Making the most of Summer!

The summer weather has made us all try to take advantage of the still light evenings and the warmth. This evening April and I had the 3 girls so Lisa and Tom could go for a kayak and then a swim and have some supper .. just the two of them. I still appreciate that Cols Mum and mine did so much for us that I am always happy to do it for them..

Annabelle is just about walking and Little Pops (Col's Dad) was playing hide and seek with her watching from our kitchen window.. you can just see him peeping from behind the curtain!

Summer Children:  Ross & Lilly.

We joked that History is repeating itself, Ross got the 50cc quad out which we bought when Lisa was about 7, it's been welded up and rebuilt a fair few times in the last 19 years, and still creates joy in a child.. and a grown up!

Linking up with my challenge over at Lucky 7s here is a summer sunset.. we have had the most glorious shows of sun and light this year.. and if I wake early tomorrow I will give you the sunrise too!

Summer views!

Well it's been one of those weeks .. again! All week I have been counting down to one thing or another, and it isn't any better next week!

Thursday Zac took his final oral exam and passed! He is now an Officer of the Watch and can navigate a ship of unlimited tonnage.. it was actually not so bad as the time approached as he realised he had prepped quite well, lots of group learning and sessions with a port pilot, not quite the repeat learning we used to do for maths and geography in our day!

On Friday Pops travelled down from Col's brothers where he was staying a few days and Zac gave him a look round Southampton port.  They travelled home.. a long hot journey amidst all the holiday makers on the south coast road.

Summer Foods: salady stuff .. outside!

We are having the loveliest of weather, although in the office we see it more than feel it, but it is lovely to have evenings to sit out and eat.. so that's what we did with all the family on Friday evening.. quite satisfying too as Kate passed her driving theory test the same day.

Add to that April passing her Teaching skills exams and we have 4 out of 4 so far!

I have failed on some summer views (feet..and sky today) but have covered these other weeks!

Big Sisters.. Lilly not happy as her burger was cold! Age 3y 4m and 6 years

Baby Annabelle..being like the big girls..age 18 months and just about walking.

Marazion

From my window

Frequently visited.. the building works down the field.. 

Footings!

Zac's home.. cue the family barbecue 

7 plus 1 plus 99...maybe!

My weekend:

7 kinds of bread at the Pendeen Market (Saturday)

So we took advantage of some fab weather and a favourable tide and got a few hours 'out West' yesterday.. only ONE place to head when you are in the boat and the weather is fine!

Zoomed in : Penberth (Rowe family?!

I am kind of trying to think of a tenuous link to why this should be a picture for 99!    Maybe there are a number of captions available:

'What do you mean a taxi to Hayle will be 99 pounds?'

'Do you know how many spots are on my dress?'

'How many different ways are there to wear hair extensions?'

'What is an ice cream with a chocolate flake in it usually called.. and why!?'

Three!

Well Colin has taken our four design guys away to Farnborough Air Show so I have had a day in the office with Kate helping man the phones..as we have 3 lines in ..and just me to answer calls today!

Jamie sent me this message with a picture Of three of them....He said its his first selfie too!

Another three.. Zac's friend Sean passed his Oral exams so that's number 3 of the little crew of 4..just Zac left now and his exam is next week.

And my photo is showing the three lots of gel nails Kate did this evening.  My fingers and toes... .and now her toes.. its such a nice thing to have her do.. I was just saying to her that as your children get older you are a bit less physical with them. ...less cuddles and carrying.. and it is kind of a nice closeness to have her tend my nails..

I found this little gem the other day.. Jordan's 4th birthday.. and her cake!

Now she is making the cakes! Lisa is still holding the baby ;-)

10...A tenuous link!

 So! .. yesterday our Lilly was 6 years old!

Take Liily at 6 plus Lyla at 3 and Annabelle at 1= TOTAL 10 Years old!

It was a dull evening but warm so we all got together after work and had a little barbecue party.. not that there is much little about a gathering at our house..

.. presents to be raved about were:

.. a marshmallow dipper set (yes, honestly, the best thing!), 

..Mushi Monsters (the Silver Collection.. apparently!.. yes, that was a fluke, being a nice boxed set and on sale in Debenhams and accredited to Zac who manages to be a hero even without trying!)

.. some Glow in the dark Balloons.. yes, they have little light inside.. even popular when the balloon has burst!

..and best of all a Loom set, the like of which has not been seen popularity wise since Scoobies and Pokemon!

Kate was the hero here, making a pretty presentable bracelet despite the Chinese English instruction manual!

