This and that and camping

In an effort not to neglect the blog for such a long time (whilst still aiming to actually write up Le Grand Trek), here are some bits and pieces that have happened:

Nathaniel became 7!

Thank you for his presents. He was not greatly impressed to have to go to school on his birthday, but I think he'll get over it. We shall have a party in a couple of weeks time. Oh, and Thea made the cake:

Thea and F and I spent the afternoon at the pump track. Which isn't really news, it's just that it was so much fun!

The kids zoomed around the track giggling and each other and I sat on a bench and read a book and suddenly properly realised that if we follow the recommended Govian trajectory, Thea will be at school this time next year. And instead of spending her afternoons learning about weights and measures and motion and all those other un-lessons that real life provides, she'll be in a classroom messing around with plastic in an attempt to provide "play". Hmmm. We'll have to see.

In the meatime, we shall enjoy cycling. And stopping for frequent blackberry and banana breaks!

Thea started cello lessons! So far it has been a great sucess and she is having soooooo much fun. Here is a particularly tuneless and scan-less rendition (not sure what came over her!) of her first song, designed to help them learn how to hold their cello firmly: We had a camping trip to Slenningford.

New babies and house rennovations left us with a slightly different camping crew, but we still had lots of fun. The kids rampaged in and out of the water.

Nathaniel enjoyed discussing the relative merits of different tents and their materials:

And we were all jolly:

Beer o'clock!