We have basked in beautiful sunshine for more days that I can recall this week :-). So much so that we have been out with the mountain bikes to Newmillerdam and out this morning for a gentle run around Pugneys Country Park. Both days were simply sensational sunshine with no clouds in the sky, although on. The bike trip, poor mummy did come a cropper :-(. On a small upward hill she managed to find herself in the wrong gear, tried to dismount quickly to avoid pain and failed to actually get off gracefully – thus ended up on her ass in a huge area of nettles. Kind of ruined the ride for her sadly – she is still nursing pain from it today and I suspect will not be forgetting to be in the right gear in the future 🙂

Overall, the ride around Newmillerdam was probably around 10 to 12km and reminded us that we have these wonderful bikes I bathe garage that need using and enjoying to the max – we must get out more.

Today was a little gentler with a power walk turning into a run around to the perimeter of the Pugneys Country Park in Wakefield – probably just over a mile and was perfect for mummy’s training. Olly came along in the sports stroller and he and daddy went running 🙂 The stroller is actually very good as a runner as it is really easy to propel and most importantly steer with just one hand while running. this one is now another activity that we should do much more of. Suspect this one will be way more determined by the weather however.

The sunshine looks to be set in for the weekend, so we need to get some garden activities in this weekend – perhaps a spot of gardening might be on…. :-s

The downside to such weather??? It reminds us massively of what we are missing in Northern California and hence makes us miss it big time… 🙁 Can’t win…

The boys packed their backpacks yesterday and we took them over to Halifax – they were off on their second sleep over.  They were pretty excited as they knew that there was going to be lots of garden digging etc fun to be had. They were apparently not let down with mucho gardening etc in Nards back yard 🙂 They were able to check in on the status of the seeds that they planted out a few weeks ago – guessing that they will be wanting to return in the coming weeks to see how things are progressing 🙂

They slept at Nards and Olly said “Grandma Cuckoo, I like it at Nard’s house but I prefer your house, because there is no bath at yours so I don’t have to have a bath” – cheeky monkey 🙂

Mummy and daddy on the other hand were coming back to Ossett as we were heading out for dinner at the Hepworth with Kerrie and Spencer.  We enjoyed a great meal at the restaurant with wine a flowing and to SImon’s dismay – there was NO Sambuca available after coffee 🙁 So, it was over to Tequila 🙁 Simon’s not so sure of tequila as a suitable Sambuca replacement …. However, he did have 4 of the buggers so maybe they not THAT bad 🙂

So, while Simon has been searching for work, he has found an activity that he can spend more cash on – car detailing.  He won’t bore you to death with the details but suffice to say that Tina now has the cleanest and silkiest paintwork that she probably has done ever, and the amount of gear that is piling up in the garage is pretty significant.  Today, he has been cleaning up her exhaust tips while Olly played in the garden with bubble mixture and Elly and mummy were away on a school trip – to Hesketh Farm Park in Skipton.

We are sat awaiting their return so no doubt there will be lots to learn about their day very soon 🙂

Also, the tumble drier broke on Monday so we are awaiting the delivery of the replacement – the delivery company said they would deliver between 14:50 and 16:20 today, and it is now 16:10….. 10 minutes guys….

*UPDATE* Just received a call (16:15) from the delivery driver – they have had a breakdown and are on their way BUT are about 50 minutes away due to the breakdown – not bad service to give us a call and let us know – good on them 🙂

Yes, that is right, mummy has gone to London for the weekend with Auntie Kerrie and Auntie Yvonne.

So, a boys weekend in it is 🙂

This morning we played with our toys for a while and then went to Grandma’s for a swim and a spot of lunch. Elliot is in need of more swimming practice and he will soon be able to do away with the arm bands, and Olly – well Olly just has no fear. We popped Olly in his new swim apparel – basically a float across his chest attached to two floating armbands – it is really good and keeps him perfectly afloat, while allowing him to “swim” more naturally. For two boys who apparently did not want to go swimming, they had a great time and Daddy is looking forward to the sleep that it affords him later tonight… 🙂

After a nice lunch, we head down to Toys R Us to spend a little birthday cash and a little cash for certain buy guy who has proven that he does not need pul-ups overnight anymore – 7 consecutive nights of proof enabled a small purchase in the boys’ favourite store 🙂

Daddy spent, no invested (:-) ) a few hours this afternoon in claying, polishing, paint protecting and then waxing Tina 🙂 The Blackfire range claims to deliver a shine that looks like it is dripping wet. Well, a couple of things;

1. t does not look wet to Simon BUT it absolutely FEELS wet
2. The above makes Simon feel wet :-s ‘Nuff said…

The shine that she has is outstanding – Simon now does not feel any desire to drive her to get her dirty….

BBQ tonight – the first one of the year / season – yay!!!

We have enjoyed quite a few hours of garden play time in the last week or so – betwixt the rain showers of course.  Olly enjoyed the sunshine ALL DAY on his birthday which was a result.

The kids are enjoying getting outside and the dogs seem to be enjoying it as well – Elliot plays tug o war with Max and Pepsi simply sits by watching 🙂 He gets bored really quickly and probably doesn’t enjoy the pull in his legs either… 🙁

Daddy moved the monkey puzzle tree out of the back garden and transplanted it into the front garden yesterday, so we will see if the poor thing has survived – it has grown maybe 6 or 8 inches in height in the last 7 years – as a comparison, a similar tree in Grandmas garden has grown more than 6 feet…  He also did a little weeding and some grass seed sowing.

Mummy and daddy went to Whiteley’s for lunch with Auntie Anita and Auntie Clare yesterday and lardy daddy ate one and a half key lime pies following a steak sandwich and chips… He claims it to have been the best key lime pie he has ever eaten and hence why he needed more.

We are going to see if we can find new storage for the conservatory today as the existing setup is woefully inadequate 🙁 We will also be performing a cull of the toys in the room at the same time 🙂

So this leaves the following to do items around the house:

• garage to reorganise
• 2 conifer trees for the rear garden
• Bedroom curtains
• grass weed and feed and general upkeep in the back garden
• move the play centre in the back garden to more of a central location (involves removing the paving slabs outside the back door 🙁
• put pictures up on the walls around the house

This is just the starter for 10 list – there are bound to be many many more such as polish and wax Bruce and Tina, look at replacing the driveway in the front garden and replant the edges of the drive (after extending the driveway slightly to better accomodate cars.

Oh well, the fun just continues.  Oh and boys weekend this weekend as mummy is going to London for the weekend with Kerrie and Yvonne…