Jordan made 'Lovely' a Mushi Monster cake , her third birthday cake in 10 days! Just as well my brother doesn't live close as it's his birthday on 20th and his brood would definitely make short work of another cake!

I didn't quite get a good picture of everyone.. mostly people were eating which is not the prettiest picture!

K8

6 years as Mum & Dad..

My catering team: JB & Apr

Jordan & Dom..

50!..or a multiple of?

I am smiling here! I was wondering just what I could use for the 50 prompt over at Lucky 7s!  then luckily something came to me... just now!

Things are very hectic in our office, so much work and such a lot of people wanting their items .. like..soon.. like yesterday. The new buildings cannot come soon enough.. the footings were concreted in for the first building yesterday and I took a pic as we went down the field for a peruse..

I was a bit fed up yesterday as I am often the person who ends up apologising for lateness and it doesn't lie very good with me.. I am a pleaser person I think.  So our great partner in crime Ben got a bit of an ear bashing, nice, polite but a bit determined and I apologised later for it.. 

.. then this morning he brought biscuits.. my favourite.. and because they are my favourite and he felt bad about it too.. awhhh... it's just one of those things when you spend lots of time together and its hard not to moan and feel that someone may take it personal.. I am so glad I am not in HR, I would never be able to pull rank on anyone!

And see that number! 

It must be a multiple of 50!!!

5,000,000.. made and sold every week.. who buys them? who eats them?

'Two' go on an adventure

So we took the 'Two' down to the field for a campfire lunch yesterday..

Colin had it all planned out, so much so it looked like it was spontaneous (an hour welding the grill and prepping the cart to carry the wood and stones!

So you arrange the wood like a wigwam..

.. and cook the food! (No pictures of my favourite.. banana and melted chocolate (we used Munchies.. so fab!)

Yes, he even brought carpet for us to sit on!

Later on Col's Dad (Little Pops) joined us and found the 'dead frog', which after being scared of the smallest ant, Lyla found fascinating.. maybe because it was dead!

Pops thought maybe it had not been able to find water, but we admitted that it may have been a victim of the 'flattening-the-tall-grass-with-an-old-car' behaviour that Colin had employed to get us a nice flat picnic space!

Perfect image for my TWO prompt over at Lucky 7s
Lucky 7s

(PS the photo opportunity and the tale made the whole event look much more idyllic than it really was.. one 3 year old frantic that an ant was a BEE! so requiring to 'sit on you nannie' and a competitive older sister who also thought we should go fetch a box and give the frog a proper burial made for a frantic hour or was that 90 minutes.. but we had fun and I have the photos to prove it!!)

More windows..and newsy stuff.

Well I have a few different pictures for the finish of this week. Yesterday in Penzance I saw this unusual thing in a vintage shop window.. A birdcage with two naked action men dolls..One in the mouth of a fabric crocodile. ..not sure what that's all about but it amused me! .. but Kate was cringing at my taking a photo of a shop window..These young things, they need to loosen up a bit!

We have the two big grand daughters staying as Mum & Dad are having a couple of nights away being grown ups.. and because I still appreciate when we get to do that I am more than happy to oblige with babysitting. The baby one is with the other Gran so we have divided and ruled!

This morning I ran a bakery stall for Jordan as she was starting a new organic market in Penzance town centre..which went well. Lilly came to help and we had fun..she was a lovely help and when she is on her own she loves to be grown up as being a big sister can make her quite frustrated at times ..;-) She sometimes wishes for a brother but I think it's more about wishing away the sisters for a while as boys don't want to share your toys do they?

This afternoon we took them shopping for a few things and as we left the car park and they were both strapped in we smiled at each other across the roof of the car and remembered how lucky we are to be on the other side of daily child handling! I am quite chilled out though, even let them have a play in an (old giftset) makeup box before tea!

A while ago we bought Pops a golf buggy from one of our friends who buys and sells electric vehicles. ... A little bit of celebrating his 80th year!..and he will enjoy driving up and down to the ex factory and driving his tools about in the back.

It's also proving a lot of fun for him (and us with the girls) as we can take a drive down the fields..that were once a motocross and paintball field..and are now being prepped for parking and landscaping around our new factory buildings.  Lilly and Lyla loved trekking around and I took some pics to send to Zac while he tries to absorb some more facts and information for his final exams in ten days or so. . ( there is a little group of them who we think will remain in touch after they all go to sea.. The 'A' Team...and the two girls have passed the oral this week.. just Sean and Zac to go...)

Finishing this at 9pm on Saturday and both the girls tucked up and reports from the parents than fine weather, fun and rest are all ticked boxes already .. x