OK, so I thought I should do at least 1 post while we are back in the UK. (Guy believes I should have done more.)
In the weeks leading up to coming back to the UK we repeatedly told Rhiannon that it would be very cold but was unlikely to snow … (will insert picture of girls playing in snow when I get back to SA.)
On the first morning we woke up in England 10cm of snow had fallen overnight. She is never going to believe us again!
Slight excitement on the way over with our flight getting cancelled but luckily Guy’s work sorted it out and we were bumped onto the later plane and were only an hour later arriving in England so Mum and Charles got an extra hour in bed before they came to pick us up from the airport. Both girls behaved well on the flight so fingers crossed for the same going back.
Had fun for my birthday (no longer in my twenties sob, sob) – Mum bought tickets to the Cambridge Arts Pantomime, which is what we traditionally did for my birthday when I was a kid (and I still am in some respects). It was very funny and despite us all being in the front row and two of us (Rhiannon and I) celebrating birthdays, the Dame decided to pick on Danielle throughout the proceedings (it was her own fault since the first time he/she came on stage Danielle laughed the loudest at his jokes). It was the first time Phoebe and Rohan had been to the theatre and both of them were very excited and thankfully behaved beautifully. Phoebe was clapping and dancing in her seat throughout.
Present wise my 30th will be remembered for my getting a karaoke game (We Sing) plus a pair of microphones for the Wii and taking great pleasure in beating my sister on it! Rhiannon got a Disney karaoke game for the Wii so I expect we will be scaring the neighbours when we get back to Durban (thankfully the walls are brick so the sound doesn’t carry too much provided we keep the patio doors closed!). Also got a couple of DS games and for Christmas a new camera (current one is okay but not compact), so expect more pictures being posted in the future.
Guy arrived on Rhiannon’s birthday (23rd) after having similar fun with his flight. In his case he checked in at Durban and despite when he checked 2 hours earlier everything looking okay, was told his flight from Johannesburg was delayed by 14 hours and he would be put up in a hotel. On getting to Jo’burg he was actually put on the later flight the same as we had been and thanks to a tail wind on the flight was only 30 minutes late rather than 14 hours!
Rhiannon celebrated her birthday in suitable 6 year old style – dinner at Pizza Hut! Her main presents had already been unwrapped in Durban – an interactive globe which tells you information on populations, national anthems, area, currency, leaders, etc., and includes quizzes to test knowledge. She also got a Hannah Montana guitar but her favourite present appears to be a small toy cat which came with its own hairdryer!
We have had a great Christmas visiting family – on Christmas Eve I had the joy of driving Mum’s Ford Focus (my old car) from Harston to Taunton (220 odd miles) where we spent Christmas with Guy’s Mum and sister (and Tina’s dog Maggie). We didn’t go out much the first couple of days because of the ice and bad weather so amused ourselves opening lots of presents and eating silly amounts of food. Following Phoebe waking up every 20 minutes Christmas Day night Boxing Day was a bit of a wash out but we had fun on the 27th going to “Cleary’s”, a farm park / small amusement park just outside Exeter. We spent most of the day running after Rhiannon and Phoebe in the indoor play areas, chasing them through small gaps and down slides, over rope bridges and into ball pens. So at least we can say we got some exercise! (will insert another picture)
We got back to Mum and Charles’ on Monday (28th) and have had a couple of quiet days mainly playing card games and board games, having a quick go on Wii Sports Resort (they got a copy for Christmas as did we) and, well, eating even more!
Not sure what the next week and a half will bring (quite possibly a bit more snow!) but hopefully visiting Danielle, Martin and Rohan at some point (assuming they make it back from Stoke which looks like it might be under snow) and seeing Guy’s Dad next week (he gets back from a cruise on the 4th so won’t see Guy who has to fly back on the 2nd but will see his granddaughters).
Yesterday (30th) managed a brief trip to Great Notley, delayed slightly after the M11 was shut due to escaped pigs! The girls were very shy around Daniel, Tommy and Charlie but were fine on seeing Amy again. A longer visit is planned for the 4th of January to hopefully catch up with more people there.
New Year’s Eve will be spent playing more games here in Harston (Absolute Balderdash beckons for its annual airing!). Hope everyone has a fun evening and all the best for 2010.
January 4, 2010 at 7:50 pm |
Miss you! Glad you had fun in Notley today and hope you don’t get snowed in come the time to get back here on Friday.
January 13, 2010 at 5:06 pm |
So where is the start school blogg