Summer Holiday

What a whirlwind couple of weeks we have had!! Ben booked just over two weeks off work so we packed up the car, squeezed the boys in the back and off we went.

THE LAKE DISTRICT

We spent the first week in the north-west of the Lake District, on top of the Solway coast. The house was a converted barn and was SO pretty inside with lots of pine, skylights and a huge window - I took notes for the future! Like the rest of the country the weather was pretty pants all apart from the last day, when we got burnt!

Because of space we chose not to bring the buggy and brought a sling for me to carry Zach and a baby backpack for Ben to carry Oliver- the scales tell me that I've lost weight and I believe it- it was hard work!! We did three lake walks and one day we climbed a peak constantly for close to two hours. Ben can tell you that I wasn't the best company... but at the top we got breathtaking views of two lakes, Keswick, peaks galore and even along to the coast and across to Scotland. The pictures just don't do it justice.

Ben was excited to hear there were lots of Roman forts in the area so on other days we got a tour around a current archaeological dig, searched for forts, altars and other tidbits that he fancied. Oliver was a bit keen to follow in Daddy's footsteps at the dig and kept trying to jump into the muddy holes they had already excavated. He kept us on our toes and I missed most of the tour (although I wasn't too bothered...!)

On a rainier day we went to a farm park called 'The Gincase'. It was BRILLIANT- lots of animals and food to feed them straight out of your hand, loads of indoor and outdoor play areas (loads of ride-on cars, so totally up Oliver's street, lots of baby animals, a crafty shop for me and Ben and Oliver got to bottle feed a baby goat! Ben and I were a bit nervous to see how Oliver found the animals, but he totally surprised us and was utterly fearless and goats, sheep, horses, pigs...all out out of his hand. He was smitten, it was magical to watch.

When we booked the house in the Lake District, somehow we had forgotten that we live in Scotland - the land of lakes (lochs!) and have the most beautiful scenery around us already, but I think sometimes you need to physically go away somewhere to make the most of it, so it was definitely worth the trip.

Oliver keeps us safe with the GPS around Ennerdale

One dribbly baby on the beach

My Nanna and Granddad who live in Cornwall!!

Zachy Baby and Daddy are reunited after two weeks apart

My Zachy Baby

VISITING FAMILY

... is fun but it can be exhausting!! (See below)

We had a great time with Ben's family for a few days (trips swimming, to Wicksteed Park- a family park and small theme park- a family BBQ and a walk or two around Thrapston- lovely) The boys enjoyed bonding and so did we. Somehow I never end up with many photos of time spent with Ben's family. Ben's Mum is quite the photographer though so I can nab some from her afterwards!

Next up we spent a few days with my family:

In Southwold, a wonderful seaside town

Mum and I chatted as the boys cricketed on the green

The pictures below show a fun but slightly dangerous rope swing on Nacton shores. Dad, Ben and the boys invented a game involved pushing someone on the swing and then sprinting underneath them very close to the cliff... Boys... They thought I was woosy (sp?!) but I did go on in the end!

ZACH'S BLESSING

To top it all off and as a perfect culmination of all things holiday, Zach was blessed at our church in front of the congregation, and we had food afterwards.The blessing was beautiful and lots of family and some friends came to support us and Zach, plus it was at our old chapel in Cambridge (a nice half-way point for our families) so that was lovely bonus to see our friends there. AND we managed to get through lunch before the torrential rain. Phew!

Plus yummy Costco cake and the world's biggest watermelon

What a couple of weeks. Ben thinks we'll need another couple of recover from that 'holiday' :) Now back to normality! I love being away, but normal life is lovely too. I'll report on our Olympic adventure another day. I think I have overloaded everyone already today!

Wednesday evening

At the beginning of the week I got an email from my friend Amelia, wondering if she could come over at 7pm on Wednesday evening for a film and some adult company! She invited two other friends, Silvia and Kirsty. Hooray, sounded good! I had Oliver in bed and had rustled up some snacks and my very small collection of girly DVDs when Kirsty turned up... with her husband DJ. Hmmm, I like DJ but wasn't sure they understood that only ladies had been invited and didn't think he'd be too impressed with the choice of film or the chatting?! However, it turned out that they were the "bearers of good news:" there wasn't a movie night after all- they were having a Baby Shower for me and Zach up at the chapel!! So exciting- I'd never had a Baby Shower before! There were lovely friends, games, food and presents and.... genuinely the most amazing cake I have ever seen made by Silvia (definitely on a par with our wedding cake, which was pretty impressive too!) I ate the entire top layer- amazing but surprisingly hard going, it was HUGE! But absolutely delicious. I brought my camera... with dead batteries, so these are Amelia's photos. Fab!

