hello! hello! hello!

Its good to be back! Not that we didn't enjoy our holiday - we had a great time - but we arrived home yesterday morning to glorious sunshine, and it felt like the right place to be :o)

Bit of a quick photo catch up then:

Our lodge and all our bikes at Centre Parcs (Whinfell Forest)

First time at CP - loved it! Loads for us all to do, and although it was the busiest time of the year it didn't feel too crowded. Not cheap though!!

The kids did loads of activities, some together and some not, here are a few that A enjoyed:

Pony trekking

Archery

CSI (!)

We also did roller blading, badminton and pottery painting, and the boys got up to some more daring stuff like laser quest and quad biking. I enjoyed a bit of nordic walking, and a spa evening with my Mum - loved those steam rooms. And of course, there was plenty of swimming, unfortunately this resulted in A's blue streaks turning a weird kind of purpley-grey colour, but she wasn't too bothered. All in all, a fantastic week, AND we were all still talking to each other by the end of it!

>After that it was on down to my brother's for a bit of chill out time, and visiting a few relatives. I did a lot of reading, got through Robert Harris's Rome books - Imperium and Lustrum, and also finally got round to reading The_Wasp_Factory by Iain Banks. It was recommended to me years ago by a friend who said "its definitely your kind of book", not sure how to take that now I've read it, but I suppose she was right, as I did enjoy it.

>Next up was the big family wedding that A had been preparing for for about the last six months, very exciting! It was a fab day, and I felt surprisingly moved seeing my little cousin get hitched.

False nails were required for the occasion - very grown up

A having a boogie with the bride

Then after a few more days with my brother and his family, we boarded the Caledonian Sleeper and came home. First thing we did was head down to the beach and have a paddle :o))

Visitors!

Well, our lovely visitors left today, and A has gone to stay with her grandparents for the night, so I am all alone. After such a hectic week I am going to really enjoy a night completely to myself.

Our friends arrived on Tuesday, and the girls immediately hit it off, leaving me and D to catch up and chat, which was great. On Wednesday we all went to a drama workshop with the local HE group, which the kids seemed to enjoy. We've only been to a couple of these group events, and being very introverted I do find it really difficult, but it turned out well as some of us had lunch together afterwards so I had a chat with a few of the other parents. They are a friendly bunch.

I do worry sometimes about my lack of sociability, not so much for me (I'm quite happy with my own company, and have enough close friends to know I'm not a complete freak!) but for the effects on A. She is naturally quite sociable and fairly confident once she gets over the initial shyness, so I will have to make sure she gets enough opportunities to mix and socialise, which means I will have to get 'out there' too. Don't know why I find this such a struggle - its not that difficult for most people surely? I waver between thinking 'its just my nature - the way I am' and 'what the hell is wrong with me?!'

Thursday we had a nice long walk, ending up by the sea (see above photo), and A was back on stage with 'Revolting Rhymes' in the evening. Then Friday we went to an event organised by the local council - part of their summer activites programme - 'mythical stories and beach sculpture'. The sand dragon that the kids all worked on was fantastic, and kept them occupied for a good couple of hours. Friday evening our visitors went to see the final performance of RR, which went down very well. They are now off on their travels again, and hopefully me and A will get down to visit them next year (they have inspired us to do a bit of travelling in the spring if I can save some money up).

Next week should be a bit quieter, we have another HE group event, and will maybe catch up with some friends. And I really ought to be working on my OU essay and project (!)