Michael's birthday week

Michael's birthday was last week. His Mum came to stay for a couple of days over that time, and the children were SO excited to see her again. The first day Michael and I spent going away, and they were all so absorbed in doing things with Nanny that they didn't care less about us leaving! We went to see my cousin Helen and some of her friends and acquaintances sing/play in a concert/recital in a church in London. It took us about 2 hours to get there by car and tube, and we stayed over in Clapham that night to save traveling home really late. We were so glad we had decided to do that. It was a lovely evening with wonderful music, including Irish harp music which I was so excited about! Helen's playing was so lovely to hear, along with her companion who sang soprano. We hadn't seen her in six years either, so just seeing her, and meeting her boyfriend (who also sang brilliantly) was great. A really nice evening.

That was the evening before Michael's birthday. We had a slow morning, and didn't get back home until Michael was due at Uni in the afternoon, so the children didn't see him until tea time. We had planned to do something as a family on Saturday anyway though to celebrate his birthday. So we had a nice birthday tea, and the young women activity that evening was canceled because nobody could come, so I got to stay home too.







Saturday didn't really go according to plan as Michael went off to pick something up for a friend just after we got to where we were going and didn't come back for 2 hours when the sun was starting to go down! We were all very hungry by that point as he had the food with him, but the children had enjoyed playing in a park we found while he was gone. We managed to get a late game of miniature golf down by the sea, which was lots of fun until it got to tea time and some in the family were fading fast. It was a new experience for all the children though, and although we were trying to beat the sunset a bit, we were the only ones playing at the time, so could take as many hits as we needed to get the ball in. Peter wandered around with his own ball and club, not really playing but having a go. He liked it a lot though and did not want to part with them for anything when it was time to go. He especially liked popping his ball in a choice of holes on the last hole and watching it come out on the green below. He had a little while to do that as it was a bit of a frustrating hole unless you had luck on your side. Something we'll definately do again when we get the chance to, especially as it's not so expensive per person. There was a nice sunset behind Rachel in the picture below, but I guess the flash blocked it out...





We went swimming together for the first time in too many months on the Monday and had fish and chips in town for tea as it got so late. We ate in a restaurant rather than getting a take-away. That must have been the first time in about 3 years that we have eaten out somewhere other than something like KFC. It was a lovely thing to do, despite the cost which Michael decided had better come from his birthday money.

Well as we got back so late on the Saturday and the Monday, we didn't give Michael the present we had saved for him until yesterday. So he had his birthday last across nearly a week in all. Probably more fun that way though! It wasn't all for his birthday really, but the only time we've properly had together since moving here so it felt like a birthday kind of treat because of that. Peter was sad he didn't have a present to open too, but happily helped Daddy open his. (Although he did ask me later why he couldn't have a present too! I said he would on his birthday - unfortunately he's last in the year of all of us!)



I wondered if Michael would think we were silly, but he was truly excited. :o) You can see him trying his present out in one of the videos below. Peter really wanted one too though ("Where's mine?") so we got the little one out of the shed. It's too big for him really, but not if you have a Daddy around to help you out!

Winter at the London Temple

When we went to the temple in the first half of January it was really freezing. A statue of the angel Moroni had been added to the top of the spire over Christmas, but we had been too ill to venture out before. We were hoping all the scaffolding would be gone before we went, but it still isn't (I went with the Young Women last night and it's all still there). So here is a first sneaky view of "Roni" as Peter calls him through the scaffolding.




Hannah was too cold to go for a walk to start with - she wanted to be in the warm for a while. The rest of us went to see the water though. It was frozen quite strangely, with sort of floating blocks of ice on top of the normal level of ice. We liked this leaf that was frozen within the water.





The resident duck (there seems to just be one at the moment) was in the not so frozen stream instead and of course came over to say hello on realising there was somebody around. There was a lovely BIG Robin right there too that kept coming up close, and another much smaller one that was flying around the same area.









We were all pretty freezing so went inside quite quickly and the children first explored the waiting room while we had a snack (no eating/drinking in the visitor's centre). There are two glass tables there which some of the girls thought was perfect for a glass case for Snow White to sleep in! Rachel was a little too realistic! Sarah couldn't quite keep a smile off her face. Peter just thought it was fun to lie down with everyone else, and Rebekah decided being Sleeping Beauty on top of the table was a much better idea! Hannah was being a little too grown up for such play, but I thought she looked gorgeous in such colourful clothes and colours all around her so took a picture of her too. Needless to say we were the only ones in the room at the time!!








