could have) and am waiting on my kitchen goodies to arrive.

Tom has been to football practice twice this week and gymnastics twice and Lily has been to her ballet class - which she still maintains she wants to give up. Nick is busy marking papers at the moment and then we are off out for early evening nibbles at Craig & Bernice's house.

This morning was, of course, Tom's debut on the football field as it was his first match. Galaxy were 3 nil up at half time but the opponents, Blue Thunder, came back to draw 3 all in a very thrilling game. I think I did a good job as 'soccer mom' shouting encouragement from the sideline whilst trying not to embarrass Tom at the same time, good job mom! Hope you enjoyed the video clip of him. I'm actually looking forward to going to watch the next game.

Six Flags Over Georgia

We went to Six Flags on Saturday, which is a theme park just outside of Atlanta.

We all went on the Thunder River ride which involves a lot of water, inevitably Lily & I got absolutely soaked through. Lily and Tom got to ride a Hansom Cab each and then I got to drive Lily round in a go cart, we went really fast and it was brilliant fun. Lily loved it (and so did I).

We rather foolishly took Lily on the Mind Bender and she was terrified, bless her. That was the end of her roller coaster thrills for the day, unlike Nick & Tom who went on loads of them including 2 really old wooden ones, you can see one of them in the video I took.

We had a relaxing Sunday lounging around at home and then Nick & I went round to Ray & Kate's for a fabulous meal and a few glasses of wine.

A chilled out weekend

Well, we have had a very relaxed weekend, although I confess yesterday was boring. Today Nick & Tom went biking with Tim & Ethan. Lily and I baked a delicious lemon cake and Deanna and Willa came round. When the boys came back we had some lunch and demolished the cake. Now I need to invite someone else round for lunch so I can make it again.

I have been to a pilates class again and am starting with a personal trainer on Tuesday along with Kate S as I just can't motivate myself to do any sort of exercise myself. And to think I used to go running 3 times a week, why can't I get back to that again? Oh yes, I've turned in to a lazy slob hence the personal trainer.

Poor Nick was playing volleyball on Friday and hurt his knee again, thankfully not as badly as before but enough for him to think he can no longer do all the sports he loves doing so he is a bit sad about that. Luckily he has about 24 papers to mark for work this week so that will be keeping him off his feet anyway.

We are all just waiting to see where Ike is heading this week, will keep you posted.

Enjoy the video of Lily.

Labor Day Weekend

After a very long drive on Friday night we arrived at our log cabin in the Big South Fork River Area of Tennessee. On Saturday we went over the border into Kentucky and spent the morning looking around the locale. We got back late afternoon and the children enjoyed a splash around in our hot tub.
Sunday we visited a place called Angel Falls and saw this handsome fella above sunning himself on a log. Glad we saw it actually because not coming from America you forget about the wildlife and don't think to keep a look out for scary snakes when you are wandering around and scrabbling over rocks etc.

After a 4 mile walk and picnic lunch in the early part of the day we all went for a 2 hour horse ride in the late afternoon, yes, even Nick. He really enjoyed it, I think surprisising himself a little, of course now he thinks he is a bit of a cowboy. The children had a fab time and loved it when the horses went fast. I was enjoying it too until the pain started to take over. I seem to be the only one suffering from backache and chafed butt cheeks (wrong pants=chafing), You live and learn.

A fairly busy week

Well, shock horror I have started some sort of keep fit again (finally, you think). I have been on the treadmill a few times and was at a Pilates class this morning - my stomach muscles are beginning to remind me about it already. Ouch.

Marie came round for lunch today and Kev is coming for dinner tonight while his wife, Betty, is taking their children back to school in Canada.

Tom has been at gymnastics and Boy Scouts and football/soccer this week and still managed to score 100% in his spelling test yesterday, yippee. Social Study test today and math test tomorrow, fingers crossed for 100% again.

Lily has just been at school and getting on with being Lily, ballet doesn't start until 8 Sept. She is enjoying school and has a new boyfriend!!

