School Sports Day

I'm loving all the school activities recently. This morning was Charlie's sports day. Thankfully the weather played nice for us, it rained in the afternoon! We were given the list of 42 races, of which Charlie was in 3, bless him! Courtney was very good and enjoyed watching the races, which went on for 2 1/2 hours. First there was the opening ceremony!

I managed to capture Charlie in all 3 of his races, here's the sprint,

the obstacle course (a relay)

 and getting ready for the running relay race

I'm very proud of Charlie, he tried his best and really enjoyed himself! Here's a snatched photo of him at the end. Please note, this is not his hat! I think a junior lent it to him.

A Surprise Assembly!

This morning I received a text from school, it was intriguing to say the least!

Courtney was at Nursery in the morning, I picked her up and we ate a quick lunch before making our way up to school. It seems the 'top-secret' element of the assembly was running late so poor Mr McPartlin was making every effort with great delay tactics, LOL! I kind of got the idea though that it was going to be special as a reporter from Radio Lancashire and photographer from the local press were there. It was well worth the wait when into the school hall walked Olympic silver medallist, Sharron Davies!! Also with her was Phil Leah who lives in Heysham and was one of the torch bearers in the torch relay last week (in Hest Bank.) The assembly was brilliant! There was a presentation of Sharron's career and she answered the children's questions. Such questions as how many medals she had won, what she would have been if she hadn't been a swimmer and if she'd met Simon Cowell!! She presented an award to Mr Garnett for all his work with sport in school and the local area. Sharron then lit the schools 'Olympic flame' aka a candle with a BBQ lighter but did it in a fashion of a slow run across the school hall with the Olympic flame, holding the BBQ lighter in the air!!

She also cut the ribbon to officially open sports week at school! Once the ribbon was cut giant confetti was shot into the air!

After the assembly parents were able to meet Sharron and Phil, unfortunately Charlie was taken back to his class by this time.

I wasn't sitting in the best place for my photographs as the light seemed to flood most of them but here are some photos taken from the school blog.

A Big Land Pen!

My Mum has just returned from her holidays in Weston Super Mare. She's had a fabulous time and brought back pressies! She bought Charlie a giant pen, he loves it and asked Nanna if she had been to 'Big Land,' he's really into his Mr. Men books at the moment!!!

Moment to Shine

Well as predicted by the weatherman today was torrential! It's a very long time since I got so wet, LOL! But my soaking was soooooooo worth it. We saw the Olympic torch tour exactly half way through, day 35 of 70! We were going to see the torch around the Eric Morecambe statue but it wasn't due there until around 11:30am and it was only 10:00am when we were there. The officials and police weren't sure how it was all going to pan out so as we knew the torch was arriving in Morecambe at 10:36am (and it was so wet) we decided to get as near to the entrance to Morecambe as we could. We parked up in Bare and waited in the car a few minutes, we got soaked through anyway so I don't think those few minutes mattered but at least we were sheltered to start with! Although the weather tried to put a dampener on things the good old British public wasn't to be deterred, the atmosphere around us was exciting, we never expected many people to be there but there was quite a number! It all started with a really good parade of various vehicles, some playing music, do I admit now I had a little boogie, LOL!

Here's the vehicle that led the torchbearers, at this point everyone was cheering, clapping and whooping!

Our torch bearer was 16 year old David Helme from Morecambe, here's his nomination story taken from the official Olympic page.

I wish to nominate my Nephew David At the age of five he was diagnosed with brittle bone disease following a fall at school. Since then he has had several stays in hospital having operations to try and strengthen the bones in his legs. Recently he has been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid and a growth hormone deficiency. He is now 15years old and is 4ft 4inches tall He has also had brain scans to check for tumours, which fortunately have proved to be negative but is having treatment for the underactive thyroid and regular growth hormone injections. Once these take effect he should start to grow but will never reach the height of his peers. Despite being mostly confined to a wheelchair, last year David chose sport as one of his options at school. Sport is a passion despite being unable to participate in most activities. Recently he has taken part in table tennis and football tournaments for the disabled. He was also nominated for extra coaching at County level for table tennis. He has mentored other disabled young people in various activities and for his work experience this year he worked along side the football in the community team attached to Morecambe Football club. He has been an avid supporter of Morecambe Football club since he was 6 years old and attends all home games and most of the away games. Despite all this David remains cheerful and communicates well with people of all ages and is an inspiration to all who meet him.

