[Historical] David's Hedgehog

(18th February 2009)

David was very proud of his hedgehog.

I was astounded. One minute there was a complex picture of numbers and charts from Ruth, and the next time I turn around there he is, very happy with his hedgehog. I didn't even recognize the picture at first, because I was thinking, "interpret toddler scrawl," not expecting it to be a recognizable picture. Where he learned to draw these, I have no idea, but boy am I impressed with my Clever Little Man.
Chris

[Historical] Trip on the Ratty

(20th February 2009)

During the Half-term holiday, Chrissy and Cathy took the kids on the Ratty for the day.
Way to go, Geoff, for getting these up. Hopefully I'll add the stories to go with these soon.
Chris

[Historical] The Puzzle Place

(February 18th 2009)

The Puzzle Place in Keswick, is an interesting demonstration of a lot of puzzles and illusions. Unfortunately, many of the don't photograph very well. Here the ones we did manage to get.

First were the traditional distorting mirrors


Then a demonstration of how to get water to flow up-hill.


If you look at the water in the receiver tank at the bottom right, you can see the whole display is actually on a tilt, but when you look at it, your brain automatically tries to make the case level, with the effect shown.

Then the perspectives room. It's amazing how fast children grow these days....But Mommy is still the tallest!

[Historical] Picture update - New Year in America

Here's a few more photos from our trip to the US last Christmas/New Year.

First, on New Year's Eve, here is Chrissy teaching the children to play Candyland.


Next, bedtime for the children. Ruth was getting tired, but David had more energy for staying up 'til midnight than most of the adults did!

On January 2nd, we got to babysit Cousin Henry. This was possibly the first time he held his own bottle.

Later on Ruth wanted a turn, so we sat Henry on her lap and she showed him how to play with the toys (with just a little help from Mummy).


The day after that we went to House of Kobe, our favourite japanese restraunt, out in Hagerstown. David insisted that if the grown-ups were getting chopsticks, he should too, then amazed us all by picking up the ice-cubes in his glass completely unassisted!


Finally, just before we flew back, Matt & Erin had us all over for dinner. Erin has a long list of desserts to show off - I will remember last summer's strawberry extravaganza for a long time. This time, to go with the season, Erin made a delicious chocolate igloo cake, complete with grated white chocolate snow and a family of penguins.

Another busy weekend

More gardening - we mowed the lawn, planted more veg, laid ~30 slabs of patio, and got the shed base outside. Then we managed church, lunch at Morrisons, and a picnic tea in the garden on Sunday. I'm hoping we'll find time to get the pics off the camera soon!

It's a nice day

So we've been in the allotment. Chrissy has planted our first outdoor crop (peas) and Geoff has been mowing the lawn while the children alternated between playing and helping.

Losing track...

Aaargh, almost a month and no update! Keep losing trakc of time. Ah well, we're all a bit healthier now and hetting ready for Ruth's Birthday next month. We'll have some photos then.