We are off to Jamestown, TN tomorrow after school for the Labor Day Weekend break, looking forward to chilling out in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere, not looking forward to the 6 and a half hour drive to get there though. Why is there always a downside?

Surviving Tropical Storm Fay

It's Saturday and we had planned ages ago to go up to Lake Martin today along with Kate & Anthony and Kate & Ray. So, even though Tropical Storm Fay was about to arrive we still went up there. It was a typically British weather day today to start with, it rained all day long. But hey, we're at the Lake, we're going to get wet in the water anyway.
Our lovely picnic lunch outside, luckily we were able to have it undercover.

Thankfully we were with friends and it was still a great day out, even if we were all a little damp. We were the only ones not staying over so we left about 5pm. Got home before Fay made a more sustained attack and we scooped up the floods from the sun room and drained some water off the pool. I am relaxing at present with a (2nd) glass of wine before draining the pool off some more before bed as it would seem Fay plans to stick around for a few days - don't you just hate unwanted guests?

On a lighter note, we got Tom's trainers back when we went to gymnastics on Wednesday so that was a bit of good news, I guess someone 'accidentally' took them by mistake.

A crappy day today

Nick and I went out on our own on Friday for dinner and we managed to organise a taxi home (this is a major achievement in Montgomery) so we could share a bottle of wine with dinner. Needless to say, after all the food and wine I had a rubbish sleep. Saturday dawned and I needed to get organised for a dinner party and find time to bake cookies with Lily.

The dinner was a success and I managed to take some photos so you can see who Kate is (of the birthday cake fame). We started to play a game of Trivial Pursuit afterwards but it was very short lived as no - one could answer any of the questions...

Today started off well, I went for a run (with lots of walks included) tidied up the house and did the shopping, it was then that the day started to deteriorate as I noticed a warning light on my car so I took it to the garage. Unfortunately it needs about $2000 worth of work doing to it, nightmare.

To make the day worse, Tom had his brand new school trainers stolen whilst he was at gymnastics, on the bright side the thief left his socks behind. How rude is that, to steal a pair of shoes from right in front of all the parents sitting watching their children do gymnastics? I am really p****d off about it.

Back to school - at last

Well, we had an early start today as it was the first day of a new year at school, unfortunately I felt a bit shabby as we had friends round for dinner last night and I think I may have drank too much red wine. Actually, I don't feel that bad, just very tired, I woke at 3am and didnt get back to sleep - guess I was excited about school.
Anyway I got Tom & Lily safely off to school on time and then drove to work only to find I wasnt able to do anything as Tim had a meeting and needed the computer, oh well, its a nice drive and I saw a turtle out for a stroll.
Came home and tidied up last nights dishes and made the beds then sat down to write this with a cup of coffee and some hot buttered toast, yum yum.

We went to the cinema yesterday as a last day of hols treat and saw 'Space Chimps'. It was quite funny, if you go to see it Kilowatt was my favourite character.
Today school finishes at 11am so we are going to Burger King for lunch and a play with friends. Then a quiet afternoon watching 'Meet the Robinsons' on dvd (which I love) and homework if they have any.

I got a home baked cake!!!

The ever lovely Kate baked me a cake, well she baked one for me and Dorothy who celebrated her birthday on the 5th August. Wasn't that nice of her - it tasted delicious and we got some to bring home too. Yum yum.

Everyone sang Happy Birthday - it was brill. We had some champagne and some bangers and burgers. A great end to a good day.

Happy Birthday To Me

We went to Destin for the weekend and buried Tom in the sand. Spent all morning on the beach
sand castling, burying Tom, boogie boarding and relaxing. We also spent an annoying 10 mins or so swatting flies until it got too hot for them and they buggered off. Also Tom lost one of his beach shoes, it floated off into the ocean never to be seen again, we saved one but what use it that?!
Later on we met up with Kate & Ray, Jem & Barb for dinner at Dewey Destin Seafood Restaurant which was fab, as usual. Afterwards we went for an ice cream and then some crazy golf. A lovely day.
And now I'm going to get ready to go round to Kate & Anthonys for some birthday booze and a barbie (Q not doll).