Just up the road from us was the changeover point, we saw it happen but didn't manage to get a good photo so I took this still from the live feed on the Internet.

 

Not long after we saw the torch it passed Nursery, they too braved the weather! Courtney is right over on the right side of the picture lifted by Julie, her key worker. Julie told us Courtney had really enjoyed the police motorbikes and did watch the flame as it passed by! (photo emailed from Nursery)

The torch then made it's way along the promenade to the Eric Morecambe statue by which time we were home, changed into dry clothes with a cup of tea in our hands watching it all on the live feed! I found this photo on the Internet!

Lastly on our experience of the torch relay was Charlie's turn! His school had hired coaches to take the entire school into Morecambe town centre, many schools had cancelled but I was delighted his school hadn't. We saw the torch pass them all on live feed and quickly took this still! They all had blue clappers which you could here quite loudly on the video!



I am very pleased we all got to see the torch, we all experienced a little piece of history today!

The Lighthouse is finished!

I am delighted with how this cross stitch came out, it's lovely and bright and will be a perfect addition to Charlie and Courtney's bathroom. I was in Next the other day and spotted a range that I think will be perfect to compliment the cross stitch. I'll be placing an order for the soap dispenser, towels and toilet roll holder!

Mini Olympics

Tomorrow the Olympic torch is in our area, I'm looking forward to seeing it, even though the weather isn't looking promising!

At Nursery today, they hosted a mini Olympics event to help the children understand what the Olympics are. As Nursery is right on the promenade they are taking the children outside to watch the torch pass by. I was told Courtney really enjoyed herself and came home with this medal!

Whilst taking Courtney's photo, Charlie came outside and asked me to photograph and blog his 'Jack on the Beanstalk!' that he made at school. How could I refuse! Here he is telling us all about it!!

*Edited 22.06 as Nursery emailed this cute photo of Courtney taking part in the mini Olympics!*

"I Dreamed a Dream"

I heard there was a theatre production being made about Susan Boyle's life story a while ago and thought I'd like to see it. When the tour dates were announced I looked into and booked the tickets for last night. Susan Boyle auditioned for Britain's Got Talent in 2009. She sang "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables and absolutely wowed the judges and audience with her performance. It wasn't a song I was too familiar with at first but now I almost know it word for word! When she first went up on stage she appeared confident but there was something about her, let's just say her first impression will stay in many people minds for a very long time!

(Her audition video is here)

She did remarkably well and made her way through the semis into the final. In the end she was pipped at the post into second place by Diversity, a dance group. That didn't really make any difference as her career had taken off. The theatre production looked into her life right from birth. I had watched a documentary about her on television so knew a little about her but seeing it portrayed live on stage was emotive. Susan was starved of oxygen at birth and has endured many difficulties in her life, in her learning, over protective parents and bullies. The production also highlighted many high points too, including the first and only time she found love and her success since the show. She showed many signs of stress during her rise to fame and they were portrayed perfectly too. Susan was played by Elaine C. Smith who took the role brilliantly. Susan herself made an appearance at the end, she sang 2 songs for us, one being, I Dreamed a Dream. She got a well deserved standing ovation.

When we were standing at the train station in Manchester I thought I recognised the lad standing next to me, I mentioned to Mark who I thought he was and knew I had to ask him! It was indeed who I thought he was, Luke from Big Brother 2008! He'd also been to watch the show.

Happy Father's Day

My children couldn't ask for a better Daddy! He's wonderful with them and they adore him. We took him out for a run to Wallings Farm in Cockerham, they make the most wonderful ice cream there in flavours you wouldn't even think of! Charlie had blue banana flavour! Mark's parents joined us. We ate first of all in the Pudding House restaurant, delicious! Then we had a look around the garden centre before making our way to the ice cream parlour for dessert! Happy Father's Day, Mark, we love you. xxx

Euro 2012 - C'mon England!

