Mr Snowman is coming along nicely!

I'm enjoying stitching this piece, I've added the backstitch now and his character has come to life! He's such a cutie and his robin friends are adorable! Look at his face, you can't help but fall in love!

 

Little Miss Robin!

 

........who is perched on her tree!

I only have the other tree and another robin to stitch now! :D

 

Morrison's trucks

This is a story I have been waiting to share for a very long time! When we go on the motorway I try and have a camera poised ready to take a photo but then of course when it happens there is no camera to hand and we miss the moment completely! I've been trying for so long that lately the camera actually only comes out when one goes past and reminds me! Or, of course when the camera is poised we don't see one!
Let me explain! In the car we play a game which Charlie made up. Around 3 Christmas's ago our neighbour bought Charlie a Morrison's truck with fish on the side. Since then we play 'Morrison's truck spotting!' As we drive along the motorway we spot the yellow cabs in the distance and then all guess what the picture is on the side! There are 4 in the fleet, fish as already said, bread, tomatoes and our favourite strawberries! It's a fun game and helps pass the time. It so fun that even when the children aren't in the car I still play along! (Once Karin was driving, who was not familiar with our game and when I got excited on seeing one, I made her jump, whoops!!) We also play the game if we see one locally as we have a Morrison's in Morecambe.
So, fast forward to today. Charlie and I were driving along the promenade to pick Courtney up from Nursery and saw a truck coming, we both guessed strawberries and it was! After picking her up I thought I'd try and surprise them by seeing if the truck was still at Morrisons, it was and better still it was about to leave! There was a new truck ready to go in (a plain white one, they're boring!) but I had a word with the driver who in turn went to speak to the strawberry truck driver. They both thought it was a great game and he brought his truck out for Charlie and Courtney to see! There was such excitement and the driver was really kind and talked to Charlie and Courtney for a few minutes.

We treated Charlie quite a while ago to a strawberry truck and when we got home he was inspired! He went upstairs and built a Morrison's where his trucks were delivering!

Happy 6th Birthday Charlie!

The very long anticipated day is finally here, Charlie's Birthday! His birthday was in half term this year so he was off. The unfortunate thing was it fell on a Wednesday so I was at work. :(  It did mean, however, that he spent most of the day with Nanna & Grandad. :D (I'm home for around 3:30)
Before we set off though we had a pressie opening session! I think he likes his Angry Birds cap!

and his London bus chocolate!

The castle was a surprise for him, he hadn't indicated anything to us and we thought he might really like it! He LOVES it!!

Mark was home from work early so we could have a family birthday treat, we went bowling! (which Courtney won!)

Then it was back home for Birthday cake! Happy 6th Birthday to our sweet handsome little man!

Elderflower

I saw an Elderflower bush on the car park today in Morecambe, it just reminded me of the Elderflower Champagne my Grandma used to make when I was little! Our bedroom at their house was above the old coal house where the champagne was kept and quite often we'd be woken in the night when one had 'popped!' To this day I really like the taste of Elderflower, these days though I have to make do with Elderflower cordial and lemonade, not quite the same as Grandma's champagne but good enough!

Football Party

When talking about Charlie's birthday party in the car last night he asked if he was 6 tomorrow. I said no, he was on Wednesday, his birthday, to which he asked 'Well as it's my party tomorrow can I be a little bit 6?' Lol!!
His birthday party was held at Salt Ayre and had a football theme! He invited friends from school and they had a great time playing football, they even had a penalty shoot out against Mark!

 

After all the fun we went through to the café area for lunch, after which it was Birthday cake time!!

 

 

 

 

School drawing

Today Charlie brought a drawing home that he'd done on the drawing table at school! Apparently PNE won the game 3-0! Just thought I'd share as I think it's really good!

My boys

After school Charlie settled down to have a play on his tab alongside Gizzy! Too cute!

Thirty-Nine

So this is what 39 feels like, LOL! On that slippery slope! It doesn't bother me at all and although I had endless reminders today I'm Ok with it, LOL!
We'd planned a nice walk around the windmills at Caton but the rain decided to descend upon us and those plans were scuppered! We were trying to think where to go when Karen, Charlie's swimming teacher, suggested The Barn at Scorton. It was very nice there, quirky things to buy and a cafe but a little too busy and I have to say the people weren't overly friendly. It was quietish when we ate and the food was nice but I ended up with my 3rd choice as they'd run out of the first 2. All in all though it was pleasant there.
We came home, Karin, Maddie and Dan visited and we had birthday cake, how cool is this cake, 4 different varieties in one cake!

