Natalie's wedding

It was my cousin Natalie's wedding last weekend. Once Meg had finished feeding I enjoyed taking some photos as the bride, bridesmaids etc looked beautiful. I was quite pleased with some of the photos and planned to spend some time in photoshop improving them until I saw what James had taken - his photos are just FANTASTIC and make mine snapshots in comparison http://www.jameslp.com/Blog/ - BUT - I also know why James is able to take such great photos and I cant and also I got a shot he didnt :). He didn't have 4 children to take care of at the wedding, he didnt have a baby to feed, he has a fantastic new lens, he has time to spend editing his photos, he knows what he is doing in Photoshop because he has had time to
learn ........................................................................and he also has TALENT by the bucketload. He is hoping to use photography as a new career and if the photos from this wedding are anything to go by I think he'll make a great success of it. Wonder if he does Christenings???
A few of my snaps anyway - first the bride.
The pageboys in conference.

Josie looking gorgeous.
Cute pageboy - Ben thought he was hilarious and hasn't stopped talking about him yet.
Building with Jenga bricks on the lawn.

Bride and groom walking towards the photographer.
The Herricks.

And finally the shot James cant get no matter how good he is!!!!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I have loads of other holiday photos to share but they will have to wait as Meg has woken - again (or rather Ben has woken her :()

WHY???????

Seemed like a really good idea at the time - splatter painting outside then wsh it off in the paddling pool. Tom and Sophie didnt want to join in so I just got things ready for Ben - then they changed their minds - all joined in - got very carried away and got covered in paint!! had fun though and all the clothes are already washed and luckily all the paint came off - phew!!!

Grandparents visit

Had a brilliant weekend with the three grandparents. john bought the most enormous pool - too big to be called a paddling pool - it took all day to fill but it was soooo worth it the children and a fantastic time and Sophie could even swim it was so deep. Once the children were out and it was a bit safer the adults had a paddle too as it was so hot.




Meg had several outfits on today - this was one of my favourites.

Tom and John camped in the garden - before they went to bed they toasted marshmallows - Tom got burnt twice but was very brave. They lasted most of the night in the tent but came in around 530am as the ground was too hard!!
Meg modelling one of her many hats!

Tescos sent us a '5-a-day' chart which Sophie took very seriously for the first few days. She and Tom eat a lot of fruit anyway (Ben doesnt ) but she made a point of having her 5 different colours within about half an hour of getting up each day so she could put her stickers on the chart - the novelty has already worn off!
Meg in my favourite outfit again - made a bit of a mess of uploading the photos so they are not in the right order - ooops

Meg having a cuddle in the shade with Granny Pat.

Ben paddling in the sandpit/paddling pool - we didnt realise until we took the cover off quite how much water can get in.
Meg in her first outfit of the day - a cute little number from GAP. have just been through some more of Sophie's clothes as Meg is growing so fast (despite not gaining weight) - so many of the clothes are looking old and worn - many were secondhand for Sophie - so unfortunately I will need to shop for new stuff - what a hardship :)

The children soaked John several times over the weekend - it wasnt always safe to try to catch it on camera as I got soaked too.

Grandma and Megan.

Photos of me!!!!!

Haven't been able to get blogger to work properly recently so huge back log of photos I want to get on!! Tom finally got his good school report present after losing his remote control airplane within 20 minutes. he was much happier with a megablocks dinosaur and gargoyle that he swaps the pieces around with others in his collection - much better present.

While he was at Toysrus John bought 4 new enormous water pistols 9dont ask!!!) Sophie managed but when full of water it was just too heavy for poor Ben!

Sophie and Ben had fun painting in the garden.


We finally planted out the sunflowers the children grew from kits Grandma sent at Easter - bit late so they are pretty tiny - no prizes for tall sunflowers here this year but looks like they may get flowers and the children are happy.

Let ben and Sophie lose with my camera again - quite pleased with Sophie's results - nice to be in the pics for a change :)

Had to post this shot of Thomas - he is just so fantastic with Megan - really brings out his gentle side.

