1944 and all that......

Yes, ladies and gentlemen Jen has reached the the big six- five! To celebrate we all piled into the car.................

.......and it was off to the isle of Wight on the ferry....

....for lunch and breakfast at a beach side cafe.....

....Happy Birthday Jen!

1969 and all that......

Yes, ladies and gentlemen Lally has finally hit the the big four -oh! (I know she doesn't look a day over 21)

On the big day we took a very luxurious drive around the Cotswolds in a 1974 Jaguar.......

.....morning tea in Bourton on the Water, Lunch at Batsford Arboretum and afternoon tea in a Japanese tea house (and there are very few that have glorious views out over the Gloucestershire countryside).......



.........and then a a garden party at Overhill Road......


....and bit of recycling.....



.......Happy Birthday Lally!

Balloons!

Ok so its four o'clock in the morning. Eliza starts to cry, because (as ever) she is hungry. Bleary eyed Lally and BT (BT the most bleary eyed having had a couple of pints the night before...although its a close run thing) make up a bottle of milk ('for the hungrier baby'). And someone mentions going to see the early morning mass ascent at the Bristol balloon fiesta. Well we're already up aren't we and the weather looks good? So we eject Bess from her bed, bundle into the car, pick up Grandma on the way and we're off. All the time thinking 'was this really such a good idea?'

Well it was! It was a glorious sunny morning with no wind. The balloons started to go up as soon as we arrived and it was indeed spectacular - but it would have been worth it to see the look on Bess' face alone. Highlights were the 'Monster.com' balloon, the Pixar 'UP' balloon and teh Triumph balloon (which has made a guest appearance on this blog before).

50 or so balloons, five donuts, a cup of coffes and a bacon roll later we were back off towards Cirencester. A fantastic start to the weekend!

Devon bound...

This year our summer holiday soundtrack was provided by Mika. Bessies favourite track (and therefore the only track played in the car all week) being 'Lolipop' (even though some of the lyrics sound a bit dodgy). So singing in high pitched Mecuryesque voices we headed off for sunny Devon.

Another trip to Salcombe. The weather was 'changeable' but we managed to visit the local beaches, Eliza took her first paddle, Bess nearly managed to destroy our third camera in two years, we visted the national aquarium (again...Bess is becoming a bit obsessed with rays, sharks and bloat fish) and generally had a very nice time.

Spot the Difference . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

before . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . after!

hee hee x

Who says theres nothing on Television?

Since the second series of 'The Inbetweeners' was a bit of disappointment and they only seem to make about four episodes of 'Outnumbered' every couple of years, and we've watched every episode of 'Two and Half Men' about ten times - where are do you go for a few laughs? Not the dreadful remake of 'Reginald Perrin' thats for sure!

...but hold on what's this on Nick Junior? My current favourite programme, which has made me laugh more than "Harry Hills' TV Burp" (when is that coming back?)...it's 'Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom'.

Ok its about Fairies and Elves........and yes, it is for kids (duh..its on Nick Junior) but there's lots in it for us 'big kids' to enjoy too. watch it, you'll be hooked too.

Bessie's Little Sister (2)

The new arrival has a name! Welcome Eliza (something) Taylor (middle name yet to be decided - we used to be so indecisive...........now we're not so sure).