So, it's that time again, the time Mark will commandeer the television for Euro 2012! Only this time he has a little sidekick and I will get no choice, LOL! Charlie is allowed to wear sports clothing to school on all England game days! Today was the first day. It's great his birthday was only a couple of weeks ago as he got this really nice England top! This photo is Charlie to a T at the moment, he's such a cheeky chappie and I adore this expression on his face!

A-Z

I saw this on Alison's blog and thought it looked fun, I had to have a go! The A-Z of me!

Age- 38
Bed size- King
Chore that you hate- I don't think hate is the right word but i'm not keen on ironing!
Dogs- None, we have 2 cats, Gizzy and Calico
Essential start to your day- Brushing my teeth!
Favourite colour- Blue, lighter blue shades are me favourite but I like blue in general too!
Gold or Silver- Gold
Height- 5’ 5 1/2
Instruments you play- None now but I used to play the trumpet, i'd probably get a tune out of it now but it wouldn't sound very nice, lol!
Job title- Official work title is Cash office assistant but I only work part-time, I also go under the titles of Mummy, Wife and Homemaker too!
Kids- 2 gorgeous children, Charlie who is 5 and Courtney, 3.
Live- Lancashire, England
Mother’s name- Ellen
Nicknames- Couldn't say, they're between Mark and I, lol!
Overnight hospital stays- Mainly stays associated with fertility treatments!
Pet peeves- I can't stand the sound of people eating with their mouth open or when the cats wash themselves.
Quote from a movie- "Nobody puts Baby in the corner!"
Right or left handed- Left
Siblings- 1 younger sister, she's 364 days younger and was my first birthday pressie!
Television- I'm not a big TV watcher, I do quite enjoy the soaps but my must not miss soaps are Neighbours and Home and Away!
Underwear- It rarely matches, I see it more as an item of clothing than to make me feel good!
Vegetable you hate- Broccoli
What makes you run late- The children!
X-Rays- I've had a few, I think the latest was when I dislocated my elbow about 6 years ago.
Yummy food that you make- Shepherd's pie
Zoo animal- Koala

The Outrageous Owls are finished!

I can't believe this stitch-a-long went so fast! I started stitching June's owl a couple of days ago and finished her last night!

Each of these owls represents my friends from the Chorley Roses (my crafting group.) Four of us have stitched this piece, quite by chance most of the owls fitted in with our favourite colours, Cara and I both like blue so I am taking the purply blue owl and brown isn't a favourite colour of Karin's but she liked the owl! Let me introduce you to my friends!  January is me, February is Karin, March is Sue, April is Tree, May is Cara and June is Wez.

Jubilee weekend

We ended up having a very busy Jubilee!

28.05.12

On Friday (1st June) it was red, white and blue day at school.

 Whilst Charlie was there and Courtney was at nursery I set to decorating our house, our lovely neighbour thankfully came to help!

Saturday was Charlie's party and Sunday was Sonya and Owen's wedding. On Monday we moved all of Courtney's bedroom things upstairs into her new room and straightened up the dining room (the spare room things were in there which are now in the children's old room, which will eventually become the spare room but currently Courtney is still sleeping in there.)

Tuesday was the actual Jubilee day and there was an event hosted in the village, it was quite a changeable day but we managed to avoid the showers. Charlie and Courtney had their faces painted.

Then we went into the Institute where they were serving drinks and cakes!

There was bunting up all over the village, it was great fun walking down to our church!

As always church didn't disappoint! They always decorate the windows up nicely and the flower displays in there today were beautiful.



We made our way back into the village and watched Harvey the magician for a little while.

I'd managed to grab snippets of the Jubilee celebrations in London on the TV but didn't have much chance to sit and watch any of the events right through so in the evening I surfed the internet, I have to say it looked magnificent down there. I feel very privileged to have been part of such an occasion, one which doesn't happen very often!

God Save Our Gracious Queen!