December Snow

Dubai 2010 - Wild Wadi

We have just got back from a week in our most favourite place.  I know the world is a big place and so you should never really go back to the same place but the Jumeriah Beach Hotel is a bit special and a place that all 4 of us totally love and we are guaranteed a great holiday together.
This year, we went into the Wild Wadi every day and we all managed to get surfing.  Brilliant fun.  Its such a shame that the week goes so quickly.......

Madame T's

Today we went on a family outing with my mum and dad and sister.  (Simon is back in India)
The girls did not know many of the wax works but they seemed reasonably amused by the people they did know.  Their favourite was definitely Cheryl Cole.

West Wittering - again !!

My sister a.k.a. Aunty Lucy paid us a visit today.  With the sun shining we decided to pack up the car and head to the beach.  It was quite a shock when we got there.  The beach was deserted, the coffee shop and ice cream kiosk closed and instead of the high season £7 to park there, it was just £3.  Only 4 weeks ago it was a very different story.........We ate fish and chips, kicked a ball on the sand and made a sandcastle.  Although it wasn't cold, it was raining and a little damp but that did not stop Emily and Olivia begging to get their wetsuits on and bodyboards out and get in the waves.  With Lucy and I safely huddled in a beach hut, we watched the girls jump around - loving it.  I think in future we may just need 2 adult wetsuits and 2 extra body boards and we would be right in there with them !!!!!

Cath & Karen's wedding

Yesterday I photographed Cath and Karen's wedding. The location was beautiful, and thankfully the weather was (mostly) kind to us at all the right times and even a massive thunder and lightening storm did not dampen the day.  The pressure is now on to upload, backup and create a slideshow of the images that hopefully they will approve of !?!

A 'grown up' weekend in Padstow

Since the girls were born (2002 and 2004), Simon and I have enjoyed 2 weekends away together - without them.  We had visited New York (2002) and then enjoyed a long weekend ski-ing in switzerland (2009).  For many years we have been wanting to go to Rick Steins restaurant and so booking 6 months ago, and the children safely with our good friends, we set off for the long 4.5 hour drive to Cornwall.

We met up with the 'The Allens', both celebrating their birthdays, although ate at Ricks Seafood restaurant on Samme's actual birthday.  The weather was fantastic, the food excellent and cycling the camel trail from Padstow to Wadebridge and onto the vineyard was certainly a day to remember.  We must get away more often.

Paris

It has been too long since I have seen my dad and his wife Pam.  Pam is currently working in Lille and so Paris was a great destination to 'rendezvous' for a long weekend!!  During our stay, we enjoyed a day chilling around the hotel and a spot of shopping (except for the fact that the whole shopping centre stank of the smelliest french cheese), a day sightseeing and a day in Eurodisney.

Emily wants to write a few words............

My favourite ride was the tower of terror but I don't think livvy liked it very much. me and livvy had a fantastic day!

Trip to the Deer Park with Rachel and Baby V

The girls are totally in love with Baby Violet and quite frankly who can blame them.  She is absolutely gorgeous.  Having got 1 baby, 2 children, 2 adults and a buggy loaded into the car (why am I looking at downsizing ?!?) we went to the Deer Park.   I love it here but the girls having heard the word 'park' just wanted swings and slides and seemed oblivious to the fact that there were amazing views everywhere.  In the end an ice-cream seemed to settle their disappointment and a promise of coming back to see Rachel and Violet next Wednesday and of course a trip with them to a 'real' park !!

Teepee

I am rather partial to a bargain and so spotting a large 12 man teepee for way less than half price, I knew 1 had my name on it......  So I bought it and with the help of Emily and Livvy, we built it.
It took a little over the 10 minutes as per the instruction sheet so not a bad effort, however it was far larger than I had imagined.
Last night, 11 children of various ages slept / camped out in it - with plenty of room to spare.  The teepee went quiet at around midnight and gradually came to life again from 8am, when the kettle went on and 48 rashers of bacon were cooked on the Skottle.  That will be my next purchase - absolutely brilliant !!

London Lunch - Pitcher and Piano

Today was the first Chelsea home game of the season.  There is one good point about being a chelsea widow complete with 2 chelsea orphans...... and that is match days are a great day for a London Lunch.
Today, with our regular London Lunch friends, we headed for the Pitcher and Piano in Richmond.  Our group were very luckily seated under a headed parasol.  The heavens truly opened many times during our lunch but we all stayed warm and dry.
Following lunch we all headed to the ceramic cafe and whiled away a few hours pottery painting vases, cups, tiles and egg cups.  Can't wait to see the finished results.

West Wittering

I grew up near the seaside.  To be specific, 15 minutes away from Redcar in the North East, in what was Cleveland but is now Teeside.  I loved it, and it is locally renowned for its famous Pacitto's lemon top ice-creams and the 'stray end' where you can sprinkle sand on a concrete slope and spend many a happy hour sliding down this on a plastic bag !!  Anyway, my daughters, being made of hardy northern stuff will quite happily spend many a happy hour in freezing cold and soggy wet conditions on a beach with a bucket and spade.  I love them for that and being just like me.  However, our local beach is 1 hour 15 minutes away and is not polluted by ICI wilton.  A spectacular site (at night) but am sure is to blame for many childhood cases of asthma in the north east.  The girls will squeal with delight at any opportunity to hit the beach and have never seen them jump in the car so quickly !!

Chipping Sodbury

Simon left for India today - for 10 whole days and is to be the longest spell we have spent apart.
The girls and I decided to head to my parents for a couple of days.  We love it there.  Its a great place to visit and a truely beautiful part of the world.  Between Bristol and Bath and near the Cotswolds.  We were lucky enough to be able to break up the journey at a half way spot and call in at Junction 13 of the M4 - Chievely.  The Newbury Manor Hotel is the venue where some good friends are getting married in September.  It was a beautiful summers evening with the most amazing sunset.  Am very excited about photographing Cath and Karen's wedding and can only hope that I manage to produce some images that I can be proud of, and that they will love x

Olivia (Livvy) is 6

My youngest daughter turned 6 today.  I have no idea where those years have gone.  Both my daughters are incredibly lucky that we have a fantastic family and that we have THE most AMAZING group of friends that dote on them.  I only hope that they realise just how lucky they are.  Today we went to see Toy Story 3 in 3D, followed by a chinese and all topped off with blowing out candles on a cake and tucking into a very large slice of it.  What more could a birthday girl ask for ?!?!

'Glamping' in Dorset

Seabarn Farm, Fleet, Dorset

This was only to be our second time camping, but with a car jam packed with bikes, scooters, body boards, obviously a tent, and all the other paraphernalia deemed neccessary for 3 days (!) the girls and I set off to Dorset.  This is not a part of the country I am familiar with and Emily and Olivia were very amused by 2 town names in particular - Puddle Town and Piddle Hinton.  Apparently we ought to move here........

We were joining friends at the campsite and so we were a group of 6 mums and 14 children.

The beaches were lovely, the sunsets amazing and we had a fantastic time.  Same again next year !!