Newby Hall

The first day of the holidays was a trip to Newby Hall with Granny Pat - we somehow managed to not go here at all last year so it was a real novelty. The boys had fun playing in a ditch while we ate a picnic - they both had muddy bottoms before we even got into the park.
We enjoyed the ride on the train - Ben didnt enjoy waiting and very loudly made sure everyone knew this - he was fine once we were on and enjoyed waving to Granny pat who stayed behind to look after Megan who was a star all day.

Sophie really enjoyed the new fountains - we were sad to see the old paddling pool gone but the fountains were fun too - Ben enjoyed them Tom was less sure.

Thomas devoured his enormous icecream and then ate Ben's leftovers too.
Bit of arm swinging in the long border.
Sophie smelling the flowers but she refused to pose near the beautiful roses as she once fell in our rosebed and has never forgotten being grabbed by so many thorns.

Last day of school

Aaaarrrggggh the summer holidays are here - we are one week in and I am already tearing my hair out although I was sure I wouldnt. Tom and Sophie are not particularly well so that does not help.
Tom was quite happy on the last day of school but Sophie was shattered and moody as the picture shows.

Tom was determined to get his uniform as dirty as possible - and succeeded! Sophie brightened up after tea and was a different child thank goodness.

funfunfun!!!

Cant believe it has been so long since I last blogged - sorry Grandma :) Life is pretty chaotic here at the moment so really looking forward to the school holidays. Many parents dread the weeks of having the children at home but despite the inevitable bickering I am looking forward to spending some more relaxed time with them rather than rushing out of the door to school everyday - ask again a week in and see if I still feel the same way :)

Ben is loving spending time with Megan - he sings to her and loves to do 'This little piggy' she really squeals with delight and he loves the fact that she responds now.
Took all the children to Toysrus yesterday to buy 'good school report toys' . And Megan got a 'being a dream baby toy' !! Ben chose a Kungfu panda - he hasnt seen the film and doesnt really know anything about the character but was adamant it was the toy he wanted - i was dubious especially when I saw the price but all 3 children have had a lot of fun and laughter with him already so I suppose it was ok - it certainly made Ben smile. And was better than Tom's toy - the poor boy had a fantastic report - despite his recent stresses he is doing 'above expectaions' or 'significantly above expectations' in all areas except his handwriting which is inline with expectations (better than both parents though :)) - he and John chose a remote controlled airplane - took it to the field in the village to fly it and came back after 20 minutes having lost it over a hedge - will have to buy him something else.

Sophie knew she wanted a scooter she had seen advertised - it has pink lights which flash up the sides - she plans to ride it from the car into school each day - so I get the pleasure of struggling back to the car with it and the pram - she deserves it though as her report was also great although it did describe her as being a quiet child which I felt a little unlikely :)

We spent a lot of today in the garden making the most of the good weather. John is very hungover after the schhol 'summer bash' last night - he insists it was something he ate but as he missed the food because he and a few other dads slipped off to the pub I think that is unlikely. It was the first time I had left Megan for an evening- with Granny Pat so i could relax knowing all would be fine but even so I kept checking the mobile incase she had called as I knew she would need at least one feed while I was gone and I wasnt sure how well she would take the bottle even though it was my milk. Needless to say all was fine and we got back around 1230 to her sleeping soundly - dancing was a little uncomfortable towards the end of the night but apart from that I was able to totally relax knowing all 4 children were being looked after and had a great night - thanks Mum :):).

Tom was fascinated by a beetle he found. Sophie helped me with some gardening - finally getting some veg in way too late but better than nothing - I am amazed how grown up she looks in this photo - not my little girl any more although she still managed a major paddy today :(

It wasnt that warm but the slightest sign of sunshine and they ask for the hose - they had great fun soaking each other but also cleaned the patio for me in preparation for the Pearsons visiting this week.

Tom had a lovley gentle chat with Megan.
Then Sophie decided to pour water down the slide to see if she would go faster - she did!! and shot off the end so fast it was hard to get a decent photo - Ben tried to copy her but let go off the bucket insteand of pouring the water - the bucket hit Sophie and that was the end of the fun!