Once Daddy went into the temple and we got into the visitor's centre (which they all like spending time in), everyone split to do their own exploring. Peter likes to watch the videos of the apostles and prophets best, so we watched a few of those, with him choosing which he wanted to see from the pictures on the wall. He was repeating a lot of the names after told him who they were, and for President Uchtdorf he said "Elder Dorfdorf" which I thought was fun.

Last week when I was looking at a church magazine as Peter came up to me I showed him various pictures inside, and then he asked me "Where's Duff Duff?" I didn't know what he was saying, but after he'd repeated himself the second time he said "Where's Elder Duff Duff?" and I remembered. We did find a picture of him. When I call him by his real name (President Uchtdorf) Peter now corrects me - he knows what it is really!

Our first snow fall!

We actually got snow here in Brighton a few days ago. Not nice and thick like so many people have had it, but it settled this time - all the half an inch of it! It was enough for our children to be so excited in the morning that they rushed through getting ready in the morning probably for the first time since we got here! No complaints over getting dressed that day. I had to go out that morning, but enjoyed watching them for a little while from my warm bedroom while I got ready to go. They had such fun, and tried everything to get every bit of snow possible from any surface they could find. As a result, three days later, when everybody else's snow has long since melted away, we still have a load of it in our back garden - in the shape of a goblin would you believe!

They started off with the intention of building a snow foal lying down, but came to the conclusion in the end that it was too hard, so went for a snow goblin instead! The library here seems to have all of the Rainbow Fairies books, so they are making their way through them in order (Jack Frost and his goblins take part in every book). They are easy reads, so it won't take very long to have read the whole lot, but we have fairy thoughts on the go much of the time right now because of it! They found the website for it and have been creating their own fairies and printing them off to cut out and play with. Rachel chose to paint some of them this afternoon when she and Hannah decided to do some watercolour painting. Watercolour and fairies seem to go pretty well together and she was extremely happy with the result.

Enjoy the goblin!

A nice slow Christmas for us

Well, I wasn't really getting better last time I wrote apparently. I was back in bed the next day, and much of the time throughout Christmas and New Year. So our Christmas has been a very slow one with lots of staying indoors, or even in bed, and not much happening. It's not quite what we'd planned, but it's what we needed.

I woke up on Christmas morning though feeling good, having had a beautiful night's sleep, the best in at least a few months. I was able to get up and be a part of opening stockings, acting out the nativity, and sharing gifts. So we have a few photos too. My body had had enough by mid afternoon so I slept for a while back in bed while Michael did a great job of making our Christmas dinner, and the children played with their presents. I got up to eat with a lot of help, and was glad I could be around again having felt so rough. We also enjoyed having a way too late webcam conversation with Michael's sister and friend in America before everyone went off to bed for the night.

Peter was so funny all day with the presents. He had insisted for weeks before that he didn't want any presents. Just nuts. :o) When he saw the stockings though nothing could make him wait to open his, and then his eye was on opening the presents - whether from him or not. We had to tape a few back up again for the real recipient to open them. Then for days afterwards he kept complaining that he couldn't find any more presents to open! He did find one for Michael's birthday, which now needs re-wrapping, and was so pleased about it he came up to tell me (in bed) that he'd opened another present (all smiles). :o) Luckily for him I'd been too ill to wrap all of their presents so they had them from two other relatives a few days later. Short lived excitement for Peter, but then he was rather absorbed in his new farm sticker book after that, and has chosen it as a bed time story several times since.




Hannah was thrilled with anything to do with horses, which she actually received quite a bit of this Christmas.


Silly Mum wearing Rebekah's Mrs. Christmas hat in a very strange way, and my lovely wooden heart necklace that I was delighted to find in my own stocking.


Rebekah was SO excited to share with her siblings the presents she had chosen for them this Christmas. Giving was most definately part of the fun for all of the girls this year as they each chose to buy their own gifts for the first time.


Michael showing Peter how to unscrew his new car from its packaging. Peter loves tools at least as much as cars, so loved having a go himself.


Do you see Rachel's face? That is her undeniably excited reaction to finally having some "little lego" after years and years of wanting some. She's only been waiting since she was four or five, and was most definately over the moon! :o)






Everyone was delighted with canteloupe melon and yummy cherries for desert. Can you tell?







Peter enjoying some Daddy time with his new sticker book.


Peter doing one of his favourite things (jigsaw puzzles) in one of his favourite places (ON the dining table).