 

 

I got some lovely gifts, a top, flowers, a cute mug and bowl, chocolate, some smellies, a beautiful friendship bracelet from Kathryn and money. Whilst at Scorton Mark also bought me a gorgeous wooden heart which says 'you are the icing on my cupcake' for my craft room :D I'm to have my main pressie yet, I was going to get it last week but Ikea didn't have all the parts. I really want to organise all my cross stitching things, they're dotted all over the house and my craft room and I want them all in the same place so I've settled on an Ikea Stuva Tallboy which will live in the new family room (what was Charlie and Courtney's bedroom downstairs. That's our summer decoration project.)

Aqua Sana

Last year for my Birthday Kathryn bought me a half day spa voucher for Aqua Sana within Center Parcs in Penrith. The voucher was valid for a year and despite attempting a couple of times to go we never quite made it. With my birthday coming around again we thought we'd better try and book in. We both having 2 children and husbands who work full time so it was hard trying to organise it but we finally did for yesterday. We made a day of it by setting off mid morning and having lunch there. We decided on The Pancake House, it was delicious and it was the only place I took a photo all day!

 

Comfortably stuffed we made our way over to the Aqua Sana building, instantly as we walked in we felt relaxed! We changed into our costumes and robes and were given a guided tour. We had foot soaks to begin with and then made our way to the hottest sauna for a Tyrolean experience. This was only on once so we had to do it then. First of all the girl wafts you with a towel to raise the heat, then ice is thrown at your legs, each time gets more intense! The second time after more heat and the ice is thrown over your shoulders (it went front and back down my cossie, brrrrr!) and the last time after heat which by this time is very hot you are taken to a shower where ice cold water is tipped over you from a bucket above!! Sounds crazy doesn't it but it was actually quite an amazing experience! We then made our way around the saunas in order of heat, followed by the whirl pool, my favourite part. You walk around it and jets fire from all angles, by the end you've been massaged from head to toe! It obviously needed going around twice and then again later in the day! We then tried the steam rooms in order of humidity, you could tell it was getting hotter and hotter but with the aid of cool water taps and ice flannels we made it to the 95-100% humidity! We had a little rest on the water beds before going for a swim in the heated outdoor pool. We timed it well and swam in the rain!

We had 4 hours going around and it flew by! On the way out of the complex we stopped off at the pub for some tea before making our way home. A truly enjoyable day, Kathryn and I have been friends since we were in playschool and I love her company, these days though our conversations naturally centre around our children, that is when we can talk without sorting out the bickering and whining, LOL! It was just nice to still talk about the children etc but not be interrupted, LOL!!

House move!

Not us! My parent's in law have lived in their house for 33 years! Hughie was in the Army and they travelled with them for a number of years but settled in Morecambe in 1980. Mark had his teenage and young adult years there but it was time for Sylvia and Hughie to downsize. Today I helped them move, in fairness they had packed everything and had hired removal people so it was just a case of supporting them, running the vacuum around and making brews!

So here's the old.......

 

and here's the new......

 

 

I'm sure they will be very happy in there new home! I know a certain little boy who is excited about their new bungalow! Not so much the actual bungalow but it's position. Their old house looked onto the Lancaster to Morecambe train line, that was exciting enough but now it runs right behind their back garden, even closer!

 

Wray Scarecrows

Every Year the village of Wray, near Lancaster, create scarecrows! It's a fair that has happened over May Day Bank Holiday weekend since the late 1980's. They base the scarecrows on a theme and this years was 'Read me.'
My particular favourite of this year was The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Charlie and Courtney enjoy this book and I loved how they made him sooooooo big!

 

It was a lovely warm evening as were walking around, we took a walk over the other side of the river and found a few bonus scarecrows! Here's a pic of most of the ones we saw, click on it to enlarge.

 

 

What better way to round off a pleasant evening than a visit to the ice cream van!