Eating the huge layer of bath! Hello Kirsty! :)

Zach is reaching for the cake...

Silvia, the maker of the cake and a lovely lady!

Mmmm, AMAZING cake

So, so lovely of them. What lovely friends!

Abby the Amateur Mother and Oliver the Adventurous

*Blogger's note: please forgive my sensational writing, I do enjoy trying to capture the moment!*

Today I made the amateur mistake of getting Oliver out of the car before Zach. This may not seem terrible to you, but believe me, I need everyone and everything else brought in from the car and safely indoors by the time Oliver is unstrapped or I can't keep tabs on him!

Thus began an impromptu trip to the park: Oliver took off while I was getting a crying Zachy out of his car seat and out of the corner of my eye I see Oliver toddle off down the road at quite a pace and can see he is headed for the park. I call 'no', count to three, raise my voice good and proper... no luck so I grab Zach and his sling and run after Boy Number One - lucky we live in a crescent so it isn't too busy...

It is a bit like a horror film, as I am struggling to strap the baby in the sling and the sling to me, I see Oliver running towards a car and the car moving towards him with a little old couple at the wheel. I hope their eyesight and reflexes are okay but decide I can't chance it and put out my hand and run into the middle of the road... hooray, I catch up to Oliver and Zach is in the sling and everyone survives it. Now I have caught up we chat and sing songs on the way and he continues to toddle along at quite a pace.

Ooh, he sees a dog and speeds up, and so does the dog. Unfortunately it has been let off the lead and its owner jogs along to keep up with it, looking a bit worried - oh dear, this is a big, scary looking dog with studs on its collar and it might not appreciate Oliver woofing and trying to pat it - phew, crisis turns into a lovely encounter where the dog allows Oliver to woof at it and no-one is harmed and everyone breathes a sigh of relief.

In the end we arrive at the park. He is becoming more and more adventurous and clambers up the steps of the big slide (agh!) and heads down it... head first of course. We used to call him 'safety boy'. I think that nickname may now be obsolete...

Moral of the story: get Zach and all the stuff out of the car first and safely into the house before I unleash the cheeky beast that is Oliver :)

Recent life, told in pictures

Here is a photo of Oliver and Zachy Baby. Oliver absolutely ADORES him and always snuggles up to him, strokes his head, gives him kisses, tries to mop up his sick with the sicky cloth (even when he hasn't done any), literally lies on top of him to give him a cuddle...! My favourite so far is that he always nabs Zach's socks while he is asleep on the sofa... and balances them on his head! A pair of plastic pants also had a similar experience :) I like how Zach grins at him too. I think these two will be close!

On Friday we were invited to a Mary Poppins party at our friend Amelia's house!! She had carnations, cherries, lots of scrummy sandwiches and we watched the film. I hadn't seen it for YEARS and it was even better as an adult. Our very talented friend Silvia made the incredible cake and the 'spoons full of sugar' shown above. Everything was so delicious and the children all had fun!

Amelia's son Eli

Amelia's girls posing out in the sun

In other recent news, Zachy Baby has GROWN!! Just look at him, he is lovely.  He is now 7.5 weeks old- and at the 7 week mark he weighed 12lb 12oz: quite a big boy!! He smiles lots but I can't catch those on camera so his serious face will have to do I'm afraid!!

Below are the boys in their favourite spots in the house: Zach likes to sit in the corner of the sofa (at least, I put him there and that is where he least complains!) and Oliver likes his window seat out to the front garden and drives his favourite car of the day along the top of the sofa or the window sill. Quirky? I hope so!

In other news, Ben is away and has been since last Sunday (1st July) :'( He will be back on Friday evening, hooray, I can't wait! I can cope and stay sane and enjoy life with the boys during the day, but 12 evenings in a row means I MISS him!! Having said that, my friend Kirsty has been wonderful and popped over lots for chats, and there is a movie night coming up with friends... really can't complain!! People are so lovely :)

I have filled the evenings watching a LOT of 'Larkrise to Candleford' (three more episodes and the final of the four series is over, nooooooooooo!!), I have finally started doing my exercise DVD regularly and am on a breastfeeding-friendly diet (*gasp*) and Zach's bedtime is two hours earlier than it was when he left which I am rather proud of! Plus that means I get a couple of hours before bed free to myself, which is rather nice after the boys keep me on my toes during the day. Perfect!