Well Christmas was a rather manic affair. On Christmas Eve I went over to Mum and Dad's simply because I wanted to see the kids put their stockings out and getting excited.
That meant that I woke up at 4:15 when Cal went into Mummy's bed, then worried we would be geting up to start unwrapping but it wasn't until 5am that Ella came in and after I said we should wait 1 more hour before unwrapping she got into bed with me and talked and wriggled non-stop.
At 5:45 she apologised for abandoning me but she was going to wake Granny up. 6am and she came and dragged me out of bed to watch her open stockings.
Her eyes popped out at the site of presents and the first unwrapping frenzy of the day began.
I took Biscuit for a walk after stockings and before breakfast- itv was wet and grey but nice and quiet.
We ahd to wait til 3ish beforeJo brought Jessie and Lucy and then the next major present opening franzy got underway. I don't think I've seen thatmany presents in one room!
Dinner swiftly followed and then Aunty C and Mummy were employed to do the toy extraction from boxes and packaging. Toughest work I've done all year!
Cal decided Megazord had to be built and gave me the "structions" and through much complexity and lack of knowledge combined with Cal's advice we built Megazord. Wow!
A manic day- pretty exhausting- but so much more fun to have young kids around at Christmas and to play with their toys!
Thursday 27 December 2007
Merry Christmas to all
Thursday 20 December 2007
Tuesday 18 December 2007
Scrambles in North Wales
December 15-16
Friday night we drove up to Llangollen for a cold night in a B&B (Wynnstay arms- great hospitality but v/cold room). Then Saturday am carried on up to Llyn Ogwen.
It was -5 degrees and very frosty everywhere as we walked past Llyn Idwal to scramble up Cneifon Arete. Pete led and belayed me in second then Is. We picked up his dropped gear on the way up!
First time I'd rock climbed in years- I love the scrambling but find the climbing a bit freaky. Still the adrenalin shots were just what I needed and its always a sense of acheivement to overcome your fears.
We carried on up over Glyder Fach (987m) and then down Bristly Ridge. A great walk and scramble.
Sunday and I wanted to get up Snowdon and over the 1000m mark. So we walked in on the Miners track on a beautiful clear day, still a temp of minus figures but very still with fantastic reflections of Snowdon in Llyn Llydaw.
We scrambled up Y Gribin then along Bwlchysaethau to the Summit, Where we bathed in clear still sunshine amongst smatterings of hard packed snow patches, views were clear for miles and looking down on the tops of the clouds in the valleys.
Then we scrambled back over Y Lliwedd to complete part of the horseshoe I'd never done.
I'm very out of practice for this stuff but this was a dose of the outdoors I needed to escape from my lonely desk. Great weather, fantastic scenery, good company and plenty of exercise- that's what its all about!
Sunday 9 December 2007
Do I look like I'm skating yet?
Time for our annual venture into the world of slippery slidy ice at Hampton court.
Of course it would be easier if one did not have a young child hanging onto you for balance when you have no balance yourself.
It's a lot warmer this November and today that meant rain and wind. We were lucky that it stopped for our whole session- amazing!
We all progressed somewhat from the moment we first staggered onto the ice, except Gareth who took the excuse of Lucy and Cal "not liking it" to make a swift exit!
Gerry, Jules, Mark and I hung around to take turns escorting Ella and Jesse around. My stance was more "snowboarding" than "Speed skating" looking at my stance in the photos!
Afterwards Cal, Lucy and I went to the "Knights shop". Then we all rode the carousel before heading to Zizis for a long lunch.
I took Nick (Gareth's brother) back to Redhill to catch the train down to Brighton.
Hev stood by and took photos with M&D watching on. I have edited the photos and built a slideshow for all to remember.